Headlines

Go To MLB Trade Rumors
Go To Hoops Rumors

Luca Sbisa

Taxi Squad Shuffle: 01/15/21

at CDT | by Leave a Comment

It appears as though there will be daily movement this season between the active roster and taxi squad, and although some major names may be highlighted in separate articles, this is where you’ll find the majority of shuffle news each day.  The last five bullets are all courtesy of CapFriendly’s transactions log.

  • The Nashville Predators have placed Luca Sbisa on the active roster after being claimed off waivers earlier this week. To make room, Cole Smith has been moved to the taxi squad. Smith made his NHL debut last night but received just six shifts and failed to record a point. Sbisa, who signed a one-year deal with the Winnipeg Jets in October, has more than 500 games of NHL experience.
  • As it is an off day for the Calgary Flames, the team has moved Derek Ryan to the taxi squad in order to continue banking some cap space. Louis Domingue has also been placed there, suggesting that David Rittich will return from his family emergency in time for tomorrow’s game against the Vancouver Canucks. Artyom Zagidulin, who had been recalled to the practice squad, has been reassigned back to the AHL.
  • As expected after the Winnipeg Jets claimed Anton Forsberg, the team has moved both Kristian Vesalainen and Logan Stanley to the taxi squad. The team must keep Forsberg on the active roster until he clears waivers, something that doesn’t seem possible at the moment with teams looking for goaltending depth.
  • The Canucks have recalled Loui Eriksson from the taxi squad and replaced him with Justin Bailey, the opposite of a move they made just yesterday. Though it may seem counterintuitive, keeping Eriksson on the active roster and Bailey on the taxi squad during off days actually saves the Canucks money. The team is already in LTIR relief meaning they can’t bank cap space and have to pay Eriksson his one-way NHL salary regardless of where he plays. Bailey on the other hand earns less on his two-way deal whenever he is assigned to the taxi squad or minor leagues.
  • The Bruins have made a trio of moves.  Forward Karson Kuhlman has been assigned to AHL Providence while wingers Jack Studnicka and Trent Frederic were both sent to the taxi squad.  Studnicka played just under 12 minutes in Boston’s season opener while Frederic saw just under 11 minutes of ice time.  Chances are at least one will be recalled on Saturday.
  • With Cory Schneider being moved onto the Islanders’ roster giving them three goalies, they don’t have to carry one on the taxi squad.  As a result, they’ve shifted Jakub Skarek to Bridgeport.  He is their only other goaltender that isn’t currently up with the Isles.  Defenseman Thomas Hickey has also been shifted to the taxi squad after being scratched for their opener.
  • The Sharks have shifted four players around.  Defensemen Nicolas Meloche and Nikolai Knyzhov were both sent to the taxi squad after serving as their third pairing in their opener.  Meanwhile, wingers Jeffrey Viel and Fredrik Handemark were both sent to AHL San Jose.  With five healthy blueliners on the roster, at least one of the blueliners will soon be recalled again.
  • The Maple Leafs recalled Alexander Barabanov from their taxi squad prior to tonight’s game against Ottawa.  Defenseman Mikko Lehtonen was sent to the taxi squad, making the swap a cap-neutral move as both players are receiving the maximum entry-level salary.
  • Tyler Johnson is back on the NHL roster after being recalled from the taxi squad, as is defenseman Luke Schenn and both are in their lineup against Chicago.  Meanwhile, blueliner Andreas Borgman was loaned to the taxi squad.  He cleared waivers back on Tuesday but had remained on the Lightning’s roster until now.

COVID Protocol Related Absences: 01/13/21

at CDT | by 2 Comments

As reported earlier, beginning today, and each day for the remainder of the 2020-21 season, the NHL will be sharing the names of players who are “unavailable” to play or practice due to any number of factors that place them under the league’s COVID-19 Protocol. Here is the list of players for today, Wednesday, January 13:

F Lawson Crouse, Arizona Coyotes
F Karson Kuhlman, Boston Bruins
D Erik Johnson, Colorado Avalanche
F Mikko Koivu, Columbus Blue Jackets
D Christian Djoos, Detroit Red Wings
F Darren Helm, Detroit Red Wings
F Gaetan Haas, Edmonton Oilers
F James Neal, Edmonton Oilers
D Markus Nutivaara, Florida Panthers
D Kurtis MacDermid, Los Angeles Kings
G Cal Petersen, Los Angeles Kings
D Sean Walker, Los Angeles Kings
G Alex Stalock, Minnesota Wild
F Mikael Granlund, Nashville Predators
D Luca Sbisa, Nashville Predators
F Justin Richards, New York Rangers
D Shayne Gostisbehere, Philadelphia Flyers
F Kasperi Kapanen, Pittsburgh Penguins
F Maxim Letunov, San Jose Sharks
D Jordie Benn, Vancouver Canucks
F J.T. Miller, Vancouver Canucks
F Nikolaj Ehlers, Winnipeg Jets

*NOTE: The league declined to list any specific members of the Dallas Stars at this time. The team is currently recovering from an extensive breakout.

Several Players Claimed Off Waivers

at CDT | by 9 Comments

With the sheer number of players on waivers yesterday, you could bet at least a couple would be claimed by teams in need of added depth. Elliotte Friedman of Sportsnet reports that the Carolina Hurricanes have claimed Anton Forsberg (EDM), the San Jose Sharks have claimed Rudolfs Balcers (OTT), the New Jersey Devils have claimed Eric Comrie (WPG) and the Nashville Predators have claimed Luca Sbisa (WPG). The rest of the 100+ players have all cleared.

Forsberg, 28, returns to the organization he played for last season, an interesting move given the Hurricanes did not re-sign him in the offseason. The veteran goaltender has spent time with the Columbus Blue Jackets and Chicago Blackhawks as well but has been limited to minor league duty for most of the past two years. In 2019-20 he played three games for the Hurricanes, posting an .897 save percentage. In the minor leagues, he had a .905. Forsberg will likely serve as the team’s third goaltender this season but would have to clear waivers in order to go to the taxi squad. Perhaps the team believes they can slip him through in a few days after carrying three goaltenders for the first part of the season.

The Oilers now must find another option for their own taxi squad, though Dylan Wells or Stuart Skinner could fill that role for the time being. Both goaltenders are waiver-exempt, though they were destined to fill the net in the minor leagues this season. The Hurricanes did put Alex Nedeljkovic on waivers today, though with the complicated salary cap dance the Oilers are performing they may not be able to fit him in on the NHL roster at this point.

Balcers, 23, is also rejoining a familiar organization, heading back to the team that drafted him in 2015. The young Latvian forward was part of the Erik Karlsson deal in 2018 and has played 51 games for the Senators over the last two seasons. His name was a surprising one on waivers yesterday, given how well he has played in the minor leagues so far in his short career. Balcers has 115 points in 143 career AHL games, including 56 goals. For a team still just barely turning the corner on a rebuild, it’s hard to watch a young prospect disappear for nothing.

Where he fits into the San Jose lineup isn’t clear at all, but Balcers is worth a claim if you believe that he can still become a regular in the NHL. The Sharks need young talent as badly as anyone.

Comrie becomes the answer in New Jersey, where the Devils suddenly lost Corey Crawford to retirement and needed some depth at the goaltending position. Whether he can actually help them at the NHL level is still to be determined, given the 25-year-old goaltender has just an .868 save percentage in eight career games. Comrie has been an excellent option for the Manitoba Moose however, including posting a .918 save percentage last season after returning to the Jets organization (he was claimed by Arizona, traded to Detroit, and then claimed back by the Jets all in the span of a few months during the 2019-20 season).

Sbisa is an interesting one, given his long history at the NHL level. The 30-year-old defenseman has played in 548 games over a long career, including 44 last season with the Jets. As we wrote last month, the Predators were in dire need of another depth defenseman if only to provide some injury insurance this season and they’ve now found just the player. Sbisa can come in and out for them whenever needed but costs very little with an $800K contract. Still, Jarred Tinordi may end up the casualty here, though it seems likely he would clear waivers if necessary.

Winnipeg Jets Extend Luca Sbisa

at CDT | by Leave a Comment

Luca Sbisa has joined Nathan Beaulieu in opting to return to the Winnipeg Jets blue line next season. The Jets announced that they have re-signed Sbisa to a one-year, $800K contract. The veteran defenseman played in 44 games with Winnipeg in 2019-20.

Sbisa, 30, was nearly out of the NHL just two years ago, forced to take a PTO with the New York Islanders in order to land a contract for the 2018-19 season only to play in nine games with the team. Yet, he made somewhat of a comeback last year, skating in more than half of the Jets’ games and showing that he can still be a reliable stay-at-home option. The big, physical defenseman is a difficult match-up and can be a useful player even if he isn’t skating every night.

That very well could be the reality for Sbisa, too. Re-signing their current defensemen isn’t going to help a Winnipeg blue line that needs to improve. The team will almost certainly add at least one defenseman by way of free agency or trade and if that happens to be a left-shot defender, that could leave Sbisa and Beaulieu to either play on their off-side or compete for play time.

Trade Rumors: Connor, Gostisbehere, Center Market

at CDT | by 8 Comments

With the Winnipeg Jets continuing to slide further and further from playoff contention this season, the team will have to begin entertaining trade offers. While impending free agents like Dmitry Kulikov, Luca Sbisa, and Gabriel Bourque could be the most likely trade casualties, Mike McIntyre of the Winnipeg Free Press writes that the team is receiving considerable interest in top line winger Kyle Connor. Normally, a player like Connor, who is skating more than 20 minutes per night and leading the team in goal scoring at the age of 23, would be untouchable. However, the Jets are deep up front and in desperate need of a new cornerstone on defense and the possibility of landing an elite young player or prospect who could fill that void may have them at least listening to offers for Connor. The division rival Colorado Avalanche are reportedly leading the hunt, with 2019 No. 4 overall pick Bowen Byram being the core piece that would head to the Jets. A young defenseman of Byram’s caliber would be a huge addition to the Winnipeg pipeline, but would not be able to play a top-pair role for a few years still to come. Is that enough to part with a player like Connor? McIntyre is skeptical and reiterates that in no way are the Jets shopping their young star. After all, they just signed Connor to a seven-year, $50MM extension back in September. However, given their disappointing season and bleak outlook on the blue line, it cannot be ruled out that the right price – Byram or otherwise – could entice the Jets to move Connor.

  • A difficult season for Philadelphia Flyers defenseman Shayne Gostisbehere continued not only in his last game, but in his last practice as well. Gostisbehere, who has missed 13 games this season due to injury and has struggled even when healthy, drew back into the Flyers’ lineup on Thursday night. The team proceeded to drop an embarrassing 5-0 loss to the New Jersey Devils, in which the pairing of Gostisbehere and Justin Braun were of little help. The Philadelphia Inquirer’s Ed Barkowitz recounts that Gostisbehere’s frustration boiled over in practice on Friday. The blue liner whiffed on a shot late in practice and responded by hurling his stick over the glass and storming off the ice. While Barkowitz makes no mention of any possible discipline for Gostisbehere as a result of this incident, there is a strong chance that he will take a seat for Saturday’s match-up against the Washington Capitals. While it may seem like Gostisbehere is wearing out his welcome in Philly with lacking results and now visible distress, head coach Alain Vigneault did acknowledge to Barkowitz that the team likely erred in rushing Gostisbehere back from his knee surgery rather than allowing him to serve a rehab stint in the AHL. But with the deed done, both sides have to live with the current situation. Or do they? Gostisbehere remains a hot name on the trade market and with the Flyers fighting for a playoff spot and needing help up front, a trade seems like a strong possibility. Gostisbehere is only 26 and has three years remaining on his current contract, but this seems like a situation where both sides might benefit from a fresh start. With each of their next five games coming against an Eastern Conference team currently in playoff position, a crucial stretch for the Flyers’ own postseason hopes, perhaps a Gostisbehere deal will come sooner rather than later.
  • The Flyers are one of a number of teams who could benefit from bringing in a center at the deadline. However, TSN’s Frank Seravalli points out that this is the weakest position in the current trade market. The top available option is Ottawa’s Jean-Gabriel Pageau, who some believe the team would rather re-sign than deal. Beyond that, the only other two centers on TSN’s Trade Bait List are Nashville’s Kyle Turris, and his remaining four years and $24MM, and Detroit’s veteran pivot Valtteri Filppula. Beyond that, Seravalli lists impending UFA’s Derek Grant of Anaheim and Nate Thompson of Montreal and younger players like San Jose’s Barclay Goodrow and Ottawa’s Chris Tierney as the top options. Once Pageau is off the board – or worse, if he isn’t traded at all – it is slim pickings down the middle on the trade market. Seravalli lists the Oilers, Capitals, and Jets as teams joining Philadelphia in the pursuit of a center, but not all of these teams will leave the deadline happy.

Blackhawks Place Brandon Saad On Injured Reserve

at CDT | by 1 Comment

The Chicago Blackhawks have the least number of victories in the Western Conference and while the team is hoping it can rebound from their poor record, but they will have to do it without one of their most productive scorers as the Blackhawks announced they have placed forward Brandon Saad on injured reserve with a right ankle injury, retroactive to Dec. 19.

Saad was injured Thursday against Winnipeg when he was hit against the boards by defenseman Luca Sbisa in the second period. Saad’s leg twisted underneath him as he fell. He did not return. He could be out as long as two weeks. Saad is second on the team in goals as he currently has 11 goals this year.

The Blackhawks are expected to move Dylan Sikura into Saad’s spot on the first line next two Jonathan Toews and Dominik Kubalik. The 24-year-old winger is still looking for his first goal through 40 NHL games.

League Notes: Waiver Priority, Power Play, AHL Trades

at CDT | by Leave a Comment

November 1st marks an important day on the NHL calendar, but one many may not be aware of. Fortunately, CapFriendly is here for the reminder. This day marks the official change over to the waiver priority by current NHL standings. In the first month of the season, as the sample size is too small to truly judge the weak from the strong in many cases, the league uses the reverse order of the prior year’s regular season standings as the waiver priority for all of October. Up until now, the Ottawa Senators have had the first chance at available players on waivers, followed by the Los Angeles Kings, New Jersey Devils, and all the way to the Tampa Bay Lighting. But as of today, the top priority goes to… well, the Kings, who move up just one spot. The Senators slide back to third, with the Minnesota Wild occupying the second position. As of right now, it is the Boston Bruins who have the very last opportunity to claim a player on waivers. Waiver priority will now change constantly based on the reverse order of the league standings by points percentage.

However, at the current rate, waiver priority won’t matter too much this season. The Winnipeg Jets, who have occupied the 22nd waiver priority spot until today, have claimed defensemen Carl Dahlstrom and Luca Sbisa, and the Arizona Coyotes, who previously held spot No. 14, claimed goaltender Eric Comrie. Those have been the only claims thus far in 2019-20, an unusually low count even this early in the season.

  • The mark of success so far this season? Power play efficiency. As John Dietz of the Chicago Daily Herald points out, there is no stronger correlation between wins and losses this year than how a team performs man-up. The top six teams in power play percentage are all also among the top nine in points percentage. This includes the Boston Bruins and Buffalo Sabres at No. 1 and 2 in both statistics. Down at the bottom, five of the six worst power play teams are among the bottom the eight teams in points percentage. The only outlier appears to be the Anaheim Ducks, who have managed to overcome a 29th-ranked power play thus far to get off to an 8-6-0 start. As the skill level in the NHL improves each year and the game becomes more about using space to create offense, it only makes sense that man-up efficiency will matter more and more, with the start to this season as the perfect example.
  • A strange occurrence early on this season has also been not one, but two AHL trades. AHL trades are extremely rare, as the NHL teams that manage their farm team rosters often lack any incentive to make such a deal. In general, the only motivation to make a deal that solely impacts an AHL squad is to improve depth at a certain position, either to avoid the overexposure of prospects or, later in the year, to give the team a push toward securing a playoff spot. However, even then AHL GM’s tend to eye other players on two-way NHL contracts to swap rather than players on minor league pacts. Not so far this year, though. On Tuesday, the Grand Rapids Griffins acquired forward Marcus Vela from San Jose Barracuda for defenseman Marcus Crawford in a move that wasn’t even about addressing depth, as Vela was immediately reassigned to the ECHL. Just two days later, the San Diego Gulls acquired veteran defenseman Ryan Johnston, a player who had been a healthy scratch for every game so far this season, from the Toronto Marlies for future considerations. Perhaps this is a new trend in organizational roster management or perhaps it is simply a coincidence, but either way it is an intriguing attachment to this young season.

Winnipeg Jets Claim Luca Sbisa

at CDT | by 3 Comments

In a surprising turn of events, the Winnipeg Jets have claimed Luca Sbisa off waivers. Sbisa was only just signing with the Anaheim Ducks after previously being without a team, but the Jets will take him instead on the same one-year, one-way $750K contract. If the Jets want to send Sbisa to the minor leagues as the Ducks had planned, they will have to try to send him through waivers again.

Sbisa, 29, will land in Winnipeg as inexpensive veteran depth for a team that has seen their defense corps ravaged over the last few months. Dustin Byfuglien, Jacob Trouba, Tyler Myers and Ben Chiarot are all gone (for now at least), while Nathan Beaulieu has been dealing with injury.

The team has been using 2019 draft pick Ville Heinola as a full-time option, but the claim of Sbisa does beg the question of what happens next for the young defenseman. Heinola played just over 13 minutes against the Los Angeles Kings, and is approaching the 10-game threshold for his entry-level contract. With eight games under his belt, Heinola can play just one more before his deal would kick in and burn the first year.

Betting that Sbisa can take over that role however comes with plenty of risk. The smooth-skating defenseman has played just 39 regular season games since the start of the 2017-18 season, including just nine last year with the New York Islanders. He couldn’t find a deal this summer and had been skating with New York on a professional tryout, but that’s far from being ready for NHL game action.

With Byfuglien’s future still up in the air however, the Jets don’t have much flexibility to acquire another more expensive defender. Sbisa’s new contract comes just barely over the minimum, and can be completely buried in the minor leagues if necessary.

Jonathan Ericsson, Luca Sbisa Placed On Waivers

at CDT | by Leave a Comment

Wednesday: Ericsson has cleared waivers and will be assigned to the AHL, while Sbisa was claimed by the Winnipeg Jets. The Red Wings recalled Alex Biega to take Ericsson’s place on the roster.

Tuesday: According to Elliotte Friedman of Sportsnet, the Detroit Red Wings have placed Jonathan Ericsson on waivers. That must mean he’s healthy enough to return, given he has been on injured reserve all season. Luca Sbisa has also been placed on waivers, and Friedman reports that he’ll be signing with the Anaheim Ducks after skating with the New York Islanders on a professional tryout.

Ericsson, 35, has been a staple in the Red Wings lineup for more than a decade, making his debut in 2008 and playing 662 regular season games for the team. Unfortunately, his play has declined with age and his minutes reduced accordingly. The Red Wings have now seemingly moved on from their previous core, with Ericsson likely being the latest victim of their turn to the younger generation of talent.

Still, the veteran defenseman has one year left on his contract that carries a $4.25MM cap hit. That will almost certainly mean he clears waivers, at which point he could be buried in the minor leagues if the Red Wings decide to do so. If they do send him to the AHL, $1.075MM of his contract would be removed from the Red Wings cap total.

Sbisa meanwhile is just trying to hold on to an NHL career that was so promising a few years ago. The 29-year old defenseman has played in just 39 regular season games since the start of the 2017-18 season, including just nine last year with the Islanders. A first round pick of the Philadelphia Flyers in 2008, his skating ability made him a strong option early in his career. Perhaps the Ducks can reclaim some greatness out of the veteran, as they were the team that Sbisa recorded his career-high 24 points for in 2011-12.

Early Notes: Capitals, Sbisa, Senators,

at CDT | by Leave a Comment

The Washington Capitals are arriving for training camp today and doing their first press availability, including GM Brian MacLellan. Isabelle Khurshudyan of the Washington Post passes along some information from the front office executive, including an update on contract talks with Braden Holtby and Niklas Backstrom. The team will “play this out” with both players, who have just one year remaining on their respective contracts. They have made contact with Holtby’s agent already and will be speaking with Backstrom’s soon.

Khurshudyan also notes that the team is waiting to hear from the NHL with regards to Evgeny Kuznetsov, who met with commissioner Gary Bettman earlier this week. Kuznetsov was recently suspended by the IIHF for a positive cocaine test and could face further discipline from the NHL, though many—including Khurshudyan—doubt that will happen.

  • Luca Sbisa is officially back with the New York Islanders on a professional tryout, according to Andrew Gross of Newsday. Sbisa had been spotted on the ice during some informal skates prior to training camp and it was assumed he would be back, though today confirmed that belief. The 29-year old defenseman played nine games for the Islanders last season and has suited up just 39 times since the end of 2016-17.
  • The Ottawa Senators will not have a captain this season, instead naming Mark Borowiecki, Ron Hainsey and Jean-Gabriel Pageau the three alternates. Hainsey of course is a brand new face in the Senators room but has a familiarity with new head coach D.J. Smith from their time together with the Toronto Maple Leafs. An extremely vocal player on the ice, Hainsey has seen just about everything there is to see over a 1,068-game NHL career.

Pro Hockey Rumors is not affiliated with National Hockey League, NHL or NHL.com

scroll to top