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Minor Transactions: 1/1/17

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According to a team report, the Washington Capitals have re-assigned forward Jakub Vrana to its AHL affiliate, the Hershey Bears.

Vrana has 3 points (1-2) in 12 games with the Caps. The Washington Post’s Isabelle Khurshudyan tweets that the Capitals will go with 12 forwards for now. Tarik El-Bashir adds that Vrana  hit the “rookie wall” in Washington.

The 2014 first round choice has been close to registering a point-per-game in Hershey, notching 16 (9-7) in 18 games.

  • The Penguins have re-assigned defensemen Chad Ruhwedel and David Warsofsky according to the team’s website. Both will head back to the AHL’s Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins along with goaltender Tristan Jarry. Jason Mackey tweets that the moves are to get each player more games during the Penguins’ bye week. They are scheduled to play again on January 8th against Tampa Bay.
  • Elliotte Friedman tweets that the Jets have placed Alexander Burmistrov on waivers while the Predators placed Reid Boucher on waivers. Burmistrov has two points (0-2) in 23 games while Boucher has one goal in three games with the Preds.
  • The New Jersey Devils have recalled defenseman Steve Santini from the Albany Devils of the AHL. The former Boston College blue liner made his NHL debut late last season, but has not yet played for New Jersey in 2016-17.
  • Nashville has sent defenseman Adam Pardy back to down to the AHL. The Predators signed the veteran defenseman after the regular season had begun for some added depth, but he has played in just four games in Nashville. Most of his time has been spent with the Milwaukee Admirals, who he now returns to.
  • With Sami Vatanen returning to the lineup, the Anaheim Ducks have reassigned defenseman Shea Theodore to the AHL’s San Diego Gulls. Theodore is one of an overwhelming number of good, young defenseman in Anaheim, and while he would play at the NHL level for most teams, he’ll have to earn a full-time job over another veteran starter or wait for a hole to open up for a permanent job with the Ducks. For now, he heads back to the minors while Anaheim takes an extended look at Brandon Montour.

Islanders Waive Jaroslav Halak

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Saturday: Halak has cleared and will be sent to the Bridgeport Sound Tigers of the AHL.

Friday: The New York Islanders announced via Twitter that they have placed goaltender Jaroslav Halak on waivers.  The decision comes on the heels of him being pulled in a 6-4 loss on Thursday to Minnesota, a a game where head coach Jack Capuano was vocally critical of Halak’s performance, via Newsday’s Arthur Staple (Twitter link).

Halak has struggled this season, posting a 6-8-5 record with a 3.23 GAA and a .904 SV% in 21 games.  He has been part of a three goalie system for each of the last two years alongside Thomas Greiss and Jean-Francois Berube.  Greiss has had by far the better numbers this year (a 2.48 GAA and a .922 SV% in 14 appearances) while the team has acknowledged that they would like to find more playing time for Berube, who they claimed off waivers from Los Angeles back in October of 2015.

Dec 12, 2015; Columbus, OH, USA; New York Islanders goalie Jaroslav Halak (41) follows the puck in play in the second period against the Columbus Blue Jackets at Nationwide Arena. The Islanders won 3-2 in overtime. Mandatory Credit: Aaron Doster-USA TODAY SportsThe 31 year old is in his 11th career NHL season, split between the Canadiens, Blues, and Islanders.  He has a career 206-123-42 record with a 2.42 GAA, a .916 SV%, and 40 shutouts.

In late October, Halak’s agent, Allan Walsh, voiced his displeasure with the goaltending situation and shortly thereafter, the Isles made it known that Halak was available in a trade.  However, they had been unable to find a taker, largely in part due to his contract, which carries a cap hit of $4.5MM through 2017-18.

While there are teams who could potentially use Halak, not many have the ability to absorb that type of money which decreases the odds that he will be claimed on Saturday.  However, this could potentially rekindle trade talks if New York is willing to entertain the possibility of retaining some of his contract to get a deal done.

In the meantime, this opens up the opportunity for Greiss to firmly take hold of the number one job at an ideal time as he is a pending unrestricted free agent.  It also may give them a chance to get Berube into enough action to avoid him becoming eligible for Group VI unrestricted free agency in the summer.  (The threshold for goalies in that situation is 28 career NHL games with at least 30 minutes of playing time; Berube currently sits at eight with three other appearances under 30 minutes.)

Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.

Garth Snow Explains Why Jaroslav Halak Was Waived

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Earlier today the New York Islanders finally did what many have expected for a few weeks now. The struggling Jaroslav Halak, who has been in a three-way goalie battle for more than a year, was placed on waivers and will likely be sent to the AHL.

General Manager Garth Snow explained why:

We want to give Thomas [Greiss] and JF [Berube] an opportunity to play, get ice time. Obviously get a chance to get some wins that we desperately need.

You’re looking for ways to help the team any way that you can, that may be to get a boost of confidence, build some momentum and ultimately win hockey games.

Halak, who is still only 31 years old, has played outstanding at times throughout his career. Getting Vezina trophy votes in two different seasons before coming to New York, the netminder set a franchise record with 38 wins in his first season with the team.

If Halak does clear and is sent to the minors, Snow expects big things:

Coming to the rink and being the hardest worker, having a great attitude, that’s something that doesn’t matter who you are and what position you play and what role you have in the organization, that’s what we expect out of everyone in this organization. We expect nothing less form Jaro in that regard.

Obviously Halak isn’t done at his relatively young age, and should make his way back to the NHL at some point – perhaps even this year. He’s also an intriguing candidate for some teams around the league who lack stability in net. Calgary, Los Angeles and Dallas among others have uncertainty in goal, and though Halak wouldn’t be a clear upgrade on paper the way he’s played this season, perhaps just a change of scenery would be enough to spark him.

The problem, is that Halak carries a $4.5MM cap hit this year and next, while being owed even more actual salary due to the back-loaded nature of his deal. Even though the Islanders are clearly willing to move on, they’d likely have to eat some of that money or kick in a prospect. Not an easy pill to swallow for a team looking to work it’s way back into playoff picture next year, if not sooner.

For Berube in particular, the move to waive Halak means more time in net. After playing just four games so far this season, Snow made it clear he’ll play more.

[After the break] it becomes a condensed schedule again and you need more than one goalie to carry the mail. It’s not the NHL of old when a goalie could play 70, 75 games, there are just too many games in a short span of time.

Metropolitan Notes: Islanders, Devils, Miller, Nash

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The New York Islanders looked into what it would cost to acquire Colorado center Matt Duchene, Newsday’s Arthur Staple reports in a reader mailbag.  However, the Isles experienced some “sticker shock” with regards to how high the cost would be.

Duchene has three years remaining on his contract (including this season) and potentially could provide the team with a bit of insurance behind captain John Tavares, a potential unrestricted agent in the summer of 2018.  However, as the two play the same position, he wouldn’t necessarily be a fit alongside Tavares, something the team has been searching for this season as newcomer Andrew Ladd has not been able to thrive in that role.

Staple also provided an update on injured center Mikhail Grabovski.  The 32 year old has been dealing with a concussion all season long and is nowhere near close to returning to the lineup.  Staple notes that the assumption in training camp was that Grabovski was never going to be cleared to play.  He has another year left on his contract after this season with a cap hit of $5MM.

Elsewhere in the Metropolitan Division:

  • While defense and strong goaltending have been the hallmarks of the Devils for many years now, that hasn’t been the case lately, writes Chris Ryan of NJ Advance Media. New Jersey has allowed four or more goals in 14 of the last 19 games, a big step back after they allowed three or more just six times through the first 16 contests.  As a result, they have seen their goals against average jump to 2.85 per game while goalie Cory Schneider is posting the worst numbers of his career.  With the Devils also being one of the lowest scoring teams in the league, their margin for error is quite slim if they want to get out of the basement of the Eastern Conference.
  • Rangers winger J.T. Miller was dropped to the fourth line during Tuesday’s victory against Ottawa and head coach Alain Vigneault has not been pleased with his play as of late, notes Larry Brooks of the New York Post. The bench boss believes Miller needs to be better in his decision making, particularly when it comes to not forcing things and just making the safer play.  Not only has he been moved to the fourth line for now, the Rangers have also dropped him off their second power play unit.  After a hot start to the season with 18 points in 20 games, Miller has been much quieter since then, recording just four points in his last 17 outings.
  • Brett Cyrgalis, also of the New York Post, provided an update (Twitter link) on injured Rangers winger Rick Nash, who is out with a groin injury for the second time this month. He’s not yet ready to practice with the team but hopes to skate on his own on Friday.  However, Nash told Cyrgalis that he is still “a while away” from being ready to return to the lineup.  Nash is second on the team in goals with 13 this season, one behind team leader Michael Grabner.

Ryan O’Reilly Has Emergency Appendectomy, Out Indefinitely (Updated)

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(Update) 2:30pm: The Sabres announced via Twitter that O’Reilly will need “roughly 10 – 14 days of rest and recovery.”

10:34am: According to Mike Harrington of the Buffalo News, Sabres alternate captain Ryan O’Reilly had an appendectomy on Christmas Day and is out indefinitely. While this isn’t a long-term issue, Buffalo has been struck with injuries all season and won’t get a break any time soon.

The team is at 12-13-8 and has missed O’Reilly, Evander Kane, Zach Bogosian, Jack Eichel and others for lengthy periods already. While the team hoped to have competed for a playoff spot this season after signing Kyle Okposo to a big offseason contract and pursuing several other big-name free agents, they’ve been snake-bitten all year and have fallen further and further behind. Their 32 points puts them dead last in the Atlantic Division, tied with the New York Islanders for last in the conference.

O’Reilly, who missed time with back spasms earlier this year, has been one of their most effective forwards when healthy with 18 points in 27 games. The 25-year old is in the first year of his long-term extension signed in 2015. While his cap hit will be $7.5MM for the next seven seasons, he’ll actually earn $11MM in salary (including signing bonuses) this year.

All Buffalo fans can do is shake their head at this point and hope that a quick return is in the cards for O’Reilly. As Harrington reports, other players like Max Pacioretty, Jamie Benn and Corey Crawford have returned within a few weeks of their surgery.

*Glen Miller contributed to this post.

World Junior Championships: Day 1 Notes

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On Boxing Day afternoon, the IIHF World Junior Championships started in Montreal and Toronto with eight teams facing off on day one. The United States, Canada, Czech Republic and Sweden were all winners, while Latvia, Russia, Finland and Denmark all started their tournament off on the wrong foot.

Finland was the biggest upset of the day, falling to the Czech team 2-1 after Michael Spacek’s late winner. The defending champions were overwhelmed by the upstart Czechs, losing several key puck battles and being dominated in the shot totals.

Among the teams there were several standout performances:

Mathew Barzal, Canada: The New York Islanders prospect Barzal had the puck basically all game for the Canadian squad, quarterbacking their powerplay and dominating 5-on-5 play. His three points lead the tournament so far, and gives him an early lead in the tournament MVP race.

Carl Grundstrom, Sweden: A selection of the Toronto Maple Leafs this summer, Grundstrom has already been playing in the Swedish professional ranks and it showed in his tournament opener. Not expected to be an elite offensive option in the NHL, he carried the puck a ton for the Swedish team against Denmark and had two points in a team leading 15+ minutes.

Tage Thompson, USA: While teammate Clayton Keller was the big story with two goals for Team USA, Thompson deserves a lot of credit himself. With two primary assists and a team-leading +3 rating, Thompson continued what has been an outstanding year for him. After being selected 26th overall by St. Louis, Thompson has scored 20 points in 18 games at the University of Connecticut.

As for notes from the tournament, Team Canada has announced that Connor Ingram will start in net tonight instead of Carter Hart, who looked shaky at times against the skilled Russians. Ingram is a prospect in the Tampa Bay Lightning system and has dominated the WHL as a member of the Kamloops Blazers this year.

Mathieu Joseph, who is playing for Canada at the tournament, signed his entry-level contract with the Lightning yesterday with details coming down today courtesy of Cap Friendly. It’s a three-year deal that contains some solid bonuses. Not bad for a fourth-round pick.

Day two has just gotten underway with Switzerland facing off against the Czechs and three games to follow. The full preliminary round schedule can be found here.

Allen’s Latest: US Juniors To Watch, 2017 Predictions

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USA Today’s Kevin Allen writes a bit about the five must watch players for the US team as the World Junior Championships kick off today. Those on his watch list include Charlie McAvoy, Luke Kunin, Clayton Keller, Tage Thompson, and Colin White. Allen writes that White is versatile and expected to be a boon for the American squad as a difference maker. Thompson, according to Allen, is a younger version of Blake Wheeler, while Keller is the “gamebreaker” who has the potential to be a dynamic player someday in the NHL. Captain Kunin, according to USA general manager Jim Johannson, is the “engine” of the team. McAvoy is a physical presence, and according to bench boss Bob Motzko, wants to “knock you on your rear end and score a goal on the same shift. He is going to be a guy we lean on heavily in all situations.” The Americans will look to build on their bronze medal finish from last year’s tournament.

  • Allen also lists his 10 bold predictions in 2017.  Some of the bolder ones include Patrik Laine outscoring Alex Ovechkin this season and that the Blackhawks will pay Artemi Panarin $7MM to remain in Chicago. Allen expects Ralph Krueger to be back in the NHL, and that the Canucks will finally embrace a much needed rebuild. Allen writes:

It’s past time. The Canucks will be first class and ask the Sedin twins how they want the organization to handle their future. They have always loved living in Vancouver. If they wait until the summer, they might be able to trade them both to one team. Maybe the Sedins would be comfortable mentoring a young team.

Finally, Allen believes that Kevin Shattenkirk will head to free agency and be pursued by the Red Wings, Bruins, Rangers, and Lightning. In the same vein, he expects John Tavares to get the “Stamkos treatment” with his impending free agency. Whether it’s a monster contract from the Islanders or a pricier offer from another team, Allen believes it to be one of the main storylines in 2017.

Poll: 2005 NHL Draft Take Two: Twenty-Sixth Overall Pick

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Hindsight is an amazing thing, and allows us to look back and wonder “what could have been.” Though perfection is attempted, scouting and draft selection is far from an exact science and sometimes, it doesn’t work out the way teams – or players – intended. For every Patrick Kane, there is a Patrik Stefan.

We’re looking back at the 2005 NHL Draft, which kicked off the salary cap era and ushered in many of the current NHL superstars. The question we’re looking to answer is knowing now what we didn’t know then, how different would this draft look now with the benefit of hindsight?

Here are the results of our redraft so far:

1st Overall: Sidney Crosby (Pittsburgh Penguins)
2nd Overall: Carey Price (Mighty Ducks of Anaheim)
3rd Overall: Anze Kopitar (Carolina Hurricanes)
4th Overall: Jonathan Quick (Minnesota Wild)
5th Overall: Kris Letang (Montreal Canadiens)
6th Overall: Tuukka Rask (Columbus Blue Jackets)
7th Overall: Bobby Ryan (Chicago Blackhawks)
8th Overall: Marc-Edouard Vlasic (San Jose Sharks)
9th Overall: Ben Bishop (Ottawa Senators)
10th Overall: James Neal (Vancouver Canucks)
11th Overall: T.J. Oshie (Los Angeles Kings)
12th Overall: Keith Yandle (New York Rangers)
13th Overall: Paul Stastny (Buffalo Sabres)
14th Overall: Marc Staal (Washington Capitals)
15th Overall: Patric Hornqvist (New York Islanders)
16th Overall: Niklas Hjalmarsson (Atlanta Thrashers)
17th Overall: Anton Stralman (Phoenix Coyotes)
18th Overall: Jack Johnson (Nashville Predators)
19th Overall: Matt Niskanen (Detroit Red Wings)
20th Overall: Justin Abdelkader (Florida Panthers)
21st Overall: Martin Hanzal (Toronto Maple Leafs)
22nd Overall: Andrew Cogliano (Boston Bruins)
23rd Overall: Kris Russell (New Jersey Devils)
24th Overall: Darren Helm (St. Louis Blues)
25th Overall: Cody Franson (Edmonton Oilers)

Now we move forward to the 26th pick, which was held by the Calgary Flames.

To recap how this works:

  • We will go through the 2005 NHL Draft and have our readers select, through a voting process, who they think should have been taken with the selection.
  • The entire first round will be redrafted, spanning picks one through thirty. The new selection is chosen by the majority of votes.

Back in 2005, the Flames took defenseman Matt Pelech from the Sarnia Sting. Since being drafted, Pelech played a total of 13 games in the NHL, tallying four points (1-3). Of those 13 games, Pelech spent five with the Flames and the other eight with San Jose. During the 2013-14 season, Pelech spent time in the ECHL with the Utah Grizzlies after playing for both San Jose and its AHL affiliate Worcester. A season later, Pelech recorded 39 games with the Rochester Americans. Last season, Pelech appeared in 49 games for the Schwenningen Wild Wings in the DEL (Germany) and has played the current season with Graz EC in the Austrian league.

With the 26th pick of the 2005 NHL Redraft, who should the Flames select?  Cast your vote below! Mobile users, you can vote here!

With the 26th overall pick, the Calgary Flames select...
Benoit Pouliot 27.96% (144 votes)
Devin Setoguchi 20.00% (103 votes)
Vladimir Sobotka 15.53% (80 votes)
Mason Raymond 8.54% (44 votes)
Steve Downie 7.57% (39 votes)
Sergei Kostitsyn 6.60% (34 votes)
Jakub Kindl 5.83% (30 votes)
Nathan Gerbe 2.72% (14 votes)
Jared Boll 2.14% (11 votes)
Jack Skille 1.75% (9 votes)
Gilbert Brule 1.36% (7 votes)
Total Votes: 515

 

 

Where Does Kyle Okposo Rank In Islanders History?

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Tonight marks the first time the New York Islanders will welcome in Kyle Okposo as an opponent, after the winger signed with the Buffalo Sabres in the offseason to a whopping seven-year, $56MM deal. After parts of nine seasons with the Islanders, the team couldn’t afford (or didn’t want to pay for) his services any longer and let him find a huge payday somewhere else.

Okposo was drafted by the Islanders seventh overall in 2006, right after Derick Brassard and just before Peter Mueller. The team had whiffed the previous two years (though they didn’t know it yet) with Ryan O’Marra (15th overall 2005) and Petteri Nokelainen (16th overall 2004) and needed a good young player after a very disappointing season. Okposo was the third USA-born player taken in the draft after Erik Johnson and Phil Kessel both went in the top five. It would turn out to be one of the strongest drafts ever for American players, with no less than nine going in the first round.

Despite knowing the Okposo would be headed to the University of Minnesota, the Islanders couldn’t pass up the skilled offensive forward. Within two years he was playing in the NHL, and would never look back.

While many still don’t see Okposo as a star, he’s provided solid production for the better part of a decade and has accumulated some numbers that shouldn’t be dismissed, even for a franchise with such a storied history.

With 369 points, Okposo ranks 14th all-time in Islanders history, despite being down at 24th on the games played list. He ranks in the top-15 in game winning goals, and has done all of it before his 30th birthday. While it’s obvious he’s not in the same category as Mike Bossy, Bryan Trottier, Denis Potvin or the other Islanders legends, he does deserve some recognition for what he’s accomplished for the franchise.

That’s what the Islanders did tonight as they honored him before the game. With a standing ovation, the crowd showed him what he meant to them, and how much they missed him now that he’s gone (the Islanders are desperate for some scoring off the wing). Islanders fans, where do you think Okposo fits into your franchise history? Tell us below.

Atlantic Notes: Sabres, Matthews, Coreau

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The Sabres gave a performance worthy of Grinch-like proportions writes the Buffalo News’ Mike Harrington. Approaching the holiday season, the Sabres gave their fans a performance akin to receiving coal at Christmas. Losing 3-1 to the Hurricanes Thursday evening, the Sabres were serenaded with boos from the home crowd at multiple points of the game Harrington reports.  More importantly, Harrington continues, are Jack Eichel’s struggles and how it has affected the team. Harrington talked to the young star after the game, who was “seething” with head coach Dan Bylsma’s decision to take away ice time. From Harrington:

Asked if he was surprised to not be on the ice, the 20-year-old said the time to discuss the topic was over.

“I think I just answered that. I’m not the coach,” he said. “Like I said, we had a lot of opportunities on the first power play. … I was on the second power play. I’m out there working hard. I think that’s all I really have to say about that.”

Bylsma was “unusually intense” during the morning skate, but his teaching apparently fell on deaf ears. Worse, Buffalo slipped into a tie with Detroit for last place in the Atlantic with the loss. Harrington writes that redemption could come in the way of beating the New York Islanders tonight.

Dec 22, 2016; Denver, CO, USA; Toronto Maple Leafs center Auston Matthews (34) celebrates with teammates after scoring a goal in the first period against the Colorado Avalanche at the Pepsi Center. Mandatory Credit: Isaiah J. Downing-USA TODAY Sports

  • Auston Matthews is set to play his first game in his home state tonight, and the excitement for his return is through the roof writes NHL.com’s Dan Rosen. From Arizona youth hockey teams to Matthews’ own parents, the entire state of Arizona has been waiting to see their homegrown son return to where many thought hockey would never last. Instead, the #1 overall pick in the 2016 draft not only hails from the non-traditional hockey market of Arizona, he’s the face of the organization that many consider the epicenter of the hockey world. Matthews’ importance to the state of Arizona goes beyond just local pride. It’s the idea, Rosen continues, that Arizona finally has relevancy in hockey’s eyes.
  • Jared Coreau is set to start in net tonight for the Detroit Red Wings tweets MLive’s Brendan Savage. Head coach Jeff Blashill broke the news to Petr Mrazek, who has struggled to keep hold of the starting job in light of Jimmy Howard’s strong play. Savage adds that Blashill said he wants players to “want to be in” and though they may not agree, Savage tweets that Blashill declares that he has the final say. This season, Mrazek is 9-7-3 with an .899 save percentage. His struggles are one of many on the team this year that has landed the Red Wings in a tie for last place in the division.

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