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Sixteen Players Placed On Waivers

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With the rosters coming into shape, some bigger names are starting to make their way to the waiver wire, according to TVA’s Renaud Lavoie. Today, 16 players were placed on waivers. After everyone cleared from Saturday’s list, will someone get claimed from today’s group?

F Pontus Aberg (Edmonton)
F Kenny Agostino (Montreal)
F Michael Chaput (Montreal)
F Adam Cracknell (Toronto)
F Josh Jooris (Toronto)
D Brett Kulak (Calgary)
F Curtis Lazar (Calgary)
D Vincent LoVerde (Toronto)
D Kurtis MacDermid (Los Angeles)
D Dylan McIlrath (Detroit)
G Mike McKenna (Ottawa)
F Chris Mueller (Toronto)
F Anthony Peluso (Calgary)
F Matt Puempel (Detroit)
D Jordan Subban (Toronto)
D Luke Witkowski (Detroit)

Kulak could be one of the more interesting players who could get claimed as the 24-year-old defenseman played 71 games for the Flames last season and has proven to be a solid third-line pairing defenseman for a team that might need some depth at that position. He was made expendable with the emergency of rookies Rasmus Andersson and Juuso Valimaki in Calgary.

Aberg was also an interesting player, who never gained any trust with management in Edmonton after the Oilers acquired him from Nashville at the trade deadline. One big problem for the scoring winger is that he doesn’t really play on any special teams positions, which keeps him from being a quality role player.

The 23-year-old Lazar is another interesting option if a team needs a depth winger. Unfortunately for the Flames, they never saw significant progression after the team traded a second-round pick (which turned out to be Alex Formenton) for Lazar, who only produced two goals and 12 points in 65 games last season. With their forward depth evident in training camp this year with players like Dillon Dube and Andrew Mangiapane playing well, Lazar was expendable.

Toronto Re-Signs Marincin, Adds Cracknell And Subban

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Nothing that the Toronto Maple Leafs do today will likely ever be remembered outside of signing John Tavares, but the team continues to make tweaks to the rest of its roster with small additions. After it was previously revealed that the Leafs had signed Josh Jooris, the team also added that they re-signed defenseman Martin Marincin and signed veteran forward Adam Cracknell and young defenseman Jordan Subban. All three contracts are for one year. Marincin signed a one-way, $800K deal; Cracknell a one-way, $650K deal; and Subban a two-way deal worth $650K at the NHL level.

More to come…

Minor Transactions: 01/15/18

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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.

Montreal Canadiens Acquire Adam Cracknell

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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

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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

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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

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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

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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

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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

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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.

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