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Minor Transactions: 10/31/17

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Happy Halloween reader, and welcome to another edition of who’s up and who’s down. As usual, we’ll keep an eye on all the movement around the National Hockey League and collect all the minor moves right here.

  • The Buffalo Sabres started the day off with the first move, bringing Taylor Fedun back up from the minor leagues. Fedun has already played two games this season for the Sabres, but had given up that depth spot to Zach Redmond of late. With Justin Falk expected to be activated this week, there is no clear path into the lineup for Fedun. Perhaps he’ll serve as insurance while Buffalo heads out on a short two-game road trip to Arizona and Dallas. The 29-year old has 41 games of NHL experience so far, registering 15 points.
  • The Ottawa Senators have returned Max McCormick to the AHL after calling him up just yesterday. McCormick played in Senators’ game against the Montreal Canadiens last night, but amazingly saw just a minute of ice time and 14 minutes of penalties. It won’t be the last time he’s used in this role for Ottawa, who will likely bounce him up and down if they feel they need a physical presence.
  • The Arizona Coyotes have indeed sent Louis Domingue to the AHL, recalling Joel Hanley with the corresponding roster spot. The Coyotes turned to Scott Wedgewood in net last night and finally got their first win of the season. Domingue, once considered a capable backup, will need to find his game again in the minor leagues.
  • Julius Honka, profiled as a potential impact rookie earlier this summer, has been sent to the AHL by the Dallas Stars. Honka wasn’t playing enough to warrant staying up with the NHL team, as his development is key to the Stars future. The 14th-overall pick from 2014, Honka has tremendous upside as an all-around defender capable of contributing offensively and skating big minutes in the future. He’ll have to wait for a bigger opportunity, or an injury to one of the Stars’ top six.
  • Philadelphia has recalled another defender, bringing up Will O’Neill from the Lehigh Valley Phantoms. Both Nolan Patrick and Andrew MacDonald are currently on injured reserve, while Shayne Gostisbehere is still out with an upper-body injury. O’Neill will serve as an insurance policy on the upcoming two-game road trip, but is unlikely to get into a game. The 29-year old has never been called up previously, but has a long history of success in the AHL.

Sabres Place Gorges On IR, Recall Redmond

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The struggling Sabres continue to take hits. At 1-5-2, Buffalo is no longer win-less like the Arizona Coyotes, neither are they the worst team even in the Atlantic, having passed up the Montreal Canadiens. However, four points in eight games is nothing to write home about and now the injuries are starting to pile up. Zach Bogosian doesn’t appear to be close to a comeback, and the team recently recalled Taylor Fedun with Jacob Josefson also sidelined. The latest addition: veteran defenseman Josh Gorges, who the team placed on injured reserve this morning.

While the team did not specifically address what is ailing Gorges in the press release, a recent article by Buffalo News’ John Vogl updated the injury statuses of several players, including Bogosian, Josefson, another downed defender Justin Falk, and yet another concern, banged up forward Zemgus Girgensons. In the piece, Vogl asks coach Phil Housley about Gorges’ condition, which the bench boss describes as a “lower-body injury”. While this is not much to go off of, more details can be expected the longer that Gorges’ absence lasts.

In the meantime, Buffalo has recalled defenseman Zach Redmond from Rochester of the AHL. Redmond was acquired from the Montreal Canadiens earlier this month for Nicolas Deslauriers and will make his Sabres debut should he get into one of their upcoming games, perhaps even tonight against the Boston Bruins. While by any metric Redmond is a replacement-level player, his 16 games with the Canadiens last season was a bit of an outlier compared to his recent experience. Redmond played a semi-regular role for the Colorado Avalanche in 2014-15 and 2015-16, skating in 59 and 37 games respectively and posting a total of 26 points and a 115 blocked shots. Redmond is capable of stepping up and being a reliable man on the back end for Buffalo – and they need it. The Sabres currently rank 29th in points percentage and goal differential and are on a course for another disappointing season. Gorges has undeniably lost a step in recent years; perhaps Redmond can be the surprise catalyst in his place that gets the Buffalo blue line back in shape.

Eastern Notes: Van Riemsdyk, Bellerive, Mete, Antipin

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While major roster moves at this point in the season are unlikely, it sounds like Toronto could be looking to make some moves later in the season, according to TSN’s Darren Dreger. The Maple Leafs who are overloaded with forwards and will have to worry about salary cap issues for the impending future (the currently are $4.58MM over the cap) might be willing to move some of their veteran forwards whose contracts are close to expiring. According to Dreger, the team might be looking to move James van Riemsdyk, Tyler Bozak and Leo Komarov during the season to get some value for them.

Van Riemsdyk would be a valuable trade chip for the Maple Leafs. The 28-year-old put up 29 goals and 33 assists last year and will be making $4.25MM in his final year of his contract. Trade speculation surrounding van Riemsdyk isn’t surprising. There was plenty of that last year. With all the contracts the Maple Leafs have, including the deal to sign Patrick Marleau as well as an eventual long-term deal that will go to Auston Matthews, Toronto will likely be forced to make some moves.

Bozak had 18 goals and career-high 55 points last year and could also be a key trade asset for the franchise. There were plenty of rumors surrounding the 31-year-old center this offseason in which both the Pittsburgh Penguins and the New York Rangers were interested in bringing him. Komarov also had a solid year for the Leafs as the 30-year-old center put up 14 goals and 18 assists.

Dreger said that while it is unknown whether the franchise intends to eventually move one or all three, but suggested that a team like the Anaheim Ducks might be the perfect trade candidate for Toronto as the Ducks might be looking to add a third-line center.

  • The Pittsburgh Penguins announced they have signed undrafted 18-year-old Jordan Bellerive to a three-year entry-level contract. The 5-foot-10 center put up 27 goals and 29 assists for the WHL’s Lethbridge Hurricanes last year, but to many people’s surprise did not get drafted. He joined the Penguins for the 2017 Prospects Challenge in Buffalo, New York and led the prospects with seven points (four goals, three assists) in three games. He is expected to return to his junior team this season.
  • Eric Engels of Sportsnet writes that the Montreal Canadiens are taking a serious look at defensive prospect Victor Mete as a potential line partner with veteran Shea Weber. Mete, a fourth-round pick in 2016, put up 44 points in 50 games last year for the OHL’s London Knights. The scribe reports that the 19-year-old has not looked out of place next to Weber and is a perfect complement to him.
  • John Vogl of the Buffalo News writes that former KHL defenseman Viktor Antipin, who signed with the Sabres this offseason, is working hard to earn a spot on the Sabres’ defensive rotation. The 24-year-old has been paired so far in camp with defensive-minded Justin Falk, which many believe is a perfect pairing. The offensive-minded Antipin scored 24 points in 59 games for Magnitogorsk Mettallurg last year.

 

Sabres Notes: Mueller, Coaching, Expansion

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Mirco Mueller was dealt from the San Jose Sharks to the New Jersey Devils just before the expansion protection lists were submitted, but they weren’t the only team interested in him. Pierre LeBrun of TSN reports that the Buffalo Sabres were also in talks with the Sharks before they made the move for Nathan Beaulieu instead. It’s clear that the Sabres are looking for every opportunity to improve their defense after finding little consistency from the back end a year ago.

So far, the Sabres project to have some combination of Beaulieu, Rasmus Ristolainen, Zach Bogosian, Josh Gorges, Jake McCabe and Viktor Antipin in their regular group, with Justin Falk, Brendan Guhle and others fighting for the last few spots. That’s a group that could seriously use another upgrade, as various levels of inexperience and inconsistency flow throughout. With Vegas announcing that they’d have defensemen for sale after the expansion draft, it wouldn’t be surprising to hear Buffalo had picked up the phone to try and acquire one.

  • That is of course if Buffalo doesn’t lose a defenseman of their own in the draft. Though we expect the Golden Knights to go after Linus Ullmark (with William Carrier a close second), there is always the chance that Bogosian could be selected. After all, even though he’s been disappointing for the Sabres since coming from Winnipeg in the Tyler Myers trade, he is still just 26 and has the pedigree of a third-overall pick. His contract still has three years left at a $5.14MM cap hit (and actually costs more from a salary perspective) but if Vegas believes he can put his injury woes behind him and become the top-pairing two-way defender he was drafted as they could potentially take him off Buffalo’s hands.
  • John Vogl of the Buffalo News passes on a report that Phil Housley will hire an all-new assistant coaching staff for next season, with Terry Murray, Bob Woods and Tom Ward all not expected to be retained. New GM Jason Botterill is attempting to change the entire culture in the Buffalo organization, and that likely means wiping the coaching slate clean. Interestingly, Murray is the uncle of former Buffalo GM Tim Murray and is a career NHL coach who has held the head position in Florida, Philadelphia, Washington and Los Angeles.

Snapshots: Outdoor Game, Fedun, Bonuses

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After a report yesterday that the 2018 Winter Classic would be played at Citi Field in New York, there is some more news about outdoor games next season. Tomorrow, according to a report from Bruce Garrioch of the Ottawa Citizen, the NHL will announce a game between the Ottawa Senators and Montreal Canadiens that will take place at TD Place, the home of the Canadian Football League’s Ottawa Redblacks. The stadium, which sits in Lansdowne Park right along the Rideau Canal, will host the CFL’s Grey Cup just a few weeks prior and will have expanded seating still installed.

This would be the Senators first time hosting an outdoor game, and just their second appearance in one. In 2014, they were part of the Heritage Classic in Vancouver (where the Sens won 4-2) but will obviously welcome a chance to host their own. Honoring the first NHL game played in Ottawa on December 19th, 1917—when the original Ottawa Senators were in existence—the game is expected to be played around the same date. It will be Montreal’s fourth appearance as a visitor in an outdoor game, though they’ve never hosted one themselves.

  • As rumored yesterday, the Buffalo Sabres have brought up Taylor Fedun from the AHL today prior to their game in Los Angeles. The team is in the middle of a four-game rad trip, and will not have Justin Falk in the lineup tonight or tomorrow against the Anaheim Ducks. Fedun has 25 games with the NHL club this season, recording seven points. A prolific point producer at the AHL level, Fedun has just 37 games under his belt in the NHL and has never been able to find a consistent role.
  • The Toronto Maple Leafs have used their cap space over the past two years as something of an asset, acquiring bad contracts and burying them in the minors in order to get better returns on transactions. Brooks Laich, Milan Michalek and Colin Greening were all examples of this, and they now find themselves right up against the cap. As Chris Johnston of Sportsnet writes, that may end up costing them at least a few million next season as the bonuses for their young players will be taken as a penalty. Auston Matthews, Mitch Marner, William Nylander and Nikita Zaitsev will all likely max out their Schedule A bonuses this season, and Matthew may trigger a $2MM Schedule B if he finishes in the top 10 for goals. If they decide to be big players in free agency, that Matthews bonus could be a big factor.

Snapshots: Pastrnak, Sabres, Keenan, Wideman

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The Bruins and representatives for winger David Pastrnak are interested in getting a long-term contract done instead of pursuing a bridge deal in the summer, reports CSN New England’s DJ Bean.  Pastrnak is slated to become a restricted free agent in July and is poised to land a significant raise from the $925K he is receiving this season in the final year of his entry level deal.

Bean adds that Pastrnak’s agent, J.P. Barry, is viewing Sean Monahan (Calgary), Filip Forsberg (Nashville), and Mark Scheifele as suitable comparable players for negotiations.  All of those players landed new deals worth at least $6MM last summer.  The Bruins should have the room to accommodate a long-term deal on their cap moving forward as well; they have a little over $61MM already committed next year to 17 players per CapFriendly.

Other news from around the hockey world:

  • The Sabres are planning to recall defenseman Taylor Fedun from Rochester of the AHL in time for Thursday’s game in Los Angeles, reports Mike Harrington of the Buffalo News. He’s expected to take the place of Justin Falk, who has been ruled out of the lineup for at least the next two games.  Buffalo is also likely to have winger Hudson Fasching back in their lineup for the first time since late October.  The 21 year old has spent the last two months in the AHL after recovering from a groin injury, collecting seven points in 23 games in that span.
  • It appears Mike Keenan’s coaching career isn’t over just yet. The 67 year old is slated to become the new head coach of Kunlun of the KHL pending league approval of the contract, notes TSN’s Darren Dreger (Twitter link).  The veteran of 1,440 career NHL games as a bench boss last coached back in 2015 with Metallurg Magnitogorsk of the KHL and won a Gagarin Cup with them back in 2014.  Keenan will have plenty of familiar with his team as he is currently serving as an advisor for them.
  • The NHL lost its appeal in New York court to vacate an arbitrators’ ruling that dropped Dennis Wideman’s suspension from last season from 20 to 10 games, reports TSN’s Rick Westhead (Twitter link). The league had made its case back in June to try to have the remainder of his suspension reinstated.  Wideman was suspended for hitting linesman Don Henderson but it was cut in half by arbitrator James Oldham last March.  The NHL dismissed Oldham back in July.

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