Kyle Clifford Placed On Waivers
Nov 16: Clifford has cleared waivers, according to Elliotte Friedman of Sportsnet. He can now be assigned to the AHL.
Nov 15: The St. Louis Blues have placed Kyle Clifford on waivers, according to Jeff Marek of Sportsnet. With Scott Perunovich‘s recall, the team needed to clear more than $900K in cap space if they wanted to activate Oskar Sundqvist from injured reserve. Clifford, who makes $1MM this season, could be loaned to the minor leagues should he clear waivers, completely burying his cap hit.
Clifford, 30, has only played two games for the Blues this season, spending nearly two weeks in the COVID protocol. The fourth-line forward did register a point in one of those two matches, but has very limited offensive upside. That, added to the fact that he makes more than league minimum, makes him an unlikely claim candidate, though perhaps a team believes he can add some extra toughness to their bottom-six. There’s certainly a case for the experience factor, as Clifford has played in more than 700 NHL games and won the Stanley Cup twice with the Los Angeles Kings.
Sundqvist is a much more useful player though, and given Perunovich’s incredible start in the minor leagues, it was hard to justify keeping him down any longer. Making room for the young defenseman could potentially cost them Clifford, but with the team on a three-game losing streak and falling behind in the Central Division race, something needed to be changed.
Minor Transactions: 11/14/21
There’s a six-game slate in the NHL tonight on this Hall of Fame weekend, but transaction action keeps rolling along at lower levels of the game as well. As COVID rears its ugly head again, affecting the rosters of multiple teams this season, teams in the AHL and ECHL have had to adjust their rosters as they lose players to their NHL affiliates. Keep track of today’s minor transactions right here.
- As the Ottawa Senators deal with the NHL’s worst COVID outbreak this season, the AHL’s Belleville Senators made a minor trade yesterday, acquiring forward Chris Wilkie from the Rockford IceHogs in exchange for future considerations. Wilkie, a product of Colorado College, was originally a sixth-round draft pick of the Florida Panthers back in 2015. This is his second professional season, and he notched a goal and assist in his Belleville debut yesterday.
- Defenseman Alec Rauhauser was returned to the ECHL’s Greenville Swamp Rabbits today after being loaned to the AHL’s San Jose Barracuda. Rauhauser, an undrafted free agent, spent last season in the Florida Panthers organization after four seasons at Bowling Green State University. He made his AHL debut in one game with the Syracuse Crunch but spent the majority of the season in Greenville. In 52 games over two seasons, Rauhauser has 13 ECHL points.
- The AHL’s Lehigh Valley Phantoms recalled forward Charlie Gerard from the ECHL’s Reading Royals today. Gerard is in his second professional season after a four-year run at Minnesota State University-Mankato and showed promise last season with 34 points in 49 games in the ECHL with the Utah Grizzlies. Now with the Phantoms on a professional contract, he’ll get his chance to show what he can do within the Flyers organization.
Philadelphia Flyers Loan Samu Tuomaala To Finland
The Philadelphia Flyers have loaned Samu Tuomaala back to Finland, where he’ll re-join Karpat, his Liiga team. Tuomaala had been playing in the AHL with the Lehigh Valley Phantoms, suiting up for his first two AHL games. The team has also recalled Nick Seeler from the Phantoms.
Tuomaala, 18, was the 46th overall pick in this year’s draft and would have been one of just a handful of players from that class spending this season in North American pro hockey. Sending him back to continue his development overseas certainly isn’t unexpected, though there had been talk of potentially loaning him to the Sudbury Wolves of the OHL instead. Sudbury picked him 31st overall in the 2020 CHL Import Draft, but Tuomaala will instead go back to compete at the highest level in Finland.
He played just five games with Karpat’s pro team last season, spending the rest of the time with the organization’s U20 group where he scored 15 goals and 31 points in 30 games. Moving from that level to Liiga is not always an easy transition for teenaged forwards to make, but Tuomala is armed with a top-end shot that could help him contribute even in limited minutes. The next step will be rounding out his 200-foot game, playing better away from the puck instead of just impressing when it’s on his stick.
Los Angeles Kings Make Several Roster Moves
The Los Angeles Kings have completed several transactions, including recalls of Alex Turcotte and Vladimir Tkachev. Austin Strand and Kale Clague have both been loaned back to the Ontario Reign, while Drew Doughty has been moved to long-term injured reserve.
Before Kings fans get excited about a potential NHL debut for Turcotte, the fifth-overall pick from 2019, these moves could simply be in order to maximize the relief pool that Doughty’s injury provides. Sending both Clague and Strand to the minor leagues leaves the team with just five defensemen on the roster (compared to 15 forwards) and will likely mean another move comes before tomorrow night’s game.
Still, there could be a good reason to give Turcotte that debut pretty soon. The 20-year-old forward has five points in his first eight games for the Reign this season after racking up 21 in 32 last year. That was in addition to starring for the U.S. at the most recent World Junior Championship, where he helped secure a gold medal with eight points in seven games.
Tkachev meanwhile has already played in four games this season for the Kings, registering two assists. The KHL veteran was signed to a one-year entry-level contract in May, one which does include a European Assignment Clause, which could be activated at some point if the 26-year-old stays in the minor leagues. A star overseas, it doesn’t make much sense for Tkachev to be playing for $80K in the AHL. For at least one day, he’ll earn his NHL salary with the Kings instead.
The two forwards each carry slightly higher cap hits at the NHL level than Clague and Strand, meaning they get the Kings a little closer to the cap ceiling. That’s the goal when you’re putting someone on LTIR during the season, as it gives you the largest relief pool to operate in. Given how little flexibility they had before, this will allow them to try out some of their young prospects whenever necessary.
Vitali Kravtsov Loaned To KHL
The New York Rangers have officially loaned Vitali Kravtsov to Traktor Chelyabinsk of the KHL, allowing him to spend the rest of their season playing in Russia. Kravtsov had requested a trade earlier this season, failed to report to the AHL Hartford Wolf Pack and subsequently been suspended by the team. In the release, Rangers GM Chris Drury explained the situation:
After discussions with Vitali and his representation, we decided a loan to Traktor was in the best interests of both him and the organization. We think very highly of Vitali and the Rangers development staff will continue to work with him to reach our mutual goal of him some day being a New York Ranger.
Kravtsov released his own statement, which certainly strikes a different tone than many of the reports earlier this year:
I want to thank the Rangers for working with me, and appreciate the open and honest conversations we have had during this process. While this has been a challenging time for me personally, I believe having the opportunity to return to Traktor and work on my game is the best thing for me right now. My main focus is getting better every day to continue towards my goal of playing hockey for the New York Rangers.
The 2018 ninth-overall pick has never seemed thrilled about the idea of playing in the AHL and to this point has just 39 games for the Wolf Pack, all of them coming in 2019-20. He’s actually spent more time with Traktor than the Rangers organization, even since signing his entry-level deal in 2019. That contract is set to expire at the end of this season, which would potentially allow him to sign a new deal in the KHL, though the Rangers would maintain his exclusive NHL rights through his 27th birthday.
The Rangers were reported to have several trade talks earlier this season but were asking a high price for the young forward. This release suggests that both are willing to try to overcome their differences down the road, but it also could be as simple as the Rangers not wanting to have an asset’s development thrown off track before they can move him for equal value.
Minor Transactions: 11/02/21
With a busy night upcoming on the NHL calendar, it’s a busy night across the rest of the hockey world as well. There’s a fair amount of movement across lower levels of North American hockey today. We’ll keep track of that right here.
- Former top goalie prospect Jon Gillies is once again getting a shot at the AHL level, as the ECHL’s Maine Mariners loaned him to the Providence Bruins today. Gillies hasn’t played an NHL game since 2017-18 with the Calgary Flames, since spending time in the St. Louis Blues and now the Bruins organization. In one start with the Mariners this year, Gillies posted a .920 save percentage in a losing effort.
- The AHL’s Rochester Americans reassigned defenseman Peter Tischke to the ECHL’s Cincinnati Cyclones, per the team’s Twitter account. The 25-year-old undrafted Tischke was a former captain at the University of Wisconsin but has struggled to keep his footing in the AHL during a short professional career so far. He notched two points in 16 games with the Colorado Eagles last year, staying at the AHL level all season. But after just one game in Rochester, he’s heading back to the ECHL where he posted 15 points in 51 games with the Utah Grizzlies in 2019-20.
This page will be updated throughout the day
Minor Transactions: 10/31/31
It’s a slow news Sunday at the NHL level, save for a slew of COVID-19-protocol-related absences, but that doesn’t mean there’s no movement at any level of the hockey world. Keep up with a list of today’s minor transactions right here:
- The AHL’s Belleville Senators have returned netminder Tyler Parks to the ECHL’s Atlanta Gladiators, per the Senators’ Twitter. Parks was called up to the Senators as the Ottawa Senators organization faced some goalie injuries, including Matt Murray at the NHL level and Mads Sogaard at the AHL level. As Sogaard is healthy and Murray is close to returning, Belleville has a full goalie roster once again and Parks is the odd man out. Parks didn’t make an appearance with Belleville during his callup.
- The ECHL’s Fort Wayne Komets have loaned defenseman Matt Murphy to Belleville, as listed on the ECHL’s transactions page. The 26-year-old Murphy was a Memorial Cup champion in 2013 with the Halifax Mooseheads, his second year in the CHL. After a solid college career with the University of New Brunswick, Murphy is now a reigning Kelly Cup champion with the Komets. In a brief AHL loan last year, Murphy had an assist in two games with the Chicago Wolves.
- Per ECHL Week, the Rapid City Rush claimed forward Brett Gravelle off waivers from the Iowa Heartlanders today. A 25-year-old native of Forest Lake, Minnesota, Gravelle is playing in his first season of ECHL hockey. He had a three-point game in his only appearance with Iowa, a promising sign after similarly successful stints at lower levels of professional hockey.
Aatu Raty Changes Liiga Teams
A few years ago, Aatu Raty was on track to challenge for the first overall pick in the 2021 NHL draft. That seems insane now, given how far he fell this fall, but it’s true–the young Finnish forward was a hugely touted minor and junior prospect, who made his Liiga debut in 2019-20 and starred at the World Junior Championship despite being the youngest player in the tournament. Unfortunately, the years since haven’t been nearly as successful, stuck at the bottom of the lineup for Karpat and left off last year’s WJC team altogether. Raty ended up going 52nd overall to the New York Islanders, nearly dropping all the way to the third round.
Now, after another brutal start to his Liiga season, with just one point and barely any playing time in six games, Raty is getting a new opportunity. Karpat has officially announced a move that will send Raty (along with Veli-Matti Tiuraniemi) to Jukurit in exchange for Axel Rindell, a Toronto Maple Leafs sixth-round pick.
To be clear, this isn’t a move to a contender for Raty. In fact, Karpat is one of the most consistently powerful teams in Liiga, while Jukurit certainly doesn’t stand in that category. This season, the former is near the top of the table once again, while the latter is struggling to reach a .500 winning percentage. That’s exactly the point though, as Raty should be given a much bigger role in the Jukurit lineup and hopefully will be able to get his development back on track.
The Islanders signed Raty to a three-year entry-level deal in August, but loaned him back overseas after a few preseason appearances. They likely had at least some sort of influence on the move, hoping to get their young forward more playing time. They could technically recall him and put him in the AHL if they felt it was a better option, though current success at that level seems unlikely for the 18-year-old.
Minor Transactions: 10/29/21
The hockey world got some unexpected news this morning with the Toronto Maple Leafs extending defenseman Morgan Rielly for eight seasons. That’s certainly quantifiable as a major transaction, but many other teams and players at lower levels of hockey have made paper moves today as they deal with the ripple effects of moves at the NHL level. Here are today’s minor transactions:
- The AHL’s San Jose Barracuda have loaned defenseman Montana Onyebuchi to the ECHL’s Orlando Solar Bears, per the Solar Bears’ Twitter. Onyebuchi joined the Barracuda on an AHL contract after taking part in the San Jose Sharks’ training camp this past offseason. The 21-year-old Onyebuchi served as an alternate captain for the WHL’s Kamloops Blazers during the past two seasons, and had 12 points in 20 games in a COVID-shortened 2020-21 campaign.
- The Springfield Thunderbirds, AHL affiliate of St. Louis, added two players to the roster today in forward Nic Pierog and defenseman Nick Albano. Both Pierog and Albano had been playing with the team’s ECHL affiliate, the Worcester Railers, but only Pierog was under an AHL contract. He was recalled after scoring two points in two games with Worcester and has five points in 15 career AHL games. Albano was on an ECHL contract and was signed to a professional tryout agreement with Springfield. Albano had one goal in three games after not playing during the 2020-21 campaign.
Mason McTavish Sent To AHL On Conditioning Loan
When the Anaheim Ducks decided to keep Mason McTavish for the start of the season, it came with the same caveat as any other freshly-drafted player out of the CHL. If they used him for ten games, he would burn the first year of his entry-level contract and become a restricted free agent sooner than if he was sent back to junior. They also couldn’t send him to the AHL, as he’s too young to be eligible for the minor league. That is of course, unless he’s coming off an injury, as he is now. McTavish has been loaned to the San Diego Gulls on a conditioning stint as he recovers from a lower-body injury, he is also no longer listed on the team’s injured reserve.
A normal conditioning loan can last up to 14 days and any games McTavish players in the AHL will not count toward that ten-game threshold for his entry-level contract. In this case, it’s a sly way to get him some additional professional experience while not clicking up his NHL game count. It’s also a good way to get him back on track after being injured earlier this month.
McTavish, the third-overall pick in this year’s draft, had two points in his first three games with the Ducks including his first NHL goal. The 6’1″ forward plays with a physical presence but also has enough skill to contribute at the top of the lineup. Just 18, he spent last season playing in Switzerland when the OHL didn’t hold a season and hasn’t actually suited up for his Peterborough Petes since the 2019-20 season. If he sticks at the NHL level this year, it will have been a very interesting road for McTavish, who has just that one season of CHL hockey under his belt–in which he scored 29 goals and 42 points. The year before that, he was still playing for the Pembroke Lumber Kings.
For at least a little while longer, the Ducks won’t have to make the decision on whether to send him back or not.