Minor Transactions: 10/30/18
After a quiet Monday night in the NHL we’ve got 11 games on tap for tonight, including the Vegas Golden Knights visiting Nashville and Connor McDavid trying to continue the Oilers winning ways against Minnesota. As always, we’ll be here to keep track of all the minor moves around the league:
- According to Rick Dhaliwal of Sportsnet, the Vancouver Canucks will be recalling Darren Archibald from the minor leagues. Though superstar rookie Elias Pettersson returned with a bang, the Canucks lost Brandon Sutter to injury last night and needed another forward to fill out the roster. Sutter will be out “weeks” with an upper-body injury, giving Archibald another chance at the NHL. Brendan Gaunce is also on his way up for the Canucks according to Patrick Johnston of the Vancouver Sun.
- Torey Krug has been activated from injured reserve and will be back in the Boston Bruins lineup tonight, while Urho Vaakanainen has been swapped to take his place on the shelf. The latter suffered a concussion when hit in the head with a Mark Borowiecki elbow, and is still out indefinitely. Krug meanwhile hasn’t played at all this season and will offer the Bruins some much needed experience and puck-moving ability on the back end.
- Eric Gryba has been sent back to the minor leagues by the New Jersey Devils, as they activate Ben Lovejoy from injured reserve. Gryba can go straight to the minors since he cleared waivers earlier this month, and played only two games on his recent call-up. Lovejoy’s return comes after a near two week absence following a lower-body injury suffered on October 18th.
- Sven Andrighetto has ended up on injured reserve for the Colorado Avalanche, giving them cause to recall Sheldon Dries and A.J. Greer from the minor leagues. Andrighetto suffered a lower-body injury just a few games after his most recent return from injury, and will now spend even more time on the sidelines watching the Avalanche compete for a playoff spot.
Gustav Olofsson Out Six Months Following Shoulder Surgery
It has been a rough month for defenseman Gustav Olofsson. After suffering a shoulder injury in training camp with Minnesota, he eventually was waived and passed through unclaimed. He then was flipped to Montreal but in just his second game with their AHL affiliate in Laval, he suffered a recurrence of the injury. Arpon Basu of The Athletic notes (Twitter link) that this latest injury will keep him shelved for six months after undergoing successful surgery today. Barring a faster-than-expected recovery, this will end his season.
Olofsson is no stranger to shoulder issues as he missed almost his entire rookie year with one back in 2014-15 as well as part of the 2015-16 campaign with another one. Despite that, he still showed some potential with the Wild and got into 41 games with the team last season. Clearly, Montreal liked his upside as they dealt a decent prospect in winger Will Bitten to acquire him after he cleared waivers to give them some more depth on the back end. Anticipating a lengthy recovery, the Canadiens signed blueliner Ryan Sproul to a minor league tryout deal to take Olofsson’s place on the roster last week.
The 23-year-old is in the final season of a two-year contract that pays him $775K. That means he’ll be owed a qualifying offer of just under $814K and given that this will be the second time in five seasons that he effectively is missing an entire year due to injury, it’s not exactly a given that Montreal will be tendering him that offer in June.
Latest On William Nylander, Toronto Maple Leafs
The Toronto Maple Leafs will be without one of the league’s brightest young stars for at least a month, as Auston Matthews has been ruled out with a shoulder injury. Immediately speculation returned about restricted free agent William Nylander, who could now be more important than ever for the Maple Leafs as they try to stay relevant without Matthews in the lineup. Today though, Darren Dreger was on TSN radio and explained that as of the weekend there was still a “pretty wide gap” between the Maple Leafs and Nylander’s camp.
There have been in-person meetings between Maple Leafs GM Kyle Dubas and both Nylander and his agent Lewis Gross over the last few weeks, and things had apparently gone relatively positively. Several reports surfaced that the two sides were having ongoing dialogue, but nothing has materialized to this point. With just a few days remaining in October, we’re just over a month away from the December 1st deadline that would stop Nylander from playing at all this season. Even with Matthews’ return that would be a worst-case outcome for both sides, given their early season success and belief that they can compete for the Stanley Cup.
The final restricted free agent this season, Nylander is looking for a long-term deal if possible that would buy out several UFA seasons. That would require the cap hit to be substantial, something the Maple Leafs need to be careful of given the other contract they’ll need to sign soon. Speculation about a potential trade continues, with Dreger saying that the team “at least has to consider it” before long. Toronto has given absolutely no indication that they would be willing to trade their young forward, but there is certainly interest around the league.
Interestingly, the Maple Leafs are not planning on recalling another forward as of right now, leaving them with just 12 healthy bodies up front. Adding Nylander in would get them back to 13 forwards, but nothing seems imminent unless there has been a change recently. The Maple Leafs are at home this entire week, and will travel to Pittsburgh for Saturday night.
Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images
Pittsburgh Penguins Place Kevin Czuczman On Waivers
Monday: Czuczman has cleared waivers and can now be assigned to the AHL should the Penguins decide to do so.
Sunday: The Pittsburgh Penguins have placed defenseman Kevin Czuczman on waivers today, according to TVA’s Renaud Lavoie. He suffered a shoulder injury during training camp and was placed on season-opening injured reserve.
The 27-year-old, who is expected to be out until December, had to go through the formality of waivers at some point and with the defenseman’s continued progression through his shoulder injury, it makes sense to do it now. He has already been with the AHL team throughout the early part of the season of his recovery.
Czuczman spent all of last year with the Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins in the AHL, finishing with four goals and 35 points in 71 games. Entering his fifth season in the AHL, he will be brought back slowly and eventually placed on one of WBS’s top defensive lines after he is fully healthy. Czuczman chose to re-sign with a one-year, $650K contract with Pittsburgh just before free agency opened this summer.
Auston Matthews Placed On Injured Reserve
The Toronto Maple Leafs are coming off an emotional come from behind win against the Winnipeg Jets on Saturday night, but the game came with a heavy price tag. Auston Matthews was injured in the game, and the team announced this morning that he will be out for at least four weeks. Matthews suffered a shoulder injury, and has been moved to injured reserve.
It’s not the first time the Maple Leafs’ young star has dealt with an injury, as he experienced a similar shoulder problem last season. That injury was to his other side, but he’ll at least know what kind of work he needs to put in to get back to full strength. He will not undergo surgery, but the Maple Leafs are sure to take their time with getting him back on the ice as the club has their eyes set on the ultimate prize this season. Risking Matthews’ health by rushing him back at this point in the season is the last thing their sports science team will allow, meaning it could very well be more than four weeks depending on how the healing process goes.
Matthews was off to an incredible start for Toronto, who are tied for first place in the entire NHL with an 8-3 record. Defeating the Jets consecutive games has put them ahead of the Tampa Bay Lightning, Montreal Canadiens and Boston Bruins in the Atlantic Division, but Matthews’ injury will certainly test their resolve. John Tavares will likely be asked to carry even more offensive responsibility, while Nazem Kadri has been reunited with Mitch Marner to see if they can find some of the chemistry they experienced last season.
Metropolitan Notes: Johnson, Ferland, Boyd, Mayfield
Ever since the injury to defenseman Justin Schultz, there have been rumors that the Pittsburgh Penguins may have to upgrade their defense if they wanted to make a serious run for a Stanley Cup. Regardless, Penguins general manager Jim Rutherford stated that the team has enough depth to fill the hole in their defense from within.
Yet rumors continued, especially after defenseman Jack Johnson was found to be on the ice for five goals against in their 6-5 overtime victory Tuesday against the Edmonton Oilers. Again, fans began clamoring to get help to lessen the role of Johnson, after he signed a questionable five-year, $16.25MM deal in the offseason. However, head coach Mike Sullivan was quick to come to Johnson’s defense, according to Jason Mackey of the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette.
“The reality is when you break down the involvement of those goals, he had no responsibility for any of those goals-against,” Sullivan said of Johnson’s performance against the Oilers. “He just happened to be on the ice for them. We try to look at the game a whole lot closer than the fact that guy is on the ice when a goal is scored because a lot can happen in a team game.”
Rutherford furthered that notion by reiterating that the team intends to stand pat with regards to adding more defense.
“I certainly don’t see us having to go get another defenseman with the group of guys we have,” Rutherford said. “We have guys in Wilkes-Barre who can come in and play on top of who we have here.”
- While the Carolina Hurricanes made a number of moves this offseason, the team may be most happy with the play of Micheal Ferland, who came over in the trade with the Calgary Flames during the offseason. While the team’s main reason to bringing Ferland in was to add some toughness to a team that lacked it a year ago, the team seems to be getting quite a bit more than that out of him, according to Chip Alexander of the News & Observer. Ferland has found a place on the team’s top line with Sebastian Aho and Teuvo Teravainen, and has a team-high six goals, along with 10 points. If Ferland keeps that up, he could break his career-high of 21 goals this season.
- NHL.com’s Tom Gulitti writes Washington Capitals head coach Todd Reirden said that Travis Boyd will have some tests tomorrow to determine the progress of his injury when he sustained a lower-body injury during training camp and was placed on LTIR. Because he was placed on LTIR, he was forced to miss 10 games, meaning he can be activated now if he’s healthy. “We’ll have him checked out again tomorrow and then see how close he is to being able to play as soon as Thursday,” Reirden said (via NBC Sports J.J. Regan). “But we still need to get some tests done and see exactly where he’s at. He’s been coming along and for the most part seems to be fairly pain-free.” Boyd made eight appearances with the Capitals last year and was battling with Nic Dowd for the fourth-line center position, but lost that job after getting injured.
- New York Islanders head coach Barry Trotz said that perhaps the biggest surprise on the roster has been the play of defenseman Scott Mayfield, according to Newsday’s Andrew Gross. The 26-year-old has a goal and five points in seven games this season, but has really impressed the coach with his play even though Trotz admitted that he got off to a slow start at training camp.
Pacific Notes: Karlsson, Carlyle, Vilardi, Pacioretty
San Jose Sharks head coach Peter DeBoer broke up the defensive pairing of Erik Karlsson and Marc-Edouard Vlasic in the third period of Tuesday’s game. He then changed up all the defensive lines Friday and Karlsson once again was not playing next to Vlasic. It might seem that the merger of two defensive stars might be done, yet The Mercury News’ Paul Gackle writes that this is nothing more than a bump in the road for the Sharks and their elite pairing.
Gackle writes that DeBoer is well known for shaking up lines, either on offense or defense if the team is struggling, and this is no different. The belief is that for Karlsson to be the offensive force that the Sharks need, they need Vlasic to take a more defensive approach to his game and play more like Marc Methot, the defensive defenseman who was paired with Karlsson for many years in Ottawa.
With just a few weeks of the season underway, DeBoer is well aware that Karlsson needs time to adjust as will Vlasic who they still believe is the perfect complement to Karlsson.
- Josh Cooper of The Athletic (subscription required) writes that the Anaheim Ducks shouldn’t put too much blame on head coach Randy Carlyle, who has had a successful stint in his second tenure as head coach. However, while Carlyle has done quite a bit with certain key players such as Ryan Getzlaf, Rickard Rakell and Cam Fowler in the last few years, if the team cannot rebound from this, there could be a coaching change in store at some point this season, although the scribe believes that Carlyle will be given every opportunity to right the ship.
- Fox Sports Jon Rosen writes that the Los Angeles Kings got some good news on the injury front as the team is starting to integrate prospect Gabriel Vilardi into practice last week and although he’s wearing a non-contact sweater, it’s a positive step for the 19-year-old, who missed both training camp and the start of the season with back problems. The team’s 2017 first-round pick struggled through back problems last year at this time and missed the first half of the season before finally being returned to juniors to finish out his season. He contributed 22 goals and 56 points in just 32 games with the OHL’s Kingston Frontenacs. With the Kings in desperate need of offense this year, the team hopes that Vilardi can make a seamless transition to the NHL and contribute at some point soon.
- The Vegas Golden Knights have declared winger Max Pacioretty out for Sunday’s game against the Ottawa Senators. Pacioretty, who took a big hit to the head during Friday’s game against Tampa Bay, is listed as day-to-day still. Las Vegas Review-Journal’s David Schoen reports that he asked Golden Knights head coach Gerard Gallant whether the 29-year-old was in concussion protocol. Gallant’s response: “He’s got an upper-body injury.” Tomas Hyka will be in the lineup in place of Pacioretty. He has no points in five games.
Vancouver Canucks Place Anders Nilsson On Injured Reserve
The Vancouver Canucks may have themselves a goaltending issue after the team placed goaltender Anders Nilsson on injured reserve Sunday, according to Rick Dhaliwal of Sportsnet. While there was no apparent injury during a game, Dhaliwal reports that Nilsson is dealing with a hand injury and had no idea how long he will be out.
It’s a big blow to a young team that has been playing beyond expectations this season as they hold a 6-6-0 record so far this year. Nilsson has been the standout goaltender in net as he has fared better than Jacob Markstrom as the 28-year-old seems to be bouncing back from a rough first year in Vancouver after signing a two-year deal during the summer of 2017. Nilsson has a 2.67 GAA and a .912 save percentage in six games this year, solid numbers for a team that many had picked to be among the bottom teams in the league this year.
While Vancouver has a top-flight prospect goaltender in Thatcher Demko sitting in Utica of the AHL, Demko has been doing just that as he has yet to make his debut this season as he is still suffering from concussion symptoms that he suffered in a Sept. 22 preseason game when he collided with Calgary’s Mikael Backlund. Dhaliwal reported Thursday that Demko has seen a specialist and is doing better, but remains at least a week away before taking the next step in his recovery.
Instead the team recalled Richard Bachman from Utica, who will serve as backup. Unfortunately, the 31-year-old veteran has struggled in Utica so far this year. In five games, he’s posted a 4.23 GAA and a .865 save percentage, suggesting the team may be in trouble if Nilsson is out for any extended time.
Injury Notes: Luongo, Dubinsky, Jost, McQuaid
Not much has gone right for the Florida Panthers this season, but the team hopes that they may have good news on the horizon after goaltender Roberto Luongo was on the ice Sunday taking shots, according to NHL.com’s Jameson Olive. The team lost the oft-injured netminder during the second period of the season opener when teammate Frank Vatrano fell on him, forcing him out of the game with a lower-body injury.
The 39-year-old has fared well when healthy, but he hasn’t played more than 40 games since the 2015-16 season, which isn’t great considering the team is paying him $4.53MM per year for four more years. Head coach Bob Boughner was thrilled to see Luongo back on the ice, but has no intention of bringing him back until he is 110 percent healthy.
“He’s a huge part of this team. And you can see, no slight to anybody else, this team’s missed him,” Boughner said. “We’re a different team when he’s playing.”
- The Columbus Blue Jackets also had good news as winger Brandon Dubinsky participated in Sunday’s morning skate, according to The Athletic’s Aaron Portzline (subscription required). Dubinsky has been out since Oct. 8 with a partially torn oblique muscle, but there remains no timetable for his return. The original diagnosis for Dubinsky’s injury was four to six weeks. He hasn’t been out three weeks yet, but the 32-year-old said that he’d be disappointed if he didn’t play on the team’s upcoming road trip, starting Thursday and going through Sunday. “I would say I’m ahead of schedule, but I don’t want to come back early and set myself back a few weeks,” Dubinsky said. The veteran had only played in two games before getting injured, but already had a goal and an assist.
- The Colorado Avalanche may be without one of their top youngsters for a while as BSN’s Adrian Dater reported that the team will be without center Tyson Jost indefinitely. Jost, who suffered a head injury Friday in the third period against Ottawa, has a goal and an assist in 11 games so far this season. The 20-year-old scored 12 goals in his rookie season last year, but had worked his way higher up in the lineup this year.
- Newsday’s Colin Stephenson reports that New York Rangers head coach David Quinn said that defenseman Adam McQuaid is day-to-day with a lower-body injury he sustained in the first period Thursday. He is not expected to play Sunday against Los Angeles, which could open up another chance for defenseman Anthony DeAngelo, who has only appeared in two games for the Rangers this season.
Minor Transactions: 10/28/18
The Florida Panthers landed in Helsinki, Finland, this morning as they prepare for the NHL Global Series on Thursday and Friday against the Winnipeg Jets. In the meantime, injuries around the league are beginning to pile up and several teams are expected to make moves today to fill out their roster. Keep an eye here throughout the day to see what moves teams make.
- After initial reports suggested the Philadelphia Flyers intended to recall Taylor Leier from the Lehigh Valley Phantoms of the AHL, the team reversed course and recalled two different players as they announced they have recalled wingers Nicolas Aube-Kubel and Tyrell Goulbourne instead. To make room for the two, the Flyers have placed Corban Knight on injured reserve with a hand injury he sustained Saturday against the Islanders. The team also has loaned center Mikhail Vorobyev to Lehigh Valley. Vorboyev came out of training camp with the third-line center job, but after posting just two points in seven games, the team opted to make some changes. Aube-Kubel has been considered a strong candidate for promotion after posting a solid campaign in the AHL last year, posting 18 goals and 46 points. He already had three goals and seven points in eight games there this season. Golbourne played nine games for the Flyers last season and had four points in seven games this year.
- The Minnesota Wild announced they have recalled forward Jordan Greenway after sending him down to the Iowa Wild of the AHL on Friday. Greenway made two appearances for Iowa this weekend, but made the impact the team was hoping for Saturday when he registered a hat trick against the Colorado Eagles. The 6-foot-6 power forward out of Boston University hasn’t found his game in the NHL yet as he’s had just one assist in nine games. The hope as that his success in Iowa will build his confidence. No word whether there is a corresponding roster move.
- Although the team didn’t report it Saturday, CapFriendly announced that the Vancouver Canucks returned forward Darren Archibald to the Utica Comets of the AHL in order to make room on their roster when they activated center Elias Pettersson so he could play against Pittsburgh Saturday. The 19-year-old didn’t post a point as the Canucks were shutout, but Pettersson registered 19:01 of ice time. The 28-year-old Archibald got only into one game while filling in for Pettersson on the roster, and scored a goal in that game.
- The Tampa Bay Lightning announced they have recalled forward Danick Martel from his conditioning loan with the Syracuse Crunch of the AHL. The 23-year-old Martel posted great numbers with the Lehigh Valley Phantoms in the AHL last season and the Lightning claimed him off waivers during training camp. Tampa Bay must keep him on their roster or place him back on waivers, which would give the Philadelphia Flyers an opportunity to claim him back. The team sent Martel to Syracuse on a conditioning stint on Oct. 18, but was forced to bring him back now that the conditioning loan has expired. He had one assist in four games there. The team hopes Martel can fill in for the injured Ondrej Palat, who is day-to-day.
- The Boston Bruins announced they have returned defenseman Jeremy Lauzon to the Providence Bruins of the AHL. The blueliner was recalled on an emergency loan after the team placed defenseman Kevan Miller on injured reserve on Thursday. However, with the impending return of Torey Krug, who could make his season debut as early as Tuesday after injuring his ankle right before the start of the season, the team was ready to return the 21-year-old. Lauzon played two games for Boston in his short stint, but failed to register a point. He does have four points in six games with Providence. Mark Divver of the Providence Journal reports the move may just be a paper transactions as Lauzon is not slated to play for Providence today.
- The Anaheim Ducks announced several roster moves in advance of tonight’s game against San Jose. They assigned defensemen Andrej Sustr (who cleared waivers on Saturday) and Marcus Pettersson to San Diego of the AHL while recalling blueliners Andy Welinski and Jacob Larsson from the Gulls. Larsson and Welinski combined to serve as Anaheim’s third pairing against the Sharks.