Philadelphia Flyers Activate Andrew MacDonald, Send Samuel Morin To Minors
Bite your tongues Philadelphia Flyers fans. Defenseman Andrew MacDonald has been activated from injured reserve, meaning 22-year old Samuel Morin is on his way back to the minor leagues. Morin played in just two games with the Flyers, both overtime losses to the New York Islanders. MacDonald on the other hand has been out for more than a month with a leg injury, and has had to watch as his team plummeted towards the bottom of the league. Philadelphia have lost seven straight games, and sit dead last in the tough Metropolitan Division.
MacDonald has been the whipping boy for several years in Philadelphia thanks to his large contract and relatively uninspiring play. Signed to a six-year, $30MM contract just a month after being acquired by the Flyers in the 2014 season, MacDonald has never been able to quite find his footing in Philadelphia and even spent a huge chunk of the 2015-16 season in the minor leagues. He has just 43 points in 186 games for the Flyers, and has generally had poor possession numbers in his career. That wouldn’t be so frustrating for fans if it weren’t for the existence of young players like Morin, who are seemingly blocked from making a real impact while MacDonald’s contract and role on the team remains.
Still, Morin hasn’t done quite enough yet to warrant a full-time role. The 11th-overall pick from 2013 has all the measurables to succeed in the NHL—he stands 6’6″ and skates well for his size—but hasn’t quite been able to live up to the shutdown billing he brings from the high draft pedigree. Compared many times to a young Chris Pronger thanks to his size and propensity to engage physically, Morin’s overall game still needs work as he continues to develop in the minor leagues. With other rookies already dotted throughout the Philadelphia lineup, Morin will have to wait his turn to make an impact this season.
Andrew MacDonald Expected To Return Monday
- The Flyers are expected to get back defenseman Andrew MacDonald back in their lineup for Monday’s game in Pittsburgh, notes Sam Carchidi of the Philadelphia Inquirer. He’s expected to be thrown right into the fire by skating on the top pairing alongside Ivan Provorov. MacDonald has been out for more than a month with a leg injury and ranks fourth on the team in ice time by a defenseman at 19:38 per game.
Metropolitan Notes: Hakstol, Simmonds, Nieves, Malkin
After having lost seven straight games, Philadelphia Flyers’ fans seem to be doing a lot of finger pointing in the direction of head coach Dave Hakstol. There are many questions of his coaching decisions and Charlie O’Connor of The Athletic (subscription required) details how there are many questions that need to be asked about some of his decision-making during Friday’s overtime loss against the New York Islanders.
After an overtime to those same Islanders on Wednesday, Hakstol said he would change up the 3-on-3 rotations in overtime for Friday’s game. The scribe writes that the problem with changing the OT rotations is that none of the combinations had any experience playing together and looked out of place with one another. Even the addition of defenseman Brandon Manning seemed out of place when there were several stronger defensemen to choose from.
O’Connor also said you have to start wondering whether Hakstol is the right person to lead this franchise as it looks more and more like the team is overrun with developing young players. Regardless, he doubts general manager Ron Hextall is ready to make a change. The GM is the one who hired Hakstol and the coach still has more than two years left on his deal. But how long will be able to hold off on making a change if the team continues to lose?
- Still with the Flyers, Sam Carchidi of Philly.com writes that after Friday’s performance against the New York Islanders, Philadelphia Flyers’ Wayne Simmonds is starting to look like his old self after playing through numerous injuries. The scribe writes that Simmonds’ speed has been noticeably faster. He also potted his first goal in the last 14 games. The 29-year-old wing is coming off four straight seasons in which he’s scored 28 or more goals. He has seven goals so far in 23 contests.
- The New York Rangers might be without forward Boo Nieves for a little while, according to Newsday’s Steve Zipay. The rookie center only played in 3:10 of Friday’s game against the Red Wings before he left in the second period with a lower-body injury. According to Zipay, Nieves grabbed his hip during a play during the first period. He had already missed three games earlier this year due to the flu. Veteran David Desharnais, who has been a healthy scratch for three straight games, would likely take over for Nieves.
- Jonathan Bombulie of the Pittsburgh Tribune-Review tweets that Pittsburgh Penguins center Evgeni Malkin will sit out tonight’s game against the Detroit Red Wings with an upper-body injury. He has already missed the team’s last two games, and although he has been skating, he remains day-to-day.
Minor Transactions: 11/22/17
With everyone but St. Louis in action tonight before the day off tomorrow, it could be a busy day for promotions and demotions across the NHL. Keep up with all the action right here:
- The Montreal Canadiens have recalled blue liner Jakub Jerabek from the AHL, according to TVA’s Renaud Lavoie. Jerabek is in his first season in North America after signing with the Habs this summer. However, the Czech native has yet to make his NHL debut, as Montreal has plenty of veteran albeit under-performing defensive depth. However, with the Laval Rocket, Jerabek has 11 points in 17 games and is a +10; impressive totals worthy of a recall. Jerabek also had the option of returning to Europe if he had not been recalled by mid-December, so there is strategy to the Canadiens’ move as well.
- Another young import, Finnish forward Henrik Haapala, could also make his NHL debut tonight. Per NHL.com’s Tom Gulitti, the Florida Panthers have called up the small scoring winger. Haapala is in his first season in North America after scoring 60 points in 51 games in the Finnish Liiga last year. Thus far in 2017-18, Haapala has seven points in 11 games for the AHL’s Springfield Thunderbirds. The Panthers have been liberal with number of call-ups and variety of players called up so far this season, as Haapala is just the latest to join the list.
- Philadelphia is bringing in reinforcements. The team announced the return of young defenseman Samuel Morin and the first recall for forward Danick Martel. Morin is a name most fans recognize as a former first-round pick of the Flyers, however it is Martel who may be more intriguing. In his fourth pro season, Martel has exploded this year, leading the AHL with 14 goals. Martel scored just 20 goals last season and already has half as many points in 17 games as he did all of last year in 68 games. The Flyers surely hope that his hot hand continues at the next level.
- In a corresponding move, Philly also sent defenseman Mark Alt and veteran forward Matt Read to the AHL’s Lehigh Valley Phantoms. It was only a matter of time (and health) before Morin replaced Alt on the NHL roster, but the demotion of Read is certainly a big deal. The long-time Flyer cleared waivers last week and will now head to the minors, his 400+ games of NHL experience not enough to keep him around.
- Colorado has recalled goalie Andrew Hammond and the former Senators keeper could make his Avalanche debut sooner than expected. Hammond was acquired as more or less a salary dump by Ottawa in the recent Matt Duchene–Kyle Turris blockbuster. With Semyon Varlamov and Jonathan Bernier in the net, no one thought Hammond would be anything more than a depth asset for the Avs. However, with Varlamov too sick to even suit up, “The Hamburglar” will get his chance. After a remarkable run for the Sens in 2015-16, Hammond struggled greatly in both the NHL and AHL last season and could use a fresh start.
- The Edmonton Oilers have made a flurry of moves already today, first terminating the contract of Ziyat Paigin, who predictably cleared unconditional waivers yesterday. Paigin came over from the KHL last season, but it was never a good fit between the two sides. Paigin failed to record a point in the only 12 AHL games he played. With no chance of a bump up to the NHL, Paigin wished to return to Russia and the Oilers were more than willing to oblige him. Edmonton then recalled defenseman Ryan Stanton from the Bakersfield Condors. A free agent acquisition this off-season, the journeyman rearguard could help out the struggling Oilers with his sound defensive game. In a corresponding move, veteran forward Brad Malone was reassigned to the AHL.
- Julius Honka is headed back to the minors, as the talented, young blue liner was demoted by the Dallas Stars today in exchange for forward Curtis McKenzie, per a team announcement. The Stars have been underwhelming in 2017-18, but their biggest issues continues to be goal prevention. As promising an offensive defenseman as Honka may be, he’s not what Dallas needs right now. Perhaps two-way forward McKenzie, who is also scoring at a point-per-game pace in the AHL, can help the cause.
Vancouver’s Rodin, Philadelphia’s Read Placed On Waivers
Two players have been placed on waivers today. The Vancouver Canucks announced they have placed Anton Rodin on waivers with the intention of terminating his contract. Elliotte Friedman also reports that Philadelphia Flyers veteran winger Matt Read has also been placed on waivers.
As for Rodin, his stint with Vancouver hasn’t been too successful as injuries and lack of opportunites have hampered him since he signed in Vancouver in the 2016 offseason. The 26-year-old winger asked to be released from his contract, according to Vancouver general manager Jim Benning. A former 2009 second-round pick of the Canucks, he has not played in an NHL game this year and managed to appear in just three last year. He had a goal and an assist in seven games for the Utica Comets.
Read was already placed on waivers before the season started on Oct. 2 and cleared. He played five games for the Lehigh Valley Phantoms in the AHL, scoring one goal, but was recalled on Oct. 19 and has played four games with the Flyers, averaging just 10:54 of ice time on the year. Friedman tweets that the Flyers put Read on waivers to make room for a defenseman after the suspension to Radko Gudas.
Jordan Weal Day-To-Day With Upper-Body Injury
- The Flyers announced that winger Jordan Weal is dealing with an upper-body injury and is listed as day-to-day. This marks the second time he has had an upper-body issue this season. In his first full NHL campaign, Weal has recorded two goals and four assists in 17 contests while averaging just under 14 minutes per game of playing time.
Radko Gudas To Have Phone Hearing Sunday
There is finally a concrete date for decision-making in regards to a developing story over the past two days. After yet another questionable dangerous play from Radko Gudas on Thursday night, the big Philadelphia Flyers defenseman has been on track for his third career suspension and second already this season. The NHL Department of Player Safety had offered Gudas an in-person hearing, however an announcement was made late last night that he has waived this right and has instead opted for a phone hearing which will take place Sunday.
The significance of the choices on both sides are two-fold. Player Safety may only suspend a player for five or more games following an in-person hearing, or at least if such a hearing is offered. While Gudas has waived his right to an in-person hearing, that does not change the fact that he may miss significant time due to his latest transgression. If history is an indicator, an offer for an in-person hearing tends to simply be a procedural way of informing a player that a long suspension is on its way. However, Gudas himself is essentially tacking on an extra game to his absence. By waiving his in-person hearing for the alternative, a phone hearing Sunday, he is not allowed to play for the Flyers until that phone hearing has been completed. That means that Gudas will be ineligible to play in Philly’s matinee match-up against the Calgary Flames tonight, a game in which the Flyers are looking to stay above .500.
Will this latest punishment for Gudas finally get through to him? It may be difficult for a player whose career has been built on physicality to suddenly clean up his act. Since the notorious checker entered the league in 2012-13, he is eighth overall in hits and second among defenseman with 1097. Per game, his 3.8 hits puts him in a class with only Matt Martin, Cal Clutterbuck, and Mark Borowiecki. Yet, only Martin has more penalty minutes in that time span than Gudas’ 12th-ranked 490 and Martin’s total includes 54 fighting majors – which do not leave the team short-handed – to only 94 minors, while Gudas is much more minor-heavy: 129 to 18. For all intents and purposes, Gudas is called for penalties more often than any of the other top hitters in the NHL in his career, and that’s not even counting game misconducts. Without much of an offensive game, it is clear that Gudas owes much of his $3.5MM salary to his physicality, but he is wandering down a dangerous road if he thinks he can continue to be the reckless checker he is now and remain well-paid or even employed in the NHL.
Suspension Could Be Coming For Radko Gudas
Friday: The Department of Player Safety has offered Gudas an in-person hearing, meaning they retain the right to suspend him for more than five games. The hearing does not have a date or time as of yet, but John Shannon of Sportsnet reports that Gudas cannot play for the Flyers until he has the hearing.
Thursday: It might be two days in a row that the NHL’s Department of Player Safety needs to hand out a substantial suspension, as Radko Gudas has been thrown out of the Philadelphia-Winnipeg game tonight. Gudas brought his stick down hard on a grounded Mathieu Perreault, and was given a five minute major for slashing and game misconduct penalty.
Should Gudas receive additional discipline, it wouldn’t be the first time. The Philadelphia Flyers defenseman has received six game misconducts in his career, but had avoided suspension until 2015-16. He’s since been suspended twice, once for an illegal check to the head of Mika Zibanejad and once for interference on Austin Czarnik. The latest suspension was for six games, and since he’s a repeat offender the league could come down hard on him for this incident.
Gudas has seen his minutes reduced this season with the young crop of Flyers defenders taking some more responsibility this season. Should he miss a long period of time, it would be interesting to see who Philadelphia would insert into the lineup. Mark Alt is up with the club as the seventh defender, but Samuel Morin could potentially be recalled from the minor leagues.
Minor Transactions: 11/13/17
Paul Kariya, Teemu Selanne, Dave Andreychuk, Mark Recchi and Danielle Goyette will have their names enshrined in the Hockey Hall of Fame tonight, after spending all weekend in Toronto doing various events. The legends took to the ice yesterday in a game which team Messier won 10-9, one that saw Kariya and Selanne reunited after a mid-game trade. The pair would connect on another goal, hopefully not their last on the ice together.
As the legendary players of the past take a lap and enter the distinguished group of Hall of Famers, we’ll keep track of the next wave of NHL wanna-be stars. As always, all the minor transactions of the day will be right here.
- The Philadelphia Flyers have recalled Mark Alt from the AHL. Alt was only sent down for the weekend, and will now re-join the Flyers for their game tomorrow. Rookie Nolan Patrick is expected to skate with the team today, but there is still no confirmation of when he’ll be back in the lineup.
- With the Ottawa Senators off until Thursday, the team has sent Nick Paul, Ben Harpur and Jack Rodewald back to the AHL. The team will be able to bank cap space for a few days, while the three could get into a game on Wednesday with the Belleville Senators. The team also expects Bobby Ryan and Mark Borowiecki back before long.
- The Winnipeg Jets have assigned Brendan Lemieux to the AHL according to Jamie Thomas of JetsTV. With the return of Mathieu Perreault in today’s practice, Lemieux’s spot is no longer open on the team. He’ll go back to the Manitoba Moose and wait for his next opportunity.
- After placing Antti Niemi on waivers, the Florida Panthers have recalled Curtis Valk from Springfield. The undrafted Valk is off to an incredible start with the AHL Thunderbirds, scoring 15 points in 16 games. The undersized forward earned his first NHL contract this summer after starring with the Utica Comets last season.
- Buffalo has sent Justin Bailey back to the minor leagues, likely indicating he’s healthy enough to get back on the ice. Bailey hasn’t played since October 28th with a lower-body injury, but did have three points in his six previous games. He’ll likely be back with the team before long.
- The Calgary Flames have officially moved Rasmus Andersson back to the AHL, clearing room for Travis Hamonic to be activated from injured reserve. Andersson clearly has a future with the Flames, but will have to wait for another opportunity to get into a full-time role. In two career games he has yet to record an NHL point.
- The Boston Bruins have recalled Kenny Agostino and Peter Cehlarik under emergency conditions due to the absence of Brad Marchand and Anders Bjork from practice today. Marchand and Bjork aren’t travelling with the team as they continue to nurse injuries suffered against Toronto on the weekend. Cehlarik has yet to play for Boston this season after making his NHL debut last year. In 11 games, the 22-year old registered two assists.
- Zac Dalpe, who hasn’t played in the last few games, has been moved to injured reserve by the Columbus Blue Jackets. In his spot, the team has recalled Jordan Schroeder from the Cleveland Monsters. Schroeder has five points in nine games this season for Cleveland, but has never truly been able to lock down a full-time job at the NHL level. In 144 career games, the 27-year old has 40 points.
Eastern Notes: Flyers, Hinostroza, Ryan, Vanecek
For the Philadelphia Flyers, offense seems hard to come by. The Flyers found themselves on the losing end of another shutout Saturday night against the Minnesota Wild — that’s the fourth time this year. According to Philly.com’s Sam Carchidi, Philadelphia is on pace to suffer through 19 shutouts this year. The most the Flyers have ever had was 10 back in the 1968-69 season. Nevertheless, the team needs to find its offense if they want to avoid this trend.
One issue is that one of the team’s top scorers, Wayne Simmonds, has been banged up with nagging injuries and has been held without a goal for nine straight games. The scribe suggests the team look to their AHL affiliate, the Lehigh Valley Phantoms, to try to find someone who could invigorate their offense such as Danick Martel. This addition could give Simmonds some time off to heal.
Martel, who is a two-time 20-goal scorer with the Phantoms is having a breakout year as he’s already put up 14 goals in 15 games. The diminutive forward (5-foot-8, 166-pound forward) might be ready for the challenge of the NHL.
- The Athletic’s Scott Powers tweets that Chicago Blackhawks coach Joel Quenneville was asked about the play of Vinnie Hinostroza with the Rockford IceHogs this season and whether he might be called up soon. The 23-year-old wing, who played 49 games for the Blackhawks last season, didn’t make the team out of training camp, but has played well with his AHL team, putting up seven goals and eight assists in 14 games. Quenneville’s response was that Hinostroza is playing well, but calling him up is not an option since the team is healthy and “it’s not as if we’re disappointed with anyone up here.”
- The Ottawa Sun’s Bruce Garrioch writes that while the team has lost Zack Smith to a dislocated thumb for three weeks, the team might be getting back forward Bobby Ryan soon. The 30-year-old Ryan who has been out for nearly a month with a broken finger could be back soon, although nothing will be decided until later this week. Ryan, who has six assists this season in eight games this year, has been skating while the club has been overseas in Sweden. He’s also been shooting the puck, which suggests he might be ready for Thursday’s game against the Pittsburgh Penguins.
- Washington Capitals goaltending prospect Vitek Vanecek is making his AHL season debut for the Hersey Bears today after missing time with a lower body injury, according to Hershey Bears’ Zack Fisch. The 2014 second-round pick played 39 games for the Hershey Bears last year, putting up a 2.54 GAA and a .909 save percentage.