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Penguins Sign Defenseman Kevin Czuczman

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Last off-season, the Pittsburgh Penguins went on a signing spree, inking a whole bunch of defenseman with even the slightest NHL experience to two-way deals in hopes that bolstering their defensive depth would pay off. The 2016 names included Chad Ruhwedel, Cameron Gaunce, Steve Oleksy, David Warsofsky, Stuart Percy, and Tim Erixon. After a season where their NHL defensive corps suffered injury after injury and the AHL depth was constantly called upon, even earning Ruhwedel a new contract, the Penguins are back at it again this summer. New additions already include Zach Trotman, Jarred Tinordi, Chris Summers, and an extension for Trade Deadline acquisition Frank Corrado as well.

Add another name to the list, as the Penguins announced today that they have signed Kevin Czuczman to a one-year, two-way deal worth the $650K minimum at the NHL level. Czuczman spent the 2016-17 season with the AHL’s Manitoba Moose on a minor league contract, but posted the best scoring numbers of his entire hockey career, with 32 points in 76 games. The former Lake Superior State standout has NHL experience as well, as he signed with the New York Islanders out of college in 2014 and played in 13 games down the stretch with the team, recording two points. Since, Czuczman bounced around the Islanders’ minor league affiliates and then moved to Manitoba, establishing himself as a good defensive defenseman and a locker room leader along the way. Czuczman will provide some solid stay-at-home depth for a team that often lacks that type of player.

Will Czuczman see any NHL action in 2017-18 though? Probably not. The Penguins’ top six of Kris Letang, Brian Dumoulin, Justin Schultz, Olli Maatta, Ian Cole, and newcomer Matt Hunwick is well-established and Ruhwedel has likely earned the #7 spot. Down in Wilkes-Barre, Corrado and Derrick Pouliot will push for roster spots and, assuming they fall short, will certainly be the first call-ups. Trotman, who played in large chunks of the 2014-15 and 2015-16 seasons with the Boston Bruins, and Tinordi, who was a spot starter for the Montreal Canadiens for years, are then next up on the depth chart. That would make Czuczman approximately 12th on the Pittsburgh organizational depth chart. With all that said, if any team is gonna blow through eleven defenders this season, it’s the injury-prone Penguins. Czuczman chose his new home wisely.

Pittsburgh Penguins Recall Eleven Players

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The Pittsburgh Penguins have made their “Black Aces” call-ups, bringing eleven players up from the AHL Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins. The players are as follows:

G Sean Maguire
D David Warsofsky
D Derrick Pouliot
D Cameron Gaunce
D Frank Corrado
F Tom Sestito
F Dominik Simon
F Jean-Sebastien Dea
F Garrett Wilson
F Kevin Porter

In addition, Daniel Sprong has also been recalled. Sprong had been playing with the Charlottetown Islanders of the QMJHL. Sprong has one of the more interesting histories among young players, spending 18 games with the Penguins last year before going back to junior. That stint—combined with 12 healthy scratches peppered throughout—kicked Sprong’s entry-level deal into effect, which will make him a restricted free agent after next season despite spending this entire year in junior.

The second-round pick has continued to show that he’s ready for the next step in his hockey career, but will likely not get into any action with the Penguins during these playoffs. Instead, all of the players called up today will skate with the team and provide insurance should multiple injuries strike at the same time.

Morning Notes: Lorentz, Penguins, Datsyuk, Setoguchi

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The Carolina Hurricanes have added a talented young forward to their prospect ranks, inking Steven Lorentz to a three-year entry-level deal. The contract will pay him $650K in the first two years, and $700K the third season—contingent on him staying in the NHL. At the AHL level he’ll earn just $60K, but does receive a healthy $185K signing bonus. Not bad for a seventh-round pick in 2015 who despite being looked over in the draft has exploded onto the scene in the OHL playoffs, recording 15 points in 9 games and leading the Peterborough Petes to the third round.

Lorentz has the size and scoring ability to make an impact at the professional level, and will try to continue his playoff dominance against the Mississauga Steelheads. He’s got a long way to go to see the NHL, but he’s already outgrown his draft status.

  • The Pittsburgh Penguins have returned Josh Archibald, Tom Sestito and Cameron Gaunce to the AHL to help the Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins in their first round series with the Providence Bruins. Pittsburgh is off for a few days following their elimination of the Columbus Blue Jackets last night, and will nurse any wounds while waiting for the victor of the Capitals-Maple Leafs series.
  • Despite Pavel Datsyuk not being healthy enough to play in the clinching game in the Gagarin Cup, he intends to play in 2017-18 for SKA St. Petersburg. Dan Milstein, Datsyuk’s agent, tweeted that the 38-year old will also be looking forward to the 2018 Olympics, where he will presumably be selected to participate for Russia. Datsyuk found great success with SKA this season, scoring 34 points in 44 games while being much closer to his family in Russia.
  • Devin Setoguchi has signed with Adler-Mannheim of the German Hockey League, inking a two-year deal to continue his hockey career overseas. Setoguchi made an impressive comeback this year, making the Los Angeles Kings out of camp and recording 12 points in 45 games. The former 30-goal man has a long troubled history in the league but continues to work his way back to health and happiness. He’ll join several former NHL players including Carlo Colaiacovo, Marcel Goc and Drew MacIntyre with the Eagles next season.

Penguins Recall Warsofsky, Reassign Corrado

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Fresh off back-to-back shootout losses, the Pittsburgh Penguins are looking to tighten up their defense ahead of games against the New York Rangers and Chicago Blackhawks this week. One step they’re taking to achieve that goal is the promotion of David Warsofsky from the AHL’s Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins. In a corresponding move, fellow defenseman Frank Corrado has been sent down the minors to make room.

Warsofsky has skated in six games with Pittsburgh this season, but is no stranger to the system having played in 12 contests with the team last year as well. At just 5’9″, 170 lbs., the former Boston University blue liner does not exactly strike fear into the hearts of his opponents with his physicality. His career -9 rating doesn’t instill much confidence in his defense play either. However, Warsofsky is actually a very dependable puck-moving defenseman, who plays responsibly with the puck and can be leaned upon for minutes without risking a lapse in defensive play. While his Wilkes-Barre/Scranton compatriots like Cameron Gaunce, Chad Ruhwedel, and more were back and forth from Pittsburgh over much of the past few months, Warsofsky has excelled as the #1 defenseman for the AHL squad. As solid as he can be in his own end, where Warsofsky really shines is on the offensive, where he has posted AHL career highs this season. The AHL All-Star is currently ranked fifth among minor league defensemen in scoring. As hockey fans have seen for close to a decade now, the Pittsburgh Penguins are certainly not above the mantra of the “the best defense is a good offense”.

Meanwhile, the recently acquired Corrado will take a trip across Pennsylvania to join the Jr. Penguins for a while. Corrado wanted out of Toronto at the Trade Deadline due to a perceived lack of opportunity, and the Maple Leafs granted his wish by sending him to Pittsburgh in a deal that saw veteran forward Eric Fehr go the other way. However, despite multiple injuries on the Penguins’ blue line, opportunity has not knocked much for Corrado in Pittsburgh either. Corrado has skated in just two games for Pittsburgh thus far, the same number he played in with Toronto before being moved, and has been held without a point and has failed to make much of a difference in any matter. In the Penguins’ 2-1 loss to the Ottawa Senators on Thursday, Corrado was on the ice for just under six minutes. Pittsburgh will get the young defenseman some play time now, and hope that he can rediscover his game in the minors and return to the NHL level and make more of an impact if called upon.

Morning Notes: Concussion Protocol, Tynan, AHL

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The GM Meetings will wrap up today without much to say. The tagline of the three days in Boca Raton might as well have been “status quo”, as nothing seems to be changing. That includes the concussion protocol for goaltenders, as Ken Campbell of The Hockey News writes.

Goalies across the league have complained about the process, saying that taking a netminder off the ice and out of his rhythm is hurting the game. It’s worth it though, if it prevents even a single concussion from happening. For now, the GMs and league will leave the protocol the same and treat goaltenders like any other player who suffers a head shot on the ice.

  • The Blue Jackets have sent T.J. Tynan back down after making his NHL debut last night. In a 2-0 win over the New Jersey Devils, Tynan played just over seven minutes and had a single shot on goal. The 25-year old playmaker will return to the Cleveland Monsters for the time being and wait for his next opportunity.
  • Today is the AHL trade deadline where, like its NHL counterpart, teams can move players to contenders and preserve their playoff eligibility. Patrick Williams of NHL.com put together a nice summary of all the moves made in the AHL up to this point, including names like Tom Gilbert and Teemu Pulkkinen. There will likely be several moves made as teams load up for a Calder Cup run, though very few (if any) will include real prospects.
  • The Pittsburgh Penguins have recalled both Tom Sestito and Cameron Gaunce today, as they face off against the big Winnipeg Jets tonight. In a corresponding move, they sent Derrick Pouliot back to the Wilkes-Barre Scranton Penguins. Sestito especially gives the Penguins another big body to avoid being pushed around by the Jets, though he doesn’t offer much in the way off offense.

Pittsburgh Penguins Looking To Add Defense

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With Olli Maatta (hand surgery) and Justin Schultz (concussion) out for the Pittsburgh Penguins, the next few weeks will test their defensive depth unless they can make a move to bring in someone at the deadline. That’s exactly what Jim Rutherford is trying to do, according to Jonathan Bombulie of TribLIVE, who spoke with the Pittsburgh GM earlier today.

We’re going to have to go through these next two weeks and go along on the time frame of everyone else. We’ll be looking at adding one or two more defensemen.

Rutherford has been on the phones already trying to add to his blueline, but with the market not having quite materialized just yet, it’s been tough sledding. Just finding one defenseman on the market that doesn’t come with red flags is difficult, acquiring two seems almost impossible. The Penguins don’t exactly need all-stars on the back end, but if they don’t want to see Kris Letang have to log 30 minutes a night (like he did yesterday against the Columbus Blue Jackets) for the rest of the season they need capable defenders.

The Penguins’ GM goes on to say that his search won’t be focused entirely on defense at the deadline and is open to anything. It does sound like he will be an active participant on March 1st, hoping to propel his group to another Stanley Cup. Last season he acquired Schultz, Trevor Daley and Carl Hagelin in-season, though all three came before deadline day (with Daley and Hagelin well before).

Look for them to target rentals mostly, as they are already going to have some tough decisions heading into the expansion draft. Anyone under contract for more than this year would likely be at risk in the Vegas draft.

For now, they will turn to the group of Steve Oleksy, Chad Ruhwedel and Cameron Gaunce to fill the holes, though the former two only got 14 minutes each yesterday. The pairing of Letang and Brian Dumoulin were leaned on heavily, something that will be interesting to follow down the stretch.

Minor Transactions: 2/17/2017

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The Washington Capitals announced that they have recalled rookies Zach Sanford and Jakub Vrana from the AHL’s Hershey Bears. The pair has combined to play in 33 games for the Capitals in 2016-17, and their continued growth will become even more important down the stretch. Sanford has played in 21 games, but has only a goal and an assist in limited ice time. Vrana has suited up for just 12 games, but has a goal and two assists in that time, as well as a +2 rating. When active, Vrana has seen more ice time with the Capital’s skill players, while Sanford has settled into a bottom-six role. Regardless, both players need to work harder to bring their strong AHL production to the next level in Washington. With Andre Burakovsky sidelined, the Capitals approach the Trade Deadline with very little forward depth beyond their starters other than the two rookies. If Sanford and Vrana can’t pick up the pace when the Caps return from their bye week on Saturday, Washington will very likely target one or two veteran forwards by March 1st.

Elsewhere around the league:

  • Arizona was forced to promote goalie Marek Langhamer last night on an emergency basis, as backup Louis Domingue was injured earlier in the day. The AHL Tuscon Roadrunners’ keeper traveled to Los Angeles to meet the team prior to their road game and will head back to Arizona and remain with the team for now. Langhamer hasn’t had his best season in 2016-17,  posting a .914 save percentage and 2.90 goals against average to accompany a losing record in 12 games with the Roadrunners, but performed much worse in his first AHL season last year. Langhamer has looked much better down in the ECHL over the past two campaigns and seems to just need more time to develop. He is still a better prospect than many would have expected when he was drafted in the seventh round in 2012 out of the Czech Republic national junior program.
  • In the wake of injuries to Olli Maatta and Justin Schultz, the Pittsburgh Penguins have recalled fellow defensemen Steven Oleksy and Cameron Gaunce from their AHL affiliate in Wilkes-Barre/Scranton. Maatta will miss the next six weeks, while Schultz’ condition is still unknown, so a long-term role or two may have just opened up for Oleksy, Gaunce, or Chad Ruhwedel.
  • The Tampa Bay Lightning have promoted forward Gabriel Dumont from the AHL’s Syracuse Crunch. Dumont was passed through waivers last month and demoted to the minors, but in need of an extra body up front, he’ll return to West Florida from upstate New York. Dumont has just two points in 14 games with the Bolts, and five points overall in his NHL career.
  • The Calgary Flames assigned defenseman Brett Kulak to the AHL’s Stockton Heat, the team announced.  Kulak has played in 21 games with the Flames this year, picking up three assists while averaging a little more than 14 minutes per game.  He also has suited up in 11 minor league games with the Heat, recording five points.
  • Anaheim Ducks blueliner Shea Theodore has once again been re-assigned to their AHL affiliate in San Diego per a team release.  This marks the 12th different time he has been sent down this year in an effort to save cap space and to get him as much playing time as possible.  In 30 games with the Ducks, Theodore has eight points but has been more of an offensive threat in the minors with nine points in just 13 games.
  • The San Jose Sharks continued their near-daily shuffle of youngsters to and from the minor leagues, announcing (via Twitter) that winger Timo Meier and defenseman Tim Heed have been assigned to the AHL’s San Jose Barracuda.  Meier has played in 26 games with the Sharks while Heed, despite being recalled eight separate times since January, has played just one NHL game this year.
  • The Nashville Predators have flipped backup goalies once again, sending Juuse Saros to AHL Milwaukee while recalled Marek Mazenec, reports Adam Vingan of the Tennessean.  The move will allow Saros to get into a game or two in the minors to stay in game shape before likely returning to Nashville next week.
  • The Montreal Canadiens announced that they have recalled center Michael McCarron from St. John’s of the AHL.  McCarron had been sent down to play while the team was on their bye week.  McCarron, who is one of the players Arizona is coveting in a Martin Hanzal trade, has a goal and four assists in 18 games with the Canadiens this season.
  • The Winnipeg Jets announced that they recalled winger Brandon Tanev from the Manitoba Moose.  Defenseman Toby Enstrom was placed on injured reserve (retroactive to February 12th) to make room on the roster for him.  Tanev has spent the bulk of the season with the Jets, playing in 39 games while scoring two goals and two assists.

Minor Transactions: 1/24/17

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Here is where we’ll keep track of today’s minor roster moves:

  • The Devils announced (Twitter link) that they have activated defenseman Yohann Auvitu off of injured reserve and assigned him to their AHL affiliate in Albany. He had missed the past seven games with a lower body injury.  The 27 year old rookie has spent the bulk of the season with New Jersey, picking up four points (2-2-4) in 25 games.  He also has seen time in seven AHL contests, recording a trio of assists.
  • The Senators announced via Twitter that they have recalled winger Casey Bailey from AHL Binghamton. He’s expected to serve as insurance up front in case Mike Hoffman (flu) is unable to play tonight against Washington.  Bailey has played in four games with Ottawa this season being held off the scoresheet and has ten goals and five assists in 33 games with Binghamton.
  • Washington announced the recall of center Chandler Stephenson from Hershey of the AHL. The 22 year old got into nine games with the Capitals last season but has yet to suit up with the big club in 2016-17.  He has played in 39 AHL games this year, recording 24 points (6-18-24), just four shy of his career high set last season.
  • With defenseman Brian Dumoulin set to return from injured reserve, the Penguins have assigned blueliner Cameron Gaunce to Wilkes-Barre/Scranton of the AHL, per a team release. Gaunce got into three games with Pittsburgh after being recalled last week, picking up a pair of assists while posting two goals and six assists with the Baby Pens this season.
  • The Ducks announced via Twitter that they have loaned center Nate Thompson to their AHL affiliate in San Diego on a long-term injury conditioning loan.  Loans of this nature typically last a maximum of three games or six days but teams can petition the league for an extra two games.  Thompson, who remains on LTIR, has missed the entire season so far after rupturing his Achilles’ tendon in an offseason workout.
  • Colorado announced (Twitter link) that they have recalled center Jim O’Brien from San Antonio of the AHL.  The team placed forward Rene Bourque on IR to make room for him on the roster.  O’Brien, a former first round pick of the Senators (29th overall) in 2007, has spent the entire season at the minor league level, collecting seven goals and ten assists in 26 games.  He last saw NHL action in 2015-16, getting into four games with New Jersey.

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