Anaheim Ducks Assign Urho Vaakanainen On Conditioning Loan
The Anaheim Ducks have assigned defenseman Urho Vaakanainen to the AHL’s San Diego Gulls on a long-term injury conditioning loan, according to the team.
It’s a great sign for Vaakanainen and his playing future that he’s able to give it a go in the minors on a short-term basis. The young defenseman has already had an injury-plagued career, and potentially his scariest injury came in a September 30 preseason game against the San Jose Sharks. Vaakanainen left the contest on a stretcher after a collision caused his head to hit the boards.
Today, it was reported that Vaakanainen had resumed practicing. It’s unclear when he’ll play in his first game with San Diego, but as he’s just returned to the ice, don’t expect it to be right away.
Vaakanainen, a stout defensive prospect, was one of the main pieces in the return from the Boston Bruins in exchange for Hampus Lindholm at last season’s trade deadline. The 2017 first-round pick eclipsed 10 NHL games for the first time in 2021-22 and remained in the league full-time with Anaheim after the trade. He had two assists in 14 games, even working his way into a top-four role.
The Ducks weren’t great last season defensively, and they haven’t demonstrated any improvement this season either. Whether or not Vaakanainen can make a material difference to the team’s porous play remains to be seen, but he would allow the team to relieve some less NHL-ready players.
Forward Notes: Iafallo, Howden, Balcers
Some good news is coming in the future for the Los Angeles Kings. LA Kings Insider’s Zach Dooley reports that Alex Iafallo has resumed skating on his own, although head coach Todd McLellan said he “won’t be in the lineup for a little while.”
Iafallo has missed 19 games so far this year with a lower-body injury. He remains week-to-week, and it’s likely another week or two at least before he returns. When he does, though, it’ll be a huge boost for a Kings team still in the playoff mix. The 28-year-old had five points through his first four games and remains a valuable top-nine piece in LA.
- Vegas Golden Knights forward Brett Howden is out tonight against the Vancouver Canucks after sustaining a lower-body injury in Thursday’s contest against Ottawa. Head coach Bruce Cassidy still isn’t sure about his return, but he said Howden likely won’t travel on the team’s upcoming road trip. That would put him out for at least four games, potentially returning on December 7 against his former team, the New York Rangers.
- A recent pickup by the Tampa Bay Lightning is set to miss a few games. Forward Rudolfs Balcers, claimed on waivers from Florida earlier in the season, is unlikely to play on the team’s upcoming road trip, according to head coach Jon Cooper. The Bolts’ upcoming three-game swing sees them take on the Sabres, Bruins, and Flyers. Balcers has averaged under seven minutes per game in Tampa and has a goal in his first three Lightning appearances.
San Jose Sharks Place Mario Ferraro On Injured Reserve
The San Jose Sharks have placed defenseman Mario Ferraro on injured reserve, according to the team’s media relations department. The 24-year-old defenseman is poised to miss at least a week-long stretch of time.
Ferraro registered a shot on goal, four blocks, and a -1 rating in 21:05 of ice time in last night’s loss to the Los Angeles Kings. The team has not commented on the nature of Ferraro’s injury, when he sustained it, or any potential timeline.
San Jose signed Ferraro to a four-year extension last summer, a reward for the heavy minutes he’s logged in the past two seasons. His play has dipped this year, though, with his role less certain and defensive weaknesses more exposed. His -14 rating is the worst on the team.
Nick Cicek will draw into the Sharks lineup for Ferraro, at least in the short term. The 22-year-old undrafted defenseman was recently called up and has two assists in his first five NHL games.
And while Ferraro hasn’t been his best to start the year, his minutes have kept up, playing nearly 23 minutes per game. How the Sharks replace those minutes with a depleted defense core is a fair question to ask. It’s not a realistic expectation to increase the workload of Erik Karlsson, who’s already averaging over 25 minutes per game. They’ll need veteran players like Marc-Edouard Vlasic and Matt Benning to step up unless Cicek is able to surprise.
Snapshots: Mayfield, Rodrigues, Barkov
Islanders defenseman Scott Mayfield has been one of the better bargains in the league in recent seasons. A bit of a late bloomer, he opted to take a five-year deal with a cap hit of just $1.45MM, giving him some much-desired stability in the process. Since then, the 30-year-old has become an important part of their top four, logging nearly 20 minutes a night in a shutdown role. A pending UFA, Mayfield is now well-positioned to potentially more than double that price tag on his next deal and he made it clear to Newsday’s Andrew Gross that his desire is to remain with New York. The Isles already have over $73MM in commitments for next season per CapFriendly with a handful of roster spots to fill so they should have enough cap room to keep him in the fold unless GM Lou Lamoriello decides to shake things up next summer.
Elsewhere around the NHL:
- Avalanche forward Evan Rodrigues is officially listed as week to week but is expected to miss two to four weeks due to the lower-body injury sustained on Wednesday against Vancouver, relays Bennett Durando of The Denver Post (Twitter link). The timeline won’t allow Colorado to transfer him onto LTIR to add to their pool unless the team learns that he will be out for the longer end of that timeline. Rodrigues has been a useful addition this season as he has notched six goals and three assists through his first 18 games while spending some time both on the wing and down the middle.
- Panthers center Aleksander Barkov is listed as a game-time decision for tonight’s game against St. Louis due to an illness, notes Colby Guy of Florida Hockey Now (Twitter link). Florida remains in a situation where they can only afford to carry the minimum number of players on their roster so if the captain isn’t able to play, they will once again have to dress only 17 skaters tonight.
Predators Believed To Be Open To Trading A Defenseman
It has been a bit of a tough start to the season for the Predators. While they sit fourth in the Central entering today’s action, they’re among the lowest-scoring teams in the league, ranking 29th in goals scored at the moment. With that in mind, they may have to look outside the organization to try to add some scoring help. One possible option is to move a defenseman and in his latest column for the Toronto Star, Sportsnet’s Nick Kypreos reports that Nashville GM David Poile would like to move a defenseman, suggesting that Dante Fabbro could be had for the right price.
The 24-year-old locked down a regular role in 2019-20, logging over 19 minutes a game and it looked as if the Predators had found yet another quality young defender that they could mold into a core piece. However, he hasn’t really progressed much since then. His playing time continued to hover around the 19-minute mark until this season as it’s down to just 16 minutes a night while he has just four assists in 19 games.
While he’s still holding down a regular role, his usage has dipped to that of a number six defenseman which, at a $2.4MM price tag, is a bit pricey for that spot on the depth chart. Notably, Fabbro will be owed a qualifying offer this summer at that same price point while also being arbitration-eligible and if he rides out the season in the role he has now, he could very well be a non-tender candidate in the summer. Accordingly, moving him now might make sense.
Among Nashville’s other defenders, it’s safe to say that Roman Josi, Mattias Ekholm, and Ryan McDonagh aren’t going anywhere. Jeremy Lauzon has three years remaining after this one on his deal at a $2MM AAV which could be intriguing to some teams if they feel he can be more than a third-pairing option while Alexandre Carrier has taken a step back this season after a breakout 30-point campaign last year. Veteran Mark Borowiecki is currently injured so he’s unlikely to move either.
That makes Fabbro the logical choice to move if Poile decides that he wants to move a defender and while his trade value has undoubtedly dipped compared to what it would have been a few years ago, it’s also possible that it drops even further if they get to the offseason with him being questionable to be given his qualifying offer. If they feel that Jordan Gross (who presently is with AHL Milwaukee but has two goals in three NHL games this season) can fill a similar role that Fabbro is now, Fabbro certainly could be an interesting addition to the trade market in the coming weeks.
West Notes: Jets, Vaakanainen, Avalanche, Stone
Despite dealing with multiple injuries up front, the Jets enter play today sitting in second place in the Central Division thanks to a resurgent season from Connor Hellebuyck and some improved defensive play from some of their veteran blueliners under new head coach Rick Bowness. Accordingly, Mike McIntyre of the Winnipeg Free Press wonders if instead of moving one of those veteran rearguards to make room for a youngster, they instead turn around and move one of those younger defensemen to acquire some help up front. Ville Heinola is just now getting his feet wet this season after starting the season in the minors while Logan Stanley has been out for a month and might have a hard time getting back into the lineup when healthy. Both players carry cap hits under $1MM which would be enticing to cap-strapped teams while Winnipeg has a little over $1.7MM in cap room at the moment per CapFriendly which would give them some extra flexibility to take on a more expensive forward in return.
More from the West:
- Ducks defenseman Urho Vaakanainen has resumed practicing as he works his way back from an injury sustained late in the preseason, relays Lisa Dillman of the Orange County Register. He was injured at the end of September when he went crashing into the boards where he had to be stretchered off the ice. There’s still no firm timeline for his return but the fact he’s now skating with the team suggests he should be back sooner than later. He’d be a welcome addition to an Anaheim back end that has struggled so far this season; the 23-year-old logged more than 19 minutes a game after joining them at the trade deadline a year ago.
- As expected, the Avalanche have recalled wingers Sampo Ranta and Anton Blidh from the minors, per the AHL’s transactions listing. Colorado has been shuffling waiver-exempt players back and forth all season long in an effort to try to bank some extra cap space, something that is harder to do with the team currently in LTIR. Ranta and Blidh have played in three and four games respectively with the Avs so far this season.
- Flames defenseman Michael Stone has been activated off injured reserve, reports Sportsnet 960’s Pat Steinberg (Twitter link). The veteran has missed the last ten games due to an undisclosed injury after putting up two goals and three assists in his first ten contests this season. Calgary had an open roster spot so they didn’t need to make any corresponding move to activate Stone.
San Jose Sharks Recall Aaron Dell
Nov. 26: Dell is now back up with the Sharks, giving San Jose three goalies on their active roster for the time being.
Nov 25: After Reimer missed a game this week, he’s ready to go again and will start for the Sharks today. Dell has been returned to the AHL.
Nov 22: In a curious move, the San Jose Sharks have recalled Aaron Dell from the minor leagues, giving them a third goaltender on the roster. James Reimer was present at yesterday’s skate and Kaapo Kahkonen was outstanding in the team’s win over the Ottawa Senators.
Dell’s recall would suggest there might be an injury, though it is unclear which goaltender would be unavailable at this point. The Sharks are scheduled to travel to Seattle to take on the Kraken in a match tomorrow night, before returning to San Jose for a mini two-game homestand over the weekend.
In seven games for the San Jose Barracuda, Dell has posted a .904 save percentage. The 33-year-old netminder is back with the organization that gave him a chance at the NHL level, icing him 107 times over four seasons. Dell has struggled since leaving San Jose, and appears to be nothing more than a third or fourth-string option at this point.
Kahkonen stopped 37 of 38 saves against the Senators, bringing his save percentage up to .894 on the season. Reimer, the team’s starter, has a .906 in 14 appearances so far.
Kings Assign Lias Andersson And Jacob Moverare To The AHL
The season-long shuffle continues for the Kings. In an effort to bank extra cap space, the team has been shuffling waiver-exempt players to AHL Ontario on off days. Today, that trend continues as the team announced that they’ve assigned center Lias Andersson and defenseman Jacob Moverare to the Reign. In doing so, the team drops out of using LTIR and will be able to bank at least a little bit of cap room in advance of tomorrow’s game against Ottawa when one or both will likely be recalled.
Andersson cleared waivers last month for the first time and has spent the bulk of this season in the minors. The 24-year-old continues to be quite productive with the Reign, notching five goals and four assists in 11 games but while he has been up with the Kings for the better part of the last two weeks, he has exclusively been a healthy scratch. Even if it’s just for one day, getting into a game with Ontario tonight when they host Tucson certainly wouldn’t hurt.
As for Moverare, he has been the seventh defender with Los Angeles for the last couple of weeks while Brandt Clarke has been on a conditioning assignment with Ontario, one that is going to come to an end in less than 48 hours. The 24-year-old also cleared waivers at the end of training camp and has played in eight games with the Reign this season while getting into two with the Kings where he has averaged just under 15 minutes a night of playing time.
Red Wings Sign Alex Chiasson To AHL Tryout
Veteran winger Alex Chiasson is no stranger to going through tryouts to get a contract. It’s a process he has gone through a couple of times in the NHL already, sometimes successful, others unsuccessful. Now, he’ll attempt to convert a tryout in the minors into a full contract as AHL Grand Rapids, the affiliate of the Red Wings, announced that they’ve signed the 32-year-old to a PTO agreement.
Chiasson played with Vancouver last season after spending the previous three years with Edmonton. He had to go through training camp on a tryout but received a full deal and gave the Canucks a reasonable return on their investment as he notched 13 goals and nine assists in 67 games while being particularly strong on the power play with six of his goals (plus four helpers) coming with the man advantage. However, he wasn’t able to secure a guaranteed deal with anyone over the summer and went to training camp with Arizona on a PTO, one that proved unsuccessful.
Now, he’ll look to catch on with Detroit the long way, starting out in the minors and hoping for a promotion from there. Chiasson is a veteran of 631 career NHL contests over parts of 10 seasons and with the Red Wings currently having four forwards on injured reserve at the moment, there are certainly spots that could be available both with them and with the Griffins. It’s a nice no-risk pickup for Detroit who should get some help in the minors at a minimum and, if all goes well, a possible recall option in the coming weeks.
Kings Haven’t Started Extension Talks With Jonathan Quick
A little more than a year ago, it looked like Kings goaltender Jonathan Quick was riding out the stretch of his time with the only organization he’s known, a stretch that dates back to 2005 when he was drafted in the third round. His numbers were dipping and with Cal Petersen inking a three-year, $15MM deal, the writing seemed to be on the wall.
But last season, Quick was by far the better of the two netminders, eventually winning back the starting role while starting every game in their first-round loss to Edmonton. This season, it has been the same with the 36-year-old making more starts than Petersen so far (14-9) while putting up better numbers.
Despite that, Quick told Helene Elliott of the Los Angeles Times that there have been no discussions when it comes to potentially extending his stay for next season with his 10-year, $58MM contract signed back in 2012 set to expire in July.
In his prime, Quick was one of the top goalies in the NHL, helping lead the Kings to a pair of Stanley Cup titles while picking up a pair of Jennings Trophies as well for the best GAA in the league. His numbers now certainly aren’t at that level – he has a 2.76 GAA and a .904 SV% since the start of the 2019-20 campaign – but he has shown that he can still contribute.
Los Angeles doesn’t exactly have an in-house replacement that’s ready to come up either. Veteran third-stringer Pheonix Copley is the starter with AHL Ontario with 23-year-old Matt Villalta serving as the backup and neither of them projects to be an impact NHL goaltender.
Accordingly, it would make sense for the Kings to at least investigate what it would take to keep Quick around for another year. While such a move wouldn’t solve their longer-term goaltending question mark, it would be a cheaper short-term solution that would allow them to potentially direct some of their spending to help at another position.
Tristan Jarry, Frederik Andersen, and Semyon Varlamov are the most prominent pending UFAs between the pipes assuming they don’t re-sign and would likely cost more than it would to keep Quick in the fold. It’s a scenario that few would have thought possible a couple of years ago when Petersen was anointed the starter of the present and future but to his credit, Quick has done well enough to stay in the mix whether it’s with Los Angeles or elsewhere.
Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.