Snapshots: Oilers, Flames, Grubauer
The Edmonton Oilers are preparing for the expansion draft, and GM Peter Chiarelli knows his club will lose a talented player. Speaking with Paul Gazzola of NHL.com, Chiarelli admitted that the selection from the Oilers may be a little more painful than some other teams, especially because of the success the franchise experienced this year.
Edmonton is expected to go with the 7-3-1 protection scheme, and while there is no risk of losing a player like Leon Draisaitl or Adam Larsson, other possibilities like Griffin Reinhart or Mark Letestu remain depending on how much stock the team puts in youth versus experience. With rumors swirling about Jordan Eberle‘s potential availability, perhaps a deal would be made before the draft in order to free up a potential protection slot for the forward group.
- The Flames continue to search for a goaltender and Eric Francis of Postmedia writes about all of their options. In discussing the new deals for Ben Bishop and Scott Darling, Francis lists veterans like Marc-Andre Fleury and Ryan Miller as possibilities to bridge the gap to their young prospects. He also touches on other successful backups like Antti Raanta, who could try to follow the Cam Talbot-path from the shadow of Henrik Lundqvist to the ice in Alberta. In one way or another, the Flames must solve their goaltending issue, as both Brian Elliott and Chad Johnson will be free agents come July 1st. Interestingly, that adds the Flames as a landing spot for a goalie before the expansion draft, as they currently have none to protect.
- One other name that is mentioned in regards to the Flames is Philipp Grubauer of the Washington Capitals, who Stephen Whyno of the Associated Press also goes in depth on. Grubauer knows that he is a target for the Vegas Golden Knights, and teammate Braden Holtby believes he’s ready to become a starter somewhere in the league. It’s not just Calgary and Vegas who will likely check in on Grubauer though after his performance this season. The 25-year old registered a .926 save percentage in 23 games and should be on the radar of several other teams—Whyno includes Winnipeg, Philadelphia and Colorado as teams possibly looking for an upgrade this summer.
Minor Playoff Notes: Milano, Klefbom, Acciari
- With the suspension of Matt Calvert, the Columbus Blue Jackets have promoted 2014 first-round pick Sonny Milano to take Calvert’s place in the lineup today for Game 3 against the Pittsburgh Penguins today. The 20-year-old wing will make his playoff debut for the Blue Jackets despite only seven games of NHL experience. This season he played four games for Columbus without registering a point. He played 63 games for the AHL’s Cleveland Monsters, totaling 18 goals and 47 points on the year.
- The Edmonton Oilers confirmed defenseman Oscar Klefbom is good to go and is expected to play today for Game 3 against the San Jose Sharks. Klefbom, who has been one of the Oilers’ top defensemen in a breakout season, took a puck off the side inside of his foot during Game 2 and never returned. He did not skate yesterday and was considered day-to-day. Due to concern he might not be available for today’s game, the Oilers called up Griffin Reinhart from the AHL’s Bakersfield Condors as an emergency backup, but it doesn’t look like he will be needed. The Oilers also promoted goaltender Nick Ellis from Bakersfield as well. However, as the Condors’ season is over, he likely would have been promoted anyway.
- Bruins’ fourth-liner Noel Acciari (upper body) is expected to play in Game 3 on Monday. Acciari, who missed the season finale and both Games One and Two against the Ottawa Senators this past week is instrumental on the team’s checking line alongside Dominic Moore and Riley Nash. Acciari tallied two goals in his final six games of the season before getting injured.
Snapshots: Reinhart, Emelin, Blues, Johnson
With Oilers defenseman Oscar Klefbom getting injured while blocking a shot midway through the third period last night against the Sharks, the team announced (Twitter link) that they’ve recalled blueliner Griffin Reinhart from AHL Bakersfield.
Reinhart has spent the full season at the minor league level with the Condors, recording seven goals and 14 assists in 54 games. The former fourth overall pick back in 2012 has a total of 37 NHL games under his belt, 29 of which came with Edmonton last season.
Even if Klefbom isn’t available for Game Three of the series on Sunday, it doesn’t necessarily mean that Reinhart will make his season debut. Eric Gryba was scratched on Friday after playing in the series opener and likely would be the first choice to draw back in. However, the team is hopeful that Klefbom will be able to suit up tomorrow night, making this recall more of an insurance policy than anything else.
Other notes from around the postseason:
- Canadiens defenseman Alexei Emelin (lower body) did not make the trip to New York and has been ruled out of Game Three tomorrow night against the Rangers, reports TSN’s John Lu via Twitter. Lu noted that Emelin has started to skate again which would suggest that he may be able to return to the lineup at some point in the series.
- The Blues aren’t likely to make any lineup changes up front in advance of Game Three against the Wild, notes Tom Timmermann and Jeremy Rutherford of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch. Accordingly, it’s likely that center Jori Lehtera will sit for the second straight game despite the fact they’re already lacking in depth down the middle with Paul Stastny still on the shelf.
- Flames goalie Chad Johnson (lower body) has returned to practice but is still not ready to return to the lineup or dress as the backup for a game, reports Wes Gilbertson of the Toronto Sun. As a result, rookie Jon Gillies will continue to remain with the team for the time being. Johnson was injured against the Ducks back on April 4th, playing less than six minutes in the game before going down.
Minor Transactions: 02/05/17
On what is sure to be a slow Super Bowl Sunday, we’ll keep all the minor news right here:
- The Columbus Blue Jackets have returned Markus Hannikainen to the Cleveland Monsters just a day after bringing him up. The 23-year old winger was an emergency recall and got into the game last night against the New Jersey Devils. He’s played in seven contests for the Jackets this year as he bounces up and down between leagues, scoring one goal.
- Bob McKenzie of TSN reports that Frank Corrado has cleared waivers for the Toronto Maple Leafs, and will be assigned to the AHL Marlies. We wrote yesterday about how the Alexey Marchenko claiming impacted the right-hand depth of the Maple Leafs, of which Corrado was a part.
- McKenzie also tells us that Nashville has placed Derek Grant on waivers, likely due to the acquisition of Vernon Fiddler yesterday. Grant has played just six games for Nashville since being selected off waivers from the Buffalo Sabres less than a month ago.
- The Devils have sent Karl Stollery to Albany for the time being, after bringing him up just a week ago. The defenseman has bounced up and down all season long, playing nine games for the big-league Devils so far.
- Per the AHL Transactions page, the Sharks assigned forwards Timo Meier and Kevin Labanc as well as defenseman Tim Heed to the San Jose Barracuda of the AHL. It’s highly likely that all three will be recalled in advance of their next game on Tuesday; San Jose has routinely been shuffling them back and forth between the NHL and the minors in an effort to save a bit of cap space.
- Also via the AHL Transactions page, Nashville has swapped backup goalies once again, recalling Jusse Saros and assigning Marek Mazanec to AHL Milwaukee. Saros had been sent down to get in a game with the Admirals on Saturday night as he last saw NHL action back on January 24th.
- Following their game against Montreal, the Oilers announced (Twitter link) they have assigned defensemen Jordan Oesterle and Griffin Reinhart, as well as center Anton Lander, to Bakersfield (AHL). Oesterle made his season debut on Sunday while Lander saw his first NHL action in over three weeks; Reinhart was a healthy scratch.
Islanders Return Mathew Barzal to WHL
The New York Islanders have sent top prospect Mathew Barzal back to the Seattle Thunderbirds of the WHL, according to Arthur Staples.
Barzal made the team out of training camp, but only appeared in two of the Islanders’ 13 games, going pointless with 6 PIM and a -2 rating. Meanwhile, fellow rookie Anthony Beauvillier has 5 points in 10 games and appears to be sticking with the Islanders for the rest of the season
The Thunderbirds will be very happy to get their top center Barzal back; they’re in last place of the WHL’s Western Conference with a 7-7-1 record. Barzal has 199 points in 161 WHL games, and should be a catalyst for their offence. No player on the Thunderbirds is currently at or over a point-per-game.
Barzal was the 16th overall pick of the 2015 NHL Entry Draft. The Islanders acquired that pick (originally Pittsburgh’s) and a high second rounder from the Edmonton Oilers for Griffin Reinhart. They traded the second round pick alongside their own third round pick to move up to take Beauvillier. Meanwhile Reinhart has yet to crack the Oilers defence, and is in danger of not becoming even an everyday NHL defenseman.