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Training Camp Cuts: 10/01/18

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The regular season is just around the corner, and teams are making the very final cuts to their opening night roster. Almost two dozen players have also been placed on waivers today, though they can’t actually be assigned until they clear tomorrow. We’ll keep track of all the final moves right here:

Boston Bruins (per team release)

F Peter Cehlarik (to Providence, AHL)
F Trent Frederic (to Providence, AHL)

Buffalo Sabres (per team release)

F Alexander Nylander (to Rochester, AHL)
D Brendan Guhle (to Rochester, AHL)
D Brandon Hickey (to Rochester, AHL)

Columbus Blue Jackets (per team release)

F Kevin Stenlund (to Cleveland, AHL)
F Jonathan Davidsson (to Djurgardens, Sweden)

Dallas Stars (per Mark Stepneski, NHL.com)

G Landon Bow (to Texas, AHL)
G Colton Point (to Texas, AHL)

Detroit Red Wings (per team Twitter)

D Dylan McIlrath (to Grand Rapids, AHL)
F Matt Puempel (to Grand Rapids, AHL)
F Lane Zablocki (to Kelowna, WHL)

Florida Panthers (per George Richards, The Athletic)

F Henrik Borgstrom (to Springfield, AHL)
F Juho Lammikko (to Springfield, AHL)
F Dryden Hunt (to Springfield, AHL)
D Ian McCoshen (to Springfield, AHL)

Los Angeles Kings (per team release)

F Matt Luff (to Ontario, AHL)
D Daniel Brickley (to Ontario, AHL)
D Kale Clague (to Ontario, AHL)
D Kurtis MacDermid (to Ontario, AHL)
G Cal Petersen (to Ontario, AHL)

Minnesota Wild (per team release)

F Mike Liambas (to Iowa, AHL)
F Kyle Rau (to Iowa, AHL)
F Matt Read (to Iowa, AHL)
D Matt Bartkowski (to Iowa, AHL)
D Josh Thrower (to Iowa, AHL)
G Andrew Hammond (to Iowa, AHL)

Montreal Canadiens (per team release)

F Kenny Agostino (to Laval, AHL)
F Michael Chaput (to Laval, AHL)

Nashville Predators (per team release)

F Colin Blackwell (to Milwaukee, AHL)

Pittsburgh Penguins (per team release)

F Zach Aston-Reese (to Wilkes-Barre/Scranton, AHL)
D Zach Trotman (to Wilkes-Barre/Scranton, AHL)

Winnipeg Jets (per team release)

F Michael Spacek (to Manitoba, AHL)

Kings’ Dustin Brown Out Indefinitely With Broken Finger

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The Los Angeles Kings will be without forward Dustin Brown indefinitely, according to the Los Angeles Times’ Helene Elliott as the team reports that he has broken his finger. The team released their own statement saying that Brown will miss the first portion of the season with the injury.

Brown took a shot up high from teammate Anze Kopitar during the second period of Saturday night’s preseason game against Anaheim and left the game. The team later updated his situation by stating he suffered an upper-body injury. There is no word which finger has been broken.

The injury is disappointing after Brown, who has played more than 1,000 games for the Kings, finally had a big season after signing an eight-year, $47MM extension back in 2013 after years of being a high-quality 20-goal scorer. However, since signing that deal, Brown struggled scoring goals, posting 15, 11, 11, 14 goals before finally breaking out with a 28-goal season last season. The 33-year-old has four more years on his contract at $5.88MM AAV and the team was counting on the veteran to continue making big contributions with the team aging quickly.

 

Injury Notes: Krug, Brown, Schneider

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Boston Bruins defenseman Torey Krug left the team’s preseason finale in the first period last night and the early indications are not good. Krug did not return to the game and was later seen in a walking boot. Head coach Bruce Cassidy did not have much of an update after the game, saying that he has “no information” on his status, adding “hopefully it’s nothing serious, but it’s tough luck if it is, obviously.” The offensive blue liner was already returning from a fractured ankle suffered in the postseason and had been limited in training camp, but this sounds as if it was a new injury on Saturday night. Whether that is good or bad remains to be seen and with the regular season opening in just a few days, Krug’s availability is up in the air. The team does have fellow puck-moving lefty Matt Grzelcyk to fall back on. Grzelcyk was a starter as a rookie last season for the Bruins, but looked slated for No. 7 duty to begin the year. If he can overcome his own minor lower-body injury, he would be an easy fix. If not, Cassidy said that he would not hesitate to start rookie Urho Vaakanainen. The 2017 first-round pick is in his first season in North America, but has impressed in camp and has yet to be cut. While Krug is clearly the superior option, the Bruins have plenty of depth to manage his potential absence to begin the year. The concern would be just how long their power play quarterback remains sidelined.

  • Los Angeles Kings veteran forward Dustin Brown was another casualty last night. The big winger took a shot up high from teammate Anze Kopitar and was forced out of the game. Brown did not return and the team issued an update that he had suffered an upper-body injury on the play. However, there has been no word from the Kings since. The Athletic’s Lisa Dillman reached out to head coach John Stevens and GM Rob Blake, but could not get any more information. The team is likely taking their time to evaluate Brown, but it’s also possible that the injury is more serious and the team wants to approach the news on their terms. Like Krug, the proximity of the injury to Opening Night leaves his status to begin the year as a question mark.
  • One question that has been answered is who starts the year in net for the New Jersey Devils. Although he traveled with the team to Europe for their exhibition game in Switzerland and regular season opener against the Edmonton Oilers in Sweden, Cory Schneider is primarily there to continue working with the team’s medical staff. Head coach John Hynes made it official today that Schneider will not start for the Devils in their opener, reports NHL.com’s Mike Morreale. Still rehabbing from off-season hip surgery, it was always a long shot for Schneider to be ready to go for game one. New Jersey’s starter has yet to even be cleared to play. As such, last season’s savior Keith Kinkaid is likely to get the call, while veteran third-string keeper Eddie Lack remains on the roster as the current backup. Schneider is actually progressing well in his recovery and could be back in net soon, just not next week.

Western Notes: Crawford, Saad, Vilardi, Andrighetto

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The Chicago Blackhawks got more good news today as The Athletic Scott Powers reports that head coach Joel Quenneville said that goaltender Corey Crawford could practice with the team as early as Monday.

Crawford who has been out since Dec. 23 of last year with concussion symptoms said earlier this offseason that he likely wouldn’t be ready when the regular season begins as the symptoms have still affected him. That has been the case, but if Crawford is close to returning to practice, that could be a good boost for the team, knowing that he’s not far off to returning to game action, even if its a few weeks into the season.

The 33-year-old Crawford was having a solid season before going down as he posted a 2.27 GAA and a .929 save percentage in 28 games. If he can come back and post anything close to that, the Blackhawks may be able to work their way back into playoff discussions this year.

  • In a separate story, Powers (subscription required) interviewed three NHL scouts about individual players on the Chicago Blackhawks and while there are many interesting comments about different players, two scouts had nothing nice to say about Chicago winger Brandon Saad. “When he’s not playing with top guys, he doesn’t respect who he’s playing and he’s selfish,” a scout said. “He’ll try to carry it himself instead of moving the puck. When he gets frustrated, he shows it with his body language. They have to recognize that and have a talk with him. Whether they put him with one of the big guys, he’s got to have a better attitude.” A second scout was equally unimpressed. “I think Saad is a guy who plays for a contract. I’m not convinced that he’s a guy who plays for you every night.”
  • Fox Sports’ Jon Rosen reports that Los Angeles Kings prospect center Gabriel Vilardi, who has missed the entire preseason after re-injuring his back this summer, was in full gear working out on the ice with head trainer Chris Kingsley. There is no timetable on his return. Rosen added that Vilardi will either start the season on IR or as an injured non-roster player. The 19-year-old still has one year of junior eligibility, but posted 52 points in just 32 games last year with the OHL’s Kingston Frontenacs and many feel could be ready to take on a key role with Los Angeles if he can put his back issues behind him.
  • Adrian Dater of BSN Denver writes that winger Sven Andrighetto will miss two to four weeks with a foot injury. The 25-year-old is trying to force his way into the team’s top-six . He tallied eight goals and 22 points last year in a bottom-six role for the Avalanche.

Jonny Brodzinski Out Indefinitely After Shoulder Surgery

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  • Kings winger Jonny Brodzinski has undergone shoulder surgery and is out indefinitely, notes Lisa Dillman of The Athletic (Twitter link). The 25-year-old was expected to contend for a full-time spot on the roster after splitting last season between the NHL (35 games) and the AHL (29 games with 30 points).

2018-19 Season Primer: Los Angeles Kings

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With the NHL season now less than a week away, we continue our look at what each team has done this summer and what to watch for in the year to come. Next up is a look at the Los Angeles Kings.

Last Season: 45-29-8 record (98 points), fourth in the Pacific Division (lost to Vegas in the first round of the playoffs)

Remaining Cap Space: $4.1MM per CapFriendly

Key Additions: F Ilya Kovalchuk (free agent, SKA St. Petersburg, KHL)

Key Subtractions: F Andy Andreoff (trade with Tampa Bay), D Christian Folin (free agent, Philadelphia), D Kevin Gravel (free agent, Edmonton), F Torrey Mitchell (free agent, Lausanne, NLA), F Tobias Rieder (free agent, Edmonton)

[Related: Kings Depth Chart From Roster Resource]

Player To Watch: F Dustin Brown – This time one year ago, Brown had lost the captaincy and was viewed as one of the worst contracts in the league.  He was coming off of his fourth straight season where he failed to surpass the 15-goal and 35-point mark which is poor value for someone with a $5.875MM cap hit.

Then last season happened and everything turned for the better.  He went from being a middle-six forward to averaging the second-most ice time for any Los Angeles forward while setting a new career high in points with 61.  Now, even though there are still four years left on his deal, it certainly doesn’t look too bad now.

Is his boost in production a sign of things to come or a one-year aberration?  If it’s the former, the Kings should be able to really bolster their offense with the addition of Kovalchuk and the expected return to health of Jeff Carter.  If he goes back to his previous output though, suddenly there’s an opening on their top line that needs to be filled while they will go back to being a middle of the pack attack.  While his performance last season was a pleasant surprise, it also means that the spotlight is back on him once again.

Key Storyline: Kovalchuk’s NHL retirement that wasn’t really a retirement has come to an end as he has made the jump back to the NHL.  Despite the fact that he’s 35 and hasn’t played an NHL game since 2013, the Kings wasted little time locking him up to a three-year, $18.75MM contract, beating out several other teams in the process.

Clearly, Los Angeles is banking on Kovalchuk stepping in and playing a top role right away.  However, will an adjustment period be required for him to get re-acclimated to playing on the smaller surface?  Early indications are that he should be a key contributor on the power play but as an older player, can he keep up with five-on-five play?  Fortunately, he won’t be counted on to carry a line which should afford him the opportunity to ease into things if he needs to.

Instead of trying to bring in a few players to shore up various parts of their team, the Kings put almost all of their cap space into signing Kovalchuk.  (The $4.1MM figure cited above is with a roster size below the minimum; they’ll be closer to around $2MM once it fills out.)  Did they make the right call by opting to put all of their eggs in one basket?  If not, don’t be surprised to see GM Rob Blake looking for more scoring help as the season progresses.

Overall Outlook: The Pacific Division projects to be quite a tough battle and as a result, it wouldn’t be surprising to see that division land both Wild Card spots.  That should bode well for the Kings who likely won’t contend for the division title but should fall squarely into that second tier.  Assuming they stay relatively healthy, they’re in decent shape to make the postseason once again.

Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.

Training Camp Cuts: 9/27/18

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With the season now less than a week away, teams are getting closer to finalizing their opening rosters.  We’ll keep tabs of the players getting cut here.

Note that this list does not include players that were placed on waivers today.  Those can be found here.

Buffalo Sabres (per team release)

F Rasmus Asplund (to Rochester, AHL)
D Will Borgen (to Rochester, AHL)
F Victor Olofsson (to Rochester, AHL)

Colorado Avalanche (per team release)

F Cody Bass (released from PTO)
D Sergei Boikov (to Colorado, AHL)
G Pavel Francouz (to Colorado, AHL)
F Martin Kaut (to Colorado, AHL)
F Ty Lewis (to Colorado, AHL)
F Igor Shvyrev (to Colorado, AHL)

Dallas Stars (per Mark Stepneski of Stars Inside Edge)

D John Nyberg (to Texas, AHL)

Detroit Red Wings (per team release)

RW Colin Campbell (to Grand Rapids, AHL)
F Carter Camper (to Grand Rapids, AHL)
D Marcus Crawford (to Grand Rapids, AHL)
C Turner Elson (to Grand Rapids, AHL)
G Kaden Fulcher (to Grand Rapids, AHL)
RW Matthew Ford (to Grand Rapids, AHL)
D Trevor Hamilton (to Grand Rapids, AHL)
C Axel Holmstrom (to Grand Rapids, AHL)
RW Dominik Shine (to Grand Rapids, AHL)
D MacKenze Stewart (to Grand Rapids, AHL)
LW Chris Terry (to Grand Rapids, AHL)
C Trevor Yates (to Grand Rapids, AHL)

Edmonton Oilers (per team Twitter)

F Ryan McLeod (to Mississauga, OHL)

Los Angeles Kings (per team release)

F Bokondji Imama (to Ontario, AHL)
F Sheldon Rempal (to Ontario, AHL)
F Drake Rymsha (to Ontario, AHL)

Minnesota Wild (per team release)

F Sam Anas (to Iowa, AHL)
F Alexander Khovanov (to Moncton, QMJHL)
F Justin Kloos (to Iowa, AHL)
D Carson Soucy (to Iowa, AHL)

New York Rangers (per team Twitter)

F Bobby Butler (released from PTO)
F Gabriel Fontaine (to Hartford, AHL)
F Tim Gettinger (to Hartford, AHL)
D John Gilmour (to Hartford, AHL)
F Ryan Gropp (to Hartford, AHL)
F Drew Melanson (released from PTO)

San Jose Sharks (per Ryan Kennedy of The Hockey News)

D Ryan Merkley (to Guelph, OHL)

Vancouver Canucks (per team release)

F Adam Gaudette (to Utica, AHL)
D Olli Juolevi (to Utica, AHL)

In addition, F Brendan Gaunce will be placed on waivers on Friday.

Vegas Golden Knights (per Adam Hill of the Las Vegas Review-Journal)

D Erik Brannstrom (to Chicago, AHL)

Washington Capitals (per team Twitter)

D Tyler Lewington (to Hershey, AHL)
G Ilya Samsonov (to Hershey, AHL)
F Michael Sgarbossa (to Hershey, AHL)
F Sergei Shumakov (to Hershey, AHL)
G Vitek Vanecek (to Hershey, AHL)

Training Camp Cuts: 9/24/18

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Another day, another two or three dozen cuts on the way. As training camp and the NHL preseason continues on, teams work to pare down their rosters in anticipation of Opening Night. Keep track of all the releases and reassignments right here:

Note that players placed on waivers today are not included on this list.  They can be found here.

Anaheim Ducks (per team release)

F Giovanni Fiore (to San Diego, AHL)
F Mitch Hults (to San Diego, AHL)
F Jack Kopacka (to San Diego, AHL)
G Angus Redmond (to San Diego, AHL)
F Deven Sideroff (to San Diego, AHL)
D Keaton Thompson (to San Diego, AHL)
G Roman Durny (to Des Moines, USHL)

Arizona Coyotes (per team release)

F Michael Bunting (to Tuscon, AHL)
D Cam Dineen (to Tuscon, AHL)
D Dysin Mayo (to Tuscon, AHL)

Boston Bruins (per team release)

D Axel Andersson (to Djurgarden, SEL)
F Cameron Hughes (to Providence, AHL)
D Emil Johansson (to Providence, AHL)
F Joona Koppanen (to Providence, AHL)
F Tanner Pond (to Providence, AHL)
F Zach Senyshyn (to Providence, AHL)

Colorado Avalanche (per team release)

G Joe Cannata (to Colorado, AHL)

Columbus Blue Jackets (per team release)

F Vitaly Abramov (to Cleveland, AHL)
D Brady Austin (to Cleveland, AHL)
F Paul Bittner (to Cleveland, AHL)
D Garret Cockerill (to Cleveland, AHL)
D Ryan Collins (to Cleveland, AHL)
F Dan DeSalvo (to Cleveland, AHL)
F Maxime Fortier (to Cleveland, AHL)
F Brett Gallant (to Cleveland, AHL)
F Nikita Korostelev (to Cleveland, AHL)
F Miles Koules (to Cleveland, AHL)
F Ryan MacInnis (to Cleveland, AHL)
G Joseph Raaymakers (released from ATO; to London, OHL)
F Justin Scott (to Cleveland, AHL)
F Kole Sherwood (to Cleveland, AHL)
D Blake Siebenaler (to Cleveland, AHL)
D Doyle Somerby (to Cleveland, AHL)
G Brad Thiessen (to Cleveland, AHL)
F Calvin Thurkauf (to Cleveland, AHL)
F Trent Vogelhuber (to Cleveland, AHL)
D Justin Wade (to Cleveland, AHL)

Detroit Red Wings (per team release)

F Joe Veleno (to Drummondville, QMJHL)

Edmonton Oilers (per team Twitter update)

F Cooper Marody (to Bakersfield, AHL)
F Scottie Upshall (released from PTO)

Florida Panthers (per team release)

G Sam Montembeault (to Springfield, AHL)
D Riley Stillman (to Springfield, AHL)
F Owen Tippett (to Mississauga, OHL)
F Mark Letestu (released from PTO)

Los Angeles Kings (per team release)

G Peter Budaj (to Ontario, AHL)
D Jacob Moverare (loaned to Frolunda, SHL)

Nashville Predators (per team release)

F Connor Brickley (to Milwaukee, AHL)
F Tyler Gaudet (to Milwaukee, AHL)
G Troy Grosenick (to Milwaukee, AHL)
D Jarred Tinordi (to Milwaukee, AHL)

New Jersey Devils (per team Twitter)

F Kurtis Gabriel (to Binghamton, AHL)
F Blake Pietila (to Binghamton, AHL)
D John Ramage (to Binghamton, AHL)
D Brian Strait (to Binghamton, AHL)
F Eric Tangradi (to Binghamton, AHL)

New York Islanders (per team release)

D Sebastian Aho (to Bridgeport, AHL)
F Kieffer Bellows (to Bridgeport, AHL)
F Michael Dal Colle (to Bridgeport, AHL)
F Ben Holmstrom (to Bridgeport, AHL)
F Josh Ho-Sang (to Bridgeport, AHL)
G Jeremy Smith (to Bridgeport, AHL)
F Travis St. Denis (to Bridgeport, AHL)
D Parker Wotherspoon (to Bridgeport, AHL)
D Noah Dobson (to Acadie-Bathurst, QMJHL)

St. Louis Blues (per team release)

D Chris Butler (to San Antonio, AHL)
F Klim Kostin (to San Antonio, AHL)
F Mackenzie MacEachern (to San Antonio, AHL)
F Adam Musil (to San Antonio, AHL)
F Jordan Nolan (to San Antonio, AHL)
D Mitch Reinke (to San Antonio, AHL)
F Nolan Stevens (to San Antonio, AHL)

Vancouver Canucks (per team release)

D Jalen Chatfield (to Utica, AHL)
F Jonathan Dahlen (to Utica, AHL)
F Petrus Palmu (to Utica, AHL)

Kings Loan Jacob Moverare To SHL’s Frolunda HC

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Los Angeles Kings defensive prospect Jacob Moverare is on the move. After being cut from Kings camp and assigned to Ontario of the AHL on Saturday, the Swedish Hockey League’s Frolunda HC announced today that the 20-year-old blue liner will join their team for the remainder of the season. Moverare has played the past two seasons in North America with the OHL’s Mississauga Steelheads, but will now return to his native Sweden for the foreseeable future.

While it is not out of the ordinary to see a loan of this kind for a young foreign player, the circumstances are somewhat unique. Moverare is not a stranger to the SHL, skating in four games at the top level as a teenager in 2015-16; however, he was brought up in the developmental system of HV71. By now joining Frolunda, it seems likely that Moverare and his agent were given permission to negotiate a new contract in SHL, rather than simply re-joining his old squad. In Frolunda’s press release, Moverare acknowledges that he worked out with the team this summer and felt comfortable skating with the squad this year.

Moverare’s loan should not be considered any indication that he won’t be back in North America in the future. The 2016 fourth-round pick has shown considerable ability and is simply a victim of the numbers game for L.A. Moverare, a right-shot, puck-moving defenseman, plays a strong, competitive game and is known for his vision and positioning on the ice. In Mississauga, Moverare was a productive player who often paired with Vegas Golden Knights prospect Nic Hague to form a formidable duo. However, after missing time last season due to injury, the Kings made the decision that the best thing for his development this year would be guaranteed ice time, which may have been hard to come by with Ontario. Los Angeles has 16 other defensemen under contract, and even with seven or eight slated for L.A., it would have left at least nine in Ontario prior to Moverare’s loan. Rather than compete for ice time with NHL-ready prospects like Daniel Brickley, Kale Clague, and Alex Lintuniemi or veterans such as Kurtis MacDermid and Paul LaDue, it makes more sense for Moverare to spend the season with Frolunda, where he will likely have a regular top-six role.

Thirty-Five Players Placed On Waivers

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After 25 players were placed on waivers Friday and another seven Saturday (all of which cleared), the biggest yet came today with 35 more players being placed on waivers, according to TVA’s Renaud Lavoie.

F Andy Andreoff (Tampa Bay)
F Chase Balisy (Ottawa)
D Julius Bergman (Ottawa)
F Connor Brickley (Nashville)
G Peter Budaj (Los Angeles)
F Michael Bunting (Arizona)
D Erik Burgdoerfer (Ottawa)
F Tim Clifton (San Jose)
F Gabriel Dumont (Tampa Bay)
D Stefan Elliott (Pittsburgh)
F Kurtis Gabriel (New Jersey)
F Tyler Gaudet (Nashville)
D Cameron Gaunce (Tampa Bay)
G Troy Grosenick (Nashville)
F Jimmy Hayes (Pittsburgh)
G Maxime Lagace (Vegas)
F Tobias Lindberg (Pittsburgh)
F Stefan Matteau (Vegas)
G John Muse (Pittsburgh)
G Eddie Pasquale (Tampa Bay)
F Nick Paul (Ottawa)
F Blake Pietila (New Jersey)
F Kevin Porter (Buffalo)
D John Ramage (New Jersey)
D Griffin Reinhart (Vegas)
F Ben Sexton (Ottawa)
D Patrick Sieloff (Ottawa)
D Brian Strait (New Jersey)
D Chris Summers (Pittsburgh)
F Adam Tambellini (Ottawa)
F Eric Tangradi (New Jersey)
D Jarred Tinordi (Nashville)
F T.J. Tynan (Vegas)
F Carter Verhaeghe (Tampa Bay)
F Garrett Wilson (Pittsburgh)

One of the more interesting players put on waivers is Reinhart, the fourth-overall pick back in 2012, who the Golden Knights took a flier on in the expansion draft. The 6-foot-4, 212-pound blueliner has never been able to match his size and skills together to make considerable NHL contributions. It was no different in Vegas, where the now 24-year-old never made an NHL appearance for the Golden Knights. He played 60 games for the AHL’s Chicago Wolves where he posted just two goals and 12 points.

Budaj, who has been a solid goaltender in previous year, may be past his prime as the 36-year-old couldn’t make an impact in Tampa Bay or Los Angeles last year, both places where they had backup goaltending issues at one point in the season last year. In eight games with the Lightning last year, he posted a 3.75 GAA and a .876 save percentage.

Other interesting players who saw significant NHL time last season include Andreoff, Brickley, Hayes, Dumont and Lagace.

 

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