Minor Transactions: 03/28/18
Tonight’s games are the first time the NHL situation room will have control over goaltender interference reviews, which will undoubtedly come up at some point in the four games on tap. If it does, we’ll get to see the first instance of what should be a more consistent decision-making process. Hopefully, all the kinks will be ironed out before the playoffs start in a few weeks.
As always, we’ll keep track of all the minor moves around the league heading into tonight’s action. Check back throughout the day for more updates.
- The Ottawa Senators have sent Ben Sexton back to the minor leagues, after playing just eight minutes last night for the club. The 26-year old forward made his NHL debut on Monday, but will have to wait some more for his next chance.
- The Colorado Avalanche have recalled Andrew Hammond, as Semyon Varlamov is dealing with an illness and cannot start tonight. According to Adrian Dater of BSN Denver, Hammond looks like he’ll make his Colorado debut tonight in an important game against the Philadelphia Flyers. The Avalanche are one point out of the playoffs after their most recent loss, though will be playing their game in hand over the Anaheim Ducks tonight.
- With the Charlotte Checkers in the midst of a playoff run, the Carolina Hurricanes have sent Warren Foegele and Roland McKeown back to the minor leagues. They could be back up next week, after showing their worth at the NHL level recently.
- The Philadelphia Flyers have activated Michal Neuvirth from injured reserve, which means the end of the run for Alex Lyon for the time being. Neuvirth hasn’t played since February 18th, and is coming back just in time to help the Philadelphia playoff run. Things aren’t locked in for the Flyers just yet, but getting healthy in net can only help.
How Flyers Can Deal With Injuries In Net
Things have been going well for the Philadelphia Flyers. The team has won six of their past ten games and are firmly engaged in a battle for a Metropolitan Division playoff spot. However, the one shortcoming of the Flyers for years now has again reared its ugly head: goaltending. Philly’s goalies have performed well this season, with starter Brian Elliott holding 21 wins and backup Michal Neuvirth performing statistically even better as Elliott’s understudy. For the first time in years, goalie performance has not been a defining issue for the Flyers. However, Elliott is now out of the picture for the time being after suffering a core muscle injury earlier in the month which required surgery and could keep him sidelined through the end of March. Meanwhile, Neuvirth succumbed to a lower-body injury earlier today and had to leave the Flyers’ match-up with the rival New York Rangers. While young Alex Lyon performed admirably in relief, allowing only one goal en route to his first NHL win, the Flyers face a real possibility of being without their top two goalies for some time. So what do they do?
1) Stand Pat
It’s too early to know how long Neuvirth will be out, so the Flyers could let cooler heads prevail and wait to see what the prognosis is on his injury. If Neuvirth will simply miss a few games, the team could rely on Lyon and veteran journeyman Dustin Tokarski, acquired in October for this exact emergency situation, for the time being. Lyon, a former phenom at Yale University, has struggled in limited NHL action this season, but has been good for the AHL’s Lehigh Valley Phantoms in each of the last two seasons. Now could be a good time to see what the 25-year-old brings to the table.
2) Acquire a stopgap
Perhaps if Lyon had more than three NHL appearances or Tokarski had more than 10 minutes of NHL action in the past two years, the Flyers would be willing to stick with this tandem, even if Neuvirth remains out for a week or two. Maybe if Anthony Stolarz, shut down for the season after knee surgery in September, was available they would be fine with waiting for Elliott and Neuvirth to return to health. However, the Flyers are in the middle of a playoff race and cannot afford to stick with such inexperienced options for more than a handful of games nor wait on injury timelines with the NHL Trade Deadline a week away. Instead, they could turn to the trade market and look for a short-term option. There isn’t much goalie talk on the rumor mill right now, other than the fact that the Flyers turned down a recent offer from the Detroit Red Wings of Petr Mrazek for a third-round pick. They could certainly revisit bringing in the impending restricted free agent for a tryout down the stretch. The team could also look at trading for San Jose Sharks backup Aaron Dell, who’s having a breakout year and comes with a cheap price tag for the remainder of the season. However, the Sharks are a fellow playoff-chaser and might be hesitant to move their backup unless they were getting another in return, either Neuvirth or Elliott. Other options could include Michael Hutchinson from the Winnipeg Jets (though they too have injury issues in net), Andrew Hammond from the Colorado Avalanche, or one of the many minor league keepers from Toronto or Calgary, if those teams are willing to deal.
3) Acquire a starter
Of course, the Flyers could also take this opportunity to bring in a starting-caliber goalie; one who could eliminate the worry of whether Elliott will be healthy by playoff time. Philadelphia could look at short-term starter, such as impending free agents Antti Raanta from Arizona or Robin Lehner (RFA) from Buffalo. However, more interestingly, they could also look for a long-term fit. Both Elliott and Neuvirth are only signed through next season. If they could send one or the other back in a trade, they could look to acquire a starter with term on his contract. That could be as easy as bringing in Lehner or Mrazek with the intention of extending them. Either one could do the job for a few years, bridging the gap to star prospect Carter Hart. It could also open the door to Detroit’s other goalie, Jimmy Howard, who could benefit from a change of scenery with one year left on his deal. The Vancouver Canucks could entertain moving Jacob Markstrom during a down year, though he may not be much of an upgrade over Philly’s current stable and is signed for two more seasons. One possible dark horse candidate would be Colorado starter Semyon Varlamov, who has been outplayed by backup Jonathan Bernier this season and is signed through 2018-19 at an expensive $5.9MM cap hit. For those of you thinking Carey Price though, think again.
Injury Notes: Granlund, Hendricks, Hutchinson, Elliott
The Vancouver Canucks took another injury hit when they announced that forward Markus Granlund will be out for a month with an ankle injury, which he suffered Thursday night against the Tampa Bay Lightning. He landed awkwardly on his ankle after being bumped on the boards by Ryan Callahan.
The 24-year-old Granlund was expected to be a big contributor this season after a breakout season last year when he scored 19 goals. However, that hasn’t been the case this year. He has eight goals so far this year in 53 games and has seen less average ice time as he’s seeing almost a minute less than last year.
As reported earlier, the Canucks recalled Nikolay Goldobin from the Utica Comets of the AHL.
- The Winnipeg Jets announced they have activated veteran center Matt Hendricks off of injured reserve and placed goaltender Michael Hutchinson on injured reserve to make room for him. Hendricks, who was signed to a one-year deal this offseason, was out with an upper body injury and has missed the past two games. The team’s fourth-line center, Hendricks has put up a solid season with four goals and eight assists. Hutchinson was placed on IR, retroactive to Feb. 6. He was called up to replace backup Steve Mason, who went down with a concussion. However, Hutchinson himself suffered a concussion in a pre-game skate on that date. Eric Comrie is filling in as an emergency backup.
- The Philadelphia Flyers might be without starting goaltender Brian Elliott again after he had to leave Saturday’s game with a lower-body injury, according to Philly.com’s Sam Carchidi. He actually left the game after the overtime period against Arizona and was replaced by Michal Neuvirth for the shootout. The team only just got Elliott back on Monday from a lower-body injury. Carchidi suspects that the veteran pulled a groin muscle before going down. He will be re-evaluated after tonight’s game against Vegas. The team announced they have recalled Alex Lyons from the Lehigh Valley Phantoms to serve as the backup.
Minor Transactions: 02/05/18
After a light Sunday schedule because of the Super Bowl, the NHL has just four games on tap for Monday night. Despite the lack of on-ice action, there will be plenty of minor moves around the league. As always, we’ll keep track of all of them right here.
- The Boston Bruins have recalled Austin Czarnik under emergency conditions, meaning someone is injured and could be out tomorrow. Czarnik is one of the top scorers in the AHL this season, with 42 points in 38 games. That’s earned him just seven NHL contests this year, in which he’d recorded two points.
- The Calgary Flames have recalled Marek Hrivik from the AHL, sending Andrew Mangiapane back in his place. Mangiapane is still scoreless through nine NHL contests, and will have to reclaim his offensive touch in the minor leagues.
- According to Mike Morreale of NHL.com, the Philadelphia Flyers have activated Brian Elliott from injured reserve, meaning Alex Lyon is on his way back to the minor leagues. Lyon got into three games at the NHL level during this call-up, allowing seven goals on 50 shots. Still looking for his first NHL win, the 25-year old goaltender will have to wait for another opportunity.
- With Roman Polak returning from injury, the Toronto Maple Leafs have sent rookie Andreas Borgman to the minor leagues. Borgman broke camp with the Maple Leafs and has played in 48 games so far, but has now lost his spot to Travis Dermott on the back end. The Maple Leafs will have to face a similar roster crunch when Nikita Soshnikov is deemed healthy enough to return, which could lead to a potential trade of a player like Josh Leivo.
- Though Mark Scheifele practiced with the Winnipeg Jets today, he’s not quite ready to return from injury just yet. Instead, the Jets have recalled Brendan Lemieux and Nic Petan from the AHL, while moving Adam Lowry to injured reserve. Lowry’s designation is retroactive to February 1st, meaning he could come back for Friday’s game if deemed healthy.
Minor Transactions: 12/27/17
As the NHL gets back to its regularly scheduled programming today, league rosters will start to thaw after the holiday season. At 12:00am on December 28th, teams will be once again allowed to trade, waive and loan any player on the active roster. For now, we’ll have to make do with recalls from the minor leagues.
- Yesterday, the Columbus Blue Jackets made several transactions in order to deal with the injuries to Cam Atkinson and Alexander Wennberg. Both veteran forwards were placed on injured reserve, while recalling Tyler Motte and Dean Kukan. Sonny Milano and Jordan Schroeder are both also up on emergency recall.
- The Arizona Coyotes recalled Lawson Crouse last night, likely to fill in for a potential suspended Zac Rinaldo. Rinaldo was offered an in-person hearing with the league but declined, and could face a suspension of at least five games for his punch of Samuel Girard.
- The Philadelphia Flyers meanwhile loaned goaltender Alex Lyon back to the minor leagues while activating Michal Neuvirth from injured reserve. Neuvirth hasn’t played a game in a month with a leg injury, but will try to continue the solid start he’d been having before going down.
- The Montreal Canadiens have recalled Brett Lernout from the AHL, and will bring him along on their three-game road trip. Lernout played in his first game of the season for the Canadiens just before Christmas, and will remain an option for Montreal while Shea Weber is with a foot injury and David Schlemko deals with the flu.
- Ottawa has brought Ben Harpur back up from the minor leagues, giving them a seventh defenseman once again now that games have resumed. Harpur has played 14 games for the Senators this season, recording a single point.
- Los Angeles has recalled Kevin Gravel after just a few days in the minor leagues. While Christian Folin is slowly working his way back from injury, he won’t be able to suit up just yet. Gravel hasn’t yet played for the Kings this season, after getting into 49 games last year.
Options In Net For The Edmonton Oilers
Things went from bad to worse for the Edmonton Oilers’ 2017-18 season when dependable starting goaltender Cam Talbot went down with and upper body injury and landed on IR and could remain out through December. His replacement, Laurent Brossoit, is struggling and that’s putting it gently. In 8 appearances, Brossoit has one win, an .872 save percentage, and a 3.80 GAA. Neither of the backup options, Nick Ellis or Eddie Pasquale, has any NHL experience, nor has either been given a chance to gain any just yet, nor has either played remarkably well in the AHL as well. It’s a dire situation for a team that is desperate for wins, or else the face a familiar possibility of finishing as one of the league’s worst teams this season.
So what are the options? TSN’s Frank Servalli believes that Oilers GM Peter Chiarelli is scouring the trade market for help in net. Servalli lists Buffalo’s Chad Johnson, Winnipeg’s Michael Hutchinson, Philadelphia’s Michal Neuvirth, Toronto’s Calvin Pickard, and Detroit’s Petr Mrazek as the top targets for Edmonton.
Johnson, of course, is known to be on the trade block courtesy of the Sabres’ own struggles and seems to be the best fit of these options as a reliable veteran on a one-year deal. Servalli even states that Johnson, along with Neuvirth, were among the Chiarelli’s free agency targets to be Talbot’s backup. However, as Servalli points out, there could be other suitors for Johnson, which could drive the price up.
More affordable assets to acquire could be Hutchinson or Pickard, due to their teams’ depth in goal. The Maple Leafs acquired Pickard from the Vegas Golden Knights earlier this year, but with Frederik Andersen playing well, a veteran backup in Curtis McElhinney, and other promising young goalies in Garret Sparks and Kasimir Kaskisuo in line, Pickard is expendable. So too could be McElhinney or Sparks as well, if Chiarelli favors those Toronto alternatives. In Winnipeg, the thriving Jets are doing just fine with Connor Hellebuyck, rookie Eric Comrie, and expensive free agent acquistion Steve Mason as their net rotation. A solid goaltender with ties to Chiarelli from the Boston Bruins, fourth-string Hutchinson seems like a likely target.
Mrazek and Neuvirth less so. Mrazek is still young, is making $4MM, and will be a restricted free agent at the end of the season. It is likely that he would be costly to acquire and costly to re-sign, when the Oilers really just need a stopgap. Neuvirth, who has a year remaining at $2.5MM, could replace Brossoit as the long-term backup to Talbot if Chiarelli so chooses, but also seems like an unlikely acquisition. AHL goaltenders from both the Red Wings and Flyers – Jared Coreau and Alex Lyon – might actually make more sense.
Other options: Eddie Lack or David Rittich from the rival Calgary Flames, Colorado’s Andrew Hammond, Anaheim’s Reto Berra, L.A.’s Jack Campbell or Jeff Zatkoff, and several more. The options are there, so the pressure is on Chiarelli to find a fair deal and to do it soon. Edmonton may simply lose upcoming games regardless of who is in net, but if the team continues forward with only Brossoit, the blame will fall on the front office for not doing something to at least increase their chances.
Minor Transactions: 12/06/17
As always, we’ll keep an eye on all the minor moves around the league today. One thing to keep an eye out for is teams releasing young players for the World Juniors, though it’s not clear if it will happen for anyone this year. Clayton Keller, Jesper Bratt and others have already been skipped over.
- The Philadelphia Flyers have recalled T.J. Brennan and Alex Lyon from the AHL, as they place Brandon Manning and Michal Neuvirth on injured reserve. The team will be relying on Brian Elliott for the time being, though Lyon is an interesting goaltending prospect for the future. The 24-year old has struggled this year at the AHL level, but has all the skills to succeed at the professional level.
- The Florida Panthers have recalled a goaltender of their own, bringing up Harri Sateri to replace Roberto Luongo. Luongo was forced from the game against the New York Islanders on Monday night, and could be out for some time. James Reimer will take over the starting duties for the time being.
- Rocco Grimaldi has been sent back down by the Colorado Avalanche after just a day with the club. Grimaldi played just nine minutes in last night’s game, but will return to the AHL to continue his development. The 24-year old has 10 points in 14 games for the San Antonio Rampage this season.
- Joel Eriksson Ek is back up with the Minnesota Wild, after showing that he can dominate the AHL. The 20-year old forward had seven points in seven games for the Iowa Wild, and looked dangerous on nearly every rush. Expected to play a big role on Minnesota this season, he got off to a slow start with just three points in his first 20 games and was forced to spend some development time in the minor leagues.
Injury Notes: Lindholm, Stolarz, Dubinsky
While many pundits and fans alike are picking the Anaheim Ducks to push for one of the top spots in the Western Conference once again this year, one of the biggest question marks heading into the season was the health of top defenders Hampus Lindholm and Sami Vatanen. Eric Stephens of the Orange County Register gives us an update on the former, talking to Lindholm about his recovery and where he’ll be for the start of the season.
I feel real good but it’s up to [the medical staff] to say when I’ll be ready to go out there and play a hockey game. As I said, I’m feeling really good out there. Feeling really good in the gym. Strength is coming back real quick. But we’ll have to talk to each other and discuss when they think I can be back.
The Ducks went out and added depth in the form of recently bought-out defenseman Francois Beauchemin this summer, bringing the veteran back to the place his career really took off. While Beauchemin isn’t the defense horse he once was, he’ll have to weather some tough minutes until Lindholm and Vatanen return at some point during the season.
- Philadelphia Flyers goaltender Anthony Stolarz underwent meniscus surgery on his left knee yesterday and will be out indefinitely. The operation explains why the Lehigh Valley Phantoms signed another goaltender last week, inking Leland Irving to an AHL deal. Stolarz, who has flashed huge amounts of potential but has been unable to stay healthy, will now have to work his way back from an injury that can take quite some time to recover from. For the time being, Alex Lyon will take the starter’s duties in the AHL, something he’s more than capable of.
- Columbus Blue Jackets forward Brandon Dubinsky was back on the ice doing some puck drills this week, a little over three months since he underwent wrist surgery. Tom Reed of The Athletic spoke with Dubinsky, who explained the injury has bothered him since 2015-16. He’s not sure if he’ll be ready for the start of the season, which would give even more of a chance to youngsters like Pierre-Luc Dubois and Sonny Milano, depending on how coach John Tortorella decides to deploy his other forwards. An interesting thing to watch will be how Dubinsky’s faceoffs are affected, as wrist surgery often hurts a player’s efficiency in the dot after his return. The 31-year old has long been one of the better faceoff men in the league, never losing more draws than he’s won in a season.
Flyers Re-Sign Lyon, Stolarz, And Bardreau
The Philadelphia Flyers have announced that goalies Anthony Stolarz, and Alex Lyon along with center Cole Bardreau have re-signed with the club. Both goaltenders inked two-way, one year deals while Bardreau agreed to a two-year contract.
Lyon spent last season with AHL affiliate Lehigh Valley and posted a 27-14-5 mark with a .912 save percentage. Stolarz spent a chunk of his season in Lehigh Valley but appeared in seven games for the Flyers, recording a 2-1-1 record with a .928 save percentage. He recorded his first career shutout against Detroit in just his second professional start with the Flyers. Courier Post writer Dave Issac reports that the signings of both netminders “opens the door” for 2015 pick Felix Sandstrom who is currently playing in Sweden.
Bardreau was signed as an undrafted free agent in 2015, and did enough work for the Phantoms to bring him back for another two seasons in the organization. Recording 24 points in 72 games, Bardreau potted nine goals.
With the signings, general manager Ron Hextall has locked up the team’s three remaining free agents.
Deadline Primer: Philadelphia Flyers
With the trade deadline less than a week away, we continue to take a closer look at each team. Where do they stand, what do they need to do, and what assets do they have to fill those needs?
The Philadelphia Flyers are one of the most depressing stories of the season so far (sorry Flyers fans) after their hot start has crumbled in front of their eyes. Once winners of ten straight, the Flyers have gone 9-15-4 since then and have almost seen their playoff hopes vanish entirely. They are currently five points out of a playoff spot with two teams between them, and are in danger of being overtaken by the surging Tampa Bay Lightning and perhaps even the Buffalo Sabres.
It’s not all bad for the Flyers though, who have seen Ivan Provorov and Travis Konecny have solid debuts as teenagers, and Wayne Simmonds continue to make his deal look like one of the best in the NHL. They have two games remaining before the deadline, one against their cross-state rival Pittsburgh Penguins, and one against the lowly Colorado Avalanche. Perhaps they will decide the fate of the Flyers come the deadline.
Record
28-25-7, 6th in Metropolitan Division
Deadline Status
Likely Seller, but with eyes on a quick reload.
Deadline Cap Space
$740K – full-season cap hit, 46/50 contracts per CapFriendly.
Draft Picks
2017: PHI 1st, PHI 2nd, PHI 3rd, BOS 3rd, PHI 4th, NYI 4th, PHI 5th, PHI 6th, PHI 7th
2018: PHI 1st, PHI 2nd, PHI 3rd, PHI 4th, PHI 5th, PHI 6th, PHI 7th
Trade Chips
It’s all about the rental defensemen for the Flyers, who have a few options to sell at the deadline. If they want to move on from both Mark Streit and Michael Del Zotto, there will be takers for both. While neither is a defensive dynamo, both provide offensive ability and can be used to boost a powerplay. Their value is fairly low, as both have been healthy scratches at times this season and aren’t reliable enough in their own end to warrant a high draft pick or top prospect.
Both Steve Mason and Michal Neuvirth are free agents at the end of the year, but neither has played well enough for a team to think they could help them win games down the stretch. Philadelphia is likely stuck with them for the rest of the year, unless they can convince someone to take Mason’s hit in a salary-swapping deal.
It will be interesting to see if the Flyers push any of their other assets into the fray, and try a little rebuild on the fly. They’ve benched Shayne Gostisbehere at times this season to try and help his development defensively, and could get a ransom for him if they made him available. Brayden Schenn and Sean Couturier would both be considered among the best available names if they listened on them, and could bring back packages close to the ones Joe Sakic is looking for in Colorado.
Likely though the deadline will come down to shopping defenders for Philadelphia, who would listen on Radko Gudas and Andrew MacDonald if anyone called. Both players (especially MacDonald) likely have too big of a contract to deal in-season though.
Five Players To Watch: D Michael Del Zotto, D Mark Streit, D Radko Gudas, C Nick Cousins, F Chris VandeVelde
Team Needs
1) Expansion Draft Goaltending: The Flyers have a decision to make at the expansion draft, as currently the only goaltender that fills the requirement is Anthony Stolarz, a prospect they likely wouldn’t want to lose—though they do also have Carter Hart and Alex Lyon in the pipeline. They’ll either have to re-sign one of the two pending free agents, or bring in another goaltender to expose. It doesn’t have to be anyone who will play for the team next season, but look for them to at least address that situation by the deadline.
2) Young Roster-Ready Players – The Flyers won’t want to undergo a complete rebuild, with Claude Giroux and Jakub Voracek right in their prime and signed long-term. Mid-round draft picks are nice to keep a pipeline full of talent, but the Flyers need to get better now. Look for them to go after any pre-prime player that is available, though those are few and far between this season. The crunch up front in Tampa Bay, or the crop of good young defenders in Carolina and Anaheim could be targets but will likely have to wait until the summer to get anything done.