Canadiens Return Three To Laval
- Following their game on Friday, the Canadiens announced (Twitter link) that winger Nikita Scherbak and goaltenders Zach Fucale and Michael McNiven were all re-assigned to Laval (AHL). All three players had previously been cut during training camp but were called up for insurance purposes.
Montreal Recalls Micheal McNiven From AHL
- The Montreal Canadiens have recalled goaltender Michael McNiven from the Laval Rocket to serve as an emergency goaltender tonight. Charlie Lindgren is expected to be dressed for the game, but is coming off a minor injury and the team wants to make sure it has another option. McNiven was one of the first camp cuts last week, and will be spending his year in the minor leagues. Last year for the Owen Sound Attack of the OHL, McNiven posted an incredible 41-9-2 record with a .915 save percentage. McNiven went undrafted but earned an entry-level contract back in 2015. This will be the first real season under that deal, as it slid for two years while he finished his junior hockey career.
Training Camp Cuts: 09/29/17
The last Friday before the season begins, and just a few more days until teams have to submit their final rosters. As we head into the final few preseason contests, some teams are still holding onto a huge roster. The waiver wire is sure to be filled over the next few days as teams make their final cuts. As always, we’ll have all the movement right here throughout the day.
Anaheim Ducks
F Sam Steel – Regina (WHL)
F Max Jones – London (OHL)
F Jack Kopacka – Sault Ste. Marie (OHL)
D Josh Mahura – Regina (WHL)
Arizona Coyotes
F Emerson Etem – Tucson (AHL)
G Hunter Miska – Tucson (AHL)
Boston Bruins
F Kenny Agostino – Waivers for purpose of assignment.
Chicago Blackhawks
F David Kampf – Rockford (AHL)
F Laurent Dauphin – Rockford (AHL)
D Erik Gustafsson – Rockford (AHL)
D Ville Pokka – Waivers for purpose of assignment.
Colorado Avalanche
D Duncan Siemens – Waivers for purpose of assignment.
Florida Panthers
F Henrik Haapala – Springfield (AHL)
D Ed Wittchow – Springfield (AHL)
G Harri Sateri – Springfield (AHL)
Minnesota Wild
D Carson Soucy – Iowa (AHL)
F Ryan Malone – Released from PTO, will join AHL camp
Montreal Canadiens
F Chris Terry – Laval (AHL)
New York Rangers
F Matt Puempel – Hartford (AHL)
Pittsburgh Penguins
F Tom Sestito – Wilkes-Barre/Scranton (AHL)
Tampa Bay Lightning
F Alexander Volkov – Syracuse (AHL)
San Jose Sharks
D Jacob Middleton – San Jose (AHL)
D Nick DeSimone – San Jose (AHL)
Vancouver Canucks
F Nikolay Goldobin – Utica (AHL)
D Philip Holm – Utica (AHL)
D Olli Juolevi – Assignment team TBD
F Anton Rodin – Will be placed on waivers tomorrow.
F Scottie Upshall – Released from PTO
Vegas Golden Knights
F Stefan Matteau – Chicago (AHL), cleared waivers
No Contract Talks Between Gelinas And Canadiens
- The Canadiens have yet to initiate any sort of contracts with PTO defenseman Eric Gelinas, notes TVA Sports’ Renaud Lavoie. Gelinas is looking to land a spot on Montreal’s back end after turning down multiple offers overseas during the summer. He split last season between Colorado and their AHL affiliate in San Antonio.
Training Camp Cuts: 09/24/17
The more than fifty cuts made from training camps around the league yesterday was only the beginning. Weekend or not, expect the announcements to keep flooding in, and we’ll keep track of it all right here:
Arizona Coyotes
F Michael Bunting – Tucson (AHL)
D Kyle Capobianco – Tucson (AHL)
F Conor Garland – Tucson (AHL)
D Joel Hanley – Tucson (AHL)
D Pierre-Olivier Joseph – Charlottetown (QMJHL)
F Jens Looke – Tucson (AHL)
D Dysin Mayo – Tucson (AHL)
F Lane Pederson – Tucson (AHL)
F Mike Sislo – Tucson (AHL)
D Jalen Smereck – Tucson (AHL)
D Tyson Strachan – released from PTO
Boston Bruins
D Christopher Breen – Providence (AHL)
D Connor Clifton – Providence (AHL)
D Taylor Doherty – Providence (AHL)
F Zachary Senyshyn – Providence (AHL)
Carolina Hurricanes
F Patrick Brown – Charlotte (AHL)
F Julien Gauthier – Charlotte (AHL)
D Brenden Kichton – Charlotte (AHL)
D Roland McKeown – Charlotte (AHL)
F Andrew Miller – Charlotte (AHL)
D Dennis Robertson – Charlotte (AHL)
D Philip Samuelsson – Charlotte (AHL)
Dallas Stars
D Gavin Bayreuther – Texas (AHL)
G Landon Bow – Texas (AHL)
G Philippe Desrosiers – Texas (AHL)
F Sheldon Dries – Released from ATO
F Max French – Released from ATO
F Austin Fyten – Released from PTO
D Shane Hanna – Released from ATO
D Niklas Hansson – Texas (AHL)
D Dillon Heatherington – Texas (AHL)
F Samuel Laberge – Released from ATO
D Matt Mangene – Released from PTO
F Colin Markison – Released from PTO
F Cole Ully – Texas (AHL)
Edmonton Oilers
F Mitch Callahan – Bakerfield (AHL)
F Grayson Downing – Bakersfield (AHL)
D Caleb Jones – Bakersfield (AHL)
F Joey Laleggia – Bakersfield (AHL)
D Keegan Lowe – Bakersfield (AHL)
D Ryan Mantha – Bakersfield (AHL)
Montreal Canadiens
F Daniel Audette – Laval (AHL)
F David Broll – Laval (AHL)
G Zachary Fucale – Laval (AHL)
F Jeremy Gregoire – Laval (AHL)
D Brett Lernout – Laval (AHL)
F Martin Reway – Laval (AHL)
F Nikita Scherbak – Laval (AHL)
2017-18 Primer: Montreal Canadiens
With the NHL season now just a couple of weeks away, we continue our look at what each team has done this summer and what to watch for in the year to come. Today, we focus on the Montreal Canadiens.
Last Season: 47-26-9 record (103 points), first in Atlantic Division (lost in the first round to the New York Rangers)
Remaining Cap Space: $8.4MM per CapFriendly
Key Additions: D Karl Alzner (free agency, Washington), F Jonathan Drouin (trade with Tampa Bay), F Ales Hemsky (free agency, Dallas), D Jakub Jerabek (free agency, Vityaz Podolsk, KHL), D David Schlemko (trade with Vegas), D Mark Streit (free agency, Pittsburgh)
Key Departures: D Nathan Beaulieu (trade with Buffalo), D Alexei Emelin (expansion, Vegas) F Brian Flynn (free agency, Dallas), F Dwight King (free agency, Yekaterinburg, KHL), D Andrei Markov (free agency, Kazan Ak-Bars, KHL), D Nikita Nesterov (free agency, CSKA Moscow, KHL), F Steve Ott (retirement), F Alexander Radulov (free agency, Dallas), D Mikhail Sergachev (trade with Tampa Bay)
[Related: Canadiens Depth Chart From Roster Resource]
Player To Watch: F Jonathan Drouin – The Canadiens have lacked a high-end local talent for quite a while now which is something that Drouin is expected to change as he takes on a top-line role with the team. GM Marc Bergevin wasted little time signing him, handing him a six-year, $33MM contract mere hours after acquiring him so expectations are high.
At the time the trade was made, the belief was that Montreal would be able to retain Radulov and that Drouin would be able to augment a forward group that has had their difficulties scoring with consistency. With Radulov out of the picture though and no other prominent forwards being brought in, the 22-year-old will now be asked to not only equal Radulov’s production but build on it.
On top of that, the team is experimenting with him at center, a position he hasn’t played with any sort of regularity since his days in junior. Montreal’s weakness down the middle is well-known and is exacerbated by Alex Galchenyuk playing on the wing to start once again and it appears that they will be asking Drouin to try to help fix that issue as well.
Drouin has stated that he welcomes the spotlight as he plays for his hometown team. He better get used to it in a hurry as he stands to be a focal point of Montreal’s attack right away.
Key Storyline: While most teams see a bit of turnover on their back end each season, it’s rare for a team to see as much change over the course of a calendar year as Montreal has. Although he has only been with the Canadiens for one season, Shea Weber is already the second-longest tenured defender with the team (Streit has more games played with them but last suited up for Montreal in 2008 so that doesn’t really count).
Over the course of just over twelve months, Bergevin has completely overhauled their defense corps, including parting ways with their top three left-shooting options in the span of about a month this summer. While they have brought in plenty of depth, they haven’t brought anyone in to fill Markov’s role which creates another big concern heading into the season.
Alzner is expected to anchor the second unit which leaves the team without a proven option to play alongside Weber on their top unit. They have a collection of depth players who are better served in lesser roles while Jerabek and prospect Victor Mete (who has been paired with Weber in the preseason) aren’t ready to take on top minutes right away.
While they may be inclined to go with what they have to start the season, it wouldn’t be surprising if Montreal winds up needing to trade for another proven defender at some point. If nothing else, with more than $8MM in cap space to work with head into the year, making the finances work on such a deal shouldn’t be a problem at the very least.
Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.
Training Camp Cuts: 9/23/17
The more than fifty cuts made from training camps around the league yesterday was only the beginning. Weekend or not, expect the announcements to keep flooding in, and we’ll keep track of it all right here:
Anaheim Ducks
F Stu Bickel – San Diego (AHL)
F Maxime Comtois – Victoriaville (QMJHL)
F Alex Dostie – San Diego (AHL)
G Olle Eriksson Ek – Farjestad BK (SWE U20)
F Nic Kerdiles – San Diego (AHL)
D Brady Lyle – North Bay (OHL), released from ATO
F Antoine Morand – Acadie-Bathurst (QMJHL)
F Julius Nattinen – San Diego (AHL)
F Kyle Olson – Tri-City (WHL)
F Austin Ortega – San Diego (AHL)
D Turner Ottenbreit – Seattle (WHL), released from ATO
G Angus Redmond – San Diego (AHL)
F Kevin Roy – San Diego (AHL)
F Zach Saar – San Diego (AHL)
F Deven Sideroff – San Diego (AHL)
F Tyler Soy – San Diego (AHL)
D Jeff Schultz – San Diego (AHL)
D Keaton Thompson – San Diego (AHL)
Buffalo Sabres
F Eric Cornel – Rochester (AHL)
F Vaclav Karabacek – Rochester (AHL)
G Jason Kasdorf – Rochester (AHL)
G Jonas Johansson – Rochester (AHL)
D Brycen Martin – Rochester (AHL)
F Steve Moses – Rochester (AHL)
D Casey Nelson – Rochester (AHL)
F Kevin Porter – Rochester (AHL)
F Cliff Pu – London (OHL)
D Devante Stephens – Rochester (AHL)
G Adam Wilcox – Rochester (AHL)
Calgary Flames
F Austin Carroll – Stockton (AHL)
D Josh Healey – Stockton (AHL)
D Oliver Kylington – Stockton (AHL)
F Andrew Mangiapane – Stockton (AHL)
D Adam Ollas Mattsson – Stockton (AHL)
G Tyler Parsons – Stockton (AHL)
D Colby Robak – Stockton (AHL)
Carolina Hurricanes
F Clark Bishop – Charlotte (AHL)
G Callum Booth – Charlotte (AHL)
F Warren Foegele – Charlotte (AHL)
D Tyler Ganly – Charlotte (AHL)
F Gregory Hofmann – HC Lugano (NLA)
D Keenan Kanzig – Charlotte (AHL)
F Steven Lorentz – Charlotte (AHL)
G Alex Nedeljkovic – Charlotte (AHL)
F Andrew Poturalski – Charlotte (AHL)
F Nick Schilkey – Charlotte (AHL)
F Spencer Smallman – Charlotte (AHL)
F Sergey Tolchinsky – Charlotte (AHL)
D Josh Wesley – Charlotte (AHL)
Chicago Blackhawks
D Kyle Baun – Rockford (AHL) (cleared waivers)
G Jeff Glass – Rockford (AHL) (cleared waivers)
Dallas Stars
F Travis Morin – released from PTO, will attend AHL camp
F Greg Rallo – released from PTO, will attend AHL camp
Minnesota Wild
D Zach Palmquist – Iowa (AHL) (cleared waivers)
Montreal Canadiens
D Zach Redmond – Laval (AHL) (cleared waivers)
Nashville Predators
D Frederic Allard – Milwaukee (AHL)
F Derek Army – released from PTO, will report to AHL camp
F Bobby Butler – released from PTO, will report to AHL camp
F Tyler Kelleher – released from PTO, will report to AHL camp
F Justin Kirkland – Milwaukee (AHL)
D Joonas Lyytinen – Milwaukee (AHL)
D T.J. Melancon – Milwaukee (AHL)
F Angelo Miceli – released from PTO, will report to AHL camp
F Trevor Mingoia – released from PTO, will report to AHL camp
F Tyler Moy – Milwaukee (AHL)
D Trevor Murphy – Milwaukee (AHL)
G Matt O’Connor – Milwaukee (AHL)
D Jimmy Oligny – released from PTO, will report to AHL camp
G Jake Paterson – released from PTO, will report to AHL camp
F Stephen Perfetto – released from PTO, will report to AHL camp
D Rick Pinkston – released from PTO, will report to AHL camp
F Anthony Richard – Milwaukee (AHL)
New York Islanders
D Sebastian Aho – Bridgeport (AHL)
F Casey Bailey – released from PTO
D Kyle Burroughs – Bridgeport (AHL)
F Michael Dal Colle – Bridgeport (AHL)
F Scott Eansor – released from PTO, will report to AHL camp
F Tanner Fritz – Bridgeport (AHL)
F Ben Holmstrom – released from PTO
F Ross Johnston – Bridgeport (AHL)
F Jeff Kubiak – released from PTO, will report to AHL camp
D Kane LaFranchise – Bridgeport (AHL)
G Eamon McAdam – Bridgeport (AHL)
F Kyle Schempp – Bridgeport (AHL)
F Travis St. Denis – released from PTO, will report to AHL camp
F John Stevens – Bridgeport (AHL)
D Devon Toews – Bridgeport (AHL)
F Yannick Turcotte – released from ATO
D Mitchell Vande Sompel – Bridgeport (AHL)
D Parker Wotherspoon – Bridgeport (AHL)
New York Rangers
D Alexei Bereglazov – Hartford (AHL)
G Alexandar Georgiev – Hartford (AHL)
D John Gilmour – Hartford (AHL)
F Ryan Gropp – Hartford (AHL)
G Chris Nell – Hartford (AHL)
D Vince Pedrie – Hartford (AHL)
F Malte Stromwall – Hartford (AHL)
F Adam Tambellini – Hartford (AHL)
Philadelphia Flyers
D Mark Alt – Lehigh Valley (AHL) (cleared waivers)
D T.J. Brennan – Lehigh Valley (AHL) (cleared waivers)
F Greg Carey – Lehigh Valley (AHL) (cleared waivers)
F Corban Knight – Lehigh Valley (AHL) (cleared waivers)
G Alex Lyon – Lehigh Valley (AHL)
D Will O’Neill – Lehigh Valley (AHL) (cleared waivers)
F Phil Varone – Lehigh Valley (AHL) (cleared waivers)
Ottawa Senators
G Chris Driedger – Belleville (AHL)
G Marcus Hogberg – Belleville (AHL)
G Danny Taylor – Belleville (AHL) (cleared waivers)
D Erik Burgdoerfer – Belleville (AHL) (cleared waivers)
D Cody Donaghey – Belleville (AHL)
D Andreas Englund – Belleville (AHL)
D Macoy Erkamps – Belleville (AHL)
D Christian Jaros – Belleville (AHL)
D Patrick Sieloff – Belleville (AHL) (cleared waivers)
F Chris DiDomenico – Belleville (AHL) (cleared waivers)
F Vincent Dunn – Belleville (AHL)
F Gabriel Gagne – Belleville (AHL)
F Nick Paul – Belleville (AHL)
F Francis Perron – Belleville (AHL)
F Ben Sexton – Belleville (AHL) (cleared waivers)
F Kyle Flanagan – released from PTO (Belleville)
D Jordan Murray – released from PTO (Belleville)
F Jack Rodewald – released from PTO (Belleville)
D Charles-David Beaudoin – released from PTO
F Brendan Woods – released from PTO
F Drake Batherson – Cape Breton (QMJHL)
F Parker Kelly – Prince Albert (WHL)
Tampa Bay Lightning
F Shane Conacher – Released from PTO
F Alex Gallant – Syracuse (AHL)
F Kevin Lynch – Released from PTO (Syracuse)
F Otto Somppi – Halifax (QMJHL)
F Carter Verhaeghe – Syracuse (AHL)
D Mat Bodie – Syracuse (AHL)
D Reid McNeil – Released from PTO (Syracuse)
D Matt Spencer – Syracuse (AHL)
G Connor Ingram – Syracuse (AHL)
G Michael Leighton – Syracuse (AHL)
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: 09/22/17
The cuts keep coming from training camps around the league as the season draws near, with less than two weeks from opening night. Teams are starting to whittle down the players they’ll take in the regular season. Like every day, we’ll keep track of all the cuts right here:
Anaheim Ducks
F Antoine Morand – Acadie-Bathurst (QMJHL)
Colorado Avalanche
F Travis Barron – Ottawa (OHL)
F J.C. Beaudin – San Antonio (AHL)
F Julien Nantel – San Antonio (AHL)
Columbus Blue Jackets
F Hayden Hodgson – released from PTO
Dallas Stars
F Nick Caamano – Flint (OHL)
Los Angeles Kings
F Shane Walsh – released from PTO
F Evan Weinger – released from PTO
D Clayton Kirichenko – released from PTO
Minnesota Wild
D Gustav Bouramman – Iowa (AHL)
D Dylan Labbe – Iowa (AHL)
D Hunter Warner – Iowa (AHL)
F Adam Gilmour – Iowa (AHL)
F Pavel Jenys – Iowa (AHL)
F Chase Lang – Iowa (AHL)
F Mario Lucia – Iowa (AHL)
F Gerald Mayhew – Iowa (AHL)
F Dante Salituro – Iowa (AHL)
G Adam Vay – Iowa (AHL)
Montreal Canadiens
F Niki Petti – Laval (AHL)
F Yannick Veilleux – Laval (AHL)
F Thomas Ebbing – Laval (AHL)
F Antoine Waked – Laval (AHL)
D Stefan Leblanc – Laval (AHL)
D Simon Bourque – Laval (AHL)
D Tom Parisi – Laval (AHL)
F Markus Eisenschmid – Laval (AHL)
G Michael McNiven – Laval (AHL)
New York Islanders
F Kieffer Bellows – Portland (WHL)
F Arnaud Durandeau – Halifax (QMJHL)
D David Quenneville – Medicine Hat (WHL)
New York Rangers
D Sean Day – Hartford (AHL)
D Sergey Zborovskiy – Hartford (AHL)
F Dawson Leedahl – Hartford (AHL)
Vancouver Canucks
F Carter Bancks – Utica (AHL)
F Wacey Hamilton – Utica (AHL)
D Jaime Sifers– Utica (AHL)
Vegas Golden Knights
D Dylan Coghlan – Tri-City (WHL)
F Bryce Gervais – Chicago (AHL)
F Cody Glass – Portland (WHL)
D Nicolas Hague – Mississauga (OHL)
F Stephen MacAulay – Chicago (AHL)
D Kenney Morrison – Chicago (AHL)
D Dmitry Osipov – Chicago (AHL)
F Nick Suzuki – Owen Sound (OHL)
Winnipeg Jets
F Patrice Cormier – Manitoba (AHL)
F Francis Beauvillier – Manitoba (AHL)
F Brody Sutter – Manitoba (AHL)
D Kirill Gotovets – Manitoba (AHL)
D Peter Stoykewych – Manitoba (AHL)
G Eric Comrie – Manitoba (AHL)
Noah Juulsen Out Six Weeks With Broken Foot
Noah Juulsen suffered a broken foot on Monday night, and will be out for six weeks. It’s a disappointing outcome for the young Montreal Canadiens defenseman, who just this month was the topic of conversation between GM Marc Bergevin and TSN’s Bob McKenzie. Bergevin at that point said that Juulsen was “very close” to being NHL ready, and would be given a chance to compete at training camp. Unfortunately, this will end that chance.
Juulsen was a first-round pick of the Canadiens in 2015, and made his professional debut last season with the St. John’s IceCaps during the AHL playoffs. While it would have been extremely tough for him to jump right from junior hockey to the NHL this year, he does have an impressive skillset and the ability to make fans jump out of their seats with his open-ice hits. He’ll not certainly start the year with the Laval Rocket (Montreal’s new AHL affiliate) after rehabbing from this injury.
The Canadiens, who dealt away Mikhail Sergachev and Nathan Beaulieu this offseason, will need Juulsen to become a legitimate NHL player in short order. Though Shea Weber, Jeff Petry and Karl Alzner are locked in long term, they’ll need some entry-level players to start filling out the ranks as Carey Price‘s big extension comes into play. Jakub Jerabek, another newcomer signed to an ELC, will be an unrestricted free agent after just one season with the club, and could earn a bigger contract right away. Juulsen’s deal, which includes relatively few performance bonuses, could be very important to the team.