Adam Cracknell

Minor Transactions: 01/15/18

January 15, 2018 at 8:59 am CDT | by Gavin Lee Leave a Comment

The NHL is back at it after an eventful weekend, and now have just a couple of weeks until another break for the All-Star game. Things are tightening up in the standings, and the next month will feature teams finally deciding to sell at the deadline. For all the league’s minor moves, keep it right here.

With the Calgary Flames heading onto their bye week, the team has reassigned Marek Hrivik, Andrew Mangiapane and Ryan Lomberg to the AHL. The Flames don’t play again until Saturday, and will let the trio get into some more game action for the Stockton Heat in the meantime.
The St. Louis Blues are back in action tomorrow after their own bye week, and have recalled three players from the minor leagues. Vince Dunn, Tage Thompson and Ivan Barbashev are all on their way back up from various AHL appointments, and should get back to helping out the NHL squad.
Similarly, the Nashville Predators have flipped Anders Lindback and Juuse Saros once again, bringing the latter back up after giving him some game action during their bye week. Saros got into three games for the Milwaukee Admirals, stopping 94 of 97 shots.
The Toronto Maple Leafs have brought Travis Dermott and Frederik Gauthier back up as expected, but interestingly given Dermott a new number. The young defenseman was wearing #23 for the Maple Leafs at practice according to Kristen Shilton of TSN, instead of the #3 he wore in his first few games.
Peter Holland is back in the NHL, recalled by the New York Rangers today. The team sent Boo Nieves back in his place, giving the team a different look in their forward group. Holland was acquired by the Rangers earlier this year in exchange for Adam Cracknell, but this would be his first action this season should he get into the lineup. Holland was a first-round pick in 2009, but has never quite reached his potential as a top-six center.

Montreal Canadiens Acquire Adam Cracknell

November 30, 2017 at 9:41 am CDT | by Gavin Lee 6 Comments

The Montreal Canadiens have completed a minor trade, swapping minor league forward Peter Holland for Adam Cracknell from the New York Rangers. Cracknell was claimed off waivers from the Dallas Stars earlier this year, but will report directly to the AHL’s Laval Rocket for the time being.

While this is just a minor league swap on paper, both players have considerable NHL experience. Holland was a first-round pick of the Anaheim Ducks in 2009 but could never quite find a role as a top-six center in any of his previous stops. A natural puck-carrying forward, his offense has been limited throughout his career. For Laval this season, he had 18 points in 20 games and will certainly improve the Hartford attack.

Cracknell on the other hand has always been a hard working bottom-six player, but actually had 10 goals last season for the Stars. He was waived early on but couldn’t catch on in New York either. The 32-year old could add some size to Montreal’s group if called up, but is likely just a minor league depth addition at this point.

Morning Moves: Kloos, Petan, Cracknell

October 25, 2017 at 11:11 am CDT | by Gavin Lee Leave a Comment

The Minnesota Wild have sent Justin Kloos back to the minor leagues after getting Mikael Granlund back last night. Kloos also played in the game but received fewer than nine minutes of ice time. The 23-year old forward will certainly get another chance eventually at the NHL level, after excelling at the University of Minnesota.

Kloos is a homegrown talent, born in Lakeville, Minnesota and developed in the state high school ranks before heading to Iowa and the USHL. Undrafted, he would eventually find his way back to star as a Golden Gopher, even captaining the UMN team in his final two years. Kloos signed a two-year entry-level deal this spring, and will continue to try and beat the odds to become the latest undersized forward to go from overlooked prospect to NHL contributor.

The Winnipeg Jets have activated Matt Hendricks from injured reserve, and assigned Nic Petan to the Manitoba Moose. Hendricks is expected to be back in the Jets’ lineup when they take on the Pittsburgh Penguins tomorrow night. The 36-year old forward is in his first year with Winnipeg, after spending the previous few season with Edmonton. Though he can’t be relied upon for much offense, he is tough to play against and has always been excellent in the faceoff dot. He’ll likely work his way onto a penalty kill for the Jets, something he’s done relatively well throughout his career.
Adam Cracknell has cleared waivers for the New York Rangers, something the Dallas Stars couldn’t accomplish earlier this month. The Rangers snagged him and inserted him into the bottom-six, but his role there wasn’t long-lived. After a relatively excellent season a year ago, Cracknell has been held scoreless through the first five games of the season (one for Dallas, four for New York) and now finds himself in limbo. Assigned to the AHL, he’ll join a Hartford Wolf Pack team that is spinning their wheels with a 3-3-1 record.

Boo Nieves Called Up By New York Rangers

October 24, 2017 at 4:34 pm CDT | by Gavin Lee Leave a Comment

Just after sending Anthony DeAngelo down to the AHL and waiving Adam Cracknell, the New York Rangers have decided on who they’ll bring up to fill the roster spot. Cristoval “Boo” Nieves is on his way up to the team, something many fans wanted right from the start of the season.

Nieves will likely get into the lineup right away when the team takes on the Arizona Coyotes on Thursday night, but will have to make quite an impact to turn around the Rangers’ recent fortunes. The team has just two wins on the season and one in their last seven games, while finding it difficult to score on a regular basis. Nieves did contribute offensively at the University of Michigan, but hasn’t found quite the same playmaking ability in the AHL. Through 55 games in the minor league, he has 26 points.

What Nieves will bring, is a big body to slot into the center position for New York. A weak spot after trading away Derek Stepan in the offseason, the depth down the middle has been suspect all year for the Rangers. While Mika Zibanejad does have seven points through ten games, just two of those have come at even strength, where he is being relied upon for nearly 19 minutes a night. If Nieves can find a bit of success, perhaps some of the pressure can be taken off the top two lines and a more balanced attack can be found for the team.

Niemi Claimed By Florida; Cracknell On Waivers

October 24, 2017 at 11:04 am CDT | by Gavin Lee 3 Comments

The waiver period from yesterday has come to a close, and Antti Niemi has been claimed by the Florida Panthers. Niemi was placed on waivers by the Pittsburgh Penguins yesterday after allowing seven goals in his most recent game. Eric Fehr, Jordan Schroeder and Colin McDonald all cleared. The New York Rangers have also placed Adam Cracknell on waivers today.

Roberto Luongo is currently on injured reserve for the Panthers with a hand injury, meaning Niemi will serve as the backup for James Reimer until he’s ready to return. It’s interesting that the team would make a claim for an established backup, and likely indicates that the injury will keep Luongo out for at least a little while. The team had Harri Sateri up with the NHL club on emergency loan, but should be sent back to the AHL later today.

For Fehr, Schroeder and McDonald, clearing waivers doesn’t necessarily mean a trip to the AHL. The Maple Leafs had a scare with James van Riemsdyk last night when he went awkwardly into the boards, and though he didn’t miss a shift there is no rush to move Fehr out. The veteran forward’s spot could be used to bring back Calle Rosen or call up another young forward, but placing him on waivers could have also been an attempt to increase his trade value.

Schroeder was likely ticketed for the AHL until an ankle injury sidelined Lukas Sedlak in practice yesterday. Today, Schroeder is practicing with the team in the absence of Alexander Wennberg (maintenance), and could stay with the club to provide fourth-line depth. As expected, Zac Dalpe moved into that role today but is far from a guarantee to fill it long-term.

After starting the year on season-opening injured reserve, McDonald is likely headed for the AHL as the Flyers don’t have an obvious opening for him. The only two forwards who are waiver-exempt are Nolan Patrick and Travis Konecny, neither of which are going anywhere soon unless the team changes their mind on keeping Patrick past the nine game threshold—he’s currently at eight.

Cracknell is on waivers for the second time already this year, after being claimed by the Rangers from Dallas earlier this month. In four games for New York, he’s been held pointless in seven and a half minutes of ice time per night. Never expected to be much more than fourth line depth, Cracknell could still serve that purpose if he clears tomorrow.

New York Rangers Re-Assign Chytil, Release Desjardins

October 10, 2017 at 9:32 am CDT | by Gavin Lee 2 Comments

After acquiring Adam Cracknell off waivers yesterday, the New York Rangers have decided to assign Filip Chytil to the AHL, and release Andrew Desjardins from his professional tryout. Though it was expected that Chytil would be re-assigned before burning a year of his entry-level contract, most had assumed he would be sent back to the Czech Republic. While that may still happen at some point, for now he will be with the Hartford Wolf Pack of the AHL.

Chytil was a huge surprise at training camp after being selected 21st-overall this summer, showing that he could compete with NHL players right away. The 18-year old made the team over fellow first-rounder Lias Andersson, but wasn’t given much of a chance in game action. Still, getting a chance to see what NHL life is like for at least a few days should help Chytil’s development in the long run. The next step is to decide where he should play for the rest of the season. If he does stay in the AHL, the Rangers can use a more hands-on approach for his deployment and practice habits.

Desjardins was always an afterthought for this roster, and the addition of Cracknell removed any hope he had of eventually earning a contract. While he brings experience in the form of 408 career NHL games and a Stanley Cup, he doesn’t offer much more than that. The 31-year old recorded just a single point last season in Chicago, and has just 64 total for his career.

Dallas Stars Recall Forward Remi Elie

October 10, 2017 at 9:07 am CDT | by Gavin Lee Leave a Comment

The Dallas Stars have replaced the outgoing Adam Cracknell by recalling Remi Elie from the AHL. Cracknell was claimed off waivers yesterday by the New York Rangers. The Stars continue to carry eight defensemen, making Elie their only spare forward on the roster.

With the loss of Cracknell, the Stars have decided to turn to Elie who brings and excellent blend of speed and toughness to their bottom-six. The 22-year old played 18 games with the NHL club last season, scoring seven points and racking up 30 hits. While he was originally drafted—40th-overall in 2013—as more than a bottom-six player, he nevertheless can fit into an energy role on the team and wear down defenders.

The Stars are off to a disappointing 0-2 start after being one of the most active teams this summer. Bringing in Alexander Radulov, Marc Methot, Ben Bishop, Martin Hanzal and others, the team hasn’t seemed to click just yet and has just four goals on the season. Though Elie isn’t the solution to all of their problems, he will offer some youth to the club and perhaps spark them whenever he does get into the lineup. The Stars take on the Red Wings tonight as they look to get back on track.

Adam Cracknell Claimed By New York Rangers

October 9, 2017 at 11:12 am CDT | by Gavin Lee Leave a Comment

The New York Rangers have claimed Adam Cracknell off waivers from the Dallas Stars, while Michael Bournival of the Tampa Bay Lightning has cleared and been assigned to the Syracuse Crunch. Cracknell will now compete for playing time in New York, though it will be interesting to see what corresponding move the Rangers make.

As Brian wrote yesterday, Cracknell spent all of last season with the Stars, suiting up for a career-high 69 games. His 10 goals and 16 points were also both easily career bests, and he provided a big body that was versatile enough to play different forward positions. At 32, he doesn’t offer much upside but can provide decent penalty killing and responsible bottom-six play.

The Rangers had been carrying just 22 players on their roster, with Jesper Fast starting the year on injured reserve. While Cracknell’s addition certainly puts his name in the mix for fourth-line minutes, it doesn’t necessarily mean that he’ll get into the lineup right away. The team, who bounced back from an 8-5 loss at the hands of the Toronto Maple Leafs to shutout the Montreal Canadiens last night, will have a decision to make on young Filip Chytil.

Chytil was a healthy scratch last night after seeing fewer than 13 total minutes of ice time in the first two games combines. While he was impressive in training camp, if the team is unwilling to give him time to develop in-game he’s not long for the NHL. The 18-year old can play seven more games in the league before burning a year of his entry-level contract.

Stars Place Adam Cracknell On Waivers

October 8, 2017 at 11:31 am CDT | by Brian La Rose Leave a Comment

Though there was no activity on the waiver wire on Saturday, that’s not the case today as the Stars have placed winger Adam Cracknell on waivers, according to Mike Heika of the Dallas Morning News (Twitter link). He adds that this could be a case where the team is just looking for some additional roster flexibility instead of looking to send him to the AHL right away.

Cracknell spent most of last season as a regular in Dallas, playing in a career-best 69 games while collecting ten goals and six assists, also career highs. He has played in one of two games for the Stars this season and was held off the scoresheet.

The 32-year-old has played parts of eight NHL seasons with St. Louis, Columbus, Vancouver, Edmonton, and Dallas, getting into 204 games while recording 43 points (22-21-43). He’s on a one-way contract worth $675K and is set to be an unrestricted free agent in July.

It’s also possible that the Stars could be looking to create a little bit more salary cap flexibility. They currently have only $635K in cap room per CapFriendly and could conceivably be looking to shift Cracknell back and forth and save a bit of money in the process. They don’t really have the ability to do that with too many other players as defenseman Julius Honka is the only waiver-exempt player on the roster.

Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.

Salary Cap Deep Dive: Dallas Stars

September 3, 2017 at 8:50 pm CDT | by Holger Stolzenberg 1 Comment

Navigating the Salary Cap is probably one of the more important tasks for any general manager to have. Teams that can avert total cap chaos by walking the tightrope of inking players to deals that match their value (or compensate for future value without breaking the bank) remain successful. Those that don’t see struggles and front office changes.

PHR will look at every NHL team and give a thorough look at their cap situation heading into the 2017-18 season. This will focus more on those players who are integral parts of the roster versus those who may find themselves shuttling between the AHL and NHL. All cap figures are courtesy of CapFriendly.

Dallas Stars

Current Cap Hit: $75,196,355 (over the $75MM Upper Limit)

Entry-Level Contracts

F Devin Shore (One year remaining, $870K)
D Julius Honka (Two years remaining, $863K)

Potential Bonuses

Honka: $500K

Total: $500K

Despite a disappointing season a year ago, the Dallas Stars did have some young players who showed some promise. Shore was one of those players. A second-round pick in 2010, the 23-year-old had a decent first year with the Stars, scoring 13 goals and adding 20 assists and playing in all 82 contests. What Shore did not get much of was ice time, as he averaged just 14:08 on the ice. That may change this year as there are many who believe he could be a top-six forward right now. Honka is another player who got a little bit of time with the Stars last year. The 21-year-old defender, their first-round pick from 2014, has already fared well with the AHL’s Texas Stars. He scored seven goals and added 24 assists in 50 games with them and got 16 games with Dallas at the end of the year and picked up five points. He is a likely candidate to make the team this year.

One Year Remaining, Non-Entry-Level

G Kari Lehtonen ($5.9MM, UFA)
D Dan Hamhuis ($3.75MM, UFA)
F Antoine Roussel ($2MM, UFA)
D Jamie Oleksiak ($965K, RFA)
D Patrik Nemeth ($945K, RFA)
D Greg Pateryn ($800K, UFA)
D Stephen Johns ($725K, RFA)
F Curtis McKenzie ($700K, UFA)
F Brian Flynn ($700K, UFA)
F Mattias Janmark ($700K, RFA)
F Adam Cracknell ($675K, UFA)

That’s a long list, but the team really has few major worries about re-signing free agents next season. Lehtonen was a buyout candidate this offseason after the team had too many goaltenders. Instead, they held onto him to be their backup, but at $5.9MM, that’s an expensive backup who played 59 games and had a save percentage of .902. The team will rejoice at their salary cap savings next season. As for Hamhuis, the 34-year-old blueliner will need to have a big year if he wants another contract.

The 27-year-old Roussel is a different story. Everything depends on how he plays, but Dallas would like to see more offense than 12 goals from him to go with his 115 penalty minutes he picked up last year. The same holds true for Oleksiak, although he will be a restricted free agent, but the 24-year-old defenseman must show he can win a full-time job. He only managed 41 games last year. Johns, however, will likely be retained next year. He managed to get into 61 games last year and currently expected to make the team.

Two Years Remaining

F Jason Spezza ($7.5MM, UFA)
F Tyler Seguin ($5.75MM, UFA)
D Marc Methot ($4.9MM, UFA)
D Esa Lindell ($2.2MM, RFA)
F Brett Ritchie ($1.75MM, RFA)

This will be where the Stars must make some key decisions. Seguin will be their top target as re-signing their star will be essential. The 25-year-old center forced his way out of Boston and landed in Dallas where is career really took off. He has put up 133 goals in four seasons and even though he had a bit of a down year last year (26 goals), everyone did. He should move back to center this year under coach Ken Hitchcock and is expected to have a big year, despite having shoulder surgery. He is expected back for training camp.

Spezza, on the other hand, will be 36 when his contract expires and his numbers have been declining for the last few years. At $7.5MM, there are many better ways to improve this team than his 15 goals and 35 assists. No one is quite sure what Methot will do in Dallas. Acquired from the Vegas Golden Knights after the expansion draft, Methot is a very good defensive player, but injuries have stood in his way – often freak injuries like the finger slash. He has never once in his career played an 82-game season and he’s 32. He played 68 games last year, so the stars are hoping for a big season from him despite his expensive price tag.

Lindell was signed to a two-year extension just this offseason. The 23-year-old got into 73 games in his first full season with the Stars. He had a quiet, but solid season for Dallas and should be part of their long-term future. Ritchie is also a commodity the Stars will want to lock up in two years. His first full season produced 16 goals. Along with his 6-foot-3 size and his speed, he is a candidate for a breakout season this year.

Three Years Remaining

F Martin Hanzal ($4.75MM, UFA)
F Radek Faksa ($2.2MM, RFA)
F Tyler Pitlick ($1MM, RFA)

After the team will be forced to pay up for players like Seguin, Lindell and Ritchie, the team won’t have as much to spend one year later. Hanzal, who just signed a three-year deal with Dallas this offseason, is already 30 years old. Will he be worth bringing back in three years? It will depend on his success over the next three years, but if they can get 20 goals like he put up this last year between Arizona and Minnesota, perhaps they would. Faksa will be a restricted free agent, but like Ritchie, could be in line for a big season this year. The 23-year-old had 12 goals and 33 points this past year and is already praised for his defensive play. Once his offensive skills catch up, he should put up good numbers. Pitlick is more of an unknown. Signed from Edmonton this summer, the 25-year-old had eight goals in 31 games, but has never been able to crack the Oilers’ lineup. He hopes to get that chance this year.

Four Or More Years Remaining

F Jamie Benn ($9.5MM through 2024-25)
F Alexander Radulov ($6.25MM through 2021-22)
G Ben Bishop ($4.92MM through 2022-23)
D John Klingberg ($4.25MM through 2021-22)

The team has only a handful of long-term contracts, starting with Benn, who had a 41-goal season in the 2015-16 season and was rewarded with an eight-year extension at $9.5MM. Unfortunately, he put up only 26 goals last year, the first year in the deal. However, there is the general belief that the 28-year-old will bounce back and put up another big season like he had the three years before. Expect those numbers to also go up with this year’s big free agent acquisition in Radulov. The former Canadiens wing came over from the KHL last year and put up an 18-goal season and is likely to team up with Benn this season. The 31-year-old is expected to put up big numbers, but will he be worth the contract when he is in his mid-thirties?

Bishop is another one of the team’s big acquisitions after the Stars acquired him from the Los Angeles Kings and signed him to a six year deal for 4.92MM per year. He dominated for many years with the Tampa Bay Lightning, but became expendable to the Lightning and later to the Kings who traded for him at the deadline this year. But despite a slightly down year, Bishop should be able to produce with his 2.32 career GAA. Klingberg is also a key piece to the Stars puzzle. The 25-year-old blueliner has been the team’s star on defense, putting up 13 goals and 49 points last season. His deal almost looks like a bargain at $4.25MM.

Buyouts

Antti Niemi ($1.5MM for 2017-18 and $1.5MM for 2018-19)

Retained Salary Transactions

None

Still To Sign

None

Best Value: Klingberg
Worst Value: Radulov

Looking Ahead

After a extremely disappointing season that saw them go from a team that reached the second round of the playoffs to a team that placed sixth in the Central Divison, the Stars went out and spent some money. They picked up Hanzal, Radulov and traded and signed Bishop all for big money. They have quite a bit of youth that are mixed in to their veteran players and if those players emerge, the Stars should be able to easily get back into the playoff mix. Obviously, the need to make sure they retain Seguin, but with an influx of defenseman like Klingberg, Lindell, Honka and 2017 third-overall pick Miro Heiskanen, the team should be ready to move on from some of their veteran defenders. The team also has high hopes they can eventually bring back 2014 first-rounder Valeri Nichushkin, who left the organization a year ago to play in the KHL. All in all, the Stars should be in good shape for the future.

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