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Laurent Dauphin

New Jersey Devils Acquire Adam Helewka

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It would be impossible for anyone to follow up yesterday’s Jack Hughes and P.K. Subban additions, but the New Jersey Devils have brought in yet another player to the organization. The AHL announced that forward Adam Helewka has been dealt to the Devils by the Nashville Predators, the second trade between the two teams in as many days. The move adds only “future considerations” for Nashville, but opens up a contract slot for a team with 41 of a maximum 50 players already signed and several restricted free agents still to sign.

Helewka, 23, has been a standout player in the minors for the past few years. A fourth-round pick of the San Jose Sharks in 2015, Helewka had been a dynamic offensive player in the WHL. He debuted in the AHL for the San Jose Barracuda in 2016 and spent each of the next two full seasons with the team, collecting 29 and 38 points respectively. San Jose traded Helewka to the Arizona Coyotes last summer in exchange for defenseman Kyle Wood and the scoring winger broke out with the AHL’s Tuscon Roadrunners, recording 31 points through his first 41 games of the season. However, he would not see the season through in Tuscon (or get rewarded with an NHL call-up to Arizona), as Helewka was traded again in February to the Predators with Laurent Dauphin in exchange for Emil Pettersson. Helewka continued to play well despite the move, registering 19 points in 24 games for the AHL’s Milwaukee Admirals. His play even convinced the Predators at the time that he was worthy of a contract extension, a one-year, two-way pact signed not long after he was acquired.

For one reason or another, Nashville came to regret the contract, as Helewka has now been traded yet again for nothing concrete in return. The Devils are happy to take advantage of the Predators’ change of heart though. New Jersey has eight forwards who played regular AHL minutes last season, many of whom also saw NHL action, who are either unrestricted or restricted free agents and not everyone will return. The team needs a re-haul in the minor leagues and could do far worse than a player who notched 50 points combined in just 65 games last year. Helewka will likely be a top contributor for the Binghamton Devils next year and will look to finally find a long-term fit, perhaps even one with the opportunity to make his NHL debut.

Adam Helewka, Laurent Dauphin Sign With Nashville Predators

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The Nashville Predators have signed minor league forward Adam Helewka to a one-year, two-way contract that will cover the 2019-20 season. Helewka is currently playing for the Milwaukee Admirals after being acquired from the Arizona Coyotes organization earlier this month. The team has also announced a one-year, two-way extension for Laurent Dauphin, who also came over from the Coyotes in that trade. Both Helewka and Dauphin will make $700K at the NHL level in 2019-20.

Helewka, 23, was originally selected in the fourth round by the San Jose Sharks in 2015 and has developed into an effective minor league scoring threat. The 6’2″ winger has 38 points in 48 games this season including seven in seven since joining the Admirals. Helewka was scheduled to become a restricted free agent after this season when his entry-level deal expired, but will not have to deal with a long negotiation. He has yet to make his NHL debut.

Dauphin meanwhile has already has 35 NHL games under his belt after making his debut back in the 2015-16 season. The 23-year old center was a second-round pick nearly six years ago, but has spent nearly the entire season in the minor leagues where he has 24 points in 41 games.

Both players are not expected to play large roles on the Predators moving forward, but will provide inexpensive depth options for their minor league club.

Nashville Predators Acquire Laurent Dauphin

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The Nashville Predators have traded Emil Pettersson to the Arizona Coyotes in exchange for Laurent Dauphin and Adam Helewka. This move will free up a contract spot for the Coyotes, who were sitting at the 50-contract limit. Pettersson is the older brother of Vancouver Canucks star rookie Elias Pettersson.

Dauphin, the only one of the three to spend any time in the NHL, is also likely the most interesting part of the deal. The 23-year old forward was selected 39th overall in 2013 and has suited up 35 times for the Coyotes over the last few seasons. While he hasn’t been able to find much offensive success at the NHL level—four points in those 35 career games—he’s at least been a consistent enough producer at the minor league level and still has time to develop into a depth option for the Predators. Unfortunately he is a restricted free agent with arbitration rights in the summer, and is no longer waiver-exempt. That very well could leave him without a qualifying offer if Nashville doesn’t see enough from him over the next few months.

Pettersson, 25, has all the same traits as his younger brother if a little less polished. A skilled, undersized forward he has 79 points in 121 AHL games since coming over from Sweden in 2017. There’s little chance that Pettersson is going to be a big NHL contributor, but the Coyotes at least got some minor league depth out of a trade that was more about creating deadline flexibility than anything else.

That flexibility is important, given the trade deadline and college free agency over the next few months. The Coyotes couldn’t have added another player without opening up a spot, something they may have to do again before long. Remember that trades can still actually happen after the deadline, those players are just no longer eligible for playoff hockey.

Nick Schmaltz Placed On Injured Reserve

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The Arizona Coyotes are back in action tomorrow night against the New Jersey Devils, but they’ll be without one of their talented young forwards. Nick Schmaltz has been moved to injured reserve today, and Craig Morgan of The Athletic tweets that the forward could be “out a while” with his lower-body injury. The team has recalled Laurent Dauphin in the meantime, and is listing Schmaltz as “week-to-week.”

Schmaltz has been a dynamic offensive presence since joining the Coyotes, showing just why they felt he was worth trading top prospect Dylan Strome away to the Chicago Blackhawks. With 14 points in 17 games since switching clubs, the 22-year old has already climbed ahead of full-time players like Nick Cousins, Christian Fischer and Lawson Crouse. That’s exactly what the Coyotes needed, and what they’ll sorely miss with him on the sideline.

Arizona has scored just 101 goals on the season, and in a year that they were hoping to take a substantial step forward are now just 17-21-2. Without a big turnaround the team is destined to miss the playoffs for the seventh consecutive season, something that eventually will force upper management to take a close look at who is steering the ship. The development simply hasn’t been there from some of the team’s key young players, something that has been magnified given their long list of injuries. Schmaltz’ absence will give an opportunity for someone else, but they’d certainly rather have him on the ice.

Arizona Coyotes’ Michael Grabner Out Indefinely

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The Arizona Coyotes have lost one of their top players for a while as the team announced that winger Michael Grabner will be out indefinitely after suffering a severe eye injury during the first period of Saturday’s game against St. Louis. The 31-year-old took a stick to the face from the Blues’ Sammy Blais (picture of injury via AZSports Craig Morgan).

Grabner was a key offseason acquisition for the Coyotes who are trying to build up their top-six. The team signed him via free agency to a three-year, $10.05MM deal on the first day of free agency. The winger is coming off two straight 27-goal seasons and is expected to add some much needed scoring depth. Grabner has six goals and 11 points so far this season in 25 games.

One key reason the team brought Grabner in was his ability to play on the penalty kill unit, which has been very successful for Arizona this season as the unit is ranked first with a 89.7 percent kill rate. Grabner himself has a NHL-high four shorthanded goals this season. Richard Morin of AZSports writes the team will recall a player from Tucson, suggesting it might be Laurent Dauphin.

 

 

Laurent Dauphin Placed On Waivers

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Friday: Dauphin has cleared waivers, and according to Craig Morgan of The Athletic will be assigned to the AHL.

Thursday: The Arizona Coyotes have placed forward Laurent Dauphin on waivers according to Elliotte Friedman of Sportsnet. Derek Grant, Matt Taormina and Jan Kovar have all cleared from yesterday. Kovar will now see his contract terminated, while Grant and Taormina have already been assigned to the AHL.

In Dauphin’s case, it’s simply the case of a prospect not panning out to this point. The 23-year old forward was selected 39th overall in 2013 but has suited up in just 34 NHL games to date and recorded just four points. Expected to be a two-way center for the team when he was selected out of the QMJHL, he hasn’t even been able to produce a ton of offense at the minor league level.

A team may decide to take a chance on him though, given his draft pedigree, relative youth and NHL experience, slim as it is. Teams who still believe in him as a center prospect could take a chance and add him as a thirteenth forward, or try to sneak him through waivers themselves in a few days. The Coyotes have several players who will be coming off injured reserve in the coming days and weeks, and will need some additional roster spots to fit them all in. Dauphin is simply caught in a numbers game at this point, and hasn’t performed well enough to keep up over some contributing forwards.

Minor Transactions: 10/07/18

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After the first handful of games and a handful of injuries, many teams should be active as they make changes and/or additions to their roster. Keep checking to see what teams do.

  • The St. Louis Blues announced they have assigned veteran defenseman Chris Butler to the San Antonio Rampage now that Jakub Jerabek has gotten his visa and is ready to join the team. With Jerabek, the team has nine defenseman on the roster, forcing them to send Butler down. The 31-year-old blueliner played in the Blues’ first two games for the injured Joel Edmundson, faring well and even scored a goal. Once an NHL regular, Butler has spent the past few years in the AHL, being utilized as an emergency recall.
  • The Minnesota Wild announced they have assigned forward Luke Kunin to the Iowa Wild of the AHL. That means that Kunin has been cleared to play since he’s been working to return from a torn ACL he sustained on Mar. 4. The team’s 2016 first-rounder, Kunin bounced back and forth between Iowa and Minnesota last season, playing in 19 games for the big-league club before sustaining the injury. He has been rehabbing since and passed coach Bruce Boudreau’s infamous skating test Saturday and looks ready to continue his return.
  • The Arizona Coyotes have recalled forward Laurent Dauphin from his conditioning stint with the Tucson Roadrunners of the AHL, the team announced. The 23-year-old played one game there, putting up a goal and an assist and will now return to the Coyotes. Dauphin has been recovering from a lower-body injury he sustained at the end of last season and had been limited at training camp. The hope is he can fill in for injured Coyotes’ such as Alex Galchenyuk and Christian Dvorak.
  • The Los Angeles Kings announced they have recalled veteran goaltender Peter Budaj to be the team’s backup for Jack Campbell for the near future while starter Jonathan Quick sits out after he suffered a lower-body injury in practice Saturday. The 36-year-old Budaj has only played one game for Ontario in the AHL as he allowed five goals, posting a .833 save percentage.
  • With Joe Thornton landing on the IR, the San Jose Sharks have promoted center Dylan Gambrell, per CapFriendly. The first-year pro out of the University of Denver was a perennial point-per-game player in the college ranks and will be looking to live up to his second-round pick billing in his first opportunity with the Sharks.
  • The Colorado Avalanche have promoted center Vladislav Kamenev from Colorado of the AHL in advance of their upcoming road trip, per the AHL’s Transactions page.  The 22-year-old was added as part of the Matt Duchene trade last season but was sidelined shortly thereafter.  In two games with the Eagles so far this season, Kamenev has one assist.

Snapshots: Seattle, Fabbri, Dauphin, Letestu

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Another key checkpoint has been reached in Seattle’s quest to be awarded an expansion NHL franchise.  The NHL to Seattle group announced that Seattle City Council unanimously approved their $700MM privately-financed proposal to renovate KeyArena to be the home for the team.  Now with an arena agreement in place and approved, the focus now turns to getting the franchise awarded.  Representatives from the Seattle group are expected to meet with part of the Board of Governors on October 2nd but a full vote on their expansion application isn’t expected until sometime in December at the earliest.

More from around the hockey world:

  • The Blues received a scare on Sunday when winger Robby Fabbri had to leave after one period following a lower-body injury. Considering he has missed the bulk of the last two seasons with ACL tears, some were understandable fearing the worst.  Fortunately, the news isn’t too bad as the team announced (Twitter link) that the 22-year-old is listed as day-to-day with a Grade One groin sprain.  He’s not expected to suit up tomorrow night but could potentially be back by the end of the preseason.  While it’s certainly concerning that he’s missing time already, it could have been a whole lot worse.
  • Coyotes center Laurent Dauphin is getting close to being cleared for contact following offseason knee surgery, notes Craig Morgan of The Athletic (via Twitter). He split last year primarily between Chicago and Arizona’s AHL affiliates but already has 34 career NHL contests under his belt.  If he is available near the start of the season, he could certainly push for a roster spot given their sudden uncertainty down the middle due to recent injuries.  If the team wants to send him back to the minors, he will have to first pass through waivers.
  • Following his release from the Panthers earlier today, unrestricted free agent center Mark Letestu plans to take a few days to assess how rosters are shaping up around the league before determining his next move, reports Aaron Portzline of The Athletic (Twitter link). The 33-year-old is still a reliable player at the faceoff dot and is only one year removed from scoring 16 goals in Edmonton.  Portzline adds that a return to Columbus where he finished last season is a possibility though it may have to be on a two-way contract.

Arizona Coyotes Sign Four To One-Year Deals

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The Arizona Coyotes announced they have signed restricted free agents  Michael Bunting, Laurent Dauphin and Hudson Fasching to one-year, two-way deals. The team included defenseman Trevor Murphy in their announcement, although Murphy’s deal was initially reported Friday. With these signings, the Coyotes have just one restricted free agent remaining in Marek Langhamer.

Bunting is coming off a breakout season with the Tucson Roadrunners. After two seasons in which he produced 11 and 13 goals for the AHL franchise, he broke out with a 23-goal performance this year, tied for the team lead in goals. The 22-year-old winger was a fourth-round pick in 2014 and was considered to be a late-bloomer at the time as he didn’t pick up hockey until well into his teens. His entry-level deal had him earning $925K.

Dauphin had a busy year last season as he was included in an offseason trade to the Chicago Blackhawks so the Coyotes could get veteran defenseman Niklas Hjalmarsson, but Arizona reacquired him at midseason along with Richard Panik in exchange for Anthony Duclair. The 23-year-old impressed the Blackhawks in training camp, but was inevitably sent to the AHL, where he combined for just nine goals, down from his 17 goals from the previous year. He did manage to get into a couple of Coyotes’ games, but is likely headed back to Tucson in hopes of bouncing back.

Fasching signs after coming over from the Buffalo Sabres’ organization exactly a month ago in a trade for college prospect Brandon Hickey and Mike Sislo. The 22-year-old winger came off a solid season with the Rochester Americans in the AHL, posting 12 goals and 30 points, which also included a five-game visit with the Sabres. Fasching spent three seasons playing for the University of Minnesota.

 

 

Pacific Notes: Ducks, Lindholm, Dauphin

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The Ducks haven’t been overly active so far in free agency and that’s probably not going to change.  In his latest 31 Thoughts podcast (audio link), Sportsnet’s Elliotte Friedman reports that Anaheim’s focus at this stage of the summer is to lock up a pair of key players to extensions.  Goalie John Gibson and center Adam Henrique are both entering the final years of their respective contracts and the team clearly wants to lock both up long-term.  Gibson will be a restricted free agent with arbitration rights next summer while Henrique will be an unrestricted free agent.

Meanwhile, while the Ducks probably won’t be active in unrestricted free agency the rest of the summer, they still have some work to do with their own players.  Defensemen Brandon Montour and Andy Welinski, as well as wingers Nick Ritchie and Ondrej Kase, are all in need of new contracts.

Elsewhere in the Pacific Division:

  • The Flames are prioritizing signing newly-acquired forward Elias Lindholm to a long-term deal, GM Brad Treliving told Sportsnet 960’s Pat Steinberg (Twitter link). Treliving added that Lindholm’s camp is open to that type of contract as well.  Calgary acquired Lindholm back at the draft after his contract talks with Carolina failed to yield a new deal.  As things stand, he’s a candidate to fill their long-standing vacancy on the right wing of the top line next season.
  • Coyotes center Laurent Dauphin suffered a setback in his rehab from a knee injury that has put his availability for the start of next season in question, reports Craig Morgan of Arizona Sports. Arizona reacquired the 23-year-old back in January as part of the Anthony Duclair trade with Chicago but he spent most of last season in the minors.  However, given that he’s now waiver-eligible, he’d have likely got a long look at a roster spot with the big club in training camp, something that doesn’t appear to be an option now.

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