AHL Shuffle: 10/24/21
After 26 teams suited up for NHL action on Saturday, just eight will do so on Sunday. Starting off the action today are the Boston Bruins and San Jose Sharks, two teams with seemingly little in common but are in fact the two most successful regular season teams in the salary cap era. Even with a relatively quiet slate, just as many teams could be making moves in response to yesterday’s games as are preparing for their games today, so be on the lookout for a number of roster tweaks throughout the day:
Atlantic Division
- The Ottawa Senators have made a roster swap, reassigning forward Parker Kelly to AHL Belleville and recalling goaltender Filip Gustavsson in his place. Ottawa starter Matt Murray left Saturday’s game with an injury and Gustavsson is the next man up for the Sens. Gustavsson was actually the goaltender protected by Ottawa in this summer’s NHL Expansion Draft and the team’s future in net, so this could be the opportunity he needs for a to secure a permanent role at the top level. The Ottawa Sun’s Bruce Garrioch expects Murray to land on injured reserve.
- With Nick Foligno landing on IR and Craig Smith and Anton Blidh also sidelined with injuries, the Bruins are in need of reinforcements up front. They have recalled Jack Studnicka and Oskar Steen from AHL Providence while sending down defenseman John Moore in order to bring in that extra help. Studnicka, considered one of Boston’s top prospects, was a standout in the preseason and will try to make the most of this chance to stick in the NHL.
Metropolitan Division
- The Philadelphia Flyers have returned defenseman Nick Seeler to the minors, per CapFriendly. The 28-year-old was recalled on an emergency basis on Saturday and logged just under 15 minutes of ice time in their loss to Florida. Seeler has been held off the scoresheet in three games so far this season.
Central Division
- Per Colorado Hockey Now’s Adrian Dater, the Colorado Avalanche have assigned forward Mikhail Maltsev to the AHL’s Colorado Eagles. It’s likely a move meant to accrue cap space, as Maltsev does not have to pass through waivers. His assignment leaves Colorado with only one extra skater on the roster and no extra forwards. Maltsev has no points in three games this season with the big club, playing under 10 minutes per game.
- The Chicago Blackhawks have recalled defenseman Ian Mitchell from the Rockford IceHogs ahead of tonight’s game. The news comes after Jujhar Khaira and Riley Stillman will be unavailable tonight due to COVID-19 protocol.
Pacific Division
This post will be updated throughout the day
Minor Transactions: 10/23/21
A slow news day Saturday at the NHL level doesn’t mean that there hasn’t been movement in other parts of the hockey world. The season is in full swing at all tiers of the game, and movement at the minor and junior levels of the game is a constant. Here are some of today’s minor moves from around the hockey landscape.
- The AHL’s Springfield Thunderbirds have added a duo of youngsters to the squad, as the St. Louis Blues reassigned Keean Washkurak and Mathias Laferriere there from the ECHL’s Worcester Railers per the ECHL’s transactions page. The 20-year-old Washkurak was a Blues fifth-round selection in 2019 and will play his first full professional season in North America this year. He spent last season with HK Levice in the second-tier Slovakian league. Laferriere is a year older but will play his first professional season in 2021-22 after spending last season as an overage player with the Blainville-Boisbriand Armada in the QMJHL, scoring 39 points in 30 games.
- The WHL’s Victoria Royals acquired hulking defenseman Anson McMaster via trade from the Winnipeg Ice today. McMaster, now 19, is a long shot to be drafted with just seven points in 80 career WHL games. Yet his 6′ 6″, 209-pound frame is appealing and makes him a candidate to succeed at the minor-league level when his junior career has concluded. The Alberta native enters his final year of junior eligibility next season.
Joel Edmundson Returning To Montreal Canadiens After Leave Of Absence
Montreal Canadiens defenseman Joel Edmundson is returning to the team after a leave of absence and is back in the city, per TVA’s Renaud Lavoie. As he continues to recover from an injury that’s kept him out since the beginning of the season, Lavoie reports he’s expected to make his season debut within the next two weeks.
Edmundson took an indefinite leave of absence from the team just a few days again in order to be with his father who’s currently dealing with cancer. It’s a promising sign that Edmundson is already back in Montreal and working towards a return.
Any change would help the Habs right now, who are reeling with an 0-5-0 start. Edmundson played over 20 minutes a night last season, supplementing 13 points in 55 games with solid defensive play. He played over 23 minutes a night in the playoffs, forming a formidable pairing with Jeff Petry. That’s where he could slot again once he returns to the lineup, allowing head coach Dominique Ducharme to experiment with some different pairings to stop the bleeding.
Edmundson is in the second season of a four-year, $14MM deal ($3.5MM cap hit) he signed with Montreal after they acquired his signing rights in September 2020.
His return could potentially mark the healthiest Montreal’s defense will be all season if there are no further injuries, as Shea Weber is expected to be absent for the entire year.
East Notes: Smith, Norlinder, Daws
The New Jersey Devils will get some reinforcement on the defensive end tonight as second-year ‘D’-man Ty Smith will make his season debut tonight after missing the first week-and-a-half with injury, per the team. A move prefaced by the waiving and subsequent assignment of Colton White to the AHL’s Utica Comets, Smith likely makes his season debut on a pairing with Damon Severson. The Devils are now at full strength on defense for the first time this year, and the new-look group that also includes Ryan Graves and Dougie Hamilton will get a real chance to shine tonight at home against the Buffalo Sabres as the team looks to improve to a 3-1-0 record. Smith finished seventh in Calder Trophy voting last season, scoring two goals and 21 assists in 48 games.
More notes from today in the Eastern Conference:
- Per The Athletic’s Marc-Antoine Godin, Canadiens defense prospect Mattias Norlinder will resume skating this week after missing the beginning of the 2021-22 season. While he’s loaned to Frolunda of the Swedish Hockey League this season, the Habs prospect had a strong camp and this year is an important one in his development. A third-round pick of the squad in 2019, Norlinder had a respectable 10 points in 37 games last year in Sweden and looks to continue his growth on a defense core that also includes the Detroit Red Wings’ Simon Edvinsson and former NHLer Christian Folin.
- Netminder Nico Daws is making his NHL debut tonight for the New Jersey Devils, the team announced this morning. With Mackenzie Blackwood still on injured reserve and Jonathan Bernier still day-to-day with a lower-body injury, a tandem of Daws and Scott Wedgewood will have to do it for now in Jersey. Wedgewood allowed four goals in a loss to the Washington Capitals on Thursday, so the team will give Daws a chance tonight to show what he can do. The 20-year-old was drafted 84th overall in 2020.
Pacific Notes: Gaudreau, McTavish, Whitecloud, Doughty
Flames winger Johnny Gaudreau is one of the more intriguing players in the 2022 UFA class. He’s not that far removed from being a point-per-game player – a mark he hit as recently as 2018-19 – but his per-game production has dipped the last two seasons. In a piece for Daily Faceoff, former Sabres assistant GM Steve Greeley examined Gaudreau’s situation, highlighting how term will be a big element as the 28-year-old will likely be looking for that one last big deal over a short-term pact that gets him back to the market in a more favorable cap environment a few years from now. Gaudreau is in the final year of a deal that carries a $6.75MM AAV and it will cost a bit more than that on his next contract.
More from around the Pacific Division:
- Ducks center Mason McTavish returned to practice on Friday as he works his way back from a lower-body injury sustained on Monday against Calgary, notes Elliott Teaford of the Orange County Register. The third-overall pick in 2021 has a goal and an assist in three games this season and could be activated for Tuesday’s game versus Winnipeg.
- Golden Knights defenseman Zach Whitecloud is listed as week-to-week after suffering an injury in the second period last night against Edmonton, relays Jesse Granger of The Athletic (Twitter link). Granger adds that there is concern that the 24-year-old may have broken his hand. That paves the way for Daniil Miromanov to make his NHL debut on Sunday.
- Kings defenseman Drew Doughty won’t play in the remaining two games of their current road trip and will undergo imaging for the injury he sustained last night, reports Sportsnet’s Elliotte Friedman (Twitter link). That paves the way for Olli Maatta to make his season debut tonight against St. Louis.
Metropolitan Notes: Bean, Brown, Ellis, Varlamov
After having a limited role in Carolina last season, there were rumblings that Jake Bean had asked to be traded. The blueliner told Aaron Portzline of The Athletic (subscription link) that while his camp indicated to the Hurricanes that they felt a fresh start would be beneficial, it wasn’t a formal trade request. After he was left unprotected in expansion, it was widely anticipated he’d be picked by Seattle but that didn’t happen. Instead, Bean was moved to the Blue Jackets at the draft and signed a three-year, $7MM deal after. The 23-year-old is logging more than 21 minutes a game so far this season, more than seven minutes higher than his ATOI with Carolina last year. After being unsure about what his role would have been if he had stayed with the team that drafted him, Bean is getting plenty of ice time in Columbus.
More from the Metropolitan:
- Flyers winger Patrick Brown has recovered from his bout with COVID-19 and was cleared to rejoin the team at practice on Friday. However, as Sam Carchidi of the Philadelphia Inquirer points out, the recent waiver claim from Vegas won’t be able to travel with the team at the start of their Canadian road trip. While he has cleared NHL protocol for the number of days since a positive test, Canada’s timeline is a little longer so Brown will have to travel separately next week once he reaches the 14-day mark.
- Still with the Flyers, defenseman Ryan Ellis will miss tonight’s game due to a lower-body issue, notes Olivia Reiner of the Philadelphia Inquirer. Ellis had been missing practices with a lower-body injury but head coach Alain Vigneault indicated that he’s unsure if this injury is related to that one. He’s expected to be available to play on their upcoming road trip and is listed as day-to-day.
- The undisclosed injury that held Islanders goalie Semyon Varlamov out of training camp will sideline him for at least the next two games, relays Newsday’s Andrew Gross (Twitter link). Ilya Sorokin is off to a tough start to his second season having allowed 14 goals in his first four appearances but will be counted on as the starter for a little while longer at least.
Colton White Clears Waivers
Saturday: White has cleared waivers, Friedman reports. No one was placed on waivers today.
Friday: With Ty Smith set to come off injured reserve this weekend, the New Jersey Devils have placed Colton White on waivers according to Elliotte Friedman of Sportsnet.
White, 24, was a fourth-round pick of the Devils in 2015 that has never been able to establish himself as anything more than an injury call-up. He’s played a handful of games in each of the last four seasons, including two early on for New Jersey this year. Averaging just over 12 minutes a night in those games, his play was adequate for the role he was in. White even recorded a point–the first of his career–on a Jimmy Vesey goal a few nights ago.
There seems little risk of him being claimed, given the acquiring team would need to keep him in the NHL, but even if he does the Devils have some other options to fill that depth role. Already they were carrying eight defensemen after claiming Mason Geertsen earlier this month, though they’ve been using him as a forward through the early part of the season. Should White clear, he’ll likely return at some point this year if the team deals with any other injuries on the blue line.
Atlantic Notes: Bertuzzi, Pinto, Mrazek, Bruins
The Red Wings are declining to disclose whether or not they have suspended winger Tyler Bertuzzi for tonight’s game in Montreal, reports Helene St. James of the Detroit Free Press (Twitter link). Bertuzzi was unable to accompany the team on their trip as he’s unvaccinated which gives Detroit the option to suspend him without pay. That’s not a mandatory requirement, however, and as they’re well below the salary cap, the potential for savings on that front wouldn’t make much of a difference. Head coach Jeff Blashill indicated that they prefer to “keep it internally” when it comes to their decision on the 26-year-old who has five goals in four games so far this season.
Elsewhere in the Atlantic:
- The Senators will know more about the extent of Shane Pinto’s injury this weekend, relays Postmedia’s Ken Warren. The team is hopeful that the rookie center won’t be out for long after sustaining what appeared to be a shoulder injury on Thursday versus San Jose. Pinto made an immediate impact after turning pro late last season with seven points in twelve games and has an assist in four contests this season.
- Maple Leafs goaltender Petr Mrazek is progressing as anticipated in his recovery from a groin injury, head coach Sheldon Keefe told reporters including Postmedia’s Terry Koshan. The netminder will accompany Toronto on their upcoming three-game road trip although he may not be able to get back in the lineup next week.
- The Bruins will be without both Anton Blidh and Nick Foligno for their game tomorrow against Buffalo, the team announced (Twitter link). Foligno left Wednesday’s game with an upper-body injury while Blidh was injured Friday in his first appearance of the season. Head coach Bruce Cassidy stated the expectation is that Jack Studnicka will be recalled from AHL Providence.
Stars’ Hakanpaa Will Not Face League Discipline For Hit On Kings’ Doughty
Los Angeles Kings fans held their collective breaths last night as stud defenseman Drew Doughty had to be helped off the ice following a knee injury. The incident unfolded late in the second period of the Kings’ match-up with the Dallas Stars on Friday. New Stars defenseman Jani Hakanpaa delivered a knee-to-knee hit on Doughty as he entered the offensive zone, resulting in immediate and visible pain for the decorated veteran (video). Doughty did not return to the game, but neither did Hakanpaa, who was assessed a five-minute major for kneeing and a game misconduct. L.A. would score on the resulting power play but eventually lost in overtime.
It seems that the league has decided that Hakanpaa has already served his due punishment for the hit in question. Matthew DeFranks of The Dallas Morning News reports that Hakanpaa will not face any supplemental league discipline for the hit. The NHL Department of Player Safety explained to DeFranks that their analysis was that Hakanpaa did not extend his knee and maintained his body position throughout the hit. The video backs up this claim, although it does seem as if the knee-to-knee contact was the targeted approach. While Player Safety is not tasked with making any supplemental discipline equitable with the talent level or injury length of the victim of a play, it is a tough pill to swallow for Kings’ fans who lost the far superior defenseman and the game on Friday night.
Fortunately, Daily Faceoff’s Frank Seravalli reports that the early results on Doughty are positive. The team believes that he has avoided any significant injury and may only have a minor knee sprain. They are still waiting on a final diagnosis, but this comes as a relief given the anguish displayed by the tough veteran on the ice following the hit. Seravalli notes that not only Los Angeles but also Team Canada will be happy that Doughty will not miss an extended period of time in this Olympic year.
AHL Shuffle: 10/23/21
There’s no rest on the weekend for NHL clubs, especially early in the season when teams are still constantly tweaking lineups. With 13 games on the docket, all but six teams are preparing their rosters for game day as well. Follow along with all of the back-and-forth of minor league transactions throughout the day:
Atlantic Division
- The Buffalo Sabres have recalled forward Brett Murray from the AHL’s Rochester Americans. The upstart Sabres suffered their first loss of the season last night and are right back in action today, hoping that adding Murray to the mix can help get them back on their surprising early track. Murray recorded nine goals and 20 points in 27 AHL games last year and got into two NHL games as well, so he is ready to take the next step this season.
- The Tampa Bay Lightning recalled defenseman Fredrik Claesson from the Syracuse Crunch, per a team press release. As young defenseman Cal Foote sits with Syracuse currently on a conditioning stint, the Lightning were only carrying 19 players on the active roster. The reacquired Alex Barre-Boulet was the only extra man. Claesson comes back up to the big squad, serving as an extra body and veteran presence at 28 years old.
Metropolitan Division
- Nick Seeler should be earning frequent Flyer miles for all of these moves. The veteran defenseman has been swapped between the NHL and AHL more than any other player early this season and is on his way back up to Philadelphia yet again. The team has announced that Seeler has been recalled from the Lehigh Valley Phantoms, likely as insurance with Ryan Ellis still sidelined with a minor injury.
- The Penguins announced the recall of defenseman Juuso Riikola from Wilkes-Barre/Scranton of the AHL. His promotion was needed with Kris Letang entering COVID protocol. Riikola has 75 career games played in the NHL but only two were last season as he spent most of the year on Pittsburgh’s taxi squad.
Central Division
- Brandon Cain of On Tap Sports reports that the Chicago Blackhawks have recalled Reese Johnson from the AHL. The 23-year-old forward is off to a good start with AHL Rockford, recording a goal and an assist in the team’s first three games. Johnson played in five games with the Blackhawks last season while notching eight points in 18 games with the Ice Hogs. Chicago needs a spark – maybe Johnson can provide. The team has since confirmed the move.
Pacific Division
- CapFriendly reports the Los Angeles Kings have recalled defenseman Austin Strand from AHL Ontario. Strand will serve as the team’s seventh defenseman for the time being after Drew Doughty was injured in a game against the Dallas Stars Friday night. Strand got into 13 games with the Kings last season, notching his first NHL point in the form of an assist.
This post will be updated throughout the day