Minor Transactions: 1/21/2017
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.
Restricted 2017: Checking In On The Upcoming RFA Class
As the NHL continues to skew towards younger and younger talent with players like Connor McDavid and Auston Matthews making an immediate impact, the restricted free agent classes become more and more important.
Last year we saw an impressive group, headlined by the dynamic duo in Calgary Sean Monahan and Johnny Gaudreau, Tampa’s new sniper Nikita Kucherov and a handful of excellent defensemen like Hampus Lindholm and Jacob Trouba.
While teams have started to lock up their young talent before they even become restricted free agents – like Aaron Ekblad in Florida who signed a $60MM deal just months after his 20th birthday – this year looks like it will be one of the biggest and most expensive RFA crops ever. Glen Miller took a look back in September at this year’s crop in an excellent series of articles that really should be consumed before reading any further (parts one, two, three, four, five and six), but let’s now check in on the group and how they’re fairing this season. Well list just a few of the highlights, as the group is almost endless.
Leon Draisaitl (EDM) – 47 GP / 17 G / 23 A / 40 P
You can’t start this list without mentioning Draisaitl, who will head to restricted free agency for the first time after what looks like a 30+ goal, 70+ point season. Skating alongside McDavid for much of the year, Draisaitl is currently tied for 18th in league scoring and leads the RFA group. He won’t turn 22 until after the 2017-18 season begins, and is an important player for the Edmonton Oilers to lock up long term. Expect the team to shell out big money to buy into a few free agent years this summer.
Mikael Granlund (MIN) – 44 GP / 10 G / 27 A / 37 P
Often forgotten about across much of the league because of the relative gag-order on any Minnesota Wild news, Granlund is having an exceptional season. Playing almost 20 minutes a night and on pace to shatter his previous career high in points, the Finnish forward will get a huge deal this summer. Unlike Draisaitl, Granlund is 24 and has already been through the RFA process before, signing a two-year $6MM deal before last season. With three solid seasons and now one spectacular one, he’ll likely earn something closer to $7MM (AAV) if signed long-term.
Justin Schultz (PIT) – 44 GP / 7 G / 23 A / 30 P
Schultz is such an interesting case, because of the breakout he’s experiencing this year. With Kris Letang on the shelf for much of the season, Schultz has blossomed in Pittsburgh to the player most teams expected when he signed out of college. He’s 26 now, and will turn 27 just days after free agency opens, but will likely fetch a hefty price as an RFA. After not even receiving a qualifying offer last year, has he done enough to prove that a big-money deal is worth it?
Robin Lehner (BUF) – 29 GP / .920 SV% / 2.54 GAA
The best RFA goaltender this year is one who just blew up at his coach after getting pulled and has generally been inconsistent for the Sabres since they traded a first-round pick for him in 2015. He has all the talent in the world to be a number one goaltender in this league, but with Buffalo floundering again near the bottom of the league will he be able to put it all together and lead them back to the playoffs? He’s 25-years old now and has 136 games under his belt with an above-average .916 save percentage. If Buffalo can ice any healthy defensemen, perhaps they’d be able to finish in the top half of the league for a change.
San Jose Sharks Send Goodrow, Heed To AHL
After their 2-1 win over the Tampa Bay Lightning on Thursday, the San Jose Sharks have sent Barclay Goodrow and Tim Heed back to the San Jose Barracuda in the AHL. The team will play the Colorado Avalanche on Saturday and again on Monday, and it’s unclear who they will bring up or replace these two with.
Both Tomas Hertl and Dylan DeMelo are expected to be out for at least another few weeks, meaning the team now has only 21 roster spots filled. Perhaps the organization just wants them to get into a couple of games, as even though the Barracuda are on the road, they’re playing two games in state. Tonight they take on the San Diego Gulls, and tomorrow the Ontario Reign. Both players could travel with the NHL squad on Sunday when they hit the road.
Heed is having an exceptional year in the AHL, scoring 32 points in 29 games from the back end. This comes in his first season in North America after coming over from Sweden. The former fifth-round pick is exceptionally undersized for a defenseman at just 5’11, 165 lbs but can do enough things right to be able to contribute at the NHL level.
Goodrow went undrafted before making an immediate impact at the NHL level in 2014-15, playing in 60 games less than a year removed from playing in junior. While he was a consistent goal-scorer for the Battalion (Brampton and then North Bay), he never projected as much of an offensive talent in the NHL. Since signing though, he’s been a fine addition to the Sharks organization, scoring in the AHL and playing solid bottom-six minutes for the NHL club when called upon.
Snapshots: Oilers, Staal, Hedman
News and notes from around the NHL this evening
- The Edmonton Oilers have recalled forward Anton Lander from the Bakersfield Condors today. Sportsnet’s Mark Spector speculates that the move means Jujhar Khaira may be out for longer than initially thought. Khaira suffered an upper body injury yesterday in the first period against the Florida Panthers. Lander’s callup was inevitable given how he’s lighting up the AHL. Lander has 14G and 13A in only 16 games—almost a two points per game pace. Those stats have not translated at the NHL level, however, with Lander scoring only 1G and 3A in 20 games.
- New York Rangers defenseman Marc Staal may be nearing a return. According to the Newsday’s Steve Zipay, coach Alain Vigneault did not rule out Staal returning soon, and that Vigneault will play Staal as soon as he is healthy. Staal is recovering from concussion symptoms that kept him out since January 3rd. He’s been skating with the team for the past week to keep up conditioning and monitor his progress.
- Tampa Bay Lightning defenseman Victor Hedman still needs more time before returning to action, reports James O’Brien of NBCSports. Hedman misses his third straight game tonight with the vague “illness” tag. The Lighting are three points back of a playoff spot, but do not face a conference opponent until they visit the Florida Panthers next Thursday. Despite missing games, Hedman remains 2nd in scoring among defenseman with 7G and 31A in 44 games. The Lightning desperately need his production, so any absences indicate a more severe issue than initially thought.
Atlantic Notes: Holland, Rielly, Julien, MacArthur, Sabres Rebuild
Detroit Red Wings general manager Ken Holland spoke with NHL.com’s Nick Cotsonika who quizzed the manager about how the Wings will approach the next month. Holland wants to give the Red Wings every chance to get back into the race before having to make the decision to trade off assets–something he’s never done in his career as a general manager. During the first intermission during the Bruins-Red Wings matchup Wednesday night, Bob McKenzie added that the Wings will most likely look to sell during their bye, which comes a week before the trade deadline.
- The Toronto Maple Leafs received some great news when it turned out Morgan Rielly‘s injury was not nearly as serious as initially thought. The defenseman was all smiles in the locker room when he met with the media regarding his day-to-day status.
- If the Bruins are going to fire head coach Claude Julien, it’s going to come from the hockey men in charge, not ownership. Bruins CEO Charlie Jacobs, according to the Boston Herald’s Steve Buckley, will defer Julien’s fate to team president Cam Neely and general manager Don Sweeney. Jacobs adds that his role is to support the front office on their hockey decisions.
- Bruce Garrioch writes that Clarke MacArthur has to undergo more testing before he is cleared to return for the Sens. Though they want him back, the team is taking every precaution in the name of safety.
- On the Sabres, the Buffalo News’ Mike Harrington reports that the Sabres have been “left in the dust” when it comes to rebuilding. Using the Maple Leafs as the measuring stick, Harrington’s lede argues that it certainly shouldn’t be the case. But Buffalo has taken a path that appears to be wrought with poor decisions from the front office to the bench.
Evening Snapshots: Oduya, Watson, Fast, Puempel
It appears that Dallas Stars defenseman Johnny Oduya has experienced a recurrence of the lower-body injury which cost the veteran blue liner 10 games earlier this season, according to Mike Heika of the Dallas Morning News, via Twitter. The 11-year veteran will miss Thursday’s contest on the road against the Islanders but it’s unclear if he will be sidelined beyond that.
The 35-year-old Oduya and Dan Hamhuis, 34, provide veteran experience to a predominantly young Stars blue line spearheaded by 24-year-old Swede John Klingberg. Oduya has appeared in 782 NHL regular season games and another 102 postseason contests during his career. He was part of two Stanley Cup winning teams while with the Blackhawks and has also spent time in the New Jersey and Winnipeg/Atlanta organizations.
Elsewhere in the NHL:
- Generally speaking, high expectations are attached to any prospect chosen in the first round of his respective entry draft. However, history has taught us that a prospect’s development is not linear and in many cases the player never fully lives up to his advanced billing. As Adam Vingan of The Tennessean writes, that has certainly proven to be true for Austin Watson of the Nashville Predators, who the team chose with the 18th overall pick in the 2010 draft. After three seasons spent mainly in the AHL and a stint on waivers in October, Watson appears to finally be carving out a regular role in the NHL six years after embarking on his pro career.
- The New York Rangers announced today that checking winger Jesper Fast will be out from seven to 10 days with an upper-body injury. Steve Zipay of Newsday adds that it appears to be an issue with his left shoulder. Though left wing Matt Puempel, out since December 31st with a concussion, is nearing a return and practiced with the team today, he won’t travel with the club. Instead it will be Oscar Lindberg, a healthy scratch last night with Mika Zibanejad‘s return, drawing back into the lineup in place of Fast.
Wild Blue Liner Brodin Out With Broken Finger
Jonas Brodin met with a hand specialist today to determine the severity and treatment options for a broken finger the defenseman suffered last night, reports Michael Russo of the Star Tribune. Wild GM Chuck Fletcher is expecting the blue liner to be out at least “a few weeks” but his absence could be longer depending on whether he’ll need surgery to repair the break. According to Russo, the worst case scenario could keep Brodin sidelined for up to six weeks and given the compressed nature of the NHL schedule this season, it means he could miss as many as 18 games.
Brodin is an important cog on the team’s blue line, averaging the third-most ice time among the team’s defense corps while seeing action in all situations. In 43 games this season, the 23-year-old Swede has three goals and 16 points. That represents a significant uptick from his 2015-16 performance when Brodin registered just seven points in 68 games.
Russo relays that Wild bench boss Bruce Boudreau will reach out to the head coach of the club’s AHL affiliate in Iowa, Derek Lalonde, for input on whom to call up in Brodin’s absence. He speculates the two most likely candidates are Mike Reilly and Gustav Olofsson and would hinge on whether the team would prefer a more offensive-minded option (Reilly) who could fill in on the man-advantage or one who is better in the defensive zone (Gustafsson).
At least in the short term, it appears the team will dress Nate Prosser, though as Russo writes, the veteran coach has not yet decided which side he will play on. Prosser is a right-handed shot and should Boudreau elect to slot the 30-year-old on his natural side, it would suggest one of Mathew Dumba or Christian Folin could be scratched with the call-up from Iowa drawing into the lineup. The alternative would be using Prosser on his off-side with the call-up serving as the extra blue liner.
While losing a proven, top-four defenseman like Brodin is never ideal, the Wild are at least one of the few teams in the league with enough quality blue line depth to survive his absence. In fact, it’s this depth that has led some to wonder whether the team would attempt to parlay one of their defenders into additional scoring help, though Brodin’s injury likely reduces the odds of that possibility.
Varlamov Out Through All-Star Break With Groin Issue
The Colorado Avalanche will be without starting net minder Semyon Varlamov at least through the All-Star break, the team announced this afternoon. Head coach Jared Bednar made the announcement, indicating the groin issue which has bothered the goalie on-and-off throughout the season “is no longer a day-to-day thing.” The All-Star break runs through January 30th, meaning the injury will effectively cause Varlamov to miss at least the team’s next four games.
The Avalanche later said they would recall goaltender Spencer Martin from their AHL affiliate, the San Antonio Rampage. Martin has previously been up with the club but has yet to appear in an NHL game. He was the team’s third-round selection, 63rd overall, in the 2013 entry draft out of Mississauga of the OHL.
With Varlamov out, expect Calvin Pickard to get the lion’s share of the playing time between the pipes. The 24-year-old has started 19 games on the year for the Avalanche, winning seven, and posting a GAA of 3.06 with a S% of 0.902. Pickard was the team’s second-round pick in 2010.
Varlamov has also struggled between the pipes for Colorado, winning just six of 23 starts and recording a GAA of 3.38 and a S% below 0.900. Among the 47 qualified NHL goaltenders, Varly is tied for 42nd in S% and dead last in GAA.
With the Avalanche at least expected to consider tearing down and rebuilding their roster, it’s possible they would have marketed Varlamov this coming summer to teams in search of goaltending help. But with two more years remaining on a deal which calls for an AAV of $5.9MM, it’s doubtful they would have found a taker given his lackluster performance this season. His recurring groin problems serve to further diminish any possibility of a trade taking place.
Friedman’s Latest: Strome, Shattenkirk, Sharp, Filppula
Elliotte Friedman of Sportsnet published this week’s “30 Thoughts” column this morning and like always, it’s worth the read in its entirety. Of course the scribe touches on several trade-related topics as the calendar closes to within six weeks of the deadline. Here’s a rundown of some of the highlights from the column.
- An NHL executive evidently felt the Islanders were recently nearing a trade of Ryan Strome but the firing of Jack Capuano may have postponed the move. In the opinion of Friedman, Isles GM Garth Snow may elect to see how Strome responds to the coaching change before moving on from their 2011 first-round draft choice. Strome, who has only 14 points in 39 games this season, has struggled in each of the last two campaigns but did tally 50 points in 2014-15 as a 21-year-old sophomore. Prior to the season, Strome inked a two-year bridge deal with an AAV of $2.5MM. Given his potential and the additional year on his contract at an affordable rate, there would likely be a number of teams in the league with genuine interest in the 23-year-old forward, should the Islanders put him on the market.
- St. Louis Blues defenseman Kevin Shattenkirk, who is in the final year of his pact with the team, has frequently been mentioned in trade rumors going back to the 2016 draft. It’s thought the native of New Rochelle, New York, who grew up a New York Rangers fan, would ultimately choose to sign with a club on the east coast this summer as a free agent, with the Blue Shirts emerging as early favorites in that scenario. Also, it’s been reported that Shattenkirk derailed a potential offseason trade to Edmonton due to his reluctance to sign an extension with the Oilers, but Friedman wonders if he would consider a deadline deal to a playoff team in which he would see his role, and therefore potentially his free agent value, increase. Friedman mentions the Oilers and perhaps the Maple Leafs as teams who might pursue a player of Shattenkirk’s ilk as a rental to boost their postseason chances. The suggestion makes sense for the Blues as well, since the organization has fellow right-handed blue liners Colton Parayko and Alex Pietrangelo on hand to pick up the slack. St. Louis was also stung losing veterans David Backes and Troy Brouwer for nothing as free agents this past summer and may be unwilling to do the same in the case of Shattenkirk. Trading the skilled defender would allow them to add some young talent to the system while opening up additional salary cap space in the event they wish to chase forward reinforcements at the deadline.
- With Chicago reportedly searching for a top-six winger to slot next to star center Jonathan Toews, Friedman wonders whether the club will seek a reunion with Patrick Sharp. Sharp spent nine-plus seasons with the Hawks and was part of three Stanley Cup championship teams. His familiarity with the organization would seem to appeal to Chicago GM Stan Bowman as he searches the market for scoring depth. Additionally, Sharp is in the last year of his contract and qualifies as a pure rental; something the Blackhawks would likely value given their tight salary cap situation. Of course Sharp’s $5.9MM cap charge complicates matters for Chicago, as the club is currently slated to only have roughly $3.3MM in space at the deadline. It’s conceivable, however, that Dallas would be willing to retain enough salary to make the finances work, assuming the Blackhawks made it worthwhile to do so. Sharp’s season has been marred by concussion problems and he has just four goals on the season, though two came last night in Dallas’ wild 7 – 6 win over the New York Rangers. The Blackhawks could also entertain other rental options, such as Thomas Vanek of Detroit, who has 30 points in 33 games for Detroit and carries a cap charge of just $2.6MM.
- One unfortunate consequence of team success in the NHL is having to navigate through the resulting salary cap challenges as an organization’s younger contributors advance into free agency. Tampa Bay, who has appeared in the Eastern Conference Final in each of the past two seasons, is set to encounter that very problem this summer. Projected to have only about $12MM in cap space and with only 14 players under contract for next season, Lightning GM Steve Yzerman is going to have his work cut out for him as he attempts to find common ground on new arrangements with pending RFA’s Jonathan Drouin, Ondrej Palat and Tyler Johnson. If the team has any hope of extending the trio, they will inevitably have to trade a high-salaried veteran to create the necessary salary cap flexibility. Friedman believes the Lightning might be best served by moving veteran forward Valtteri Filppula and his $5MM cap charge. Filppula, who has a partial NTC, might be appealing to other teams given his ability to slot in on the wing or at center. The veteran Finn has 29 points in 44 games for Tampa Bay and could provide versatility to any number of teams with the requisite cap space to add the 6-foot, 196-pound forward. Unless Tampa Bay is well out of the playoff chase by the deadline, it’s likely the team will hang onto Filppula through the end of the season and look to move him this summer when there may be more interested suitors.
Ducks Reassign Noesen, Theodore To San Diego
The Anaheim Ducks have reassigned defenseman Shea Theodore and forward Stefan Noesen to the San Diego Gulls of the AHL, the team has announced. Both players have already made this commute several times already this season as the Ducks take advantage of breaks in their schedule to reduce their daily salary cap commitments and bank space ahead of this year’s trade deadline.
Noesen, originally acquired by the Ducks in the Bobby Ryan trade, has appeared in just nine games this season and has tallied a single goal, the first of his brief NHL career. He was selected by Ottawa with the 21st pick in the 2011 entry draft and was shipped by the Senators along with fellow forward Jakob Silfverberg and a 2014 first-round draft choice – a pick which turned into Nick Ritchie – in the July 5, 2013 trade sending Ryan to Ottawa.
Theodore has dressed for 23 games this season for the Ducks and has registered seven points. He was drafted by Anaheim in the first round of the 2013 entry draft with the 26th overall selection. For his career, the native of Langley, British Columbia has seen action in 42 contests, recording four goals and 11 assists while averaging better than 18 minutes of ice time per game.