Tomas Plekanec On Unconditional Waivers, Will Retire From NHL
Sunday: Elliotte Friedman reports that Plekanec has cleared waivers.
Friday: Despite the Montreal Canadiens suffering several injuries to their forward group, the team announced today that they will place Tomas Plekanec on unconditional waivers for the purpose of a mutual contract termination. Plekanec hasn’t seen much ice time this season but is close to returning from his latest minor injury, but will not suit up again for the Canadiens.
At the press conference to discuss the move with the media, GM Marc Bergevin explained that this was a “hockey decision” to let Plekanec go. The 36-year old forward was near tears when talking about always wanting to retire in Montreal, but did note that he would look for opportunities in the Czech Republic for the next few years. It seems as though his NHL days are over. Plekanec spoke about how the team is in good hands with the young group in the dressing room, and how Bergevin did approach him with the idea of a trade at one point before making this decision.
Though there is still the formality of clearing waivers and then terminating the contract tomorrow, it seems like the end of the North American journey for Plekanec. Selected in the third round of the 2001 draft, he would make an impact at the AHL level right away and show that the rest of the league made a mistake in passing on him. By the time the league returned from lockout in 2005, he was a full-time player for the Canadiens and wouldn’t look back. Plekanec played in at least 77 games for 11 consecutive seasons (not counting the lockout-shortened 2012-13, in which he played 47 of 48) and was the picture of health and consistency for a team that went through plenty of change. Hitting a career-high of 70 points in 2009-10, Plekanec was a huge part of a Montreal team that went to the Eastern Conference Finals.
The Canadiens will not be on the hook for any of Plekanec’s cap hit, even though he signed his most recent contract over the age of 35. Because the deal was just for one season, the restrictions usually applied to 35+ deals—that is, a cap hit that remains with the team regardless of what happens to the player—do not apply. Only multi-year contracts are punished in this way, meaning the Canadiens are free and clear of anything to do with Plekanec’s contract.
In fact, the last year has been quite beneficial for the Canadiens when it comes to Plekanec. Last spring they traded the veteran center to their rival Toronto Maple Leafs for a package that included a second round pick, only to see him return to play his 1,000th game in Montreal this year. The Maple Leafs were knocked out of the first round anyway, and no other piece from the deal is still on either roster. The fact that he’s willing to step aside and allow the team to fill the roster with the next wave of Montreal forwards is just the latest in a long career filled with putting the Canadiens ahead of himself.
Known best for his trademark turtleneck and goatee, Plekanec will not go down alongside the very greats of the Montreal franchise. He was never part of a Stanley Cup run, and scored just 608 points in his 1,001 games. Still, he’ll be remembered as an efficient soldier by many fans and revered for his loyalty to the franchise to the very end.
Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images
Minor Transactions: 11/11/18
With a busy 11-game schedule Saturday, the NHL remains busy on Sunday with another six games. With all that action, teams are going to make moves to re-stock their roster. Check out our updated transactions throughout the day:
- The Boston Bruins announced they have recalled defenseman Jeremy Lauzon from the Providence Bruins of the AHL on an emergency basis. The 21-year-old has already appeared in four games for Boston as well as another eight for Providence. In fact, if Lauzon gets called upon to play today, he’ll be playing in his third straight game in consecutive days. He was recalled as defenseman Brandon Carlo is listed as questionable after suffering an upper-body injury late in the game Saturday. Lauzon will play for Carlo, if he can’t go.
- The Dallas Stars announced they have assigned forward Denis Gurianov and defenseman Dillon Heatherington to the Texas Stars of the AHL. Gurianov has been a solid addition to the team, posting his first NHL goal Saturday in their 5-4 overtime loss to Nashville. He has been thriving in Texas, putting up six goals and 12 points 11 games there. Heatherington has appeared in five games for Dallas, posting one assist. He’s played in 10 games for Texas this season, accumulating four points. While there are no corresponding moves, it’s likely that the Stars hope that one of their injured forwards could return as both Alexander Radulov and Brett Ritchie both were practicing today, suggesting one, if not both, could be back soon. Heatherington’s demotion suggests the team was more impressed by defenseman Ben Gleason, who played well for Dallas Saturday.
- The Minnesota Wild announced they have assigned forward Matt Read to the Iowa Wild of the AHL. The 32-year-old Read played five games for Minnesota and had six shots on goal, but failed to tally a point in that time. In Iowa, he has two points in seven games. With Matt Hendricks feeling better and able to fill in when needed, Read became expendable.
- It looks like there may not be a “super line” in Bakersfield after all as center Cooper Marody, who many expected would center the elite line of Jesse Puljujarvi and Kailer Yamamoto, has been recalled by the Edmonton Oilers Sunday. Marody will be making his second appearance with the team this year as he played two games with the Oilers earlier, but failed to score. He has three goals and 10 points in seven Bakersfield games this year.
- CapFriendly reports that the Los Angeles Kings have assigned forward Matt Luff to the Ontario Reign of the AHL. The 21-year-old failed to score in three games and will return to Ontario where he compiled six goals and 12 points in just eight games.
Pacific Notes: Oilers Defense, Hertl, Desjardins
The Edmonton Oilers haven’t had much success when it comes to trades in recent years, but the team may be able to plug some of their offensive woes with a trade. The Athletic’s Allan Mitchell (subscription required) writes that the Oilers are actually overloaded in left-handed defensive depth throughout their system and might be able to use that depth as a way to send off for some veteran help at the wing that might allow the team to give extra development time to Jesse Puljujarvi and Kailer Yamamoto, who both were sent down to Bakersfield this afternoon.
Mitchell writes the team is loaded on the left side with two top-four players, including Oscar Klefbom and Darnell Nurse and still have Kris Russell who is playing on the right side. After that, the team has Ethan Bear as well as a host of left-handed defensemen in Bakersfield, including Caleb Jones, Ryan Stanton, William Lagesson, Keegan Lowe and Kevin Gravel. That’s a lot of options for a team, should they consider moving someone like Russell, Lagesson or Jones to add some depth at some point this winter.
- Curtis Palshenka of the Mercury News reports that San Jose Sharks forward Tomas Hertl, who has missed the last three game with a head injury, is starting to feel better and may be able to return Sunday for their game against the Calgary Flames. He still needs to go through more testing, but remains positive. Hertl has been a key piece to the Sharks’ first line, including Logan Couture and Timo Meier. The 24-year-old is producing a point a game so far this year with five goals and nine assists in 14 games.
- One change the new Los Angeles Kings head coach Willie Desjardins intends to implement is to cut down shift times. Helene Elliot of the Los Angeles Times writes that the coach intends to cut all shifts by 10 seconds, so that lines are only on the ice for a little over 40 seconds. “If you look at teams’ regular-season shifts and then look at their playoff shifts, their playoff shifts are always shorter,” he said, “and that’s because the intensity of the game goes up. And I think we have to bring our playoff game right now. I think we have to get our shifts shorter and I think that’s something our guys have to buy into, to be successful.” Desjardins also adds that he wants to cut down the ATOI of both Anze Kopitar and Drew Doughty, who both lead the team in ice time at their respective positions.
Winnipeg Jets’ Kulikov To Miss At Least A Month
Winnipeg Jets’ coach Paul Maurice said today that the team will be without defenseman Dmitry Kulikov for at least a month with an upper-body injury, according to Winnipeg Sun’s Ken Wiebe. Kulikov went down Friday after being checked hard by Colorado’s Gabriel Bourque.
Kulikov, who received a three-year, $13MM deal last summer, hasn’t had a major impact on the team this season as he was only playing in his sixth game of the year Friday, averaging just 10:59 ATOI in those games with one assist. Kulikov has had trouble finding a regular spot in the Jets’ defensive lineup and this injury won’t improve his chances when he eventually returns. With two years remaining on Kulikov’s deal, it already looks like the team made significant mistakes when it locked up both Kulikov and goaltender Steve Mason to free agent contracts in the summer of 2017. Mason has since been traded off (the team had to trade off Joel Armia and two draft picks to do it)and currently is out of the NHL, while Kulikov has dealt with numerous injuries and defensive inconsistencies that saw him get benched during the playoffs a year ago.
The team said they will recall a defenseman, but the team may wait until after tonight’s Manitoba Moose’s game tonight. It’s likely the team will promote their top AHL defenseman of the night, which would likely be between Tucker Poolman and Sami Niku.
Minor Transactions: 11/09/18
The NHL is unusually active for a Friday night, with six games on the schedule including the Hall of Fame game in Toronto. The New Jersey Devils will take part in the game honoring the new inductees which include Martin Brodeur, Martin St. Louis, Willie O’Ree, Alexander Yakushev, Jayna Hefford and Gary Bettman. As the league prepares to induct some of the greatest to play the game, we’ll keep track on all the more minor moves around the league.
- The Tampa Bay Lightning have reassigned Cameron Gaunce to the Syracuse Crunch of the AHL after almost two weeks with the team. Gaunce never did suit up for the Lightning, and will now try to get back into game shape with the Crunch. The 28-year old defenseman will likely be the extra man called up several times this season, though his playing time is expected to be restricted to mostly the minor leagues.
- Given John Klingberg‘s injury, the Dallas Stars have recalled defenseman Joel Hanley from the minor leagues. They’ve also moved both Klingberg and Alexander Radulov to injured reserve, though the latter’s stint is retroactive to October 30th. Hanley has five points in 11 AHL games this season, and will try to force his way into the NHL lineup now that they’re missing a big part of their blue line for at least a month.
- The Ottawa Senators have returned Erik Burgdoerfer to the minor leagues, even as they start their short two-game road trip in Florida. Burgdoerfer has played in just a single game with Ottawa this season, and will spend most of the year in the minor leagues.
- Jesper Bratt has been officially activated by the Devils and should be in the lineup tonight, a move that needed no corresponding transaction given that Eddie Lack cleared waivers and can remain in the minor leagues. Lack had been on conditioning loan to the Binghamton Devils and will now stay there on assignment. The Devils have sent Kurtis Gabriel back to the AHL though, in order to activate Stefan Noesen for tonight’s game.
- The Anaheim Ducks have returned a pair of young players to the AHL. The team announced that forward Sam Carrick and defenseman Andy Welinski have been reassigned to the San Diego Gulls. Both players have logged considerable time in the minors already this season, but have only suited up for eight games total for the Ducks.
Bruins Notes: McAvoy, Rask, JFK
Charlie McAvoy has been out of the Boston Bruins lineup for quite some time under unclear circumstances, but today the team confirmed that the young defenseman has been dealing with concussion symptoms. McAvoy has been “in the protocol” since suffering the injury on October 18th against the Edmonton Oilers, but is working his way back to getting into the lineup.
The Bruins have kept their head above water in the interim, but could really use McAvoy and his minute-munching abilities. The team currently sits at 8-5-2, but have fallen seven points behind the Atlantic Division leading Tampa Bay Lightning and gave up eight goals to the Vancouver Canucks last night. McAvoy has been their best defenseman on most nights he’s in the lineup, and has left a big hole with his absence.
- The Bruins have granted a leave of absence for goaltender Tuukka Rask, meaning he won’t be with the team for the next few days. GM Don Sweeney confirmed it is not health related, and instead is just a personal matter that Rask had to deal with. The team will be leaning on Jaroslav Halak for at least Saturday’s game against the Toronto Maple Leafs, and will have to recall a goaltender from Providence to serve as the backup.
- Lastly, the team recalled Jakob Forsbacka Karlsson today to give them some more help up front, and will be starting him as the third line center tomorrow night. “JFK” as he is referred to has just four points in nine games for the Providence Bruins this season, but still holds plenty of promise as a future top-six player. Boston has struggled to find offense from anyone outside of their top line, and will now try just about anything to spark their group up front.
New Jersey Devils Place Eddie Lack On Waivers
Friday: Lack has cleared waivers and can be assigned to the minor leagues.
Thursday: The New Jersey Devils had been carrying three goaltenders on their roster since Cory Schneider returned from his hip injury, as even though Eddie Lack was on a conditioning stint he still counted towards the 23-man group. Now they’ve dealt with that situation, as Elliotte Friedman of Sportsnet reports that Lack has been placed on waivers.
Lack, 30, never did get into a game for the Devils this season as Keith Kinkaid was instead given the starting role. The veteran backup has bounced around the last few years, and played in just eight games over the last two seasons. That’s a far cry from the 2014-15 campaign when he went 18-13-4 for the Vancouver Canucks and was among the league leaders with a .921 save percentage. Lack at that point looked like a goaltender who would lock down an NHL crease for years to come, but has since seen his performance decline rapidly.
There are teams who could take a chance on the 6’4″ goaltender though, as they deal with injuries or inconsistency from their own starters. Los Angeles, Arizona, Ottawa and others could all potentially use a veteran netminder to give them some more experience in the crease, and with Lack’s $650K salary he would cost just as much or less than their current options. Still, there have been other goaltenders like Anton Forsberg and Mike Condon who have passed through unscathed already this season for one reason or another, and Lack may experience the same. If he does, he’ll be solid depth for the Devils at the minor league level.
John Klingberg Out At Least Four Weeks
The Dallas Stars won their game last night over the San Jose Sharks, but are coming out of it with a huge loss from the roster. John Klingberg has suffered a hand injury and needed surgery this morning. Head coach Jim Montgomery told reporters including Mark Stepneski of NHL.com that the star defenseman will be out at least four weeks.
It’s hard to imagine a time when the Stars are well prepared to deal with the loss of a superstar talent like Klingberg, one of the league’s premiere offensive defenseman and powerplay quarterback, but here we are. With the emergence of Miro Heiskanen on the Dallas blue line, the team should be able to fill in the holes and remain competitive. The first powerplay unit will now belong to the 19-year old rookie, who is already logging more than 22 minutes a night and could see even more in Klingberg’s absence. Heiskanen has gone from a relatively unknown Finnish player, to third overall draft pick to Calder Trophy hopeful in the span of just a few years, and now will assume the role of number one defenseman on Dallas, for the next month at least.
That doesn’t mean that losing Klingberg won’t hurt, it will. The Stars are playing better this season and are now 9-6-1 on the year, but still have plenty of work to do to become the Stanley Cup contenders that they hope to be. Some of that work will be accomplished when Radulov returns from injury—something he is eligible to do at any time given the backdating of his IR stint—but more needs to come from the lower part of the forward group. Devin Shore and Jason Spezza are the only two players not named Radulov, Jamie Benn or Tyler Seguin with ten or more points on the season, while expected contributors like Blake Comeau and Valeri Nichushkin have been almost invisible on the scoresheet. In Klingberg’s absence, the team will need players like that to step up and provide some offense, instead of just keeping the puck out of their own net.
Brooks Orpik Placed On Long-Term Injured Reserve
The Washington Capitals are pressed right up against the salary cap this season, and because of this have been forced to use long-term injured reserve once again. Brooks Orpik has been placed on LTIR, meaning the veteran defenseman will not be able to play for at least another six games as he works he way back from a lower-body injury. The team is also missing John Carlson from practice today with a lower-body injury, meaning they have recalled Jonas Siegenthaler and Aaron Ness from the minor leagues to fill in. According to CapFriendly’s calculations, the team is now exceeding the upper salary cap ceiling by using the flexibility created by LTIR.
Orpik, 38, went through an interesting series of transactions this summer that started when he was included in a trade to the Colorado Avalanche. The Avalanche quickly explained that they had only taken his contract on in order to keep the price of goaltender Philipp Grubauer low, and tried to trade Orpik to someone who would actually use him. When they couldn’t find a taker, Colorado bought out the remainder of Orpik’s contract and allowed him to seek out a new deal on the open market. That deal came back with the Capitals, for the low price of $1MM plus some performance bonuses. That was enough, given he is still earning $1.5MM from the Avalanche this year and next.
Though he was much less expensive this time around, the Capitals haven’t been pushing Orpik to the press box as a veteran extra. Instead, he’s played in ten games already this season and has recorded two points. That even included a goal, his first regular season tally since the 2015-16 season. Even though his minutes have been reduced, Orpik is still a legitimate piece of the Washington blue line and will be needed at other times this season. For now though, he’ll have to wait on the sideline and recover while the team inserts young Siegenthaler into the lineup.
Injuries Mounting Up Front For Montreal Canadiens
The Montreal Canadiens are off to an impressive start this season, with Max Domi and Jonathan Drouin leading an improved forward group that have contributed to the team’s 46 goals in 15 games (not counting tonight). Even as the team deals with the long-term recovery of captain Shea Weber, they’ve kept their heads above water with a 8-5-2 record. With Carey Price still not playing at the level he’s capable of, there is plenty of enthusiasm in Montreal.
Unfortunately, that enthusiasm took a hit today when the team released updates on a pair of forwards. Paul Byron, who is dealing with a lower-body injury, will now be evaluated on a week-to-week basis and is out for the foreseeable future. The 29-year old forward, who was signed to a four-year extension at the end of training camp, hasn’t played yet in November and now seems in danger of missing the rest of the month. A key player given his speed and penalty killing ability, Byron has also been one of the team’s best goal scorers at even strength the last two seasons.
Perhaps even worse than the news on Byron is that of Joel Armia, who suffered a knee injury against the New York Rangers on Tuesday night. Armia will be out for six to eight weeks, meaning he very well could be out until after Christmas. Armia had seven points in his first 15 games and had logged time on both the powerplay and penalty kill this season. That versatility will be sorely missed over the next couple of months, especially if Byron can’t come back soon.
Tomas Plekanec, who has played only three games this season, is getting closer to a return but isn’t the type of player who can make a huge impact anymore. What these injuries might mean is another chance for Nikita Scherbak, who has been playing on a conditioning stint in the minor leagues. As CapFriendly noted yesterday, the Canadiens can keep him in the minor leagues for another few days but will have to make a decision on what to do with him at some point. The team already lost Jacob de La Rose when they tried to sneak him through waivers, and wouldn’t want to risk Scherbak to the same fate.
Montreal hasn’t been able to deal with injuries very well over the last few years, but with some added depth thanks to the emergence of Jesperi Kotkaniemi and acquisition of Domi perhaps this season will be a different story.