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Minor Transactions: 02/05/17

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On what is sure to be a slow Super Bowl Sunday, we’ll keep all the minor news right here:

Nashville Predators Acquire Vernon Fiddler

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With the New Jersey Devils falling further out of a playoff spot, they’ve started selling off their veteran assets. The team has dealt Vernon Fiddler to the Nashville Predators for a fourth-round pick in 2017. Fiddler was signed this summer for just $1.25MM, but has provided only three points through his first 39 games.

Fiddler will return to the place he began his career, debuting for the Predators back in 2002-03. The Edmonton, Alberta native has played in 857 games total over his long career. Even though he’s never been an offensive dynamo (his career high is 13 goals) Fiddler is a testament to work ethic and defensive prowess. He’s been able to stay relevant in the NHL through strong faceoff play and responsible positioning.

The Devils have now acquired three additional picks for this summer’s draft, adding this to the Bruins’ second-round pick and Avalanche’s third-rounder. They’ll have six picks in the first four rounds this year and next, letting a team that finds itself at the bottom of the Eastern Conference start their rebuild (or perhaps reload).

Remember just last year the Devils had two 30-goal scorers in Adam Henrique and Kyle Palmieri and added Taylor Hall in the offseason. One would think that they wouldn’t have trouble putting the puck in the net, but currently find themselves last in the East in goal scoring (going into tonight’s action). P.A. Parenteau, another upcoming free agent should also be dealt by the deadline, along with Kyle Quincey if they can find a taker.

Nashville will add Fiddler to their depth down the middle that has been questioned at times this year. Likely slotting in on the fourth line, he’ll see time on the penalty kill and in defensive zone starts. Never under 50% in the faceoff dot in a single season, Fiddler is currently winning 52.6% of his draws. Combined with Mike Fisher and Ryan Johansen, who are both excellent faceoff men, the Predators will start with the puck more than not.

Ribeiro, Marchenko On Waivers; Three Players Clear

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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.

Minor Transactions: 2/2/17

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Here is where we’ll keep track of today’s minor roster moves:

  • The Capitals announced that they’ve assigned center Chandler Stephenson back to Hershey of the AHL. Stephenson got into a trio of games with the Caps over the past week and a half, being held pointless while averaging 8:45 per night.  He has spent the bulk of the year at the AHL level, recording six goals and 18 assists in 41 games with the Bears.
  • With goalie Antti Raanta taking a leave of absence to be with his wife gave birth to their first child earlier today, the Rangers announced that they have summoned Magnus Hellberg from AHL Hartford. The 25 year old netminder has played in 26 games with the Wolf Pack, going 10-9-5 with a 2.86 GAA and a .906 SV%.
  • The Wild announced that they have recalled 2014 first round pick right winger Alex Tuch from Iowa of the AHL. Tuch is in his first professional season and has 11 goals and 11 assists in 34 games at the minor league level this season and has yet to play at the NHL level.  He also was named to the AHL All-Star game which took place late last month.
  • Anaheim has recalled defenseman Shea Theodore from San Diego (AHL), reports Eric Stephens (Twitter link). He has been back and forth plenty of times this season (this is recall number 12 for him) and has played in 25 games with the Ducks, scoring once while adding seven assists.  He has fared better offensively at the minor league level with nine points (1-8-9) in 13 contests with the Gulls.
  • Toronto has assigned center Frederik Gauthier back to the AHL’s Marlies, reports Sportsnet’s Chris Johnston (Twitter link).  Taking his place on the roster is center Ben Smith who had been out since late December with a hand injury.  Gauthier has played in 18 games with the Maple Leafs this season, picking up two goals and an assist while winning just over 51% of his faceoffs.  At the minor league level, he has a goal and three helpers in 17 contests.
  • The Devils announced (via Twitter) that they have recalled forward Joseph Blandisi from AHL Albany.  Blandisi spent half the season in the NHL last year, picking up 17 points (5-12-17) in 41 games.  However, he has yet to see action with New Jersey this season.  However, he has been productive with the AHL Devils this year scoring seven goals to go along with 16 assists in just 28 games.

Cal O’Reilly, Luke Gazdic, And Eric Gelinas Placed On Waivers

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A trio of players are entering their second stints on the waiver wire as center Cal O’Reilly (Buffalo), winger Luke Gazdic (New Jersey), and defenseman Eric Gelinas (Colorado) have all been placed on waivers today, reports Sportsnet’s Chris Johnston (Twitter link).

O’Reilly has played in 11 games with the Sabres this season, recording an assist along with a -6 rating while playing just under eight minutes per game.  He also won 48.5% of his faceoffs, slightly above his career average of 46.6%.  He has fared much better at the minor league level with Rochester, scoring 34 points (8-26-34) in 36 games.  The 30 year old has 144 career games of NHL experience with the Predators, Coyotes, Penguins, and Sabres, recording 49 points (16-33-49).  ESPN’s Pierre LeBrun adds via Twitter that Buffalo is looking for an upgrade at the fourth line center position (which O’Reilly had been occupying) via the trade market.

Gazdic has seen action in ten games with the Devils since being recalled in late December.  The enforcer was held off the scoresheet while recording 12 penalty minutes and 14 hits.  He also has played in 13 games with AHL Albany, picking up a pair of helpers along with 19 penalty minutes.  Andrew Gross of Fire and Ice notes (Twitter link) that it’s not a guarantee that he will be sent back down if he clears.  Assuming he does pass through unclaimed, he could remain with the Devils for 30 days or 10 games without having to go through waivers again.  The 27 year old has played in 146 NHL games in his career (mostly with Edmonton), collecting eight points (5-3-8) along with 206 penalty minutes and 214 hits.

As for Gelinas, he has remained at the NHL level all season despite clearing waivers back on December 1st.  He has suited up in 26 games with the Avalanche this year, recording just a single assist while averaging just under 12 minutes per game, not the type of production they were seeking when they dealt a third round pick  to New Jersey for him at the trade deadline last season.  With a cap hit of $1.575MM, he’s likely to clear.  His spot on the roster will likely go to Mark Barberio, who was claimed off waivers from Montreal earlier today.

Still with the waiver wire, Kings defenseman Tom Gilbert passed through unclaimed, James Mirtle of The Athletic reports via Twitter.  The team announced (Twitter link) that he was assigned to Ontario of the OHL.

AHL Announces Realignment For 2017-18

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The AHL is set to make some changes to its league structure yet again. The AHL’s president and CEO, Dave Andrews, made the annual AHL All-Star League Address this morning, and NHL.com’s Patrick Williams was on hand to relay the news. While Andrews commented on many issues across the minor league, the main announcement was that of divisional realignment coming before next season, to accommodate the movement of existing teams. The two new teams, of course, are re-located Canadian squads. The Montreal Canadiens’ affiliate, the St. John’s Ice Caps, are moving to Laval, Quebec to become the Laval Rocket. The Ottawa Senators are moving their affiliate, the Binghamton Senators of upstate New York, across the border to Belleville, Ontario.

The realignment plans come as somewhat of a surprise to many. The AHL has gone through massive alignment in recent years, with the move of many franchises to the west coast, including the rookie franchise Tuscon Roadrunners, but appeared to have found a good balance. The league is currently structured as the inverse of the NHL, with eight teams in each Western Conference division and seven teams in each Eastern Conference division, and neither of next year’s moves appears to be in conflict with that formula. While the Laval Rocket will no longer be as far east as St. John’s, Newfoundland, they will still be the most northeastern team in the league and were expected to remain in the North Division with fellow Canadian team, the Toronto Maple Leafs’ Marlies franchise. Similarly, the move from Binghamton to Belleville is not exactly a geographic jump, and the AHL Senators were also expected to remain in the North Division. The AHL has not announced the specifics of the 2017-18 realignment just yet, but if it is prompted by these two moves, it is difficult at this point to pinpoint what changes may be made.

The AHL also has to consider future changes when realigning for next season.  With the Ottawa Senators moving their team out of Binghamton to fill the void left by the OHL’s Belleville Bulls, the New Jersey Devils have jumped at a similar opportunity, announcing that the Albany Devils will replace the Senators in Binghamton, beginning in 2018-19. There is also the possibility that a 31st AHL franchise will be added as soon as next year to serve as the Vegas Golden Knight’s affiliate, and will certainly be added at some point in the next few years. Andrews briefly touched on the topic of new AHL locations, stating that the AHL will not be going to Kansas City, Missouri next year, nor have they had any talks with the abandoned Nassau Coliseum about putting a team in the Islanders’ old home. Andrews did confirm that talks of new locations are exclusive only to a new franchise right now, as there have been no discussions about moving the Vancouver Canucks’ affiliate, the Utica Comets, from New York to the west coast and the Carolina Hurricanes’ Charlotte Checkers franchise will not be moving either, but will potentially transfer to the Eastern Conference as part of realignment to better accommodate their coastal location. With many questions still yet to be answered regarding the structure of the AHL for next year and beyond, expect more news to continue coming out over the course of the next few months.

Minor Transactions: 1/30/2017

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The All-Star festivities are over and teams are back to reloading their rosters before game action starts up again tomorrow. The Washington Capitals were the first to get back at it today, announcing early this morning that they have recalled forward Chandler Stephenson and defenseman Christian Djoos. Stephenson has made multiple trips to Washington this season and made his season debut on his most recent stint. The 22-year-old center, a 2012 third-round pick, has yet to record his first NHL point through 11 career games, but has 24 points in 41 games for the AHL’s Hershey Bears so far this season. Stephenson was demoted on Friday, only to be recalled today, seemingly to get into a game and for some minor cap savings for the Caps. Meanwhile, this is the first career promotion for Djoos. The small, speedy Swedish defenseman has impressed at the AHL level this season with great skating and puck-moving ability to go along with a solid defensive game. However, whether or not he makes his NHL debut anytime soon depends on the status of John Carlson. Djoos’ call-up is likely for insurance in case Carlson is not ready to return from injury just yet, but all signs point to the Capitals’ #1 defenseman being ready to go.

Elsewhere around the league:

  • The Boston Bruins continue to flip-flop their backup goaltenders. After recalling Anton Khudobin and sending rookie Zane McIntyre back down to the AHL’s Providence Bruins on Friday, the Bruins then recalled McIntyre again, after he got the start for the P-Bruins, and sent Khudobin down to play for the team on Saturday night. Well, the Bruins then swapped the keepers again yesterday, allowing McIntyre, the AHL’s best goalie so far this season, to take part in All-Star festivities last night and today.
  • Another team undoing a recent All-Star break move is the New Jersey Devils, who today announced the recalls of Steven Santini, Karl Stollery, and Seth Helgeson. The defensive trio was re-assigned on Friday to give them some AHL play time with the Albany Devils this weekend. Santini and Stollery have been lining up as the team’s third defensive pair of late, with Andy Greene and John Moore still sidelined with injuries.
  • The St. Louis Blue also made a quick switch regarding Ivan Barbashev. The AHL All-Star had been recalled last week after the injury to Kyle Brodziak, but was returned to the AHL’s Chicago Wolves on Friday to play in games over the weekend. However, Barbashev has now been called up again, without participating in any AHL All-Star festivities. Barbashev has 19 goals and 18 assists in 45 AHL games in 2016-17, and is expected to get a long look in St. Louis while Brodziak remains out.
  • The Minnesota Wild have promoted defenseman Mike Reilly from the Iowa Wild of the AHL. The Western Conference leaders are about to embark on a four-game road trip through western Canada, and appear to be bringing Reilly along as an extra man with Jonas Brodin still not ready to return to the lineup.
  • The Montreal Canadiens have placed defenseman Zach Redmond on waivers today, according to TVA’s Renaud Lavoie. After trading for Nikita Nesterov, Redmond has become expendable to the Habs. While they don’t have such deep defensive depth that they don’t care if he is claimed or not, Montreal feels comfortable subjecting him to waivers in order to send him to the AHL with the right side of their blue line set with Shea Weber, Jeff Petry, and now Nesterov. The 28-year-old defenseman is in his first season with Montreal, and has five assists though 16 games with the team thus far.
  • Tampa Bay is bringing back Jake Dotchin, as the the Tampa Bay Times’ Joe Smith reports that the rookie defenseman has been recalled by the Lightning. Dotchin received his first career call-up last week and played in three games with the Bolts prior to the All-Star Break. He then played in a couple contests with the AHL’s Syracuse Crunch this weekend before now heading back to the Gulf Coast. Tampa Bay’s roster is very fluid right now, and if Dotchin is impressing the team in his limited bottom pair play, they have no reason to demote him any time soon.

More to come

 

Trade Candidate: P.A. Parenteau

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With the trade deadline quickly approaching, we will be profiling several players in the weeks ahead that are likely to be dealt by March 1st.

Now that the New Jersey Devils are all but eliminated from playoff contention – they are part of a four-way tie for fewest points in the Eastern Conference but have played more games than the three other clubs – it’s likely they will begin to market veteran players on expiring contracts, or other assets that can help speed up their roster rebuild. One player that fits the former mold, P.A. Parenteau, may well be on the move again, set to possibly join the seventh different NHL team since debuting in the league 10 years ago if the Devils decide a trade is worthwhile.

Parenteau broke into the league during the 2006-07 campaign with the Chicago Blackhawks, appearing in five games. The winger was traded to the New York Rangers where he didn’t see any NHL action until the 2009-10 season, getting into 22 contests with the Blueshirts. He finally secured a full time role in the NHL in 2010-11 at the age of 27 as a member of the New York Islanders, for whom he would record his first 20-goal season. Parenteau has bounced around the last four seasons, spending time with Colorado, Montreal, Toronto and now the Devils, who acquired the nine-year vet via waivers just prior to the start of the 2016-17 campaign.

Contract

On July 2nd, Parenteau inked a one-year, $1.25MM deal to return to the Islanders where it was expected he would have a chance to earn a spot playing on John Tavares’ wing following the departure of Kyle Okposo. Instead, Parenteau failed to make the team out of camp and was placed on waivers where he was claimed by New Jersey. He will again be an unrestricted free agent this summer upon the expiration of his current agreement.

2016-17

Parenteau has earned a top-six role with the Devils, seeing extensive action at both even strength and on the power play. He is averaging better than 15 1/2 minutes per game and has tallied 12 goals with 11 assists in 48 games this season. The 6-foot, 200-pound winger is tied for second on the team in man-advantage goals with four and his eight even strength markers rank third.

Potential Suitors

Any team looking for cheap secondary scoring might take a hard look at Parenteau. Most clubs in the league would easily be able to accommodate his minimal cap charge and his production this year has been solid. He’s probably not a top-six winger on a Stanley Cup contender but with everyone looking for scoring from all four forward lines, Parenteau should be able to slide in on a team’s bottom-six and produce.

Anaheim presently resides in third place in the Pacific and in possession of the guaranteed playoff spot that represents. However, just three forwards are currently on pace to net 20 or more goals this season and just six have registered at least 20 points. Granted, both Ryan Getzlaf and Corey Perry are not producing up to their lofty standards but the team could use an offensive boost.

Los Angeles ranks 22nd in goals scored this season while Anze Kopitar and Marian Gaborik each have just five goals on the season. Kings GM Dean Lombardi likely doesn’t want to deal prospects or draft picks for a quick fix but Parenteau likely wouldn’t cost an acquiring team much more than a mid-round choice.

Chicago is thought to be on the lookout for someone to ride shotgun on Jonathan Toews’ line and if they strike out on preferred options such as Thomas Vanek and Patrick Sharp, Parenteau could represent a nice low-risk investment for the team.

Likelihood of a Trade

Parenteau is almost a lock to be traded unless the Devils see value in extending the 33-year-old winger. He has a solid pedigree of success and his contract can be absorbed into any payroll situation. Additionally, the low acquisition cost would appeal to any team unwilling to mortgage a significant part of their future for a trade deadline move.

Minor Transactions: 29/01/17

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Good All-Star morning folks, even on this short mid-season break teams aren’t holding back from their roster shuffling. Here are all the minor transactions of the day.

Trade Currency: Surplus Draft Picks

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Trade time is upon us, with the NHL deadline coming just a month from now. While the players take a few days off for the All-Star break, front offices are busy setting up a plan for the next few weeks – unless you’re Joe Sakic that is, who took part in the Celebrity Shootout this afternoon and tapped in a goal.

One of the things team’s use most during this time to add depth to their teams are draft picks. Last year, 13 picks changed hands on deadline day itself, with another handful in the days prior. For teams looking to add for a playoff run, draft picks feel much easier to part with than roster players.

Going into this deadline, some teams have more picks accumulated from prior deals to work with. Here is a breakdown of a few teams that might be buyers, and have extra 2017 picks to dangle in trade talks.

Carolina Hurricanes – New York Rangers’ 2nd-round selection, New Jersey’s 3rd-round selection.

Carolina acquired the Rangers’ second-rounder when they dealt Eric Staal at the deadline last year. The Devils’ third-rounder is one that came with conditions, though they were likely met when Andrei Loktionov went back to the KHL. The Hurricanes could use some help if they’re going to catch anyone in the Metropolitan division.

Chicago Blackhawks – Carolina’s 5th-round selection, St. Louis’ 5th-round selection, New York Islanders’ 6th-round selection.

The Blackhawks will be using anything they can to add at the deadline, meaning these three extra picks could come in handy. They could also use them to beef up a farm system that has continued to develop replacements for players lost to salary cap crunches.

Edmonton Oilers – St. Louis’ 3rd-round selection, Vancouver’s 5th-round selection

Both extra picks the Oilers have are conditional, but unless Nail Yakupov has a tremendous second-half, it looks like neither will change from this season. A team that hasn’t been a buyer in a long time, they have enough young players to sacrifice some draft talent.

Montreal Canadiens – Washington’s 2nd-round selection.

The Habs got a couple of second-round picks when they moved Lars Eller this summer, meaning they’ll have some extra currency when the deadline comes around. It’ll be interesting to see if Montreal uses their draft picks instead of prospect capital to make a move at the deadline.

Philadelphia Flyers – Boston’s 3rd-round selection, Philadelphia’s 4th-round selection.

The Flyers have had a rough stretch after starting so well, but after beating the Maple Leafs on Thursday night are currently back in a playoff spot. If they decide that they can still push, they could use these extra picks in a package. Goaltending and defense is on their mind, but they’d obviously have to include more than the mid-round picks.

Toronto Maple Leafs – San Jose’s 2nd-round pick, Ottawa’s 2nd-round pick.

The Maple Leafs already owe Anaheim one of the two picks from the Frederik Andersen trade last summer, but could still use the other one to help them back into the playoffs for the first time since the shortened season. The Shanaplan says to build slow through the draft, but with the extra pick the team could add some veteran depth to a blueline that still has trouble defending.

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