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Minor Transactions: 10/21/18

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Another Saturday night in the NHL has gone by, and with it another chance for young players to impress their coaching staffs. Now a new day opens and we’ll be right here keeping track of all the minor moves around the league.

  • Nick Paul and Christian Jaros have been returned to the AHL by the Ottawa Senators, in another cost-cutting maneuver. The Senators aren’t back in game action until Tuesday night, at which point they’ll likely make following transactions to bring some players back up or activate them from the minor leagues. After Mark Stone’s game winner last night, the Senators are flying high on early season success.
  • Kevin Rooney has been sent to the minor leagues by the New Jersey Devils, likely meaning that Jesper Bratt is getting close to a return. The Devils don’t play again until Thursday, giving the young forward several more days to recover from the broken jaw he suffered just before the start of the season. If he can’t go, expect New Jersey to make a different move in the next few days.
  • The San Jose Sharks announced they have assigned center Dylan Gambrell to the San Jose Barracuda of the AHL and is expected to play for them today. Gambrell has been on a roller coaster getting called up and sent back done several times already this year. The 22-year-old hasn’t made an appearance for the Sharks yet this year and has only made two appearances all season for the Barracuda, although he has posted three goals and five points in those two appearances.

Devils’ Steven Santini Suffers Broken Jaw

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When the Devils started Steven Santini over Ben Lovejoy on Saturday, it was in hopes that the young defenseman could help suppress some of the Philadelphia Flyers’ offense after a 5-goal effort from the Colorado Avalanche on Thursday night. Not only did the Flyers win 5-2 today, but the Santini experiment barely even got off the ground. On just his second shift of the night, Santini took a puck up high and was forced to leave the ice. He did not return. In speaking to head coach John Hynes after the game, beat writer Amanda Stein reports that Santini suffered a broken jaw. He will be out indefinitely.

This is an unlucky blow for both the player and team. Santini was making his first appearance of the season for the Devils and hoping to stick in the top six this time around. The 23-year-old defenseman played in 38 and 36 games respectively in his first two pro seasons, but has yet to even play half an NHL season, nevertheless establish himself as a starter. A second-round pick in 2013, Santini was a mainstay of the U.S. Juniors program and a standout defender at Boston College for three years. Santini is a stay-at-home type and does not bring much in the way of offensive potential, but is a smart, safe option on the back end and seemingly has the skill set and demeanor of a solid bottom-pair defenseman.

While that may not sound all that exciting, Santini is the exact type of player that the Devils could use right now. After a hot 4-0 start to the season, New Jersey has allowed ten goals in back-to-back losses and have the Nashville Predators, Florida Panthers, and Tampa Bay Lightning on the docket this week. With a less-than-stellar goalie tandem of Keith Kinkaid and Eddie Lack and a defensive corps that is top-heavy with offensive-minded puck movers like Sami Vatanen, Damon Severson, Will Butcher, and Mirco Mueller. The team could use more conservative, tight defensive play right now and hoped Santini could provide it. Instead, the onus could be back on banged-up Lovejoy to pick up the slack in the defensive end.

Minor Transactions: 10/20/18

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It’s a busy Saturday around the NHL with 13 games on tap so there is likely to be plenty of roster movement throughout the day.  We’ll keep tabs on those moves here.

  • Late last night, the Ducks announced that they had sent winger Troy Terry down to San Diego of the AHL and recalled winger Pontus Aberg to take his place on the roster. Terry had yet to record a point with Anaheim in six games so they’re hoping a trip to the minors will get him going.  He’s off to a good start after posting three points on Friday night.  Meanwhile, Aberg was claimed by the Ducks late in training camp but they re-waived him shortly thereafter.  He has a goal and an assist in two games with the Gulls so far this season.
  • With just six defensemen on their active roster, the Senators were expected to bring someone up in advance of tonight’s game against Montreal. They’ve now done so, announcing (Twitter link) that they’ve summoned blueliner Christian Jaros from AHL Belleville.  Jaros has already played in two games with the big club after making the team out of training camp, collecting an assist while averaging 10:32 per night.
  • The New Jersey Devils also made a couple of moves late last night as well, as the team announced they have assigned forward John Quenneville to the Binghamton Devils of the AHL, while recalling forward Kevin Rooney. Quenneville, the team’s 2014 first-round pick, made the team out of training camp, but hasn’t recorded a point in four games. The team hopes to get his offense going in Binghamton. Rooney, the 25-year-old penalty-killing forward scored 14 goals with the Binghamton Devils last season and had two assists in five games this year.
  • The Dallas Stars assigned forward Roope Hintz to the Texas Stars of the AHL, according to NHL.com’s Mark Stepneski. The 21-year-old had played five games with Dallas to start the season, but has failed to tally a point so far, especially Friday when he was given the opportunity to play on the team’s first line next to Tyler Seguin and Jamie Benn with Alexander Radulov out. Hintz played a career-high 17:26 and only posted two shots, a hit and a block. “You get an opportunity like that, you got to be pressuring pucks, you got to be creating more turnovers,” said Dallas head coach Jim Montgomery (via SportsDay’s Matthew DeFranks). “Didn’t see enough. It wasn’t a bad game.”
  • With neither Charlie McAvoy or Kevan Miller having skated during the pre-game skate, the Boston Bruins announced they have recalled defenseman Urho Vaakanainen from the Providence Bruins of the AHL on an emergency loan. The 19-year-old is the team’s 2017 first-round pick and has two assists in six games in his first season in North America.

Goaltender Cameron Rowe Commits To North Dakota

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Aaron Dell, Zane McIntyre, Cam Johnson, …Cameron Rowe? The young goaltender certainly hopes that he will be the next in a line of recent stud goalies to come out of the University of North Dakota. The U.S. National Development Program announced today that their keeper has committed to join the Fighting Hawks next season.

Rowe, 17, is a draft-eligible prospect who is regarded as one of the handful of goalies guaranteed to be selected in the 2019 NHL Draft. The Illinois native is in his second season with the USNTDP and led the U-17 squad with 43 appearances last season. This year, he’s sharing the U-18 net with fellow draft-eligible stopper Spencer Knight. Knight, who many feel is the top goalie prospect in the 2019 draft class and looks like a presumptive first-round pick next June, actually began making U-18 starts last year and has outperformed Rowe so far this year. The Boston College commit may even have the inside track to starring for the U.S. World Junior squad this year. While Rowe has had a tough time adjusting to the tougher competition so far this season, he continues to get his fair share of starts next to Knight and will likely improve as the year goes on, even if he remains overshadowed.

If anything, the fact that North Dakota was interested in Rowe is proof enough that he is a talented goaltender. The collegiate powerhouse has had immense success developing goalies of late. San Jose Sharks backup Dell was the first in line, helping the team to conference championships in each of his three seasons from 2009 to 2012, in addition to several individual accolades. Current Boston Bruins’ third-string McIntyre came next and in 2014-15 won the Mike Richter Award as the best goalie in the NCAA and was a finalist for the Hobey Baker award as the best player in college hockey. Most recently, New Jersey Devils prospect Johnson led the team to a National Championship in 2015-16. Interestingly enough, Dell and Johnson were never drafted and McIntyre was a seventh-round flier. Rowe, considered a legitimate NHL prospect already, may just have a chance to be the best of the bunch.

Jordin Tootoo Announces Retirement

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Long-time NHL grinder Jordin Tootoo is set to be honored tonight by his junior team, the WHL’s Brandon Wheat Kings, and again by the Edmonton Oilers tomorrow. Well, the 35-year-old got the weekend’s festivities off to a hot start this evening by officially announcing his retirement from pro hockey. The veteran of 723 NHL games missed all of last season due to injury and had not signed with any team this off-season. He now sets his sights on a new venture.

Tootoo, a long-time Nashville Predator, was selected in the fourth round of the 2001 NHL Draft. A two-way standout with the Wheat Kings and a member of Canada’s World Juniors team, Tootoo entered the league with high expectations. Although he never quite developed into a scoring threat at the NHL level, Tootoo made a living doing the dirty work: forechecking, winning battles along the boards, fighting for space in front of the net, and of course fighting. Tootoo’s hard work kept him in Nashville for eight years. In his final season with the team, his hard work earned him a career-high 13 minutes of ice time per night, which he turned into a career-best 30 points. That off-season, Tootoo signed with the Detroit Red Wings. He would suit up for two seasons apiece with Detroit and the New Jersey Devils before closing out his career in 2016-17 with the Chicago Blackhawks. In fact, Tootoo earned an extension from Chicago that would have played out last year, had it not been for an upper-body that kept him out all season. At the end of a 13-year NHL career, Tootoo totaled 65 goals, 96 assists, and over 1000 penalty minutes.

However, it is not Tootoo’s statistics that most will remember him for. It won’t even be his grit, his loyalty, or his work ethic. Instead, Tootoo will always be known for the impact he had on the indigenous populations of Canada. The first native Inuk to play in the NHL, Tootoo has devoted his career to advancing the game of hockey for indigenous peoples. It is an effort that has earned him respect and recognition across the league, even with a team he never played for – the Oilers – honoring his work. Tootoo will now turn his full attention to the mission that means so much to him. Tootoo has already done so much, but just as the hard-working veteran played on the ice, there is always more to do.

David Ullstrom, Eric Gryba, Brian Lashoff On Waivers

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Friday: All three players have cleared. Gryba and Ullstrom have both been assigned to the minor leagues, Binghamton and Tucson respectively.

Thursday: According to Craig Morgan of The Athletic, the Arizona Coyotes have placed David Ullstrom on waivers, indicating that he is close to recovered from his most recent injury. Ullstrom was on season-opening injured reserve to this point, but will report to the Tucson Roadrunners if he clears waivers. Eric Gryba of the New Jersey Devils has also been placed on waivers according to Corey Masisak of The Athletic, and Brian Lashoff finds himself in the same situation according to CapFriendly. Cory Conacher meanwhile has cleared and will be assigned to the Syracuse Crunch of the AHL, while Phillip Di Giuseppe has cleared but will remain with the Carolina Hurricanes for now.

Ullstrom, now 29, has been an enigma for his entire career. Selected 102nd overall in 2008, early on he looked like a steal for the New York Islanders given his size and speed while playing center on a regular basis. It’s hard to find quality centers that late in the draft, and when he made his North American debut in 2010 he found immediate success with the Bridgeport Sound Tigers of the AHL, scoring 41 points in 67 games. Unfortunately, that would be his career high at any level to this point.

After two cups of coffee with the Islanders in which he rarely showed the kind of promise he had in the minor leagues, Ullstrom was off to the KHL where he’d bounce around to five different teams. He returned to Sweden in 2017 to play for his former club, HV71, but signed with the Coyotes this summer to give the NHL another crack. He hasn’t played this season due to injury, and now he’ll have to make his mark in the minor leagues once again. All the measurables are there with Ullstrom, but he’s never been able to put it all together for a prolonged period of time.

Gryba on the other hand is a veteran defenseman just looking for a way back into the NHL. After not seeing the minor leagues for a few consecutive seasons, he found himself back in the AHL last year after being waived by the Edmonton Oilers. A buyout followed in the summer, and Gryba had to work to earn himself a contract this year with the Devils. Unfortunately, that hasn’t turned into any NHL action just yet. A trip to waivers might be the best thing for him, given the need for defensemen around the league, and his $700K cap hit may be attractive to some teams—even perhaps Edmonton, who has had trouble with the bottom of their group. There’s a real chance that Gryba is claimed, but if not he’ll have to face the minor leagues once again.

Lashoff too is coming off season-opening injured reserve, and seems unlikely to be claimed at this point. The veteran defenseman has played just 17 NHL games since 2014, and is a full-time minor league player for the Detroit Red Wings. He’ll likely spend the entire season in the minor leagues unless the Red Wings are hit with more injuries to their defense, but even then the franchise would likely turn to younger more dynamic options.

Cory Schneider Activated, Sent To AHL On Conditioning Loan

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The New Jersey Devils are doing just fine with Keith Kinkaid as their starting goaltender, but will soon get back someone who aims on taking his job. Cory Schneider has been activated from the injured non-roster list, and will now be sent to the AHL on a conditioning loan. Schneider is coming back from hip surgery, and looking to reclaim his place as a starting goaltender in the NHL. The team has also sent Eric Gryba to the minor leagues after clearing waivers, to open up room for Schneider who will still count towards the NHL roster.

Now 32, it has been a few seasons since Schneider really stood out as an elite goaltender in the league. Once a lasting presence on the NHL leaderboards, he’s carried just a .908 save percentage through his last 100 games and will have to really show his worth to overtake Kinkaid in the New Jersey net. That will be a difficult task seeing as Kinkaid is currently 4-1 with a .941 save percentage, but there’s still at least one thing in Schneider’s favor—money. The Devils owe Schneider $6MM for this season and three more, meaning their hands are somewhat tied when it comes to goaltending. With Kinkaid scheduled for unrestricted free agency in 2019, they might not be able to afford both.

That should give the Devils all the motivation they need to get Schneider back into the net on a regular basis, given that their future might rely on him. This team looks ready to compete for the playoffs for the next several years with their young core, and will need a solid goaltender to get them there. It does put pressure on the former All-Star to perform though, given that the team has a capable option to use this season instead of him. Schneider has been working hard all summer to come back from his latest injury, and will face his next test when he gets into some game action this weekend.

Minor Transactions: 10/15/18

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A new week of NHL action is on the docket, with four games set for tonight. Teams will need to adjust their roster for their next test, and we’ll be right here keeping track of all the minor moves.

  • The Pittsburgh Penguins have just one regulation win through their first four games, but seem to have gotten some good news today. The team has returned Tristan Jarry to the minor leagues after serving as an emergency call-up, and brought up recently waived Derek Grant to fill in. That surely means that Matt Murray is ready to return to action after suffering a concussion recently. Murray backed up Casey DeSmith this weekend, and is key to the Penguins’ hopes this season.
  • Adam Gaudette has indeed been recalled by the Vancouver Canucks to replace Elias Pettersson on the roster, while the young forward deals with a concussion. Gaudette has four points in four games with the Utica Comets of the AHL this season, after signing and making his debut at the end of last year with the Canucks. The fifth-round pick is an exciting prospect for Vancouver, who dominated at the college level with Northeastern.
  • After losing Marko Dano on waivers the Winnipeg Jets have activated Nic Petan from the non-roster list. Petan is still looking to break through and establish himself as a full-time NHL player with the Jets, but can’t seem to find much production thus far in his career. With Dano out of the way there is one less obstacle, but he’ll still need to improve his overall play.
  • The San Jose Sharks have sent Dylan Gambrell back to the AHL, in order to get the young forward on the ice. He hadn’t yet suited up with the Sharks, but will now get another chance to play with the San Jose Barracuda, where he scored three points in his debut this season. Gambrell is a very interesting prospect for the Sharks who was one of the top playmakers in the country at the collegiate level, but is still waiting on his first NHL point.
  • The St. Louis Blues will inject some youth and energy into their lineup, swapping out a veteran grinder for a young power forward. CapFriendly reports that the team has reassigned Chris Thorburn, while recalling Zach Sanford. Thorburn, in his fourteenth season in the NHL, is a serviceable checking line player, but at 35 has slowed down significantly and is no longer much of a two-way threat. He had skated in just one game for the Blues so far this year. Meanwhile, Sanford did not play in the NHL last season, missing most of the year due to injury, but now healthy has looked impressive in training camp and through four games with the AHL’s San Antonio Rampage. In his rookie season with the Blues and Washington Capitals in 2017-18, Sanford scored at a pace comparable to the best seasons of Thorburn’s career and should be a noticeable offensive upgrade over the older forward.
  • Joseph Blandisi has been recalled by the Anaheim Ducks, CapFriendly reports. The former New Jersey Devils prospect played in three games for the Ducks last season, but hopes to stick around longer this year. Blandisi notched two assists in his first three games with the AHL’s San Diego Gulls this season.

Calgary Flames Hesitant To Move Sam Bennett Despite Interest

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Through four games this season, young Calgary Flames forward Sam Bennett has just one point. He has yet to score a goal and has taken just six shots. He is seeing just over ten minutes of ice time per game, down more than four minutes from his career average. Bennett is currently on pace for just over 20 points on the year. It seems like a disappointing start and perhaps just an aberration for the 2014 fourth overall pick. In reality, it is par for the course for the 22-year-old forward. Since his strong 36-point rookie campaign in 2015-16, Bennett has failed to improve his production and has seen less and less ice time. This is simply a continuation of the trend.

To say that Bennett has failed to live up to the expectations of his lofty draft position would be to understate the issue. Drafted ahead of the likes of William Nylander, Nikolaj Ehlers, Dylan Larkin, and David Pastrnak in 2014, the Flames certainly expected far more out of Bennett thus far. His overall production is decreasing, he has never cracked 20 goals or 20 assists in a season, and a center when drafted now plays almost exclusively on the wing. Bennett has simply not at all been what the Flames thought they were getting at fourth overall. Meanwhile, the team is without a playoff win in the three years since Bennett became a regular and patience is running out in Calgary. Bennett has shown flashes of immense ability, but has lacked consistency and, more than anything, has been a poor fit in the Flames’ system. With the hire of new head coach Bill Peters, many expected a turnaround from Bennett this year, but it has been far from it so far. It would seem that Bennett’s time in Calgary is almost up, right?

Wrong, in fact. Sportsnet’s Elliotte Friedman led off his latest edition of “31 Thoughts” by acknowledging the trade interest in Bennett, but doubting that GM Brad Treliving and the Flames were ready to move on. Calgary is wary of trading Bennett while his value is at its lowest to a team seeking to buy low on the talented forward and finally find a way to get the most out of his ability. Friedman expanded on his comments with Sportsnet Radio 960 in Calgary, stating that the Flames appear to be obsessed with avoiding the mistake that provincial rivals the Edmonton Oilers made in trading away Taylor Hall at well below his true value. Hall was also struggling to meet the expectations of his draft slot, first overall in 2010, and it was compounded by the team’s struggles as well. Hall was traded to the New Jersey Devils for Adam Larsson and is now the reigning Hart Trophy winner and a top ten forward in the league. The Flames could certainly use a Larsson-caliber piece in their pursuit of a playoff berth this season, but not at the cost of losing a player that they still believe has untapped potential.

That is not to say that the team hasn’t considered offers, though. Friedman states that, while no deal was ever close, Calgary went “far down the road” in trade talks with several teams. Friedman specifically names the Anaheim Ducks, Montreal Canadiens, Philadelphia Flyers, and Tampa Bay Lightning as teams that he knows have had interest in Bennett before and, especially in the case of Anaheim and Montreal, likely continue to. The fact that Bennett is perceived as being available via trade would seem to indicate that the Flames continue to field offers for the young forward, even if they aren’t actively selling. While Friedman doesn’t see it happening, Bennett’s play so far this year is trending towards 2018-19 being a new career low. With a year remaining on his contract beyond this season, giving a new team the time to attempt to turn his development around, a poor season for Bennett could see Calgary finally give up on their once-top prospect. It’s fair to want to avoid giving up on potential, particularly for a disappointing return, but a point is fast approaching when Bennett can no longer be seriously compared to a player like Hall.

Snapshots: Kempny, Backes, Schmid

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Washington Capitals defenseman Michal Kempny is on the mend. Kempny has yet to play this season due to a concussion – one he doesn’t even remember suffering – after ending up on the receiving end of a high hit from the St. Louis Blues’ Robert Bortuzzo. Bortuzzo was suspended for the Blues’ opening night match-up, but is already back in action for St. Louis. Kempny hopes to follow suit, telling NHL.com’s Tom Gulitti that he hopes to make his season debut on Wednesday. Kempny practice in full today and was feeling good, but admits the final call will come from head coach Todd Reirden. The Capitals have fared fine without Kempny, winning in blowout fashion against the Boston Bruins before falling in overtime to the rival Pittsburgh Penguins, but Kempny would be a welcome addition back to the Washington lineup. The 2017-18 trade deadline acquisition found instant chemistry on the team’s top pair with John Carlson and brings high expectations into the new season.

  • The Bruins bounced back well from their beating at the hands of the Capitals on Wednesday, shutting out the Buffalo Sabres the next night with a rearranged forward lineup. However, WEEI’s Matt Kalman reports that the team is still not content with the play of Sean Kuraly as the third line center. The Bruins gave youngsters Jack Studnicka, Trent Frederic, and Jakob Forsbacka Karlsson – all recent high draft picks – the chance to win that job in training camp, but none could seize the opportunity. Kuraly began the year in the top nine by default, but has underwhelmed playing with both Ryan Donato and David Backes and Danton Heinen and Anders Bjork. As a result, Kalman states that the team is prepared to move Backes back to center, a position he has played infrequently since arriving in Boston two years ago, but almost exclusively played during his years in St. Louis. Kalman spoke to head coach Bruce Cassidy, who seemed optimistic about transitioning Backes back down the middle and his fit with Heinen and Bjork. It may not be a long-term solution, but should improve the contributions of the third line while the team continues to evaluate their options. The move would presumably return Kuraly back to the fourth line, where he and Noel Acciari starred last season and should again find success lining up with new additions Chris Wagner and Joakim Nordstrom.
  • New Jersey Devils prospect goaltender Akira Schmid has reportedly had enough of North American junior hockey already, early on in the new campaign. Schmid, a fifth round pick in June, had joined the WHL’s Lethbridge Hurricanes this year after developing in his native Switzerland. However, after failing to win the starter’s job and his first, disastrous appearance  – Schmid allowed seven goals on 27 shots – he appears to be ready to move on. European news source “Sonntagsblick” reports that Schmid is set to return to the SCL Tigers of the NLA in Switzerland, the program in which he developed. Schmid is likely to make most of his appearances with Langnau, the team’s top junior program. The question now, after such a rough experience in North America, is how long it takes Schmid to return. The Devils hope that this setback doesn’t stunt the growth of their promising goalie prospect.

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