Montreal Places Zach Redmond On Waivers
The Montreal Canadiens came into camp with quite a few players battling for spots on the blue line after adding Karl Alzner, David Schlemko, and Mark Streit this summer as well as Jordie Benn and Brandon Davidson late last season. With mainstays Shea Weber and Jeff Petry having spots locked in as well, the influx of talent was always going to push someone out. The process of picking their final seven is not yet over, but they have taken the first step, announcing the placement of Zach Redmond on waivers today for the purposes of reassigning him to their new AHL affiliate, the Laval Rocket.
Redmond, 29, is the first notable player to hit the waiver wire this fall. With 130 NHL games under his belt, including a 59-game, 20-point effort as a top-four regular with the Colorado Avalanche in 2014-15, Redmond has proved himself to be a reliable AHL depth option over the past five seasons. Last season in Montreal, Redmond recorded five assists over 16 games and added another 18 points in 26 AHL games. Redmond largely played the seventh-man role in Montreal, spending the majority of the season with the Canadiens, but watching from the press box. However, his early release from camp likely means that isn’t the plan for 2017-18. If Redmond clear waivers, he could spend much of the season in Laval until injury or poor play strikes the Habs’ defensive corps. If Redmond doesn’t clear waivers (not an overwhelming likelihood but a definite possibility), it will be due to his ability to step in and play competent defense as that valuable dependable extra man.
Redmond is far from alone on waivers today; joining him are several Ottawa Senators – Patrick Sieloff, Erik Burgdoerfer, Chris DiDomenico, Daniel Taylor, and Ben Sexton, several Philadelphia Flyers – Corban Knight, Greg Carey, Phil Varone, Will O’Neill, T.J. Brennan, and Mark Alt, as well as Vegas Golden Knights defenseman Chris Casto, Minnesota Wild rearguard Zach Palmquist, New York Rangers forward Adam Chapie, and Chicago Blackhawks Jeff Glass and Kyle Baun.
Training Camp Cuts: 09/21/17
Like every day, teams have continued to shorten their rosters as the season approaches. Yesterday saw a healthy number of names shaved off the lists, sent back to junior or released into the wild of free agency. Today, we’ll keep track of all the training camp cuts right here.
Boston Bruins
F Jack Studnicka – Oshawa (OHL)
G Kyle Keyser – Oshawa (OHL)
Chicago Blackhawks
F John Mitchell – released from PTO
F Drew Miller – released from PTO
F Tyler Sikura – released from PTO
D Mark Stuart – released from PTO
D Robin Press – released from PTO
F William Pelletier – released from ATO
D Darren Raddysh – released from ATO
G Matt Tomkins – released from ATO
F Mathew Highmore – Rockford (AHL)
F Matheson Iacopelli – Rockford (AHL)
F Luke Johnson – Rockford (AHL)
F Graham Knott – Rockford (AHL)
F Anthony Louis – Rockford (AHL)
D Robin Norell – Rockford (AHL)
D Carl Dahlstrom – Rockford (AHL)
F Radovan Bondra – Prince George (WHL)
D Henri Jokiharju – Portland (WHL)
Edmonton Oilers
D Ethan Bear – Bakersfield (AHL)
D Ben Betker – Bakersfield (AHL)
F Greg Chase – Bakersfield (AHL)
F Braden Christoffer – Bakersfield (AHL)
F Joseph Gambardella – Bakersfield (AHL)
D Ziyat Paigin – Bakersfield (AHL)
F Kyle Platzer – Bakersfield (AHL)
G Shane Starrett – Bakersfield (AHL)
F Chad Butcher – released from ATO
F Evan Polei – released from ATO
F Josh Currie – released from PTO
F Ryan Hamilton – released from PTO
F Zach O’Brien – released from PTO
Florida Panthers
F Curtis Valk – Springfield (AHL)
D Thomas Schemitsch – Springfield (AHL)
Los Angeles Kings
F Drake Rymsha – Sarnia (OHL)
D Jacob Friend – Owen Sound (OHL)
D Jacob Moverare – Mississauga (OHL)
D Markus Phillips – Owen Sound (OHL)
Montreal Canadiens
F Maxime Fortier – Halifax (QMJHL)
F Jordan Boucher – Will attend AHL camp
F Kevin Dufour – Will attend AHL camp
F Alexandre Goulet – Will attend AHL camp
F James McEwan – Will attend AHL camp
D Saverio Posa – Will attend AHL camp
D William Corrin – Will attend AHL camp
Philadelphia Flyers
F Connor Bunnaman – Kitchener (OHL)
F Pascal Laberge – Victoriaville (QMJHL)
F Ivan Kosorenkov – Victoriaville (QMJHL)
F German Rubtsov – Chicoutimi (QMJHL)
G Carter Hart – Everett (WHL)
F Nicolas Aube-Kubel – Lehigh Valley (AHL)
F Radel Fazleev – Lehigh Valley (AHL)
F Tyrell Goulbourne – Lehigh Valley (AHL)
F Danick Martel – Lehigh Valley (AHL)
F Carsen Twarynski – Lehigh Valley (AHL)
F Mikhail Vorobyev – Lehigh Valley (AHL)
D James de Haas – Lehigh Valley (AHL)
D Mark Friedman – Lehigh Valley (AHL)
D Maxim Lamarche – Lehigh Valley (AHL)
D Philippe Myers – Lehigh Valley (AHL)
D Reece Willcox – Lehigh Valley (AHL)
G Leland Irving – Lehigh Valley (AHL)
G John Muse – Lehigh Valley (AHL)
St. Louis Blues
F Alexey Toropchenko – Guelph (OHL)
F Justin Selman – San Antonio (AHL)
D Dmitrii Sergeev – San Antonio (AHL)
F Ty Loney – released from PTO
D Michael McKee – released from PTO
Tampa Bay Lightning
F Boris Katchouk – Sault Ste. Marie (OHL)
D Cal Foote – Kelowna (WHL)
D Libor Hajek – Saskatoon (WHL)
Vancouver Canucks
F Jakob Stukel – Calgary (WHL)
F Danny Moynihan – Utica (AHL)
D Anton Cederholm – Utica (AHL)
D Mackenze Stewart – Utica (AHL)
Washington Capitals
F Damien Riat – Geneve-Servette (NLA)
F Kristian Marthinsen – Almtuna (Sweden)
F Beck Malenstyn – Calgary (WHL)
F Garrett Pilon – Kamloops (WHL)
F Robbie Baillargeon – South Carolina (ECHL)
F Tanner Jeannot – Moose Jaw (WHL)
F Brendan Semchuk – Vancouver (WHL)
F Mark Simpson – University of New Brunswick (CIS)
D Dmitri Zaitsev – Moose Jaw (WHL)
F Jimmy Devito – released from ATO
G Adam Morrison – released from PTO
Winnipeg Jets
F Jordy Stallard – Prince Albert (WHL)
F Skyler McKenzie – Portland (WHL)
D Luke Green – Sherbrooke (QMJHL)
D Leon Gawanke – Cape Breton (QMJHL)
Zach Parise Making Progress Daily
- Michael Russo of The Athletic caught up with Minnesota Wild GM Chuck Fletcher today, who reported that Zach Parise is “skating and progressing daily” after being held out of practice with a back injury. Parise has had issues with his back for years, but it doesn’t seem serious enough to jeopardize much of the season.
Minnesota Wild Sign Mikko Koivu To Two-Year Extension
The Minnesota Wild have signed captain Mikko Koivu to a two-year extension worth $11MM in total, reports the Athletic’s Michael Russo. The deal breaks down to $6MM in 2018-19 and $5MM in 2019-20. Koivu was sent to become an unrestricted free agent at this season’s end.
Last season Koivu put up 18G and 40A in 80 games, good for third overall in team scoring. He has been the model of consistency for the team over his career. Koivu is not a flashy player, but he gets the job done game after game.
It is not that far off to say that Koivu is the face of the franchise. The Finnish forward—Wild captain since 2009—leads the Wild in all-time games played, assists, points, shots on goal, power-play points, and short-handed goals. He is also second in goals scored and third in penalty minutes earned.
Minnesota Wild, Mikko Koivu Working Towards Contract Extension
Michael Russo of The Athletic reports that the Minnesota Wild and captain Mikko Koivu are working towards a contract extension. The team’s captain is clear that he wants to play his entire career in Minnesota, and Russo tweets that they’re “trying to carve out a two-year extension” that would take Koivu through his 37th birthday.
Koivu has suited up for 843 regular season games with the Wild during his long career, and has been one of the most reliable two-way centers in the game for the majority of that time. Despite only cracking the 70-point plateau once, his incredible defensive impact makes him a legitimate first-line option in the NHL. Though he’s never won a Selke trophy as the league’s best defensive forward, he’s received votes in nine different seasons and likely should have in every year he’s been in the league. His dominance in the faceoff dot is just another way he contributes in ways other than scoring goals, and he still is one of the most dangerous penalty killers in the league.
The Wild will pay Koivu a whopping $9.18MM this season between his salary and signing bonus, but will only induce a $6.75MM cap hit due to the up and down nature of his contract (he receives signing bonuses only every second year). That number still falls above the new contracts for Nino Niederreiter and Mikael Granlund, but could have to take a slight cut depending on how the Wild see him aging over the next few years. Though his play certainly didn’t deteriorate last year—he recorded 58 points, his highest total since 2010-11—he will turn 35 in March and will eventually start to slow down. The Wild have room to fit him in next year, but do have more restricted free agents (Matt Dumba and Jason Zucker in particular) to re-sign.
Dereck Baribeau Signs With Minnesota Wild
The Minnesota Wild have signed goaltender Dereck Baribeau to a three-year entry-level contract, after clearly making an impression on the team at their rookie tournament. Baribeau is only 18, and went undrafted this year.
As with almost all NHL goaltenders these days, one of Baribeau’s biggest positives is his huge 6’6″ frame. While that wasn’t enough to make any team bite in the draft after he split this season between two QMJHL clubs, obviously the Wild believe that they can turn him into a professional goaltender. He hasn’t fared exceptionally well to this point in his junior career, but obviously has the measurables needed to take the next step.
In 35 games, he put up a 12-15-2 record with an .881 save percentage, but could easily see those numbers improve given the chance as an 18-year old. He’ll likely see his contract slide for the next two years, meaning the entry-level compensation won’t come into play for a while. The Wild have their goaltending locked up for the next several years with Devan Dubnyk, but don’t have a clear succession plan after that. Baribeau’s addition only strengthens their goaltending depth, but he’ll have to keep developing in order to ever sniff the highest level.
Afternoon Notes: Yakupov, Stralman, Scandella, Lazar
Nail Yakupov‘s story is quite well known. Edmonton’s first-overall pick in the 2012 draft, who started his career off right with 17 goals in a 48-game strike-shortened season, started a downward spiral that led to him getting traded to St. Louis and then finding himself getting benched and sitting in the press box not long after coach Mike Yeo took over. Now, signing a one-year “prove it” deal with the offensively challenged Colorado Avalanche, the 23-year-old is out to show that he still belongs in the NHL.
After that 17 goal season in 2012-13, his numbers tapered off, dropping to 11, then up to 14 and down to eight. His three goals in 40 games was a sign that he may be running out of time. However, according to AJ Haefele of BSN Denver, Yakupov is doing everything he can to resurrect his career in Colorado. “This is a chance I have to take,” the normally chatty Yakupov said succinctly.
Early reports say that Yakupov’s effort and skills are showing in training camp. During today’s scrimmage, BSN’s Adrian Dater tweeted that Yakupov was diving in front of pucks and showed his hunger. He had two assists in the scrimmage. The Avalanche need the youngster to rebound as the team finished last with 165 goals and managed just 48 points as a team. He is currently partnered with Matt Duchene and while that matchup is likely not going to stick, he looks like he is heading for regular minutes again.
- Joe Smith of the Tampa Bay Times writes that Tampa Bay veteran defenseman Anton Stralman missed his third straight practice today with an undisclosed injury, but he did skate and stickhandle on his own. The 31-year-old defenseman had a down year with just 22 points, but is still considered to be a top-pairing defenseman.
- Another defenseman who is also missing time is Buffalo’s Marco Scandella missed practice, according to John Vogl of the Buffalo News. The 27-year-old blueliner, who came over from Minnesota this offseason had arthroscopic surgery on his left hip in May was forced to take a day off. After putting up 13 points in limited minutes with the Wild a year ago, the Sabres hope Scandella can take that next step this year.
- Kristen Odland of the Calgary Herald writes that Curtis Lazar is ready to make the Calgary Flames roster. The 22-year-old center and former 2013 first-round pick of the Ottawa Senators had mononucleosis last year, missing all of training camp and the early part of the season and was never able to regain his form, prompting a trade from Ottawa to Calgary. According to Odland, he has regained the weight he lost from the illness and bulked up and has looked good in camp so far.
Minor Transactions: 9/15/17
There have been an overwhelming amount of camp announcement in recent days – professional tryouts, amateur tryouts, and the like – but there are still many team and players looking for permanent homes this season. The following are some notable recent signings:
- Defenseman Victor Bartley is making his North American exit. The long-time Nashville Predators prospect seems to have run out of options and has opted to sign with Orebro of the Swedish Hockey League, according to a local news release (link in Swedish). This will be Bartley’s second go-round in Sweden, having played for Rogle BK in 2010-11 after a disappointing first pro season. It was in Sweden the first time that Bartley gained some NHL attention, signing on with Nashville the following off-season. Bartley played in the Predators system for five seasons, skating in 112 NHL games and recording 23 points, before being traded to the Montreal midway through the 2015-16 campaign. Barley then signed with the Minnesota Wild last summer, but spent the entire year in the AHL with Iowa. Bartley, an Ottawa native, now heads to Sweden with hopes of sparking his career once again. Orebro finished 12th in the SHL last year and offers little in the way of NHL veterans, but between Bartley and exciting, young Latvian Rodrigo Abols, the team hopes to turn it around in 2017-18.
- The Rochester Americans, AHL affiliate of the Buffalo Sabres, have signed Garret Ross to a one-year deal, according to a team announcement. While Ross is likely happy to under contract in 2017-18, the signing represents a further decline in the career of the 25-year-old forward. A fifth-round draft pick of the Chicago Blackhawks in 2012, Ross got his pro career off to a hot start in 2013-14 and 2014-15 with 34 and 43 points respectively. Ross also built a reputation as one of the more tough, physical forwards in the AHL. Yet, his production fell off in 2015-16 to just 20 points and Chicago chose not to qualify him, making him an unrestricted free agent. Ross landed another NHL gig, signing a one-year, two-way deal with the Arizona Coyotes, but injuries and poor play limited him to just four points in 27 games. Ross will have to show that he still has potential while playing on a minor league contract this year. There’s room for Ross to play a major role in Rochester, but he just needs to take advantage of the opportunity.
- Daniel Ciampini will look to take the next step in his career in 2017-18, as he has signed with the AHL’s re-located Belleville Senators, per a team release. While the deal is of a two-way nature and Ciampini could wind up back in the ECHL, he hopes that his production in 2016-17 can earn him a regular AHL spot. The Union College alum was a point-per-game player with the ECHL’s Manchester Monarchs last year, spending about half the season with the New Hampshire-based team and the other half with the AHL’s Ontario Reign, affiliate of the L.A. Kings. With 28 points in 28 ECHL games to go along with 5 points in 23 AHL games, it appeared that Ciampini was heading in the right direction if he hopes to return to the dynamic scorer he was in college. Belleville hopes that the trend continues and the AHL numbers improve in the new campaign.
- The Hershey Bears, AHL affiliate of the Washington Capitals, have decided to give young Dylan Margonari another shot. The team announced that they have resigned the two-way center to a one-year extension. While under contract with Hersey in 2016-17, Margonari nevertheless played the whole season in the ECHL with the South Carolina Stingrays. He has just two AHL games under his belt, back in 2015-16, after he signed on with the Bears out of college. Unlike many players whose production drops off at the pro level, Margonari has never been much of a scorer – not at Minnesota State, not with South Carolina, and likely not with Hershey should he make the team. Instead, the 25-year-old simply brings smart decision making and quiet confidence to his role as a defensive forward. While some teams may overlook that ability, it seems to be a trait that the Bears still value.
Ryan Carter Announces Retirement
Give Ryan Carter credit. Around this time last year, it seemed as though the veteran forward’s career was already over. Carter had been unable to secure a guaranteed contract for the 2016-17 season, but was working toward a new deal with the Minnesota Wild by way of a PTO. However, when a nagging shoulder injury – a torn labrum to be exact – ended his attempt, Carter decided that he needed to move forward with surgery and, at 33, did not know if he would play again. Yet, Carter underwent his procedure, rehabbed, and by mid-February, he was back skating with the Wild. Carter ended up playing in 18 games with the AHL’s Iowa Wild and was one of Minnesota’s “black aces” come playoff time, though he never did get to fully make his NHL return.
It took a lot of effort just to get close to a comeback in 2016-17 and another try just wasn’t in the cards for Carter this year. The Athletic’s Michael Russo was the first to report that the ten year veteran has decided to hang up his skates. The Minnesota native can rest easy in retirement, knowing that he got to play his final two NHL seasons with his hometown team and gave it all he had to return for a third. Along the way, the Minnesota State standout also suited up for the Anaheim Ducks from 2006 to 2011 and the New Jersey Devils from 2011 to 2014, with brief stops with the Carolina Hurricanes and the Florida Panthers in between.
A hard-working, two-way threat, Carter was known more as a defensive specialist best-suited for a bottom-six spot and key penalty killing role than he was a point-producers. Yet, Carter finished his career off strong with a career high 15 points with the Devils in 2012-13 and three more double-digit totals to close out his NHL tenure. Carter will also be remembered for a very strong postseason performance for New Jersey in 2012, nearly matching his regular season production as the team charged to a Stanley Cup final appearance. In total, Carter notched 41 goals and 52 assists in 473 NHL games. While his scoring was far from the pace he exhibited in his college days in Mankato, Carter was still able to provide consistent two-way play, work ethic, and character throughout an NHL career built off of solid bottom-six play.
Several Injuries To Minnesota Wild Prospects
- Michael Russo of The Athletic had a disappointing series of tweets about Minnesota Wild prospects today, as he reported that Mason Shaw is out four to six months after tearing his ACL, Jack Walker will miss six weeks with an injured shoulder, and Dante Salituro will miss two weeks because of a shoulder injury. While none of the three represent blue chip prospects for the club, early injuries are starting to pile up for the depth players of the Iowa Wild.