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Evening Notes: Van Ryn, Eller, Bogosian

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The St. Louis Blues have placed assistant coach Mike Van Ryn in the COVID protocol, meaning in all likelihood he’ll unfortunately miss tomorrow’s Winter Classic. The Blues are holding their breath hoping no other players or coaches will be ruled out at the last minute, while the Minnesota Wild are just hoping that Jonas Brodin will be able to test out of the protocol before the game.

Some more notes from around the league this evening:

  • The Washington Capitals once again are without one of their centers, as Lars Eller is missing tonight’s game with a non-COVID illness. Eller has been an important player for the Capitals this season given the absences of Evgeny Kuznetsov and Nicklas Backstrom for various stretches, and has 15 points in 26 games. Meanwhile, Lucas Johansen, the team’s first-round pick from 2016, is making his NHL debut.
  • The Tampa Bay Lightning are without Zach Bogosian, who is out day-to-day with a lower-body injury. The veteran defenseman has been playing more than the team likely expected, averaging more than 17 minutes a night. With several defensemen coming out of the COVID protocol the Lightning will be able to take a short absence, but it certainly isn’t ideal given how many issues they’ve had keeping the puck out of their net of late.

Washington Capitals Announce COVID Absences

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The Washington Capitals have made a number of transactions in response to several players entering the COVID protocol. The team has announced that Daniel Sprong, Justin Schultz, Nick Jensen, Vitek Vanecek, Dennis Cholowski, and Martin Fehervary are all unavailable due to COVID protocol. Pheonix Copley and Michal Kempny have been recalled to the active roster, while Lucas Johansen, Alex Alexeyev, and Brett Leason have all been assigned to the taxi squad.

The Capitals are scheduled to play on Wednesday night against the Nashville Predators, but now are now without a good chunk of their roster. Evgeni Kuznetsov and Nicklas Backstrom were on the ice for practice, according to J.J. Regan of NBCS Washington, a good sign that they will be eligible to return for the upcoming game.

With the COVID absences continuing across the league, however, the schedule is certainly not written in ink. The Capitals, like any other team, will have to wait and see whether their upcoming games are affected.

25 Players Clear Waivers

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October 3: The New Jersey Devils claimed Mason Geertsen on waivers, per Sportsnet’s Elliotte Friedman. All other players cleared.

October 2: As expected, it’s another busy day on the waiver wire today as Chris Johnston of the Toronto Star and TSN reports (Twitter link) that the following 26 players have been placed on waivers:

F Cavan Fitzgerald (CAR)
F Maxim Letunov (CAR)
F Sam Miletic (CAR)
F Andrew Poturalski (CAR)
F Spencer Smallman (CAR)
F Brayden Burke (LA)
D Kale Clague (LA)
F Martin Frk (LA)
D Jacob Moverare (LA)
G Garret Sparks (LA)
F T.J. Tynan (LA)
F Lukas Vejdemo (MTL)
D Mason Geertsen (NYR)
G Antoine Bibeau (SEA)
D Connor Carrick (SEA)
D Cale Fleury (SEA)
D Gustav Olofsson (SEA)
F Tanner Kaspick (STL)
F Matthew Peca (STL)
F Nolan Stevens (STL)
G Maxime Lagace (TB)
C Otto Somppi (TB)
D Daniel Walcott (TB)
F Shane Gersich (WSH)
D Lucas Johansen (WSH)
D Dylan McIlrath (WSH)

A pair of young defensemen stand out among the long list of those available.  Clague played in 18 games with the Kings last season, recording six assists while logging over 17 minutes a night.  A productive scorer in junior, the 2015 second-rounder hasn’t been able to lock down a regular roster spot in the NHL yet but at 23, it wouldn’t be surprising if a team took a chance on him.  Fleury was selected from Montreal in expansion by the Kraken and while he didn’t see any NHL action last season, he played in 41 games with the Canadiens in 2019-20 on their third pairing.  With Montreal losing Sami Niku to a concussion on Friday night, they might be interested in a reunion.

Up front, Frk has had some success in limited NHL opportunities, notching six goals in 17 games with the Kings in 2019-20 and had a 25-point season with Detroit in 2017-18.  Poturalski led the AHL in scoring last season with 43 points in 44 games with AHL San Diego and had 70-point campaign with Charlotte in 2018-19.

Teams will have until 1 PM CT on Sunday to place a claim on any of these players.

Washington Capitals Extend Bobby Nardella

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The Washington Capitals have come to terms on a new deal with defenseman Bobby Nardella. CapFriendly reports that the two sides have agreed on a two-year extension that will keep the 25-year-old under contract through 2022-23, at which point he will be an unrestricted free agent. The contract carries the minimum NHL salary of $750K and is two-way this coming season, at $110K in the minors, before transitioning to one-way in year two.

If Nardella’s name does not immediately come to mind, it may be because he was under contract with Washington but playing in Sweden this past season. Nardella joined Djurgardens IF back in September, but rather than re-join the Capitals when training camps opened, the team allowed him to say overseas where he was thriving. Nardella recorded 33 points in 47 games this year in just his second professional season. He led Djurgardens in scoring and finished in the top five among SHL defenseman. He returns to North America having tasted what it is like to be an elite scoring defenseman in the pros and the Capitals hope to see that continue.

An undrafted free agent out of Notre Dame in 2019, Nardella is an undersized and offensive-minded blue liner, but has not let that limit him from making a difference in all three zones through his NCAA career and a season apiece in the AHL and SHL. Likely to return to the Hershey Bears to at least begin the 2021-22 season, Nardella could quickly earn a recall if he can show that his time in Sweden improved his game. The Capitals have no shortage of talented left-handed defense prospects such as Alexander Alexeyev, Martin Fehervary, and Lucas Johansen, but they could need immediate help at that area with Jonas Siegenthaler gone, Zdeno Chara heading for free agency or retirement, and Brenden Dillon a potential Expansion Draft casualty. Washington could be inclined to go with their most experienced option among that young group if they need defensive depth and that would be Nardella.

Training Camp Cuts: 01/12/21

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It’s the last day before NHL hockey returns, so teams will have to finalize their rosters and get ready for action. Though most of the heavy lifting was done yesterday, there will still be some cuts made today. We’ll keep track of them right here. This page will be updated throughout the day as more releases come in.

Buffalo Sabres (via team release):

F Andrew Oglevie (to Rochester, AHL)
F Arttu Ruotsalainen (to Rochester, AHL)
D Jacob Bryson (to Rochester, AHL)
D Mattias Samuelsson (to Rochester, AHL)

Carolina Hurricanes (via team release):

F Jeremy Bracco (to Chicago, AHL)
F David Cotton (to Chicago, AHL)
F Jason Cotton (to Chicago, AHL)
F Seth Jarvis (to Chicago, AHL)
F Stelio Mattheos (to Chicago, AHL)
F Jamieson Rees (to Chicago, AHL)
F Sheldon Rempal (to Chicago, AHL)
F Drew Shore (to Chicago, AHL)
F Spencer Smallman (to Chicago, AHL)
F Ryan Suzuki (to Chicago, AHL)
D Joey Keane (to Chicago, AHL)
D Maxime Lajoie (to Chicago, AHL)
G Antoine Bibeau (to Chicago, AHL)

Chicago Blackhawks (via team release):

F John Quenneville (to Rockford, AHL)
D Anton Lindholm (to Rockford, AHL)
D Nick Seeler (to Rockford, AHL)
G Matt Tomkins (to Rockford, AHL)

Detroit Red Wings (via team release):

F Riley Barber (to Grand Rapids, AHL)
F Kyle Criscuolo (to Grand Rapids, AHL)
F Turner Elson (to Grand Rapids, AHL)
F Taro Hirose (to Grand Rapids, AHL)
F Chase Pearson (to Grand Rapids, AHL)
F Evgeny Svechnikov (to Grand Rapids, AHL)
F Dominic Turgeon (to Grand Rapids, AHL)
D Joe Hicketts (to Grand Rapids, AHL)
D Brian Lashoff (to Grand Rapids, AHL)
D Dylan McIlrath (to Grand Rapids, AHL)
G Kaden Fulcher (to Grand Rapids, AHL)
G Pat Nagle (released)

Montreal Canadiens (via team release):

F Brandon Baddock (to Laval, AHL)
F Alex Belzile (to Laval, AHL)
F Joseph Blandisi (to Laval, AHL)
F Laurent Dauphin (to Laval, AHL)
F Jacob Lucchini (to Laval, AHL)
F Joel Teasdale (to Laval, AHL)
F Lukas Vejdemo (to Laval, AHL)
F Jordan Weal (to Laval, AHL)
D Otto Leskinen (to Laval, AHL)
D Gustav Olofsson (to Laval, AHL)
D Xavier Ouellet (to Laval, AHL)
G Vasili Demchenko (to Laval, AHL)
G Michael McNiven (to Laval, AHL)
G Cayden Primeau (to Laval, AHL)
F Kevin Lynch (to Laval, AHL)

 

Philadelphia Flyers (via team release):

F Pascal Laberge (to Lehigh Valley, AHL)
F Zayde Wisdom (to Lehigh Valley, AHL)
F Linus Sandin (to Lehigh Valley, AHL)
F Tyson Foerster (to Lehigh Valley, AHL)
F Matthew Strome (to Lehigh Valley, AHL)
D Tyler Wotherspoon (to Lehigh Valley, AHL)
D Mason Millman (to Lehigh Valley, AHL)
D Chris Bigras (to Lehigh Valley, AHL)
D Derrick Pouliot (to Lehigh Valley, AHL)
D Egor Zamula (to Lehigh Valley, AHL)
D Wyatte Wylie (to Lehigh Valley, AHL)
G Felix Sandstrom (to Lehigh Valley, AHL)
F Max Willman (to Lehigh Valley, AHL)
G Roddy Ross (to Lehigh Valley, AHL)

San Jose Sharks (via team release):

F Kurtis Gabriel (to San Jose, AHL)
F Antti Suomela (to San Jose, AHL)
D Trevor Carrick (to San Jose, AHL)
D Nick DeSimone (to San Jose, AHL)
D Fredrik Claesson (to San Jose, AHL)

St. Louis Blues (via team release):

F Sam Anas (to Utica, AHL)
F Dakota Joshua (to Utica, AHL)
F Tanner Kaspick (to Utica, AHL)
F Hugh McGing (to Utica, AHL)
F Curtis McKenzie (to Utica, AHL)
F Jake Neighbours (to Utica, AHL)
F Evan Polei (to Utica, AHL)
F Nolan Stevens (to Utica, AHL)
F Nathan Walker (to Utica, AHL)
D Scott Perunovich (to Utica, AHL)
D Mitch Reinke (to Utica, AHL)
D Steven Santini (to Utica, AHL)
D Tyler Tucker (to Utica, AHL)
D Jake Walman (to Utica, AHL)
G Evan Fitzpatrick (to Utica, AHL)
G Jon Gillies (to Utica, AHL)
F Matthias Laferriere (to Blainville-Boisbriand, QMJHL)

Vancouver Canucks (via team release):

F Jonah Gadjovich (to Utica, AHL)
F Lukas Jasek (to Utica, AHL)
F Kole Lind (to Utica, AHL)
F Will Lockwood (to Utica, AHL)
D Josh Teves (to Utica, AHL)
D Jett Woo (to Utica, AHL)
G Jake Kielly (to Utica, AHL)

Washington Capitals (via team release):

F Shane Gersich (to Hershey, AHL)
F Michael Sgarbossa (to Hershey, AHL)
F Phillippe Maillet (to Hershey, AHL)
D Lucas Johansen (to Hershey, AHL)
D Paul Ladue (to Hershey, AHL)
D Cameron Schilling (to Hershey, AHL)

Capitals Re-Sign Lucas Johansen

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The Capitals took care of one their pending restricted free agents today, announcing the re-signing of defenseman Lucas Johansen to a one-year, two-way contract.  The deal is worth $700K in the NHL and $95K at the AHL level.

Washington selected the 22-year-old in the first round (28th overall) back in 2016 but his development has stalled, to say the least.  After playing in just 45 games with AHL Hershey last season due to injury, things were even worse this year as two separate injuries limited him to just nine contests overall.  As a result, he has basically missed a season and a half worth of development and has yet to make it to the NHL level.

Given how important Johansen once was in their prospect pipeline, it’s not surprising to see the Capitals bring him back despite the injury trouble.  He’ll have to pass through waivers next season to get back to the minors but that seems like a probable outcome with how much time he has been out.  From there, he’ll need to stay healthy and show some signs of progress or risk facing a different outcome before the tender deadline next offseason.

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