Minor Moves: Labanc, Mete, Kuokkanen, Oilers
The San Jose Sharks have sent Kevin Labanc back to the AHL prior to their AHL affiliate San Jose Barracuda’s first playoff game. Labanc wasn’t going to get into the Sharks lineup unless an injury struck, and he will be a huge help to the Barracuda’s chances. In 55 NHL games this season, Labanc registered 20 points and was a point-per-game player in the 19 matches in the AHL.
A former OHL superstar, Labanc scored 127 points in his final year of junior with the Barrie Colts, and has turned from sixth-round afterthought to legitimate prospect in the San Jose system. Here are some more moves from around the league…
- The St. John’s IceCaps have signed Montreal Canadiens’ prospect Victor Mete to an amateur tryout. Mete was a fourth-round pick last summer who has enjoyed an excellent season in London, out performing fifth-overall pick Olli Juolevi offensively. His 44 points in 50 games was best on the team from the blueline, and he’ll now get a chance to show off at the professional ranks. Only 18, Mete will head back to London next year for another chance at the Memorial Cup.
- The Charlotte Checkers have added a London Knight of their own, as the Carolina Hurricanes re-assigned Janne Kuokkanen to their AHL affiliate. The 18-year old center was signed to a three-year entry-level deal just last month after his huge rookie season in the OHL. Scoring 62 points in 60 games, he proved why the Hurricanes made him a second-round pick (43rd overall) last summer.
- After letting Jesse Puljujarvi head to Team Finland for the World Championships, the Edmonton Oilers have recalled a group of Black Aces for their playoff run. Jordan Oesterle, Mark Fayne, Joey LaLeggia and Anton Lander will all join the club now that the Bakersfield season is over. This group will be first up should anyone suffer an injury during the Oilers’ postseason series against the Sharks.
Rangers Notes: Holden, Klein, Miller
Despite being tied 1-1 in their first round series with the Montreal Canadiens and the match-up moving home to Madison Square Garden for the next two games, the New York Rangers have made some notable changes to their lineup. The most intriguing is the absence of defenseman Nick Holden. Holden, acquired from the Colorado Avalanche in the off-season for just a fourth-round pick, has proven to be a solid pickup by GM Jeff Gorton. The big 29-year-old blue liner was healthy for 80 games this season and contributed career-highs in offensive production with 11 goals and 23 assists. Those 34 points were more than highly-paid teammates Dan Girardi and Marc Staal combined. Holden was also a +13 on the year, second only to captain Ryan McDonagh among defenseman, and was second on the team, again to McDonagh, in ice time as well, averaging over 20 minutes per game.
Yet, when the puck dropped on Game Three, Holden was watching from the press box as a scratch. There has been no indication that Holden was hurt in either game in Montreal, nor is there any knowledge of nagging injuries. For now, it seems as though Holden, arguably the Rangers’ second best defenseman this season, is simply a healthy scratch. Holden has only one assist and is a -1 so far in the playoff series, including a -2 in Friday’s loss, but it is hard to find sufficient evidence that his play has been poor enough recently to warrant a scratch. Perhaps there is more to the situation than has been revealed just yet, but for the time being the Rangers will see, for just the third time all season, how a lineup without Holden plays.
- In his place, the Rangers have moved veteran defenseman Kevin Klein into the lineup. The emergence of Brady Skjei, the trade for Brendan Smith, and, of course, the occasional injury have limited Klein to just 60 games this season, the fewest games he has ever played in a full NHL season in his career. Klein may not have the offensive upside that some of his fellow defenders do, but he is a very strong player in his own end and an intimidating physical threat. After allowing four goals against the Canadiens in Game Two when they held them scoreless in Game One, it reasons that the Rangers and coach Alain Vigneault may want to create a stronger defensive presence and Klein can get the job done. Klein will skate alongside Skjei tonight, while Smith moves up to replace Holden alongside Staal.
- Another interesting change is the demotion of J.T. Miller to the Rangers’ fourth line. Miller, in just his third full season, finished second on the team in scoring behind Mats Zuccarello with 22 goals and a career-best 34 assists. How quickly the memory of 56 points can be erased when a top scorer fails to register a point in back-to-back playoff games and takes only 3 shots to boot. Now, Miller finds himself on the checking line with Oscar Lindberg and Tanner Glass and will likely see a major drop in 5-on-5 ice time until he can work his way up into the top nine again.
Atlantic Notes: Price, Carlo, Krug, Acciari
While Islanders center John Tavares is garnering the most attention publicly among the potential high-end unrestricted free agents in the summer of 2018, Canadiens goaltender Carey Price is set to head into the final year of his contract next season as well. On a radio appearance with Sportsnet 590 in Toronto (audio link), Sportsnet’s Elliotte Friedman was asked about the possibility of Price hitting the open market (transcription via Fan Rag’s Chris Nichols):
“When I talked to him (GM Marc Bergevin) last year, he basically said he was going to do whatever he could to keep Price. I see no reason why that would have changed. The only reason that you could see them saying, ‘We’re not going to do it,’ is if they decide, ‘You know what? The money is going to be so much that we have to spread ourselves somewhere else. We have to decide to do different things.’
“But I know that every decision he was kind of making was with the idea that he knew he was going to have to pay Carey Price a lot of money, and he was prepared to do it.”
Price will earn $7MM in salary with a cap hit of $6.5MM next season. It’s expected that a new deal for him will likely come in above the $8.5MM cap hit that Rangers goaltender Henrik Lundqvist is currently receiving to set the new benchmark for goaltenders around the league.
Elsewhere in the Atlantic:
- Boston defenseman Brandon Carlo is making good progress as he continues to recover from an upper body issue that is believed to be a concussion, reports CSN New England’s Joe Haggerty. Head coach Bruce Cassidy noted that the Bruins are hoping to have him back in the lineup “sooner than later”. He was injured in the final game of the season against Washington after being the only defender to suit up in all 82 regular season contests. There remains no firm timetable for his return to the lineup.
- Also from Haggerty, things don’t appear to be as promising for bellow injured blueliner Torey Krug. Cassidy wouldn’t go as far as calling him anything more than day-to-day at this point (a common refrain at this time of year) but stated that he didn’t want to speculate on his situation. Krug was seen with a brace on his right knee after being injured in the penultimate game of the season against Ottawa. With Colin Miller (lower body) also out and Adam McQuaid (upper body) being banged up today, the blueline depth for the Bruins is really getting tested. As for injured winger Noel Acciari, the team is hopeful that he will be able to dress for Game Three of the series on Monday night. Acciari has skated with the team a couple of times this week but was still in a non-contract jersey on Friday.
East Notes: Lightning, Subban, Galchenyuk
The Tampa Bay Lightning headed into this season after a fruitful summer, getting Steven Stamkos under contract just before he hit the open market, signing Nikita Kucherov and Alex Killorn to team-friendly cap numbers and locking in Victor Hedman and Andrei Vasilevskiy to extensions that start next year. It was an impressive few months for Steve Yzerman and his management group, but he couldn’t rest on his laurels for very long. This season posed new challenges, and this summer would have been even tougher getting Tyler Johnson, Ondrej Palat and Jonathan Drouin under contract with such little cap space.
During the year the young GM moved out Brian Boyle, Ben Bishop and Valtteri Filppula, opening up a bunch of cap room for the summer and for the performance bonuses that several players—including Brayden Point, who came out of nowhere to put up a 40-point season—were now due to receive. He’s accomplished that goal as CapFriendly reports, clearing just enough room to not carry any bonus overages into next year. The Lightning were at risk of almost $1.2MM in penalties, which would have in all likelihood cost them a player. Now he’ll have around $20MM to re-sign Johnson, Palat and Drouin in addition to Andrej Sustr and Jake Dotchin, among others.
- Mark Divver of the Providence Journal reports that Zane McIntyre will head back to the AHL Bruins to start tonight, while Malcolm Subban will be heading to Boston as their emergency goalie. To be clear, that doesn’t mean that Subban will see the ice or that either Boston goaltender is injured, just that he will serve as an insurance policy should one of them go down in warm up—like Matthew Murray did before game 1 for the Penguins.
- Frank Seravalli of TSN opines that the Montreal Canadiens need to find a “finisher” for Alex Galchenyuk if they want him to produce these playoffs. Since he’s been demoted to a line with Steve Ott and Andreas Martinsen, Galchenyuk continues to produce offensive chances but isn’t getting much help from his linemates. It doesn’t seem like Galchenyuk will return to the center ice position under head coach Claude Julien, and will likely have to find a way to impress without the skilled wingers he was once given. If the Canadiens fail to register a goal again however, you can be sure the lines will hit the blender for Game 3.
Analysts Weigh In On The Stars’ Hiring Of Ken Hitchcock
The Hockey News’ Ken Campbell says it’s necessity, and not nostalgia, that led Ken Hitchcock back to Dallas. Writing that the Stars are a “mess” in net and on the blue line, Campbell sees Hitchcock as the perfect tonic for a team struggling to find an identity and build on its successes during the 2015-16 season. From Campbell:
Hitchcock, of course, is the only coach in franchise history to win a Stanley Cup in Dallas. And hooking up with the old ex certainly worked out for Claude Julien and the Montreal Canadiens, Randy Carlyle and the Anaheim Ducks and Paul Maurice and the Carolina Hurricanes.
And there’s no doubt that the market’s familiarity with Hitchcock is a nice bonus, GM Jim Nill is far too smart to pass over more qualified candidates just to get the band back together. Ken Hitchcock is coaching the Dallas Stars next season because Ken Hitchcock is exactly what the Dallas Stars need next season.
Campbell believes that Hitchcock will prove an immediate gain for the penalty kill, which was a source of discontent for Dallas all season. He also writes that Hitchcock should improve the overall defensive strategy, which in turn, will help the netminders, who have been underwhelming.
- Meanwhile, the Dallas Morning-News’ Mike Heika recalls that it was after a visit to Detroit in 2010 that Hitchcock became acquainted with Nill, who was then the assistant general manager in Detroit. Heika cautions that for this to work, Nill has to unconditionally support Hitchcock, who has been known to rankle his players–going back to his first stint in Dallas. He adds that this shouldn’t be challenging for Nill, since Detroit did employ two of the toughest coaches in terms of mindset: Scotty Bowman and Mike Babcock.
- Finally, Puck Daddy’s Greg Wyshynski rejects the nostalgia route as well, believing that it was absolutely the hire that Nill had to make. Hitchcock, Wyshynski writes, is exactly the guy to stop the Stars’ slide and make them a more defensively competent team. Further, the netminder between the pipes is irrelevant as Hitch succeeded regardless of the goalie during his other stops. Outside of perhaps Eddie Belfour, Hitchcock delivered winners in spite of goalies who rarely stole games for his team. Instead, it was defensive prowess that Hitchcock used to win, and will use again to get Dallas back to where they should be.
Playoff Injury Notes: Senators, Bruins, Canadiens
With the long regular season finally over, a new challenge has appeared for sixteen teams. The Stanley Cup playoffs represent one of the toughest grinds in all of professional sports, where intensity and physical play is increased and players are expected to skate through injuries. That said, some of the teams will start the postseason nursing injuries to some of their biggest stars, while others will welcome them back into the fold after a short rest. Here are some injury updates from around the Eastern Conference playoff picture.
- The Ottawa Senators will welcome back Erik Karlsson and Zack Smith for game one of their series against the Boston Bruins, GM Pierre Dorion confirmed today. The team may also get Marc Methot back into the lineup, less than three weeks since his finger was “shattered” by a Sidney Crosby slash. Inserting those three into the lineup will give the Senators a huge boost at both ends of the ice, as they continue to try and play their shutdown style.
- The Bruins on the other hand will be without Torey Krug for the entire first round, and miss Brandon Carlo for at least game one. The team signed and activated Charlie McAvoy earlier today to replace them, though losing Krug for the whole round is a devastating blow. Whether McAvoy makes an immediate impact or not, Krug has been the Bruins’ best puck-moving defenseman this year and will be sorely missed. Carlo on the other hand has looked like a veteran this year while paired with Zdeno Chara, making up for some of the captain’s decline in effectiveness. The team will also be without Noel Acciari for game one according to Amalie Benjamin of NHL.com.
- Montreal welcomed back an important face to practice today, as Shea Weber rejoined the team in a regular jersey and is expected to play in the first game of their series against the New York Rangers. Weber hasn’t played since March 1st, but will be a huge part of a Canadiens blue line trying to slow down the high-powered Rangers. While technically Montreal is the much higher seed, the Rangers finished with just one fewer point than them in the standings and should be considered at least even odds going into the series. Montreal needs all hands on deck to brush off what has been a roller coaster season and find some success in the playoffs this year.
Minor Transactions: Last Day Of The Regular Season
The Washington Capitals, who have long since clinched the President’s Trophy for the best record in the NHL this season, have next to nothing to play for in their 2016-17 regular season finale. What better use for such a game than to reward a time-tested contributor to the organization. The Capitals announced today that they have recalled Garrett Mitchell, as well as Chandler Stephenson, from the AHL’s Hershey Bears for the last game of the season. Mitchell, the Hersey captain, will make his NHL debut at 25 after being a sixth-round selection of the Capitals back in 2009. Far from an offensive juggernaut, Mitchell is instead a physical two-way forward who makes up for his lack of points by sticking up for the Bears’ younger players and leading by example in his own end. It is a classy move by Washington to give a player who has worked hard for the organization a brief glimpse at NHL life, even though his ceiling appears to be a nothing more than a fourth-line player at this time.
Around the league, the transactions are coming in fast:
- Washington’s opponent tonight is the Florida Panthers and newly-recalled young goalie Sam Brittain. It remains to be seen if Brittain will make his NHL debut tonight, but he’ll at least be on the bench as Florida announced that the 24-year-old had been promoted from the AHL’s Springfield Thunderbirds for the game. Brittain has played mostly in the ECHL this season and is far from being a regular NHLer any time soon, but will at least get a look at big league action in the season finale.
- Another goalie getting a rare look at the highest level is the New York Rangers’ Magnus Hellberg. Buried behind all-world keeper Henrik Lundqvist and one of the more reliable backups in the league, Antti Raanta, Hellberg was surely excited to hear that he had been called up from the AHL’s Hartford Wolf Pack. Hellberg, 26, has never started an NHL game and that won’t change tonight as Raanta gets the call for the Rangers. However, Hellberg has seen the ice three times in his career and has strung together several strong AHL seasons in a row, so gaining some more experience tonight, even from the bench, brings him closer to an NHL future.
- A goalie headed the other way today is the Montreal Canadiens’ Charlie Lindgren. Despite nothing but success in his few NHL appearances early in his young career, the Habs are set in net with Carey Price and Al Montoya. Lindgren will have to wait for opportunity to strike for a longer stint with the Canadiens, as he’ll head back down to the AHL and the St. John’s Ice Caps alongside defenseman Brett Lernout, the team announced.
- Another pair headed back to the minors are Winnipeg Jets’ prospects Kyle Connor and Nelson Nogier. Following their season finale yesterday, the Jets decided today to return the duo to the AHL’s Manitoba Moose to get some final play time in this season. While the Jets expected more than five points in 20 games from Connor in his rookie season, after being a Hobey Baker finalist for the University of Michigan last year, expect him to play a major role for Winnipeg in 2017-18.
- Another player set to take on a major role next year is Philadelphia Flyers defenseman Robert Hagg. Fans can get a preview of the prospect-studded blue line that Philly is likely to roll out in 2017-18 when Hagg makes his NHL debut today. The team announced his recall this morning from the AHL’s Lehigh Valley Phantoms, and he will skate alongside the likes of Shayne Gostisbehere and Ivan Provorov tonight and Travis Sanheim and Samuel Morin as well next year in a truly impressive collection of young talent.
- Across the state, the Pittsburgh Penguins are planning on resting some of their players today – those that aren’t already injured anyway – and have called up a trio of players from the AHL’s Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins to help fill the voids. Oskar Sundqvist and Derrick Pouliot, two names familiar to Penguins fans, will return to the lineup, while Jean-Sebastien Dea will make his NHL debut. A longtime WBS contributor, Dea’s work ethic and consistency has finally earned him his first shot at the pros for a team that is in desperate need of depth that can step up their play.
- Pittsburgh’s Round One opponent, the Columbus Blue Jackets, are adding some promising young talent of their own in forward Sonny Milano. The team announced that they had promoted the 2014 first-rounder from the AHL’s Cleveland Monsters and that he will get the call today against the Toronto Maple Leafs as the Jackets look to reverse their recent luck before the postseason gets underway. Milano has only skated in three games with Columbus this season, but leads the Monsters in scoring with 46 points in 61 games.
- The St. Louis Blues announced that they have recalled defenseman Chris Butler from the AHL’s Chicago Wolves. However, Butler’s return to the NHL lineup may be overshadowed by the possibility that Vladimir Sobotka could also make his season debut after a long hiatus from the team while playing in the KHL.
- With an extremely disappointing season finally over in Dallas, the Stars have moved a slew of players back down to the AHL’s Texas Stars to give them some play time before the end of the season. Forwards Jason Dickinson, Mark McNeill, Gemel Smith, Denis Gurianov, and Remi Elie and defenseman Julius Honka will all head back to Texas, a team that, like its affiliate, has no chance at the playoffs either.
More to come throughout the final day of the 2016-17 season
Saturday Snapshots: Final Saturday Of The Regular Season
8:48pm: The Toronto Maple Leafs defeated the Pittsburgh Penguins 5-3, clinching a playoff spot for the first time since 2013. Despite losing goaltender Frederik Andersen, the Leafs rallied for three goals in the third to punch their ticket to the playoffs. TSN’s Bob McKenzie sums up the seedings with tomorrow’s results. If Toronto gets one point tomorrow, they will take on Ottawa in the first round while Boston faces off against Washington. Should they lose, they draw Washington and the Bruins get Ottawa.
2:54 pm: Today is the second last day of the regular season, and as such, there’s a lot going on around the National Hockey League. The entire playoff bracket can be finalized this evening, stars will be healthy scratched, and milestones hit.
Playoff Matchups:
- Two Eastern Conference matchups have already been set: Canadiens vs Rangers and Penguins vs Blue Jackets. Another could be set tonight, if Toronto, Ottawa, and Boston all win. That would mean Capitals vs Maple Leafs. Should the Maple Leafs lose while the other two win, then that would guarantee Senators vs Bruins.
- Wild vs Blues is clinched by a St. Louis win or a Nashville loss.
- Oilers vs Sharks would be clinched by:
- An Oilers extra-time loss vs the Canucks tonight, OR
- An Oilers regulation loss and a Sharks loss in any fashion.
- Blackhawks vs Predators happens if:
- The Predators lose in regulation, OR
- The Flames win and the Blues get a single point, OR
- The Flames and Predators both lose in OT.
- The Flames would take on the Ducks if:
- The Oilers lose, the Blues get a point, and the Flames win, OR
- The Oilers lose, and both the Flames and Predators lose in OT, OR
- The Oilers lose, and the Predators lose in regulation.
- The Flames would take on the Blackhawks if Calgary loses and the Predators win.
- The Ducks would take on the Predators if:
- Both Edmonton and Calgary lose, and the Predators win, OR
- Nashville gets a point, while Edmonton loses and Calgary loses in regulation.
Other clinching scenarios:
- The Oilers clinch home-ice with a single point. They visit Vancouver tonight, and host them tomorrow.
- The Ducks clinch the Pacific Division with an Oilers loss of any kind.
- To pass Anaheim and win the Pacific, the Oilers would need to sweep the Canucks this weekend and have Anaheim lose to Los Angeles tomorrow.
- Should the Toronto Maple Leafs win tonight against the visiting Pittsburgh Penguins, Toronto will clinch a playoff spot for the first time since 2013. That would eliminate the New York Islanders and Tampa Bay Lightning.
- The Islanders could also be eliminated with a regulation loss or any kind of loss if the Maple Leafs get a single point.
- UPDATE: Ottawa clinched home ice by defeating the Rangers, 3-1.
- They defeat the Rangers today, OR
- Boston and Toronto lose in regulation, OR
- The Bruins and Senators each get a single point combined with a Maple Leafs OT loss.
Scratches:
- The Penguins are resting a handful of players, but not their captain. Regulars Nick Bonino, Brian Dumoulin, Patric Hornqvist, Matt Murray, and Bryan Rust will all be healthy scratches, however Sidney Crosby will dress. Forward Kevin Porter and goaltender Tristan Jarry have been called up to fill out the lineup; Jarry will back up Marc-Andre Fleury. The Penguins coach, Mike Sullivan, told TSN that he’s aware of what’s on the line for the Maple Leafs, but re-iterated that his priority is to do what’s best for the team “in the short-term and the long-term. Having said that the lineup we put in will be competitive.”
- The Canucks will be without the services of Sven Baertschi for this weekend’s home-and-home with the Oilers. Postmedia’s Ben Kuzma reports that Baertschi may have hurt his shoulder or neck on Thursday vs the Coyotes.
- The Senators will be resting several players. Their lineup isn’t known yet, but Postmedia’s Bruce Garrioch suggested Craig Anderson, Mike Hoffman, Dion Phaneuf, Kyle Turris, and Viktor Stalberg as possibilities.
Milestones:
- Oilers captain Connor McDavid could become just the fifth player to score 100 points since 2010. He’s sitting at 97 points in 80 games, the seventh-most points in a season during in that time frame. Only Evgeni Malkin, Daniel Sedin, Crosby, and Patrick Kane have cracked the century-mark this decade. McDavid is nine points ahead of Crosby and Kane for the NHL scoring lead, and looks poised to take home the Art Ross in his first full season at age 20.
- With one more goal this season, Auston Matthews can become the fifteenth rookie in NHL history to score 40 goals. Currently, he’s tied with Crosby, Steve Yzerman, and Peter and Anton Stastny at 39. Kings’ coach Darryl Sutter, Sylvain Turgeon, and Warren Young all scored 40 goals in their rookie seasons.
Minor Transactions: 4/8/2017
With the NHL set to wrap up the 2016-17 regular season this weekend, several clubs with postseason seeds locked in are taking the opportunity to rest key players. This gives several minor league players a chance to earn a late season call-up and to see some NHL action in the season’s closing days. We’ll recap the day’s minor transactions in this post.
- The Pittsburgh Penguins announced via Twitter that they have recalled forward Kevin Porter and netminder Tristan Jarry from Wilkes-Barre/Scranton of the AHL. Porter has spent the entire season so far with the baby Penguins but does bring plenty of NHL experience to the table with 247 regular season appearances over parts of seven seasons. For his career, the 5-foot-11, 191-pound winger has netted 29 goals and 58 points while averaging 12:39 of action per game. Porter was a key penalty killer last season in Pittsburgh and saw action in 41 game s before suffering a season-ending injury. He has 46 points in 67 AHL games this season, helping Wilkes-Barre/Scranton earn their 15th consecutive playoff berth. Jarry, who has yet to make his NHL debut, has been outstanding between the pipes for the baby Pens. He’s won 25 of 45 decisions and posted a GAA of 2.15 and a Save % of 0.925 in 45 contests. Jason Mackey of the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette suggests the recalls mean the Penguins intend on resting “someone.” After wrapping up the second seed in the Metro Division and a first round playoff date set with Columbus, it wouldn’t be shocking if the team gave superstar center Sidney Crosby and #1 goalie Matt Murray the weekend off, though that is simply my own speculation. That scenario would give Jarry a solid shot at making his NHL debut.
- The Buffalo Sabres have inked center Sean Malone, their sixth-round draft choice in 2013, to a two-year, entry level deal, the club announced this morning. Malone, a native of West Seneca, New York, recently concluded his senior year at Harvard and finished the 2016-17 campaign with 18 goals and 42 points in 36 games. Malone and his Harvard teammates saw their season end in stunning fashion during their Frozen Four semifinal game when Minnesota-Duluth broke a 1 – 1 tie with 26.6 seconds remaining in regulation. Malone closes out his college career with 42 goals and 99 points in 115 NCAA games.
- Taylor Beck, who was recalled from Hartford yesterday, will make his New York Rangers debut tonight, the club announced via Twitter. The 25-year-old RW was acquired by the Rangers from Edmonton at the trade deadline in exchange for fellow forward Justin Fontaine. Beck has had a terrific AHL campaign, registering 63 points in 54 games split between Bakersfield and Hartford. In 9 career NHL contests, the 6-foot-2, 203-pound Beck has tallied 11 goals and 23 points. He failed to record a point in three earlier appearances with the Oilers this season. Beck will draw into the lineup for New York as the Rangers plan to rest forwards Derek Stepan, Jesper Fast, Mats Zuccarello and Rick Nash, the latter three for the second straight game.
- Montreal has recalled junior defenseman and 2016 first round pick Mikhail Sergachev from Windsor of the OHL. Normally, once a prospect has been returned to junior by his parent club, they cannot be recalled but the Canadiens took advantage of a little-used provision that allows them to do so in certain scenarios. Cap Friendly, via Twitter, provides the details of this provision in the CBA. In this case, since Windsor’s season is now over following their elimination from the OHL playoffs and with Montreal having already recalled a defender from the minor leagues on an emergency basis, the Habs were able to bring Sergachev up, also on an emergency basis. Sergachev appeared in three games earlier this season with Montreal before being returned to Windsor. The blue liner, still just 18, registered 43 points in 50 regular season games and another three in the playoffs for the Spitfires.
- Philadelphia Flyers GM Ron Hextall announced this morning that the club has recalled goaltender Anthony Stolarz from Lehigh Valley of the AHL. Stolarz has appeared in six games with the Flyers on the season, starting three times. He has posted a 0.932 Save % and a GAA of just 1.93 in his first taste of NHL action. Sam Carchidi, who covers the team for the Philadelphia Inquirer adds via Twitter that Stolarz will back up Steve Mason tonight with the Flyers on the road in Columbus and will likely get the starting assignment tomorrow as the team closes out its campaign at home against Carolina.
Evening Snapshots: Julien, Compher, Thornton
Fresh off of a clinch of a playoff spot, the Montreal Gazette’s Stu Cowan explains why Canadiens fans should be toasting the new bench boss who guided the team to the postseason with a steady hand. Claude Julien was hired immediately following the Habs’ firing of Michel Therrien, and with Julien in charge, Montreal experienced a surge that carried them into the playoffs. Cowan writes that the Canadiens are 13-5-1 since Julien took over and following his first practice with the team, Julien said this:
“Guys had to go on the ice today feeling good about themselves. I made sure that happened. Guys want hope. Guys want excitement. Guys want positive messages. It’s easy for a new coach coming in to give those positive messages. I wanted them to know how good I think the team is. We’re in first place, OK? There’s no need to panic, but there’s a need to fix.”
With the team for at least five seasons, and for the job he’s already done in his first few months on the job with the Canadiens (again), Cowan believes the coach deserves to be the toast of Montreal.
In other NHL news:
- The Avalanche may have had a tough year, but there are still silver linings. One of those come in the form of center J.T. Compher, who Denver Post writer Terry Frei reports has been a welcome addition after general manager Joe Sakic called up the kids. Compher, a University of Michigan product, has three goals in 16 games and has centered a line with Gabriel Landeskog, and Matt Duchene. For Compher, it’s about learning “consistency” after being called up following the Avs’ trade of Jarome Iginla, and also finishing the season strong. With the Avalanche looking to win the draft lottery and build upon its young core, Compher figures to be an essential building block in what needs to be an efficient and swift rebuild after such a crushing season.
- The Sun-Sentinel’s Craig Davis writes that while Shawn Thornton is known for his tough guy persona on the ice, it’s his “nice guy” persona off the ice that earned him a Bill Masterson Trophy nomination for the Florida Panthers. Thornton’s self-named foundation works to raise research funds in the fight against Parkinson’s and cancer. In addition to doing community outreach, Thornton also holds an annual charity golf outing. Though he made headlines recently for his furious quotes regarding Alexei Emelin, Davis highlights the side of hockey where the compassionate side of hockey players take precedence.