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Anders Nilsson

Minor Transactions: 1/19/17

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Here is where we’ll keep tabs on today’s minor roster moves:

  • Minnesota announced that they have recalled defenseman Mike Reilly from Iowa of the AHL. He has spent the bulk of the year in the minors and has four goals and 11 assists in 29 AHL contests.  Reilly also has played in nine games with the Wild, being held off the scoresheet while averaging 12:57 of ice time per night.
  • Carolina has swapped backup goalies, announcing that they have recalled Michael Leighton while assigning Alex Nedeljkovic back to their AHL affiliate in Charlotte. The two swapped places earlier this week, allowing Leighton to get into a couple of minor league games to stay in game shape.  Eddie Lack, the regular backup for the Hurricanes, remains out of the lineup indefinitely due to a concussion.
  • Buffalo announced that they have summoned goalie Linus Ullmark from Rochester (AHL). Mike Harrington of the Buffalo News reports (Twitter link) that Anders Nilsson is dealing with the flu so Ullmark will take his place in the interim.  This is the fourth recall for Ullmark this year but he has yet to see action with the Sabres this year.  He has a 15-13-1 record in the minors this year with a 3.03 GAA and a .908 SV%.
  • Ottawa has recalled right winger Casey Bailey from AHL Binghamton per their Twitter page. The Sens are currently dealing with a flu bug, notes Bruce Garrioch of the Ottawa Sun.  Bailey has played in four games for the Senators this season being held off the scoresheet but sits tied for second in goals in Binghamton with 10 in 33 minor league outings.
  • The Canucks swapped out depth defenders, announcing that they’ve recalled Jordan Subban while sending Andrey Pedan back to Utica (AHL). Subban leads all Comets blueliners with 22 points this season and has not yet played in the NHL.  As for Pedan, he had been up for the better part of a month but did not suit up in Vancouver and was close to needing waivers to be sent back down having been up for 29 days.
  • In what is becoming a daily shuffle, Anaheim announced the recall of winger Stefan Noesen from San Diego of the AHL.  It’s the fourth straight day that he has either been recalled or demoted as the Ducks look to conserve as much cap space as possible.  Noesen has a goal in nine NHL games with Anaheim this season while adding 15 points in 22 minor league contests.

Goalie Notes: Vasilevskiy, Darling, Nilsson

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With Lightning goaltender Ben Bishop on injured reserve, Andrei Vasilevskiy was handed a major opportunity to show he’s worthy of the starting role.  He hasn’t made the most of the opportunity though, going 3-3-1 with a 3.38 GAA and a .874 SV% in seven starts since Bishop was hurt and admitted to Joe Smith of the Tampa Bay Times that the pressure is getting to him a bit:

“A little emotionally tired.  I’m thinking about it too much.”

With Bishop expected to return within the next couple of weeks, the 22 year old only will have a few more chances to make an impression on head coach Jon Cooper.  Further adding to the pressure is that the Lightning, a Conference Finalist last year, find themselves on the outside looking in at a playoff spot at the moment.

Even though his first stint as a starter hasn’t gone as well as anyone had hoped for, Vasilievskiy is still Tampa’s expected starter of the not-too-distant future.  They handed him a three year, $10.5MM extension back in July and given who they still have to re-sign this coming offseason (Tyler Johnson, Ondrej Palat, and Jonathan Drouin, among others), it’s unlikely they’ll still have the cap space to bring Bishop back next season which should press Vasilevskiy into the number one role, ready or not.

More goalie notes from around the NHL:

  • Blackhawks goaltender Scott Darling has been on a nice little run as of late. Over the last month, he has posted a 7-2-1 record with a GAA of 2.01 and a .935 SV%.  The extra ice time came as a result of Corey Crawford’s appendectomy and some back-to-back games but as Chris Hine of the Chicago Tribune notes, Chicago has reached a soft spot in their schedule and don’t have any back-to-back games scheduled for more than a month.  As a result, the Blackhawks are going to have some difficulties finding Darling some playing time as the plan has been to use him primarily in those situations.
  • Sabres backup Anders Nilsson has been one of Buffalo’s more pleasant surprises this season, writes Bill Hoppe of the Olean Times Herald. He has a .926 SV% through 13 games, tied for seventh league-wide among goalies with at least ten appearances and is becoming a threat to steal some starts from Robin Lehner.  Nilsson credits his success to his time in the KHL back in 2014-15 where he led the league in GAA:  “If I didn’t have a good year that year, I wouldn’t have been able to come back. I developed a lot as a goalie that year. That year has definitely helped me a lot in my development. I don’t think I would’ve been here if I didn’t make that step.”  Buffalo acquired Nilsson back in July from St. Louis in exchange for a fifth round pick in the upcoming draft, a deal that has proven to be quite the steal so far.

Atlantic Division Snapshots: Sabres, Huberdeau, Stralman, Ottawa Arena

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Two years ago the Buffalo Sabres finished with the worst record in the NHL and were outscored by an astounding 113 goals. This was largely by design as the team was in the midst of a full rebuild and the 2015 entry draft boasted two top talents in Connor McDavid and Jack Eichel. Sabres management knew if they wanted to secure a true franchise player they would need to finish at the bottom of the NHL standings.

That season the Sabres scored the fewest goals in the league and as bad as their offense was then, this year’s edition is so far even worse. During the 2014-15 campaign Buffalo averaged a meager 1.96 goals-per-game. This season the team is averaging just 1.86 goals-per-game. The team has struggled even more in the month of November, tallying just 19 goals in 13 games.

Even without Eichel, who has been out all season with an ankle injury, the Sabres were expected to mount a more prolific offensive attack. But as John Vogl of the Buffalo News writes, while the team is struggling to put the puck in the net, they are generating plenty of chances.

Ryan O’Reilly, who was acquired from Colorado in a blockbuster deal during the summer of 2015, has been counted on to lead the offense with Eichel on the shelf. He has nine points in 15 games on the campaign, but just one goal in his last 12, and he expects more from himself.

“It’s frustrating. It’s scoring goals again is the problem, and that’s my job. I’m not doing it right now.”

“We’ve got to shoot the puck better. It’s that simple. We’re moving it well. We’re supporting each other. We’re getting these good looks, but it’s beating the goalie. That’s all it is. It starts with myself. I’ve got to do that.”

Goaltender Anders Nilsson feels that the team is overdue for a little luck.

“We don’t get those dirty goals, and we don’t get those goals off the post and in or off a shin pad and in. We have to work really hard for every goal we score. Hopefully, we can turn that around and get the bounces with us.”

It does appear as if Eichel should be back in the lineup in relatively short order but even without their franchise center, the Sabres boast a talented group of forwards who are capable of putting the puck in the net. Kyle Okposo has topped the 20-goal mark three times in his career while Evander Kane has done so twice, including last season. Matt Moulson has three 30-goal campaigns on his resume and O’Reilly has tallied at least 50 points in four of the last five seasons. Once Eichel is back on the ice, the Sabres should be able to get their offense back on track.

  • Like Buffalo, the Florida Panthers have been without one of their top players all season. Jonathan Huberdeau injured his Achilles during training camp and was expected to miss three to four months. According to George Richards of the Miami Herald, Huberdeau is progressing in his rehab but is still not expected back in action for a while. Panthers bench boss Gerard Gallant described the recovery time line as between four and six months, which indicates Huberdeau could be out for much of the regular season.
  • The news is better for the other Florida team as Anton Stralman appears to be nearing a return to the Tampa Bay Lightning lineup. Bryan Burns, who covers the Lightning for NHL.com, tweeted that head coach Jon Cooper said the blue liner could see action on the team’s upcoming road trip. Stralman has been out the last two weeks with an upper-body-injury. Stralman has seven points in 15 games this season and is averaging better than 22 minutes per contest.
  • A new arena for the Ottawa Senators appears to be one step closer to a reality, as Bruce Garrioch of the Ottawa Citizen writes. The National Capital Commission (NCC) has given its formal approval for negotiations between the federal government and RendezVouz LeBreton to proceed. Garrioch adds that the Rogers Place Arena Ice District in Edmonton has provided the perfect model for what the Senators want to build in Ottawa. One NCC board member is impressed with how the Rogers project revitalized the downtown area in Edmonton and hopes a new arena will do the same in Canada’s capital.

Buffalo Sabres Send Linus Ullmark To Rochester

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According to Bill Hoppe of the Times Herald, the Buffalo Sabres have sent goaltender Linus Ullmark back to Rochester of the AHL. Anders Nilsson will start tonight in net.

Ullmark was recalled this week because Robin Lehner was ill and unable to play, but will head back down to start in the AHL. The 23-year old was off to a great start with the Americans this season, holding a 3-1 record with a .926 save percentage.

While goaltenders tend to take a while to develop, it seems like Ullmark is close to being ready for an NHL job already. In starting 20 games for the Sabres last year after Lehner went down, he showed that at least on a part-time basis he can handle the rigors of an NHL schedule and perform at a capable level. Though the Sabres have discussed committing long-term to Lehner and believe he’s an above-average NHL starter, the fact that Ullmark isn’t far off should excite Sabres fans.

World Cup Notes: Enroth, Holtby, RFAs

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With news hitting the wire that Swedish goaltender Robin Lehner is still recovering from foot surgery and is unable to participate in the upcoming World Cup, newly signed Toronto Maple Leafs backup Jhonas Enroth has been added to the team. He’s not expected to play much, as the team has Henrik Lundqvist and Jacob Markstrom as the primary goaltending tandem.

Lehner played extremely well in his first season with the Buffalo Sabres, despite the relatively low talent iced in front of him. The team will be looking to him to take the reins has the number one goaltender this year with Chad Johnson having moved on.  Anders Nilsson, another Swedish born goaltender will be his primary backup this season after coming over from the Blues earlier this summer.

  • Staying with goalie notes, Team Canada has one of the best trios in the tournament, with Braden Holtby, Carey Price and Corey Crawford suiting up for the squad.  Despite winning the Vesina trophy for the league’s best goaltender last season Holtby thinks the starting job should go to Price: “All of us want to play, but if Carey’s healthy, there’s no reason to not go with him. He has all the experience internationally and the smart choice obviously would be that.”  Indeed, Price has represented Canada multiple times over his career, winning an U-18 silver, World Junior gold, and an Olympic gold medal in 2014.
  • Multiple players will be heading into this World Cup without a contract in hand for 2016-17, and have had to purchase extra insurance on themselves to guard against a potential injury. Two such players, Johnny Gaudreau and Jacob Trouba are suiting up for the North American team and should play big parts in the tournament. Gaudreau has been quoted as saying he will not negotiate while the tournament is ongoing, meaning that if it’s not within the next few days, the team will have a very short window to iron out a deal before the season begins.

Sabres Acquire Anders Nilsson

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Buffalo announced that they have added some goaltending depth on Saturday, acquiring Anders Nilsson from St. Louis in exchange for a 2017 5th round pick.

Last season, Nilsson played in 29 games, split between Edmonton and St. Louis.  He compiled a 10-13-2 record with a 3.12 GAA and a .901 SV%.  In 52 career games (with the Islanders, Oilers, and Blues), he has a 19-22-4 record with a 3.09 GAA and a .900 SV%.

Nilsson was deemed expendable by the Blues following Friday’s signing of Carter Hutton to a two year contract.  As for Buffalo, they had a vacancy between the pipes after Chad Johnson inked a one year pact with Calgary.  His arrival should allow youngster Linus Ullmark to stay in the AHL to start next season.

After the deal, General Fanager reports that Nilsson has signed on with the Sabres for $1MM, on a one-year deal.

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