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Derek Stepan May Miss The Rest Of The Season

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The news doesn’t appear to be good for Senators center Derek Stepan.  While the team is waiting for official word and have currently classified him as week-to-week, Postmedia’s Bruce Garrioch reports that the expectation is that the veteran will be out for six months and will need surgery to repair a separated shoulder.  That would put an end to his season and with it, their plans to trade him back to an American-based team.

The 30-year-old was brought in by Ottawa back in December from Arizona in exchange for a second-round pick.  At that point, the bulk of his salary already paid via signing bonus as he was owed just $2MM while still carrying a $6.5MM AAV, giving the Sens a bit of flexibility to stay over the cap floor while keeping their costs down.  They were also hoping that he’d be a capable veteran to help some of their blossoming young talent although his on-ice performance didn’t quite live up to that goal.

Prior to the injury which was sustained back on Tuesday against Montreal, Stepan had just a goal and five assists in 20 games.  He’s also averaging a career-low in ice time at just over 15 minutes per game.  While he was certainly hopeful that he’d be able to rebound from a tough year with the Coyotes in 2019-20 that saw him put up career lows in goals (10), assists (18), and points (28), clearly things were going in the opposite direction.

Between that and the injury, Stepan isn’t going to be hitting the UFA market in an ideal situation.  Garrioch adds that Ottawa has no interest in retaining his services which takes one option off the table. With 2020-21 going the way it did for Stepan, he may have to look for a one-year deal where he can try to build back some value and hope to hit what could be a slightly less financially restrictive free agent market in 2022.

Central Notes: Cirelli, Cernak, Mrazek, Gudas, Forsling

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Tampa Bay will have one of their top forwards back in the lineup tonight as Anthony Cirelli is expected to play against Dallas, relays Joe Smith of The Athletic (Twitter link).  The 23-year-old has missed the last six games due to an upper-body injury and was off to a big start before it occurred, notching four goals and six assists in his first dozen games.  With the Lightning carrying a minimum-sized roster, they won’t have to make a corresponding roster move to get him activated.

Meanwhile, despite leaving Thursday’s victory over Carolina early with his lower-body injury, the Lightning will also have defenseman Erik Cernak in their lineup.  He’s logging more than 18 minutes per game on their back end so far this season and his availability means that they can hold Luke Schenn down on their taxi squad, extending his waiver exemption in the process.

More from the Central Division:

  • It appears that Carolina’s wait to get their starting goalie back is almost over. GM Don Waddell told Luke DeCock of the Raleigh News and Observer (Twitter link) that the Hurricanes are targeting next Sunday’s game against Florida for Petr Mrazek to make his return from a thumb injury sustained late last month that required surgery.  Carolina has actually done relatively well without Mrazek in the lineup, winning nine of 15 games since he was injured (including the game it occurred) but having their number one back in the fold will give them a nice boost as they look to work their way up the division.
  • Florida will have defenseman Radko Gudas back in their lineup tonight versus Carolina, notes Jameson Olive of the Panthers’ team website (Twitter link). He was a late scratch on Thursday night due to an upper-body injury.  Gudas is fifth on the team in ATOI by a defender, logging just over 17 minutes per game in his first season in Florida.  Meanwhile, they’ll be without Gustav Forsling due to a lower-body issue.  The early-season waiver claim has been held off the scoresheet in eight games so far this season.

Extension Talks Cool Between Hurricanes And Andrei Svechnikov

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Over the offseason, Hurricanes GM Don Waddell had indicated that one of his priorities was to get winger Andrei Svechnikov signed to a contract extension.  The pending restricted free agent is now in the final year of his entry-level contract and has been a big part of Carolina’s success over the past couple of seasons.  However, he’s in a bit of a slump as of late with just one goal – an empty-netter – over the last 11 games.  As his on-ice play has slowed down, so too have his contract talks, reports Luke DeCock of the Raleigh News and Observer.

Although discussions on this deal started back in the offseason, Svechnikov’s agent Todd Diamond indicated that it may take until the summer to get something done with the shortened season also acting as an impediment in talks:

Things are kind of status quo. There’s a time and place to have deeper talks. There’s just so many games right now, it’s not the right environment for it. It may take into the offseason.

While Carolina would certainly like to get Svechnikov signed to a long-term deal, a bridge contract certainly would seem to make more sense on the surface at this point.  They already have more than $53MM in commitments for next season, per CapFriendly, and the 20-year-old is hardly the only one in need of a new contract.  Defenseman Dougie Hamilton is a pending unrestricted free agent while their goalie tandem of Petr Mrazek and James Reimer are also UFA-eligible.  Getting deals done to re-sign or replace them and round out the rest of the roster doesn’t make a long-term contract that buys out some UFA-eligible years the most viable of options.  Team owner Tom Dundon acknowledged to DeCock that a bridge deal is the likeliest route they’ll take and is quite confident in getting an agreement in place:

It’s easy, because he’s ours, we’re going to pay him fair and get it done.  That’s just when not if. We want to get it done. These are fairly easy deals to get done. The market, if you look at the bridge deals that have been done, it’s not that hard.

Svechnikov will be entering the RFA market this offseason without arbitration eligibility, something that he needs one more year of service time to reach.  Even with the lower goal output as of late, he still has 16 points in 19 games to sit one off the team lead and had a 24-goal, 61-point campaign in 2019-20.  Accordingly, even a short-term deal could creep into the $5MM range but that would still allow the Hurricanes to have enough cap flexibility to take care of some of those other free agents.  It just looks like it’s going to take a little while longer for them to get a deal done.

Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.

Linus Ullmark To Miss At Least A Month

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Yesterday, Sabres head coach Ralph Krueger indicated that he was hopeful that goaltender Linus Ullmark would be in a day-to-day situation after missing their two games this weekend.  Unfortunately for him and Buffalo, that isn’t the case.  Speaking with reporters before today’s matinee including Mike Harrington of The Buffalo News (Twitter link), the best-case scenario for the netminder is that he’ll be back in a month.

Ullmark sustained the lower-body injury in the first period of Thursday’s game against New Jersey after making a stop on Nico Hischier.  Carter Hutton took his place after the period ended and is likely to play both games against the Flyers this weekend but Harrington suggests in a separate tweet that the Sabres may have to look outside the organization beyond that point.

That may be a good idea for GM Kevyn Adams.  While Ullmark has done well this season with a 2.44 GAA and a .919 SV%, Hutton’s regression has continued.  After putting up career-worsts in GAA (3.18) and SV% (.898) in 2019-20, he has failed to improve upon those this season, checking in at 3.24 and .889 respectively heading into today’s contest.  Technically still just six points out of a playoff spot, their postseason hopes aren’t entirely dashed but relying on Hutton to carry the load while trying to stay in the mix would be risky.

However, goaltending depth has been hard to come by this season as they’ve been snatched up off waivers routinely to the point where some teams are simply carrying three goalies to avoid the risk of losing their third-stringer for nothing.  That means that trading for a short-term upgrade is even going to be harder than usual.

In the meantime, Jonas Johansson has been promoted from the taxi squad and will serve as Hutton’s backup this weekend.  We’ll soon see if they’re able to bring someone else in or if they’ll indeed be filling Ullmark’s absence internally until he’s able to return.

Bruins Claim Jarred Tinordi Off Waivers From Predators

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The Bruins have added some depth to their back end as Sportsnet’s Chris Johnston reports (Twitter link) that they’ve claimed defenseman Jarred Tinordi off waivers from Nashville.

The 29-year-old has played in seven games this season with the Predators, logging a respectable 16:34 per night of ice time.  However, he was pushed out of his spot by Ben Harpur and while Nashville thought they’d be able to sneak him onto the taxi squad considering he has cleared waivers four other times in his career, clearly that wasn’t the case.

Tinordi was a first-round pick of Montreal (22nd overall) back in 2010 but never was able to carve out a regular role for himself and was eventually traded to Arizona in 2016 as part of the move that saw John Scott get traded after being voted in as an All-Star starter.  He played seven games with the Coyotes that season before spending three full seasons in the minors.  However, injuries forced Nashville to recall Tinordi last year and he did well enough to play in 28 games with them (plus four more in the bubble) and see early action this season.

With Boston, Tinordi provides some extra insurance on the left side of their back end with Matt Grzelcyk and Jeremy Lauzon both on injured reserve at an affordable price.  He’s in the second and final season of his contract that carries a league-minimum salary of $700K in the NHL and $300K in the minors although he will have to go through waivers again if the Bruins try to send him down once those injured players return.

Stefan Noesen Clears Waivers

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Saturday: While Tinordi was claimed by Boston, Noesen cleared waivers, Friedman reports.  Kevin Kurz of The Athletic adds that Noesen has been sent to the taxi squad for the time being although he is likely to see some time in the AHL at some point to get some game action.

Friday: According to Elliotte Friedman of Sportsnet, Stefan Noesen of the San Jose Sharks and Jarred Tinordi of the Nashville Predators have been placed on waivers today.

Noesen, 28, was actually claimed off waivers by the Sharks last season, but re-signed to a one-year, $925K contract after impressing down the stretch. That hasn’t been the case this time around, as Noesen has zero points in five games on the season and is basically out of the rotation. By waiving him, the veteran forward can be placed on the taxi squad or sent to the minor leagues.

Tinordi meanwhile has cleared waivers many times in the past, but keeps receiving more opportunities with the Predators. The 29-year-old, 6’6″ defenseman has five points in 35 games over the past two seasons. He has been replaced of late by another hulking defenseman, 26-year-old Ben Harpur who has played in each of the last three games. Tinordi could end up on the taxi squad, or perhaps return to the AHL where he played 32 games last season.

Penguins Hire Chris Pryor As Director of Player Personnel

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When Ron Hextall was named general manager of the Penguins earlier this month, speculation quickly turned to how long it would take before Chris Pryor was added to Pittsburgh’s front office.  It turns out the answer was two and a half weeks as the team announced today that they’ve hired Pryor as their Director of Player Personnel.  The release states that his role will be to help oversee the scouting efforts in North America and Europe and assist with all player personnel decisions.

Pryor, 60, held various roles with the Flyers from 1999-2019 including Amateur Scout, Director of Scouting, and Director of Player Personnel.  It was there that he worked with Hextall who held Philadelphia’s GM title for three years.  Both were let go at the same time in late November of 2018 with Hextall becoming a senior advisor with the Kings and Pryor going to Nashville as a scout.

Pryor becomes the third addition of note to Pittsburgh’s front office since Jim Rutherford’s sudden resignation last month joining Hextall and new President of Hockey Operations Brian Burke.

As for Derek Clancey who was in the Director of Player Personnel role before today’s move, he has been let go by the Penguins, Hextall confirmed to Seth Rorabaugh of the Pittsburgh Tribune-Review (Twitter link).  He was in his second season in that role with Pittsburgh and had been with the team since 2007 when he started as a pro scout, later moving up to Director of Professional Scouting.

Taxi Squad Shuffle: 02/27/21

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There has been plenty of roster movement between NHL teams and the taxi squad on a daily basis this season. Although some major names may be highlighted in separate articles, this is where you’ll find the majority of that shuffle news each day.

North Division

  • The Senators announced (Twitter link) that they’ve recalled defenseman Erik Brannstrom from the taxi squad in advance of their game against Calgary. The 21-year-old has two goals and two assists in eight games so far this season.
  • The Canadiens shuffled up their taxi squad composition, sending Alex Belzile and Cale Fleury to AHL Laval while recalling Brandon Baddock and Joel Teasdale, per the AHL’s Transactions log.  Baddock and Teasdale won’t actually join Montreal but needed to be recalled to keep their taxi squad at the minimum number of players.  As expected, Paul Byron was also recalled from the taxi squad, per CapFriendly.
  • The Jets announced (Twitter link) that they’ve recalled defenseman Logan Stanley from the taxi squad.  He will take the place of Tucker Poolman who was placed on injured reserve.  Stanley has played in 13 games so far with Winnipeg this season, averaging just under 12 minutes per game.
  • Toronto has changed up their taxi squad, announcing (Twitter link) that they’ve assigned winger Alex Galchenyuk and defenseman Martin Marincin to the minors while recalling winger Kenny Agostino and blueliner Timothy Liljegren to the taxi squad in their place.  The moves are basically to get Marincin and Galchenyuk some game action with neither suiting up over the last couple of weeks.
  • The Flames recalled center Glenn Gawdin and defenseman Oliver Kylington from the taxi squad, per CapFriendly.  Gawdin was in their lineup against Ottawa on the fourth line while Kylington was once again a healthy scratch.

East Division

  • Ilya Samsonov is back with Washington as the team announced (Twitter link) that they’ve recalled him back to the taxi squad from AHL Hershey. Samsonov has played in four games with the Bears as he works his way back from a bout with COVID-19, posting a .869 SV%.  The Capitals returned Pheonix Copley to Hershey in a corresponding move.
  • The Devils have assigned defenseman Connor Carrick from the taxi squad to Binghamton of the AHL, per the AHL’s Transactions log. The 26-year-old has only played once for New Jersey this season and cleared waivers earlier this month but will now get an opportunity to get some playing time in the minors.  Meanwhile, Matt Tennyson was recalled to New Jersey’s taxi squad.
  • Jared McCann is back, activated off the the injured reserve by the Pittsburgh Penguins. Joining him on the roster is Anthony Angello, recalled from the taxi squad. Drew O’Connor has been reassigned to the taxi squad in Angello’s place. Sam Miletic, also previously on the IR, has been activated and assigned to AHL Wilkes-Barre/Scranton.

Central Division

  • The Predators have recalled winger Eeli Tolvanen from the taxi squad, per their transactions log.  The 21-year-old has been shuffled back and forth on a near-daily basis this month but still has managed to play in 10 games for Nashville this season, notching two goals and an assist.
  • The Red Wings announced (Twitter link) that they have recalled center Frans Nielsen and winger Evgeny Svechnikov from their taxi squad.  Nielsen cleared waivers earlier this week while Svechnikov has been limited to just three games with AHL Grand Rapids this season.  Detroit also recalled goaltender Kaden Fulcher to the taxi squad from the Griffins.
  • Rhett Gardner is back up with the Dallas Stars. The team announced that the big, physical forward has been recalled from the taxi squad. Gardner has yet to find the score sheet through four games with Dallas and two games with AHL Texas so far this season, but was productive in the minors last year and hopes to find that touch soon.

West Division

  • The Sharks have sent winger Kurtis Gabriel to the AHL’s Barracuda from their taxi squad, per the AHL’s Transactions log.  The 27-year-old has played just one game with San Jose this season and should benefit from being able to get into a game at the minor league level.
  • The Arizona Coyotes have recalled forward Dryden Hunt from the taxi squad. Hunt, in his first season with the ’Yotes, has two points in five games but has spent much of his time on the taxi squad.
  • Lias Andersson has been recalled from the taxi squad, the Los Angeles Kings announced. This has been a common transaction for L.A. this season, as Andersson is waiver-exempt and can move freely between the taxi squad and active roster. The young center has played in more than half of the Kings’ games so far.

This post will be updated throughout the day.

West Notes: Bjornfot, Lindholm, Avalanche

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Kings defenseman Tobias Bjornfot was in the lineup tonight against Minnesota, his seventh game of the season.  That alone doesn’t sound all that meaningful but that is the revised threshold for junior-aged players to officially burn the first year of their entry-level contract, meaning the 19-year-old is officially in the first year of his contract.  Los Angeles opted to start Bjornfot in the minors this season, deferring the decision on his deal in the process but he has played a big role over his first six games – all wins – that basically forced their hand.  The next threshold to watch for is 27 games, the number that accrues a season of service time towards UFA eligibility.  That’s usually 40 games but has been prorated due to the shortened season.

More from the West:

  • The Ducks are expected to have defenseman Hampus Lindholm back in the lineup on Saturday against Vegas, relays Elliott Teaford of the Orange County Register. The 27-year-old has missed the last three games due to a lower-body injury.  While he won’t do much to bolster their scuffling offense that’s averaging less than two goals per game, Lindholm is a big part of their back end as he logs more than 22 minutes per night on the back end, second on the team to only Kevin Shattenkirk.
  • With Pavel Francouz out long term and the Avalanche having no idea when he’ll be able to return from his lower-body injury, Mike Chambers of the Denver Post argues that Colorado needs to trade for a veteran backup. Philipp Grubauer has been excellent so far this season but while that certainly bodes well for his free agency case, the team also doesn’t want to overtax him knowing they have eyes on a long playoff run.  A more experienced option to allow them to give Grubauer some more time off although with their cap situation, they’ll be forced to look for a low-priced veteran.  Given how goaltending depth has been in high demand this season though, even that may be a task that’s easier said than done.

This Day In Transactions History: The Eventful 2008 Trade Deadline

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This is typically the time of year where trade activity picks up around the league with the trade deadline immediately on the horizon.  Of course, this season is different and we’re still six weeks away from reaching that point.  So instead of looking ahead to what will be coming on the trade front, let’s instead take a look back at one of the busiest trade deadlines in recent memory in the 2008 trade deadline, held 13 years ago today.

There were a total of 24 trades made that day which, in itself, isn’t a particularly high number.  However, it’s who was dealt that made this one more memorable.  Here’s a look back at some of the more notable moves.  (A full listing of the trades can be found here.)

Capitals Add Veterans

Where did Sergei Fedorov finish his Hall of Fame career?  While he was in Detroit for the majority of it, he actually finished up with Washington as the Caps acquired the center as a rental player in exchange for defenseman Theo Ruth, a college prospect at the time that ultimately never made it past the AHL level.  Fedorov made an impact down the stretch and was one of their better performers in what turned out to be an abbreviated playoff run, earning himself another year with the Capitals in the process.

Washington also took the rare step of acquiring a starting goaltender, bringing in Cristobal Huet from Montreal for a second-round pick (which was later dealt and was used to pick Jeremy Morin who had a brief NHL career).  Huet was blocking the pathway to playing time for their goalie of the future in Carey Price and he was nothing short of dominant after being acquired, posting a 1.63 GAA with a .936 SV% following the move.  Unfortunately for him and the Capitals, he faltered in the playoffs as Philadelphia knocked out the Southeast champs in the opening round and Huet moved on to Chicago in free agency.  What made this trade even more unique was that the Canadiens weren’t a typical seller as they wound up the number one seed in the Eastern Conference that year.

Foote Returns To Colorado

The Adam Foote era in Columbus didn’t last particularly long.  Less than three years after leaving the Avalanche via free agency, Colorado opted to re-acquire him as a rental player, sending a first-round pick and a fourth-rounder to the Blue Jackets to bring back the then-36-year-old.  Foote logged more than 20 minutes a night both in the regular season and playoffs and went on to sign to play three more years with them, albeit in a much more limited capacity.  Meanwhile, the two picks the Avs gave up turned into Luca Sbisa and David Savard, both of which are still in the NHL today with Savard still being in Columbus where he’s a fixture in their top-four.

The Hossa Trade

The big prize on the rental market was Marian Hossa.  Atlanta was going to move him, it was just a matter of where and for how much.  Pittsburgh wound up being the destination as they acquired Hossa along with Pascal Dupuis in exchange for Colby Armstrong, Erik Christensen, the rights to Angelo Esposito, and their first-round pick.  At the time, this seemed like a sizable return for the Thrashers, effectively acquiring three first-rounders (Armstrong and Esposito were picked in the first round) plus a promising center for a pair of rentals.

But things didn’t go as well as planned for Atlanta.  Christensen struggled and was eventually moved for a minimal return while Armstrong left in free agency two years later.  Esposito, a high-scoring junior star, struggled mightily in the minors and never made it to the NHL while they used the first-round pick on Daultan Leveille, a player they didn’t even wind up signing, opting instead for a compensation selection in 2013 at the 59th spot which was used on Eric Comrie who has been bouncing around on waivers in recent years.  What was supposed to be a haul of assets to give the Thrashers a boost for the future turned into next to nothing.

On Pittsburgh’s end, Hossa didn’t quite lead them to the Stanley Cup but he led the team in goals in the postseason and was one goal and point shy of grabbing a share of the league lead in those categories.  Of course, he then moved on to Detroit in free agency, the team that beat them for the title.  As for Dupuis, he decided to stay with the Penguins and spent eight more years with them, becoming a fixture in their middle-six.  In the end, even with Hossa ultimately leaving, they still wound up with the better of the trade.

Richards To Dallas

This wasn’t a deadline where just premium rental players were on the move.  How about someone on a max contract?  Back when the salary cap was instituted, the 20% max AAV was $7.8MM which a handful of players had, including Brad Richards.  With three full years left on his contract, the Lightning decided to part ways with Richards along with goaltender Johan Holmqvist to the Stars for winger Jussi Jokinen, center Jeff Halpern, goaltender Mike Smith, and a fourth-round pick (Kyle Bigos who never signed).

In Richards, Dallas got a premier center that, statistically speaking, was at his best with them as he averaged more than a point per game over parts of four seasons with the team before moving on to the Rangers in free agency.  Holmqvist hardly played but Marty Turco was entrenched as the starter so it didn’t matter much.

Tampa Bay was hoping that Smith could become their starter of the future but while he played relatively well – albeit inconsistent at times – it didn’t come to fruition and he left for Phoenix in 2011.  Jokinen was gone less than a year later for a package of depth players while Halpern moved on two years later in another late-season trade.  While it wasn’t the most impressive of returns, the Lightning did manage to get some much-needed cap space; yes, even then they were looking for more money.  Most of their savings went to Vincent Lecavalier’s 11-year, $85MM contract that summer.

Swapping Youngsters

Every good trade deadline needs a ‘pure hockey trade’, one that isn’t primarily fueled by a losing team selling assets or a cap-strapped team moving a player primarily to free up some cap space.  There was one of those at this deadline when Carolina dealt winger Andrew Ladd to Chicago for winger Tuomo Ruutu in a one-for-one swap.  Both teams were playoff-bound but the Hurricanes wanted a bit more grit and sacrificed some offensive upside to do it.

The deal worked out a bit better for Carolina with Ruutu ultimately spending parts of five more years with them, putting up a pair of 50-plus-point seasons along the way.  Ladd, meanwhile, was only with the Blackhawks before being moved to Atlanta in 2010 when they knew they weren’t going to be able to afford to re-sign him as a restricted free agent.  He briefly returned as a trade deadline rental in 2016 before becoming a member of the ill-fated UFA class that summer that several teams are really regretting right about now.

Campbell To San Jose

The Sharks decided to make a run at a long playoff run when they acquired blueliner Brian Campbell (along with a seventh-rounder) from Buffalo in exchange for promising winger Steve Bernier and a first-round pick (used on Tyler Ennis who is still in the league today).  Campbell was great in a San Jose uniform, picking up 19 points in 20 games following the move although he managed just a single goal in 13 playoff games before leaving for Chicago in free agency.  As for Bernier, he wasn’t in Buffalo for long as he was flipped to Vancouver for a 2009 third-round pick (which turned into Brayden McNabb) and a 2010 second-round selection which they then later traded.

Other veterans of some note that were on the move that day were defensemen Brad Stuart (Detroit), Ruslan Salei (Colorado), and Hal Gill (Pittsburgh) while Matt Cooke (Washington) and Frederik Sjostrom (NY Rangers) were among the forwards moved.

No one really knows what this year’s trade deadline is going to be like with it being a shortened season with only divisional play, a tight salary cap, and various quarantine restrictions.  It’s safe to imagine it won’t be quite as busy as the 2008 deadline was but if it comes anywhere close to this, it would certainly make for an exciting one.

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