Nate Prosser, Kyle Quincey, Jordin Tootoo Placed On Waivers
The St. Louis Blues will be forced to make a move as Patrik Berglund returns from injured reserve, and it is Nate Prosser exposed to waivers this time around after being absent from the morning skate. Prosser had played in just one game this season with the Blues, but the team had shielded him from waivers even when it meant carrying eight healthy defensemen for long stretches. Now the 31-year old will be up for grabs, though a claim is far from certain.
Prosser signed a two-year, two-way contract with the Blues this summer after spending the first eight seasons of his professional career with the Minnesota Wild. An undrafted free agent out of Colorado College, Prosser jumped right to the NHL in 2010 and has played 238 games since. Though he’s never played more than 63 games in a single season, he is a potential depth option for teams looking for a bit of help on the back end. The 6’2″ 206-lbs defender is a capable penalty killer known for his shot blocking, and is willing to engage physically when needed.
If he does clear, he’ll St. Louis will have to decide where exactly to send him. The Blues are operating without a primary AHL affiliate this season, instead sending players to the Chicago Wolves, San Antonio Rampage and other clubs. Next season will see them start a five-year agreement with San Antonio, but Prosser could end up anywhere on loan if they feel there isn’t a spot for him there.
The Minnesota Wild will similarly make a veteran defenseman available by placing Kyle Quincey on waivers. Quincey is on a one-year, $1.25MM contract with the Wild but has been generally underwhelming in his 18 games. The former Detroit Red Wings defenseman hasn’t been able to find a home on three different clubs in the past year, and looks like his NHL viability is coming to an end.
Quincey was once a very effective two-way option in the league, even recording a career-high 38 points in 2008-09 with Los Angeles. The 32-year old had just three this season though, and has clearly lost a step in both ends of the rink. With Minnesota pushing right up against the salary cap ceiling this year, burying Quincey in the minors (if he’s not claimed) would save them a prorated $1.025MM and allow some breathing room. With younger, more affordable options available to them it seemed only a matter of time before he was waived.
Elliotte Friedman of Sportsnet believes that Minnesota had previously let teams around the league know Quincey was available, which could perhaps mean a deal is coming should he clear. Like we saw with Calvin Pickard earlier in the year, clearing waivers and gaining the ability to be sent to the minors actually improves a player’s trade value somewhat. Should he clear, it would also mean the Wild would have the ability to bring him up and down without waivers for 30 days on the active roster, or 10 NHL games. It wouldn’t change how much actual money they pay him, but they could use that to manipulate the salary cap and bank some extra space by having Quincey technically in the minors on off days.
Jordin Tootoo is the third player on waivers, likely meaning he’s now healthy enough to return from his long-term injured reserve stint. It will be interesting to see what happens to the veteran forward, as the Blackhawks don’t seem to have room for him on the NHL roster at the moment. Tootoo signed a one-year, $700K contract extension with the Blackhawks last season to help with expansion draft requirements, but hasn’t suited up this season so far.
Aaron Ness of the Washington Capitals has cleared and can be assigned to Hershey of the AHL.
Ryan Malone Returns To Iowa Wild
It wasn’t so long ago that Brandon Sleik and Michael Russo of The Athletic were reporting that Ryan Malone‘s return to the Iowa Wild was far from guaranteed, but apparently the team has decided to bring him back for at least a little while longer. According to the AHL transactions page, Malone has once again signed a professional tryout with the AHL Wild as he continues to train to potentially play in the Olympics for Team USA.
Malone came out of retirement this summer to test the waters and try to either return to the NHL or make a bid for a spot on the Olympic team. His eight-game stint for Iowa before leaving for an international tournament with the National Select team wasn’t all that productive, as the 37-year old winger recorded just one assist and 16 penalty minutes while accruing a -8 rating.
Iowa has turned their season around recently with an 8-2 record in their last ten games, but often lose forwards like Luke Kunin and Joel Eriksson Ek to Minnesota between games. Malone can at least provide some stability and experience to the club until his next international test, which could be the Spengler Cup at the end of December.
Wild Activate Charlie Coyle From Injured Reserve
Little by little, the Minnesota Wild are getting healthier. The team announced this afternoon that they have activated forward Charlie Coyle from long-term injured reserve. In a corresponding move, they have moved fellow forward Zach Parise to LTIR, though Parise has yet to play a game for the team this season due to lingering back issues.
Coyle suffered a right fibula fracture back on October 12th in a game that saw three Wild forwards go down with serious injuries. Coyle was originally given a six-to-eight week time frame for his return, so his activation just over a month after a major injury scare is a best-case scenario for Minnesota. The young Massachusetts-native has missed the Wild’s past 16 games, the vast majority of the season, but in his first three contests in 2017-18 had a pair of assists and was seeing career-high ice time.
Up until this injury, Coyle had been developing quite the iron man reputation with three straight 82-game seasons. His scoring totals have jumped significantly with each campaign as well, so a healthy Coyle for the remainder of th year would be a major boost for Minnesota. With Nino Niederreiter, Mikael Granlund, and Marcus Foligno all back and healthy as well, the Wild are as close as they’ll come to full strength for the time being and can begin to work on climbing out of the basement of the Central Division. The team is currently riding a five-year postseason streak; if that is to continue they need to keep everyone at full health and contributing at full strength.
Central Notes: Zucker, Methot, Berglund, Bouwmeester, Yzerman
Minnesota Wild’s Jason Zucker has scored six consecutive goals for the team over the past three games, giving the team all their offense. The 25-year-old wing put up team’s only two goals in their 4-2 loss to the Toronto Maple Leafs on Wednesday. He followed that up with a hat trick in the Wild’s 3-0 shutout of the Montreal Canadiens on Thursday.
He added the team’s lone goal in last night’s matchup with the Philadelphia Flyers to continue his streak. That goal held up as Minnesota walked away with a 1-0 shutout. While skill has propelled the forward on his hot streak, his goal Saturday just happened to be a lucky bounce that deflected off his stick and got past Philadelphia’s Brian Elliott, according to Rachel Blount of the Star Tribune.
“I have no idea,” the Wild winger said, when he was asked how the puck got past Elliott. “It was an empty net, and it had a lot of spin off the boards. So I think when it hit my stick, it just kind of shot off, and I honestly couldn’t tell you what it hit. That’s just a lucky bounce.”
- NHL.com’s Sean Shapiro writes that Dallas Stars defenseman Marc Methot will miss the next two games with a lower body injury. The 32-year-old defensive defenseman will not travel with the team on their upcoming three-game road trip, but Shapiro also notes the team will not have to add another defender. The team will move defenseman Jamie Oleksiak back into their defensive rotation instead. The team also said that forward Tyler Pitlick, who has been out for the last week, is ready to go and Shapiro suggests that Pitlick will likely move into the lineup for Monday’s game against the Carolina Hurricanes.
- The St. Louis Blues got some good news as Tom Timmermann of The St. Louis Post-Dispatch writes that center Patrik Berglund and defenseman Jay Bouwmeester practiced with the team today and are expected to travel with the team on their upcoming three-game road trip. While coach Mike Yeo said that neither is expected to play on the road trip, both are close to returning to the lineup. Berglund was not projected to return until December after undergoing shoulder surgery and could be ahead of his timetable. Bouwmeester only practiced today for the first time since fracturing his ankle earlier this season.
- Ken Wiebe of the Winnipeg Sun tweets that while it may be meaningless, Tampa Bay general manager Steve Yzerman was in attendance at the last two Winnipeg Jets games, having been at the Jets’ 4-1 victory over Arizona last night and the Jets’ 5-2 loss to the Vegas Golden Knights on Friday.
Minor Transactions: 11/5/17
As the first full week in November begins, teams are evaluating their first month’s performance and making tweaks to the roster to address both short-term needs and more long-term issues. Here are today’s minor moves:
- The Vancouver Canucks announced (via twitter) that they have assigned Jayson Megna to the Utica Comets of the AHL today. Megna has been with the team since he was recalled on Oct. 29. The 27-year-old center, who was called up for depth purposes, played in just one game and didn’t score any points. He filled in last week after Brock Boeser missed a game due to injury.
- The Minnesota Wild announced they have sent forward Landon Ferraro to the Iowa Wild of the AHL. He had been recalled back on Oct. 18 and recorded a goal in two games with the Wild, but the 26-year-old suffered a hip flexor injury in his second game on Oct. 20 and has been out for the last seven games. As reports have surfaced that he’s close to returning to the ice, a little time in Iowa might be just what he needs to get back into game shape. He has two assists in three games for Iowa this year.
- With veteran defenseman Niklas Hjalmarsson out for a few days with an upper body injury, the Arizona Coyotes announced they have recalled defenseman Joel Hanley from the Tucson Roadrunners of the AHL to fill in for at least the first of the team’s three-game road trip. The 26-year-old has had four assists in nine games with Tucson. Signed away from the Montreal Canadiens this summer, Hanley has played in 17 NHL games for Montreal and has tallied six assists.
- The injury-plagued blue line of the Philadelphia Flyers is hopefully on its way back to full strength, so – for the time being – Will O’Neill has been returned to their AHL affiliate, the Lehigh Valley Phantoms, per a team release. The long-time AHL veteran, who turns 30 in April, made his NHL debut Thursday in a limited bottom pair role for Philly. However, it was a symbol of hard work paid off more than anything for the Boston native, a 2006 seventh-round pick and former UMaine star who has had to work his way through the minors for the better part of this decade. With nearly 200 points in close to 350 AHL games, on top of an impressive NCAA resume, an NHL experience was the last thing left on O’Neill’s checklist. Now he just needs to stay motivated and earn a second call-up for the Flyers.
- The AHL’s Toronto Marlies have signed former New York Rangers goaltender Mackenzie Skapski to a one-year AHL contract, however he’ll likely be spending much of his time on the other side of North America from Toronto. Skapski has already been assigned to the ECHL’s Orlando Solar Bears, the Leafs’ and Marlies’ “AA” affiliate. Orlando recently lost veteran keeper Matt Hackett, who left the team to pursue other opportunities, and were hurting for depth in net. While the Marlies have arguably the best goalie group in the AHL – Garret Sparks, Calvin Pickard, and Kasimir Kaskisuo (currently on loan) – the team took it as an opportunity to add another goalie they were comfortable with to the mix. Skapski had been in camp with the Marlies for an extended period this fall, but left without a contract. Having seen him in action, the Marlies clearly felt they could add a reliable fall back to their impressive depth and help out their affiliate in one fell swoop. Skapski started two games for the Rangers back in 2014-15 at just 20 years old and performed admirably, but overall he has struggled in the pros and has settled into an ECHL role. Nevertheless, he presents a solid, experienced option for Orlando in 2017-18.
- The Boston Bruins have returned Zane McIntyre to the minor leagues, following the team’s loss against the Washington Capitals last night. McIntyre’s return likely means Anton Khudobin will be ready to dress in tomorrow’s matchup. McIntyre has been up several times this season, filling in for both Tuukka Rask and Khudobin as they nursed injuries, but hasn’t actually played a game. The sixth-round pick will have to wait for his next opportunity.
- The Calgary Flames will be without Travis Hamonic after the defenseman was injured in practice yesterday. Rasmus Andersson has been recalled as an insurance policy, but according to Roger Millions of Sportsnet Matt Bartkowski will be the replacement for Hamonic in the lineup. The Flames take on the New Jersey Devils tonight.
More to come throughout the day…
Landon Ferraro Nearing A Return To The Lineup
- Wild forward Landon Ferraro is nearing a return to the lineup following a hip injury, head coach Bruce Boudreau told Dane Mizutani of the Pioneer Press. He was one of the recalls for Minnesota’s rash of injuries a couple of weeks ago until he wound up being injured himself. Considering their tight cap situation, it will be interesting to see if he is sent down as soon as he’s activated or if they’ll keep him around to carry 13 forwards on the active roster.
Minnesota Activates Nino Niederreiter From Injured Reserve
The Minnesota Wild have dealt with injuries all throughout their lineup to start the season, and have felt it in their record of 4-3-2. On Saturday they found their defensive game against the reigning Stanley Cup Champions, beating the Pittsburgh Penguins 2-1. Now, they’ll be getting back one of the best two-way forwards in the league to help give them even more punch at both ends of the rink.
Nino Niederreiter has been activated from injured reserve, and is expected to play against the Winnipeg Jets tonight. Accruing some Selke votes last season, Niederreiter was one of the Wild’s best forwards for the entire season, scoring 25 goals and 57 points in 82 games. His possession numbers are outstanding, and he easily led the team in hits.
Getting him back, especially while Charlie Coyle and Zach Parise remain injured, will be a huge boost to the Wild’s forward group. In the game against Pittsburgh, they were forced to rely on the top line for 20 minutes of ice time, limiting their bottom group. Niederreiter allows them to lengthen out that lineup and play some of their younger forwards in a more sheltered role.
Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images
Ryan Getzlaf Leaves Game With Facial Injury
The already injury-riddled Anaheim Ducks have yet another health concern and possibly the most worrisome to date. The latest casualty was none other than captain Ryan Getzlaf, who took a shot to the face from his long-time partner in crime, Corey Perry, in the opening seconds of tonight’s game versus the Carolina Hurricanes. Getzlaf was evaluated for an “upper body injury” before eventually being declared out for the game by the team.
Initially, the injury seemed far from serious (video). Getzlaf seemed only stunned by the shot, which lost much of its momentum after a deflection by the ‘Canes Sebastian Aho. There was no blood nor any exaggerated reaction and Getzlaf skated off the ice without issue. However, when he did not return, things became somewhat more daunting for the Ducks. Getzlaf, without a doubt, is the leader of the Anaheim forward corps and plays an invaluable role for the team. Fortunately, the injury still does not have the appearance of anything major and Getzlaf’s absence could be purely precautionary. At worst, a facial injury – even a bone break – tends to be a short-term loss. The Minnesota Wild’s Marcus Foligno for example missed only a week with a facial fracture suffered in a fight earlier this season.
Yet, in the context of Anaheim’s mounting losses, any extended absence for Getzlaf could be problematic. Ryan Miller finally made his ducks debut tonight and Hampus Lindholm and Ondrej Kase re-joined the team this week as well, but that still leaves an injured reserve that features Ryan Kesler, Patrick Eaves, Cam Fowler, and Kevin Bieksa and an active Sami Vatanen who still seems unprepared to resume play. The Ducks already have Korbinian Holzer and Jaycob Megna playing key roles on the blue line; the team can’t afford the same lack of depth up front, particularly at center, where a long stretch with 35-year-old Antoine Vermette as the top option down the middle could spell disaster for the team. The Ducks need to get healthy, and suddenly that starts with avoiding any sidelining of Getzlaf (if possible).
Minor Transactions: 10/29/17
Here’s where we’ll keep tabs on the minor news and notes throughout the day with the most recent moves at the top:
- After a fleury of goaltending moves in the last few days that saw the team trade for New Jersey goalie Scott Wedgewood and place backup Louis Domingue on waivers, Elite Prospects tweeted that the Arizona Coyotes have called up goaltending prospect Hunter Miska today. Miska, who signed in April this year after dominating year at the University of Minnesota-Duluth in which he took the team to the Frozen Four finals, wasn’t fairing as well with the Tucson Roadrunners, where he had a 4.02 GAA and a .884 save percentage in four games. The call-up suggests that starting goaltender Antti Raanta may not be as healthy as the team thought.
- Mark Divver of the Providence Journal tweets that the Boston Bruins will recall Providence Bruins’ goaltender Zane McIntyre today as an emergency backup. The 25-year-old AHL goalie has been called up for this reason before, but has not made it into a game yet for the Bruins. He is currently 4-1 with Providence and has played well, with a 1.81 GAA and a .928 save percentage. Divvers adds that he believes it’s due to the fact that Bruins’ starting goalie Tuukka Rask kept getting run into during Saturday’s game against the Los Angeles Kings.
- The Minnesota Wild announced they have also sent three players down to the Iowa Wild of the AHL, including two former first-round picks, including 2015 first-round pick Joel Eriksson Ek and 2016 first-round pick Luke Kunin as well as Zack Mitchell. No corresponding moves have been made yet. Eriksson-Ek who many believed might have a breakout year has struggled in nine games with the Wild. The 20-year-old center has had just one goal and two assists in that span after putting up better numbers in a 15-games stint with the team last year when he put up three goals and four assists. Eriksson-Ek struggled in the preseason and was a candidate to not make the team at one point, but the team instead sent down Kunin instead. Kunin has been going back and forth between Iowa and Minnesota all year. However, Kunin has been more successful lately as his minutes and numbers have started to increase. The 19-year-old has a goal and two assists that all have come recently, as his short-handed goal against the Islanders Thursday makes him the first player in team history to score his first goal short-handed. Mitchell has also been up and down quite a bit this year, helping out the team’s fourth line while the team deals with multiple injuries. Mitchell has a goal and an assist in five games.
- Vancouver Canucks’ general manager Jim Benning announced the team has recalled center Jayson Megna today. The 27-year-old returns to the team after having played in 54 games for Vancouver a year ago, tallying four goals and four assists. He has been with the Utica Comets since the start of the season, putting up an assist in four games this year. The move was expected after the team sent Michael Chaput down to Utica on Friday, leaving the team with only 12 healthy forwards.
- The Colorado Avalanche tweeted that they have assigned forward Andrew Agozzino to the San Antonio Rampage today. He was recalled yesterday for their evening game against the Chicago Blackhawks, but was a healthy scratch. Agozzino has been an offensive force for the Rampage, putting up two goals and six assists in seven games so far this year. He was called up as an emergency forward after the team placed Gabriel Bourque on injured reserve due to an upper body injury.
Minnesota Wild Recall Zack Mitchell
- The Minnesota Wild have also continued to bounce players up and down, today recalling Zack Mitchell from the AHL. Mitchell had previously been up with the team for three games, where he registered one point while playing fewer than ten minutes per night. The undrafted forward has been a big part of the Iowa Wild for several years, and filled in for Minnesota last year as well. Likely not much more than a 13th forward, this likely isn’t the last transaction to include Mitchell this year. He will eventually need to clear waivers again as he cleared on September 28th, just before the season began.