Atlantic Division Transactions/Injuries
The Buffalo Sabres, already without two of their top defensemen, will now also be without veteran blue liner Josh Gorges for what head coach Dan Bylsma says will be “weeks,” tweets Joe Yerdon of NHL.com. Gorges suffered a non-displaced fracture in his foot and according to Yerdon was seen in a walking boot yesterday.
The Sabres have been without the services of Zach Bogosian and Dmitry Kulikov since early November, weakening a blue line not considered to be particularly deep to begin with. Bogosian has missed a month with a sprained MCL while Kulikov has been out for three weeks due to an undisclosed injury. However, Yerdon reports that Kulikov is now considered day-to-day, suggesting he could return to the lineup relatively soon.
The Sabres are calling Taylor Fedun questionable for tomorrow’s game and if he can’t go, the team will have to call up a defender from Rochester of the AHL. Speculatively, Casey Nelson, who already has made eight appearances for Buffalo this season, could be the choice if a recall is necessarily.
(Buffalo Depth Cart – courtesy of Roster Resource)
- The Florida Panthers announced that they have recalled forward Paul Thompson from Springfield of the AHL. Thompson leads Springfield in several offensive categories including: goals (six); assists (nine); points (15); power play goals (three) and; shots on goal (64). He has appeared in 20 contests so far this season for the Thunderbirds. Thompson, 28, has just three NHL games of experience under his belt, all coming last season with New Jersey, and has yet to record a point. George Richards of the Miami Herald reports that Thompson’s recall was necessitated by an injury to Jonathan Marchessault last night in Ottawa.
Snapshots: Injury Updates, Andrighetto, Tkachuk, Gerbe
The Buffalo Sabres have had a tough couple days, with Jack Eichel, Kyle Okposo, and Dmitry Kulikov missing the team’s home opener versus the Montreal Canadiens. The Canadiens beat them soundly 4-1 and Evander Kane left the game with what’s believed to be a rib injury. While Eichel is out long-term with a high ankle sprain, there is some good news for Sabres fans as Okposo and Kulikov both skated this morning with the team. The Sabres have not called up anyone from the AHL yet, as they don’t play until Sunday. They’ll let their farm team open the season with a full roster before plucking some players.
Down in Tampa Bay, rugged right winger Ryan Callahan is taking part in Lightning practice. Callahan has yet to play this season after hip surgery in June. We reported on Thursday that Callahan is expected to return by early November. Callahan was wearing a full-contact jersey, so he appears to be on track to do so.
- In anticipation of Jeff Petry returning the lineup, the Montreal Canadiens have placed Swiss forward Sven Andrighetto on waivers for the purpose of assigning him to the AHL, according to Elliotte Friedman. The former third round pick had 17 points in 44 NHL games last season, and has posted 110 points in 150 AHL games.
- Calgary Flames first round pick Matthew Tkachuk had an interesting first game in the NHL. He was held pointless, took a penalty, and earned a -1 rating, but appeared to get under the skin of the Edmonton Oilers. He slew-footed Oilers defenseman Brandon Davidson, injuring him “for a while”. Sportsnet’s Mark Spector tweeted that he would be surprised if one of the Flames veteran leaders like captain Mark Giordano or Matt Stajan didn’t talk to Tkachuk about the slew-foot.
- After terminating his contract with the New York Rangers, dimunitive forward Nathan Gerbe has signed a three-year contract with Genève-Servette HC in the Swiss League. Gerbe had previously signed a contract with Genève-Servette in June before dissolving the contract to sign with the Rangers on July 1st.
Latest On Rasmus Ristolainen
The Buffalo Sabres have had a roller coaster of an offseason. While the team successfully brought in Kyle Okposo and Dmitry Kulikov to shore up two weaknesses, they’ve also had the headaches caused by Evander Kane‘s continuing legal issues, and were spurned by Jimmy Vesey after trading a third-round pick to obtain his negotiating rights. Now, you’d think all their attention would be on re-signing their two remaining restricted free agents, starting with their stud defenseman Rasmus Ristolainen.
Not so fast, as according to Sami Hoffren of Urheilusanomat (a Finnish sports publication) Ristolainen told him he or his camp “haven’t heard anything in a while” from the Buffalo side regarding a new contract and doesn’t expect to sign anything during the World Cup; Ristolainen is competing for Finland in the upcoming tournament.
After being drafted eighth overall in 2013, Ristolainen has shown a steady progression into one of the better right-handed defensemen in the league. With 41 points last season, he led the Buffalo blueline and ranked 23rd in the league among defensemen. Going forward, the 21-year old will be looking for a substantial bump if he’s to sign long-term, as he’s proven his ability at this level over the past two seasons.
Buffalo also has Zemgus Girgensons, another former first round pick who took a step backwards last season left to sign. Girgensons only scored 18 points after two consecutive seasons with at least 22, including a 15 goal output in just 61 games in 2014-15. Both players should eventually re-sign, but it is getting later and later into the summer without any news. The Sabres have just over $8MM in cap space currently, more than enough to get both under contract.
Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.
Atlantic Notes: Kulikov, Kampfer, Ceci, Zetterberg
Former Florida defenseman Dmitry Kulikov said he was ‘surprised’ that he was dealt to Buffalo at the draft, writes George Richards of the Miami Herald. Kulikov knew there was a chance he could be moved but hadn’t heard that the Sabres were one of the teams that was interested in him. Kulikov told Richards that he was excited for the move and also noted that there were times in the past he wanted to be traded:
“I’m excited to change the scenery a little bit, go on to a new team. It felt right for some reason. After being here so many years … There were times I wanted Florida to trade me, then we drafted some good players and the team started to turn around and it was fun, so, at that point, I wanted to stay. But when the trade came, it felt like a good opportunity for me to step up my game.”
Kulikov is entering the final year of a three year, $13MM contract he signed back in the 2014 offseason and will undoubtedly be pushing to improve upon a one goal, 16 assist effort from last year. He’s likely to start next season in a top four role with the Sabres.
Other tidbits from the Atlantic Division:
- Also from Richards’ column, Panthers blueliner Steven Kampfer is fully recovered from offseason knee surgery. Kampfer noted he had been playing through pain since December and is now pain free. Kampfer will likely be in a heated battle for a roster spot at training camp as Florida has nine defensemen that could conceivably make a push for a space on the opening night roster.
- Bruce Garrioch of the Ottawa Sun reports that talks continue between the Senators and RFA defender Cody Ceci and that they are looking at two and six year deals (Twitter links). Ceci had a career high 10 goals and 26 points in 75 games with Ottawa while averaging 19:18 per game.
- NHL.com reports that Red Wings captain Henrik Zetterberg has been named captain of Sweden’s entry into next month’s World Cup of Hockey. It will be Zetterberg’s 13th appearance internationally for his home country. As their depth chart currently stands, he will likely be in a battle for a middle six spot in Sweden’s lineup.
Panthers Extend Reilly Smith For Five Years
Clearly the biggest players in free agency this year, the Florida Panthers are close to another move to lock up their young core. Gary Lawless of TSN was first to report that the team was close to an extension with forward Reilly Smith that would pay him $5MM a season for an additional five years. The team has since confirmed the length of the deal, though not the financial details.
In just the past few weeks, the team has traded for then signed Keith Yandle, dealt away Dmitry Kulikov, given extensions to Aaron Ekblad and Vincent Trocheck, signed free agents Jason Demers and James Reimer, and pretty much owned the hockey world.
Smith, 25, had an excellent season last year with the Panthers, scoring 25 goals and 50 points. The former third round pick has had quite a start to his career, putting up at least 40 points in each of his first three full seasons. The talented young winger came over to Florida in the deal that saw them take on Marc Savard‘s cap-hit from the Bruins, one that they recently dealt to New Jersey for some cap relief of their own.
The Panthers have been on quite a clear path lately, trying to push past the first round of the playoffs for the first time since 1996, the year they lost in the Cup finals to Colorado. After being knocked out by the New York Islanders last season, the team has made clear upgrades to their defensive group, and should have one of the better top pairings in the league with Ekblad and Yandle signed long-term.
Smith is still under contract for next season at a $3.43MM cap hit, meaning that a five-year extension would take him through the 2021-22 season. Perhaps not coincidentally, that is also when Trocheck and Aleksander Barkov will hit free agency, giving the team a chance to re-tool if they need to at that point.
If the financials are true, it would mean the Panthers have four young forwards under contract long-term for less than $6MM apiece in Barkov, Trocheck, Smith and Nick Bjugstad. All 25 or under, that quartet scored 93 goals last season. Next on the to-do list would be Jonathan Huberdeau, the former third overall pick who put up 20 goals of his own last season. He’s due $3.25MM next year before becoming an arbitration-eligible RFA next summer.
Panthers Trade Kulikov to Sabres for Pysyk And Picks
The Florida Panthers traded D Dmitry Kulikov and the 33rd pick to the Buffalo Sabres for D Mark Pysyk and the 38th and 89th pick. More details forthcoming.
Kulikov scored 1G and 17P last season in 74 games. He has one year left on his contract worth $4.33MM a year. Mark Pysyk scored 1G and 11P in 55 games for the Sabres.
Snapshots: Subban, Kulikov, Fowler, Shattenkirk
In advance of tonight’s first round of the draft, many prominent defensemen have seen their name involved in trade speculation in recent days. Here is the latest on who may or may not be on the move.
- P.K. Subban was in the spotlight yesterday as trade talks reportedly picked up. However, Pierre LeBrun of TSN/ESPN doesn’t believe that there’s a deal out there that the Canadiens are willing to make, at least at this time. Subban’s no-movement clause kicks in on July 1st and the speculation likely won’t entirely die down until then.
- The Florida Panthers are fielding plenty of offers for Dmitry Kulikov according to George Richards of the Miami Herald. He adds that picks and players are being discussed as a possible return. TVA Sports’ Renaud Lavoie adds that Boston is a team that continues to show interest in the 25 year old. Kulikov has one year left on his contract with a $4.33M cap hit. Richards also notes that the Panthers are also talking about an extension with Kulikov so a trade is far from certain. Adrian Dater of Bleacher Report suggests the Avalanche could be in the mix as well as they have been trying to get him for years.
- The Montreal Canadiens are another team showing interest in Ducks D Cam Fowler, reports TSN’s Darren Dreger. Last night, it was reported that Buffalo and Anaheim were also discussing Fowler, with talks expected to continue today.
- Kevin Shattenkirk’s name continues to come up. Lyle Richardson of The Hockey News notes that the Sabres, Bruins, Flyers, and Rangers have all shown interest. CSNNE’s Joe Haggerty adds that the expectation is that Shattenkirk would like to sign his next deal (which will begin in 2017-18) out East which could potentially impact his market. Jimmy Murphy of DW Sports Boston adds the Canadiens and Capitals to the list of interested teams. One team that has apparently dropped out of the race is the Coyotes who, according to Craig Morgan of Arizona Sports, have turned their attention elsewhere.
Florida Acquires Rights To Keith Yandle
UPDATE: 7:28 PM CST: Stephen Whyno from AP Sports reports Panthers GM Tom Rowe is expecting Brian Campbell to test free agency, and that he’s “not shopping” Dmitry Kulikov, despite recent reports. Rowe says trading for Yandle is the beginning of the Panthers being a contender, according to Whyno.
UPDATE: 5:00 PM CST: Darren Dreger of TSN reports that the conditional pick will be a 2017 fourth rounder if Yandle signs with the Panthers.
UPDATE 4:50 PM CST: James Mirtle of the Globe and Mail reports that the first pick will be a 6th rounder this season (174th overall), with the value of the conditional pick still unknown.
4:39 PM CST: George Richards of the Miami Herald confirms that the team will acquire his rights in exchange for a draft pick, plus a second conditional pick if he signs with them prior to July 1st.
4:31 PM CST: According to Sportsnet’s Elliotte Friedman, the Florida Panthers are working hard to acquire the negotiating rights to Keith Yandle prior to him becoming a UFA on July 1st.