Penguins Recall 13 Players From AHL
The Pittsburgh Penguins announced they have recalled 13 players to serve as Black Aces from their AHL team, the Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins, who were eliminated from the AHL playoffs Thursday. The AHL team was swept out of the first round by the Charlotte Checkers, with the Wilkes-Barre/Scranton team falling in a 7-3 defeat in their third game.
The team recalled seven forwards, including Josh Jooris, Daniel Sprong, Thomas Di Pauli, Adam Johnson, Teddy Blueger, Garrett Wilson and Jean-Sebastien Dea. They also brought up four defensemen, adding Lukas Bengtsson, Chris Summers, Jarred Tinordi and Andrey Pedan. The team also recalled goaltenders Tristan Jarry and Michael Leighton.
Sprong stands out amongst the Penguins prospects. The 21-year-old 2015 second rounder got into eight games with Pittsburgh earlier this season while the team was hit with injuries and needed depth help. He scored two goals and an added an assist. The hope is that the prospects gain as much knowledge as possible while being around the Penguins throughout their playoff run.
“Whenever a young player has an opportunity to be around a team like ours and watch how our veteran players carry themselves during and between games – it’s a great learning opportunity,” said Penguins head coach Mike Sullivan. “Our guys have had a great chance to soak it all in.”
Complete List Of Potential Group VI Unrestricted Free Agents
Back in November, we took a look at some of the potential Group VI free agents that could hit unrestricted free agency early this offseason. Of that group, Josh Leivo was extended and Stefan Noesen eclipsed the number of games played needed to stay with the New Jersey Devils organization. Now, CapFriendly has compiled a complete list of players still at risk of becoming free agents early, including how many games they need. To refresh your memory on how a player qualifies for Group VI free agency, they must meet three requirements:
- The player is 25 years or older (as of June 30th of the calendar year the contract is expiring).
- The player has completed 3 or more professional seasons – qualified by 11 or more professional games (for an 18/19 year old player), or 1 or more professional games (for a player aged 20 or older). This can include NHL, minor league, and European professional league seasons played while under an SPC.
- The player has played less than 80 NHL games, or 28 NHL games of 30 minutes or greater for a goaltender.
The entire list of players at risk can be found below, but make sure you check out CapFriendly for more detailed information on how they could avoid the designation this summer.
*Indicates that the player could still play in enough games this season to become ineligible for Group VI free agency
Revisiting The January Trade Market
As front offices around the league call and text trying to find the right fit for their rosters, fans are waiting with bated breath wondering who could be pulling on their favorite sweater in the next few weeks. Will a superstar change hands and take over as the new face of a franchise? Will a veteran finally find his way to the Stanley Cup promised land? The deadline is now less than six weeks away.
We may not have to wait until the very end to answer these questions though, as January has been a busy month for trade action in the past. We’ve already had two moves this year, and several more could be finalized before the calendar turns over. For now, let’s take a look back at the last few years to see what kind of moves are made in the dawn of the new year.
2018:
January 4th: Edmonton acquires Al Montoya from Montreal in exchange for a 2018 conditional fourth-round pick.
January 10th: Chicago acquires Anthony Duclair and Adam Clendening from Arizona for Richard Panik and Laurent Dauphin.
2017:
January 1st: Arizona acquires Mitchell Moroz from Edmonton in exchange for Henrik Samuelsson.
January 11th: Anaheim acquires Jhonas Enroth from Toronto for a 2018 seventh-round pick.
January 13th: Nashville acquires Cody McLeod from Colorado in exchange for Felix Girard.
January 19th: Nashville acquires Andrew O’Brien from Anaheim for Max Gortz.
January 21st: Los Angeles acquires Cameron Schilling from Chicago for Michael Latta.
January 24th: Ottawa acquires Tommy Wingels in exchange for Zack Stortini, Buddy Robinson and a 2017 seventh-round pick.
January 26th: Montreal acquires Nikita Nesterov from Tampa Bay in exchange for Jonathan Racine and a 2017 sixth-round pick.
Obviously 2017 wasn’t filled with the most blockbuster trades in the month of January, but several teams did add small pieces for potential playoff runs. Nesterov didn’t really work out in Montreal, and Wingels couldn’t find his scoring touch in Ottawa.
2016:
January 3rd: Chicago acquires Richard Panik from Toronto in exchange for Jeremy Morin.
January 6th: Los Angeles acquires Vincent Lecavalier and Luke Schenn from Philadelphia in exchange for Jordan Weal and a 2016 third-round pick.
January 6th: Nashville acquires Ryan Johansen from Columbus in exchange for Seth Jones.
January 7th: Montreal acquires Max Friberg from Anaheim in exchange for Dustin Tokarski.
January 8th: Vancouver acquires Emerson Etem from New York in exchange for Nicklas Jensen and a 2017 sixth-round pick.
January 14th: Ottawa acquires Conor Allen from Nashville in exchange for Patrick Mullen.
January 15th: Montreal acquires Victor Bartley and John Scott from Arizona in exchange for Jarred Tinordi and Stefan Fournier.
January 15th: Arizona acquires Victor Bartley from Nashville in exchange for Stefan Elliott.
January 16th: Anaheim acquires David Perron and Adam Clendening from Pittsburgh in exchange for Carl Hagelin.
January 21st: Anaheim acquires Ryan Garbutt from Chicago in exchange for Jiri Sekac.
2016 was a much more active January, with big names like Lecavalier, Johansen and Jones all dealt. While the Nashville-Columbus trade might have had the biggest impact long-term, Pittsburgh’s acquisition of Hagelin was a big part of their Stanley Cup run, as he scored 27 points down the stretch and added another 16 in the playoffs.
There is certainly value to be had in January trades, and it’s clear that teams like Nashville and Anaheim aren’t scared of making an early move. While those two might not be the most watched teams on the trade market this year, don’t rule them out of making tweaks once again.
Waivers & Recalls: 09/26/17
After all eighteen players placed on waivers yesterday cleared, there is a new group available to teams around the league today. While these waivers rarely see players change squads, as very few have room on their NHL roster, there is a chance some veteran NHL names will get picked. We’ll keep track of everyone placed on waivers right here.
On waivers:
Andrew Campbell (ARZ)
Hunter Shinkaruk (CGY)
Tyler Wotherspoon (CGY)
Emile Poirier (CGY)
Cameron Gaunce (CBJ)
Alexander Broadhurst (CBJ)
Andre Benoit (CBJ)
Brian Flynn (DAL)
Brent Regner (DAL)
Turner Elson (DET)
Jordan Nolan (LAK)
Jeff Zatkoff (LAK)
Scott Wedgewood (NJD)
Ben Thomson (NJD)
Bracken Kearns (NJD)
Tyler Randell (OTT)
Frank Corrado (PIT)
Jarred Tinordi (PIT)
Zach Trotman (PIT)
Chris Summers (PIT)
Garrett Wilson (PIT)
Jean-Sebastien Dea (PIT)
Kevin Czuczman (PIT)
There will also be some recalls over the next week or so to help out in preseason games or fill in for injured players, such as Charlie Lindgren, who was pulled from the Montreal lineup last night just before puck drop.
Recalled:
Mikhail Vorobyev (PHI)
Zach Fucale (MTL)
Penguins Sign Defenseman Kevin Czuczman
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.
Jarred Tinordi Clears Waivers
Oct. 22: Tinordi has cleared waivers, reports James Mirtle of the Globe and Mail (Twitter link).
Oct. 21: With his 20-game suspension for testing positive for a performance enhancing substance now about to finish (the final game is tonight), the Coyotes have placed defenseman Jarred Tinordi on waivers, reports TVA Sports’ Renaud Lavoie (Twitter link).
It has been a rough time for Tinordi over the past couple of seasons. The former Montreal first rounder (22nd overall) in 2010 spent most of last season as a healthy scratch with the Canadiens as they didn’t want to risk losing him for nothing via waivers. Eventually, they dealt him to the Coyotes as part of a series of trades that yielded them tough guy John Scott and defenseman Victor Bartley, both of whom left as free agents this summer. (Scott remains unsigned while Bartley signed a two-way deal with Minnesota.)
Tinordi got into seven games with Arizona last season before the suspension and played in just ten total NHL games between the two organizations where he was held pointless with a -5 rating and 17 PIMS while averaging 14:18 per game. He also played in six AHL games on conditioning stints with Montreal, picking up a pair of assists in that span.
The Coyotes declined to tender him a qualifying offer back in June but agreed to a one year, two-way contract worth $700K in the NHL and $150K at the minor league level in early July.
In his career, the 24 year old has played in just 53 NHL games between Montreal and Arizona, recording six assists, a -7 rating, and 78 PIMS while averaging 13:27 per game. If he clears at 11am on Saturday, the Coyotes plan to assign him to their AHL affiliate in Tucson.
[Related: Coyotes Depth Chart]
Still with the waiver wire, Columbus blueliner Cody Goloubef cleared on Friday and has been assigned to Cleveland of the AHL.
Roster Crunch: Arizona’s Defense Corps
With training camps well underway, there are plenty of interesting battles for roster spots throughout the league. One of the more intriguing ones is happening in Arizona as the Coyotes now find themselves with a plethora of defensemen battling for a spot on their back end. Here’s a closer look at their blueline battle.
Locks
Oliver Ekman-Larsson – He is undoubtedly their number one defenseman and will be used in all situations. He’s also on a cap friendly deal for a top rearguard coming in with an AAV of just $5.5MM for the next three years.
Alex Goligoski – New GM John Chayka wasted little time with the former Dallas Star. He acquired his negotiating rights and quickly inked him to a five year, $27.375MM contract to be another anchor for their back end.
Connor Murphy – The former first rounder has seen his ice time increase each season and he surpassed the 20 minute average last year. He also signed a long-term deal this offseason, getting an average of $3.85MM over the next six years.
Zbynek Michalek – After rejoining the Coyotes last offseason, Michalek spent most of the year in a third pairing role, one he’s likely to reprise this season. While he could potentially be deemed expendable, he carries a cap hit of $3.2MM which may be difficult to unload in the current market and it’s unlikely that they would bury his contract in the minors given their status as a low-budget team.
Luke Schenn – Chayka brought the 26 year old in on a two year deal this offseason with a decent value at $1.25MM per year. While he projects as a third pairing player, it’s unlikely he’s going to get pushed off the roster so quickly after signing with the team.
Michael Stone – Stone had a career year last season and spent a lot of time on Arizona’s top pairing. While he may not have as big of a role this year, he’s a sure fire bet to start in their top four.
That’s six blueliners that are pretty much locks to start the season with the Coyotes, leaving them one or two (at most) spots to fill from a group of six other defensemen who could conceivably make a run at one of those positions.