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Antti Raanta

Domingue, Reinhart Placed On Waivers

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Monday: Both Domingue and Reinhart have cleared waivers and will be assigned to their respective AHL clubs.

Sunday: Arizona goaltender Louis Domingue and Vegas Golden Knights’ defender Griffin Reinhart were both placed on waivers this morning, according to Elliotte Friedman. Assuming both players clear waivers on Monday, they will be assigned to their respective AHL teams.

Domingue became expendable yesterday after the Coyotes traded for New Jersey Devils goaltender Scott Wedgewood. Domingue has received the lions’ share of minutes in goal for Arizona this year with the injury woes that starter Antti Raanta has sustained. The Coyotes’ backup for the past two years has struggled this year with a 4.33 GAA and a miserable .856 save percentage in seven games, prompting the team to look for a replacement in Wedgewood. The transaction also likely indicates that Raanta might be ready to return to action after having sit out for all, but three games so far this year with multiple injuries.

Reinhart has been one of the Vegas Golden Knights multitude of defensemen who general manager George McPhee has been protecting on their roster, forcing other players such as Shea Theodore to have to sit in the AHL, waiting for an opening. The former fourth-overall pick in the 2012 draft has never been able to break through at the NHL level and along with his size (6-foot-4, 212 pounds) and draft status has been considered to be a guy that could develop into a legitimate NHL player and has been given numerous chances to succeed. However, Reinhart was a healthy scratch for the Golden Knights’ first seven games before they sent him to the Chicago Wolves on a conditioning stint. He has struggled there in two games, prompting the decision to put him on waivers.

Minor Transactions: 10/29/17

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Here’s where we’ll keep tabs on the minor news and notes throughout the day with the most recent moves at the top:

  • After a fleury of goaltending moves in the last few days that saw the team trade for New Jersey goalie Scott Wedgewood and place backup Louis Domingue on waivers, Elite Prospects tweeted that the Arizona Coyotes have called up goaltending prospect Hunter Miska today. Miska, who signed in April this year after dominating year at the University of Minnesota-Duluth in which he took the team to the Frozen Four finals, wasn’t fairing as well with the Tucson Roadrunners, where he had a 4.02 GAA and a .884 save percentage in four games. The call-up suggests that starting goaltender Antti Raanta may not be as healthy as the team thought.
  • Mark Divver of the Providence Journal tweets that the Boston Bruins will recall Providence Bruins’ goaltender Zane McIntyre today as an emergency backup. The 25-year-old AHL goalie has been called up for this reason before, but has not made it into a game yet for the Bruins. He is currently 4-1 with Providence and has played well, with a 1.81 GAA and a .928 save percentage. Divvers adds that he believes it’s due to the fact that Bruins’ starting goalie Tuukka Rask kept getting run into during Saturday’s game against the Los Angeles Kings.
  • The Minnesota Wild announced they have also sent three players down to the Iowa Wild of the AHL, including two former first-round picks, including 2015 first-round pick Joel Eriksson Ek and 2016 first-round pick Luke Kunin as well as Zack Mitchell. No corresponding moves have been made yet. Eriksson-Ek who many believed might have a breakout year has struggled in nine games with the Wild. The 20-year-old center has had just one goal and two assists in that span after putting up better numbers in a 15-games stint with the team last year when he put up three goals and four assists. Eriksson-Ek struggled in the preseason and was a candidate to not make the team at one point, but the team instead sent down Kunin instead. Kunin has been going back and forth between Iowa and Minnesota all year. However, Kunin has been more successful lately as his minutes and numbers have started to increase. The 19-year-old has a goal and two assists that all have come recently, as his short-handed goal against the Islanders Thursday makes him the first player in team history to score his first goal short-handed. Mitchell has also been up and down quite a bit this year, helping out the team’s fourth line while the team deals with multiple injuries. Mitchell has a goal and an assist in five games.
  • Vancouver Canucks’ general manager Jim Benning announced the team has recalled center Jayson Megna today. The 27-year-old returns to the team after having played in 54 games for Vancouver a year ago, tallying four goals and four assists. He has been with the Utica Comets since the start of the season, putting up an assist in four games this year. The move was expected after the team sent Michael Chaput down to Utica on Friday, leaving the team with only 12 healthy forwards.
  • The Colorado Avalanche tweeted that they have assigned forward Andrew Agozzino to the San Antonio Rampage today. He was recalled yesterday for their evening game against the Chicago Blackhawks, but was a healthy scratch. Agozzino has been an offensive force for the Rampage, putting up two goals and six assists in seven games so far this year. He was called up as an emergency forward after the team placed Gabriel Bourque on injured reserve due to an upper body injury.

Injury Updates: Marchessault, Raanta, Eaves, Bouwmeester

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Golden Knights winger Jonathan Marchessault is progressing well from his lower-body injury and is expected to skate today, notes David Schoen of the Las Vegas Review-Journal.  However, in order to activate him off injured reserve in the coming days, the team would need to free up a roster spot and the only waiver-exempt skaters are center Vadim Shipachyov and winger Alex Tuch, both of whom have played well since being recalled so Vegas will soon have a difficult decision to make.  Schoen also notes that center Erik Haula is set to start skating today as he continues to recover from his lower-body issue.

Other injury notes from around the league:

  • Coyotes goaltender Antti Raanta is slated to skate today and will accompany the team on their upcoming five-game road trip, reports Sarah McLellan of the Arizona Republic. Raanta has made just three appearances this season as a result of multiple lower-body problems, including one that sidelined him for the preseason and the regular season opener.  His current lower-body injury is not related to the one from last month, however.
  • Ducks winger Patrick Eaves was sent to see a specialist on Friday as he continues to deal with a lingering lower-body injury that has resulted in him playing just twice this season, notes Eric Stephens of the Orange County Register. While he continues to be listed as day-to-day, the fact they’ve sent him to see a specialist would suggest that there’s a chance he could be out for a little longer than that.
  • Blues defenseman Jay Bouwmeester hasn’t started skating since suffering a fractured ankle back in mid-September and Jeremy Rutherford of The Athletic (subscription required) suggests that a tendon issue may be causing the recovery to go longer than expected. There was no initial timetable given for how long he might be out of the lineup so it’s difficult to tell if he has suffered a setback.  When healthy, the 34-year-old is a big part of their back end, logging over 22 minutes per game in each of his five seasons with the team.

Raanta Out, Langhamer Recalled On Emergency Basis

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It’s been a bumpy start to Antti Raanta’s tenure in Arizona. The performance of the former New York Rangers backup hasn’t been bad, but after missing the season opener and failing to pick up a win in his three starts since, Raanta is sidelined once again. The new Coyotes starter did not return to last night’s game against the Detroit Red Wings after the first period and after the game, coach Rick Tocchet told AZ Central’s Sarah McLellan that Raanta was not struggling with the same issues that plagued him in the preseason and kept him out of Game 1, but instead has suffered a new injury.

In response, the Coyotes today have made an emergency recall of Marek Langhamer from the AHL’s Tuscon Roadrunners. Arizona has to be ready to host the Boston Bruins tomorrow night and it seems that time table was too soon for Raanta. Louis Domingue is expected to start, as he did the season opening 5-4 loss, with Langhamer as the backup. Raanta’s absence is indefinite as of now, so the Coyotes will have to roll with that duo for the time being. Domingue, who struggled most of last season and has been worse in a small sample size thus far in 2017-18, and Langhamer, who has just 16 minutes of NHL experience, do not make the most threatening duo.

Meanwhile, the team also demoted forward Emerson Etem as they continue to look for the right mix on the roster. If Raanta is in net and performing to his potential, the Coyotes have more wiggle room in their pace of play. However, Raanta has either been absent or dealing with lingering injuries so far and nine goals in four games is not going to cut it while Raanta remains off the ice or off his game. Arizona needs more from a revamped defense that has combined for one goal and six points thus far and needs to find secondary scoring up front beyond Max Domi and rookie Clayton Keller. If the ’Yotes can’t pick up their scoring, the current goaltending woes could extend their winless streak further and further into the new season.

2017-18 Primer: Arizona Coyotes

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With the NHL season now underway, we continue our look at what each team has done this summer and what to watch for in 2017-18.  Next up in our team-by-team primers is the Arizona Coyotes.

Last Season: 30-42-10 record (70 points), sixth in Pacific Division (missed the playoffs)

Remaining Cap Space: $15.9MM per CapFriendly

Key Additions: D Adam Clendening (free agency, NY Rangers), F Nick Cousins (trade, Philadelphia), D Jason Demers (trade, Florida), D Niklas Hjalmarsson (trade, Chicago), G Antti Raanta (trade, NY Rangers), F Zac Rinaldo (free agency, Boston), F Derek Stepan (trade, NY Rangers)

Key Departures: F Alexander Burmistrov (free agency, Vancouver), D Anthony Deangelo (trade, NY Rangers), F Shane Doan (retirement), F Peter Holland (free agency, Montreal), F Josh Jooris (free agency, Carolina), F Jamie McGinn (trade, Florida), D Connor Murphy (trade, Chicago), F Teemu Pulkkinen (expansion, Vegas), G Mike Smith (trade, Calgary), F Radim Vrbata (free agency, Minnesota)

[Related: Coyotes Depth Chart From Roster Resource]

Player To Watch: G Antti Raanta – After spending the past four seasons as a backup (including two years with the Rangers where he was well above average), Raanta is getting his first real chance to be an undisputed number one goalie.  He’s also getting the opportunity in a contract year as he’ll become an unrestricted free agent in July.

Mar 18, 2017; Saint Paul, MN, USA; New York Rangers goalie Antti Raanta (32) celebrates following the game against the Minnesota Wild at Xcel Energy Center. The Rangers defeated the Wild 3-2. Mandatory Credit: Brace Hemmelgarn-USA TODAY SportsIn particular, it will be interesting to see how he holds up with the workload of a starting netminder.  He hasn’t surpassed the 40-game mark since 2012-13, his last season in the Finnish SM-liiga before signing with Chicago.  Even at a time where most backups are being asked to play more often, starters around the league play beyond 50 games so his endurance as the season progresses could be an issue.

With so many youngsters in the lineup, expectations are that Arizona will take some steps forward this year simply based on that.  If Raanta can come close to maintaining his level of play from the past two seasons as well, he will position himself for a big payday on the open market in July while likely keeping the Coyotes close to the playoff picture.

Key Storyline: It would be easy to talk about the continued youth movement that is in place with Arizona having a lot of talented youngsters up front.  Between that and Raanta giving them a new starter between the pipes, the work GM John Chayka has done to their defensive corps in a short period of time has largely gone under the radar.

The acquisition of Hjalmarsson gives the Coyotes a dependable stay-at-home partner that should allow Oliver Ekman-Larsson to get more involved offensively.  Alex Goligoski was brought in last summer to give the second pairing an above average threat and adding Demers last month gives them another proven option, especially with Jakob Chychrun – a 2016 first rounder – out indefinitely.

When they’re a fully-healthy group, that’s four of their top-five that have been acquired since last summer which is quite the overhaul in a pretty short amount of time.  It’s also a pretty strong collection of defenders on paper that has the potential to be one of the better groups in the West.  With the additions they’ve made, Arizona could wind up being an intriguing sleeper team in the Pacific Division if everything comes together as planned.

Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.

NHL Snapshots: Wilson, Gelinas, Quick, Patrick, Ekman-Larsson

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Washington Capitals forward Tom Wilson could be hearing from the Department of Player Safety again after boarding St. Louis Blues’ Samuel Blais during the Capitals final preseason game on Sunday. The 23-year-old wing, known for his physicality, just served a two-game suspension during the preseason for interference on St. Louis’ Robert Thomas on Sept. 23.

According to Isabelle Khurshudyan of The Washington Post, the hit is already reviewing the incident and the penalty could be much harsher this time as Wilson will no be categorized as a repeat offender. Wilson is no stranger to the penalty box, having spent 619 minutes of his four year career there, including 133 a year ago.

The scribe adds that if he does get suspended, the team could find itself in a bind financially as they might not have enough cap space to recall another player. Another complication for the Department of Player Safety is that the game wasn’t televised by either team, but the belief is they can get the footage from someone who filmed it. However, a lack of camera angles might stand in the way of the department being able to get a good look at the hit.

  • The Montreal Canadiens announced on their website that defenseman Eric Gelinas has agreed to terms to sign a one-year, one-way contract with the Laval Rocket of the AHL. Gelinas, who attended the Canadiens’ camp on a PTO, scored one goal and four penalty minutes in three preseason games. The 26-year-old blueliner played 27 games for the Colorado Avalanche last season, putting up one assist. He also played 27 games for the AHL’s San Antonio Rampage, where he had three goals and nine assists.
  • With health being the Los Angeles Kings’ primary concern, Los Angeles Times’ Curtis Zupke writes the team will be monitoring goaltender Jonathan Quick more this season. Coming off a major groin injury a year ago in the season opener, the team wants to manage his game schedule better this year as he also suffered a groin injury back in 2013. At 31, the team will need to rely on backup Darcy Kuemper just a bit more.
  • The Philadelphia Flyers tweeted that general manager Ron Hextall announced that 2017 first-overall pick Nolan Patrick and defenseman Robert Hagg both made the team out of training camp. Patrick had three assists in six preseason games, while Hagg was scoreless in five games.
  • Dave Vest of NHL.com writes that Arizona Coyotes defenseman Oliver Ekman-Larsson, who has been been hampered with a lower body injury since early in camp, skated the entire practice with partner Niklas Hjalmarsson, which Vest says is a good sign he will be ready for the regular season opener on Thursday. As for Antti Raanta, who has also played little as he is recovering from a lower body injury, did practice, but still needs more time. If he is not ready for Thursday’s game, Louis Domingue will start in his place.

Rangers New Defense Might Have Weakened Rest Of Team

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The New York Rangers spent much of their offseason fixing one of their biggest weaknesses in their defense. The team went out and signed free agent Kevin Shattenkirk to a four-year, $26.6MM deal, then re-signed trade deadline rental Brendan Smith to a new four-year, $17.4MM deal. They traded away top center Derek Stepan and backup goaltender Antti Raanta for defenseman Anthony DeAngelo and a first-round pick. Perhaps more importantly, they bought out Dan Girardi, who was struggling. With all the changes, the Rangers should have one of the best defensive corps in the league. With Shattenkirk paired with Ryan McDonagh, Smith paired with veteran Marc Staal and young Brady Skjei paired with either Nick Holden or DeAngelo, the Rangers should be in fantastic shape.

But at what cost? The Athletic’s Dom Luszczyszyn writes (subscription required) that the Rangers’ knee-jerk reaction to their second-round playoff loss to the Ottawa Senators have crippled the team in other areas. He writes the goaltending situation is now worse due to moving Raanta to Arizona. Instead, New York signed Ondrej Pavelec to a one-year deal, but there is a huge difference between the two backups. Raanta was a stud backup who now will get his chance to be an NHL starting goalie. Pavelec has been inconsistent in his time with the Jets, but has struggled so bad in the last couple of years that Winnipeg demoted him to the AHL’s Manitoba Moose. Incidentally, Pavelec played 18 games for Manitoba and finished with a 2.78 GAA in that span — which wouldn’t be acceptable in the NHL.  Probably not the backup you would want when your starter Henrik Lundqvist, who is 35 years old, is coming off the worst season of his career. Lundqvist finished the year with a 2.74 GAA in 57 games and .910 save percentage. Those numbers suggest that his workload might need to be diminished in the future — probably not the best time to be trading your top backup.

The scribe also mentions that the team also has to wonder if they have enough offense to get through the season. The team traded away Stepan, who he admits isn’t that big of a loss, but considering that there is no true center who can take his place, that’s not a good sign. Yes, Mike Zibanejad will likely assume the top role, but he will likely be one of the worst top centers in the NHL. Their other three centers J.T. Miller, Kevin Hayes and David Desharnais are all acceptable, but none are outstanding centers. Luszczyszyn adds that what the Rangers really need is a big-name scorer, which they lack. The team instead relies on Chris Kreider and Mats Zuccarello, who are great players, but not two players you should have leading your offense.

All in all, the belief is the Rangers have traded one concern for many others. Will these offensive changes really change anything?

 

NHL Notes: Raanta, Darling, Tolvanen, Duclair

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With Antti Raanta and Scott Darling attempting to make the conversion from backup to starter this season, many believe that both will be successful. However, history suggests that’s not always the case. NBC Sports Adam Gretz writes that the best comparable for both is Cam Talbot, who was hugely successful as a backup for the New York Rangers and continued that success as a starter after being traded to the Edmonton Oilers.

Gretz writes that while Talbot is the perfect comparison, there are also plenty of goaltenders who have failed to make the full-time conversion over the last 15 years, including a few names that many have long forgotten. Eddie Lack and Anton Khudobin each struggled as starters for Carolina which forced them to go out and get Darling in the first place, while other goaltenders such as Dan Ellis, Alex Stalock, Ben Scrivens and Vesa Toskala didn’t fare particularly well.

The hope is that both Raanta and Darling are more proven as backups than a lot of the others and are more NHL ready to handle a larger workload. Raanta and Darling’s success will be critical for the team to take their team to the next step.

  • Nashville Predators prospect Eeli Tolvanen, the team’s first-round pick in the 2017 draft, signed a three-year deal to play for Jokerit Helsinki of the KHL earlier in the offseason. International hockey writer Igor Eronko tweeted Tolvanen told him that his second year is a player’s option and if he has a good year, he will come stateside next year. It’s only been three games for Tolvanen, but he is currently third in the league in scoring with six points and is third in the league in shots taken.
  • Gretz, in another story writes this is a critical year for Arizona’s Anthony Duclair. The 22-year-old wing got the city excited when he posted a 20-goal season two years ago, but came crashing back to earth last year after a five-goal output. Gretz points out that he scored on 19 percent of his shots in the 2015-16 season, which is extremely high and not sustainable over the long-term. Last year, Duclair’s numbers dropped to six percent. The still restricted free agent has not come to terms with the team.

Upcoming UFA Goaltenders With Something To Prove

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Next year’s goaltending UFA crop may lack star power, but it does contain many interesting potential rehabilitation projects. This season provides those pending UFA goaltenders with an opportunity to turn things around and show teams that they are worth more than their current reputation belies. Whether it’s a former starter regulated to backup duties, or an aging veteran with just enough left in the tank, the following goaltenders can significantly improve their stock going into unrestricted free agency.

Jonathan Bernier – Colorado Avalanche – $2.75MM
The Colorado Avalanche signed the former Toronto Maple Leafs starter to a one-year deal worth $2.75MM this season to back up presumed starter Semyon Varlamov. Varlamov struggled last season, dealing with injuries and his worst stat line in his career. The Avalanche hope that Bernier can provide steady goaltending if Varlamov continues to slide or cannot shoulder a full starter’s load. If Bernier steps up and performs admirably, he could be in line for a starters position during the offseason. Last season saw Bernier player with the Anaheim Ducks and put up his best numbers in years. Part of that is the superior team in front of him, but it shows that given the proper tools, Bernier can be a serviceable starter in the league.

Eddie Lack – Calgary Flames – $2.75MM ($1.375 retained)
The Carolina Hurricanes traded Lack to the Calgary Flames this summer and agreed to retain 50% of his salary. Lack now has the opportunity to back up new Flames signee Mike Smith. Smith turns 36 this season, and will experience the injury woes that go along with veteran goaltenders. Lack will have an opportunity to step up and show teams that he still has the skills to become a starting goaltender. He is only two seasons removed from posting a .921 SV% and a 2.45GAA in 41 games for the Vancouver Canucks.

Ondrej Pavelec – New York Rangers – $1.3MM
Continuing with the reclamation projects backing up older veterans, Pavelec has a chance to show NHL GMs what he can do behind a very good team. In Pavelec’s ten year career he has seen the playoffs just once—with the Winnipeg Jets in 2014-15—and can benefit from the Rangers’ stacked defensive corps. Luckily, his bar is set low after his worst statistical season since 2008-09. Last season Pavelec played in just eight games, earning a .888 SV% and a 3.55 GAA. He was not much better the season before, with a .904 SV% and a 2.78 GAA. Mired by a reputation for being shaky and inconsistent, this may be Pavelec’s last opportunity to convince GMs to take a flier on the former 2nd round pick.

Cam Ward – Carolina Hurricanes – $3.3MM
Ward is over a decade removed from his Stanley Cup-winning playoff performance, but since then he has been the model of consistency. Unfortunately, he has been consistently average. And once again, Ward will have some true competition coming into camp. The Carolina Hurricanes signed former Chicago Blackhawks backup Scott Darling to a $4.15MM a year contract, signalling who the team prefers to earn the starting role going forward. Ward has already experienced this before with Eddie Lack, and eventually Lack was moved out to Calgary. This time, however, a decent season may not end with a new contract from the Hurricanes, but it will garner interest from other NHL teams.

Antti Raanta – Arizona Coyotes – $1MM
Raanta is the only goaltender on this list who is not a reclamation project. The Finnish netminder has backed up elite goaltenders Corey Crawford and Henrik Lundqvist, and now has the opportunity to take the starting reins in Arizona. The New York Rangers shipped Raanta alongside Derek Stepan to the Arizona Coyotes for Anthony DeAngelo and the 7th overall pick earlier this summer. Raanta is fresh off of a 30 games season where he earned a .922 GAA and a 2.26 SV%, significantly better than Lundqvist’s .910 SV% and 2.74 GAA. If Raanta can maintain his statline for a full season in Arizona, he will be in line for a large pay increase.

 

A Quiet 2017 Off-Season

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By the time August rolls around each year, it seems like the off-season is dragging on. The July 1st free agent frenzy is long behind us and it’s been weeks since the last major signing. Fans are struggling to get their hockey fill and counting the days until the puck drops on preseason hockey. In 2017, fans have all the more reason to be sick of the off-season. When compared with the summer of 2016, this off-season has simply been boring. It was expected to be as such, but no one could have predicted just how quiet this summer could be.

As of today, August 6th, 2017, there have only been two unrestricted free agents signed to contracts worth more than $6MM per year: Kevin Shattenkirk to the New York Rangers (as predicted) and Alexander Radulov to the Dallas Stars. In contrast, there were four such deals signed on July 1st, 2016 alone. Drop that mark down to contracts worth more than $4MM annually, and you get uninspiring names this year like Evgeni Dadonov, Dmitry Kulikov, Nick Bonino, Karl Alzner, Martin Hanzal, and Steve Mason added to the list; hardly a superstar among them. 2016 saw high-profile players like Milan Lucic, David Backes, Loui Eriksson, Kyle Okposo, and Andrew Ladd all find new homes. Those signings came on the heels of the P.K. Subban – Shea Weber and Taylor Hall – Adam Larsson trades as well. The best swaps 2017 has to offer so far are Travis Hamonic or Marcus Johansson being dealt for draft picks. There have simply been a lack of franchise-altering moves made this summer.

Then you have the timeline of when deals got done. By August last year, the best unsigned free agents were Antoine Vermette, Jiri Hudler, and Jhonas Enroth. The year before, Cody Franson and David Schlemko highlighted the August market. In both cases, NHL teams got their deals done in July, filling the month with exciting signing news. This year? Not so much. Legendary players like Jaromir Jagr, Jarome Iginla, and Shane Doan remain available, alongside other able-bodied contributors like Thomas Vanek, Drew Stafford, and Daniel Winnik. That’s in addition to Franson and Hudler as well. Teams are simply waiting around on this market for reasons unknown. Could it end up as an exciting run of signing in August? Maybe, but don’t count on it.

The weak 2017 free agent market coupled with the challenge of preparing for June’s Expansion Draft has simply resulted in one of quietest off-seasons in recent memory. Several teams still have needs and spots to fill and signings and trades remain possible, but at this point the summer is a lost cause. Time to look forward to next season and even next summer when we *hope* to see the likes of John Tavares, Rick Nash, Evander Kane, James Neal, James van Riemsdyk, Paul Stastny, Mikko Koivu, Cam Atkinson, Jonathan Marchessault, Daniel and Henrik Sedin, Mike Green, Jack Johnson, Calvin de Haan, and Antti Raanta all hit the open market. Hopefully that list is enough excitement to get you through the rest of this one.

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