Minor Transactions: 11/08/18
Another day, another full slate of NHL games. With nine contests on the schedule, teams all around the league will have some last minute tweaks and tough decisions. We’ll be there to keep track of all of them.
- The Minnesota Wild have recalled Matt Read from the minor leagues once again, as Eric Staal continues to deal with an illness. Read, 32, has split his time between Minnesota and the Iowa Wild this year, recording two points in seven games for the AHL affiliate. The veteran forward was signed for this exact reason, to serve as emergency depth in case of injury.
- A.J. Greer is on his way back up to the Colorado Avalanche, after just a few days in the minor leagues. Greer was sent down on November 3rd, but will earn another look at the NHL level after more success with the Colorado Eagles. Greer has ten points in nine games for the Eagles this season, and has started to finally turn the corner as an offensive contributor at the professional level.
- Boo Nieves has finally been activated off season-opening injured reserve, and will be assigned to the Hartford Wolf Pack. Nieves hasn’t played yet this season, and before working his way into the NHL lineup will have to prove his health back in the minors. The 24-year old played 28 games for the Rangers last season, recording nine points.
Poll: Is Eric Staal A Hall Of Famer?
On Saturday night, Minnesota Wild center Eric Staal notched his 400th career goal, placing him among an elite group of NHL scorers that includes less than a hundred names. At his current pace, he will also hit 1,000 career points either late this season or early next, joining an even more exclusive group. Staal has quietly become one of the more prolific scorers in NHL history. Has he also sold his case for the Hockey Hall of Fame?
Staal, 34, is one of the league’s more under-the-radar superstars. Sure, he is well-known for being the oldest of four brothers with NHL experience and for putting the Carolina Hurricanes on the map by winning the 2006 Stanley Cup championship in just his second pro season. Yet, all those years as the centerpiece in Carolina also limited his exposure and many years capped his production as well. Few would name Staal as one of the best players in the league since the turn of the century, but the statistics show otherwise. The question is whether his success will last the test of time.
Now in his 15th NHL season, Staal spent twelve years with the Hurricanes and seven as their captain. Just as it started looking like he was slowing down, Staal signed with the Wild three years ago and re-booted his career with back-to-back 65+ point efforts. He has nine such seasons to his credit, including an elusive 100-point season as well. His 933 career points are sixth-best among all active players, while his 400 goals rank fifth. Staal has finished a season in the top ten is goals three times and points twice, despite playing the bulk of his career with the franchise that holds the NHL’s longest playoff drought and had few other players of Staal’s caliber during his tenure.
Pure numbers aside, Staal has silently accumulated quite the resume. The second overall pick in the 2003 NHL Draft, Staal entered the league with high expectations. It is safe to say that the five-time All-Star has exceeded them. Staal has received votes for the Hart Trophy, awarded to the NHL’s MVP, four times (including just last season), and the Selke Trophy, recognizing the league’s top defensive forward, seven different times. He is also a member of the super-elite “Triple Gold” club, a 26-man group of players to have won the Stanley Cup, Olympic Gold, and World Championship Gold.
How does he compare to current Hall of Fame members and those who missed out on being enshrined? Reaching 1,000 points does not automatically qualify a player for selection. Sixteen former greats, not including those recently retired, cracked the benchmark but did not earn a spot in the Hall. This includes Staal’s former teammates Rod Brind’Amour and Ray Whitney – for now. The 400-goal mark is even less predictive, as close to 30 long-retired players in that group have not been selected. So while Staal is at or closing in on two benchmarks that put him in a group of less than 100 all-time greats, that’s not to say that all of the other names are tried and true Hall of Famers. As his statistics stand currently, Staal compares favorably to stars of yesteryear like Ted Lindsay, Dave Keon, and Henri Richard, all of whom are in the Hall. If he plays long enough, Staal to date is also likely to surpass the production of a player like Dave Andreychuk. Yet, there are plenty more who have not been named to the Hall who had more impressive numbers than Staal: Bernie Nicholls, Pierre Turgeon, Theoren Fleury, Keith Tkachuk, and many more. That is not to say that one or more of those players won’t eventually get in, but they currently act as a major hurdle to Staal’s case.
Staal’s two most comparable players? Martin St. Louis and Jeremy Roenick. St. Louis was also a Stanley Cup winner and five-time All-Star who dedicated his life to one team, but performed exceedingly well when he did finally move on. St. Louis was a more decorated player than Staal, but never reached 400 goals and his 1,033 career points is very attainable for Staal, albeit in more games. Staal also has the chance to add another Cup to his resume, whether it be in Minnesota or elsewhere, to supplement his Hall application. Roenick, on the other hand, never lifted the Stanley Cup. However, he was a nine-time All-Star who scored more than 500 goals. On a per-game basis, he is similar to Staal, but was an explosive scorer year in and year out. St. Louis is in the Hall of Fame; Roenick is not. Whose company Staal joins remains a mystery, still to be sorted out over a few more years of hockey.
What do you think? Is Eric Staal a Hall of Famer? Is it still too early to tell?
Minor Transactions: 11/04/18
It could be a quiet day on the NHL docket today with just three games on the schedule, but many teams will start making moves as early as today for the upcoming week. Check back throughout the day to see what moves teams have made today.
- The Minnesota Wild have announced they have recalled defenseman Nate Prosser from the Iowa Wild after playing two games there on a conditioning stint. Prosser is trying to work his way back into the lineup as he has appeared in just one game for the Wild and only played a total of three minutes. The 32-year-old averaged 13:26 of ATOI last season for the Wild.
- The Washington Capitals announced they had assigned defenseman Aaron Ness to the Hershey Bears of the AHL. Ness was recalled Thursday to fill in as a seventh defenseman as Brooks Orpik was out of the lineup. With Ness returning to Hershey, that likely suggests that Orpik may be ready to return to the lineup. The 28-year-old Ness has played 11 games for the Bears this year, posting four assists.
- The Anaheim Ducks have brought up center Sam Carrick, per a team release. It’s his first stint with the big club this season after he cleared waivers late in September. The 26-year-old has nine points in eight games with the AHL’s San Diego Gulls while leading the team in goals and points. If Carrick gets into a game with the Ducks, it will be his first NHL action since 2015-16.
Injury Updates: Red Wings, Hendricks, Byron, Radulov
The Red Wings’ battered back end is set to get a boost tonight as Danny DeKeyser is set to return after missing the last eight games due to a hand injury, reports Helene St. James of the Detroit Free Press. He gives Detroit another top-four defender that should be capable of logging more than 20 minutes a night to help take some pressure off of their young defensemen. However, it’s not all good news for the Wings as DeKeyser will be taking the place of veteran rearguard Jonathan Ericsson who is dealing with an undisclosed injury of his own. Tonight marks the 14th game of the season for Detroit and they have yet to have their entire defense corps healthy at the same time for any of them.
Other injury notes from around the league:
- Wild forward Matt Hendricks has resumed practicing and has been cleared to play following a leg injury sustained back in mid-October, notes Sarah McLellan of the Minneapolis Star-Tribune. However, he won’t suit up tonight in St. Louis. The veteran has played in five games this season, logging just shy of ten minutes a night while winning just shy of 46% of his faceoffs.
- The Canadiens will be without winger Paul Byron for at least the next three games, the team announced (Twitter link). He missed Montreal’s last game due to a lower-body injury and if the team wants to free up a roster spot to bring up a replacement, he can be played on IR retroactive to October 30th.
- The Stars have sent winger Alexander Radulov home for treatment and he is expected to miss the remainder of their current road trip which has three games remaining, notes Matthew DeFranks of the Dallas Morning News (Twitter link). The veteran missed four games before returning earlier this week against Montreal but was shut down again following that contest. Radulov ranks sixth in the league in points per game (1.57) so far this season.
Paul Fenton To Meet With Kirill Kaprizov In Russia
One of the biggest question marks surrounding the Minnesota Wild after they fired former GM Chuck Fletcher, was what would happen with prized—but distant—prospect Kirill Kaprizov. Kaprizov has been playing in the KHL since being drafted by the Wild in 2015, but had recently made contact with Fletcher and begun to discuss a potential future in the NHL. That progress seemed to have gone out the window and little was reported about the relationship between new GM Paul Fenton and their young Russian star, something that is set to change over the next few days.
According to several reporters including Michael Russo of The Athletic, Fenton will travel tomorrow to Russia to meet with Kaprizov in person, have dinner and watch him play. Obviously this doesn’t mean Kaprizov will be coming to North America right away, given his contract runs until 2020 with CSKA Moscow, but it does at least initiate contact once again between the two sides. There are ways out of KHL contracts, and though that is certainly not imminent, the Wild do see Kaprizov as part of their future. The 21-year old forward is off to another outstanding start in Russia, scoring 10 goals and 17 points in his first 22 games.
Drafting Russian-born players without any prior contact is always a risk given the existence of the KHL, and for Kaprizov it was no different. He fell all the way to the fifth round in the 2015 draft given his small stature and relative obscurity, and infamously didn’t even speak with the Wild for quite some time. It didn’t take long for the whole world to see how talented he was though, as he broke out in the KHL and took home a World Junior silver medal in the 2015-16 season. The U20 captaincy was next for him, as was a 42-point KHL campaign in 2016-17. Last season saw Kaprizov make the move to the more powerful CSKA squad, while also winning an Olympic gold medal and suiting up for Russia at the World Championship.
It’s obvious to see that the undersized forward is one of the most talented players not in the NHL at the moment, and many believe he could be a game-changing talent in the NHL. That’s exactly the kind of player the Wild have been looking for, in order to move them away from a slower defensively-minded team and towards the quicker, skill-based NHL. There’s still lots of work to do, but the fact that Fenton is sitting down with Kaprizov is a start.
Minor Transactions: 11/02/18
NHL action in Finland is back on the schedule for this afternoon, following Patrik Laine‘s hat trick yesterday in front of his home country. Aleksander Barkov will try to get some revenge as the Florida Panthers look to split the European series. The rest of the NHL, save for four teams playing later this evening, will be assessing their rosters and making any moves necessary for the weekend. We’ll keep track of all those minor moves right here.
- Nate Prosser has been sent back to the minor leagues on a conditioning stint by the Minnesota Wild, given he’s only played three minutes of ice time the entire season. Prosser dressed as the seventh defenseman two weeks ago, but hasn’t seen any game action since. He’ll try to change that by getting into a back-to-back-to-back series with the Iowa Wild starting tonight.
- Connor Carrick has been placed on injured reserve by the Dallas Stars, meaning Dillon Heatherington will get his first chance of the season. Heatherington played six games with the Stars last season and is off to a strong start in the AHL, with four points in his first ten games for the Texas Stars. The 23-year old defenseman was selected 50th overall in 2013, but is still trying to establish himself as a full-time piece with Dallas.
- Rookie forward Jack Rodewald is on his way back to Ottawa. The Senators have recalled Rodewald from their AHL affiliate in Belleville just one day after sending him down. Rodewald, 24, has logged limited minutes on the fourth line for Ottawa simply as forward depth while the team awaits the return of Zack Smith.
Minnesota Wild Sign Colton Beck
Colton Beck has never been handed anything in his hockey career, but over and over has climbed his way up the ladder. Today, he has signed the first NHL contract of his career, inking a two-year, two-way contract with the Minnesota Wild, which is worth an average of $675K at the NHL level. Beck has played the last four seasons with the Iowa Wild, including this year where he has six points in his first seven games.
Beck, 28, has been consistently overlooked throughout his career. First playing in the BCHL to preserve his college eligibility, and then ending up at the University of Alaska-Fairbanks, he became the program’s captain in his senior year. Undrafted by any team in the NHL despite his solid numbers at every step, he again failed to earn an NHL deal after graduation. Instead, a short tryout with the St. John’s IceCaps at the end of the 2013-14 season earned him a minor league deal and a spot with the Idaho Steelheads of the ECHL the following season. He quickly showed off his offensive upside and ended up an alternate captain the following year, before a call-up to Iowa made him an AHLer.
Now several years into that AHL career and he’s performing at another high level, thus deserving a contract with Minnesota. The 5’11” 183-lbs forward will still have to fight for a chance to play in the NHL, but at least he has some people who can teach him what it takes. His uncle, Barry Beck, was captain of the New York Rangers for six seasons and played more than 615 games in the NHL.
Minor Transactions: 10/31/18
It’s Halloween and the NHL has just a single game on tap, as the Chicago Blackhawks will take on the Vancouver Canucks this evening. As teams hand out tricks or treats to their fringe roster players, we’ll be right here to keep track of all the movement.
- Ville Husso has been returned to the minor leagues by the St. Louis Blues, after Jake Allen rejoined the team at practice. Allen’s injury is apparently not as serious as originally feared, meaning Husso can go back to starting for the San Antonio Rampage for now. The 23-year old goaltender is still waiting for his first shot at the NHL, but has to clean up his game at the AHL level first.
- Colby Cave, who was up on emergency conditions for the Boston Bruins, has been returned to the AHL. Cave, who played three games for the Bruins last season, is a hugely important forward for the AHL’s Providence Bruins, but was only brought up as insurance for some of the banged up NHL players. He’ll likely see some game action with Boston later on this season, but for now will return and try to extend his excellent start to the year.
- The Minnesota Wild have reassigned Matt Read to the AHL, after seeing him play just five games in the NHL. The veteran forward will be used as an extra man this season and bounce up and down, clearing waivers when required.
- Wade Megan has been recalled by the Detroit Red Wings, while Joe Hicketts is on his way back to the Grand Rapids Griffins. This is Megan’s first recall of the season after clearing waivers just before the end of training camp. The 28-year old forward has four points in eight games with the Griffins, and will be looking to play just his fifth career NHL game if he can get into the Detroit lineup.
- The Los Angeles Kings have sent Austin Wagner and Sean Walker back to the Ontario Reign, partly as a cap-saving move. The Kings find themselves pressed right up against the cap ceiling given their current roster, and are trying to save space by sending players down on short term assignments. The team will likely recall a forward before tomorrow’s game against the Philadelphia Flyers, though since they’re in a long homestand could use the proximity of Ontario to their advantage and remain at a roster of 21 for as long as possible.
- The New York Islanders have recalled Christopher Gibson under emergency conditions as Robin Lehner is dealing with a minor injury. Sending Tom Kuhnhackl down to the minor leagues in his place could mean that Cal Clutterbuck is ready to return, but for now the focus is on the goaltending position and how long Lehner will be out. Coach Barry Trotz didn’t believe it was a serious injury, but with Lehner playing so well to start the season it’s tough to see him taken off the ice at all.
- Aaron Ness has been recalled by the Washington Capitals, while Travis Boyd has been sent down on a long-term injury conditioning loan. With Brooks Orpik dealing with a minor injury, Ness will serve as insurance for any pregame injuries.
- The Carolina Hurricanes announced that they’ve recalled defenseman Haydn Fleury from Charlotte of the AHL. The 22-year-old played in four games with the Checkers while on loan from Carolina and while he may once again be the odd man out on their back end to start, he’ll at least be in better game shape when called upon.
Minor Transactions: 10/28/18
The Florida Panthers landed in Helsinki, Finland, this morning as they prepare for the NHL Global Series on Thursday and Friday against the Winnipeg Jets. In the meantime, injuries around the league are beginning to pile up and several teams are expected to make moves today to fill out their roster. Keep an eye here throughout the day to see what moves teams make.
- After initial reports suggested the Philadelphia Flyers intended to recall Taylor Leier from the Lehigh Valley Phantoms of the AHL, the team reversed course and recalled two different players as they announced they have recalled wingers Nicolas Aube-Kubel and Tyrell Goulbourne instead. To make room for the two, the Flyers have placed Corban Knight on injured reserve with a hand injury he sustained Saturday against the Islanders. The team also has loaned center Mikhail Vorobyev to Lehigh Valley. Vorboyev came out of training camp with the third-line center job, but after posting just two points in seven games, the team opted to make some changes. Aube-Kubel has been considered a strong candidate for promotion after posting a solid campaign in the AHL last year, posting 18 goals and 46 points. He already had three goals and seven points in eight games there this season. Golbourne played nine games for the Flyers last season and had four points in seven games this year.
- The Minnesota Wild announced they have recalled forward Jordan Greenway after sending him down to the Iowa Wild of the AHL on Friday. Greenway made two appearances for Iowa this weekend, but made the impact the team was hoping for Saturday when he registered a hat trick against the Colorado Eagles. The 6-foot-6 power forward out of Boston University hasn’t found his game in the NHL yet as he’s had just one assist in nine games. The hope as that his success in Iowa will build his confidence. No word whether there is a corresponding roster move.
- Although the team didn’t report it Saturday, CapFriendly announced that the Vancouver Canucks returned forward Darren Archibald to the Utica Comets of the AHL in order to make room on their roster when they activated center Elias Pettersson so he could play against Pittsburgh Saturday. The 19-year-old didn’t post a point as the Canucks were shutout, but Pettersson registered 19:01 of ice time. The 28-year-old Archibald got only into one game while filling in for Pettersson on the roster, and scored a goal in that game.
- The Tampa Bay Lightning announced they have recalled forward Danick Martel from his conditioning loan with the Syracuse Crunch of the AHL. The 23-year-old Martel posted great numbers with the Lehigh Valley Phantoms in the AHL last season and the Lightning claimed him off waivers during training camp. Tampa Bay must keep him on their roster or place him back on waivers, which would give the Philadelphia Flyers an opportunity to claim him back. The team sent Martel to Syracuse on a conditioning stint on Oct. 18, but was forced to bring him back now that the conditioning loan has expired. He had one assist in four games there. The team hopes Martel can fill in for the injured Ondrej Palat, who is day-to-day.
- The Boston Bruins announced they have returned defenseman Jeremy Lauzon to the Providence Bruins of the AHL. The blueliner was recalled on an emergency loan after the team placed defenseman Kevan Miller on injured reserve on Thursday. However, with the impending return of Torey Krug, who could make his season debut as early as Tuesday after injuring his ankle right before the start of the season, the team was ready to return the 21-year-old. Lauzon played two games for Boston in his short stint, but failed to register a point. He does have four points in six games with Providence. Mark Divver of the Providence Journal reports the move may just be a paper transactions as Lauzon is not slated to play for Providence today.
- The Anaheim Ducks announced several roster moves in advance of tonight’s game against San Jose. They assigned defensemen Andrej Sustr (who cleared waivers on Saturday) and Marcus Pettersson to San Diego of the AHL while recalling blueliners Andy Welinski and Jacob Larsson from the Gulls. Larsson and Welinski combined to serve as Anaheim’s third pairing against the Sharks.
Jordan Greenway, John Quenneville Assigned To AHL
The Minnesota Wild and New Jersey Devils have made some tough decisions with regards to two budding prospects, assigning Jordan Greenway and John Quenneville back to the AHL. Both players suited up last night for their respective teams, but will now be headed to the minor leagues. Greenway will play just two games in the AHL according to Michael Russo of The Athletic, as Joel Eriksson Ek has returned to full practice for the Wild and is expected to take his spot in the lineup until their upcoming road trip. Quenneville, who played more than 13 minutes last night for the Devils, has already bounced up and down this season and may continue to do so until he shows some improved consistency at the NHL level.
Greenway is an important prospect for the Wild given his physicality and offensive upside, but hasn’t been able to show much of the latter yet at the NHL level. With just two points in his first 15 NHL games, he’ll get a chance to boost his confidence at the lower level and get back to what made him so effective at Boston University and on the international stage. The 6’6″ forward scored 92 points in 112 games for BU, and competed at the World Junior Championship, World Championship and Olympics for Team USA in the span of just over a year. He was an integral part of the gold medal-winning 2017 World Junior squad, scoring eight points in seven games alongside star talents like Clayton Keller and Charlie McAvoy. If he can ever find that level of play in the NHL, the Wild will have another legitimate power forward option to plug into the lineup. For now, he needs to find his footing again.
For Quenneville, there’s not nearly as much rope left on his “top prospect” status. The 30th overall pick in 2014, he now has two full minor league seasons under his belt and has failed to show much at the NHL level in several different stints with the Devils. Through 19 games spread over the last three years, he’s recorded just four points. There is huge potential still in Quenneville, who possesses excellent puck skills and a big enough frame to battle physically, but he needs to show it before he starts being passed over on the depth chart in New Jersey. He’ll turn 23 this season, and is still looking for a way to crack an organization that has shown it is more than willing to give young players a chance.