Minor Transactions: 02/26/20
The deadline is over but the season is still far from it. Teams are playing the most important games of the year and tweaking their rosters to find just the right balance. With that, there are always minor moves to be kept track of and right here is where you’ll find them.
- The Pittsburgh Penguins recalled Sam Lafferty from the minor leagues under emergency conditions for their road trip to the west coast, where they’ll face the Los Angeles Kings, Anaheim Ducks and San Jose Sharks over the next few days.
- Nicolas Roy and Zach Whitecloud are back up as expected for the Vegas Golden Knights, after being involved in a paper transaction this week. Both players stayed with the team and were involved in the regular lineup at morning skate.
- Chris Driedger has been sent to the AHL on a conditioning loan, meaning the Florida Panthers goaltender is getting closer to a return. The 25-year old Driedger has actually been the team’s best goaltender this season, though that sample is limited to just nine appearances.
- Gabriel Vilardi has been recalled once again by the Los Angeles Kings, who welcome in the Penguins later this evening. Vilardi has two points in three games for the Kings this season, finally healthy after such a struggle to get back on the ice.
- With enough healthy forwards along with their equipment ready for tomorrow’s game against the Vancouver Canucks, the Ottawa Senators have sent Filip Chlapik back to the AHL. While there may not be much to play for in Ottawa, the Belleville Senators are in first place in their division and rank third in the entire AHL.
- Lean Bergmann and Maxim Letunov have been returned to the minor leagues as the San Jose Sharks return home for the next several games. Defenseman Dalton Prout has been recalled from his conditioning loan with the Barracuda in a corresponding move.
- Mitchell Stephens has been recalled again after being sent down just a couple of days ago by the Tampa Bay Lightning. Stephens will be eligible for the AHL playoffs if necessary, but the focus now is on Steven Stamkos who was forced from last night’s game.
- The Detroit Red Wings have announced the recall of Dennis Cholowski. The young defender has split the season between Detroit and the AHL’s Grand Rapids Griffins, contributing routinely at both levels.
AHL All-Star Game Makes Several Roster Changes
Sunday: More changes are being made, even on the morning of the event. Toronto Marlies teamates Timothy Liljegren and Jeremy Bracco have been added to the North Division squad, the AHL announced. The duo will replace Bellevile Senators forward Drake Batherson, who was recalled by Ottawa, and Utica Comets forward Reid Boucher, who is unavailable due to an injury suffered this weekend.
Saturday: The AHL announced another change to the AHL All-Star roster as Belleville Senators forward Alex Formenton will replace teammate Josh Norris for the North Division.
Wednesday: The league has made another adjustment, selecting Cameron Gaunce from the Syracuse Crunch to replace Lawrence Pilut of the Rochester Americans. Pilut’s absence likely means he’ll be re-joining the Buffalo Sabres after the break.
Tuesday: The AHL All-Star Game is also just around the corner, but thanks to some midseason call-ups the rosters will have to change. Today the minor league announced five swaps for their upcoming event in Ontario, California. Vinni Lettieri (Hartford), Josh Norris (Belleville), Adam Clendening (Cleveland), Alex Nedeljkovic (Charlotte) and Vitek Vanacek (Hershey) have all been added to the game, while Nathan Gerbe (Cleveland), Michael Sgarbossa (Hershey), Rasmus Sandin (Toronto), Chris Driedger (Springfield) and Igor Shesterkin (Hartford) will all no longer be attending.
The full rosters are now as follows:
Atlantic Division:
Andrew Agozzino, Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins
Sebastian Aho, Bridgeport Sound Tigers
Jake Bean, Charlotte Checkers
Paul Carey, Providence Bruins
Morgan Frost, Lehigh Valley Phantoms
Joey Keane, Hartford Wolf Pack
Vinni Lettieri, Hartford Wolf Pack
Matt Moulson, Hershey Bears (Captain)
Alex Nedeljkovic, Charlotte Checkers
Jack Studnicka, Providence Bruins
Owen Tippett, Springfield Thunderbirds
Vitek Vanacek, Hershey Bears
North Division:
Joey Anderson, Binghamton Devils
Rudolfs Balcers, Belleville Senators
Alex Barre-Boulet, Syracuse Crunch
Drake Batherson, Belleville Senators
Reid Boucher, Utica Comets
Adam Clendening, Cleveland Monsters
Charles Hudon, Laval Rocket
Jonas Johansson, Rochester Americans
Kasimir Kaskisuo, Toronto Marlies
Josh Norris, Belleville Senators
Lawrence Pilut, Rochester Americans
Brogan Rafferty, Utica Comets
Central Division:
Alexandre Carrier, Milwaukee Admirals
Lucas Elvenes, Chicago Wolves
Matthew Ford, Grand Rapids Griffins (Captain)
Jansen Harkins, Manitoba Moose
Connor Ingram, Milwaukee Admirals
Kevin Lankinen, Rockford IceHogs
Joel L’Esperance, Texas Stars
Gerald Mayhew, Iowa Wild
Brennan Menell, Iowa Wild
Derrick Pouliot, San Antonio Rampage
Chris Terry, Grand Rapids Griffins
Yakov Trenin, Milwaukee Admirals
Pacific Division:
Tyler Benson, Bakersfield Condors
Joachim Blichfeld, San Jose Barracuda
Brayden Burke, Tucson Roadrunners
Kyle Capobianco, Tucson Roadrunners
Kale Clague, Ontario Reign
Martin Frk, Ontario Reign
Glenn Gawdin, Stockton Heat
Lane Pederson, Tucson Roadrunners
Calvin Petersen, Ontario Reign
Anthony Stolarz, San Diego Gulls
T.J. Tynan, Colorado Eagles
Chris Wideman, San Diego Gulls
Florida Panthers Lose Goalie Chris Driedger For Weeks
The Florida Panthers took another injury hit to their goaltending stable as the team announced they are now without Chris Driedger for several weeks. He suffered a groin injury during the first period of Thursday’s game against Los Angeles.
Driedger was one of the team’s last cuts in training camp, losing out to youngster Sam Montembeault, but with both Bobrovsky and Montembeault struggling early on in the season, the Panthers brought in Driedger in late November in hopes he might stabilize the team. The 25-year-old began the season with a shutout and has posted impressive numbers, including a 5-2 record, a 2.35 GAA and a .935 save percentage through nine games.
The Panthers may have caught a break in the timing of the injury as the team announced that Sergei Bobrovsky, who has missed much of January with an upper-body injury, is expected to return Saturday. That could help as well as the upcoming all-star and bye-week break that Florida has coming up, which could give Driedger some much-needed rest without losing game-time.