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Dylan DeMelo Out With Broken Finger

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The Ottawa Senators will be missing one of their key defenders for the next while, as Dylan DeMelo is out with a broken finger. Hailey Salvian of The Athletic reports that the injury will keep DeMelo out for three to four weeks. Craig Anderson meanwhile who also wasn’t at practice won’t play until at least next week according to Bruce Garrioch of Postmedia.

Though the Senators aren’t exactly competing for a playoff spot this season, DeMelo’s performance was obviously something to keep an eye on. The 26-year old defenseman is in the final season of a two-year, $1.8MM deal he signed with the San Jose Sharks before coming to Ottawa in the Erik Karlsson trade, and is scheduled to become an unrestricted free agent in the summer. The fact that he has become such an important part of the Senators’ group—he trails only Thomas Chabot and Nikita Zaitsev in even-strength ice time—complicates his future this season and next.

The team could obviously re-sign DeMelo to keep him in their defensive group for the next several years, but his extremely cheap contract ($900K cap hit), handedness and performance this season will also make him a desirable trade asset. The Senators are still in the midst of a rebuild, but at some point they’ll have to make a decision on whether or not to keep some of their core players.

The fact that DeMelo is still just 26 makes him a candidate to stick around in Ottawa as they attempt to turn things around. This injury will allow them to take a look at other players in his place, hopefully giving the Senators some clarity on the upcoming decision.

Snapshots: Peca, Fox, Ferland

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The Montreal Canadiens have lost a depth forward for more than a month, announcing that Matthew Peca will be out six weeks with a knee injury. Peca was injured when he got tied up with Pittsburgh Penguins forward Evgeni Malkin earlier this week.

Peca, 26, has played in just four games with the Canadiens this season, instead spending the majority of his season in the minor leagues. The 5’9″ forward was signed to a two-year, $2.6MM deal in July of 2018 but played just 39 games for Montreal last season.

  • Adam Fox is still having an impact on the Carolina Hurricanes, despite not signing with them. CapFriendly points out that after Fox played in his 30th game of the season on Tuesday night, the third round pick that New York sent Carolina in the trade has been upgraded to a second round pick. It always seemed likely that the pick would be upgraded given his talent, but Fox has made it more than worthwhile for the Rangers by proving he can be an effective puck-moving option in the NHL.
  • Though Micheal Ferland isn’t in the concussion protocol, he is seeing specialists for some symptoms that have popped up, according to head coach Travis Green who spoke with reporters including Iain MacIntyre of Sportsnet. Ferland didn’t even make it through two games after returning from more than a month off, leaving Tuesday’s match against the Toronto Maple Leafs.

Calvin De Haan Placed On Injured Reserve

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The Chicago Blackhawks have lost another defenseman to injury, placing Calvin de Haan on injured reserve today. The designation is retroactive to December 10th, when de Haan left a game against the Vegas Golden Knights with a shoulder injury. The team has not provided a timeline yet for his recovery.

Already without Duncan Keith, the Blackhawks had been relying heavily on de Haan to anchor a defense that can’t seem to keep the puck out of their net this season. In fact, he’d averaged more than 25 minutes of ice time over the three games prior to facing the Golden Knights, which now stand as the three highest-usage games of his season.

The 28-year old had surgery on the same shoulder in May of this year while he was still part of the Carolina Hurricanes organization. That kept him out of training camp and the preseason, though he made his debut just a few games into the regular season and has been a staple in the lineup ever since.

Losing de Haan for any length of time hurts, but the Blackhawks were already facing quite the uphill battle in their quest for the postseason. After rebuilding the defense corps and bringing in some new faces up front (and in net), there were high hopes for Chicago under head coach Jeremy Colliton. A combination of injuries and poor play have dashed those hopes so far, as the Blackhawks currently sit in last place in the Central Division with a 12-13-6 record and -14 goal differential.

Snapshots: Kings, Moore, Honka

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Los Angeles Kings prospects Rasmus Kupari and Tobias Bjornfot were both named to their respective country’s World Junior rosters last week, but seeing as both are under contract and playing in the AHL, the duo had to officially be loaned by the Kings to participate. That permission officially came down today, as L.A. announced that Kupari would play for Finland and Bjornfot would play for Sweden in the upcoming WJC tournament. Bjornfot, a first-round pick back in June, played in three games with the Kings earlier this season and has eight points in 20 games with the Ontario Reign. The athletic defenseman joins an impressive unit on the blue line for Sweden at the WJC. Kupari, L.A.’s top pick two years ago, played for the Gold Medal-winning Finnish entry in last year’s WJC, recording five points in seven games, and overall enjoyed a strong season in his native country. However, his first season in North America has gotten off to a slow start, with just seven points in 24 AHL games for the talented forward. While there was no indication in the Kings’ release, Kupari could be a candidate to remain overseas following the tournament. But first he will join another star-studded Finnish roster in pursuit of a repeat title.

  • With the Boston Bruins playing the Washington Capitals tonight in the first of a back-to-back set that includes a match-up with the Tampa Bay Lightning on Thursday night, Connor Clifton has drawn back into the lineup. The Boston Globe’s Kevin Paul Dupont reports that John Moore, who just recently made his season debut following off-season shoulder surgery, will be eased back into regular action, according to head coach Bruce Cassidy. Splitting back-to-backs or occasional nights off could become commonplace for the veteran defender. The Bruins are more cognizant than most when it comes to the value of healthy defense, as they struggled with continuous injury issues on the back end last season and are still waiting on the return of Kevan Miller. Cassidy recently stated that the Bruins are a better team with Moore active, even though it causes a surplus of lefties in the lineup, but that could mean he prioritizes keeping Moore healthy long-term rather than playing him in every game and risking re-injury to his damaged shoulder. Fortunately, the team has the luxury of young Clifton, who played well in Moore’s stead to begin the year and is more than deserving of spot starts.
  • Before the calendar flipped to December, making him ineligible to play in the NHL this season, it seems the trade market for unsigned Dallas Stars RFA defenseman Julius Honka was not as dead as it seemed. Sportsnet’s Elliotte Friedman writes that the Carolina Hurricanes were the team with the most interest in the enigmatic rearguard and were in heavy pursuit. However, the team ultimately decided that they were not willing to meet the Stars’ demand of draft picks or young, unsigned prospects rather than a fellow AHL prospect. Ironically, the Hurricanes drafted Honka’s younger brother, Anttoni, in the third round this past year, which could keep them interested in the elder Honka this off-season.

 

Jayce Hawryluk Sent On Conditioning Stint

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The Florida Panthers have assigned Jayce Hawryluk to the minor leagues on a conditioning stint, likely signaling that he is finally ready to play again. The 23-year old hasn’t played since suffering an upper-body injury at the end of October, but had three points in his first eight games with the Panthers this season.

Not that the Panthers need much help as they sit third in the Atlantic Division with a 15-10-5 record, but Hawryluk is a proven option for their bottom-six that suited up 42 times last year. Originally drafted 32nd overall in 2014, he has found his way to being a top offensive option eventually at every level and still has time to develop into one for the Panthers.

Even if he never becomes that top-six player however, he’ll be welcomed back to the Panthers this season to play in a lesser role. In order to go to the minors under regular circumstances he would need to clear waivers, meaning he’ll be back up once the team feels he’s ready for NHL action.

Jason Demers Out Week-To-Week With Lower-Body Injury

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The Arizona Coyotes will be without an important defensemen for the next while, as they announced Jason Demers will be sidelined on a week-to-week basis with a lower-body injury. Craig Morgan of The Athletic tweets that the injury was sustained during the Coyotes’ game against the Chicago Blackhawks and could need a minor procedure.

Demers, 31, also missed a huge chunk of last season with a knee injury, making this news concerning to Coyotes fans hoping to compete this year. The team is already without Niklas Hjalmarsson but still find themselves in second place in the Pacific Division with the second-best goal differential in the Western Conference. Demers’ absence will perhaps be felt most on the penalty kill where he averages more ice time than any other Arizona player. His 18:31 every night at even-strength puts him firmly in the top-four, a position the team will have to find a way to fill for the time being.

Injury Updates: Sutter, Daley, Johnson, Myers

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Canucks center Brandon Sutter has been out of the lineup since suffering a lower-body injury back on November 12th but it appears that he’s ready to return.  The team announced (Twitter link) that the veteran could be in uniform tomorrow night against Toronto.

That means that Vancouver is going to have to do some cap juggling in order to activate Sutter off LTIR.  The team has less than $3MM in cap room to work with per CapFriendly and Sutter’s AAV checks in at $4.375MM.  Tyler Motte ($975K) is eligible to be transferred to LTIR as he has already missed a month but that still won’t be enough to activate him.  The Canucks are carrying seven defensemen at the moment and may be forced to drop that to six by sending Jalen Chatfield back to AHL Utica.  If Sutter is cleared to play, expect some roster movement from Vancouver in a hurry.

Other injury notes from around the NHL:

  • Detroit defenseman Trevor Daley could return to the lineup tomorrow after missing 16 straight games due to a lower-body issue, notes Arthur J. Regner of the Red Wings’ team website. He has received the green light to return from team doctors so now it’s a matter of seeing if he needs extra practices before seeing game action.  On the surface, it appears that the team is expecting him to play with the placement of Madison Bowey on waivers today will be the roster spot that’s used to activate Daley off IR.
  • Lightning center Tyler Johnson is day-to-day with a lower-body issue, the team announced (via Twitter). Head coach Jon Cooper indicated that there’s no timetable for his return and that he will not play on Tuesday.  The 29-year-old is off to a relatively quiet start offensively with 14 points in 27 games, the lowest full-season point-per-game rate of his career.
  • Travis Konecny isn’t the only injury the Flyers are dealing with today. Sam Carchidi of the Philadelphia Inquirer and Daily News reports that defenseman Phillipe Myers left practice early today due to back spasms that have been an issue in recent days.  That leaves his availability for Wednesday against Colorado in question.  Myers has very quietly been a surprising factor offensively on Philadelphia’s back end as he has chipped in with nine points in just 17 games this season.

Boston Bruins Waive Steven Kampfer

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Monday: Kampfer and T.J. Tynan, who was also placed on waivers, have cleared according to Elliotte Friedman of Sportsnet. Both can now be sent to the minor leagues.

Sunday: In an inevitable move, the Boston Bruins have announced today that veteran defenseman Steven Kampfer has been placed on waivers. The team hopes that he will clear waivers and can be reassigned to AHL Providence, but the team is taking a risk by exposing the ten-year pro. Kampfer has been held scoreless in four games so far this year, but recorded six points in 35 games with Boston last year and added another point in three playoff games.

The decision to waive Kampfer was inevitable not due to his play, but due to the roster crunch in Boston. Kampfer, who began his career with the Bruins back in 2010, returned to the team before last season as part of the return from the New York Rangers in exchange for Adam McQuaid. Kampfer was seen by many as a throw-in, but ended up playing a crucial role in 2018-19. Beginning the year as the team’s eighth defenseman, Kampfer was the only one of that eight who did not miss time due to injury in a season that featured 12 different defensemen for Boston. Kampfer was also the only one of those 12 who was not under team control beyond the end of the year. That changed in June, when the Bruins first move after the Stanley Cup Final was to re-sign Kampfer to a two-year, $1.6MM deal. The length and non-minimum value of the deal was a nice reward and promise of commitment for Kampfer’s hard work that season.

However, the contract was likely also created with impending waiver exposure in mind. The Bruins knew that with seven bona fide NHL defenders under contract – Zdeno Chara, Torey Krug, Charlie McAvoy, Brandon Carlo, John Moore, Matt Grzelcyk, and Kevan Miller – and the emergence of Connor Clifton as an NHL option, the odds that Kampfer could stick on the NHL roster all year was slim. They hoped that the extended term or slightly higher cap hit could dissuade teams from claiming Kampfer to serve in that same valuable depth role. Last week, when Clifton lost his waiver exemption and Moore returned from injury, it became clear that this theory would soon be tested.

With Miller still working toward a return to health, top defensive prospect Urho Vaakanainen playing well in a recent NHL stint, and veteran Alexander Petrovic excelling in Providence, the Bruins could survive the loss of Kampfer if he was to be claimed. However, the team could potentially need him more next year, after the likely free agent departures of Miller and Petrovic and possible retirement of Chara. Kampfer’s hard-working style and defensive awareness paired with considerable experience makes him a valuable asset, even if he is not getting regular ice time. For that reason, more than a few teams will entertain making a claim, especially contenders with depth concerns on the blue line. The Bruins can only hope that the other 30 teams decide he is not worthy of an NHL roster spot, even though the defending Eastern Conference champs proved otherwise last year.

Minor Transactions: 12/09/19

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A new week begins in the NHL with four games on the schedule, including the NHL’s two hottest teams. The Washington Capitals and Colorado Avalanche are both on six-game winning streaks and will welcome in the Columbus Blue Jackets and Calgary Flames respectively. As teams prepare for that action, we’ll keep track of all the minor moves.

  • The Tampa Bay Lightning have recalled Cory Conacher again, but this time he’s coming with another teammate. Mitchell Stephens has been recalled as well and could make his NHL debut tonight after taking part in the morning skate. Tyler Johnson was absent according to Joe Smith of The Athletic, leaving an opening for the young forward.
  • Marcus Hogberg is back for the Ottawa Senators, while Craig Anderson is heading back to the injured reserve list. Anderson suffered a lower-body injury over the weekend when taking on the Philadelphia Flyers, meaning Anders Nilsson will take over the starting duties once again in Ottawa.
  • Jordan Kyrou has recovered fully and is on his way back to the St. Louis Blues. He and Austin Poganski have both been recalled by the club, giving them a little more forward depth while they continue to deal with major injuries.
  • Michael Dipietro has been returned to the minor leagues by the Vancouver Canucks, meaning Jacob Markstrom is back with the team. Markstrom had been granted a leave of absence to attend the memorial service of his late father.
  • The Avalanche are dealing with a few minor injuries, leading to the recall of goaltender Adam Werner from the AHL. Philipp Grubauer has been listed as day-to-day, but with Colorado taking on the Flames tonight they needed someone to backup Pavel Francouz.
  • Caleb Jones is getting another chance at the NHL level, recalled by the Edmonton Oilers today. The team has sent Joel Persson to the AHL in his place. Jones, 22, has played in nine games for the Oilers this season.
  • Nico Sturm has been returned to the minor leagues by the Minnesota Wild, after being recalled just a few days ago. Sturm is still waiting to make his NHL debut after signing with the team in the summer.
  • The Vegas Golden Knights have recalled Valentin Zykov from AHL Chicago.  Cody Eakin and Cody Glass are dealing with injuries so even with Zykov up, Vegas is only carrying 12 healthy forwards on their active roster.
  • Robbie Russo is getting his first look of the season as the Arizona Coyotes announced that they’ve recalled the defenseman.  He last saw NHL action with Detroit back in 2016-17 when he played in 19 games with Detroit.

Snapshots: Kravtsov, Hartley, Sanford, Pelletier

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New York Rangers prospect Vitaly Kravtsov has been demoted to the VHL by the KHL’s Chelyabinsk Traktor, their minor league affiliate, the team announced (Twitter link, translation required). Kravtsov has struggled significantly this season as he started the season with the Rangers with many expecting him to win a roster spot out of training camp.

Instead, he was sent to the Hartford Wolf Pack in the AHL where he had just one assist in five games and struggled to gain playing time. He opted to enact his European Assignment Clause and returned to Chelyabinsk Traktor team in the KHL with which he played 50 games last season as a 18-year-old. However, Kravtsov has struggled there as well, scoring just two goals in 11 games.

Sport-Express’ Igor Eronko reports that Traktor isn’t actively trying to trade Kravtsov’s rights, but they are willing to listen to offers for the 19-year-old.

  • Eronko also reports that former NHL head coach Bob Hartley is closing in on signing a two-year extension with Omsk Avangard in the KHL. Hartley has his team currently in second place in the Eastern division with 18 wins and 50 points in 37 games. Avangard hired Hartley, a head coach with the Colorado Avalanche, Atlanta Thrashers and the Calgary Flames, back in May of 2018.
  • The Athletic’s Jeremy Rutherford reports that the injuries in St. Louis continue to mount as St. Louis Blues forward Zach Sanford didn’t skate Sunday and is doubtful to play on Tuesday. Alex Steen and Oskar Sundqvist are both expected to join the Blues for their trip to Buffalo, but neither is expected to play, which means the team will be forced to recall a player from the San Antonio Rampage of the AHL before then.
  • Ryan Pike of FlamesNation reports that Calgary Flames prospect and 2019 first-round pick Jakob Pelletier is expected to miss the World Junior Championships after the 18-year-old suffered a lower-body injury Thursday in his QMJHL game. Pelletier, who is having a dominant season with the Moncton Wildcats, was invited to Canada’s World Junior selection camp, and while the injury isn’t considered to be serious, it will be enough to keep him out of next week’s camp, which means he cannot make the team.

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