Joseph Cramarossa

Minnesota Wild Re-Assign Joseph Cramarossa

November 14, 2022 at 11:40 am CDT | by Gavin Lee Leave a Comment

Despite heading out on the road for a game in Nashville tomorrow, the Minnesota Wild have sent Joseph Cramarossa to the minor leagues. That leaves the team with an open roster spot, potentially for Brandon Duhaime to be activated if he is ready to return from injury.

Cramarossa, 30, has played in four games for the Wild this season, scoring a goal and recording eight hits. The minor league veteran isn’t really known for his offense even at the AHL level but can come in and play a fourth-line role without risk. He’ll likely be back up at some point this season when the team is dealing with more injuries, but shouldn’t be considered a full-time option.

Duhaime has been out since the beginning of the month, after scoring two goals and three points in his first ten games of the season. The uber-physical forward had 122 penalty minutes and 201 hits last season (his first) for the Wild, while also chipping in six goals. If he’s not ready, Cramarossa’s assignment could mean that Tyson Jost is going to re-enter the lineup after being made a healthy scratch recently.

The 24-year-old Jost hasn’t scored yet this season and failed to even register a shot on goal in each of his last two appearances. His ice time in those games was reduced severely, and it appears as though the coaching staff has moved in a different direction. If he gets another chance, he’ll have to show enough to warrant the $2MM cap hit he carries, especially given he’ll be a restricted free agent at the end of the year. Currently, Jost looks like a potential non-tender candidate, given the threat of salary arbitration.

Minnesota Wild Recall Adam Beckman, Joseph Cramarossa

November 6, 2022 at 4:32 pm CDT | by John Gilroy Leave a Comment

Continuing with a busy Sunday of roster moves, the Minnesota Wild announced that they are bringing a pair of forwards up from the AHL, recalling Adam Beckman and Joseph Cramarossa. The team did not announced any corresponding moves. The transaction brings the Wild up to 23 players on their roster, the maximum. Importantly, the team had only been carrying 12 forwards after re-assigning Steven Fogarty on Friday. Now, they should have additional assurance up front.

Beckman, 21, was a third-round pick of the Wild back in 2019 and made his NHL debut last season. After three impressive seasons with the Spokane Chiefs in the WHL, Beckman turned pro at the tail-end of the 2020-21 season, recording five points in nine games as a member of the Iowa Wild. The forward became a full-time pro last season, getting into 68 games for Iowa where he scored 11 goals to go with 23 assists. This season, the young forward is off to a fast start, scoring three goals with three assists in six games for Iowa.

A long-time AHL veteran, Cramarossa, 30, has spent three seasons in the Wild organization, primarily with Iowa. The veteran did manage to get into one NHL game last season, marking the third season in which he did so. the 30-year-old’s most prominent NHL action came back in 2016-17 as a member of the Anaheim Ducks and Vancouver Canucks, where he recorded 10 points in 59 games. He’s had just five games of NHL action since then, but has become a reliable, physical forward at the AHL level. Cramarossa has four points and a whopping 23 penalty minutes in just eight games with Iowa to start this season.

Waivers: 10/03/22

October 3, 2022 at 1:28 pm CDT | by Gavin Lee 6 Comments

The waiver wire is full as teams continue to get closer to regular season rosters. These are the players available today, after Radim Zohorna and Magnus Hellberg were claimed from yesterday’s list.

Anaheim Ducks

Olli Juolevi
Justin Kirkland

Columbus Blue Jackets

Trey Fix-Wolansky
Gavin Bayreuther

Los Angeles Kings

T.J. Tynan

Minnesota Wild

Joe Hicketts
Joseph Cramarossa

Tampa Bay Lightning

Gemel Smith
Alex Barre-Boulet

Winnipeg Jets

Kevin Stenlund

Minnesota Wild Re-Sign Joseph Cramarossa

July 17, 2021 at 6:29 pm CDT | by Zach Leach Leave a Comment

Rather than ending at the deadline, the flurry of trades and signings essentially only began once the NHL Expansion Draft roster freeze began. Several hours later, it seems the final move has finally been reported. Amongst the chaos of several major trades a few key signings, the Minnesota Wild took care of some housekeeping with a new deal for depth forward Joseph Cramarossa. CapFriendly reports that Cramarossa has signed a two-year, two-way extension. The contract carries the minimum $750K NHL salary and AHL salary that escalates from $170K to $182.5K in year two.

Cramarossa, 28, is not the flashiest of forwards, with modest offensive totals even in the AHL. However, he continues to land two-way NHL contracts due to his solid defensive play at the forward position. A hard-working, versatile forward, Cramarossa is a nice depth piece that can be plugged in anywhere in the bottom-six.

Minnesota did just that this season, employing Cramarossa in a bottom-six role for four games. He also spent considerable time in a next-man-up role on the practice squad, only playing in eight games for AHL Iowa. Moving forward, Cramarossa will likely be based out of Iowa but has shown he can play at the top level if needed. Minnesota has a deep forward corps and is looking to add this summer, but should they need him Cramarossa played 59 games with the Anaheim Ducks and Vancouver Canucks in 2016-17, recording ten points and 60 PIM, so he is capable of playing a regular role if necessary.

COVID Protocol Related Absences: 03/24/21

March 24, 2021 at 4:13 pm CDT | by Gavin Lee Leave a Comment

Each day, the NHL will publicly release the list of players that are unavailable to their respective teams due to being in COVID-19 Protocol. Here is the list for today so far:

Anaheim – Danton Heinen, Ben Hutton, Jacob Larsson, Anthony Stolarz
Boston – Jake DeBrusk, Sean Kuraly
Calgary – TBA
Minnesota – Zach Parise*
Montreal – Joel Armia, Jesperi Kotkaniemi
NY Rangers – Phil Di Giuseppe, Brett Howden (plus their coaching staff)
Ottawa – TBA
Vancouver – Travis Boyd
Winnipeg – TBA

As a reminder, inclusion on this list does not mean that a player has tested positive for Coronavirus or even that they have been confirmed as a close contact to another positive person. Included in the NHL’s list of possible reasons for someone being on the list is are the following:

(1) an initial positive test which remains unconfirmed until confirmatory testing is completed pursuant to the Positive Test Protocol; (2) mandated isolation for symptomatic individuals pursuant to the Positive Test Protocol; (3) required quarantine as a high-risk close contact in accordance with the Positive Test Protocol; (4) isolation based on a confirmed positive test result and/or; (5) quarantine for travel or other reasons as outlined in the COVID-19 Protocol

Players removed today: David Krejci, Boston Bruins; David Pastrnak, Boston Bruins; Craig Smith, Boston Bruins; Noah Dobson, New York Islanders

Minnesota had actually announced Andrew Hammond entered the protocol yesterday, but his name did not appear on the report. Now only Parise is present, with the team recalling Joseph Cramarossa under emergency conditions for tonight’s game. It’s unclear what has happened to Hammond, but perhaps the team is not including him on the list while he remains on the taxi squad.

The Bruins will practice this evening after three names came off the list, the same day that the NHL had hoped they would return to normal when things were first shut down. Still, DeBrusk and Kuraly remain in the protocol for now and will be unavailable until they exit.

It’s great news that it remains just two names for the Canadiens, who had four games postponed out of an abundance of caution. Hopefully, things will stay contained for the team and they can get back to normal next week.

After briefly appearing when the list was released, Dobson has also been removed. The Islanders defenseman will not be traveling with the team for their next three games but is eligible to return whenever ready to play.

*denotes new addition

Training Camp Cuts: 01/11/21

January 11, 2021 at 10:06 am CDT | by Gavin Lee 6 Comments

Camp cuts will come fast and furious today, with the waiver wire taking dozens and dozens of names in the final day before taxi squad assignments must be made. Remember, just being placed on waivers does not necessarily mean you’ve been cut from the team. With that in mind, we’ll keep track of the team-announced cuts right here:

Buffalo Sabres (via team release):

F Brandon Biro (to Rochester, AHL)
F Steven Fogarty (to Rochester, AHL)
F Brett Murray (to Rochester, AHL)
F C.J. Smith (to Rochester, AHL)
D Casey Fitzgerald (to Rochester, AHL)
G Dustin Tokarski (to Rochester, AHL)
D Ryan Jones (to Rochester, AHL)
G Michael Houser (to Rochester, AHL)

Chicago Blackhawks (via team release):

F Andrei Altybarmakian (to Rockford, AHL)
F Evan Barratt (to Rockford, AHL)
F Matej Chalupa (to Rockford, AHL)
F MacKenzie Entwistle (to Rockford, AHL)
F Reese Johnson (to Rockford, AHL)
F Cam Morrison (to Rockford, AHL)
F Tim Soderlund (to Rockford, AHL)
F Michal Teply (to Rockford, AHL)
D Chad Krys (to Rockford, AHL)
D Alec Regula (to Rockford, AHL)
F Michael Krutil (released)
G Cale Morris (released)

Columbus Blue Jackets (via team release):

G Veini Vehvilainen (to Cleveland, AHL)
F Tyler Angle (released)
F Justin Scott (released)
D Thomas Schemitsch (released)
G Brad Thiessen (released)

Los Angeles Kings (via team release):

F Aidan Dudas (to Ontario, AHL)
F Mikey Eyssimont (to Ontario, AHL)
F Samuel Fagemo (to Ontario, AHL)
F Boko Imama (to Ontario, AHL)
F Rasmus Kupari (to Ontario, AHL)
F Tyler Madden (to Ontario, AHL)
F Akil Thomas (to Ontario, AHL)
D Daniel Brickley (to Ontario, AHL)
D Sean Durzi (to Ontario, AHL)
D Jacob Moverare (to Ontario, AHL)
D Markus Phillips (to Ontario, AHL)
G Jacob Ingham (to Ontario, AHL)
G Matt Villalta (to Ontario, AHL)

Minnesota Wild (via team release):

F Mitchell Chaffee (to Iowa, AHL)
F Joseph Cramarossa (to Iowa, AHL)
F Connor Dewar (to Iowa, AHL)
F Brandon Duhaime (to Iowa, AHL)
F Gabriel Dumont (to Iowa, AHL)
F Mason Shaw (to Iowa, AHL)
D Calen Addison (to Iowa, AHL)
D Ian McCoshen (to Iowa, AHL)
G Dereck Baribeau (to Iowa, AHL)
G Hunter Jones (to Iowa, AHL)

New Jersey Devils (via team release):

F Nate Schnarr (to Binghamton, AHL)
F Brett Seney (to Binghamton, AHL)
D Kevin Bahl (to Binghamton, AHL)
D Nikita Okhotiuk (to Binghamton, AHL)
D Reilly Walsh (to Binghamton, AHL)
G Evan Cormier (to Binghamton, AHL)

Pittsburgh Penguins (via team release):

F Josh Currie (to Wilkes-Barre/Scranton, AHL)
F Radim Zohorna (to Wilkes-Barre/Scranton, AHL)
D Kevin Czuczman (to Wilkes-Barre/Scranton, AHL)
D Cam Lee (to Wilkes-Barre/Scranton, AHL)
F Nathan Legare (to Val d’Or, QMJHL)
F Samuel Poulin (to Sherbrooke, QMJHL)
F Jordan Nolan (to Wilkes-Barre/Scranton, AHL)

San Jose Sharks (via team release):

F Lean Bergmann (to San Jose, AHL)
F Alexander True (to San Jose, AHL)
F Joachim Blichfeld (to San Jose, AHL)
F Jayden Halbgewachs (to San Jose, AHL)
D Jaycob Megna (to San Jose, AHL)
D Ryan Merkley (to San Jose, AHL)
G Josef Korenar (to San Jose, AHL)

Tampa Bay Lightning (via team release):

F Alex Barre-Boulet (to Syracuse, AHL)
F Ross Colton (to Syracuse, AHL)
F Jack Finley (to Syracuse, AHL)
F Gage Goncalves (to Syracuse, AHL)
F Jimmy Huntington (to Syracuse, AHL)
F Boris Katchouk (to Syracuse, AHL)
F Taylor Raddysh (to Syracuse, AHL)
D Sean Day (to Syracuse, AHL)
D Alex Green (to Syracuse, AHL)
D Dmitry Semykin (to Syracuse, AHL)
F Daniel Walcott (to Syracuse, AHL)*
F/D Luke Witkowski (to Syracuse, AHL)*
G Spencer Martin (to Syracuse, AHL)*

Toronto Maple Leafs (via team release):

F Kenny Agostino (to Toronto, AHL)*
F Joey Anderson (to Toronto, AHL)
F Pierre Engvall (to Toronto, AHL)
F Nic Petan (to Toronto, AHL)
D Mac Hollowell (to Toronto, AHL)
D Teemu Kivihalme (to Toronto, AHL)
D Timothy Liljegren (to Toronto, AHL)
D Martin Marincin (to Toronto, AHL)*
D Calle Rosen (to Toronto, AHL)*
G Michael Hutchinson (to Toronto, AHL)
F Justin Brazeau (to Toronto, AHL)
F Rourke Chartier (to Toronto, AHL)
F Tyler Gaudet (to Toronto, AHL)
F Scott Sabourin (to Toronto, AHL)

Vegas Golden Knights (via team release):

F Jake Leschyshyn (to Henderson, AHL)
F Lucas Elvenes (to Henderson, AHL)
F Jack Dugan (to Henderson, AHL)
F Ben Jones (to Henderson, AHL)
F Peyton Krebs (to Henderson, AHL)
D Kaedan Korczak (to Henderson, AHL)
D Jimmy Schuldt (to Henderson, AHL)
D Brayden Pachal (to Henderson, AHL)
D Connor Corcoran (to Henderson, AHL)
G Logan Thompson (to Henderson, AHL)
G Dylan Ferguson (to Henderson, AHL)

Washington Capitals (via team release):

F Kody Clark (to Hershey, AHL)
F Brett Leason (to Hershey, AHL)
F Garrett Pilon (to Hershey, AHL)
F Joe Snively (to Hershey, AHL)
F Riley Sutter (to Hershey, AHL)
F Axel Jonsson-Fjallby (to Hershey, AHL)
F Hendrix Lapierre (to Chicoutimi, QMJHL)

Winnipeg Jets (via team release):

F Joona Luoto (to Manitoba, AHL)
F Skyler McKenzie (to Manitoba, AHL)
F Kristian Reichel (to Manitoba, AHL)
D Declan Chisholm (to Manitoba, AHL)
D Luke Green (to Manitoba, AHL)
D Johnathan Kovacevic (to Manitoba, AHL)
G Mikhail Berdin (to Manitoba, AHL)
D Jimmy Oligny (to Manitoba, AHL)
G Cole Kehler (released)

*Must clear waivers first.

43 Players Placed On Waivers

January 10, 2021 at 11:48 am CDT | by Zach Leach 5 Comments

As teams begin to make their final camp decisions with the 2020-21 season getting started this week, the ramifications are apparent in today’s waiver wire group. All nine players from Saturday’s waivers cleared, but that is less likely to occur Sunday with a much longer list, including some more notable names. The following players have been placed on waivers today:

Buffalo Sabres
D Brandon Davidson
F Steven Fogarty
F C.J. Smith
G Dustin Tokarski

Calgary Flames
G Louis Domingue
F Byron Froese
F Justin Kirkland
D Alex Petrovic
F Buddy Robinson

Colorado Avalanche
F Kiefer Sherwood

Edmonton Oilers
F Adam Cracknell
F Seth Griffith

Florida Panthers
G Philippe Desrosiers
F Scott Wilson

Los Angeles Kings
D Daniel Brickley
F Boko Imama

Minnesota Wild
D Matt Bartekowski
D Louie Belpedio
F Joseph Cramarossa
F Gabriel Dumont
G Andrew Hammond
F Luke Johnson
F Gerald Mayhew
D Dakota Mermis
D Ian McCoshen
F Kyle Rau

Montreal Canadiens
F Brandon Baddock
F Alex Belzile
F Joseph Blandisi
F Laurent Dauphin
D Noah Juulsen
G Charlie Lindgren
D Gustav Olofsson
D Xavier Ouellet
F Jordan Weal

New York Islanders
F Joshua Ho-Sang
F Mason Jobst

Ottawa Senators
D Maxime Lajoie

Pittsburgh Penguins
D Kevin Czuczman
F Josh Currie
F Frederick Gaudreau
G Maxime Lagace
D Zach Trotman

Among the names likely to receive attention on the wire are a trio of intriguing young players. Defensemen Noah Juulsen and Maxime Lajoie and forward Josh Ho-Sang have all seen NHL action in the past and have shown promise but for different reasons are now available to claim. Juulsen in particular looked like a long-term permanent piece on the Montreal blue line, but vision issues brought on by head injuries knocked him out of the 2018-19 season after 21 games with the Habs and limited him to just 13 AHL games in 2019-20. The Canadiens clearly want to see him get in some game action before returning him to the NHL roster, but another club may have more faith in the young defenseman, who allegedly is back at full strength. After 56 games with the Ottawa Senators in 2018-19, including a hot scoring start, Lajoie was somewhat inexplicably reduced to just six games with the team this past season. A versatile all-around defenseman who has already shown in a small sample size that he can hack it in the NHL, Lajoie could certainly draw interest from a team more willing to give him another chance. Ho-Sang, a first-round pick of the Islanders back in 2014, is on the outs with his club. A future in New York seems non-existent for a player whose effort and attitude have been called into question. His limited action last season also doesn’t help his case. Yet, Ho-Sang’s skill is apparent and that alone is a cause for pause for teams scouring the waiver wire.

As for a more polished possible pick-up, Jordan Weal leads the pack as a veteran of over 200 NHL games who has posted an 82-game scoring pace of 25 points or more in three straight seasons. Seth Griffith is also no stranger to being passed around via waivers and Frederick Gaudreau is coming off a career-high 55 NHL appearances last season and has strong scoring numbers throughout his AHL career.

This waiver group could also provide goalie depth for a team in need (see: New Jersey Devils). Andrew Hammond, Louis Domingue, Dustin Tokarski, and Charlie Lindgren are all veteran net minders with NHL experience who could provide some stability in net.

Minnesota Wild Sign Joseph Cramarossa, Dakota Mermis

October 9, 2020 at 2:59 pm CDT | by Zach Leach Leave a Comment

The Minnesota Wild are strengthening their depth, adding a pair of experienced minor leaguers. The team has announced that they have signed forward Joseph Cramarossa and defenseman Dakota Mermis to one-year, two-way contracts. Both players will make the minimum $700K at the NHL level; Mermis will get $250K in the AHL while Cramarossa gets $160K.

Mermis, 26, has the better chance of the two of making an impact on the NHL roster after playing in ten games with the New Jersey Devils this season. A productive, puck-moving defenseman, Mermis has shown an ability to contribute offensively even as a spot starter. Although the Wild have a solid top-six locked in, Mermis should compete for a roster spot as an extra defender.

Cramarossa, 27, has not played in the NHL for a few years, but is a dependable two-way AHL forward. He also is not afraid to play a physical game. Cramarossa won’t likely play a significant role for Minnesota, but could be a fourth-line option in the event of injury and should help with the defensive development of forward prospects down in Iowa.

Pittsburgh Penguins, Chicago Blackhawks Complete Minor Trade

November 20, 2019 at 5:05 pm CDT | by Gavin Lee Leave a Comment

The Pittsburgh Penguins have acquired Graham Knott from the Chicago Blackhawks in exchange for Joseph Cramarossa. Knott will be assigned to the Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins immediately, while Cramarossa is headed to the Rockford IceHogs.

This move doesn’t look like it will have much of an impact at the NHL level, given that Knott has spent this season in the ECHL and Cramarossa hasn’t sniffed the NHL since the 2016-17 season. The pair of minor league forwards will get fresh starts in new organizations to try and keep their careers moving forward.

Pittsburgh does get the younger player, as Knott is still just 22. Selected in the second round of the 2015 draft he hasn’t been able to produce much at the minor league level and will likely go unqualified this summer at the expiry of his entry-level contract. Cramarossa meanwhile is also an unrestricted free agent at the end of this season and is just minor league depth at this point.