Snapshots: Mazanec, Vermin, Howard
The Nashville Predators have recalled goaltender Marek Mazanec and returned Juuse Saros according to a press release. Mazanec has appeared in four games this season with Nashville, posting a 0-2-0 record and a .839 save percentage. With AHL affiliate Milwaukee, he’s 12-10-0 and a .910 save percentage. Saros is 5-3-2 with a .910 save percentage in 10 starts for the Preds.
- Fan Rag Sports’ Joseph Nocco reports that the Tampa Bay Lightning have called up Joel Vermin from Syracuse. The Tampa Bay Lightning tweeted the announcement as well. Vermin has 17 points in 27 games with Syracuse. Nocco writes that this will be Vermin’s tenth game with the Lightning, though he has seen ice time sparingly in Tampa when with the big club.
- Jimmy Howard begins his first game in net for the Grand Rapids Griffins tonight in a conditioning stint that will get him one step closer to the Red Wings. Since suffering an MCL sprain in December, Howard told MLive’s Ansar Khan that he hasn’t thought about his knee at all as he prepares to come back onto the ice. From Howard:
“I haven’t given it a second thought, even when I’m out there, so that’s a great sign. Next step here is to see some game action.”
The Red Wings benefited from Howard’s strong play this season, until a groin injury and the MCL sprain bumped him out of the lineup. His numbers outperformed expected starter Petr Mrazek by a long shot. In 17 games, Howard has a 1.96 GAA and a .934 save percentage. If given goal support, Howard might be the catalyst to the Red Wings getting on a roll.
Blues Notes: Ribeiro, Hitchcock, Johnson, Armstrong
The Blues may be one of the more interesting teams leading up to the trade deadline. The team has talent, but has underachieved this year and is battling just to make the postseason as a wild card. St. Louis took the surprising step of firing highly-respected head coach Ken Hitchcock, who had already announced he was retiring following the 2016-17 season, but more changes could be on the way.
Jeremy Rutherford of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch hosted his weekly chat with Blues fans today and tackled several queries regarding what steps the team might take next. It goes without saying but the whole post is well worth your time. Regardless, here’s a compilation of a few of the highlights:
- Rutherford has long suggested the Blues need help at the center position and with Mike Ribeiro hitting the waiver wire today, one reader wondered whether St. Louis would take a chance on the talented pivot. While Ribeiro has a solid track record of offensive production, Rutherford just doesn’t see the soon-to-be-37-year-old as a fit for the Blues, citing the fact he has been a healthy scratch in Nashville on several occasions this season. Ribeiro does have 25 points in 46 games this season but only four goals. It’s likely the Predators sought potential trade partners prior to waiving Ribeiro and it would seem there wasn’t much interest. It’s possible someone besides St. Louis in need of center help will take a chance given the pivot is in the final season of his contract and wouldn’t come with much risk as a result. He did register a 50-point campaign in 2015-16 and tallied 62 the season before, suggesting he might still be able to help a team offensively.
- The scribe also addressed whether Hitchcock’s name might come up in connection with the Las Vegas head coaching job. Rutherford is of the impression the veteran bench boss wouldn’t be “keen” on the idea and while he doesn’t specify as to why, it’s possible that the 65-year-old is simply at a point in his career where he wouldn’t want to take on the challenge of building an expansion franchise from the ground up. However, despite the fact he was set to retire after the 2016-17 season, many in the industry have said they wouldn’t be surprised to see Hitch back in the league at some point.
- The Blues and Lightning have been linked as potential trading partners, given St. Louis’ issues in goal and the possible availability of pending free agent netminder Ben Bishop. However, Rutherford has heard that the Blues have interest in another Tampa Bay player: center Tyler Johnson. Johnson would make a ton of sense for the Blues. The team likely still fancies themselves as Stanley Cup contenders – if not necessarily this year – and a hypothetical deal for Johnson not only addresses a weakness now but would add a talented player who can be controlled as a RFA beyond the current campaign. Rutherford doesn’t specify what Tampa Bay would want in return but it’s safe to say a top-four defenseman would have to be part of the discussion.
- Lastly, Rutherford’s colleague with the St. Louis Post-Dispatch, Jesus Ortiz, argues that the Blues “fired the wrong guy” when they dismissed Hitchcock. Ortiz is of the belief the team should instead have given GM Doug Armstrong his walking papers. He points to the hiring of Mike Yeo as “head-coach-in-waiting” as potentially undermining the authority of the veteran bench boss. In the press conference following the firing, Armstrong made a reference to “independent contractors,” when describing some of the players on the team and it’s fair to wonder if that condition is related to the team’s overall approach to the handling of the coaching situation. Ortiz also suggests that allowing Troy Brouwer and David Backes to depart as free agents hurt the team both on the ice and from a leadership perspective. Additionally, the team’s decision to trade goalie Brian Elliott and install Jake Allen as the undisputed #1 seems to have backfired. Hitchcock has long been able to coax above-average play between the pipes due in large part to his strong defensive structure. That hasn’t been the case this season as each of the team’s goalies, Allen and Carter Hutton, has a S% below 0.900. However, it should be noted that Elliott is also struggling in Calgary, and there is no guarantee he would have duplicated his success from last season had he remained with the Blues.
Ribeiro, Marchenko On Waivers; Three Players Clear
The Nashville Predators have placed center Mike Ribeiro on waivers, according to Adam Vingan of The Tennessean.
We reported earlier this morning that Ribeiro may have asked for a trade out of Nashville. He was a healthy scratch for the Predators past three games and five of their past 11. Ribeiro has four goals and 25 points in 46 games so far this season. This is his third year in Nashville, but the first year he’s struggled to produce. Ribeiro had 62 and 50 points in his first two seasons in Nashville. The first sign of trouble was likely in the playoffs last season, when he was a healthy scratch twice while posting just two assists in 12 games. Vingan writes that Ribeiro is the most sheltered player in the NHL this season, starting more than half his shifts in the offensive zone. When Vingan asked coach Peter Laviolette about Ribeiro, all he said was “he’s a member of our team.” That’s not exactly a vote of confidence.
In addition, the Detroit Red Wings have placed Alexey Marchenko on waivers, per Sportsnet’s Chris Johnston. Marchenko has six assists in 30 games with the Red Wings this season. He also represented Russia at the 2016 World Cup of Hockey. The right-handed Marchenko is on waivers to make room for defenseman Brendan Smith, who will be activated off IR tomorrow, according to Ansar Khan of MLive.com.
Meanwhile, New Jersey Devils tough guy Luke Gazdic, Colorado Avalanche defenseman Eric Gelinas, and the Buffalo Sabres center Cal O’Reilly all cleared waivers.
Gazdic signed with the Devils as a free agent back in July. He had spent the previous few seasons in Edmonton, and actually lived with superstar Taylor Hall, who was traded to New Jersey just days before Gazdic signed a one-year, two-way contract worth $700K. He has no points and 12 PIM in 10 games with the Devils so far. He has two assists in 13 AHL games this season. He’s already cleared waivers once this season.
Gelinas, a former Devil, was traded to Colorado for a third round pick at last year’s trade deadline. He has a single assist in 26 games. His $1.575MM contract is likely why he cleared waivers. Should he be assigned to the AHL, he’ll account for $625K on the Avalanche’s salary cap. Gelinas’ roster spot will likely go to Mark Barberio, who was claimed off waivers from Montreal on Thursday.
O’Reilly is the older brother of Sabres’ star Ryan O’Reilly. He has one assist in 11 games, but is much better at the AHL level. He has 34 points (8-26-34) in 36 games. ESPN’s Pierre LeBrun reported Buffalo is looking for an upgrade at the fourth line center position (which O’Reilly had been occupying) via the trade market.
Trade Deadline Notes: Shattenkirk, Fleury, Ribeiro
The St. Louis Blues are willing to trade Kevin Shattenkirk. They’re even willing to sign him for eight years and then trade him, to facilitate another team acquiring the offensive defenseman.
Unfortunately for the Blues, no teams have shown interest in a sign and trade. ESPN’s Pierre LeBrun reports that fear of a flat-cap has lead to any inquiring teams to ask about Shattenkirk as a pure rental. So many teams are already tight to the salary cap, LeBrun writes, that signing Shattenkirk to $7MM annually would be too big of a commitment before the exact cap is known. While he will still get big money should he make it to free agency, that would be in July once teams know “the exact salary-cap figure they’re dealing with before splurging on him.”
LeBrun believes that the Rangers and Bruins have already reached out to the Blues, and that spending assets to acquire a rental like Shattenkirk isn’t in the cards for building teams like the Oilers and Maple Leafs. Blues GM Doug Armstrong will be patient until the trade offers improve before making a decision.
- Penguins GM Jim Rutherford is on the record as saying having two legitimate starting goaltenders in Matt Murray and Marc-Andre Fleury “doesn’t work ideally.” Despite this, Rutherford told the Pittsburgh Tribune‘s Jonathan Bombulie that his “preference is to keep both these goalies here this year.” While it’s understandable to want goaltending depth (they used three goaltenders in last year’s playoffs), the 32-year-old Fleury is clearly the backup now. Rutherford said he will listen to Fleury, and if the veteran wants to be moved now as opposed to the summer, then the GM will do whatever he can to do the right thing for the Penguins’ all-time winningest goaltender. It’ll be interesting to see how the Penguins handle the situation; more than two-thirds of the NHL doesn’t have the cap space to take on Fleury without sending salary back. Cap restraints are one of the biggest reasons we have yet to see any big moves this season.
- Sportsnet’s Elliotte Friedman appeared on Sportsnet 960 in Calgary on Friday morning, and discussed a possible trade request out of Nashville. Chris Nichols of FanRagSports quoted Friedman as saying Mike Ribeiro may have asked for a trade from the Predators. Friedman couldn’t say for sure, but did say it wouldn’t surprise him because Ribeiro isn’t in the lineup every night nor is he playing a marquee role. Ribeiro has four goals and 25 points in 46 games so far this season. He had 62 and 50 points in his first two seasons in Nashville.
Nashville Interested In Matt Duchene
ESPN’s Pierre LeBrun reported today (video link) that the Nashville Predators have expressed interest in the Colorado Avalanche‘s Matt Duchene. The Denver center stated publicly that he is open to a trade, but has not formally asked for one.
Colorado’s reported asking price for Duchene is steep. The Ottawa Sun’s Bruce Garrioch reported that Colorado is asking for a 1st round pick, a top-four defenseman, and a top prospect. Now, just because Colorado opens with that ask doesn’t mean it won’t budge on the price if there’s a deal to be had. The Avalanche, however, are under no pressure to trade Duchene, and will only do so to kickstart a rebuild or address glaring holes. The Avalanche desperately need help on the back end, and will focus in on acquiring a above-average defender.
Using Garrioch’s report as a template, the Predators may actually have the pieces to get a deal done without hamstringing its future. Goaltending prospect Juuse Saros is stuck behind Pekka Rinne for the next two seasons, and the Predators have maintained their stellar defensive depth. It’s a big price to pay for Duchene, but the Predators have to somehow overcome the highly competitive Central Division to take the next step.
Predators GM David Poile is no stranger to big trades. In the last two years he traded Seth Jones for Ryan Johansen, and then fan favorite Shea Weber for P.K. Subban. Could a trade for Duchene complete the trifecta?
Minor Transactions: 1/31/17
Here is where we’ll keep track of today’s minor roster moves:
- After clearing waivers, the Canadiens assigned defenseman Zach Redmond to St. John’s of the AHL, notes TVA Sports’ Renaud Lavoie via Twitter. He has played in 16 games with Montreal this year, posting five assists while averaging 12:19 of ice time per night. He also got into a pair of games with St. John’s on a conditioning assignment from an early season foot injury and was held off the scoresheet.
- The Panthers announced (Twitter link) that they recalled goalie Sam Brittain from Manchester of the ECHL. He was expected to back up Roberto Luongo tonight as Florida takes on Ottawa as James Reimer was with his wife who gave birth earlier today. However, he has returned to the team and Florida has subsequently returned (Twitter link) Brittain to Manchester. Brittain has played in 26 games with the Monarchs, posting a 2.96 GAA and a .902 SV%.
- As expected, the Red Wings announced that they have assigned left winger Drew Miller to Grand Rapids of the AHL, freeing up the roster spot to allow them to activate center Dylan Larkin off of injured reserve. As Miller hadn’t been up with Detroit for 30 days since clearing waivers earlier this month, they were able to send him down without requesting waivers on him once again. Miller has played in 35 games with the Wings this season, recording six points (5-1-6).
- Via a team release, the Predators have activated blueliner Petter Granberg off IR and have assigned him to AHL Milwaukee. Granberg missed the past six games with an unspecified injury in his first game after being recalled. Similar to Miller, the defenseman cleared waivers earlier this month and hadn’t been on Nashville’s roster long enough to be waived again. Granberg has played in ten games for the Preds this season, being held scoreless while averaging just shy of ten minutes per night in ice time.
- The Sharks have recalled defenseman Tim Heed from the AHL Barracuda according to the AHL’s Transactions page. It’s the sixth separate time this month he has been recalled as he has been brought up and sent down frequently in an effort to save up as much cap space as possible. Heed has seen action in just one NHL game this year but has put up better than a point per game at the minor league level, tallying 11 goals and 25 assists in 33 AHL contests.
Central Notes: Predators Goaltending, Staal, Blackhawks
Although Predators goaltender Pekka Rinne is on pace to see action in more than 60 games for the third straight season, the team is likely to play him a bit less down the stretch, notes Adam Vingan of The Tennessean. After shuffling between Marek Mazenec and Jusse Saros early on, Nashville has settled on the latter as the backup and Saros has fared quite well so far this year with a 1.79 GAA and a .941 SV%.
Accordingly, head coach Peter Laviolette has the confidence to use Saros a bit more often and is hoping that with Rinne not playing as much, he’ll benefit from the extra rest and parlay that into a better performance.
Saros has seen action in four games this month which isn’t bad for a backup goaltender. The extra rest for Rinne has paid dividends so far; the two netminders have combined for a .944 SV% this month, the fourth highest league-wide in January.
More from the Central:
- After a quiet 2015-16 campaign, Wild center Eric Staal is enjoying a career resurgence this year with 41 points (16-25-41) through 48 games. Head coach Bruce Boudreau told Dave Campbell of the Associated Press that he believes that his improved play this season stems from the fact that Staal is back in the position where he had the most success with Carolina early on – top line center with plenty of power play options while being in a winning environment, something that wasn’t the case in the last few years with the Hurricanes. Staal’s three year, $10.5MM contract signed early in free agency has been one of the top bargains from the summertime.
- The injury to Chicago’s Michal Rozsival is a lower body issue that will keep him out of the lineup for the next three weeks, reports Chris Kuc of the Chicago Tribune. Rozsival sustained the injury while blocking a shot in practice prior to the All-Star break. The 38 year old has played a sparing role with the team this season, suiting up in just 14 games.
- Still with the Blackhawks, centers Artem Anisimov and Marcus Kruger both missed Monday’s practice due to illnesses and their status for tonight’s game against the Sharks is uncertain, notes Mark Lazerus of the Chicago Sun-Times. If they can’t go, center Dennis Rasmussen and winger Jordin Tootoo would likely draw back into the lineup.
Snapshots: Tropp, Kruger, Blue Jackets
Just a day after bringing him up, the Anaheim Ducks have decides that Corey Tropp will head back to San Diego and the AHL. As Eric Stephens of the Orange County Register reports, the journeyman winger will head back to the AHL without a taste of NHL action. As mentioned yesterday when he was called up, Tropp hasn’t gotten a crack at the NHL level in more than two seasons, despite establishing himself as a regular on the Columbus Blue Jackets from 2013-15. The 27-year old Tropp is having a fantastic season for the San Diego Gulls, with 29 points in 32 games.
- While the Blackhawks are starting the rumor mill early this year with their reported interest in a pair of Red Wings, they might be getting some help back off the injured list sooner than later. Tracey Myers of CSN Chicago reports today that Marcus Kruger is “pretty close” and will hopefully return this week before the All-Star break. Injured on December 30th, Kruger was originally expected to miss only three weeks but faced a setback that has kept him out a bit longer. The Hawks miss his defensive presence and ability on the penalty kill, and will welcome him back with open arms. The team is now just two points back of the Minnesota Wild for first place in the Central division, but have played 48 games already – three more than the Wild. Firmly entrenched in a playoff spot – the team sits 12 points ahead of the third place Nashville Predators – the Blackhawks will be looking to add depth to their roster for another playoff run.
- Aaron Portzline of the Columbus Dispatch reports that both David Savard and Markus Nutivaara are out for the Blue Jackets’ game tonight against the Ottawa Senators. Dalton Prout and Scott Harrington will figure in as the bottom pair. The team is being very hush-hush on Savard’s injury, only saying it occurred in Thursday’s game when he left in the third period. Quietly, Savard is having another excellent season for Columbus, logging over 21 minutes a night, second on the team behind Seth Jones. The 26-year old is locked up long-term on a very tidy contract, earning $4.25MM annually until 2020-21. While he doesn’t get the press that Jones or Zach Werenski get, he’s an integral part of a group of young defenders (26 and under) that Columbus will ride for the next number of years.
Central Notes: Darling, Subban, Tarasenko, Maurice
The Chicago Blackhawks defeated the Boston Bruins 1-0 Friday night thanks to another stellar game from Scott Darling. Darling has been superb this season, and as it usually goes for the Blackhawks, is due a pay raise when his contract expires after this season. Mark Lazerus writes that even with all the success, Darling is quick to credit his teammates for any one of his performances while also counting Corey Crawford as “one of the best goalies in the world.” In Darling’s mind, Lazerus reports, there is no goalie controversy, no matter how strong Darling continues to play.
In other Central Division news:
- The return of P.K. Subban will continue to be a delicate process writes the Tennessean’s Adam Vingan. Subban was supposed to play less in last night’s game but ended up logging 23 minutes of ice time. Vingan also reports that just having Subban’s presence in the lineup proves to be an immediate boon for the Predators’ possession game. With the Preds winning five of their last six, Vingan adds that there’s no rush for Subban to return to pre-injury form.
- Stuck on 20 goals for a half dozen games, Jeremy Rutherford reports that Blues bench boss Ken Hitchcock will move Vladimir Tarasenko in an effort to generate scoring. Tarasenko will move to a line with Patrik Berglund and Robby Fabbri since Berglund has notched 10 goals in his last 16 games. Rutherford adds that Berglund cannot recall ever being on the same line with Tarasenko in his five years with the Blues.
- The Winnipeg Sun’s Paul Friesen doesn’t envy Jets bench boss Paul Maurice in having to deal with all of the different personalities on the team. But he is “puzzled” by Maurice’s approach. Friesen compares Maurice’s handling of 20-year-old Nik Ehlers with that of 31-year-old Dustin Byfuglien, and just how different it is working with a veteran and a rookie. Friesen reports that while Maurice was quick to explain Ehler’s shortcomings, he’s unsure as to why a veteran like Byfuglien is immune to the same critiques. He just wonders how Maurice will get a more consistent effort out of both players.
Eric Nystrom Making A Comeback
The last word out of Eric Nystrom was that his NHL opportunities had dried up and he was considering retirement. The ten-year NHL veteran had been bought out by the Nashville Predators and cut from his preseason tryout deal with the St. Louis Blues, and could not find a contract – NHL, AHL, PTO or otherwise – in North America. He was considering joining his father, former NHLer Bobby Nystrom, in the insurance business. That was in early November; fast-forward to now and there has been no noise out of the Nystrom camp as no NHL teams have come calling due to injury and no foreign teams have lined up for his services. That is, until now.
Nystrom officially signed with the Oilers today (spoiler: link in Norwegian). No, not the Edmonton Oilers, but the Stavanger Oilers in Norway. Nystrom played with the team in 2012, prior to the resolution of the NHL lockout, and is now set to return. When Nystrom was there five years ago, the fans fell in love with him as he scored 14 points in just six games and dazzled the home crowd. The team is very excited to bring back not just a great talent, but also a “solid character” (translated from Norwegian). The Oilers currently sit atop the Norwegian Elite League, or “Get Ligaen” with 77 points, eight points ahead of their closest competitor. They also boast two of the league’s top three scorers in fellow Americans Mark Van Guilder and Dan Kissell, teammates at Notre Dame University in the mid-2000’s whose NCAA success didn’t translate to the pro game. However, Nystrom should step in and become the best player on the team and in the entire league right away, as the Stavanger Oilers appear poised to roll to a league championship.
Should Nystrom really impress in Norway, which in terms of international leagues is likely outside the top five in competition level, he might be able to get another shot at the NHL. He will have to really light it up, though. The tenth overall pick by the Calgary Flames in 2002, Nystrom had a long, successful career, but nowhere near the one expected of him with that selection. Nystrom made a living off of being a reliable bottom-six forward, capable of scoring 10-15 goals a year, but not much more. A hard-working, gritty player who excelled on the penalty kill and could hit and block shots, Nystrom’s value came in his two-way ability. He certainly is a “solid character” as well. However, aging defensive forwards are not at the top of NHL wish lists, and Nystrom is fresh off being bought out by Nashville after seeing his ice time cut and scoring just seven goals in 46 games last season. Unless Nystrom can change everyone’s minds with a strong offensive and defensive stint in Norway, his comeback may be limited to just the Stavanger Oilers. However, a great veteran leader with strong work ethic can often find a way.