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Snapshots: Bruins, Lightning, Senators

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News and notes from around the NHL this morning:

  • The Boston Bruins have called up two players from the AHL Providence Bruins this morning—forwards Noel Acciari and Danton Heinen—and sent down forward Anton Blidh, reports Mark Divver of the Providence Journal. Acciari has struggled so far with the big club, but was placed on IR after suffering a lower body injury. His demotion may have been a conditioning stint for the young forward to regain his legs before re-joining the Bruins. Heinen, however, had been sent down after failing to register a point with Boston this year. He turned it around in the AHL and racked up 13p (7G, 6A) in 13 games. Heinen skated with David Krejci and David Backes on the second line this morning while Acciari was on the fourth line with Dominic Moore and Tim Schaller.
  • Goaltender Andrei Vasilevskiy will start tonight for the Tampa Bay Lightning against the Pittsburgh Penguins, reports Bryan Burns of Tampabaylightning.com. This will be Vasilevskiy’s 11th start this season, and the Russian netminder has made the most of his opportunities. His 2.27 GAA and .929 SV% are significantly better than starter Ben Bishop’s numbers, and Vasilevskiy could supplant Bishop in the starting role if things remain the same. More likely, however, is that the Lightning will platoon Bishop and Vasilevskiy until they find a trading partner for Bishop, who is a UFA at season’s end.
  • The Ottawa Senators are hoping that injured forward Curtis Lazar returns Wednesday against the San Jose Sharks. Lazar suffered a concussion last Monday against the Pittsburgh Penguins when Penguins forward Brian Dumoulin hit Lazar from behind. Lazar is skating with the Senators and the Ottawa Citizen’s Ken Warren expects him back in time for the Sens’ tilt with the Sharks. Lazar will have to work hard to overcome his early season slump, however, as he has failed to register a point so far this season.

Snapshots: Golden Knights, Team Czech Republic, All-Time Lists

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The (probably) Golden Knights have hit another snag in their naming saga as the US Trademark office has denied their application due to the similarities to the College of Saint Rose Golden Knights. While this doesn’t seem like a real problem – in a statement given to Alex Prewitt of SI, the Vegas team says that these actions are “not at all unusual” and points out the many duplicate names across professional sports – it is just another public annoyance for a team that likely just wants to start playing hockey. With so much discussion over the name, logo and all the other minutia, the start of the 2017-18 season can’t come soon enough for George McPhee and his team.

  • Corey Pronman of ESPN has a look at the preliminary roster for Team Czech Republic at this year’s World Junior Championship. As the rosters of many of the other teams came out over the past few days, the Czech list was conspicuously missing. Among the highlights, are Red Wings’ prospect Filip Hronek who is off to an unbelievable start with Saginaw, scoring 20 points in 24 games (as a defenseman) and Senators’ prospect Filip Chlapik who ranks in the QMJHL top five in both scoring (44 points) and penalty minutes (58 PIM in 26 games).  The team will be dangerous with several high NHL draft picks on it and will likely be in the mix for a bronze medal at the tournament.
  • The NHL Network published their list of the top-40 goaltenders of all-time and as Mark Lazerus of the Chicago Sun-Times put it, the list is “uh, interesting, in a lot of ways.”  The list has the regulars at the top – Martin Brodeur, Dominik Hasek, Patrick Roy, in that order – but gets “interesting” a little further down as they list active goaltenders like Jonathan Quick (#16) and Marc-Andre Fleury (#21) quite high. While obviously these lists are subjective, it does lend credence to the idea that goaltending is better than it ever has been before and is a major reason for the suppressed goal totals. Comparing players across eras will always be difficult, but I can imagine our readers will have a few different takes on the order of this list. Share your thoughts in the comments.

Rangers Notes: Nash, Vesey, Puempel

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The New York Rangers have been one of the biggest stories of the NHL this season, with their unbelievable start followed by some struggling of late that’s seen them relinquish the top spot in the Metropolitan Division. Still scoring at an incredible rate, the team is now facing some injuries up front to some of their biggest names according to Jim Cerny of The Hockey Writers.

Rick Nash has been taken for an MRI on his groin after leaving the game last night in the second period. Nash has 18 points through the first 27 games and is actually on a similar pace to his career-worst 36 point 2015-16. Groin injuries often linger, so if it’s anything significant it could spell trouble for the remainder of the 32-year old veteran’s season. Nash has one more year remaining after this one at $7.8MM for the Rangers as he nears the end of the eight-year, $62.4MM deal he signed in 2009.

  • Jimmy Vesey, the summer’s most sought-after (or at least talked about) free agent is off to a solid start to his NHL career with 16 points in 27 games. The Harvard alum is dealing with an upper-body injury and is currently listed as day-to-day. After going through a considerable lull in November when he scored just three points in eleven games, Vesey got back on the board last night. Especially if Nash is to miss time, the Rangers will need the rookie to step up and handle more responsibility and ice time on the wing if they’re to get back on track.
  • Another depth option was Matt Puempel, but after suffering a concussion last night he’s been listed as out indefinitely and been placed on injured reserve. Puempel was claimed by New York off waivers from the Ottawa Senators last month after he was held pointless through 13 games. While he’s fared just slightly better for the Rangers (one goal in six games), his relative youth and pedigree (drafted 24th overall in 2011) suggest he could still develop into a legitimate NHL winger. Last season, Puempel scored 30 points in 34 games at the AHL level, but never really got a chance to prove he could fit into the Senators’ long-term plans. All of a sudden the Rangers depth on the wing, once a strength of the team, is looking rather thin.

Toronto Wins Jared Cowen Arbitration Case

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The Toronto Maple Leafs have won their arbitration case with defenseman Jared Cowen, according to multiple hockey insiders including Elliotte Friedman and Bob McKenzie.

Cowen will remain an unrestricted free agent, as Toronto’s buyout of his contract was deemed legal. Back in January, Frank Seravalli of TSN reported that a buyout of Cowen’s contract would give a team a $650K cap credit for 2016-17, and count for $750K against the cap in 2017-18.

Shortly thereafter, the Maple Leafs acquired Cowen in the Dion Phaneuf trade. Cowen did not play a single game for Toronto as GM Lou Lamorellio sent him home to home await a buyout in March; Cowen’s agent was given permission to speak with other teams about signing as a UFA. Cowen was sent home because the CBA  stipulates that an injured player cannot be bought out, so the Maple Leafs did not want to risk him re-injuring his hip and being unable to be bought out. However, Cowen and his agent grieved the eventual buyout for that exact reason: they believed he was hurt and therefore ineligible to be bought out.

The two sides met with the arbitrator on October 19, and ultimately the arbitrator ruled that there was no evidence that Cowen was unfit to play when the Maple Leafs bought him out in July.

Prior to this decision, Cowen was a free agent in the eyes of the NHL. He remains free to sign with any team, and the Maple Leafs remain at 48 contracts with the cap credit for this season.

 

Ottawa Reassigns Andrew Hammond To Binghamton

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The Ottawa Senators have announced that they have reassigned goalie Andrew Hammond to Binghamton of the AHL. The move indicates that Craig Anderson will rejoin the team and should be available for the Senators road game tomorrow against Pittsburgh, as Ken Warren of the Ottawa Citizen tweets.

Anderson of course has taken several leaves of absence from the team this season in order to be with his family as his wife battles cancer. Despite that, the veteran net minder has had an outstanding season. He currently owns a 12 – 5 – 1 record with a GAA of 2.20 and a 0.930 Save %.

Hammond has started two games this season, allowing six goals in just four periods of hockey and stopping just 23 of the 29 shots against. He rose to fame during the 2014-15 campaign as he backstopped the Senators to a surprising playoff berth with a tremendous stretch run. Hammond finished the season with a record of 20 – 1 – 2 with a GAA of just 1.79 and a Save % of 0.941. That run prompted the Senators to award the then 24-year-old net minder with a three-year contract extension worth just more than $4MM. Unfortunately for Hammond and the Senators, he has failed to come close to replicating that success since signing the deal.

Minor Transactions: Ottawa, Colorado, Boston, Arizona

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The Ottawa Senators have re-assigned forward Max McCormick to the AHL’s Binghamton Senators and recalled Buddy Robinson and Andreas Englund. McCormick was used sparingly over the last month with the team, playing in just five games. Even when he did play, McCormick averaged just seven minutes of ice time each game. He has been held scoreless so far this season and has just five shots on goal. The demotion will allow McCormick to get some play time, and the Senators will see if Robinson can bring more to the table in his stead. With just three NHL games under his belt, Robinson is still an unknown at the highest level, but did have a goal and an assist and was a +2 in his short stint with the team last season.

Meanwhile, this is the first career call-up for the young Swedish defenseman Englund. A 2014 second-round pick, Englund is a big, physical defenseman who can bring some added toughness to Ottawa. With Marc Methot day-to-day, it stands to reason that Englund will make his NHL debut tomorrow against the Florida Panthers.

Other promotions and demotions include:

  • The Colorado Avalanche have returned both Samuel Henley and Gabriel Bourque to the AHL’s San Antonio Rampage. Henley made his NHL debut last night and scored his first career goal, but the Avs fell 3-2 to the Columbus Blue Jackets. Considering that Colorado is a team that should take all the scoring it can get (ranked 29th in scoring and goal differential), it seems odd that the team was so quick to send Henley back down. The 23-year-old has not put up big numbers thus far in his pro career, but is just three years removed from being a 30-goal scorer in the QMJHL. With just over five minutes of ice time on his NHL resume, the Avs were quick on the trigger to return this prospect. Bourque, on the other hand, has yet to register a point in six games with Colorado this season. He’s looked more like the player who had four points in 22 games with the Predators in 2015-16 than the player who looked like a future stud in Nashville with 16 points in 34 games in the lockout season of 2012-13. His chances at redemption may be running out.
  • The Boston Bruins have promoted Anton Blidh from the Providence Bruins of the AHL, giving the young Swedish winger his first career call-up. He is expected to make his debut tomorrow in Buffalo, skating on the Bruins’ fourth line. Blidh brings the toughness and intensity that the Bruins love and coach Claude Julien has applauded his work ethic. A Boston team that has a lot of talent but whose effort has been suspect at times this season may just need the boost that a high-energy kid looking to make a name for himself can bring. The 21-year-old has nine points in 16 games and has posted a +8 in Providence. The leap in production from his first season in North America last year to this year has been apparent.
  • The Arizona Coyotes have re-called Tyler Gaudet from the AHL’s Tuscon Roadrunners. A young team with deep minor league depth, Arizona has made frequent moves between Tuscon this season. Maybe it’s the shorter distance compared to when their affiliate was in Springfield, Massachusetts last season. Whatever the reason, the ease by which the Coyotes have promoted and demoted has not benefited Gaudet. The 23-year-old center was able to stick around for longer chunks of time last season, playing in 14 games, and was expected to carve out a role for himself in 2016-17. Instead, he has played in just one game despite being on the active roster multiple different times. Hopefully for Gaudet, he gets to stick around, but don’t be surprised if he’s back in Tuscon by week’s end.

Senators Notes: Injury Updates, Searching For Depth

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The Ottawa Senators have placed winger Bobby Ryan on Injured Reserve, retroactive to November 29.

Ryan broke his finger two weeks ago, but only missed two games before returning. It appears he’s aggravated the injury in some way. Postmedia’s Bruce Garrioch reports that it’s not clear whether Ryan will go with the Senators on their upcoming road trip, as he’s not eligible to return until next Thursday in San Jose.

It’s been a tough year for Ryan, who has just 8 points in 21 games. With a price tag of $7.25MM, the Senators will be expecting better production when Ryan returns from injury.

Meanwhile, Ducks forward Jakob Silfverberg has double Ryan’s points in just three more games. Silfverberg was the main piece acquired by the Ducks in the 2013 trade that sent Ryan to Ottawa.

  • Marc Methot is nearly ready to return to the Senators lineup. In an interview on TSN 1200, GM Pierre Dorion said Erik Karlsson’s preferred defensive partner could return as soon as Saturday.
  • The Senators have recalled Max McCormick from Binghamton and assigned Andreas Englund and Buddy Robinson.
  • When winger Clarke MacArthur was concussed early in training camp, some analysts wondered if his career was over. MacArthur missed all but four games in 2015-16 with a concussion. However, Dorion said MacArthur has been making progress and “will play this year.”
  • With Ryan and MacArthur out of the lineup, the Senators search for forward depth is picking up. Dorion said he’s “very” active in searching for scoring depth, though Garrioch doesn’t believe he’s close to making any deals.

Trade Snapshots: Hamilton, Duclair, Oduya

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Brian Burke has been doing the rounds to try and squash the idea that Dougie Hamilton was ever on the block. He’s said that the rumors all stem from one team who called Brad Treliving with an “insulting” offer for the young defenseman, and Darren Dreger things he knows who that was. In today’s edition of Insider Trading on TSN, Dreger reported that the Arizona Coyotes offered Anthony Duclair and a draft pick for Hamilton around the time of the draft, but were quickly turned down.

In his wave of interviews, Burke did seem to think that a single GM had made it known to others that he’d made an offer, so if it was indeed John Chayka, perhaps this is simply a case of a new young GM not knowing (or agreeing with) the “way things are done”. The Coyotes have continued to make Duclair available in trade talks as the 21-year old continues to struggle through his second full season in the NHL.

In a segue of professional levels, Pierre LeBrun moved on to the Ottawa Senators who decidedly are not in on Duclair but have been working the phones looking for a bottom-six forward. While the team isn’t looking for a ’big name’, they do need help with secondary scoring and GM Pierre Dorion has apparently been working the phones to try and find some help. A name that is interesting, though not mentioned in the segment, is the recently waived Reid Boucher of the New Jersey Devils.

LeBrun also mentions that the Dallas Stars are looking to deal from a position of strength as the season continues. Their blueline has been solidified by the breakout of Julius Honka this season, and may spell the end for Johnny Oduya who is a free agent this summer and still an effective puck mover. Even though the team lost Jason Demers, Kris Russell and Alex Goligoski this summer, they continue to pump out solid defenders and now have one too many. For now they’re content in waiting for everyone to get healthy, but as teams around the league struggle to find defensemen, they may find an offer that they just can’t refuse.

Snapshots: Anderson, LeBrun’s Power Rankings, Blues

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The Associated Press reports that Ottawa Senators’ net minder Craig Anderson will take another leave of absence to be with his wife during her battle with throat cancer. Anderson will not be available to play Thursday when the Sens take on the Flyers in Ottawa. In turn, the Senators recalled Andrew Hammond and also have Mike Condon ready to go.  Ken Warren of the Ottawa Citizen writes that Sens’ bench boss Guy Boucher said that there is no timetable for Anderson’s return but that the earliest he could be back is Saturday. Warren added a quote from Condon who said: “I can’t even begin to imagine what he’s going through and I wish him the best.”

In other NHL news:

  • The Chicago Blackhawks remain #1 on Pierre LeBrun’s Power Rankings as the first of December approaches. Though they went 3-3-1 on the annual Circus Trip, the Hawks were able to survive without captain Jonathan Toews, who has missed the past three games. Seated second are the Montreal Canadiens, followed by the New York Rangers, who are tops in scoring in the NHL. Fourth and fifth in LeBrun’s rankings are the Washington Capitals and Pittsburgh Penguins.

The Ottawa Senators jumped six spots to number six, while the Tampa Bay Lightning, St. Louis Blues, Columbus Blue Jackets, and Nashville Predators round out LeBrun’s top ten respectively. In the power rankings basement? The Islanders hold the spot, due to only a pair of wins in November. LeBrun wonders if ownership will still be as patient if similar results follow in December.

  • Despite an earlier report indicating that the St. Louis Blues could be cutting ties with AHL affiliate the Chicago Wolves, KSDK Sports Director Frank Cusumano was contacted directly by a Blues Executive who denied such reports.  NHL.com’s Lou Korac wrote earlier that the Blues were readying to put a new AHL team in Kansas City, and the report, via his blog “In the Slot,” was posted on KSDK’s site.  Though Korac said the Blues have not made the plans official, a source told him that it’s pretty much a “done deal.” That news conflicted with what a Blues executive told Cusumano, saying that, “No decisions are close to being made.  We are talking to a lot of people.” 

Edmonton Oilers Recall Fayne, Move Gryba To IR

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After losing the rematch against the Toronto Maple Leafs on home ice last night, the Edmonton Oilers have decided to make a move. The team has recalled Mark Fayne from the AHL, while moving Eric Gryba to injured reserve.

Fayne was sent to the minors just yesterday after clearing waivers, but will rejoin the team for their upcoming matchup against the Winnipeg Jets. Playing in just one game this season it’s obvious that his favor has soured with head coach Todd McLellan and the entire Oilers organization.

Fayne once wore an alternate captain’s ’A’ for the Oilers, suiting up in 143 games over the past two seasons. The 29-year old was demoted at one point last year and now seems destined to bounce back and forth as a contingency plan. His $3.65MM cap hit prevents anyone from putting in a claim on waivers, so it doesn’t matter much how many times he goes up and down.

On the other, but very similar, hand is Gryba. Another hulking defenseman, Gryba came over from the Ottawa Senators in 2015 and played 53 games for the team last season. Off to a pointless start in fourteen games, he last played for the Oilers on the 17th. The Oilers will likely continue to dress the six other healthy defensemen for the time being.

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