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Minor Transactions: 1/27/2017

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As is customary over the NHL’s All-Star weekend, many teams have begun the day with sending waivers-exempt players down to the minors for some salary cap savings over the next few days. No team has been as enthusiastic to move some bodies as the New Jersey Devils, who announced that nearly half of their defensive corps will take a short trip to Albany to visit the AHL Devils. Joining the recently demoted Yohann Auvitu this weekend will be Steve Santini, Seth Helgeson, and Karl Stollery. Although the trio has only played in a combined 26 games in 2016-17, Santini and Stollery have formed the bottom pair for the Devils of late with Auvitu, Andy Greene, and John Moore sidelined with injuries. Helgeson has generally been the seventh defenseman this season, spending most games in the press box, but getting to see the ice in five contests. The 29-year-old journeyman Stollery has played in just eight games, but is already having the best season of his NHL career, recording his first big-league points and playing about 16 minutes per night.The rookie Santini has shown promise so far in the first half, skating in 13 games and scoring two goals and three assists while playing a sound defensive game as well. Expect Santini and at least one of Stollery and Helgeson to be back up in New Jersey after a brief break.

Elsewhere in minor moves:

  • Another Metropolitan team has moved a majority of one position down to the AHL, but it should come as welcome news to the fans. The Carolina Hurricanes announced that, after a long hiatus dealing with concussion symptoms, goalie Eddie Lack has been activated from the injured reserve and has been assigned to the AHL’s Charlotte Checkers for a rehab stint. With Cam Ward having played in 41 of 48 games for the ’Canes, including 22 of the last 24, he, the organization, and the fans will be happy to have Lack back in the fold as soon as possible. Joining him in the minors will be his recent replacement, veteran Michael Leighton, whose demotion could be more of the permanent variety this time around. However, Leighton, who is the AHL’s all-time leading goalie in games played, will at least get to participate in the AHL All-Star Game upon his return.
  • The Washington Capitals have reassigned forward Chandler Stephenson to the Hershey Bears of the AHL for the time being. Unlike his last call-up to the Caps, Stephenson got to see some game action during this last trip. Though the young center was held scoreless and is still looking for his first NHL point through 11 games, Stephenson played confidently in the past two contests and has earned another promotion in the near future.
  • The Columbus Blue Jackets have again returned forward Markus Hannikainen to the AHL’s Cleveland Monsters. The big Finnish winger, playing in just his second season in North America, scored his first NHL goal in the Jackets’ 3-2 win over the Carolina Hurricanes last Saturday, his only game action on this trip to Columbus.
  • The Buffalo Sabres announced that defenseman Casey Nelson has been assigned to the Rochester Americans of the AHL. Nelson has done his best to help Buffalo out with their rash of blue line injuries this season, but has struggled to make much of a difference in nine scoreless games.
  • After his recent NHL debut and first career goal, the Arizona Coyotes’ Christian Fischer gets to continue his highlight-reel week by heading to the AHL All-Star Game. The Coyotes announced his demotion, but more than anything the move allows the AHL to honor the league’s top rookie in the first half of the season before he likely heads back to the NHL for the second half.
  • In addition to placing Michael Bournival and Gabriel Dumont on waivers, the Tampa Bay Lightning have demoted forward Erik Condra to the AHL’s Syracuse Crunch, which has become common this season. The bottom-six groupings are set to change drastically following the All-Star break.
  • The Ottawa Senators have activated Andrew Hammond from the injured reserve, and in a corresponding move and have sent down Chris Driedger to the Binghampton Senators of the AHL. However, this only partially helps the Sens’ logjam in net. Mike Condon has taken over as the starter with Hammond out and Craig Anderson on leave since early December, but with both soon back in the fold, Ottawa will still be carrying three goalies. Expect another move sooner rather than later.
  • The San Jose Sharks are using All-Star weekend to get a whole group of guys some play time. The team announced that Barclay Goodrow, Kevin Labanc, Timo Meier, and Tim Heed have all be reassigned to the AHL Barracuda and will join the team in Michigan tonight for a game against the Grand Rapids Griffins.
  • After just recalling Ivan Barbashev to replace the injured Kyle Brodziak, the St. Louis Blues have returns the AHL All-Star to the Chicago Wolves for this weekend. Expect he, or fellow All-Star Kenny Agostino, or possibly both, to be right back with the Blue after the break.
  • The Boston Bruins have recalled goalie Anton Khudobin from the Providence Bruins and reassigned rookie keeper Zane McIntyre to the AHL. While McIntyre’s demotion was expected, as he has been the best goalie in the AHL this year and a highlight of the AHL All-Star Game, the subsequent recall of Khudobin could signal that the Bruins are ready to return to the veteran as their backup to begin the second half of the season.
  • The Winnipeg Jets returned Brian Strait to the Manitoba Moose of the AHL, one day after recalling the six-year veteran defenseman from the minors, the team announced via Twitter. Strait was a healthy scratch last night as the Jets took a 5-3 decision from Chicago. The 6-foot-1, 206-pound blue liner has yet to see action in the NHL this season but has appeared in 182 regular season contests over parts of six seasons with the Pittsburgh and New York Islanders organizations.
  • The Columbus Blue Jackets continue to flip-flop backup goalies, sending Joonas Korpisalo to Cleveland of the AHL and recalling Anton Forsberg from the same affiliate. The team announced the corresponding transactions via Twitter. Forsberg has made just one appearance this season for Columbus, allowing four goals on 27 shots in a 5-3 loss to Carolina. Korpisalo has won two of his three starts and has appeared in four games overall.
  • The Pittsburgh Penguins have sent Carter Rowney back to the AHL after just a day with the big club. The forward came up last night with Evgeni Malkin out, but didn’t make it into the game against the Boston Bruins. Rowney will need to wait for his next shot with the big club.
  • The Anaheim Ducks have signed some depth between the pipes, inking ECHL netminder Ryan Faragher to a one-year deal. The 26-year old Faragher has been in their system since 2014, but wasn’t under a pro-deal until now. He’ll earn $575K if he should ever make it to the NHL (which he most likely will not, unless something drastic happens in Anaheim) and $50K in the AHL.

Metro Division Notes: Atkinson, Penguins-Capitals, Devils

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After a tough 2015-16 season, the Columbus Blue Jackets have been one of the feel-good stories of the year.

That positivity continued today, as Cam Atkinson was named to the NHL All-Star Game, according to Aaron Portzline of the Columbus Dispatch. He’ll join teammates Seth Jones and Sergei Bobrovsky on the Metropolitan Division team. Atkinson is replacing Penguins star Evgeni Malkin, who is day-to-day with a lower-body injury.

The 27-year-old Atkinson told the Blue Jackets website that being named to the All-Star Game is “obviously very special and very humbling. To be playing with the best players in the world, it’s going to be fun. I’m going to take it all in and really enjoy the moment.”

Atkinson has 24 goals and 46 points in 47 games to lead the Blue Jackets in scoring. He’s just three goals and seven points shy of his career-high, set last season in 81 games played.

  • The Pittsburgh Penguins are preparing to go for back-to-back Stanley Cups for the first time since Detroit won in 1997 and 1998. GM Jim Rutherford told Sam Werner of the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette that he has yet to identify any specific area of his team’s roster to improve by the deadline. Rutherford once again stated that having two legitimate starting goaltenders in Marc-Andre Fleury and Matt Murray “doesn’t work ideally.” With the upcoming expansion draft, Rutherford will have to make a goaltending move eventually, but he doesn’t feel pressure to make a move until an offer makes sense to improve the roster or clear up the goaltending situation. The Penguins currently have zero dollars of cap space.
  • Moving to D.C. and the Penguins’ biggest rival, Capitals GM Brian MacLellan told TSN and ESPN’s Pierre LeBrun that he’s content with his team going forward. MacLellan feels that everything is running smoothly, so he’s “more inclined to do nothing” before March 1. However, that’s not to say the team won’t “go through the process of [asking], ’Can we upgrade on guys?'” The President’s Trophy-winning Capitals were eliminated in six games by the Penguins last season, and will be looking for revenge. LeBrun writes that the two teams will be preparing for an early matchup, perhaps even in the first round.
  • Continuing the trend of NHL teams moving their AHL affiliates, the New Jersey Devils will be moving their AAA squad from Albany to Binghamton, New York. Pete Dougherty of the Albany Times Union writes that the Baby Devils will be replacing the Binghamton Senators, who are moving to Belleville, Ontario. Albany ranks last in the AHL with regards to attendance; Binghamton is second-last, but gets nearly 20 per cent more people per game. The Devils organization reportedly ate a seven-figure loss in 2015-16, but still signed a new three-year contract with the Times Union Center. Dougherty reports that the organization will likely be making use of an out-clause. The move will be officially ratified at the AHL’s board of governors meeting on Sunday.

PHR’s Glen Miller also contributed to this post.

Minor Transactions: 1/25/2017

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PHR will recap the day’s minor roster transactions in this post. Please check back throughout the day for updates.

  • With Stefan Noesen now a member of the New Jersey Devils after being claimed on waivers, Anaheim Ducks head coach Randy Carlyle indicated to The Orange County Register’s Eric Stephens that the team will recall forward Kalle Kossila from San Diego of the AHL. Kossila was inked by Anaheim as an undrafted free agent after completing his senior season with St. Cloud State University. The 23-year-old Finn, who has yet to appear in an NHL regular season contest, has registered nine goals and 27 points in 33 AHL games this season.
  • The Pittsburgh Penguins have placed defenseman Steve Oleksy on waivers, according to Renaud Lavoie of TVA Sports. The 30-year-old blue liner has seen action in nine games this season with Pittsburgh, tallying a single assist. In 71 career NHL games, Oleksy has recorded three goals and 20 points. Counting Oleksy, the Penguins have seven healthy defenders on the roster. Waiving the four-year veteran could be an indication that Kris Letang, on IR since January 16th, could be nearing a return.
  • To make room on the roster for Noesen, the Devils have placed forward Beau Bennett on IR retroactive to January 20th, reports Andrew Gross of The Record. Bennett, in his first season with New Jersey after an offseason trade with Pittsburgh, has scored three goals and 10 points in 40 contests.
  • Winger Casey Bailey has been reassigned by the Ottawa Senators to Binghamton of the AHL, via the team’s official communications department Twitter account. Bailey has played in five contests this season, going scoreless while averaging just 7:13 of ice time per game. He has 10 goals and 15 points in 33 AHL games with the Baby Sens.
  • According to the AHL Manitoba Moose’s official Twitter account (H/T to Patrick Williams of NHL.com), defenseman Brian Strait has been recalled by the Winnipeg Jets. Strait has not yet seen NHL action this season but has appeared in 182 regular season games with the Jets and Pittsburgh over parts of six seasons.
  • Kevin Kurz of CSN Bay Area reports that the San Jose Sharks have reassigned Timo Meier and Kevin Labanc to the AHL. The scribe refers to the moves as a “paper transaction,” in that the team will bank a bit of cap space with the pair of forwards off the roster and inferring they will be recalled ahead of San Jose’s next game tomorrow night at home against Edmonton.

Devils Claim Stefan Noesen On Waivers

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The New Jersey Devils continue to be active on the waiver wire this season.

The Devils claimed Ducks prospect Stefan Noesen off waivers this morning, according to Sportsnet’s Elliotte Friedman. Noesen was placed on waivers for the second time this season yesterday. He has just two points in 12 games (both goals) for the Ducks this season; he’s also played 22 games for the San Diego Gulls of the AHL, where he has 15 points. Overall he has 63 points in 116 games at the AHL level. Noesen has been shuffled back and forth between the NHL and AHL to preserve salary space, but finally cracked 10 NHL games, meaning he needed to clear waivers again.

Noesen was a highly-touted prospect as a junior player. He had 100 goals and 220 points in 215 games with the now-defunct Plymouth Whalers of the OHL. He was a first round pick of the Ottawa Senators back in 2011 but was traded before ever playing a game in the Senators organization. Noesen was traded alongside Jakob Silfverberg and a first round pick to the Ducks for Bobby Ryan back in July 2013.

Minor Transactions: 1/24/17

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

  • The Devils announced (Twitter link) that they have activated defenseman Yohann Auvitu off of injured reserve and assigned him to their AHL affiliate in Albany. He had missed the past seven games with a lower body injury.  The 27 year old rookie has spent the bulk of the season with New Jersey, picking up four points (2-2-4) in 25 games.  He also has seen time in seven AHL contests, recording a trio of assists.
  • The Senators announced via Twitter that they have recalled winger Casey Bailey from AHL Binghamton. He’s expected to serve as insurance up front in case Mike Hoffman (flu) is unable to play tonight against Washington.  Bailey has played in four games with Ottawa this season being held off the scoresheet and has ten goals and five assists in 33 games with Binghamton.
  • Washington announced the recall of center Chandler Stephenson from Hershey of the AHL. The 22 year old got into nine games with the Capitals last season but has yet to suit up with the big club in 2016-17.  He has played in 39 AHL games this year, recording 24 points (6-18-24), just four shy of his career high set last season.
  • With defenseman Brian Dumoulin set to return from injured reserve, the Penguins have assigned blueliner Cameron Gaunce to Wilkes-Barre/Scranton of the AHL, per a team release. Gaunce got into three games with Pittsburgh after being recalled last week, picking up a pair of assists while posting two goals and six assists with the Baby Pens this season.
  • The Ducks announced via Twitter that they have loaned center Nate Thompson to their AHL affiliate in San Diego on a long-term injury conditioning loan.  Loans of this nature typically last a maximum of three games or six days but teams can petition the league for an extra two games.  Thompson, who remains on LTIR, has missed the entire season so far after rupturing his Achilles’ tendon in an offseason workout.
  • Colorado announced (Twitter link) that they have recalled center Jim O’Brien from San Antonio of the AHL.  The team placed forward Rene Bourque on IR to make room for him on the roster.  O’Brien, a former first round pick of the Senators (29th overall) in 2007, has spent the entire season at the minor league level, collecting seven goals and ten assists in 26 games.  He last saw NHL action in 2015-16, getting into four games with New Jersey.

Minor Transactions: 1/21/2017

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Here is where we will track the day’s minor roster transactions:

  • The New Jersey Devils have announced that Blake Coleman has been reassigned to Albany of the AHL to make room for Vernon Fiddler, who the team activated off of IR. Coleman has appeared in five games, the first of his career, since being recalled on January 10th and registered a single point. Fiddler, in his 14th NHL campaign, has tallied a goal with two assists in 35 contests on the year.
  • Erik Condra’s wild ride in Tampa Bay continues as the winger has once again been placed on waivers by the team, according to James Mirtle. It’s the second time this season he has been on waivers, the first time clearing before a reassignment to the Syracuse Crunch, Tampa’s affiliate in the AHL. Additionally, Condra has shuttled between Tampa Bay and Syracuse seven times in total this season as the Lightning have used the seven-year veteran extensively as a fill-in for several injured regulars. All told, Condra has appeared in 10 games for Tampa Bay but has failed to register a point while averaging 9:41 of ice time per game. Assuming he again clears, Condra will almost certainly be reassigned to Syracuse once more.
  • With Jake McCabe forced to leave last night’s game against Detroit due to injury, the Buffalo Sabres this morning have recalled defenseman Casey Nelson from Rochester of the AHL, tweets Mike Harrington of the Buffalo News. Nelson, 24, is scoreless in eight earlier appearances this season for the Sabres. In 27 games for Rochester, the Wisconsin native has tallied four goals and five assists.
  • The San Jose Sharks brought Tim Heed and Barclay Goodrow back from the AHL ahead of tonight’s game against Colorado, reports Curtis Pashelka of the Mercury News. Heed has already had three other tours with the big club, making just one appearance on the campaign. The recall also represents the third stint this season with the Sharks for Goodrow. Though he has yet to play for the team this year, it appears that could change tonight. In 74 career NHL contests, Goodrow has scored four goals with 11 assists along with 51 penalty minutes.

Garrioch’s Latest: Coyotes, Snow, Devils, Bishop, Van Riemsdyk

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Things aren’t going so rosy in Arizona right now.  Not only do they find themselves miles out of a playoff spot, the frustration is spreading to within the dressing room as well, reports Bruce Garrioch of the Ottawa Sun in his latest Insider Trading column.  The decision to go to a more analytics-based decision making process hasn’t worked (so far, at least) and Garrioch adds that it’s not yet known what the fate of head coach Dave Tippett will be when the season comes to an end.

In the meantime, the focus will shift to who they can move prior to the trade deadline, particularly where it comes to the rental players.  We took a closer look at their situation earlier today.  The recent mention that Shane Doan could be willing to consider a trade in the right situation is drawing some attention; Garrioch notes that San Jose is a team that has shown some interest in the 40 year old over the last couple of years but obviously nothing came to fruition.

Garrioch also tackles several other topics from around the league.  Here are some of the highlights, though the full column is worth a read:

  • With the New York Islanders scuffling through the first half, he suggests that GM Garth Snow’s job may be in jeopardy. His decision to allow right winger Kyle Okposo and center Frans Nielsen to depart in free agency hasn’t exactly panned out with both players being named All-Stars earlier this week.  Left winger Andrew Ladd (signed to replace Okposo) hasn’t panned out and with six more years left on his contract with a cap hit of $5.5MM, that’s a near-impossible contract to move right now while John Tavares heading into his walk year is something that will need to be addressed sooner than later as well.  Accordingly, the team will have to make a decision as to whether he’s the right manager to try to fix things up and get Tavares locked up.
  • The Devils haven’t thrown in the towel on trying to make the playoffs yet but if they do, they could be a team to watch for. Only two teams have more cap space than New Jersey does which sets up the possibility of them becoming a clearinghouse for contending teams to free up some cap space.  GM Ray Shero could be open to doing so, provided he picks up some quality draft picks and/or prospects for doing so.
  • Dallas has inquired about the availability of pending UFA goalie Ben Bishop. Bishop, who ranked fifth in our UFA Power Rankings this week, isn’t expected to return to Tampa Bay next season with Andrei Vasilevskiy expected to take over as the starter.  The Stars already have the highest goalie cap hit in the league but have not received much bang for their buck so far.  However, GM Steve Yzerman’s asking price is quite high as it’s certainly quite possible that the Lightning will want to keep him around for their postseason push as well.
  • Toronto’s recent success may make their decision regarding left winger James van Riemsdyk that much more difficult. Garrioch reports that the team is fielding inquiries on him but he is a key piece in the Leafs’ lineup and if they plan to make a run at a playoff spot, they’ll likely want to keep him in their lineup.  The 27 year old has one year left after this season at a manageable cap hit of $4.25MM so it’s not a typical rental player situation while it’s also worth noting that van Riemsdyk has a modified no-trade clause.

Minor Transactions: 1/13/17

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Here is where we’ll keep tabs on today’s minor roster moves:

  • Following their loss to Minnesota, the Canadiens announced (Twitter link) that they assigned right winger Nikita Scherbak and left winger Bobby Farnham to their AHL affiliate in St. John’s. Scherbak played in three games with Montreal, picking up a goal while Farnham was held off the scoresheet in his three outings though he recorded 17 PIMS.  It’s believed the team is likely to have at least one of center Alex Galchenyuk or right winger Andrew Shaw back in the lineup shortly and these moves open up the roster spots for them to be activated off injured reserve.
  • The Lightning have recalled right winger Erik Condra from AHL Syracuse per a team release. The 30 year old has been up and down a lot recently but has yet to see much NHL action overall, skating in just eight games with Tampa this season.  He has collected 23 points (7-16-23) in 24 minor league contests but isn’t expected to be in the lineup tonight against Columbus.
  • Winnipeg announced that they have recalled blueliner Julian Melchiori from Manitoba of the AHL. He will take the roster spot of rookie winger Patrik Laine, who was placed on injured reserve retroactive to January 7th.  Melchiori has seen action in four games with the Jets this season but has spent most of the year with the Moose, picking up two goals and four assists in 31 minor league games.
  • The Sharks announced (Twitter link) that they have sent defenseman Mirco Mueller back to the San Jose Barracuda, their AHL affiliate. This marks the fourth separate occasion that he has been sent back to the minors this season.  He has got into just three NHL games this year, scoring a goal while adding an assist.  He also has eight helpers in 25 AHL contests.
  • New Jersey announced via Twitter that they have assigned right winger Nick Lappin to Albany of the AHL in order to activate center Jacob Josefson off injured reserve.  The 24 year old Lappin made his NHL debut earlier this year and has spent the bulk of this season with the Devils, collecting four goals and three assists in 35 games.

Biggest One-For-One Trades Of The Past 10 Years

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For the first time since his shocking trade last June, Taylor Hall is facing off in Edmonton on Thursday night.

The Oilers-Devils trade was one of two major one-for-one trades that took place that day, the other being P.K. Subban for Shea Weber just 17 minutes later. Despite the evidence of June 29, one-for-one trades are exceedingly rare in today’s NHL.

In honor of Hall’s return to Edmonton, let’s take a look at some of the more notable one-for-one swaps of the past decade:

February 26, 2008 – Andrew Ladd for Tuomo Ruutu —  The Chicago Blackhawks and Carolina Hurricanes swapped former top-ten picks at the 2007-08 trade deadline. Nearly nine years later, the trade can be classified as a win for the Blackhawks: Ruutu did score 216 points in 378 games with the Hurricanes but the team only made the playoffs once in his tenure there. Meanwhile, the Blackhawks were just two years away from winning the first Stanley Cup of their modern dynasty; with a Stanley Cup already under his belt, Ladd played a key role in helping the young Hawks learn how to win. Ladd scored 99 points 184 games in Chicago before being sacrificed to the Salary Cap Gods after their 2010 championship.

July 3, 2011 – Dany Heatley for Martin Havlat — Heatley and Havlat were both superstars of the early 21st-century, but neither player was at that level in 2011 when the Sharks and Wild made this trade. The Sharks were looking to improve their roster with hopes of getting to the Stanley Cup Finals after yet another playoff disappointment, but Havlat appeared in just eight playoff games over three years in San Jose. He never played more than 48 games in a season, or scored more than 27 points. Heatley had 82 and 64 points in his two years in San Jose, but was unable to consistently score in Minnesota, finishing his three-year stint with a 28-point season, his last full season in the NHL. Heatley also caused salary cap troubles, as he was unable to be bought-out after his second season due to injury, costing the Wild their last chance to use a compliance buyout on the declining Heatley.

June 23, 2012 – James Van Riemsdyk for Luke Schenn — Maple Leafs fans hoping for their team to trade Van Riemsdyk for a top defenseman may want to look at the trade that brought the power winger to Toronto. Then-GM Brian Burke traded Schenn, a right-handed third-pairing defenseman just four seasons removed from being the fifth-overall selection. Both players were coming off down seasons, as Schenn struggled in a third-pairing role while Van Riemsdyk scored 24 points in 43 games after a 40-point sophomore season. The trade was a clear win for Toronto, as Van Riemsdyk has 211 points in 289 games as a first-line winger while Schenn scored 42 points in 213 games in Philadelphia as a below-average possession player. Schenn was traded last season and signed a cheap show-me deal with Arizona as a UFA. The trade is yet another example of the trade values of average defensemen and scoring wingers.

January 6, 2016 – Seth Jones for Ryan Johansen — The major trade was the first big one-for-one trade in nearly four years, and was a sign of things yet to come in 2016. While it’s too early to declare a definitive winner, as both teams look like they got what they needed with the swap, the early results put Columbus slightly ahead. Jones has 38 points in 75 games so far with the surprising Blue Jackets, who currently sit in first place in NHL standings. The Predators haven’t been as successful as they would have hoped, though Johansen has 63 points in 83 games in Music City. He’s growing into a legitimate first-line center on a contending team, which is what the Predators hoped for when they made the swap. Nashville GM David Poile was initially criticized for trading his young defenseman as Shea Weber showed signs of regression, but that was addressed by on of the below trades.

June 29, 2016 – Taylor Hall for Adam Larsson — The decision to trade Hall was not popular at the time, and is still the most talked-about trade in Edmonton since Chris Pronger asked for a trade in 2006. The Oilers have finally turned the corner and currently sit in third in the Pacific Division. Larsson is a big part of the much-improved defense core, but has just seven points in 43 games. Hall is leading the Devils in scoring with 25 points in 32 games, but the Devils’ offense has not been able to outscore their defensive issues. It must be frustratingly familiar for Hall, who was in a similar situation in Edmonton for six seasons. While the Oilers gave up value, it could be argued that the Devils miss Larsson’s defensive ability more than Edmonton misses Hall’s offence.

June 29, 2016 — Shea Weber for P.K. Subban — After a tough 2015-16, changes were expected in Montreal. But few expected Subban to be the one to go. Like the Hall-Larsson trade made 17 minutes earlier, the Canadian team was panned initially. However, Weber is on pace for a career-high in points while the Canadiens have rebounded to lead the Atlantic Division at the half-way point. Unfortunately for Subban, he’s been injured for much of the season and may require surgery. The Canadiens are the winners of this trade six months in, but considering the four years Weber has on Subban, the verdict will slowly change over the next few years. If either one of these teams win a Stanley Cup in the next few years, that would likely be the deciding factor in naming a winner.

Devils Place Greene, Auvitu On Injured Reserve

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It’s a double whammy on defense for the New Jersey Devils today, as they moved veteran Andy Greene and rookie Yohann Auvitu to the injured reserve, ahead of the team’s upcoming four-game road trip. Greene still plans to travel with the team, just in case, while Auvitu will stay behind. When the captain Greene was first diagnosed with an upper body injury, it was thought to just be day-to-day, but when his 350-game active streak was snapped on Friday, there was the impression that it was more serious. Auvitu was then knocked out of the Devils’ game on Saturday with a lower body injury and did not return. Both players missed Monday’s contest, and the team is winless over these past three games. New Jersey may have to do without them for a while longer, but needs to find a way to win even with a depleted defensive corps.

The 34-year-old Greene is an invaluable asset for the Devils. The head of their young blue line group and the unrivaled leader of the locker room, Greene has an important role on the team. A veteran of 680 NHL games, all with New Jersey, Greene has established himself as a smart and reliable two-way defender whose absence is felt whenever he is sidelined. While his age has begun to show this season with some defensive lapses, Greene has still contributed three goals and six assists and leads the team in ice time. The Devils are certainly a better team with the captain in the lineup and will be fortunate if he is able to return during their road trip.

Auvitu was somewhat of an unknown entering 2016-17, a 27-year-old Frenchman signed out of the top Finnish league. Auvitu was not intended to have a large role right away, but due to injury has been pressed into service and has performed well in 25 games thus far. The NHL newcomer has two goals and two assists and plays a sound defensive style for a player unfamiliar to the North American game. Auvitu would have been looked to for increased ice time and responsibility with Greene sidelined, but now appears as if he could be out even longer.

With John Moore still out with a concussion, the result of a vicious hit in a recent match-up, adding Greene and Auvitu to the injury mix puts a lot of pressure on a New Jersey defense that wasn’t deep to begin with. Former Merrimack College defenseman Karl Stollery has been recalled, alongside forward Blake Coleman, to fill the spots surrendered by Greene and Auvitu, and he is likely to see his first action as a Devil since signing with New Jersey this summer. Through 12 games with the Colorado Avalanche and San Jose Sharks, Stollery has yet to record his first NHL point. However, Stollery had 24 points with the AHL’s San Jose Barracuda last season and has nine helpers with the Albany Devils so far in 2016-17, so New Jersey will hope that those puck-moving skills show up if Stollery gets the call. Breakout star Damon Severson will continue to be relied upon for some offensive contribution from the blue line, while veterans Ben Lovejoy and Kyle Quincey protect their own zone. To really make up for the loss of Greene and Auvitu though, the Devils need Stollery, Jon Merrill, Seth Helgeson, and rookie Steve Santini to step up in their absence.

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