Training Camp Cuts: 09/29/17
The last Friday before the season begins, and just a few more days until teams have to submit their final rosters. As we head into the final few preseason contests, some teams are still holding onto a huge roster. The waiver wire is sure to be filled over the next few days as teams make their final cuts. As always, we’ll have all the movement right here throughout the day.
Anaheim Ducks
F Sam Steel – Regina (WHL)
F Max Jones – London (OHL)
F Jack Kopacka – Sault Ste. Marie (OHL)
D Josh Mahura – Regina (WHL)
Arizona Coyotes
F Emerson Etem – Tucson (AHL)
G Hunter Miska – Tucson (AHL)
Boston Bruins
F Kenny Agostino – Waivers for purpose of assignment.
Chicago Blackhawks
F David Kampf – Rockford (AHL)
F Laurent Dauphin – Rockford (AHL)
D Erik Gustafsson – Rockford (AHL)
D Ville Pokka – Waivers for purpose of assignment.
Colorado Avalanche
D Duncan Siemens – Waivers for purpose of assignment.
Florida Panthers
F Henrik Haapala – Springfield (AHL)
D Ed Wittchow – Springfield (AHL)
G Harri Sateri – Springfield (AHL)
Minnesota Wild
D Carson Soucy – Iowa (AHL)
F Ryan Malone – Released from PTO, will join AHL camp
Montreal Canadiens
F Chris Terry – Laval (AHL)
New York Rangers
F Matt Puempel – Hartford (AHL)
Pittsburgh Penguins
F Tom Sestito – Wilkes-Barre/Scranton (AHL)
Tampa Bay Lightning
F Alexander Volkov – Syracuse (AHL)
San Jose Sharks
D Jacob Middleton – San Jose (AHL)
D Nick DeSimone – San Jose (AHL)
Vancouver Canucks
F Nikolay Goldobin – Utica (AHL)
D Philip Holm – Utica (AHL)
D Olli Juolevi – Assignment team TBD
F Anton Rodin – Will be placed on waivers tomorrow.
F Scottie Upshall – Released from PTO
Vegas Golden Knights
F Stefan Matteau – Chicago (AHL), cleared waivers
Training Camp Cuts: 09/28/17
Just a few more days until the 2017-18 NHL regular season is underway, and teams are starting to make their final roster decisions. We saw tons of cuts yesterday, and today should be no different. We’ll keep track of all the day’s movement right here.
Anaheim Ducks
F Mitch Hults – San Diego (AHL)
D Brian Cooper – San Diego (AHL)
D Marcus Pettersson – San Diego (AHL)
D Andy Welinski – San Diego (AHL)
F Scott Sabourin – Waivers for purpose of assignment
F Corey Tropp – Waivers for purpose of assignment
F Sam Carrick – Waivers for purpose of assignment
F Mike Liambas – Waivers for purpose of assignment
D Steven Oleksy – Waivers for purpose of assignment
Buffalo Sabres
F Nicholas Baptiste – Rochester (AHL)
G Linus Ullmark – Rochester (AHL)
Carolina Hurricanes
F Nicolas Roy – Charlotte (AHL)
F Valentin Zykov – Charlotte (AHL)
F Aleksi Saarela – Charlotte (AHL)
F Jeremy Smith – Waivers for purpose of assignment
D Jake Chelios – Waivers for purpose of assignment
D Trevor Carrick – Waivers for purpose of assignment
Chicago Blackhawks
G Collin Delia – Rockford (AHL)
Edmonton Oilers
F Brad Malone – Waivers for purpose of assignment
Florida Panthers
G Harri Sateri – Waivers for purpose of assignment
Los Angeles Kings
F Michael Mersch – Ontario (AHL)
F Andrew Crescenzi – Ontario (AHL)
Montreal Canadiens
D Matt Taormina – Laval (AHL)
F Chris Terry – Waivers for purpose of assignment
New York Rangers
F Lias Andersson – Frolunda (SHL)
F Vinny Lettieri – Hartford (AHL)
F Boo Nieves – Hartford (AHL)
D Neal Pionk – Hartford (AHL)
D Ryan Graves – Hartford (AHL)
F Matt Puempel – Waivers for purpose of assignment
F Bobby Farnham – Released from PTO
Ottawa Senators
G Andrew Hammond – Waivers for purpose of assignment
Pittsburgh Penguins
F Tom Sestito – Waivers for purpose of assignment
St. Louis Blues
F Beau Bennett – Chicago (AHL)
D Petteri Lindbohm – Chicag0 (AHL)
D Chris Butler – San Antonio (AHL)
Washington Capitals
F Travis Boyd – Hershey (AHL)
D Tyler Lewington – Hershey (AHL)
D Jonas Siegenthaler – Hershey (AHL)
G Pheonix Copley – Hershey (AHL)
Winnipeg Jets
G Eric Comrie – Manitoba (AHL)
Jeff Tambellini To Retire, Coach At Michigan
Former NHL forward Jeff Tambellini may be retiring from pro hockey, but he seems to have his next career already planned out. The University of Michigan revealed tonight that Tambellini will return to campus to finish his degree and has been named an “undergraduate assistant coach”. Tambellini himself has yet to recognize his retirement, but may never actually do so in any official capacity.
Normally, “graduate assistant coach” is a title given to recent grads helping out with their alma mater’s program in some way. Tambellini’s new title of “undergraduate assistant coach” is almost unheard of, but fitting for the former All-American who left Michigan a year early after three dominant seasons. He returns to finish his degree with over a decade of pro hockey experience under his belt.
A first-round pick of the Los Angeles Kings in 2003, there were high expectations of Tambellini that only increased with each collegiate season. Yet, once he turned pro, the small, speedy forward struggled to skate around the opposition like he could in the NCAA. The Kings traded him to the Islanders after only four games with the team, sending he and Denis Grebeshkov to New York for Mark Parrish and Brent Sopel. Tambellini carved out a bottom-six/AHL depth role for himself on the island and played for New York for four more seasons, accumulating 46 points in 176 games. Tambellini played his final NHL season in 2010-11 with the Vancouver Canucks, posting a career-best 17 points and +10 rating in 62 games and playing in the Stanley Cup Final against the Boston Bruins.
Since then, Tambellini has had an up-and-down experience as a globe-trotting veteran. He was a force to reckon with in his first pro season outside the NHL, scoring 45 points in 50 games with the ZSC Lions of the Swiss NLA. Injuries limited his production in his second season with the Lions, so he moved on to Sweden, where he played well for MODO. He again struggled in the following year, splitting his time between the SHL and NLA, but not finding results in either location. 2015-16 marked an attempted NHL comeback, as Tambellini signed a one-year deal with the Tampa Bay Lightning. Despite impressive production in the AHL, Tambellini did not see any NHL action and headed back to Sweden last season, where he struggled mightily and, at the age of 33, likely decided it was time to hand up his skates.
However, his new opportunity with the Wolverines should allow Jeff to follow in his father’s footsteps. Steve Tambellini played ten years in the NHL, but is likely best known for his later work off the ice. Steve was the GM of the Edmonton Oilers from 2008 to 2013 and also previously worked for the Vancouver Canucks and Team Canada. He is currently a scout for the Anaheim Ducks. While Jeff seems to be heading more in a coaching route rather than toward a front office future, it is clear that hockey intelligence runs in the family and Jeff could have a shot a great coaching career, beginning with his return to Ann Arbor this season. Who knows, if coaching is a great fit for Jeff, he may end up back in the NHL, this time behind the bench, before little brother Adam Tambellini, a New York Rangers prospect, makes it to the big time himself.
Toronto Marlies With Several NHL Veterans In Camp
While many AHL camps have gotten underway in recent days largely with the early cuts from their NHL affiliates and ECHL hopefuls as “campers”, the Toronto Marlies drew some attention today when they announced a 40-man initial roster featuring several familiar names.
Among the many in attendance are NHL veterans Jordan Caron, Brandon Gormley, Matt Hackett, and Mackenzie Skapski. Caron and Gormley are especially interesting as past first-round picks, while Hackett and Skapski are two of the very few remaining free agent goaltenders on the market. All four players have value in their own right, yet end up not on NHL contracts, or in NHL camps, or even on AHL contracts. Why?
Skapski may be the easiest to explain. After two impressive spot starts at the young age of 21 with the New York Rangers in 2014-15, Skapski’s career has been in free fall. The next year, Skapski posted a 3.00+ GAA and nearly a .900 save percentage in the AHL and ECHL. Those numbers continued to plummet this past season, with Skapski making 13 rough starts in the AHL and spending the majority of the season in the ECHL.
The once-promising Hackett also made his NHL debut at 21 years old with the Minnesota Wild back in 2011-12. Hackett made 12 appearances with the Wild in his rookie season and had an impressive 2.37 GAA and .922 save percentage. While that level of performance was unsustainable, Hackett continued to make a living as a backup or third-string option for the Wild and Buffalo Sabres for years, before taking on more of an AHL depth role for the Anaheim Ducks since 2015. However, too much depth in net, as well as injury issues, limited Hackett to only seven starts last season, in which he was less than spectacular. More of an unknown commodity now than the future-starter tag from years ago, Hackett needs to prove himself once again at the pro level.
Gormley, the 13th overall pick in 2010 by the Arizona Coyotes, has not had the career expected of him when he was selected before fellow defensemen like Derek Forbort, Mark Pysyk, and Justin Faulk early in the draft. Gormley has just 58 games of NHL experience and has not played at the highest level since midway through the 2015-16 season. However, Gormley had been a productive AHLer, with 75 points, more than half a point per game, through his first three pro seasons. In the past two seasons? Only 21 points in 91 games. With the points disappearing, Gormley faces the possibility that his career could be coming to an end soon at just 25 years old. Gormley could use a big camp to keep that from coming to fruition.
Caron is probably the most notable player in any AHL camp on a tryout basis, not just the Marlies’, as the Boston Bruins’ 2009 first-rounder was a “black ace” call-up by the St. Louis Blues mere months ago. While Caron has the appearance of having stuck around the NHL, in actuality he has only played in four NHL games since the end of the 2014-15 season. Nevertheless, the 6’3″, 205-lb. power forward is still a veteran of over 150 NHL games and has shown flashes of ability from time to time. If any of these four player can make the Marlies – and make a difference – it is Caron.
Andrew Desjardins Suspended Two Preseason Games
As he tries to make the New York Rangers, Andrew Desjardins has been suspended two preseason games for an illegal check to the head of New Jersey Devils’ forward Miles Wood. Desjardins is on a professional tryout with the Rangers, and won’t get another chance to show what he can do in game action. As the video explanation from the Department of Player Safety says:
It is important to note that Wood is eligible to be hit on this play, provided it is done in a legal manner. However, rather than take an angle of approach that results in a legal, full-bodied check, Desjardins takes an angle of approach that picks Woods’ head, making it the main point of contact.
This will be the first time Desjardins is suspended by the league, but this still could spell trouble for his chances of making the New York roster. He was already a long-shot, and with the impressive play of the two young draft picks (Lias Andersson and Filip Chytil) there likely will not be room for him on the team.
For now, he’ll have to sit out and see if he can do something outside of game action to impress the coaching staff.
J.T. Miller To Start At Wing, Increasing Chance Of Rookie Centers Breaking Camp
- Despite spending time in the middle during the preseason, J.T. Miller will be back in his familiar wing position when the season starts, Alain Vigneault confirmed today to a group of reporters including Dan Rosen of NHL.com. Vigneault has been impressed with the play of 2017 first-round draft picks Lias Andersson and Filip Chytil, as well as former University of Michigan standout Boo Nieves. While it has been expected for a while that just one of the young players would make the roster with David Desharnais taking the other center role, there is a growing suspicion that both Andersson and Chytil could start the year with the Rangers. That would be quite the turnaround for a team that hadn’t even drafted in the first round for several years.
Morning Notes: NBC Olympics, Ekman-Larsson, Desjardins
The NHL will be going dark on national television during the two and a half weeks that the Olympic Games in Pyeongchang, South Korea will be on the air, according to the New York Post’s Larry Brooks. The NHL, who will not be participating in this year’s Olympics, have been informed that no NHL games will be televised by any NBC affiliate during the dates of Feb. 7-26.
While the original TV schedule had no games listed, it was believed that NBC would add games into their TV lineup to air NHL hockey games. However, Brooks writes that he believes it’s NBC’s way of “giving a symbolic middle finger” to Gary Bettman and the Board of Governors for withholding its players from this Olympics, which NBC will also be televising. Last year, the NHL previously aired 20 NHL hockey games during those same dates.
The NHL has stated previously that it did not want to participate in the Olympics next year for many reasons, but chief among them was they didn’t want to take a 17-day break at a time when the NHL should get its highest ratings with the NFL season completed and MLB’s season not having gotten started. However, now without national TV exposure, it looks as if they may not get that exposure anyhow.
- NBC Sports Cam Tucker writes that Arizona’s Oliver Ekman-Larsson will be re-evaluated today after suffering a lower-body injury during overtime against the San Jose Sharks. The defenseman had to be helped off the ice. The 26-year-old has been one of the few bright spots on the Coyotes roster the last few years and was expected to lead a renewed effort to get out of the basement of the Western Conference. It’s also rumored that Ekman-Larsson is next in line to be named captain to replace long-time leader Shane Doan.
- In a separate story, NBC Sports Cam Tucker writes that New York Rangers’ Andrew Desjardins will face a disciplinary hearing on Monday with the NHL Department of Player Safety for his hit on New Jersey Devils forward Miles Wood during Saturday’s preseason game. Desjardins received a match penalty for an illegal hit to the head during the middle of the first period. Wood was slow to get to his feet and went through concussion protocol, but was cleared and allowed to return to the game. The 31-year-old center was on a PTO with the Rangers. He previously played three years with the Chicago Blackhawks.
Rangers Notes: Andersson, Chytil, Desharnais, Buchnevich
It’s rare that a pair of first rounders picked by the same from the latest draft crack the NHL roster right away but that could be the case for the Rangers. Head coach Alain Vigneault told reporters, including Justin Tasch of the New York Daily News, that both Lias Andersson (7th overall) and Filip Chytil (21st overall) could both break camp with the team to start the season. New York hasn’t really replaced Derek Stepan down the middle and both youngsters are natural centers. There will also be an opening on the roster for a few weeks thanks to winger Jesper Fast’s hip surgery this summer that will have him out for the first few weeks of the season. Andersson and Chytil can each play nine NHL games before burning the first year of their contracts.
More from Manhattan:
- The team signed David Desharnais with the idea that he can hold down the third line center spot despite struggling considerably last season, notes Brett Cyrgalis of the New York Post. Although he is only two years removed from a 48 point campaign, he managed just 14 in 49 games between Montreal and Edmonton last year. From a depth perspective, the team may be better off starting with him as a fourth liner that can move up when injuries arise or someone struggles since he wasn’t able to hold down a full-time top-nine spot in 2016-17 with either team.
- The back issues that plagued rookie winger Pavel Buchnevich in his rookie season are a thing of the past, writes Newsday’s Steve Zipay. The Russian got off to a strong start despite playing through the pain but by the time the second half rolled around, he spent most of his time on the fourth line or in the press box. If he’s able to hold down a top-nine spot on the wing, that could also free the team up to try J.T. Miller down the middle as well.
Training Camp Cuts: 9/23/17
The more than fifty cuts made from training camps around the league yesterday was only the beginning. Weekend or not, expect the announcements to keep flooding in, and we’ll keep track of it all right here:
Anaheim Ducks
F Stu Bickel – San Diego (AHL)
F Maxime Comtois – Victoriaville (QMJHL)
F Alex Dostie – San Diego (AHL)
G Olle Eriksson Ek – Farjestad BK (SWE U20)
F Nic Kerdiles – San Diego (AHL)
D Brady Lyle – North Bay (OHL), released from ATO
F Antoine Morand – Acadie-Bathurst (QMJHL)
F Julius Nattinen – San Diego (AHL)
F Kyle Olson – Tri-City (WHL)
F Austin Ortega – San Diego (AHL)
D Turner Ottenbreit – Seattle (WHL), released from ATO
G Angus Redmond – San Diego (AHL)
F Kevin Roy – San Diego (AHL)
F Zach Saar – San Diego (AHL)
F Deven Sideroff – San Diego (AHL)
F Tyler Soy – San Diego (AHL)
D Jeff Schultz – San Diego (AHL)
D Keaton Thompson – San Diego (AHL)
Buffalo Sabres
F Eric Cornel – Rochester (AHL)
F Vaclav Karabacek – Rochester (AHL)
G Jason Kasdorf – Rochester (AHL)
G Jonas Johansson – Rochester (AHL)
D Brycen Martin – Rochester (AHL)
F Steve Moses – Rochester (AHL)
D Casey Nelson – Rochester (AHL)
F Kevin Porter – Rochester (AHL)
F Cliff Pu – London (OHL)
D Devante Stephens – Rochester (AHL)
G Adam Wilcox – Rochester (AHL)
Calgary Flames
F Austin Carroll – Stockton (AHL)
D Josh Healey – Stockton (AHL)
D Oliver Kylington – Stockton (AHL)
F Andrew Mangiapane – Stockton (AHL)
D Adam Ollas Mattsson – Stockton (AHL)
G Tyler Parsons – Stockton (AHL)
D Colby Robak – Stockton (AHL)
Carolina Hurricanes
F Clark Bishop – Charlotte (AHL)
G Callum Booth – Charlotte (AHL)
F Warren Foegele – Charlotte (AHL)
D Tyler Ganly – Charlotte (AHL)
F Gregory Hofmann – HC Lugano (NLA)
D Keenan Kanzig – Charlotte (AHL)
F Steven Lorentz – Charlotte (AHL)
G Alex Nedeljkovic – Charlotte (AHL)
F Andrew Poturalski – Charlotte (AHL)
F Nick Schilkey – Charlotte (AHL)
F Spencer Smallman – Charlotte (AHL)
F Sergey Tolchinsky – Charlotte (AHL)
D Josh Wesley – Charlotte (AHL)
Chicago Blackhawks
D Kyle Baun – Rockford (AHL) (cleared waivers)
G Jeff Glass – Rockford (AHL) (cleared waivers)
Dallas Stars
F Travis Morin – released from PTO, will attend AHL camp
F Greg Rallo – released from PTO, will attend AHL camp
Minnesota Wild
D Zach Palmquist – Iowa (AHL) (cleared waivers)
Montreal Canadiens
D Zach Redmond – Laval (AHL) (cleared waivers)
Nashville Predators
D Frederic Allard – Milwaukee (AHL)
F Derek Army – released from PTO, will report to AHL camp
F Bobby Butler – released from PTO, will report to AHL camp
F Tyler Kelleher – released from PTO, will report to AHL camp
F Justin Kirkland – Milwaukee (AHL)
D Joonas Lyytinen – Milwaukee (AHL)
D T.J. Melancon – Milwaukee (AHL)
F Angelo Miceli – released from PTO, will report to AHL camp
F Trevor Mingoia – released from PTO, will report to AHL camp
F Tyler Moy – Milwaukee (AHL)
D Trevor Murphy – Milwaukee (AHL)
G Matt O’Connor – Milwaukee (AHL)
D Jimmy Oligny – released from PTO, will report to AHL camp
G Jake Paterson – released from PTO, will report to AHL camp
F Stephen Perfetto – released from PTO, will report to AHL camp
D Rick Pinkston – released from PTO, will report to AHL camp
F Anthony Richard – Milwaukee (AHL)
New York Islanders
D Sebastian Aho – Bridgeport (AHL)
F Casey Bailey – released from PTO
D Kyle Burroughs – Bridgeport (AHL)
F Michael Dal Colle – Bridgeport (AHL)
F Scott Eansor – released from PTO, will report to AHL camp
F Tanner Fritz – Bridgeport (AHL)
F Ben Holmstrom – released from PTO
F Ross Johnston – Bridgeport (AHL)
F Jeff Kubiak – released from PTO, will report to AHL camp
D Kane LaFranchise – Bridgeport (AHL)
G Eamon McAdam – Bridgeport (AHL)
F Kyle Schempp – Bridgeport (AHL)
F Travis St. Denis – released from PTO, will report to AHL camp
F John Stevens – Bridgeport (AHL)
D Devon Toews – Bridgeport (AHL)
F Yannick Turcotte – released from ATO
D Mitchell Vande Sompel – Bridgeport (AHL)
D Parker Wotherspoon – Bridgeport (AHL)
New York Rangers
D Alexei Bereglazov – Hartford (AHL)
G Alexandar Georgiev – Hartford (AHL)
D John Gilmour – Hartford (AHL)
F Ryan Gropp – Hartford (AHL)
G Chris Nell – Hartford (AHL)
D Vince Pedrie – Hartford (AHL)
F Malte Stromwall – Hartford (AHL)
F Adam Tambellini – Hartford (AHL)
Philadelphia Flyers
D Mark Alt – Lehigh Valley (AHL) (cleared waivers)
D T.J. Brennan – Lehigh Valley (AHL) (cleared waivers)
F Greg Carey – Lehigh Valley (AHL) (cleared waivers)
F Corban Knight – Lehigh Valley (AHL) (cleared waivers)
G Alex Lyon – Lehigh Valley (AHL)
D Will O’Neill – Lehigh Valley (AHL) (cleared waivers)
F Phil Varone – Lehigh Valley (AHL) (cleared waivers)
Ottawa Senators
G Chris Driedger – Belleville (AHL)
G Marcus Hogberg – Belleville (AHL)
G Danny Taylor – Belleville (AHL) (cleared waivers)
D Erik Burgdoerfer – Belleville (AHL) (cleared waivers)
D Cody Donaghey – Belleville (AHL)
D Andreas Englund – Belleville (AHL)
D Macoy Erkamps – Belleville (AHL)
D Christian Jaros – Belleville (AHL)
D Patrick Sieloff – Belleville (AHL) (cleared waivers)
F Chris DiDomenico – Belleville (AHL) (cleared waivers)
F Vincent Dunn – Belleville (AHL)
F Gabriel Gagne – Belleville (AHL)
F Nick Paul – Belleville (AHL)
F Francis Perron – Belleville (AHL)
F Ben Sexton – Belleville (AHL) (cleared waivers)
F Kyle Flanagan – released from PTO (Belleville)
D Jordan Murray – released from PTO (Belleville)
F Jack Rodewald – released from PTO (Belleville)
D Charles-David Beaudoin – released from PTO
F Brendan Woods – released from PTO
F Drake Batherson – Cape Breton (QMJHL)
F Parker Kelly – Prince Albert (WHL)
Tampa Bay Lightning
F Shane Conacher – Released from PTO
F Alex Gallant – Syracuse (AHL)
F Kevin Lynch – Released from PTO (Syracuse)
F Otto Somppi – Halifax (QMJHL)
F Carter Verhaeghe – Syracuse (AHL)
D Mat Bodie – Syracuse (AHL)
D Reid McNeil – Released from PTO (Syracuse)
D Matt Spencer – Syracuse (AHL)
G Connor Ingram – Syracuse (AHL)
G Michael Leighton – Syracuse (AHL)
Fast Progressing Well From Offseason Hip Surgery
- Rangers winger Jesper Fast is progressing well in his recovery from offseason hip surgery, notes Matt Calamia on the Rangers’ team site. Head coach Alain Vigneault said that the team is targeting late October for his return to the lineup which would actually put him ahead of schedule from the five months he was expected to miss when he went under the knife in early June. The 25-year-old has six goals and 15 assists in 68 games with New York last season and will push for a bottom-six role when he returns to the lineup.