Rask, Bunnaman Clear Waivers
Saturday: While Smith was claimed by Tampa Bay, Johnston reports that Rask and Bunnaman both cleared waivers.
Friday: The waiver wire is busy today as three teams have exposed players to the rest of the league. Chris Johnston of TSN reports that Gemel Smith of the Detroit Red Wings, Victor Rask of the Minnesota Wild, and Connor Bunnaman of the Philadelphia Flyers have all been placed on waivers.
Smith is on waivers for the second time this season after being claimed by the Red Wings from the Tampa Bay Lightning last month. He ended up playing three games for the club and registered one assist, while playing three more for the Grand Rapids Griffins on a conditioning loan. While he’s now available to the rest of the league once again, the 27-year-old did finally get a chance to play with his brother Giavani Smith for the first time in their hockey careers. Signed for two years and carrying a $750K cap hit, it seems unlikely that anyone other than the Lightning would put in a claim. If they do and are the only team to do so, he could be assigned to the minor leagues.
Bunnaman also was on waivers earlier, clearing just before the season started. He’s been up and down (and up and down) since, but now with 15 games under his belt this season needed waivers again in order to be assigned to the Lehigh Valley Phantoms. The 23-year-old forward doesn’t have a single point in those 15 contests and now sits at just three points in 54 career games (plus four scoreless postseason appearances). Also signed through 2022-23 with a $750K cap hit, he too seems like an unlikely candidate for claim.
Then there is Rask, who will certainly generate most of the headlines among this trio. The 28-year-old center is in the final season of a six-year, $24MM contract he signed in 2016 with the Carolina Hurricanes and already cleared waivers in January. There isn’t any team in the league who will touch that contract, given how poorly Rask’s time in Minnesota has gone. Acquired in 2019 in a one-for-one deal that saw Nino Niederreiter go the other way, Rask has recorded 22 goals and 52 points in 149 games with the Wild. His ice time has continued to drop, to the point where even when he does get into the lineup it’s for just a handful of shifts. In each of his last five appearances, he’s logged fewer than 10 minutes.
Notably, even when the Wild assign him to the minor leagues they will receive just $1.125MM of cap relief. What they do gain is a roster spot, one that perhaps could go to a prospect like Marco Rossi, who continues to light up the AHL. Rossi has points in all but eight of his 35 games with the Iowa Wild this season, including six in his past four outings.
Canadiens Place Corey Schueneman In COVID Protocol
Most of the Canadiens went through COVID protocol in late December when the team was at one point down more than 20 players. However, a handful of them didn’t contract the virus at that time and one of the ones who didn’t – defenseman Corey Schueneman, has been placed in COVID protocol, per a team announcement (Twitter link).
The 26-year-old was recently recalled to Montreal to take the place of injured defenseman Ben Chiarot and played a career-high 21:24 in Thursday’s victory over St. Louis while being one of two defenders to see time in overtime. Schueneman was likely set to be the one going back down to the minors with Chiarot expected to return on Sunday and this placement will create the roster spot needed to bring the veteran off injured reserve.
Worth noting is that just before being recalled to the Canadiens, Montreal’s AHL affiliate in Laval had a COVID outbreak of their own that has resulted in seven players being added to protocol. Schueneman will have to miss at least the next five days as a result of the placement, one that could be longer if he’s symptomatic.
Injury Updates: Islanders, Canadiens, Tarasenko
The Islanders will be without winger Oliver Wahlstrom for tomorrow’s game against Montreal due to an upper-body injury, relays Newsday’s Andrew Gross (Twitter link). He was injured in Thursday’s victory over Boston and is listed as day-to-day. The good news for New York is that they’re expected to welcome winger Josh Bailey back after he missed Thursday’s contest. Meanwhile, Semyon Varlamov has returned to New York after testing positive for COVID while in Western Canada. He remains unavailable for the time being.
Other injury news from around the NHL:
- The Canadiens are expected to have defenseman Ben Chiarot back in the lineup tomorrow, notes TSN’s John Lu (Twitter link). The blueliner was injured last weekend against Columbus and while it was a minor injury, they needed to move him to IR to free up a roster spot to bring up a replacement for him. Chiarot is widely expected to be traded by the deadline but it appears Montreal isn’t ready to hold him out of action as a precautionary measure just yet.
- Still with Montreal, the Canadiens announced (Twitter link) that Joel Armia is listed as day-to-day and will not play tomorrow afternoon. He took a skate blade to the face late in Thursday’s victory over St. Louis. It has been a tough season for the 28-year-old as he has scored just twice in 37 games in the first season of a new four-year, $13.6MM contract.
- The Blues announced that winger Vladimir Tarasenko will not play tonight in Toronto due to an undisclosed injury suffered in Thursday’s game against Montreal. The nature of the injury was not disclosed but head coach Craig Berube listed the veteran as day-to-day. Tarasenko has had a nice bounce-back season and leads St. Louis in scoring with 45 points in 44 games. Tyler Bozak will take Tarasenko’s place in the lineup.
AHL Shuffle: 02/19/22
It’s a quieter Saturday than usual around the NHL but there are still 14 teams in action today so there should be lots of roster movement throughout the day. We’ll keep track of those here.
Atlantic Division
- The Maple Leafs have recalled defenseman Timothy Liljegren from AHL Toronto, notes TSN’s Mark Masters (Twitter link). The blueliner was sent down for salary cap reasons after Adam Brooks was claimed earlier in the week but with him now off to Winnipeg, they could afford to bring Liljegren back up.
Metropolitan Division
- The Devils have once again flipped backup goalies as they’ve recalled Nico Daws from AHL Utica and sent Akira Schmid down, per the AHL’s transactions log. The opposite move was made on Thursday which allowed Daws to get into a game with the Comets to stay in game shape where he made 26 saves on 28 shots against Rochester.
- The Blue Jackets announced that they have sent winger Trey Fix-Wolansky to Cleveland of the AHL to create a roster spot to activate winger Justin Danforth off IR. Fix-Wolansky had a goal and an assist in his first five games of NHL action despite averaging less than seven minutes a game. Danforth, meanwhile, had missed the last 19 games with a sprained MCL and has two goals and two assists in 13 games this season.
- After clearing waivers, the Flyers announced (Twitter link) that forward Connor Bunnaman has been assigned to Lehigh Valley of the AHL. The 23-year-old has been held off the scoresheet in 15 NHL appearances this season while chipping in with 17 hits.
Central Division
- The Blackhawks have sent winger Brett Connolly back to AHL Rockford, reports Charlie Roumeliotis of NBC Sports Chicago (Twitter link). The veteran has been shuffled back and forth between the NHL and the minors this season and has just one assist in nine games with Chicago.
- The Blues announced that they’ve recalled defenseman Calle Rosen from AHL Springfield while sending center Dakota Joshua down. Rosen has played in six games with St. Louis this season but has spent most of the year with the Thunderbirds, collecting 20 points. As for Joshua, he has five assists in 22 games this season but needed to be sent down to keep the Blues cap-compliant.
- The Predators have returned winger Cole Smith to Milwaukee, per the AHL’s transactions log. He got into a pair of games with Nashville on his emergency recall, bringing his total this season to eight although he has yet to record a point. He has been much more productive with the Admirals, however, with 22 points in 33 games.
- After Victor Rask cleared waivers, the Wild wasted little time sending him down along with defenseman Dakota Mermis to Iowa, per a team release. Blueliner Calen Addison was recalled in a corresponding move. Rask has 13 points in 29 games with Minnesota this season but his $4MM cap hit made it a guarantee he wouldn’t be claimed. Addison has 17 points in 23 games with Iowa while collecting three in nine NHL contests while Mermis has played just twice with Minnesota this season and has suited up in 30 minor league contests.
Pacific Division
- The Oilers announced (Twitter link) that they’ve recalled winger Colton Sceviour from Bakersfield of the AHL. The veteran had actually been handed a two-game suspension for a hit on Canucks prospect Jack Rathbone earlier this week but has yet to serve either of those games. Sceviour has two goals and three assists in 30 games with Edmonton this season plus a pair of helpers in four AHL contests.
This post will be updated throughout the day.
Atlantic Notes: Namestnikov, Murray, Ovchinnikov
The Red Wings should have winger Vladislav Namestnikov back in the lineup on Wednesday, reports Helene St. James of the Detroit Free Press. If that’s the case, the veteran will only wind up missing a week with his current lower-body injury. Namestnikov has 13 goals and 10 assists in 49 games this season and is a candidate to be moved between now and next month’s trade deadline. The quick return also played a role in yesterday’s waiving of Gemel Smith as head coach Jeff Blashill acknowledged that the move was made to give them some extra flexibility with Namestnikov nearing a return as well as winger Carter Rowney.
More from the Atlantic:
- The Senators aren’t expected to have goaltender Matt Murray available this weekend, notes Postmedia’s Bruce Garrioch. He was injured late in Tuesday’s game against St. Louis and while the injury isn’t believed to be serious, it should keep him out for a few more days at least. Murray has quietly played a lot better lately, posting a 2.38 GAA with a .938 SV% in his last 11 games.
- While the Maple Leafs signed prospect forward Dmitri Ovchinnikov yesterday, his time playing in Russia isn’t up just yet. His agent Shumi Babaev told Lance Hornby of the Toronto Sun (Twitter link) that while the 19-year-old’s deal with Sibir Novosibirsk was terminated which permits him to join the AHL Marlies this season, Ovchinnikov will be loaned back to Sibir for 2022-23. While Ovchinnikov struggled to produce in the KHL this season with three points in 17 games, he was much more productive at the MHL level with 29 points in 22 contests.
East Notes: Staal, Ristolainen, Trocheck
Marc Staal’s first season with the Red Wings was good enough that the team re-signed him to a one-year, $2MM contract for this one, a deal that also carried a full no-move clause. Ted Kulfan of The Detroit News feels there’s a scenario where Detroit could go that route again with the 35-year-old blueliner. Staal is logging just shy of 17 minutes a night on their back end and can still contribute defensively and on the penalty kill, making him a useful veteran for a team that’s still rebuilding. Staal recently said that he enjoys being with Detroit and considering he controls his destiny when it comes to a trade, there’s a chance that he isn’t flipped by the trade deadline.
Elsewhere in the East:
- Flyers defenseman Rasmus Ristolainen is targeting Monday as his return from his upper-body injury, notes Giana Han of the Philadelphia Inquirer (Twitter link). The veteran has had a tough first season with Philadelphia with just 11 points in 42 games while logging just over 21 minutes a game. Nevertheless, he remains one of the more notable pending unrestricted free agent blueliners that should be on the move between now and the March 21st trade deadline as the Flyers will likely want to recoup at least some of what they paid to get him at the draft (blueliner Robert Hagg, a 2021 first-round pick, and a 2023 second-rounder) if they can’t extend him before then.
- Hurricanes center Vincent Trocheck left tonight’s game against Nashville with an upper-body injury (Twitter link). The pending UFA has had a nice contract year with 32 points in 48 games while winning over 53% of his faceoffs.
Trade Deadline Primer: Columbus Blue Jackets
With the All-Star break now behind us, the trade deadline looms large and is just over a month away. Where does each team stand and what moves should they be looking to make? We continue our look around the league with the Columbus Blue Jackets.
After missing the playoffs last season and moving out veterans Seth Jones and Cam Atkinson over the summer, it was obvious that Columbus was going in the direction of a rebuild. However, they’ve played better than many expected and have a points percentage over .500 and are the first team outside of a Wild Card spot as they sit nine points behind Boston heading into Friday’s action. Even with that in mind, it seems unlikely that GM Jarmo Kekalainen would part with future assets in an attempt to sneak into the final playoff spot but the season they’re having suggests they’re closer to battling for a consistent playoff position than it seemed back in October.
Record
24-23-1, 5th in the Metropolitan
Deadline Status
Seller
Deadline Cap Space
$29.248MM today, $51.915MM on deadline day, 0/3 retention slots used, 40/50 contracts used per CapFriendly.
Upcoming Draft Picks
2022: CHI 1st*, CBJ 1st, CBJ 2nd, TB 3rd, CBJ 4th, TOR 4th, TOR 6th, ANA 7th
2023: CBJ 1st, CBJ 2nd, CBJ 3rd, CBJ 4th, CBJ 5th, CBJ 6th, CBJ 7th
*-Chicago’s pick is top-two protected. If the Blackhawks wind up with the first or second selection in 2022, the pick will be conveyed unprotected in 2023.
Trade Chips
After a tough first year in Columbus, Max Domi was viewed as someone who would likely be moved at some point. Seattle decided to pass on him in expansion and in the end, that has worked out quite well for the Blue Jackets. The 26-year-old has rebounded nicely, notching 23 points in 38 games this season, providing them with some capable secondary scoring. He’s a pending unrestricted free agent with a $5.3MM AAV, a price tag they’ll almost certainly need to pay down to maximize their return but Domi would fit in on a few playoff-bound squads as a third liner that can move up if needed and also can play on the wing and down the middle. He won’t be the primary target for teams in the coming weeks but as the top options get moved, interest in him should pick up.
Joonas Korpisalo has had some good seasons in his seven-year NHL career but he started to struggle last season and unfortunately for them, it has carried over this year with the highest GAA of his career (3.82) and the lowest save percentage (.887). Those aren’t ideal numbers to have in the season before your first crack at unrestricted free agency as at this point, it seems unlikely he’ll surpass his current $2.8MM AAV. Despite his struggles, his track record is good enough for teams looking to add some goaltending depth for the stretch run but earlier reports had the Blue Jackets seeking multiple fairly high draft picks. That price will need to come down over the next few weeks.
While I have doubts Patrik Laine will be moved, his situation will be one to monitor. He’s having a nice season when he has been healthy and is averaging over a point per game. But he’s about to enter his final season of RFA eligibility and if he simply takes his $7.5MM qualifying offer again, he could hit the open market in July 2023. If the team senses Laine isn’t willing to sign a long-term deal, his name is bound to come up in trade speculation again. That’s a big price tag for any contender to add which is why I think such a move – if it was to happen – would make more sense in the summer. However, as the deadline gets closer, his name is bound to come up in the rumor mill.
Other Potential Trade Chips: D Scott Harrington ($1.633MM, UFA), D Dean Kukan ($1.65MM, UFA), F Kevin Stenlund ($1.05MM, RFA)
Team Needs
1) Defensive Depth: Columbus only has two defensemen on their NHL roster that are signed beyond the end of next season in Zach Werenski and Jake Bean. Players like Adam Boqvist and Andrew Peeke should be part of the longer-term picture but the depth starts to thin out after that. Another young core blueliner would be nice but even a capable short-term veteran will be needed at some point with Kukan and Harrington set to leave at the end of the season.
2) Draft Picks: Even though Columbus had three first-round picks last year, their prospect pool isn’t the deepest as the Blue Jackets had just eight selections in the previous two years combined, a ripple effect of the Blue Jackets making their push two seasons ago. Simply restocking the pipeline is something they need to do.
Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.
West Notes: Fleury, Pavelski, Hayton
While Blackhawks goalie Marc-Andre Fleury is unsure if he’ll be staying in Chicago past next month’s trade deadline, it seems like he’s making plans for next season. The veteran told reporters, including NHL.com’s Tracey Myers, that while his playing days are coming to a close, he’s hoping to play a 19th season in the NHL:
I don’t have that much left, right? So enjoy this season and hopefully next season again. After that, I don’t know.
Fleury is a pending unrestricted free agent and carries a pricey $7MM AAV but there has been some speculation of some contending teams being interested. While he doesn’t carry full trade protection, the Blackhawks have assured him that he will have a say on where he goes, if he winds up being moved. Fleury mentioned that while he has yet to speak to management about the possibility of a trade, he believes his agent Allan Walsh has been in touch with the team about that.
More from the Western Conference:
- While the Stars appear to be likely to part ways with pending UFA defenseman John Klingberg, they’re hoping to avoid a similar fate with center Joe Pavelski as Matthew DeFranks of the Dallas Morning News notes that Dallas is hoping to re-sign the 37-year-old. The veteran has a $7MM AAV and is on pace for a career high in points as he has 52 in just 47 games so far. There’s a strong case to be made that he’s worthy of a raise but the length of his next contract will be a big factor. If he was to go year-to-year, Pavelski could theoretically maximize his earnings but at this stage of his career, a multi-season commitment would certainly be appealing. With the Stars looking to keep the veteran, that should take him out of trade speculation for the time being.
- The Coyotes will welcome center Barrett Hayton back to the lineup on Saturday against Los Angeles, reports Craig Morgan of PHNX Sports (Twitter link). The 21-year-old has received a significant bump in ice time this season with his ATOI jumping up by more than five minutes a night but it hasn’t resulted in a jump in production as he has just two goals and four assists in 26 games so far. Hayton has been out for nearly six weeks with a hand injury and with his entry-level deal expiring this summer, he’ll be looking for a strong finish to his season to bolster his case for his second contract.
Minnesota Wild Activate Bjugstad; Move Dumba To IR
The Minnesota Wild have announced a few important transactions, starting with the activation of Nick Bjugstad from injured reserve. To make room, the team has placed Matt Dumba on IR and waived Victor Rask.
Bjugstad, 29, has played in just 28 games so far this season and was placed on injured reserve earlier this month. The big forward is a long way from the player that scored 24 goals and 43 points in 2014-15 but still represents some valuable depth for the Wild to insert into the lineup. He has four goals and five points this season in those 28 games while averaging just over ten minutes a night.
For a team like Minnesota, who have their sights set on the Stanley Cup, improving around the fringes of the roster can be an important step. Bjugstad isn’t a huge improvement over Rask but he does carry less than a quarter of the cap hit. In fact, his $900K is more than reasonable for a fourth-line player that adds some size and versatility–able to line up at center or the wing.
Dumba, meanwhile, is expected to miss a few weeks with a lower-body injury. He has played just one game since the start of the month and is now on injured reserve, likely retroactive to his appearance on February 12. That mean’s he’s eligible to return in the next few days, though it’s not yet clear when he actually will be ready to get back into the lineup.
NHL Upholds Brad Marchand’s Suspension
NHL commissioner Gary Bettman has decided to uphold the six-game suspension of Boston Bruins forward Brad Marchand, releasing a 13-page ruling today. Marchand can now choose to appeal to a neutral arbitrator, though since he has already served four of the six games and will have finished the suspension by Monday, it would essentially only be to recoup some of the salary he has lost in this process.
In his ruling, Bettman states:
Finally, in reaching my conclusions I have given careful consideration to Mr. Marchand’s testimony concerning his efforts to control his emotions in order to excel as an impact player who plays aggressively, but within the rules. I believe that he has already made significant strides towards achieving this goal. Unfortunately, however, Mr. Marchand’s behavior and lack of judgment in respect of these incidents did not meet acceptable NHL standards. He created a distraction which reflected poorly on himself, on his team and on the League as a whole, and as such, I find he also deserves the penalty he received. Having said that, I encourage Mr. Marchand to reflect on this experience and to use it positively in furtherance of his efforts to refine and improve his on-ice image and game for everyone’s benefit.
In their defense of Marchand, the NHLPA tried to compare this incident to one in 2019 when Milan Lucic was given a two-game suspension for punching Kole Sherwood, one in 2019 when Joe Thornton was not given any supplementary discipline for punching Petr Mrazek, and one in 2019 when Radko Gudas received a two-game suspension for high-sticking Nikita Kucherov. All three were deconstructed by Bettman, with Marchand’s lengthy disciplinary history being one of the major factors to prove they were dissimilar.
Notably, it also explains that Marchand was being suspended for both the punch and the high-stick, leading to the six-game ban when combined with his history. The Bruins forward has now been suspended eight times and fined four times for physical fouls in his NHL career. Bettman explains just how serious this history is:
No active player has been suspended more times than Mr. Marchand; this is his eighth suspension. In addition, he has been fined four times for physical fouls. Although the on-ice penalty calls that resulted in supplementary discipline have varied in their specifics, all have involved serious violations, including elbowing, slew footing, clipping, roughing, spearing, cross-checking and (now) high sticking. It is, to say the least, an unenviable record. And (again), to make matters worse, Mr. Marchand’s most recent suspension prior to this one occurred less than three months ago, when he was suspended for three games for slew footing Vancouver Canucks player Oliver Ekman-Larsson on November 28, 2021.
An appeal to a neutral arbitrator would almost certainly take more than three days, meaning Marchand will be out for the next two matches regardless of what happens next. If he does go through with it and it is eventually reduced, it would provide the Bruins forward with two benefits. One, he would win back some of the money he has forfeited with this suspension, and two, the suspension would–while still on his record–appear as a shorter sentence.