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5 Key Stories: 10/16/17 – 10/22/17

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It wasn’t as busy during the beginning of the week, but the end certainly had its fair share of big news. Injuries to key players dominated the week’s notes.

  1. Red Wings finally come to terms with Andreas Athanasiou, trade Riley Sheahan and Ryan Sproul –  The Andreas Athanasiou-Red Wings stalemate came to an end after a phone conference with Wings brass thawed the tension. In order to make room, general manager Ken Holland dealt Riley Sheahan to Pittsburgh and flipped defenseman Ryan Sproul to the Rangers.

2.  Bobby Ryan shelved for one month with a broken finger – As one commenter wrote, the snake bitten Ryan broke his right index finger during the Senators’ 6-3 win over rival Toronto.  This yet another finger injury for the forward, who fought through a number of injuries last season.

3. Brian Boyle is cleared for full practice: Expected to be a critical piece for the Devils this season, Boyle was out due to a form of bone cancer, Chronic Myeloid Leukemia.  Though there is no timetable for his return, this is another large step for Boyle in his battle back to the ice.

4. A number of goalies suffer injuries: Tuukka Rask, Roberto Luongo, and Malcolm Subban were some of the netminders hit by injury this week. Both Subban and Marc-Andre Fleury sit on Vegas’ LTIR after it was reported that Subban would miss four weeks. Rask was diagnosed with a concussion and because of the nature of concussions, it’s unclear just how long Rask will be out. Luongo injured his right hand during the Panthers’ 4-3 loss last night.

5. Jeff Carter Out Indefinitely: The Kings lost one of their best players to a cut on his left leg, speculated to be a six-to-eight week recovery time.

Harpur Reassigned To Belleville

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  • The Ottawa Senators announced that they have reassigned defenseman Ben Harpur to Belleville of the AHL. The 22-year-old was called up early in the season to help with the team’s defensive depth only to get injured in his first game with Ottawa. He was placed on injured reserve with a shoulder injury, and now that he is healthy again, will return to his AHL team.

Ottawa’s Ryan Out For At Least A Month After Breaking Finger

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Despite a big 6-3 victory over the Toronto Maple Leafs, the Ottawa Senators suffered just as bad of a disappointment Saturday when team leader Bobby Ryan broke his right index finger in the third period of the game, trying to block a Ron Hainsey shot and will likely miss a month, according to Ken Warren of the Ottawa Sun.

Ryan, the former second-overall pick in the 2005 draft (the pick after Sidney Crosby), had a down year after struggling with injuries last year and even found himself a healthy scratch during the season, only put up 13 goals and 25 points in 62 games. Ryan has had a long history of finger injuries in his career. In fact, he broke his finger last year in November. However, this year, the 30-year-old center has started the season strong. Despite not getting on the scoreboard so far this year, Ryan has put up six assists in eight games.

“I feel for him, I really do, because this man has made some giant leaps personally, on and off the ice and the way he has presented himself this year and all the efforts he has put in,” said Senators coach Guy Boucher. “I find it sad right now. We’ve got to push with our team and find ways to stick together, just like last year when we had a lot of adversity.”

Ryan is the team’s highest paid players at $7.25MM AAV after signing a seven-year, $50.8MM deal back in 2014, a deal which he has had trouble living up to. He is still locked in with Ottawa until 2021-22.

Warren writes that the Senators will recall a player from Belleville of the AHL.

Detroit Sends Sproul To Rangers For Puempel

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The Detroit Red Wings have completed a second trade in as many minutes as the team has traded defenseman Ryan Sproul to the New York Rangers for wing Matt Puempel, tweets CapFriendly.

The move comes minutes after the Red Wings traded center Riley Sheahan and a 2018 fifth-round pick to Pittsburgh for winger Scott Wilson and a 2018 third-round pick. The Red Wings are likely ensuring they have a backup center in their system in Puempel after trading away Sheahan.

Sproul has spent the entire 2017-18 season with the Grand Rapids Griffins, putting up one goal and three assists in five games. He was not able to make the NHL roster and was sent down. The 24-year-old former second round pick in 2011, is an offensive defenseman, but has had trouble breaking into the Red Wings lineup. He played 27 games with Detroit last year, putting up seven points, but has spent most of his career in Grand Rapids.

Puempel, also has spent the entire year in the AHL. He has scored one goal and three assists for the Hartford Wolfpack. The 24-year-old was claimed off waivers from the Ottawa Senators last November after scoring no points in 13 games for Ottawa. However, in 27 games for the Rangers, he put up six goals and three assists and didn’t spend any time in the AHL last year.

Both Sproul and Puempel have already been sent to their new respective AHL teams as Sproul has been assigned to Hartford, while Puempel will join Grand Rapids.

 

Ottawa Senators Recall Chris DiDomenico

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The Ottawa Senators have recalled Chris DiDomenico from the AHL prior to their matchup with the Toronto Maple Leafs tomorrow night. Zack Smith was injured in the game yesterday and is expected out a week, although both Colin White and Ben Harpur were out on the ice at practice today.

The Senators lost in overtime last night, making if three times already this season that the team has ended regulation in a tie only to lose the game thereafter. That record of 3-1-3 is still good for third in the Atlantic Division, but they’ll have to take on the top team in the 6-1 Maple Leafs. They’ll deploy DiDomenico into the lineup unless White is able to go tomorrow night.

At 28 with only three games under his belt you might think that DiDomenico is a minor league journeyman, but in this case you’d be mistaken. After being taken in the sixth round of the 2007 draft—by those same Maple Leafs he’ll face tomorrow—and completing his junior career, DiDomenico spent just a couple of years in the minor leagues before heading to Europe. Playing in the Italian and Swiss leagues, the undersized forward put up huge point totals before finally re-signing back in the NHL last spring.

In four games with the Belleville Senators of the AHL this season, DiDomenico leads the team with five points and has generally been among the most dangerous forwards on the ice at all times. He’ll try to bring some of that skill and speed to the NHL again should he get into the lineup tomorrow night.

Borowiecki Won't Play Thursday, Listed As Day-To-Day

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  • The Senators announced (Twitter link) that defenseman Mark Borowiecki is listed as day-to-day and will not play on Thursday night. He sustained what appeared to be a shoulder injury in a fight with Vancouver winger Derek Dorsett and did not return for the third period.

Senators Have Made Kyle Turris A Five-Year Extension Offer

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The Senators have made what’s believed to be a five-year offer worth $30MM to pending unrestricted free agent center Kyle Turris, reports TSN’s Darren Dreger on TSN 1040 (audio link).  However, as has been reported earlier, Turris is more concerned about the term of the deal over the money and is still focused on securing a longer-term extension.  Dreger adds that there hasn’t been any recent substantive discussion between Ottawa GM Pierre Dorion and Turris’ agent Kurt Overhardt.

Turris is off to a strong start this season with two goals and five assists through the first six games while hovering around the 20-minute mark in average ice time.  While it’s doubtful that he’ll be able to sustain that level of production over a full season – he has only hit the 60-point mark once – he should be able to come in around the 50-point mark at the very least if he stays healthy which will set him up nicely if he does make it to the open market.

While it’s understandable that the Sens would like to avoid a max-term (eight-year) extension if possible, Turris will only be 29 at the start of next season and should still have several strong seasons ahead of him; the risk isn’t as high as it would be for someone in their early 30s.  So even though the offer represents a sizable raise from the $4MM salary ($3.5MM cap hit) he’s getting this season, there isn’t a lot of risk in waiting to see if the team ups their offer (or increases the term) as it’s fairly safe to expect that Turris will receive comparable offers in free agency next July.

Defensive Notes: Karlsson, Nemeth, Schlemko

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The Ottawa Senators will welcome back their captain and best player tomorrow night against the Vancouver Canucks, according to head coach Guy Boucher (via Ian Mendes of TSN). That’s a huge step for the Senators, though they haven’t seemed to need it yet. Ottawa is still undefeated in regulation, and have won their last two games with a combined score of 12-1.

Still, Karlsson is among the top handful of players in the league and will really stabilize a defense corps that has had some moving parts throughout the first few games. Nine different defensemen have already suited up for at least one game, with a ton of responsibility being heaped on the trio of Dion Phaneuf, Cody Ceci and Fredrik Claesson. Each of them are averaging at least 21 minutes a night, something that will likely change with as Karlsson gets his legs under him. Last year the captain averaged almost 27 minutes while finishing second in Norris voting.

  • Patrik Nemeth has left the Colorado Avalanche on their road trip and flown back to Denver for more tests according to Adrian Dater of BSN Denver. Nemeth suffered a shoulder injury while fighting former teammate Tyler Seguin in a game on Saturday night. Nemeth, who was claimed off waivers just before the season started, has been one of the Avalanche’s best defensemen in the early going.
  • David Schlemko was expected back in the Montreal lineup this week, but is not with the team in San Jose according to Renaud Lavoie of TVA Sports. The Canadiens take on the Sharks tomorrow night and then will head to Anaheim and Los Angeles before returning home. The 30-year old played one game on a conditioning stint in Laval and was immediately recalled to the team, but still hasn’t suited up for the Canadiens this season.

Minor Transactions: 10/15/17

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The Ottawa Senators announced they are sending defenseman Thomas Chabot to the Belleville Senators of the AHL and are returning Alex Formenton to London of the OHL. That means that Erik Karlsson’s return is close and Bruce Garrioch of The Ottawa Sun writes that head coach Guy Boucher said Saturday that Karlsson could be back for Tuesday’s game against the Vancouver Canucks.

Karlsson’s return will be welcome in Ottawa, who have been without him since last year. The team leader and quarterback of their power play, the 27-year-old defenseman scored 71 points last year and averaged 26:50 minutes of ice time. However with his return, the team freed up some roster space.

Chabot was called up last week, due to multiple defensive injuries, and fared well. In two games, the 2015 first-round pick picked up an assist and had a plus/minus rating of +3. The defense had been an issue without Karlsson, who had foot surgery this offseason. Both Johnny Oduya and callup Ben Harpur were also injured prompting Chabot’s call-up. However, the team has made it clear they want Chabot to get as many minutes as possible and Belleville will provide that for the time being.

Formenton, a surprise keeper after training camp, will be returned to his junior team, the London Knights, who he played with last year before Ottawa made him the 47th pick in the draft this year. He could have played up to nine games in the NHL before his entry-level contract started, but played in just one game and only for 4:54, picking up no points. Instead his contract will slide another year.

  • The Minnesota Wild also made a few transactions today, sending forwards Zach Mitchell, Christoph Bertschy, Landon Ferraro and Luke Kunin back to the Iowa Wild. All the forwards were recalled within the last day or two to help fill in holes in their lineup for their game against the Blue Jackets last night due to multiple injuries. Neither Mitchell, Bertschy or Ferraro, who formed the team’s fourth line last night, played more than six minutes in the game, but Ferraro, nonetheless, got on the scoreboard with a second-period goal assisted by Mitchell. Kunin, the team’s 2016 first-round pick, played 13:53 in his first game, but had no points. The Wild also promoted Mike Reilly, who had been demoted Saturday when Minnesota added Kunin to their roster. Reilly, played one game while in Iowa and scored a goal.

 

Christian Jaros Sent To Belleville, Johnny Oduya Ready To Return

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  • The Senators announced (via Twitter) that they have returned blueliner Christian Jaros to Belleville of the AHL. The 21-year-old is in his first season in North America and got into a pair of games with Ottawa in his first NHL stint, averaging 7:58 per night.  He also has an assist in two contests at the minor league level.  His spot on the roster will be filled by defenseman Johnny Oduya, who is set to return to the lineup.

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