Minor Transactions: 2/1/2017
Here’s where we will track the day’s less significant roster transactions:
- The Columbus Blue Jackets reassigned defenseman Dean Kukan to the Cleveland Monsters of the AHL, according to The Columbus Dispatch’s Aaron Portzline (via Twitter). The 23-year-old blue liner was recalled Sunday but did not appear in the Jackets wild 6 – 4 win over the New York Rangers last night. He appeared in eight games last season, his first in the NHL, but failed to register a point. The Swiss-born Kukan signed a deal with Columbus prior to the 2015-16 season after a lengthy pro career playing in his home country. In 37 games this year with Cleveland, Kukan has 13 points.
- Joe Haggerty of CSNNE has relayed that Zane McIntyre has been recalled by the Boston Bruins to replace Anton Khudobin as the team’s backup netminder. The Bruins are desperate for quality play in goal behind starter Tuukka Rask. McIntyre and Khudobin have combined to post a woeful record of 1 – 8 – 2 in 15 appearances with a GAA of 3.42 and a S% of 0.875. Boston has just two back-to-backs scheduled this month, suggesting they won’t have to rely on their backup much, provided Rask remains healthy.
- Defenseman Dylan McIlrath and forward Paul Thompson, each of whom was placed on waivers by Florida yesterday, went unclaimed and will remain in the Florida Panthers organization, according to Sportsnet’s Chris Johnston. George Richards, who covers the Panthers for the Miami Herald, later added that McIlrath was reassigned to Springfield, along with forward Jared McCann. McIlrath, acquired earlier this season from the New York Rangers, has seen action in just five games for Florida this season. The former first-round draft pick has had trouble earning regular playing time. Thompson, 28, has played in 21 games for the Panthers, registering three assists while averaging less than eight minutes per game.
- The Washington Capitals returned blue liner Christian Djoos to Hershey of the AHL, reports Tarik El-Bashir of CSN Mid-Atlantic. Djoos was Washington’s seventh-round selection in the 2012 entry draft and has yet to debut in the NHL. He’s in the midst of a solid season for Hershey, tallying 26 points in 35 AHL contests.
Barberio And Gilbert Placed On Waivers
The Los Angeles Kings and Montreal Canadiens are making waiver moves on Wednesday morning. Defensemen Tom Gilbert and Mark Barberio are both on waivers, according to Elliotte Friedman of Sportsnet.
Gilbert has five points in 18 games with the Kings so far this season, his first in Los Angeles. He has been in and out of the lineup all season. Gilbert spent the previous two seasons in Montreal, after bouncing around between Minnesota and Florida. He’s perhaps best known for his time in Edmonton, where he developed into a solid top-four defenseman. Gilbert has 223 points in 655 games in the NHL, including a career-high 45-point season with Edmonton in 2008-09, before being traded to the Wild at the 2012 trade deadline for Nick Schultz. Gilbert missed the end of last season with knee-surgery. He’s a bottom-pairing defenseman at this point, and may have to go to the AHL and work his way back to the NHL.
Barberio has four assists in 26 games this season with the Canadiens. This is his second season in Montreal; he had two goals and 10 points in 30 games with the Canadiens last season. Barberio was a free agent signing from the Tampa Bay Lightning, where he had 17 points in 103 games over three seasons. Pierre LeBrun of TSN and ESPN called Barberio a sixth or seventh defenseman who can skate and move the puck; LeBrun wouldn’t be surprised to see a team take a flyer on Barberio. The Canadiens recently acquired defenseman Nikita Nesterov from the Lightning, making Barberio expendable. If he clears, Barberio will be assigned to the St. John’s of the AHL.
In other waiver news, Florida Panthers Dylan McIlrath and Paul Thompson both cleared waivers.
Minor Transactions: 1/31/17
Here is where we’ll keep track of today’s minor roster moves:
- After clearing waivers, the Canadiens assigned defenseman Zach Redmond to St. John’s of the AHL, notes TVA Sports’ Renaud Lavoie via Twitter. He has played in 16 games with Montreal this year, posting five assists while averaging 12:19 of ice time per night. He also got into a pair of games with St. John’s on a conditioning assignment from an early season foot injury and was held off the scoresheet.
- The Panthers announced (Twitter link) that they recalled goalie Sam Brittain from Manchester of the ECHL. He was expected to back up Roberto Luongo tonight as Florida takes on Ottawa as James Reimer was with his wife who gave birth earlier today. However, he has returned to the team and Florida has subsequently returned (Twitter link) Brittain to Manchester. Brittain has played in 26 games with the Monarchs, posting a 2.96 GAA and a .902 SV%.
- As expected, the Red Wings announced that they have assigned left winger Drew Miller to Grand Rapids of the AHL, freeing up the roster spot to allow them to activate center Dylan Larkin off of injured reserve. As Miller hadn’t been up with Detroit for 30 days since clearing waivers earlier this month, they were able to send him down without requesting waivers on him once again. Miller has played in 35 games with the Wings this season, recording six points (5-1-6).
- Via a team release, the Predators have activated blueliner Petter Granberg off IR and have assigned him to AHL Milwaukee. Granberg missed the past six games with an unspecified injury in his first game after being recalled. Similar to Miller, the defenseman cleared waivers earlier this month and hadn’t been on Nashville’s roster long enough to be waived again. Granberg has played in ten games for the Preds this season, being held scoreless while averaging just shy of ten minutes per night in ice time.
- The Sharks have recalled defenseman Tim Heed from the AHL Barracuda according to the AHL’s Transactions page. It’s the sixth separate time this month he has been recalled as he has been brought up and sent down frequently in an effort to save up as much cap space as possible. Heed has seen action in just one NHL game this year but has put up better than a point per game at the minor league level, tallying 11 goals and 25 assists in 33 AHL contests.
Panthers Waive Paul Thompson And Dylan McIlrath
The Florida Panthers will be changing up their roster coming out of the All-Star break as the team has waived right winger Paul Thompson and defenseman Dylan McIlrath, Harvey Fialkov of the Sun Sentinel reports (Twitter link).
The 28 year old Thompson was acquired from New Jersey last offseason as part of the deal that saw the Panthers unload Marc Savard‘s contract. He has played in 21 games for Florida this season, recording three assists, 22 penalty minutes, and a -4 rating while averaging just 7:54 per night. He is earning $575K at the NHL level and $225K in the AHL and is in the final year of a two year deal signed back in July of 2015. He will be an unrestricted free agent at the end of the season.
As for McIlrath, Florida acquired him back in November from the Rangers in exchange for blueliner Steven Kampfer and a 2018 7th round pick. He has played in just five games with the Panthers since then, picking up a goal and ten penalty minutes while playing only 9:34 per contests. This marks the second time he has been waived this season as New York waived him back in October where he passed through unclaimed.
The former 2010 first rounder (tenth overall) also has seen action in six AHL contests with Florida’s AHL affiliate in Springfield, recording two points (1-1-2) and 13 penalty minutes. He carries a salary and cap hit of $800K this season and will be a restricted free agent afterwards.
[Related: Panthers Depth Chart]
Injury Updates: Larkin, Anderson, Barkov
Injury updates around the NHL this evening:
- MLive’s Ansar Khan tweeted this evening that Detroit Red Wings forward Dylan Larkin is cleared to play tomorrow night against the New Jersey Devils. The Red Wings placed Larkin on injured reserve on January 23rd with an upper-body injury. Larkin’s numbers this year have declined from last season’s breakout rookie performance. In 47 games Larkin scored 12G and 6A. Last season Larkin has 23G and 22A in 80 games. The Wings hope that Larkin’s return sparks an anemic offense that sits 21st in goals for. Ted Kulfan of the Detroit News believes that Drew Miller will be sent down to Grand Rapids to make room for Larkin’s return.
- Ottawa Senators goaltender Craig Anderson returns to the team today, and is expected to start tomorrow night against the Florida Panthers, reports the Ottawa Citizen’s Ken Warren. Anderson left the team in December to be with his wife Nicole as she battles cancer. It was the third time Anderson left the team this season, but the latest absence proved to be the longest as Anderson last started on December 5, 2016. The Senators look forward to Anderson’s return as they try and hold down a playoff spot in the NHL’s Atlantic Division.
- Florida Panthers forward Aleksander Barkov returns to practice for the first time since injuring his back on December 28, 2016. The Finnish forward has 9G and 18A in 36 games so far for the Panthers, and hopes to pick up right where he left off. Despite his absence, however, Barkov is taking it slow and not rushing his recovery. He says there is no timetable for his return, but practicing with the team is always a good sign.
Eastern Conference Snapshots: Hurricanes, Trocheck, Mantha
From the outside looking in, the stars seem to be aligned for the relocation of an NHL franchise. The Carolina Hurricanes are up for sale and their attendance figures once again rank near the bottom of the league. And up north, Quebec City, the former home of the Quebec Nordiques/Colorado Avalanche franchise, has a shiny new arena lacking an NHL tenant. It almost makes too much sense but as Chip Alexander of The News & Observer writes, NHL commissioner Gary Bettman says the league remains committed to the “Triangle.”
“Peter may sell, he may not sell,” Bettman said Saturday. “He may sell all of it. He may sell some of it. He may sell none of it. There’s no formal sale process going on. There’s no imperative for the franchise to be sold on any immediate basis, and the franchise is not moving. I hope that was definitive enough.”
While there is a strong possibility the team will be sold, the NHL sees far too much promise in the Carolina market to abandon it now. As Alexander notes, the Triangle is one of the fastest growing markets in the country and given that the Hurricanes appear to have a bright future with loads of young talent int he pipeline, it may only be a matter of time before the organization turns it around, both on and off the ice.
Elsewhere in the Eastern Conference:
- First time All-Star Vincent Trocheck is on pace to register a 30-goal season, one year after netting 25 goals and 53 points as a 22-year-old in his sophomore NHL campaign. The former third-round pick has turned heads with his strong offensive production the last two seasons but Trocheck believes he is just scratching the surface of his potential, according to Harvey Fialkov of the Sun Sentinel. Trocheck is contributing more than just offense, as Fialkov points out, taking the fourth highest number of draws in the entire NHL. He also ranks second on the team among forwards in hits and shot blocks. Florida felt strongly enough in Trocheck’s future to ink the youngster to a six-year, $28.5MM contract extension this past July and the early returns have proven positive for the Panthers.
- The Detroit Red Wings are in danger of missing the playoffs for the first time in more than a quarter-century and while that won’t make the fans in Motown happy, the development of the club’s young talent this season could represent a bright spot in an otherwise disappointing season. Among the young Wings who are coming into their own is Anthony Mantha, the team’s first-round pick in 2013, as Brendan Savage of MLive.com reports. Mantha enjoyed tremendous success with Val d’Or of the QMJHL, capping off his junior career with a 57-goal season and being named CHL Player of the Year in 2013-14. His pro career got off to an auspicious beginning, due in part to a broken leg his first season with Grand Rapids but the 22-year-old winger is finally showing his promise this year in Detroit. Mantha has recorded 11 goals and 22 points in 34 games this season and is tied for third on the club in goals. Even if the Wings fall short of extending their playoff run, the continued development of players like Mantha will go a long way as the team looks to begin its next streak.
Montreal Canadiens Acquire Nikita Nesterov From Tampa Bay Lightning
The Montreal Canadiens and Tampa Bay Lightning have completed a trade Thursday evening, which will see defenseman Nikita Nesterov head to Montreal in return for Jonathan Racine and a 6th round pick.
The 23-year old Nesterov signed a one-year deal with the Lightning this summer as a restricted free agent after playing in 57 games with the team last season. In 35 games this year he’s put up 12 points in 35 games playing on the team’s bottom pairing. After playing for Russia at the World Cup, he hasn’t quite been able to show that he’s deserved of big minutes at this point in his career.
Montreal has been looking for someone to add some depth to the back end of their defense corps for a while, which Nesterov will now do admirably. Racine had been one of the players they hoped could make the leap this year after acquiring him for Tim Bozon from the Florida Panthers this summer. He hasn’t made much of an impact at the AHL level and is slowly falling away from prospect status. The former third-round pick will turn 24 in May and has played in just one NHL game, back in 2013-14.
For Tampa, they had a tough summer ahead of them with no less than 20 RFAs to sign (though the minor league veterans aren’t really a problem). Nesterov likely would have needed a slight upgrade from the $725,000 he is earning this season, money which the Lightning simply won’t have.
As we wrote the other day, the team has some issues in front of them going into the expansion draft, so consider this the first move of a possible series before next month’s trade deadline. With some forwards at risk of selection, the team might still be open to moving a player off their top few lines.
Panthers Roster Updates: Bjugstad, Petrovic, Reimer, Berra
The Florida Panthers, who have been without several key regulars for significant portions of the season due to injury, are inching closer to full health, as the Sun Sentinel’s Harvey Fialkov reports via Twitter.
Nick Bjugstad, who has placed on IR retroactive to January 6th because of a lower-body injury, and Alex Petrovic, out since November with an ankle issue, are both slated to return to the team tomorrow. Bjugstad is likely going to fill the Panthers fourth line pivot spot. The 6-foot-6 center has struggled to produce this season with just one goal and two points in 21 contests. In 67 games played during the 2015-16 season, the five-year veteran registered 15 goals and 34 points. Bjugstad earlier this season missed 19 games with a broken wrist.
Petrovic established himself as a useful regular blue liner last season, tallying 17 points in 66 games and finishing with a plus-17 plus/minus rating. In 16 appearances this season, he has five points and is a plus-eight.
Meanwhile, top line center Aleksander Barkov, out the last two months with a lower-body injury, is still at least two weeks away from returning, notes Fialkov. He has been working out with former NHL forward Marco Sturm, the scribe adds. Sturm last appeared in the league five seasons ago, appearing in 48 games with Vancouver and Florida. Barkov has nine goals and 27 points in 36 games for Florida this season.
Finally, the team reassigned goaltender Reto Berra to Springfield of the AHL as James Reimer is rejoining the club after a brief absence. Berra didn’t appear in a game for Florida since the recall. Reimer left the team to be with his wife, who is expecting the birth of their child and it’s possible he will again take a leave of absence should she go into labor.
Maple Leafs Re-Claim Seth Griffith On Waivers
For the third time this season, Seth Griffith has been claimed on waivers.
The Bruins lost him to the Maple Leafs in the pre-season, who lost him to the Panthers after just three games, and now the Maple Leafs have taken him back.
Griffith had five assists in 21 games with the Panthers, but was a healthy scratch in seven of Florida’s past eight games.
Though Griffith is small by NHL standards at 5’9, teams are clearly fascinated by his potential. Griffith has played in 58 NHL games with those three teams, recording six goals and 16 points. His production at the AHL level has been much better; he had 77 points in just 57 games with the Providence Bruins in 2015-16.
Snapshots: Oilers, Staal, Hedman
News and notes from around the NHL this evening
- The Edmonton Oilers have recalled forward Anton Lander from the Bakersfield Condors today. Sportsnet’s Mark Spector speculates that the move means Jujhar Khaira may be out for longer than initially thought. Khaira suffered an upper body injury yesterday in the first period against the Florida Panthers. Lander’s callup was inevitable given how he’s lighting up the AHL. Lander has 14G and 13A in only 16 games—almost a two points per game pace. Those stats have not translated at the NHL level, however, with Lander scoring only 1G and 3A in 20 games.
- New York Rangers defenseman Marc Staal may be nearing a return. According to the Newsday’s Steve Zipay, coach Alain Vigneault did not rule out Staal returning soon, and that Vigneault will play Staal as soon as he is healthy. Staal is recovering from concussion symptoms that kept him out since January 3rd. He’s been skating with the team for the past week to keep up conditioning and monitor his progress.
- Tampa Bay Lightning defenseman Victor Hedman still needs more time before returning to action, reports James O’Brien of NBCSports. Hedman misses his third straight game tonight with the vague “illness” tag. The Lighting are three points back of a playoff spot, but do not face a conference opponent until they visit the Florida Panthers next Thursday. Despite missing games, Hedman remains 2nd in scoring among defenseman with 7G and 31A in 44 games. The Lightning desperately need his production, so any absences indicate a more severe issue than initially thought.