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Ryan Stanton Placed On Waivers

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While we were already told not to expect Vadim Shipachyov’s name to appear on the waiver wire today, we weren’t left with an empty list. Elliotte Friedman of Sportsnet reports that Ryan Stanton of the Edmonton Oilers has been waived, likely meaning he’s now healthy enough to be assigned to the AHL. Stanton had been on season-opening injured reserve so far, after signing a two-year two-way contract with the Oilers this summer.

Stanton spent all of last season in the minor leagues, but was once a full-time part of the Vancouver blueline. In 120 career NHL games, the 28-year old undrafted defenseman has just 27 points. If he goes unclaimed (which seems likely) he’ll provide the Bakersfield Condors with some extra experience and depth, something the 3-4 team could desperately use.

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.

Reway Clears Unconditional Waivers, To Be Terminated

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Sunday: CapFriendly reports that Montreal Canadiens’ prospect Martin Reway has cleared unconditional waivers and the team is terminating his deal.

Saturday: The Canadiens have placed Reway on unconditional waivers for the purpose of mutual contract termination, Sportsnet’s Elliotte Friedman reports (Twitter link).

Reway missed all of last season with a heart ailment but had made a return to playing this season with Montreal’s AHL affiliate in Laval.  The team was easing him into the lineup by avoiding playing him in back-to-back situations but he still suited up in five games, collecting two assists and six penalty minutes along with a -5 plus/minus rating.

However, the 22-year-old left the team on Thursday to ponder his future and with this move, it appears that his preference may be to return to playing overseas at this time.  This isn’t the first time this month that the Canadiens have utilized a contract termination as they did so with defenseman Mark Streit after he declined to report to the minors.

Assuming he clears, the Canadiens will be off the hook for the remaining two years of his contract, one that carries a cap hit of just over $700K.  It will also drop them to 45 contracts on of the 50-contract limit.

Latest On Toronto’s Russian Recruitment

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The Toronto Maple Leafs struck gold when they signed the then 24-year old Nikita Zaitsev out of the KHL. It took just one season before Zaitsev earned a seven-year extension with the Maple Leafs, a deal that will pay him an average of $4.5MM per season. Zaitsev has quickly become one of the most reliable defenders in Toronto, and will be a part of that team for some time.

Before signing Zaitsev, the Maple Leafs’ brass went to meIgor Ozhignaovet him in person in Russia and recruit him into their program. Earlier this summer they completed a similar trip to see Igor Ozhiganov, another 25-year old defender that could sign as soon as next summer. Now, Elliotte Friedman of Sportsnet again mentions the team’s connection to the pending free agent. On Hockey Night in Canada last night:

He’s going to be recruited by some NHL teams, but the word out of Russia is that he is most likely going to Toronto next year.

Toronto has some of the most exciting young offensive players in the league, but have continued to struggle defensively at times. Though they’re 7-4 through the first few weeks of the season, they’ve also allowed 40 goals during those 11 games. While Zaitsev worked out quite well for them, there is no telling what Ozhiganov could become. The 6’2″ 207-lbs defenseman certainly has the talent to come to the NHL, and Zaitsev would have some inside info for his new team—the two played together for both CSKA Moscow and Sibir Novosibirsk during their KHL careers.

Las Vegas Places Jason Garrison On Waivers

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The Golden Knights have finally done what many expected weeks ago, and placed some of their defensemen on waivers. Jason Garrison is the odd-man out according to Elliotte Friedman of Sportsnet, after only dressing for four games this season,

It seems as though George McPhee has finally accepted that a trade isn’t going to be possible for some of his assets, and has resigned to trying to squeeze them through waivers. Garrison is an unlikely claim, as he comes with a $4.6MM cap hit for this year (though he earns only $2.5MM in actual salary and is an unrestricted free agent next summer). The 32-year old defenseman was once one of the most frightening weapons in the league with the man advantage, scoring 16 goals with Florida in 2011-12. While his shot is still powerful, the rest of his game has deteriorated while powerplays are moving further and further away from relying on defensive shots from the point.

Garrison has made quite the career for himself after going undrafted and attending the University of Minnesota-Duluth. In 534 career games, he’s recorded 159 points and earned himself a six-year contract worth $27.6MM. While this seems like it may be the end of his NHL career this season, there may be renewed interest in him on the open market next summer, albeit with a greatly reduced price tag.

Vegas, to the ire of many of their fans, have been using the minor leagues to house some of their more interesting players. Shea Theodore, Alex Tuch and Vadim Shipachyov have all spent time in the minors, while the NHL squad carried nine or ten defensemen on the active roster. The waiver-exempt status all three hold has been an important asset to McPhee and the Golden Knights, but now as they get healthy they will need to make decisions on other players. Remember, there is a chance that Garrison is not assigned to the AHL after clearing waivers, as the team could instead make a different decision. Sometimes, players are waived to help their trade value, though in this case it still seems unlikely.

*This article previously linked to a erroneous report of Griffin Reinhart also being placed on waivers. He has instead been sent to the Chicago Wolves on a conditioning stint, but remains on the Vegas roster.

Eastern Notes: Bergevin, Skinner, Sproul, Harpur

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At 1-6-1, the Montreal Canadiens are off to their worst eight-game start since the 1941-42 season. Sounds shocking. Doesn’t it? Much of the problem is the team’s inability to put the puck in the net as the team is currently ranked last (31st) in the NHL in goals scored at 1.5 per game (just 12 goals scored all year). However, despite that fact, Elliotte Friedman said Saturday on the Headlines segment on Hockey Night in Canada (via Emily Sadler of Sportsnet) that the team isn’t going into panic mode just yet.

“It’s the biggest story in the league and probably for no good reasons,” Friedman said Saturday. “I think the sense you get just from looking around is the Canadiens are determined not to make any panic moves.”

Sadler writes that the team’s start looks even worse compared to last year’s phenomenal start to the season when they were 7-0-1 after the first eight games. To make matters worse, the team is also among the worst in goals allowed as they are ranked 29th after averaging 4.13 goals in these first eight games. That’s with the NHL’s top goalie in Carey Price.

Friedman also said that it’s unlikely the team would make a general manger change and get rid of Marc Bergevin, even though Friedman said that four of the last five GM changes the Canadiens have made were in-season changes.

“I don’t get the sense … that there’s any desire to remove Bergevin right now. He’s under contract until 2022,” Friedman said.

  • Michael Smith of NHL.com writes that Carolina Hurricanes winger Jeff Skinner, who added his fourth and fifth goals of the season in Saturday’s 4-3 loss to the Dallas Stars is continuing where he left off. Skinner attempted to fuel a comeback with his team down by four goals, but the team fell short. Already a three-time 30-goal scorer, the 25-year-old has been the main offensive firepower for the Hurricanes this season. Smith writes that if you go back to March of last year, Skinner has scored 22 goals in his last 25 games.
  • Peter Wallner of MLive.com writes that the Detroit Red Wings traded defenseman Ryan Sproul Saturday to the New York Rangers to alleviate a logjam of defensemen. Sproul was not likely to ever crack Detroit’s defensive rotation. Talking to Detroit general manager Ken Holland, the scribe writes that the Red Wings made the move to open up playing time in Grand Rapids, where the team hopes to give more minutes to prospects Filip Hronek and Vili Saarijarvi. Hronek, the team’s second-round pick in the 2016 draft, has only played in two games for the Griffins this year, while Saarijarvi, a 2015 third-round pick, had an assist in three games for Toledo of the ECHL, but is expected to get promoted to Grand Rapids shortly.
  • The Ottawa Senators announced that they have reassigned defenseman Ben Harpur to Belleville of the AHL. The 22-year-old was called up early in the season to help with the team’s defensive depth only to get injured in his first game with Ottawa. He was placed on injured reserve with a shoulder injury, and now that he is healthy again, will return to his AHL team.

Detroit Red Wings Agree To Terms With Andreas Athanasiou

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The Detroit Red Wings have finally come to an agreement with forward Andreas Athanasiou on a one-year contract worth $1.39MM. The team is currently right at the cap, and will need to move salary of some sort out before officially signing the contract and putting Athanasiou on the roster. Whether that comes through trade, long-term injured reserve or waivers is still to be seen.

Andreas AthanasiouThe final restricted free agent to sign this year, Athanasiou has been skating in Switzerland to stay in shape while the NHL season began. While the Red Wings had made one-year $1.25MM, and two-year $3.8MM offers there was still apparently in a divide in what Detroit, Athanasiou and agent Darren Ferris believed he was worth. After an 18-goal campaign, the speedster was poised to be given even more responsibility this season as an integral part of the offense.

Athanasiou was selected in the fourth round in 2012, but exploded offensively for the Barrie Colts before showing he could reproduce that skill at the professional level. In parts of three seasons with the Grand Rapids Griffins, Athanasiou scored 51 points in 83 games before making the jump to the NHL. His 43 points in 101 NHL contests don’t jump off the page, but for a team like Detroit who is looking for youth and speed, Athanasiou was a shining star.

That shine was dulled a bit this summer when his holdout began, with many fans criticizing him for his decision to turn down several offers. Even as the latest restricted free agents started to sign, there was little word on why Athanasiou’s deal couldn’t get done. Last year we waited until early November on a Jacob Trouba holdout, before the Winnipeg Jets defenseman decided playing was the most important thing for his future. The 23-year old forward seems to have come to the same conclusion.

At $1.39MM, Athanasiou will slide in just below Luke Glendening in terms of salary on the Red Wings. While it is a relatively low number, the holdout could pay off next summer when heading to arbitration. Athanasiou will still be a a restricted free agent, but armed with the bigger cap number from this year. Interestingly, every day he remains unsigned he is losing out on a prorated portion of the contract. That will make the difference between the $1.25MM offer and what he eventually ends up with minimal in terms of actual salary paid, or even end up costing him some. The benefit will be felt down the road.

Elliotte Friedman of Sportsnet was first to report the deal, while Bob McKenzie of TSN gave us the exact financial info.

Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images

Washington Tried To Make Expansion Draft Trade

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One of the smaller notes in Elliotte Friedman’s outstanding “31 Thoughts” column this week, surrounds the Washington Capitals’ continued search for defensemen. The Capitals lost several players through various means this summer, and when Matt Niskanen went down to a hand injury early in the season the lack of depth started to show. Last night the team had to rely on John Carlson to play more than 27 minutes, while limiting Taylor Chorney, Christian Djoos and Madison Bowey to fewer than 15 each. With no word on how long Niskanen will be out, an upgrade seems inevitable.

"<strongWhile Kevin Shattenkirk and Karl Alzner left through free agency, it was obviously why Washington had let them go. The team simply didn’t have the cap space to fit them in, or likely the desire to give them the term they wanted—remember, the four-year deal Shattenkirk signed in New York was shorter than what he likely would have demanded elsewhere. The most interesting name that is no longer with the team is Nate Schmidt, who was lost in the expansion draft to the Vegas Golden Knights. Schmidt played just 60 games for the Capitals last season, but was the easy choice to replace the outgoing veterans in Washington’s top-four. Something Friedman mentioned on NHL Network on Monday night, and now again in the Sportsnet column, is that Washington tried to make a trade at the expansion draft concerning Schmidt and Philipp Grubauer.

While losing Grubauer wouldn’t have been a perfect outcome of the expansion draft, replacing a backup goaltender is a lot easier than finding defensive depth. Though Schmidt was a restricted free agent, he ended up signing for just $2.25MM per season and likely could have been fit into the tight Washington cap situation (especially given their willingness to trade Marcus Johansson to clear room).

As Friedman and others have written, while Vegas continues to shop some of their defensemen a market has yet to materialize. It’s hard to find takers for players like Jason Garrison and Brayden McNabb when they aren’t playing, as teams try to wait out the Golden Knights and snatch someone off waivers. While the Capitals would love to play that game as well, claiming any veteran off waivers is almost impossible for them. As they stand, they’re pushed right up to the cap even carrying nine players that earn less than $1MM. Their move will have to come in trade, with salary headed the other way.

Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images

Mark Streit Placed On Unconditional Waivers To Mutually Terminate Contract

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Monday: The Canadiens have announced the release of Streit.

Sunday: Montreal Canadiens defenseman Mark Streit has been placed on unconditional waivers for the purpose of mutually terminating his contract, according to Elliotte Friedman. CapFriendly reports the mutual breakup will save Montreal $654,839 against their salary cap.

Montreal had been trying to find a trading partner who would be willing to take Streit, but couldn’t find anyone. He had become the odd man out after the team got David Schlemko back on their defense and the and the emergence of rookie Victor Mete made Streit expendable.

Streit was put on waivers on Oct. 12 and cleared one day later, but there were no plans to send him to the Laval Rocket of the AHL. Instead, it is believed that Streit will look to go overseas and possibly try to play for the Swiss Olympic team.

Streit will receive $45,161 for his 12 days of service while on the Canadiens active roster, according to CapFriendly.

Bruins Hoping To Re-Sign Zdeno Chara

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While Sportsnet’s Elliotte Friedman was putting together an article about Boston Bruins captain Zdeno Chara late last night, the big man was busy scoring two goals as the Bruins rolled the Arizona Coyotes 6-2. Friedman’s report and Chara’s game prove the same point: the 40-year-old is far from done.

Friedman reveals that Boston GM Don Sweeney has received trade inquires about Chara, and it is thought that some teams have been considering acquiring the Norris Trophy-winner since as far back as the 2017 Trade Deadline. However, with his play continuing to hold steady as he enters his 20th NHL season, Sweeney has had no interest in moving Chara. Instead, Friedman reports that the team would prefer to re-sign him and Chara has been candid that he would like to continue his career with Boston.

Part of the reason for the uptick in interest in Chara is also why the Bruins would like to keep him this year and re-sign him: they have already extended this contract once to cover the 2017-18 season, during which Chara will count for just $4MM against the cap. That is a far cry from the $7.5MM-$6.9MM that Chara has made each year since originally signing in Boston in 2006. For the first time in a few years, Chara is in fact an excellent value this season. If, going forward, Sweeney can keep his captain at that lower number, he could continue to be a bargain asset into his 40’s.

At 6’9″, 250-lbs, Chara may not have the longevity of a Jaromir Jagr. However, the role that he is being asked to play in Boston is one that he can maintain for at least a couple more years. Chara has lost a step in his skating no question and he could benefit from playing fewer minutes, as he has tended to tail off in individual games and toward the end of the season. Yet, Chara is still one of the best checkers in the game – maybe one of the best all-time – and his shot has hardly lost its record-setting power, as evidenced last night. However, the most important role that the Slovakian superstar plays for a Bruins team getting younger with each year is captain. The Bruins are loaded with leadership and experience, as Patrice Bergeron and David Backes would be the captains of nearly any other team in the league, but Chara’s mentoring on the blue line is invaluable. Brandon Carlo, Chara’s defensive partner for the last year plus, is developing into a top-notch shutdown defender in his own right and with Charlie McAvoy now in town and the likes of Jakub Zboril, Jeremy Lauzon, Urho Vaakanainen and (especially) Ryan Lindgren on their way, the Bruins have one of the best teachers possible to help develop a new generation of defenseman, while still playing a meaningful role.

Since signing with Boston in 2006, among all defenseman Chara is seventh in scoring, seventh in hits, fifth in time on ice, second only to Shea Weber in power play goals, and second only to Duncan Keith in +/-. Not only has he been great, but the future Hall of Famer has become one of the most recognizable names in hockey. Luckily for fans, not just in Boston but across the planet, it doesn’t seem as if we’re seeing the last of Chara. The big man still has gas left in the tank.

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