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Pacific Notes: Quick, Raanta, Chychrun, Oilers, Miller

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The Los Angeles Kings could use some good news with their goaltending issues and they got some Sunday as NHL.com’s Kevin Weekes reports that Jonathan Quick skated today in full gear, which is the next step in his recovery after undergoing surgery on Oct. 31 to repair a torn meniscus in his right knee.

Weekes reports that Quick just worked on his crease work, but did not go down and did not take any pucks. Regardless, that has to be good news for L.A. who are without both Quick and his backup, Jack Campbell, who went down with the exact same injury. Instead, the team is going with the AHL tandem of Peter Budaj and Calvin Petersen. However, the team would much prefer to see Quick return to the lineup as new head coach Willie Desjardins continues to try to turn around the Kings after a poor start.

Fox Sports’ Jon Rosen adds that Quick could take on a heavier load in practice on either Wednesday or Friday.

  • Cat Silverman of The Athletic reports that the Arizona Coyotes had two injured players return to practice Sunday as goaltender Antti Raanta and defenseman Jakob Chychrun both practiced. Raanta’s practice was a short one, but he did participate in full drills while he was there. He was placed on injured reserve on Nov. 7 with an undisclosed injury. Chychrun recently returned to the team after recovering from offseason surgery and then immediately was placed on injured reserve after one game with an upper-body injury. He was a full participant in practice today and with full contact. Both are considered likely to play Wednesday against Vegas.
  • Edmonton Journal’s Jim Matheson writes that it’s unlikely the Edmonton Oilers will get involved in the William Nylander sweepstakes with the Toronto Maple Leafs as the team would likely have to send back defenseman Adam Larsson, which the Oilers would not be willing to do. Instead Matheson believes the Oilers’ best course of action would be to wait for the trade deadline and make a play for the New York Rangers Mats Zuccarello, who will be a unrestricted free agent next year, but could be a good fit in Edmonton.
  • The return of Nate Schmidt to the Vegas Golden Knights Sunday is good news for defenseman Colin Miller, who has been forced to take over Schmidt’s role as a No. 1 defenseman, always in charge of facing opposing team’s top line. That has been a challenge for Miller, who is better off as a second-pair defenseman, according to SinBin’s Steve Carp. That role has altered the way Miller thinks as he has had to focus on defense first and put offense on the back burner. Miller, who had 10 goals and 41 points last season, currently has no goals and six assists in 20 games. However, with Schmidt taking his previous role starting tonight and expected to be paired with Shea Theodore, Miller can return to his old role, which could result in an offensive boost for Vegas.

Minor Transactions: 11/18/18

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After an outstanding Saturday filled with exciting finishes and huge comebacks the NHL is relatively quiet today with just five matches scheduled. Things get kicked off this afternoon between the Dallas Stars and New York Islanders, but first there will be roster moves around the league. We’ll be here to keep track of those moves:

  • The New York Rangers have reassigned Vinni Lettieri to the minor leagues, after he seemingly got benched yesterday for much of their game. Lettieri took a two-minute penalty in the first period, but ended up seeing the ice for just 4:29  in total. The 23-year old has been held scoreless in all 14 of his opportunities this season, and now will have to rediscover his game in the AHL.  They  announced (Twitter link) that they’ve recalled center Steven Fogarty from AHL Hartford to take Lettieri’s place.  He’s off to a strong start to his third full professional campaign, collecting 14 points through the first 18 games of the season.  (For reference, his career high is 20.)
  • CapFriendly reports that the Florida Panthers have recalled veteran forward Micheal Haley from a conditioning loan with the Springfield Thunderbirds after spending the first part of the season in the NHL/NHLPA player assistance program. Now ready to return, the veteran played two games with Springfield, putting up a goal and an assist and now is ready to return to Florida. The 32-year-old had three goals and nine points in 75 games last year. CapFriendly also reported they have recalled Dryden Hunt from Springfield, who was tearing up the AHL with eight goals in 15 games. The team countered those moves by assigning two players to Springfield, including Maxim Mamin and Denis Malgin. Mamin has played seven games with no points, while Malgin has been more successful with a goal and five points in 14 games.
  • The Los Angeles Kings announced they have recalled forward Austin Wagner from the Ontario Reign of the AHL to help fill in for injured veteran Trevor Lewis who is out week-to-week. The 21-year-old has already played eight games with Los Angeles and has no points, but has a pair of goals in five games with the Reign. The team also assigned goaltender Cole Kehler to Ontario.
  • With the Boston Bruins currently missing six defensemen due to injury and icing a starting six that includes four players expected to spend the majority of the season in the AHL, the Providence Bruins are also suffering from a dearth of defenders. The team currently rosters just three defensemen signed to NHL contracts, one of whom – Cody Goloubef – is also out with an injury. As a result, the team today brought in some reinforcements in the form of ECHL loans. Veteran pro Kyle Cumiskey of the Newfoundland Growlers and young Chris Carlisle of the nearby Manchester Monarchs have been added by Providence, per the ECHL. They join Boston-area native Desmond Bergin of the Adirondack Thunder as three on-loan players competing for ice time among a total of just seven healthy defensemen.
  • With John Gibson feeling sick, the Anaheim Ducks announced that they’ve recalled goaltender Kevin Boyle from San Diego of the AHL.  The 26-year-old has posted a .920 save percentage so far this season, ranking sixth among AHL netminders.

Minor Transactions: 11/17/18

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As usual, Saturday is a busy day on the schedule with 22 teams in action so there will likely be considerable roster movement throughout the day.  We’ll keep tabs on those moves here.

  • The Devils announced (Twitter link) that they’ve recalled defenseman Eric Gryba from AHL Binghamton. To make room for him on the roster, they placed blueliner Sami Vatanen on injured reserve retroactive to Thursday.  Gryba has been up and down so far this season; he made the team out of training camp but was waived in mid-October and this will be his second stint with New Jersey since clearing.
  • With their goaltending depth quickly getting depleted with their top three options injured or sick, the Kings have inked veteran Michael Leighton to a minor league PTO per a team release from their AHL affiliate in Ontario. The 37-year-old has yet to play this season and spent time in three different organizations in 2017-18.  CapFriendly adds via Twitter that Cole Kehler, who was brought up on an emergency recall on Friday, has been sent back to Ontario.
  • The Coyotes announced that they’ve recalled center Mario Kempe from AHL Tucson. The 30-year-old has been quite productive in the minors with nine points in eight games while he has also seen action in four games with Arizona this season where he has been held off the scoresheet.  To make room for him on the roster, Jason Demers was transferred to injured reserve.
  • The Sharks have recalled center Dylan Gambrell from the minors and assigned center Rourke Chartier to San Jose of the AHL, per the AHL’s Transactions Page.  Chartier has just a single goal in 13 games with the Sharks this season so he’ll go down with the hopes that some more ice time at the lower level will help him rediscover his scoring touch.  Meanwhile, Gambrell has been productive in his limited time with the Barracuda, recording six points in seven games.  He also has one game with the big club where he failed to record a point.
  • Dallas announced that they have brought up defenseman Ben Gleason and center Roope Hintz from Texas of the AHL.  Hintz leads their affiliate in points per game (1.22) and has seen action in five games with the big club this season although he has been held without a point.  Meanwhile, Gleason made his NHL debut last weekend but was returned to Texas on Tuesday.  He has fared quite well at the minor league level in his rookie campaign, collecting eight points in 13 games.
  • With their road trip now complete, the Maple Leafs have returned winger Trevor Moore to the AHL’s Marlies.  Moore has been up twice with the NHL team so far this season but has yet to play in a game.  He has been quite productive in the minors though, collecting a dozen points (including nine goals) in as many games to start his season.
  • The Penguins announced that they’ve re-assigned winger Garrett Wilson back to Wilkes-Barre/Scranton of the AHL.  The move was made to free up a roster spot for center Derick Brassard as he was activated off injured reserve.  Wilson played in four games with Pittsburgh, his first NHL action since the 2015-16 season with Florida.

Trevor Lewis Out Week-To-Week With Broken Foot

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The hits keep coming for the Los Angeles Kings, who today lost another player to a relatively long-term injury. Veteran forward Trevor Lewis broke hit foot today at morning skate when he was hit with the puck and is out on a week-to-week basis. The team also announced that Cole Kehler has been recalled given the illness that struck Peter Budaj, but the veteran goaltender is backing up Cal Petersen anyway. For now Kehler will serve as insurance should either get injured or be unable to suit up.

The big news though is Lewis, who while still not a dominating offensive presence is one of the Kings key forwards nonetheless. Averaging just under 14 minutes a night, the 31-year old Lewis had been one of the team’s regular penalty killers and was actually recording positive possession statistics this season. He had just three points in 17 games, but part of that was due to his low shooting percentage—a skill he’s never been particularly good at. Still very effective in his own end, he could be relied on by new head coach Willie Desjardins in tough situations.

Even though this seems as though someone is just beating an already defeated Kings team, perhaps this is an injury that can come with some upside. The big-bodied forward is perhaps a perfect example of how the Kings have deteriorated, as his style isn’t well suited to the new up tempo NHL game. Lewis isn’t an extremely talented skater and doesn’t possess high end puck skills, making him part of the perceived problem in Los Angeles, not the solution. His penalty killing role can immediately be taken over by newcomer Carl Hagelin, though it’s not clear who will get a increased opportunity up front with his absence.

Still, even if Lewis isn’t a world beater at this point the Kings are starting to be stretched extremely thin. Their goaltending situation is extremely troubling, and their forward group simply can’t score enough to keep them in games. Hopefully an injury like this and the recent trade of Tanner Pearson means they can inject some youth and excitement into the lineup, because if not this could end up being a very long year for Kings fans.

Gabriel Vilardi Cleared To Participate In Full Practices

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  • Kings prospect center Gabriel Vilardi has been cleared to participate in full practices, GM Rob Blake told Curtis Zupke of the Los Angeles Times (Twitter link). He is expected to be re-evaluated in two weeks where the team will determine the next step.  Although Vilardi can’t play full-time for their AHL affiliate in Ontario, he can go down on a conditioning loan while the Canadian World Junior training camp is roughly one month away and will also be an option for the 19-year-old given his performance at the OHL level last season.

Pittsburgh, Los Angeles Could Make More Moves

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The Pittsburgh Penguins and Los Angeles Kings kicked off the winter trade season with a deal today that swapped Tanner Pearson for Carl Hagelin, but there’s no reason things will stop there. In today’s 31 Thoughts column by Elliotte Friedman of Sportsnet, the venerable insider notes that more may be coming from both franchises.

On Pittsburgh, Friedman speculates about a potential “lateral” deal between the Penguins and Anaheim Ducks similar to the one they completed in 2016, which is how Hagelin arrived in the first place. Though he doesn’t go so far as to name players who might be involved in such a move, he notes that “the rumored names” were not swapped today in the deal with Los Angeles.

Interestingly, the next point Friedman makes is about how recent draft pick Calen Addison has generated plenty of interest from other teams. That obviously wouldn’t be a “change of scenery” deal given Addison’s youth and huge upside, but may indicate that teams are hoping that GM Jim Rutherford will be going all-in this season and dealing away some of his top prospects. Addison, an undersized but incredibly gifted right-shot defenseman, was selected 53rd in June, and is off to a great start with the Lethbridge Hurricanes of the WHL.

Los Angeles meanwhile is at the other end of the competitive spectrum this season, as they find themselves almost out of the playoff race already. With Jonathan Quick and Jack Campbell both going down to major knee injuries and the team already firing head coach John Stevens, it may be time to start selling off assets and retooling for next season. Friedman notes that the “list of players Los Angeles is willing to move is growing” though doesn’t give any specifics. The Fourth Period also reported today that the Kings are “exploring the market” on Tyler Toffoli, while Jake Muzzin has also been discussed with teams.

This trade talk surrounding the Kings comes on the same day that top prospect Gabe Vilardi has been cleared for full practice, as he works his way back from injury to try and really start his professional career. Vilardi, the 11th overall pick in 2017, hasn’t played at all this season because of his back injury, but according to Curtis Zupke of the Los Angeles Times will be evaluated again in a couple of weeks. The existence of prospects like Vilardi—who holds immense offensive potential—could make it even more appealing for the Kings to sell off some of their expiring or ineffective assets and start the process of a short rebuild. While the team is still committed with big contracts to the likes of Anze Kopitar and Drew Doughty, they are currently sitting well behind the rest of the Pacific Division and last in the entire NHL with just a 5-11-1 record on the year.

Tanner Pearson Traded To Pittsburgh Penguins

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The Pittsburgh Penguins gave General Manager Jim Rutherford three more years under contract, and he immediately gave them a new player. The team has traded Carl Hagelin to the Los Angeles Kings in exchange for forward Tanner Pearson. The Penguins have also retained 6.25% ($250K) on Hagelin’s contract, which makes the salary exchange a wash between the two sides for the remainder of this season.

Pearson, 26, is off to the worst start of his professional career and hasn’t scored a single goal in 17 games this season. That lack of offense has contributed to the Kings’ struggles in the early going, as the forward had previously been relied on as a key secondary scoring option. That’s what Pittsburgh hopes it is getting, as Pearson did score 24 goals as recently as 2016-17 and may be able to find that touch while playing alongside talented centers like Sidney Crosby or Evgeni Malkin. There’s no indication where exactly he’ll fit into the lineup, but the Penguins have been trying just about every combination so far this season with little success to show for it.

Selected in the first round of the 2012 draft, it wasn’t always obvious he was going to have a professional career at all. Pearson was twice passed over entirely in the draft, his first year of eligibility coming before he even joined the Barrie Colts of the OHL. That all changed in 2012 when he starred for the Colts and worked his way onto the Canadian World Junior team, taking home a bronze medal but showing he could compete alongside other top prospects. An outstanding rookie season in the AHL earned him an NHL debut in the playoffs for the Kings, and in the 2014 playoffs he would be a huge component to the Kings’ Stanley Cup championship.

With two more years after this season on his current contract, Pearson isn’t just a rental for Pittsburgh this season. He’s an investment that could pay off or make the cap troubles for Rutherford and the Penguins front office even tougher. He carries a $3.75MM cap hit, and while it is offset for this season by dealing away Hagelin, the speedy Penguins winger is scheduled to become an unrestricted free agent at the end of the year and was coming off the books. That benefit is exactly what the Kings were after as they look to restructure their salary system, which will have to accommodate Drew Doughty’s huge $88MM extension next season.

Salary freedom was the goal here for the Kings, but they do also get an experienced winger in return. Hagelin has 121 playoff games under his belt including lengthy runs with the New York Rangers and consecutive Stanley Cup championships with Pittsburgh. Though his scoring has dried up with just three points on the season, he does still bring an element of speed that was obviously missing from the Los Angeles forward group. An excellent penalty killer—though Pearson is also strong short-handed—Hagelin will likely be a desirable asset at the trade deadline if the Kings can’t turn things around over the next few months. The fact that his contract is just a little bit more palatable will only make him that much more interesting.

The Penguins and Kings both likely aren’t finished tweaking their rosters, but this is a good start for both teams without taking on much risk. Even if Pearson finds his scoring touch and becomes a useful player, the Kings didn’t have the money or desire to pay out his deal as they try to retool their roster. The Penguins meanwhile are taking on a bit of risk with the contract term, but are in pure win-now mode with the trio of Crosby, Malkin and Phil Kessel all heading into the latter part of their careers and need help right away. Hagelin wasn’t cutting it as part of their secondary scoring group, so they’ll give it a shot with the younger and more dynamic Pearson.

Darren Dreger of TSN was first to name Pearson as the acquisition.

Photos courtesy of USA Today Sports images

Pacific Notes: Ducks, Quick, Chychrun

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The Anaheim Ducks have dealt with more than their fair share of injuries over the past year or so. The team is still far from healthy, but finally full strength is within sight, particularly among their battered forward corps. The likes of Ryan Getzlaf, Ryan Kesler, and Patrick Eaves are healthy, and recent injuries like those to Jakob Silfverberg and Kalle Kossila have also run their course. Nick Ritchie and Ondrej Kase are on the mend and expected to be active sooner rather than later. Corey Perry (knee) and Carter Rowney (upper body) are still far from a return, but in terms of players the Ducks reasonably expected to be healthy, things are looking up. However, a full set of healthy forwards also brings with it some tough choices. While Anaheim has the flexibility to send the likes of Ben Street, Pontus Aberg, Sam Carrick, and Kiefer Sherwood – currently on the roster – to the AHL, they have to be concerned about whether there is enough ice time to go around for the more permanent pieces. Already, the team sent promising rookie Isac Lundestrom to the AHL today to bring up Kossila and fellow top prospects Sam Steel and Troy Terry are already down with the San Diego Gulls. As the team grows healthier, it it possible that they could explore returning rookie Max Comtois to his junior club, the QMJHL’s Drummondville Voltiguers. While Comtois has already played in ten games this season and tolled the first year of his contract, he cannot be sent to the AHL and could be better served getting guaranteed top-six minutes at the junior level than fighting for ice time with the Ducks. Comtois is currently sidelined, buying Anaheim some time on the decision, but with conceivably an upwards of 20 forwards expecting to see action in the NHL this season, eliminating even just one option by sending Comtois back to junior would help the Ducks with their impending roster crunch.

  • The Los Angeles Kings took another hit in net today with the news that backup goaltender Jack Campbell will be out four to six weeks with a torn meniscus. The team is already without starter Jonathan Quick due to the same injury and are left to lean on veteran Peter Budaj and rookie Cal Petersen for the time being. Fortunately, GM Rob Blake did assure the media later on that Quick remains on track to return sometime around the end of the month, per beat writer Curtis Zupke. Quick underwent surgery on October 31st and was given a timeline of roughly a month to return. So long as his rehab continues to progress positively, Quick could potentially be ready to return by the Kings’ November 30th clash with the division rival Calgary Flames. Yet, even in that best-case scenario, Budaj and Petersen will still be on the hook for the nine games between now and then.
  • In more immediate injury news, The Athletic’s Craig Morgan reports that Arizona Coyotes defenseman Jakob Chychrun is “probable” to make his season debut on Tuesday night against the Detroit Red Wings. Chychrun has been sidelined since late last season with a torn ACL in his right knee. The first-round pick was establishing himself as a reliable top-four defender prior to his injury and his return should come with an automatic starting spot, likely bumping Ilya Lyubushkin down to the minors and Jordan Oesterle from his starting slot.

Jack Campbell Out Four To Six Weeks, Cal Petersen Recalled

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The Los Angeles Kings just can’t catch a break. As they continue to deal with the absence of Jonathan Quick, they now have another goaltender hitting the shelf with a long-term injury. Jack Campbell has suffered a torn meniscus that requires surgery and will be out four to six weeks. In his place, rookie netminder Cal Petersen has been recalled while Matt Luff has been sent back to the Ontario Reign.

The fact that Campbell and Quick both suffered injuries to their meniscus is laughable, at least given the struggles of the Kings this season without a reliable presence in net. The team now turns to a duo of Petersen and Peter Budaj, who were supposed to be the AHL tandem this season. The younger Petersen is a top goaltending prospect in the league, but has just a single season of professional experience after leaving college early and signing with Los Angeles. That happened in the summer of 2017 after he snubbed the Buffalo Sabres, the team who drafted him 129th overall in 2013.

Petersen isn’t the biggest netminder in the league, but has an uncanny ability to read the play and react quickly to pucks in tight. He rode those skills to an outstanding college career at Notre Dame and ended up posting a .910 save percentage and 23-14-2 record in his first season in the AHL. That was good enough to get him named to the AHL All-Star game, though the Reign were not able to get past the first round of the playoffs. This season hasn’t been as kind to Petersen, but there is still plenty of ability to get excited about as a Kings fan.

Unfortunately, even an outstanding debut for Petersen may not be enough to turn around the season for Los Angeles, who sit dead last in the NHL with just 11 points on the season. That’s thanks to a 5-10-1 record and league-worst 33 goals scored on the year. Even with the addition of Ilya Kovalchuk the Kings just haven’t been able to score enough, something that will need to be addressed before they can really compete for the playoffs once again.

Minor Transactions: 11/11/18

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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.

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