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Kyle Brodziak

Snapshots: Brind’Amour, Provorov, Brodziak

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With the departure of head coach Bill Peters who exercised his opt-out clause and left the team, the Carolina Hurricanes will have to start looking for a head coach along with a new general manager. However, former captain and now assistant coach Rod Brind’Amour has said that he would like the job, according to Chip Alexander of The News & Observer.

Alexander says that Brind’Amour is not publically campaigning for the job, but believes after eight years as an assistant coach, he’s ready to become an NHL head coach.

“If you never try, you’ll never know,” Brind’Amour said Saturday. “The reason for saying ‘why not?’ is I’ve been doing it for eight years and I really believe I can help out one way or the other and see if I can put us over the hump. I don’t think as an assistant I’m going to get any better or learn any more. So now’s the time. … They’re going to find the best guy to do it and if it’s me, that’s great, and if not I understand. But I felt like I could at least step up and see if it could happen.”

Alexander says that Hurricanes’ new owner Tom Dundon likes Brind’Amour, including his work ethic, hockey sense and his ability to relate both to players and management.

  • Philadelphia Flyers general manager Ron Hextall would not give a medical update on defenseman Ivan Provorov, who was injured Friday when he collided with Pittsburgh’s Brian Dumoulin and crashed into thte boards late in the game. It looked as if he injured his shoulder, according to Philly.com’s Sam Carchidi. Provorov’s availability for Game 6 is essential if the Flyers want to force a Game 7. He was critical in shutting down Sidney Crosby by playing a career high 30:07 of playing time Friday and was a key member of the penalty kill. The scribe writes the good news is that Provorov was not wearing a sling on his way to the team bus after the game, but Hextall, who is very secretive likely won’t reveal his status until right before the game.
  • Tom Timmermann of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch writes that veteran forward Kyle Brodziak’s time with the St. Louis Blues could likely be over. With the influx of multiple prospects and with a likely shakeup of the current roster, the 34-year-old veteran could easily find himself on the open market. With the potential additions of some of their top prospects such as Jordan Kyrou, Robert Thomas, Samuel Blais and the possible return of Robby Fabbri, the team is likely to move on from some of their veterans, including Brodziak and veteran Scottie Upshall, who was in the same boat a year ago, but was brought back when injuries mounted.

Injury Notes: Blues, Coburn, Spurgeon, Carrier, Franson, Rutta, Jagr

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Injury news seems to be a daily affair in St. Louis as the St. Louis Blues are dealing multiple injuries at once, especially after the team learned that defenseman Jay Bouwmeester is expected to miss the weekend after he was put on injured reserve Friday with an unspecified injury, according to Tom Timmermann of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch. Now, Chris Pinkert of NHL.com writes that the team has a new injury to worry about as the team’s fourth-line center, Kyle Brodziak, is likely to miss Saturday’s game and is day-to-day with an unknown injury.

“He’s a little dinged up, that’s why he didn’t practice yesterday. We were hoping he could come in and feel better today, but that wasn’t the case,” Blues head coach Mike Yeo said. “Hopefully he feels better tomorrow.”

Timmerman adds in a tweet that defenseman Alex Pietrangelo is making progress, but his status for Sunday’s game (the first game he is eligible for against the Winnipeg Jets is unknown. The scribe points out, however, that since it’s the second game of a home-and-home against the Jets, it’s unlikely the team would carry just six defensemen for two straight games, which suggests the team is confident that Pietrangelo will likely play on Sunday. Another factor on defense was the status of veteran defenseman Carl Gunnarsson, whose status was questionable Friday after taking a shot off his right leg, which forced him to leave practice yesterday. Pinkert adds that he’s OK and is expected to play Saturday.

Other injury notes in the NHL:

  • Tampa Bay Times’ Joe Smith tweets that defenseman Braydon Coburn is likely to return tonight against the Avalanche. Coburn has missed seven games and hasn’t played since Nov. 29 with a lower-body injury. The 32-year-old veteran has seven assists in 25 games this season.
  • With Minnesota Wild defenseman Jared Spurgeon not playing in today’s matchup against the Oilers, The Athletic’s Michael Russo tweets that it’s likely that Spurgeon will return to the Wild for tomorrow’s matchup with the Blackhawks. He has missed nine games for Minnesota with a groin injury. The 28-year-old has three goals and 12 assists in 23 games this season.
  • Las Vegas Review-Journal’s Steve Carp tweets that winger William Carrier, who has missed nine straight games with an upper-body injury, continues to practice in a non-contact jersey, but a return could be coming soon. Carrier’s presence and toughness has been missed. He has one goal and one assist in 20 games.
  • The Chicago Tribune’s Chris Hine tweets that Cody Franson and Jan Rutta could be back on the ice soon, possibly even tomorrow, according to coach Joel Quenneville. Franson has missed three games with an upper-body injury, while Rutta missed Thursday’s game against Winnipeg with an apparent head injury.
  • Postmedia’s Wes Gilbertson tweets that Jaromir Jagr is expected back into the lineup today after missing the past six games with a lower-body injury. He is expected to play on the team’s fourth line tonight.

Salary Cap Deep Dive: St. Louis Blues

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Navigating the Salary Cap is probably one of the more important tasks for any general manager to have. Teams that can avert total cap chaos by walking the tightrope of inking players to deals that match their value (or compensate for future value without breaking the bank) remain successful. Those that don’t see struggles and front office changes.

PHR will look at every NHL team and give a thorough look at their cap situation heading into the 2017-18 season. This will focus more on those players who are integral parts of the roster versus those who may find themselves shuttling between the AHL and NHL. All cap figures are courtesy of CapFriendly.

St. Louis Blues

Current Cap Hit: $72,569,167 (under the $75MM Upper Limit)

Entry-Level Contracts

F Robby Fabbri (One year remaining, $894K)
F Zachary Sanford (Two years remaining, $875K)
F Ivan Barbashev (Two years remaining, $742K)

Potential Bonuses

Fabbri: $425K
Barbashev: $183K
Sanford: $50K

Total: $658K

Much of the attention of the youth will fall on Fabbri, who many are hoping will have a breakout season this year. The former 2014 first-round pick has already played two full seasons with the club and combined for 29 goals, but many people feel this might be the year where he takes that next step. He looked to be having a solid year last year, but tore his ACL in February and missed the rest of the season. Now healthy, many believe the Blues will move him to center to take control of a top line.

Sanford and Barbashev are two youngsters who many feel may also take on regular roles in St. Louis this year. Sanford, a second-round pick in 2013 by the Washington Capitals, came to St. Louis in the Kevin Shattenkirk trade at the trade deadline last season. The 22-year-old joined the Blues for the final 13 games and scored two goals and five assists and many believe he should make a solid fourth-line center as he develops his game. Barbashev is a second-round pick from the 2014 draft and got a promotion for the season’s final 30 games. The 21-year-old picked up five goals and seven assists and showed that he deserves a chance to start, but may have to settle for a wing position to start the year.

One Year Remaining, Non-Entry-Level

F Paul Stastny ($7MM, UFA)
G Carter Hutton ($1.125MM, UFA)
D Joel Edmundson ($1.05MM, RFA)
F Dmitrij Jaskin ($1MM, RFA)
F Kyle Brodziak ($950K, UFA)
F Magnus Paajarvi ($800K, UFA)
F Oskar Sundqvist ($675K, RFA)
F Beau Bennett ($650K, RFA)

Obviously the team has to make a decision on what it plans to do with Stastny as he’s the biggest name amongst the team’s pending free agents next season. Stastny has been a solid contributor at center, but hardly spectacular and is probably not worth the $7MM AAV that he has received from St. Louis when they signed him in 2014. Injuries have played a major role for the 31-year-old veteran as he has missed 42 games in three seasons. On top of that, he only took 112 shots, one of the lowest of his career and his 22 assists last year is his career low, not including the strike-shortened 2012-13 season. The team has put some effort into developing some of their youngsters at the center position, including Fabbri, Barbashev and Sanford likely in hopes of eventually finding a replacement for Stastny in the near future.

After Stastny, the talent level drops, but the team will have several restricted free agents who will be in line for more money next year. Edmundson, entering his third full year in the league, who has struggled with injuries in his two years. He played in 67 games in 2015-16 and just 69 games last year. He put up three goals and 12 assists last year, but should get more playing time with Shattenkirk gone and if he can stay healthy, should put up even better numbers. Sundqvist also came to St. Louis in a recent trade. Acquired from Pittsburgh in the Ryan Reaves trade, Sundqvist hopes to break camp with the Blues. He couldn’t crack the lineup in Pittsburgh, managing just 28 games over the past two years, but he did score 20 goals for the Penguins’ AHL squad this year. The center has a good chance to win a bottom six center position this year.

Jaskin has had trouble staying in the lineup for the Blues. The 24-year-old has been with the team now for four seasons, but has never been able to a steady contributor. He only managed to get into 51 games last year, for one goal and 10 assists. If he can’t put together a solid season, it may be his last in St. Louis. Bennett, who was signed as a free agent this summer, must prove he can make the team first. The 25-year-old wing scored eight goals in 65 games for the New Jersey Devils last year.

Among unrestricted free agents, the team may want to bring back Hutton, who has served the Blues well as their backup goaltender. The 31-year-old played 29 games and finished the year with a 2.39 GAA and a .913 save percentage. The 33-year-old Brodziak makes for a good fourth-line player, but this could likely be his last year in St. Louis, while Paajarvi split time between the Blues and the Chicago Wolves and also could be at the end of the line if he can’t make the team out of training camp.

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Expansion Primer: St. Louis Blues

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We’re continuing to break down each team’s situation as it pertains to the 2017 NHL Expansion Draft, coming up next week: which players are eligible, and which will likely warrant protection or may be on the block. Each team is required to submit their protection lists by 4pm CDT on June 17th. The full rules on eligibility can be found here, and CapFriendly has provided a handy expansion tool to make your own lists.

The St. Louis Blues did pretty well for themselves at the 2016 Trade Deadline when they swapped Kevin Shattenkirk for a package including prospect Zach Sanford and a first-round pick only to make just as far in the postseason as the Washington Capitals, the conference semifinals. Not only did they get value for an impending free agent, but they also acquired pieces that didn’t effect the expansions process, while additionally simplifying their decision on defense. Armed with a large core of forwards in their prime and the likes of Sanford and other ready to replace any potential losses up front to lower-tier players, the Blues are in pretty good shape heading into the Expansion Draft.

Eligible Players (Non-UFA)

Forwards
Vladimir Tarasenko, Paul Stastny, Alexander Steen, Jaden Schwartz, Jori Lehtera, Patrik Berglund, David Perron, Vladimir Sobotka, Ryan Reaves, Dmitrij Jaskin, Kyle Brodziak, Magnus Paajarvi, Nail Yakupov, Jacob Doty, Landon Ferraro, Jordan Caron, Ty Rattie

Defense
Alex Pietrangelo, Jay Bouwmeester, Carl Gunnarsson, Robert Bortuzzo, Joel Edmundson, Petteri Lindbohm

Goaltender
Jake Allen, Carter Hutton, Jordan Binnington

Notable Exemptions

Colton Parayko, Robby Fabbri, Zachary Sanford, Ivan Barbashev, Jordan Schmaltz

Key Decisions

Not many decisions to be made for St. Louis. In net, Jake Allen is the present and future and is a lock for protection. On defense, captain Alex Pietrangelo and veteran Jay Bouwmeester make up one of the top pairs in the league and are signed long-term. They’re not going anywhere. With young stalwart Colton Parayko exempt, his equally youthful pair Joel Edmundson, who is fresh off a strong sophomore campaign, is an easy choice for the third and final defensive spot.

Where things get a little less clear is at forward. Superstar Vladimir Tarasenko, line mate Jaden Schwartz, and long-time Blues Alexander Steen and Patrik Berglund, both of whom signed extensions this past season, are all as good as protected. After returning to St. Louis and having an outstanding season, David Perron is also likely safe, as is veteran leader Paul Stastny. Barring an unexpected decision regarding any of those six players, that leaves just one forward spot left. Heading into the 2016-17 season, that core also included center Jori Lehtera. However, the 29-year-old played in just 64 games this season scoring only 22 points, a major drop-off from the year before and a second straight season with steep decline. The salary cap-strapped Blues might not mind losing Lehtera and his two remaining seasons with a $4.7MM cap hit. After all, St. Louis did push to bring Vladimir Sobotka back from the KHL, a task they finally accomplished toward the end of the season, and Sobotka rewarded them with six points in 11 playoff games. It would certainly be strange to work so hard to bring the two-way ace back from Russia just to lose him to the Golden Knights for nothing. However, there are a handful of young players that St. Louis will have to consider as well, namely Magnus Paajarvi, Dmitrij Jaskin, and Nail Yakupov. Paajarvi has been in the NHL for seven years, but is still just 25. He’s never been able to carve out a full-time role with the Blue and Gold, but perhaps the team sees something in him. The homegrown Jaskin has also struggled to be a regular player for the Blues, but has certainly shown upside from time to time and only recently turned 24. Lastly, Yakupov, a former #1 overall pick, was acquired just last off-season from the Edmonton Oilers, but was never given a real role in St. Louis this year. Yakupov has a ton of potential, but the Blues are chasing a championship and may not be concerned with waiting around to see if he pans out at the cost of a true contributor.

Projected Protection List

Scheme: 7F/3D/1G

Forwards

Vladimir Tarasenko
Jaden Schwartz
Alexander Steen
David Perron
Paul Stastny
Patrik Berglund
Vladimir Sobotka

Defensemen

Alex Pietrangelo
Jay Bouwmeester
Joel Edmundson

Goalie

Jake Allen

It would simply be too strange to let a valuable, versatile player like Sobotka go after just re-gaining his talents. Vegas GM George McPhee would surely jump at the opportunity to add a player with Sobotka’s skills to his new team. There is less certainty surrounding a player on the decline in Lehtera or unproven commodities like Paajarvi, Jaskin, or Yakupov. For the Knights though, certainty is a luxury they can’t afford, as they will surely pick up several project players. Lehtera could provide some veteran leadership and solid player down the middle, but it seems more likely that talented player in need of more opportunity, like Jaskin or Yakupov, would be the choice. St. Louis will also expose two dependable veteran defenseman in Carl Gunnarsson and Robert Bortuzzo, both signed to reasonable contracts through 2018-19, but the Knights will see a lot of good defenseman in the draft and neither player really jumps out. Expect the pick to be a project forward, whose loss may not impact the Blues much, but could pay off well for Vegas.

Injury Updates: Blues, Marner, Hartnell, Schultz, Bernier

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The Blues will be getting center Kyle Brodziak back in their lineup earlier than expected.  The team announced that they’ve activated him off of injured reserve two weeks ahead of schedule.  Brodziak suffered a foot injury three weeks ago and was expected to be out until the end of the month but he recovered quicker than expected.  The 32 year old has ten points (4-6-10) in 47 games with St. Louis this season.  To make room for him on the roster, the team assigned center Wade Megan back to Chicago of the AHL.

Still with the Blues, center Paul Stastny is expected to travel with the team to Buffalo in advance of their games against the Sabres tomorrow, notes Jeremy Rutherford of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch.  He remains day-to-day for the time being with a lower body injury.  If Stastny is ready to return, another player will have to be sent back to the AHL to make room for him.

Other injury updates from around the league:

  • Maple Leafs winger Mitch Marner is day-to-day as a result of a shoulder injury sustained on Wednesday in Columbus, notes Jonas Siegel of the Canadian Press. However, he hasn’t been ruled out of the lineup for tomorrow’s game against the Senators.  Marner is tied for first overall in rookie scoring (with Winnipeg’s Patrik Laine) this season with 48 points (15-33-48) in 56 games.  Still with Toronto, winger Nikita Soshnikov is nearing a return from his upper body injury and could be in the lineup against Ottawa.
  • Columbus left winger Scott Hartnell will miss his second straight game tonight with a lower body injury, reports Aaron Portzline of the Columbus Dispatch (Twitter link). The injury was originally sustained on Monday night against the Rangers.  That means that right winger Oliver Bjorkstrand will get at least one more game after being recalled on an emergency basis on Tuesday.  Hartnell has spent a lot of time on the fourth line for the Blue Jackets this season but has been rather productive in that role, picking up 30 points (13-17-30) in 55 games.
  • The Penguins continue to get tough news from the infirmary. After it was noted earlier today that Olli Maatta will miss six weeks as he recovers from hand surgery, the team announced via Twitter that blueliner Justin Schultz is dealing with a concussion and is in concussion protocol.  There’s no timetable for his return to the lineup.  Schultz is having a career year in his first season with Pittsburgh with 39 points (9-30-39) in 56 games.  That point total ranks sixth overall among NHL defenders.
  • Ducks netminder Jonathan Bernier is dealing with an illness, reports Elliott Teaford of the Southern California News Group (Twitter link). However, the team is hopeful that he will still be able to serve as the backup tonight to John Gibson as Anaheim takes on Florida.

Minor Transactions: 1/27/2017

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As is customary over the NHL’s All-Star weekend, many teams have begun the day with sending waivers-exempt players down to the minors for some salary cap savings over the next few days. No team has been as enthusiastic to move some bodies as the New Jersey Devils, who announced that nearly half of their defensive corps will take a short trip to Albany to visit the AHL Devils. Joining the recently demoted Yohann Auvitu this weekend will be Steve Santini, Seth Helgeson, and Karl Stollery. Although the trio has only played in a combined 26 games in 2016-17, Santini and Stollery have formed the bottom pair for the Devils of late with Auvitu, Andy Greene, and John Moore sidelined with injuries. Helgeson has generally been the seventh defenseman this season, spending most games in the press box, but getting to see the ice in five contests. The 29-year-old journeyman Stollery has played in just eight games, but is already having the best season of his NHL career, recording his first big-league points and playing about 16 minutes per night.The rookie Santini has shown promise so far in the first half, skating in 13 games and scoring two goals and three assists while playing a sound defensive game as well. Expect Santini and at least one of Stollery and Helgeson to be back up in New Jersey after a brief break.

Elsewhere in minor moves:

  • Another Metropolitan team has moved a majority of one position down to the AHL, but it should come as welcome news to the fans. The Carolina Hurricanes announced that, after a long hiatus dealing with concussion symptoms, goalie Eddie Lack has been activated from the injured reserve and has been assigned to the AHL’s Charlotte Checkers for a rehab stint. With Cam Ward having played in 41 of 48 games for the ’Canes, including 22 of the last 24, he, the organization, and the fans will be happy to have Lack back in the fold as soon as possible. Joining him in the minors will be his recent replacement, veteran Michael Leighton, whose demotion could be more of the permanent variety this time around. However, Leighton, who is the AHL’s all-time leading goalie in games played, will at least get to participate in the AHL All-Star Game upon his return.
  • The Washington Capitals have reassigned forward Chandler Stephenson to the Hershey Bears of the AHL for the time being. Unlike his last call-up to the Caps, Stephenson got to see some game action during this last trip. Though the young center was held scoreless and is still looking for his first NHL point through 11 games, Stephenson played confidently in the past two contests and has earned another promotion in the near future.
  • The Columbus Blue Jackets have again returned forward Markus Hannikainen to the AHL’s Cleveland Monsters. The big Finnish winger, playing in just his second season in North America, scored his first NHL goal in the Jackets’ 3-2 win over the Carolina Hurricanes last Saturday, his only game action on this trip to Columbus.
  • The Buffalo Sabres announced that defenseman Casey Nelson has been assigned to the Rochester Americans of the AHL. Nelson has done his best to help Buffalo out with their rash of blue line injuries this season, but has struggled to make much of a difference in nine scoreless games.
  • After his recent NHL debut and first career goal, the Arizona Coyotes’ Christian Fischer gets to continue his highlight-reel week by heading to the AHL All-Star Game. The Coyotes announced his demotion, but more than anything the move allows the AHL to honor the league’s top rookie in the first half of the season before he likely heads back to the NHL for the second half.
  • In addition to placing Michael Bournival and Gabriel Dumont on waivers, the Tampa Bay Lightning have demoted forward Erik Condra to the AHL’s Syracuse Crunch, which has become common this season. The bottom-six groupings are set to change drastically following the All-Star break.
  • The Ottawa Senators have activated Andrew Hammond from the injured reserve, and in a corresponding move and have sent down Chris Driedger to the Binghampton Senators of the AHL. However, this only partially helps the Sens’ logjam in net. Mike Condon has taken over as the starter with Hammond out and Craig Anderson on leave since early December, but with both soon back in the fold, Ottawa will still be carrying three goalies. Expect another move sooner rather than later.
  • The San Jose Sharks are using All-Star weekend to get a whole group of guys some play time. The team announced that Barclay Goodrow, Kevin Labanc, Timo Meier, and Tim Heed have all be reassigned to the AHL Barracuda and will join the team in Michigan tonight for a game against the Grand Rapids Griffins.
  • After just recalling Ivan Barbashev to replace the injured Kyle Brodziak, the St. Louis Blues have returns the AHL All-Star to the Chicago Wolves for this weekend. Expect he, or fellow All-Star Kenny Agostino, or possibly both, to be right back with the Blue after the break.
  • The Boston Bruins have recalled goalie Anton Khudobin from the Providence Bruins and reassigned rookie keeper Zane McIntyre to the AHL. While McIntyre’s demotion was expected, as he has been the best goalie in the AHL this year and a highlight of the AHL All-Star Game, the subsequent recall of Khudobin could signal that the Bruins are ready to return to the veteran as their backup to begin the second half of the season.
  • The Winnipeg Jets returned Brian Strait to the Manitoba Moose of the AHL, one day after recalling the six-year veteran defenseman from the minors, the team announced via Twitter. Strait was a healthy scratch last night as the Jets took a 5-3 decision from Chicago. The 6-foot-1, 206-pound blue liner has yet to see action in the NHL this season but has appeared in 182 regular season contests over parts of six seasons with the Pittsburgh and New York Islanders organizations.
  • The Columbus Blue Jackets continue to flip-flop backup goalies, sending Joonas Korpisalo to Cleveland of the AHL and recalling Anton Forsberg from the same affiliate. The team announced the corresponding transactions via Twitter. Forsberg has made just one appearance this season for Columbus, allowing four goals on 27 shots in a 5-3 loss to Carolina. Korpisalo has won two of his three starts and has appeared in four games overall.
  • The Pittsburgh Penguins have sent Carter Rowney back to the AHL after just a day with the big club. The forward came up last night with Evgeni Malkin out, but didn’t make it into the game against the Boston Bruins. Rowney will need to wait for his next shot with the big club.
  • The Anaheim Ducks have signed some depth between the pipes, inking ECHL netminder Ryan Faragher to a one-year deal. The 26-year old Faragher has been in their system since 2014, but wasn’t under a pro-deal until now. He’ll earn $575K if he should ever make it to the NHL (which he most likely will not, unless something drastic happens in Anaheim) and $50K in the AHL.

Minor Transactions: 1/26/2017

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PHR is monitoring all of the day’s roster transactions and will update this post throughout the day:

  • The New York Rangers have announced via their official Twitter account that they have reassigned goaltender Magnus Hellberg to Hartford of the AHL. Hellberg was called up 10 days ago to serve as the backup to #1 goalie Henrik Lundqvist after Antti Raanta suffered a lower-body injury in his last appearance on January 14th. Hellberg appeared in one game in relief of Lundqvist, stopping all four shots faced. The reassignment indicates Raanta will be ready to go after the All Star break.
  • St. Louis Blues center Kyle Brodziak has been placed on IR with a right foot injury and will be out at least five weeks, according to Lou Korac of NHL.com. Korac adds in a separate tweet that the team has recalled Ivan Barbashev. Brodziak has tallied six goals and 10 points in 47 contests this season for St. Louis. Barbashev was a second-round pick of the Blues in the 2014 entry draft. He is in his second professional campaign and has registered 19 goals and 37 points for the AHL’s Chicago Wolves. The Moscow native could make his NHL debut tonight.
  • With Evgeni Malkin sidelined with a lower-body injury, the Pittsburgh Penguins have recalled forward Carter Rowney from Wilkes-Barre/Scranton of the AHL, tweets Dave Molinari of the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette. Rowney, who has yet to appear in an NHL game, has tallied 10 goals and 21 points in 24 AHL games for the baby Pens.
  • Jim O’Brien and Spencer Martin have been reassigned by the Colorado Avalanche to their AHL affiliate, the San Antonio Rampage, the club announced via Twitter. O’Brien was called up Tuesday but didn’t dress for the team’s game last night against Vancouver. Colorado doesn’t play again until next week Tuesday and obviously won’t need a backup goalie. The move will allow the team to bank some cap space and give Martin a chance to see some game action in the minors.
  • Steve Oleksy, placed on waivers yesterday, has cleared, reports Pierre LeBrun of ESPN. At this point it appears he will remain with the team though he can be reassigned to the AHL at any point in the next 30 days without again being subject to the waivers process. Update (1:25pm): Oleksy has indeed been sent down to Wilkes-Barre/Scranton.
  • The San Jose Sharks have activated center Tomas Hertl from IR and also recalled forwards Kevin Labanc and Timo Meier from the AHL, according to Kevin Kurz of CSN Bay Area. Hertl last appeared for San Jose on November 17th and has missed the last 32 games. Labanc and Meier both were reassigned to the San Jose Barracuda yesterday in what was essentially a procedural move designed to allow the Sharks to bank a little extra salary cap space.
  • The Anaheim Ducks have announced that they have reassigned blue liner Shea Theodore and forward Kalle Kossila to San Diego of the AHL. Theodore has been a frequent mention in these posts as he’s been recalled by the club eight times this season, only to be returned to the Gulls each time. Kossila, meanwhile, was called up yesterday and made his NHL debut last night. He didn’t register a point but played 6:54 in the Ducks 4 – 0 loss to Edmonton.

Injury Updates: Leddy, Hossa, Fayne, Brodziak, Gunnarsson

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The New York Islanders, off to a 1 – 3 – 0 start this season, recalled defenseman Ryan Pulock from Bridgeport of the AHL on an emergency basis due to an injury to one of the team’s regular blue liners, according to Arthur Staple of Newsday. Staple later tweeted that it was Nick Leddy who was injured and was not practicing with the team this morning. Head coach Jack Capuano revealed that Leddy had suffered an upper-body-injury and was day-to-day suggesting that he might be able to play in the Islanders next game on Friday.

Pulock was expected to make the Islanders out of training camp but once the team inked free agent defenseman Dennis Seidenberg and made the decision to keep three goaltenders, sending the young blue liner, who isn’t subject to waivers, to Bridgeport was the easiest solution to the team’s roster crunch.

Leddy, who is averaging close to 24 minutes of ice time per game so far this season, has two points through four games but has a plus-minus rating of -7. He led Islanders blue liners with 40 points and ranked fifth overall on the team in scoring in 2015-16.

  • Marian Hossa, who was hurt blocking a shot in Chicago’s 7 – 4 victory over Philadelphia, has been ruled out of tomorrow’s game against Columbus, tweets Mark Lazerus of the Chicago Sun-Times. The tweet leaves open the possibility Hossa could be available for Saturday’s contest with the Leafs, however. Hossa is off to a strong start for the Hawks, with one goal and three assists. He has tallied one point in each of Chicago’s four games this season.
  • The Edmonton Oilers have placed blue liner Mark Fayne on IR with a leg injury and according to Jim Matheson of the Edmonton Journal, the veteran defender could miss “weeks” as a result. In a related move, the team recalled Ben Betker from Bakersfield of the AHL to fill the role of 7th defenseman. Matheson notes the team elected to call up Betker as opposed to other options for salary cap reasons. though with Fayne on IR the Oilers have just south of $4MM in cap space according to Cap Friendly.
  • The St. Louis Blues will welcome back center Kyle Brodziak for tonight’s game against the Oilers, tweets Jeremy Rutherford of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch. Brodziak, who missed the team’s last contest, has been held off the score sheet in three appearances this season. Meanwhile, defenseman Carl Gunnarsson is still out but is said to be “close” to a return. Robert Bortuzzo has been filling in with Gunnarson out of the lineup.

Central Snapshots: Avalanche, Gunnarsson, Lehtera, Brodziak, Stars

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After missing the playoffs for the second consecutive season, the Colorado Avalanche perhaps surprisingly kept their roster mostly intact this past summer; though they did make one big change which is expected to impact their on-ice fortunes. Jared Bednar replaces Patrick Roy behind the bench and is being counted on to implement a system better-suited for the talent on hand and one that can compete in the tough Central Division. But as Terry Frei of The Denver Post argues, by sticking with this core group of players, making the playoffs isn’t going to be good enough for the Avalanche.

By virtue of the expensive long-term contracts doled out over the last couple of seasons to Semyon Varlamov, Nathan MacKinnon, Matt Duchene, Erik Johnson, Tyson Barrie and Gabriel Landeskog, Colorado has demonstrated an immense amount of faith that this group can guide the franchise to Stanley Cup contention, opines Frei. Those six players account for nearly half of Colorado’s cap commitments in the 2016-17 campaign and perhaps more importantly, all remain under contract to the Avalanche for at least the next three seasons. If this group underachieves yet again, it could make it that much tougher for GM Joe Sakic to receive fair value for these players in potential trade talks. Consequently, since his ability to spend on free agents will be restricted as well, it might be difficult moving forward to drastically change or augment the Avalanche roster.

More from the Central Division:

  • The Blues are 3 – 0 following their 3 – 2 win over the New York Rangers Saturday night but the victory could prove costly. Centers Kyle Brodziak, Jori Lehtera along with defenseman Carl Gunnarsson all left last night’s tilt with injuries and did not return, notes Jeremy Rutherford of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch. The exact nature and severity of the injuries are not known at this point and as Rutherford points out, with a day off today more information may not be available until Monday. Playing with 10 forwards and five defenseman for the entire third frame last night, the Blues hung on despite being outshot by the Rangers 15 – 0 in the period. With Petteri Lindbohm available in the minors, St. Louis is likely better-equipped to cover for the loss of Gunnarsson than they would be if both Lehtera and Brodziak were to miss extensive time.
  • Another Central Division team that’s had to deal with injuries in the early going is Dallas. Veteran forward Ales Hemsky has battled a groin issue and won’t be available for the first week or so of the season. Center Cody Eakin is expected to be out into November with a knee problem while Mattias Janmark’s season could be in jeopardy following knee surgery. With that much forward talent on the sideline, it would have been understandable if GM Jim Nill reacted by acquiring a veteran player or two, whether via trade or waivers, to buoy the team’s depth. But as Mike Heika of the Dallas Morning News writes, Nill prepared his roster this summer by inking the likes of Adam Cracknell, Jiri Hudler and later, Lauri Korpikoski. Cracknell was expected to provide insurance at the AHL level but has been pressed into service early and has responded with a goal and an assist through two games. Korpiksoki had the final year of his deal bought out by Edmonton and failed to convert a training camp PTO into a roster spot with Calgary. The Stars inked Korpikoski, who has been criticized for his poor performance in the puck possession department, to a one-year deal which has already paid off for Dallas. The Finnish forward has already tallied a goal and is a plus-two so far this season. It appears as if Nill’s savvy, low-risk moves have a good chance of keeping the Stars ship afloat until reinforcements arrive in the form of Hemsky and Eakin.

Roster Crunch: Central Division

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Previously, we looked at some of the battles for the last few spots among Pacific Division teams, happening to focus mostly on the third pairing on many teams.  With the Anaheim Ducks leading the way with their glut of young defenders, we’ll head to the Central Division next where there are a few teams who might be contenders to scoop up one of extra Ducks pieces.

Dallas Stars –  It’s not often you see a team lose three of it’s top-four defenders in one offseason, but that’s what happened to the Stars this summer after Alex Goligoski, Jason Demers and Kris Russell all became unrestricted free agents. While Russell has yet to sign, he was probably miscast as the 24-minute-a-night player the Stars used him as down the stretch. They brought in Dan Hamhuis to fill one of the spots, but it’ll be a battle between Jamie Oleksiak, Stephen Johns, Patrik Nemeth, Jordie Benn and Esa Lindell for playing time this year. Because Johns is the only right-handed member of that group, perhaps Julius Honka, a former first-round pick, will make his NHL debut this season as well.

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