Coyotes Assign Jason Demers To Conditioning Stint
Sunday: The Arizona Coyotes announced they have already recalled Demers from his conditioning stint after one game with the Roadrunners. He tallied one assist, three shots and had a minus-1 plus/minus. He should be ready to go for the team’s three-game homestand, starting Tuesday against Anaheim.
Saturday: In a season plagued by injuries, the Arizona Coyotes were dealt another cruel blow yesterday with the news that top center Derek Stepan would miss four to six weeks with a lower-body injury. Fortunately, they have been greeted with some good news on the injury front instead today. Veteran defenseman Jason Demers has been cleared for game action and has been reassigned to the AHL’s Tuscon Roadrunners for a conditioning stint, the team announced.
Demers, 30, has missed almost the entire 2018-19 season thus far with a lower-body injury. Injured in mid-November, Demers had only played 18 games for the Coyotes before a suspected knee injury has cost him the next 46 games and counting. If that was the only serious injury that Arizona was dealt, the absence of the capable defender still would have hurt, but to a much lesser extent. However, Demers injury was followed not long after by that of starting goaltender Antti Raanta, who is expected to be out for the season, and forward Michael Grabner, who remains sidelined. Additionally, Nick Schmaltz and Kyle Capobianco have since suffered season-ending injuries, while Stepan’s year may be over. The Coyotes have had a rough go of it this season in the injury department, with more than 300 man-games lost.
Yet, the team is still very much in the wild card race in the Western Conference, down just one point on the Minnesota Wild for the final playoff spot. With Christian Dvorak and Brad Richardson finally back to full health up front, Demers’ return would add much-needed support on the back end as the ‘Yotes can take some solace in the fact that they are getting healthy at multiple positions. Demers could return to the Arizona lineup as early as Tuesday per The Athletic’s Craig Morgan, after a couple games in Tuscon. When he does, Demers brings nearly 600 NHL games worth of experience back to the locker room, as well as his strong two-way possession game. Even in the midst of numerous injuries, the veteran could be the player who puts the Coyotes over the top in their pursuit of a return to the postseason.
Western Notes: Canucks Defense, Fabbri, Benn, Parise
With the playoffs being a longshot for the Vancouver Canucks, the team needs to start focusing on next year, especially with their defense. General manager Jim Benning recently said that the blueline needs work and the team could find themselves being active participants in free agency this summer.
“We’re going to look this summer to try and change things up in the back end. There’s work to be done on defence,” he told reporters.
The Vancouver Sun’s Patrick Johnston writes that the team will likely make a play for San Jose’s Erik Karlsson, Toronto’s Jake Gardiner and Winnipeg’s Tyler Myers or even try and deal for Jacob Trouba. All are possibilities, although many of them are likely to be longshots. In fact, there may not be many big-name defensive free agents that Vancouver can add.
However, while the team feels good about bringing Quinn Hughes on board later this year, possibly in the next few weeks, and have him take over a spot on the team’s top-four immediately, the Canucks have quite a few decisions of their own roster to make, including the status of defenseman Alexander Edler, who will be an unrestricted free agent this summer, but has indicated a willingness to return to the team even though a they haven’t managed to work out an extension yet. The team will also have to give a significant pay raise to defenseman Ben Hutton who has had a solid season in Vancouver this year.
The Canucks are expected to give a long look to blueliner Ashton Sautner, and still have high expectations for Olli Juolevi, who is out for the season with a knee injury. Regardless, the team will need to do something to improve the teams defense next season.
- It hasn’t exactly been the year that St. Louis Blues forward Robby Fabbri would have hoped for, but the oft-injured winger feels that his play is starting to turn the corner for the Blues, according to Jim Thomas of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch. Fabbri has appeared in just 29 games this season with just five points, but with injuries to Brayden Schenn and David Perron, Fabbri has been receiving those extra minutes as well as some time on the power play, showing some signs that interim head coach Craig Berube is starting to show some confidence in the 23-year-old forward, who has lost almost two seasons to serious knee injuries. “I’ve been feeling good, and I’ve been feeling good for a while,” Fabbri said. “But there’s nothing like playing games. There’s a lot of things during the game that you can only practice in-game. It’s nice that I’m getting that opportunity right now.” Coincidentally, Fabbri has been made a healthy scratch for Saturday’s game, replaced by Sammy Blais, according to NHL.com’s Lou Korac.
- The Dallas Stars get a big boost on their offensive end as veteran forward Jamie Benn is expected back to their lineup Saturday against St. Louis, according to NHL.com’s Mark Stepneski. Benn was forced to leave their Feb. 24th game against the Chicago Blackhawks after suffering an upper-body injury early in the game and subsequently missed the next two games. “I’m good. Ready to go,” Benn said. “100 percent.” The team could use an offensive boost even though Benn hasn’t had his usual type of season with just 21 goals and just 20 assists in 61 games this season.
- The Minnesota Wild will be without veteran forward Zach Parise, who will miss Saturday’s game in Calgary and is questionable for Sunday’s game against Nashville with a foot injury, according to The Athletic’s Michael Russo. The 34-year-old Parise is having a impressive season with 24 goals and 54 points and has been hot lately with a goal and four assists in his last five games.
Minor Transactions: 03/01/19
Eight games on the schedule for a relatively busy Friday night in the NHL, with the Nashville Predators and Winnipeg Jets providing some must-see television. The winner of the game will assume first place in the Central Division with less than a quarter of the season to go, and stay ahead of the hard charging St. Louis Blues. The Predators are only five points ahead of the Blues with three more games played, meaning matchups like this with Winnipeg are incredibly important. As always, we’ll be here keeping track of all the minor moves around the league.
- The Ottawa Senators made a change to their coaching staff today, and also sent Drake Batherson back down to the Belleville Senators for the time being. The team had Batherson up on an emergency recall, but he’ll return to the AHL where he can take on the Manitoba Moose tonight.
- Interestingly, the Moose will not have Eric Comrie in net for that game as the goaltender has been recalled by the Winnipeg Jets. Comrie is up under emergency conditions meaning the Jets must have an injury or illness somewhere in their goaltending group.
- The Minnesota Wild have used an emergency recall on Matt Read, bringing him up in time for their game tomorrow against the Calgary Flames. The Wild are right back in the thick of the playoff race after winning their last four games even despite trading away several key forwards over the last few weeks.
Deadline Notes: Ferland, Vaakanainen, Draft Picks
The 2019 NHL Trade Deadline came and went yesterday and Micheal Ferland remained with the Carolina Hurricanes. Ferland seems destined to test the free agent market this summer, but the ‘Canes opted to hold on to the power forward in the midst of a career years as an “own rental”, writes Pierre LeBrun for The Athletic. However, he adds that it wasn’t an easy decision for GM Don Waddell and company. Early on this season, Ferland’s play was exceeding that of his team and the trade market began to develop for the likely deadline casualty. However, Carolina has been one of the league’s hottest teams since the calendar turned to 2019 and they are now in the thick of the Eastern Conference wild card race. That improvement all but took them out of “seller” status, but LeBrun states that the team continued to field calls on Ferland write up until the deadline. Specifically, LeBrun says the Nashville Predators made a hard push and he speculates that Ryan Hartman, who was eventually traded to the Philadelphia Flyers for Wayne Simmonds, was the likely offer. Yet, Waddell stuck with Ferland, who has fit in so well in Raleigh, and hopes that the decision will help the team end their nine-year playoff drought. LeBrun also adds that Carolina, who largely stood pat at the deadline, had interest in Minnesota Wild forward Jason Zucker. Given the early results of the trade those two teams made earlier this season, it’s no surprise that the Wild weren’t eager to make another deal with the Hurricanes.
- To no surprise, The Providence Journal’s Mark Divver reports that Urho Vaakanainen, Jack Studnicka, and Trent Frederic were hot names in the trade talks that the Boston Bruins had with sellers at the deadline. The trio are arguably Boston’s top three prospects, each one an early draft pick over the past few years. Both Vaakanainen and Frederic have made their NHL debuts this season while mostly playing in the AHL, while Studnicka has been tearing up the OHL. In particular, Divver hears that Vaakanainen was a “non-starter” for the Bruins; the team was unwilling to give him up regardless of the return. The 20-year-old defenseman was the No. 18 overall pick in 2017 and his poise and vision as a two-way, puck-moving defenseman have been apparent both in Providence and with the gold medal-winning Team Finland World Junior Championship entry. With 42-year-old Zdeno Chara potentially retiring at the end of the season and Torey Krug‘s contract expiring at the end of next season, the Bruins likely see Vaakanainen as having a regular role on the Boston blue line sooner rather than later. Not only did Boston avoid trading any of these three, but they landed Charlie Coyle and Marcus Johansson without surrendering any of their young prospects. The pair came at the cost of second-, fourth-, and fifth-round picks and Ryan Donato, who will be 23 next month.
- The Bruins were an outlier in that regard at the deadline, as the trend this season ended up with teams favoring moving players and prospects rather than picks. On deadline day, 35 players were moved compared to just 16 draft picks. In recent years, those numbers have been much closer as teams have been more conservative with their current assets and more willing to move out the unknowns of a draft selection instead. The change of course could be a reflection of the strength of this draft class; after all, of the picks moved yesterday only six were 2019 selections. The upcoming draft class is considered one of the deepest in recent years with high-end talent likely available even into the middle rounds. As such, even deadline buyers weren’t willing to gamble many of their 2019 picks. Except for the Columbus Blue Jackets, of course, who have just two draft picks remaining this June – a third- and seventh-rounder – after their all-out deadline.
Snapshots: Ottawa, Edler, Zucker
The Ottawa Senators have been in the headlines continuously for their roster transactions this season, but there are more big picture issues facing the team off the ice. The group that includes Senators owner Eugene Melnyk that is trying to develop the LeBreton Flats area in Ottawa for a new arena is embroiled in a legal dispute that is putting the development contract in jeopardy. The National Capital Commission which controls LeBreton had placed a deadline of this Thursday, February 28th to resolve the dispute and today told Canadian Press reporters that there will be no extension.
If the dispute is not resolved by the deadline the NCC has made it clear it will move on to other proposals regarding the land, meaning the Senators may lose their chance at the prime arena location. The area is much closer to downtown Ottawa and would be a huge boost for the team that currently plays in Kanata, some distance outside the city center.
- Alex Edler has been working with the Vancouver Canucks on an extension, and according to GM Jim Benning did not want to waive his no-trade clause to go anywhere else. Edler has made it clear over the last few weeks and months that he would like to finish his career in Vancouver if possible, and with his relatively strong play this year there’s no reason to think that won’t happen at this point. The 32-year old defenseman has 20 points in 38 games this season and is scheduled to become an unrestricted free agent after this season.
- The Calgary Flames were apparently interested in acquiring Mark Stone at one point before the deadline, and they also showed interest in Minnesota Wild forward Jason Zucker. Ryan Leslie of Sportsnet even tweeted the team was “in” on Zucker just as the deadline was about to pass, but a deal didn’t materialize. Darren Dreger was on TSN radio today speaking about the situation and said that Flames GM Brad Treliving was “white hot” that the deal didn’t go through for whatever reason. The Flames ended up adding only Oscar Fantenberg on deadline day and will now have to go through the rest of the season without any real forward upgrade.
Minor Transactions: 02/25/2019
With the trade deadline upon us, roster restrictions have now been lifted so there should be an influx of recalls today. On top of that, there should be plenty of “paper transactions” post-deadline as teams send down and then recall players in order to preserve their AHL postseason eligibility. Only players on AHL rosters at 3pm ET are eligible to play in the league’s playoffs. While all eyes are on the deadline, today is also one of, if not the, busiest day of the season for minor transactions. Try to keep up right here:
- The Canadiens announced the recall of winger Dale Weise from Laval (AHL). He was sent down last week to accommodate the return of Paul Byron from IR but this move was expected with the 23-man roster limit now removed. Weise played in three games with the Rocket, scoring twice. He will likely battle for fourth line ice time down the stretch.
- The Devils have shuffled their forward group, announcing that they have sent wingers Joey Anderson and Brett Seney to AHL Binghamton while recalling forwards Michael McLeod, Nathan Bastian, and John Quenneville. Anderson has just three points in 19 NHL games this season while Seney has spent the bulk of the year in New Jersey, collecting 13 points in 50 NHL contests. McLeod, a 2016 first-rounder, has played just once with the big club this season but sits second on Binghamton in scoring and should now get a longer look to assess his development. Bastian has also played just once in New Jersey but leads Binghamton in goals with 17 in 56 games. They also announced that goalie MacKenzie Blackwood has been recalled from Binghamton following the trade of Keith Kinkaid, as well as defenseman Egor Yakovlev, with Eric Gryba heading back to the AHL.
- For the time being at least, the Senators have re-assigned defenseman Cody Goloubef, centers Logan Brown and Filip Chlapik, and winger Drake Batherson to Belleville of the AHL, per a team announcement. The team also made forward Rudolfs Balcers and defenseman Christian Wolanin paper transactions for the inevitable reality of last-place Ottawa having an early end to their season, but Belleville continuing on to the postseason.
- The Flyers have brought back defenseman Samuel Morin from his conditioning stint with AHL Lehigh Valley. He has been working his way back from ACL surgery from an injury sustained in the minor league playoffs back in May and played in a pair of games with the Phantoms. It’s likely that Morin won’t be thrown into action with Philadelphia right away but with the roster limit gone, they can have him on the active roster from here on out. The team also made defenseman Philippe Myers and forward Corban Knight paper transactions. The young Myers was the top defender for the AHL’s Lehigh Valley Phantom prior to his recall, while Knight is an experienced AHLer who can lead a team. Their return for the postseason would be a major boost for the Phantoms.
- The Nashville Predators have recalled Matt Donovan from the AHL, placing Dan Hamhuis on injured reserve. Donovan is leading all Milwaukee Admirals defensemen in scoring with 29 points through 55 games, but hasn’t played an NHL game since 2014-15.
- Christian Dvorak has officially been recalled from his conditioning stint with the Tucson Roadrunners, meaning he’ll be back on the ice for the Arizona Coyotes soon. The young forward has missed the entire season up to this point, but could give the Coyotes a much needed offensive boost down the stretch.
- Matt Luff was recalled by the Los Angeles Kings today, only to be returned to the AHL’s Ontario Reign later on alongside Michael Amadio. It’s unclear if this move was intended for AHL postseason means, seeing as the Reign are in last place in the entire league and aren’t going to be heading to the postseason.
- The Vancouver Canucks have returned goaltender Marek Mazanec and forward Zack MacEwen to the AHL’s Utica Comets, the team announced. Mazanec’s demotion is good news for the Canucks; Thatcher Demko has been cleared for action and will dress for the Canucks as the backup tonight.
- Teddy Blueger has been reassigned to the Wilkes-Barre Scranton Penguins, but could be on his way back up shortly. With Tanner Pearson shipped out of town, Pittsburgh needs another forward and Blueger has been the next man up. He should get a chance at regular minutes down the stretch.
- Collin Delia will return to the minors upon the activation of Corey Crawford, Chicago announced. Delia has performed admirably in net during Crawford’s absence and even earned a contract extension with his play, but needs the starts available in the AHL rather than sitting behind Crawford and Cam Ward.
- With the Toronto Maple Leafs trading away Par Lindholm today, stating their desire to open up regular NHL minutes for Trevor Moore, it is no surprise that Moore was an emergency recall by the team. Moore has been the epitome of consistency through his time with the University of Denver and AHL Marlies and now hopes to bring that same dependable production to the NHL.
- The Arizona Coyotes made a pair of paper transactions, assigning defenseman Ilya Lyubushkin and forward Conor Garland to the AHL’s Tuscon Roadrunners – to ensure their AHL postseason eligibility – and then called them back up.
- The Carolina Hurricanes followed suit, making forwards Saku Maenalanen and Warren Foegele paper transactions, so that they may compete with the AHL’s Charlotte Checkers if need be.
- The Dallas Stars are without Mats Zuccarello after just one game with the trade addition. To fill his roster spot for the time being, the team has recalled Denis Gurianov from AHL Texas. Gurianov has shown flashes, but inconsistency in the pros, but now Dallas needs him to be a reliable option over the next four weeks.
- Daniel O’Regan seemed like a likely trade candidate as a young impending free agent who has not been a fit in Buffalo. The Sabres even showcased him this past week, but to no avail. The deadline has come and gone and Regan is still a Sabre, or more accurately a Rochester American after being demoted today. Tage Thompson was a paper transaction for the club.
- Dylan Sikura was made a paper transaction by the Chicago Blackhawks, as well. While the team would like to see what he can do in the NHL over the next month, the Blackhawks are trending away from the postseason, making Sikura’s best bet at postseason play a return to the AHL’s Rockford Ice Hogs. The move today maintains his eligibility to do so.
- The Colorado Avalanche made dependable depth forward Sheldon Dries a paper transaction, but the reassignments of fellow forwards A.J. Greer and Andrew Agozzino were not just formalities. The pair will head back to the AHL’s Colorado Eagles, having presumably lost their roster spots to the healthy Colin Wilson and the acquisition of Derick Brassard.
- Goaltender Harri Sateri, defenseman Filip Hronek, and forward Filip Zadina were all made paper transactions by the Detroit Red Wings. Sateri and Hronek are currently filling in as injury replacements and will likely return to the AHL for real in short time, but Detroit wants to see what top prospect Zadina can do in the NHL down the stretch. The Red Wings surely won’t be making the playoffs though, so they made sure the trio can all still experience a postseason run this year.
- The Edmonton Oilers made veteran minor league forwards Brad Malone and Josh Currie paper transactions. The duo is currently helping out in the NHL, but with the Oilers’ playoff hopes all but dead, their major role the rest of the way will likely be as experienced leaders guiding the AHL’s Bakersfield Condors into the postseason.
- Jordan Greenway, Luke Kunin, and new addition Ryan Donato were all made paper transactions today by the Minnesota Wild. The trio is very much part of the Wild’s immediate plans this season, as well as their future, but Minnesota may not make the playoffs this year and the forwards could benefit from making a run with AHL Iowa.
- New York Islanders defenseman Devon Toews was another paper transaction. Toews has carved out a role for himself with the club, which currently leads the Metropolitan Division, but should be be available to the AHL’s Bridgeport Sound Tigers come playoff time, a return to the team at a critical time would only further his development.
- Lukas Radil was a paper transaction for the San Jose Sharks today. The Sharks are hoping to make a deep playoff run this year, but on the off chance that doesn’t materialize, the experienced forward Radil would be of benefit to the AHL Barracuda.
- The Vancouver Canucks currently have defensemen Ashton Sautner and Guillaume Brisebois on the roster as the team battles injuries. However, to make sure the AHL’s Utica Comets were not stripped of two of their top defenders this season, Vancouver made the pair paper transactions today.
- The Winnipeg Jets announced that they have reassigned defenseman Tucker Poolman to the AHL’s Manitoba Moose today. The move was expected after the Jets traded for not one but two defenseman today. The move also serves to ensure Poolman can play in the AHL postseason if need be. The same goes for forward Mason Appleton, who was also sent down.
- Peter Cehlarik and Karson Kuhlman have both been returned to the AHL’s Providence Bruins, but it remains unclear if this is a paper transaction or an actual move by Boston. With the deadline passed and roster restrictions nullified, one would think that Cehlarik and Kulhman – who have both player regular minutes for the Bruins of late – would be back up. However, no such move has been made and perhaps the team simply wants to give the duo some more ice time in the minors now that their NHL roster includes several more veteran members up front.
- The Anaheim Ducks have demoted defenseman Andy Welinski and forward Sam Steel in favor of defenseman Korbinian Holzer and goaltender Angus Redmond. The move may have something to do with AHL playoff eligibility, but more than anything it is about Redmond’s recall. The Ducks, who continue to struggle with injuries in net, will dress Redmond as their backup tonight with Ryan Miller sidelined with a lower-body injury. It is the first NHL experience for a keeper who has played almost exclusively in the ECHL as a pro.
2019 Trade Deadline Day Recap
The trade deadline for the 2018-19 season has come and gone, with teams all around the league loading up for a Stanley Cup run. This year saw a nearly unprecedented level of skill available, though things got started quite early. Before deadline day, names like Matt Duchene, Brandon Montour, Mats Zuccarello, Charlie Coyle, Ryan Dzingel, Gustav Nyquist and Nick Jensen all switched teams. However, the day was no disappointment; a slow pace early on ended in fireworks right before the deadline and as deal trickled in right after. Below is a complete list of the 21 trades featuring all but seven of the NHL’s teams made on February 25th alone (chronologically):
To Anaheim Ducks:
D Patrick Sieloff
To Ottawa Senators:
F Brian Gibbons
To New Jersey Devils:
2022 fifth-round pick
To Columbus Blue Jackets:
G Keith Kinkaid
To Winnipeg Jets:
F Kevin Hayes
To New York Rangers:
F Brendan Lemieux
2019 first-round pick (top-3 protected)
2022 conditional fourth-round pick (if Winnipeg wins Stanley Cup)
To Montreal Canadiens:
F Jordan Weal
To Arizona Coyotes:
F Michael Chaput
To Florida Panthers:
F Cliff Pu
Future Considerations
To Carolina Hurricanes:
F Tomas Jurco (AHL contract)
Future Considerations
To Colorado Avalanche:
F Derick Brassard
2020 conditional sixth-round pick (no pick if Brassard re-signs)
To Florida Panthers:
2020 third-round pick
To Columbus Blue Jackets:
D Adam McQuaid
To New York Rangers:
D Julius Bergman
2019 fourth-round pick
2019 seventh-round pick
Minnesota Wild Extend Eric Staal
Eric Staal didn’t get moved by the Minnesota Wild today despite being an unrestricted free agent at the end of the season, and now we know why. Bob McKenzie of TSN reports that Staal has signed a two-year extension with the Wild that will carry a $3.25MM average annual value. That will actually represent a slight reduction in average salary for Staal, who is in the last season of a three-year $10.5MM deal.
A $6.5MM guarantee for Staal immediately strikes as an extremely team-friendly deal, given that he recorded 42 goals during the 2017-18 season. Though that number has come down this year, Staal is still likely to finish as a 50+ point center this season. There were several reports of teams showing interest in Staal over the last few days, but the veteran forward had expressed his desire to stay in Minnesota. The new contract will include a modified no-trade clause.
Even at the reasonable price however, this contract does seem at odds with what the Wild have done over the last few weeks. GM Paul Fenton has made it clear he intends on changing the makeup of the team, trading Nino Niederreiter, Charlie Coyle and today Mikael Granlund. In each move Fenton has brought back a relatively young forward, but the team now looks like it might be heading towards more of a retooling period than one of real Stanley Cup contention. Even in a down year Staal likely could have brought back a substantial return on the trade market, especially when looking at the packages brought back by other centers like Kevin Hayes and Matt Duchene.
Staal ranked #19 among our Midseason UFA Power Rankings, but now won’t have to deal with the process that took him to Minnesota in the first place. The former Stanley Cup Champion with the Carolina Hurricanes is closing in on 1,000 career points and should get there with the Wild next season.
Winnipeg Jets Re-Acquire Matt Hendricks
Veteran checking forward Matt Hendricks is headed back to the Winnipeg Jets. TSN’s Gord Miller reports that the Jets have acquired Hendricks from the Minnesota Wild in exchange for a 2020 seventh-round pick. Hendricks spent the 2017-18 season in Winnipeg.
Hendricks, 37, only played in 22 games this season for the Wild after suiting up for 60 games last season with the Jets. While he is unlikely to be a regular feature in the Winnipeg lineup for the rest of the season, Hendricks has the experience and familiarity to be a capable substitution in the bottom-six if need be. The gritty forward is also a good locker room presence and will be well-received in his return.
The Wild continue to move current players off the roster, but moving Hendricks is of little consequence. The impending free agent had spent most of the season watching from the press box and was unlikely to play a role down the stretch. In that case, a seventh-rounder is a fine return.
Nashville Predators Acquire Mikael Granlund
The Nashville Predators have landed a big fish from a Central Division rival. The Minnesota Wild fire sale continues, as TSN’s Bob McKenzie reports that that center Mikael Granlund has been traded to Nashville. In exchange, the Predators send young winger Kevin Fiala back to Minnesota. The deal is a straight one-for-one swap.
Granlund, 26, was not immediately considered a likely trade candidate this season, as he has one year remaining on his current contract. However, once the Wild began listening on nearly every player on the roster, Granlund emerged as a potential casualty. Earlier today, it was confirmed that Nashville was among the teams interested in Granlund and managed to get the deal done. The well-rounded forward has topped 60 points in each of the past two seasons and is on pace to do so again this year. At a $5.75MM cap hit through 2019-20, the Predators land a great value and a relatively young piece that could be a long-term fit in Nashville.
Meanwhile, Fiala is a return that is unlikely to excite Minnesota fans. The player himself is a great young piece; the 22-year-old was a 2014 first-round pick and already has 97 points in 204 career NHL games. However, in a one-for-one swap with an established player like Granlund, he will have to grow into a much better player. Fortunately, GM Paul Fenton knows Fiala well from his time in Nashville and could see him as a potential top forward in the future.