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Waivers: 9/29/23

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As training camps and the preseason continues, teams continue to trim down their roster to get closer to the final group of players they’ll carry when the regular season gets underway next month. We’ll keep track of the names that hit the waiver wire here.  Today’s list was provided by Sportsnet’s Elliotte Friedman (Twitter link).

Colorado Avalanche (per team Twitter)

D Keaton Middleton
F Spencer Smallman

New York Rangers

F Alex Belzile
F Anton Blidh
F Turner Elson
D Ty Emberson
D Connor Mackey
F Riley Nash

New Jersey Devils

D Tyler Wotherspoon

St. Louis Blues

F Adam Gaudette

The Rangers have the players of some note on this list.  Belzile held his own as a midseason recall with Montreal last season, notching six goals and eight assists in just 31 games.  That allowed the 32-year-old to get a two-year commitment from New York this summer including a one-way salary in 2024-25.  Nash didn’t see any NHL action last season but is no stranger to playing at the top level as a fourth-line center, suiting up 627 times over parts of 11 years.  Blidh struggled in limited action with Colorado last season while Elson has just three NHL appearances thus far in his career.

Mackey could be a name to keep an eye on.  The 27-year-old split last year between Calgary and Arizona, getting into a career-best 30 games.  His performance there also earned him an opportunity to play at the Worlds for Team USA, his second appearance in that tournament over the last three years.  This will be Emberson’s first time on waivers.  The 23-year-old saw his production in the minors improve considerably last season, going from 11 points to 27 but he still sits fairly low on New York’s depth chart.

As for the other players on waivers today, Gaudette has 218 career NHL appearances under his belt and last season was the first time he didn’t see action at the top level in his six-year professional career.  He was a productive scorer in the minors in 2022-23, notching 51 points between the affiliates of the Maple Leafs and Blues, who acquired him at the trade deadline.  Wotherspoon last played in the NHL back in 2016-17 with Calgary while Middleton has three NHL games under his belt back in the 2020-21 campaign.  Smallman, meanwhile, hasn’t seen any NHL action over his seven professional campaigns and is coming off a career-best 13 goals with AHL Colorado last season.

These players will be on waivers until 1 PM CT on Saturday.

Artemi Panarin, Filip Chytil Suffer Injuries

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  • The New York Rangers have announced that star forward Artemi Panarin did not practice today due to a lower-body injury, and is out on a day-to-day designation. Panarin, 31, has been the Rangers’ leading scorer and top offensive generator in every season he’s played on Broadway. While there’s no word on how serious this injury is beyond this announcement, the team will need him up to speed on opening night to stand the best chance of pulling ahead in what figures to be a cutthroat Metropolitan Division.
  • Larry Brooks of the New York Post relays word of another Rangers injury. Ascending pivot Filip Chytil left today’s practice with an upper-body injury, and like Panarin is considered day-to-day. While Chytil, 24, is not in the same stratosphere of importance as Panarin, he is an impactful Ranger in his own right. He enjoyed a breakout 2022-23, scoring 22 goals and 45 points. He’s expected to push to shake Vincent Trocheck’s tight grip on the Rangers’ second-line center job this season, though that task may become more difficult should he be forced to battle through injuries.

Training Camp Cuts: 09/24/23

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The preseason kicks off in earnest today for most teams not named the Arizona Coyotes, Los Angeles Kings and St. Louis Blues, who got their slate of exhibition games started over the past two days. A Battle of Ontario matchup between Toronto and Ottawa that’s also the Sens’ first official home game with Michael Andlauer as their majority owner highlights today’s schedule. Expect the list of training camp cuts to grow exponentially tomorrow, with teams making initial cuts after their first preseason games, but a handful of teams are still getting some work done on the transaction wire today. We’re keeping all of those cuts organized by team here.

Detroit Red Wings (via team release)

F Orrin Centazzo (released from PTO to Toledo, ECHL)
D Andrew Gibson (to Sault Ste. Marie, OHL)
D Finn Harding (released from ATO to Mississauga, OHL)
F Cameron Hillis (released from PTO, UFA)
G Lukas Matecha (released from ATO to Tri-City, WHL)
D Tnias Mathurin (to North Bay, OHL)
F Matyas Melovsky (released from ATO to Baie-Comeau, QMJHL)
F Israel Mianscum (released from ATO to Sherbrooke, QMJHL)
D Connor Punnett (released from ATO to Barrie, OHL)
F Jake Uberti (released from ATO to St. Mary’s, USports)

Montreal Canadiens (via team release)

F Cedrick Guindon (to Owen Sound, OHL)
G Quentin Miller (to Quebec, QMJHL)
G Jan Spunar (to Portland, WHL)
F Florian Xhekaj (to Brantford, OHL)

New York Rangers (via team release)

D Joseph Arntsen (to Lethbridge, WHL)
G Brad Arvanitis (released from PTO to Maine, ECHL)
F Maxim Barbashev (to Hartford, AHL)
D Seth Barton (to Hartford, AHL)
D Zach Berzolla (to Hartford, AHL)
D Ryan McCleary (to Hartford, AHL)
F Bryce McConnell-Barker (to Sault Ste. Marie, OHL)
F Max McCue (to London, OHL)
F Sahil Panwar (to Hartford, AHL)
D James Petrovski (to Owen Sound, OHL)
F Dylan Roobroeck (to Oshawa, OHL)

This page will be updated throughout the day.

Mika Zibanejad Out Day-To-Day With Upper Body Injury

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Earlier today, we covered reports from New York Rangers training camp stating that top-line center Mika Zibanejad left the ice with an apparent injury. The Athletic’s Arthur Staple has now relayed word from the Rangers on Zibanejad’s status: he’s suffered an upper-body injury, and is considered out on a day-to-day basis.

This isn’t ideal news for the Rangers, as any Zibanejad absence would deal a major blow to the Rangers’ ability to compete in what is likely to be a hotly contested Metropolitan Division. Zibanejad, 30, scored 39 goals and 91 points last season, and has been a true first-line center for the club for the last four years. New head coach Peter Laviolette does have solid center depth behind Zibanejad, with both Vincent Trocheck and Filip Chytil capable of playing on scoring lines, but neither compares to Zibanejad. His health status will definitely be an important storyline to track this preseason.

Training Camp Snapshots: Voracek, Othmann, Zibanejad

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In a press release coming out of the Czech Extraliga, former player Jakub Voracek will be joining the Kladno Knights as a powerplay coach for their 2023-24 season. Born and raised in Kladno, Voracek will return home, having his career cut short last year due to concussion symptoms.

A long-time member of both the Columbus Blue Jackets and Philadelphia Flyers organizations, Voracek is currently under contract with the Arizona Coyotes for the 2023-24 season, with his $8.25MM salary currently in one of the team’s LTIR slots. Last March, once it was understood that Voracek would likely never play again due to his concussions, the Blue Jackets traded him, along with a sixth-round pick in the 2023 NHL Draft, to the Coyotes in exchange for goaltender Jon Gillies.

Finding his path in life after hockey, it would have been difficult to find a better powerplay specialist for Kladno. During his time in the NHL, Voracek was one of the better playmakers of his generation when healthy, scoring 55 goals and 204 assists on the powerplay throughout his 1,058 games in the NHL over 15 years.

Other snapshots:

  • The New York Rangers will be missing top prospect Brennan Othmann for a few days of training camp, as the team announced this morning he is considered day-to-day with an upper-body injury. Already carrying a solid top-six forward group heading into the season, it would have been difficult for Othmann to crack the Rangers’ roster out of training camp regardless of this injury. However, he is poised to wreak havoc at the AHL level for the Hartford Wolf Pack, after having scored 29 goals and 38 assists in 56 games during his last season in the OHL.
  • Vince Mercogliano of USA Today reports that the top center for the New York Rangers, Mika Zibanejad, was seen going to the locker room this morning, favoring his right arm after slowly getting off the ice. It’s still to be seen whether or not Zibanejad will miss time, or the seriousness of the injury altogether. The Rangers currently have the center depth necessary to weather the storm of potentially losing out on Zibanejad for the time being, but can not afford to lose him for a considerable time with Stanley Cup aspirations.

New York Rangers Sign Adam Clendening To PTO

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The New York Rangers have added defensive depth to their training camp roster by signing ten-year AHL veteran Adam Clendening to a professional tryout contract, as announced by the team on Friday.

Hailing from Niagara Falls, New York, Clendening last played in the NHL with the Columbus Blue Jackets in 2018-19. The 30-year-old defenseman spent the 2022-23 season entirely in the AHL (not signed to an NHL contract), splitting time between the Hartford Wolf Pack and the Rockford IceHogs. Without the potential of an NHL call-up, Clendening still put up solid offensive totals, notching a total of 33 points, including four goals and 29 assists, in 68 games.

Clendening was originally drafted by the Chicago Blackhawks in the second round of the 2011 NHL Entry Draft and has since played for multiple organizations, including the Vancouver Canucks, Edmonton Oilers, Pittsburgh Penguins, Arizona Coyotes, and the Blue Jackets. He’s played for the Rangers before, too, and that’s actually where his best pro season came. As a 24-year-old in 2016-17, Clendening played in a career-high 31 NHL games for the Rangers, recording two goals, nine assists and 11 points while averaging 15:49 per game.

With a PTO now in hand, Clendening has a chance to prove himself to the Rangers’ coaching staff and earn a return to Hartford for 2023-24. Doing so on an NHL contract might be tough, however. The Rangers have 46 out of the maximum 50 contracts signed, and they already have a wealth of strong call-up options from Hartford on NHL deals, such as Ben Harpur, Mac Hollowell and Connor Mackey. Clendening does not have an AHL agreement signed with Hartford for this season.

New York Rangers Sign Brad Arvanitis To PTO

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  • The New York Rangers have signed goaltender Brad Arvanitis to a PTO, according to a team announcement on X. He’ll be in camp as an extra body with an ECHL contract already secured with the Maine Mariners, the Boston Bruins’ affiliate, for next season. Arvanitis, 26, actually spent the majority of last season playing in the Southern Professional Hockey League (SPHL), a league technically one rung below the ECHL but carries no direct NHL affiliation. However, SPHL teams often serve as a source of reserve players for ECHL squads, and the two leagues will often loan players to each other throughout the season. In his first full professional season after finishing his collegiate career at Division III school Babson College, Arvanitis posted a .919 save percentage, 2.71 goals-against average and a 9-6-2 record in 20 appearances with the SPHL’s Pensacola Ice Flyers.

Rangers Will Try Alexis Lafrenière At Right Wing

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  • New York Rangers head coach Peter Laviolette says he’ll open camp with 2020 first-overall pick Alexis Lafrenière at right wing. Many have speculated a move to his off-wing could be beneficial for the 21-year-old, who’s struggled to find ice time on the left wing behind Chris Kreider and Artemi Panarin. It could work out to be a prudent move for the Rangers’ new bench boss, as getting both Lafrenière and Kaapo Kakko clicking in top-six roles out of the gate alongside the team’s veteran firepower would be incredibly impactful for their long-term futures with the team.

Latest On brennan Othmann

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  • As one of the New York Rangers’ top prospects, Brennan Othmann is expected by many to make an impact on the Rangers’ NHL roster sooner rather than later. But according to USA Today’s Vince Z. Mercogliano, Othmann may have to wait. Mercogliano writes that the “expectation is that” Othmann will begin the season in the AHL with the Hartford Wolf Pack, although a strong training camp could obviously change things. But since New York signed several veteran bottom-six forwards such as Alex Belzile and Tyler Pitlick, Othmann may begin his pro career off Broadway.

Drury Not Ruling Out Signing Someone To A PTO

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  • At the moment, the Rangers don’t have any players on PTOs heading to training camp with them. However, Arthur Staple of The Athletic relays (Twitter link) that GM Chris Drury hasn’t ruled out the idea of bringing one in over the coming days.  New York doesn’t have many openings on their roster and they have a handful of forwards and blueliners that should contend for a spot so unless there’s a proven upgrade willing to come to camp on a tryout, it might make more sense for the Rangers to stay with what they have.

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