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Canucks Continue To Look For NHL Fit For Sam Gagner

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One of the more surprising decisions this season has come from the Vancouver Canucks, who found themselves with too many forwards to start the year. Because of that, the team waived and assigned veteran Sam Gagner to the minor leagues, loaning him to the Toronto Marlies so that he could be close to family if he were to be playing in the AHL. That looked like the end of his Canucks career, but amazingly just a few weeks later Vancouver found themselves in need and recalled Gagner once again. In fact, after his recall Gagner immediately went to an important spot in the lineup and rejoined a Canucks powerplay.

Now, the team has sent Gagner back to the minor leagues once again, and back to Toronto to play for the Marlies. Again it would seem like his time is over in Vancouver, but at this point no one can be sure. What is known though, is that Canucks GM Jim Benning is open to moving Gagner to another NHL team if he can find a good fit for him. The Vancouver executive told The Province that the team continues to look for opportunities for Gagner around the league and notes that as teams start incurring injuries there could be an opening.

Just this week, Elliotte Friedman of Sportsnet suggested that the Chicago Blackhawks could have some interest in Gagner, though Benning would not comment on specifics. As with almost any team acquiring the veteran forward, the finances might be tight. Gagner carries a cap hit of $3.15MM this season, but it’s the additional year on his current contract that quite severely limits his appeal. Taking him on at this point would be a risk for any team hoping to recapture some of the magic that made him a 50-point man in Columbus two seasons ago, a mark he had never reached previously in his career. If it goes south, like it has in Vancouver, being on the hook for another $3.15MM next season is a deal breaker for a team like Chicago.

If then it would take a retained salary transaction to move him, what is the benefit for the Canucks? The team currently has plenty of cap space to carry his buried contract, and he’s shown the ability to step right back into an NHL role and produce. Gagner did after all have three points in seven games after being recalled from Toronto, and played admirably given the circumstances. The value he brings as a veteran option that can be recalled at any time may be worth more than any return, meaning a trade would be entirely for his sake. That might be exactly what happens in this situation though, as Benning told The Province: “if something is there, we’ll do it.”

Minor Transactions: 12/05/18

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Auston Matthews and Jack Eichel put on a show in Buffalo, while the 80’s were alive and well in Columbus last night with the Blue Jackets and Flames combining for 15 goals. After an extremely entertaining Tuesday night, the league has just three games on the docket for this evening. As teams prepare for those games and the upcoming weekend, we’ll be right here keeping track of all the minor moves.

  • Dean Kukan hasn’t played for the Columbus Blue Jackets in some time, so the team has decided to send him to the AHL on a conditioning loan. That loan can last up to 14 days and will give Kukan a chance to get his legs back under him in a real game. The 25-year old defenseman has played in just six contests this season, and would require waivers to be sent to AHL for any longer.
  • The Buffalo Sabres have sent Matt Tennyson back to the minor leagues, meaning Lawrence Pilut has likely earned himself a longer look in the NHL lineup. Tennyson has still yet to get into a game with the Sabres this season, but has one point in seven contests for the Rochester Americans.
  • Reid Duke, the first player in Vegas Golden Knights history, has been recalled by the club for the first time during a regular season. The Golden Knights have sent down Daniel Carr in his place, making Duke the 13th forward on the roster. Interestingly, David Schoen of the Las Vegas Review-Journal reports that Max Pacioretty actually “tweaked something,” meaning Duke could potentially get into the lineup before long. The 22-year old forward has 13 points in 22 games for the Chicago Wolves this season.

Gabe Vilardi Sent To AHL On Conditioning Loan

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When it rains it pours for the Los Angeles Kings, who have experienced periods of abject sorrow this season but are now finally seeing some improved luck. After activating Jonathan Quick from injured reserve, the team has also sent top prospect Gabe Vilardi to the Ontario Reign for a conditioning stint. Though this by no means assures that Vilardi is healthy enough to get back to the daily grind of a professional season, it does mean he’s approaching that level with his rehab and could be back on the ice soon.

In a season that is quickly slipping away from the Kings, Vilardi’s injury rehab is a cause for excitement. The 19-year old forward was selected 11th overall in 2017 but has dealt with troubling back injuries since then that robbed him of much of the 2017-18 season and all of this year so far. One of the most impressive puck-protecting forwards at the junior level, he still managed to record 80 points in 48 games for the Kingston Frontenacs last year and holds incredible NHL potential. Still, there’s work to be done after missing so much key development time in his young career.

Vilardi would actually not be allowed to play in the AHL under normal circumstances given his age and CHL eligibility, but can appear in three games for the Reign under this injury conditioning loan. Jon Rosen of LA Kings Insider also adds that the team could petition to have him allowed to stay longer, though at that point there might be good reason to just send him back to junior to have him continue to develop at the lower level.

Others keeping a close eye on the Kings prospect will be the Canadian World Junior management group, who could potentially add him to their squad for the upcoming tournament if he’s healthy enough to compete. Vilardi missed out on that opportunity a year ago, despite obvious interest from the team.

Anaheim Ducks Return Max Comtois To Juniors

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The Anaheim Ducks have finally decided the fate of rookie Max Comtois, who found himself on the outside of Anaheim’s top-six in recent weeks. Despite having already burned the first year of his entry-level deal and the fact that the team couldn’t send the 19-year-old prospect to the AHL, the team decided to return him to the Drummondville Voltigeurs of the QMJHL, according to TVA’s Mikael Lalancette (translation required).

Comtois provided the Ducks with a young top-six forward at the start of the season when the team was overwhelmed with injuries to many of their veterans, including Corey Perry, Ryan Kesler, Patrick Eaves, Ondrej Kase were placed on injured reserve to start the season. While some of those players starting getting healthy, other players went down after that, including Ryan Getzlaf and Jakob Silfverberg, allowing Comtois to continue his play. The rookie reached the 10-game mark with successful numbers, posting two goals and seven assists, before having to go on injured reserve himself with a lower-body injury. Once returned, the team sent him on a conditioning loan to the AHL where he scored just once in four appearances. However, with most of Anaheim’s veterans returned and the team starting to show success, there was little opportunity for playing time at the NHL level and the team was forced to make a decision about Comtois. While he had already burned the first year of his entry-level deal by one game, the team was not allowed to send him to the AHL permanently. So to guarantee quality playing time, the team had to return him to his junior team.

It’s a big deal for his new junior team, however, as he will return to the QMJHL for his final season there, but now joins the Drummondville Voltigeurs, who gave up a fortune in draft capital to acquire Comtois’ rights from the Victoriaville Tigres back in June. Drummondville gambled on moving their 2018 first and second-round picks as well as their 2019 first and second-round picks to get Comtois only to see him make Anaheim’s roster, which looked like a disaster in October. Instead, the gamble paid off as the Voltigeurs get the star forward after all for a team competing for a title this year as they currently boast the fifth-overall record in the QMJHL.

Florida Panthers Loan Maxim Mamin To KHL

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Friday: Mamin has been officially loaned to CSKA Moscow.

Monday: Though their news release earlier today stated that Maxim Mamin was on his way to the Sprinfield Thunderbirds, Darren Dreger of TSN reports the Florida Panthers are doing something different with their young forward. Mamin will instead be loaned back to the KHL and join CSKA Moscow for the remainder of the season. Mamin’s NHL contract includes a European Assignment Clause, meaning he could force a move like this if the Panthers tried to send him to the minor leagues.

Mamin, 23, came over to North America last season and split the year between the Thunderbirds and Panthers, showing off his high-end playmaking skills at the minor league level especially. The sixth-round pick from 2016 had already found success in the KHL, but couldn’t replicate it during his short NHL experience. This year he was still without a point through seven games, and had been a healthy scratch more times than not. The fact that he was in the NHL for as long as he was may have been because the Panthers knew they would lose him if they tried to send him down, but they eventually needed to make a decision given their place in the standings.

Florida is now tied for last in the entire Eastern Conference and have just seven wins on the season, in a year which they were expected to challenge for a playoff position in the Atlantic Division. The team has oodles of young talent in the way of Aleksander Barkov, Vincent Trocheck, Jonathan Huberdeau, Aaron Ekblad, Mike Matheson and more, but haven’t been able to put things together this year. Mamin was assigned to the minor leagues earlier today alongside Denis Malgin in order to get Micheal Haley back into the lineup, to hopefully provide some physicality and spark to a listless group.

The question for the Panthers now is whether they’ll be able to convince Mamin to come back next season. Though he’ll remain under contract with the Panthers for the rest of this season, the young forward is scheduled to become a restricted free agent in the summer and could very well choose to re-sign and stay with CSKA. His entry-level contract is set to expire, and he is not eligible for salary arbitration. The Panthers will retain his rights by issuing him a qualifying offer, but given the fact that there is no deadline for a deal to be signed the lure of the KHL will be tough to compete with.

Steven Santini Sent To AHL On Conditioning Loan

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The New Jersey Devils should be getting back another young player soon, as according to Tom Gulitti of NHL.com they today sent Steven Santini to the AHL on a conditioning loan as he works his way back from a broken jaw. Santini suffered the injury a month ago, and will need to get some game experience in before jumping back into the NHL fires.

The 23-year old defenseman has only played in a single game this season, and hasn’t quite caught on as a full-time member of the Devils. Playing in 36 games last season, Santini recorded 10 points but did not suit up in the playoffs for the club. That makes just 76 NHL games so far in his short career since being selected 42nd overall in 2013, and there is no clear spot waiting for him when he returns from the minor leagues.

Vancouver Canucks Recall Sam Gagner From Toronto Marlies

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The Vancouver Canucks announced that they have recalled center Sam Gagner from the Toronto Marlies of the AHL. The 29-year-old failed to earn a spot on the Canucks NHL roster out of training camp, but rather than bury him in Utica with their AHL team, the Canucks opted to loan him to the Marlies where he could be closer to his home in Toronto.

While a team that loans a player out has the right to recall them at any time, that’s a rare occurrence as it usually means the team intends to break it off with the player. Gagner signed a three-year, $9.45MM deal last summer, but struggled with Vancouver, finishing with just 10 goals and 31 points in 74 games and with a rebuild underway and a team loaded with a number of talented centers on the roster and in the AHL, the team opted to go a different direction.

Regardless, the recall also could have more to do with Gagner’s success with the Marlies as he has posted seven goals and 15 points in 15 AHL games and has proven to be a dynamic player as one of the Marlies’ top players. While the team does have a plethora of players on injured reserve at the moment, the team may also be recalling him to showcase him to other teams that may be looking for a bottom-six center. If the Canucks can unload Gagner’s contract at any point, that would free up more cap space in the future as he still has another year at $3.15MM.

Washington Capitals Loan Axel Jonsson-Fjallby To Sweden

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There were reports earlier this year out of Sweden that Axel Jonsson-Fjallby would exercise his European Assignment Clause to return home for the remainder of this season, but the Washington Capitals shot them down saying their young prospect had no plans on leaving “at this time.” That time seems to have passed now, since the Capitals have now loaned Jonsson-Fjallby to Djurgardens of the SHL. Isabelle Khurshudyan of the Washington Post tweets that the move is “not ideal” for the Capitals, noting that they wanted him playing in their minor league system.

The 20-year old Jonsson-Fjallby scored just three points in his 16 games with the Hershey Bears, but could likely still benefit from being close at hand for the Capitals development program. Instead, he’ll head back to Sweden where he finished last season with a strong playoff performance and will likely be given more responsibility. The fifth-round pick has already come a long way from his humble draft beginnings in 2016, including winning a silver medal with the Swedish World Junior Championship team last year. There is still plenty of work before he becomes an NHL player, but he’s well on his way to a successful professional career already.

Washington still hasn’t received a single NHL appearance from anyone they drafted in 2016, and their lack of development is starting to show on the fringes of the roster. Even Jakub Vrana, the full-time player most recently drafted by the Capitals still hasn’t established himself as a real force in the league and he stands alone in terms of real roster options from the last five drafts. While several other players will surely eventually establish themselves at the NHL level, the Capitals will need a breakthrough sooner rather than later if they’re to keep up their championship pedigree.

Minor Transactions: 11/13/18

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Another busy Tuesday night in the NHL as nine games are scheduled to take place, with the Minnesota Wild welcoming in the Stanley Cup champions, and the Nashville Predators battling the San Jose Sharks. It’s a busy night, but teams are already working to finalize their rosters and make small changes. We’ll be here to keep track of all of them.

  • Erik Cernak has been recalled by the Tampa Bay Lightning, as Anton Stralman deals with an injury. Cernak, another one of the interesting prospects in the Lightning system, has seven points in nine games for the Syracuse Crunch this season. The talented defenseman combines both size and skill to get by, and could make his NHL debut this week if the team inserts him into the lineup.
  • Micheal Haley has been dealing with personal issues and entered the player assistance earlier this season but will now get a chance to get back on the ice. The Florida Panthers have assigned the veteran forward to the minor leagues on a conditioning loan, in order to get him back into game shape. Haley, 32, played 75 games for the Panthers last season, the most in any single season of his career. He recorded 212 penalty minutes in those 75 games, which easily led the league.
  • Pavel Zacha is back in the NHL, recalled by the New Jersey Devils after they placed Brian Boyle on injured reserve. Zacha had recently been sent down to the minor leagues to regain his confidence and scoring touch, which he seemed to do with five points in four games for the Binghamton Devils. The 21-year old forward is still without a point this season in the NHL, and will be a key part of any turnaround the Devils have in store this year.
  • The Chicago Blackhawks have recalled Gustav Forsling from the minor leagues, while placing Marcus Kruger on injured reserve retroactive to November 9th. Forsling comes into a defense corps that is without Brandon Davidson for the time being as he deals with a leg injury, and one that has struggled recently to keep the puck out of their net. It doesn’t come as much of a surprise that Forsling is on his way up to join forces with new Chicago head coach Jeremy Colliton, but it is still to be seen whether he can help the Blackhawks break their current eight-game losing streak.
  • The Colorado Avalanche have continued to send players back to the minors during homestands, today assigning A.J. Greer to the AHL. That’s the benefit of having an affiliate so close, something the Avalanche are now experiencing with the Colorado Eagles entering the AHL. Greer has played just a single game for the Avalanche this season.
  • Ben Gleason almost scored his first NHL goal in his first NHL game this past weekend, but after it was tipped by a player in the slot he was forced to settle for just his first point. Now, after two games with the Dallas Stars, Gleason will need to wait for his next opportunity to score that elusive goal. He has been sent down to the Texas Stars.

Valentin Zykov Assigned To AHL On Conditioning Loan

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Earlier this month the Carolina Hurricanes were testing the trade market for young forward Valentin Zykov, but apparently haven’t found a taker yet. Instead, the team today announced they will assign Zykov to the minor leagues on a conditioning loan, allowing him to get back on the ice with a professional team instead of watching from the press box or end of the bench. The 23-year old forward has played in 13 games for the Hurricanes this season, but is averaging fewer than 10 minutes of ice time. He’ll now get a chance to get his development back on track with the Charlotte Checkers.

Zykov, 23, was originally selected 37th overall by the Los Angeles Kings in the 2013 draft after a very successful rookie season in North America. Coming over from Russia to play for the Baie-Comeau Drakkar of the QMJHL, the talented forward scored 40 goals and was named both QMJHL and CHL Rookie of the Year. That shot his star and draft stock skyward, and many believed he was destined for greatness at the NHL level. Unfortunately, that success hasn’t come yet as Zykov has been limited in his NHL experience. After failing to find much offensive success in the AHL for the Kings, he was flipped to Carolina as part of a deal to acquire Kris Versteeg and joined the Checkers. In the years since, Zykov has only played 25 NHL contests and been given rare opportunities to really show what he can do offensively.

Still, his potential does pose something of a problem for the Hurricanes. Zykov would likely be claimed if the team tried to sneak him through waivers at this point, if only by a rebuilding team that believes they could take a chance with the former top prospect. Other teams around the league likely know that decision is coming, and are wary to trade any real assets to Carolina for his services. Instead, the Hurricanes will try to either spark his confidence or showcase his skills with a stint in the minor leagues where he will likely be given plenty of opportunity with the Checkers’ top line and powerplay unit. He can be kept in the minor leagues for two weeks.

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