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Minor Transactions: 12/15/18

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As always, Saturday features a busy slate on the NHL schedule with 20 teams in action.  As a result, there is bound to be plenty of roster movement throughout the day.  We’ll keep track of those moves here.

  • The Panthers announced a series of roster moves, recalling center Henrik Borgstrom and forward Jayce Hawryluk from Springfield of the AHL while returning wingers Dryden Hunt and Anthony Greco to the Thunderbirds. Borgstrom is one of Florida’s top prospects and is off to a good start in his first full professional season with 19 points in 21 games.  He did get into four games late last year so this won’t be his first NHL action.  That isn’t the case for Hawryluk, who is up for the first time following a great start to his season that sees him tied for the AHL lead in assists with 21.  Hunt has split the season between nearly equally between the NHL (13 games) and the AHL (15 games) but has been much more productive in the minors while Greco made his NHL debut earlier this week.
  • Defenseman Tyler Lewington is getting his first NHL shot as the Capitals have promoted him from AHL Hershey per a team release. The 24-year-old is in his fourth professional season and is among the AHL leaders in penalty minutes this season with 67.  He will likely serve as a reserve defender in the absence of Christian Djoos who underwent surgery on his thigh on Friday.
  • Veteran blueliner Kyle Cumiskey has inked a minor league deal with Boston for the rest of the season, reports Mark Divver of the Providence Journal (Twitter link). He had previously been with them on a PTO deal but did well enough to earn a guaranteed contract.  He’ll give the Bruins some extra depth in the minors and they have five remaining NHL contract slots if they ultimately need to bring him up to the big club.
  • The Sabres announced that they have recalled defenseman Matt Hunwick from his conditioning stint with AHL Rochester.  The veteran has yet to play this season for Buffalo due to a neck injury but played in two games with the Americans on the conditioning stint.  The team has an open roster spot so they won’t need to send someone down in order to activate the 33-year-old off of injured reserve. The team also announced they have activated defenseman Marco Scandella off of injured reserve and he is expected to play tonight. Scandella has missed the last eight games with a lower-body injury.
  • The Blues have assigned winger Zach Sanford to San Antonio of the AHL, per the AHL’s Transactions Page.  The 24-year-old has been relatively productive in a limited role in St. Louis with nine points in 24 games but the assignment will give him an opportunity to play considerably more than the 11:39 per night he’s averaging with the big club.

Minor Transactions: 11/30/18

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As we close in on the end of November, there are storylines aplenty around the league. William Nylander’s contract situation should come to a close, while the Philadelphia Flyers continue to search for a new GM. Meanwhile, the Buffalo Sabres and Colorado Avalanche are pushing for the top spot in the entire NHL. With five games on the schedule for tonight, we’ll keep track of all the minor moves right here.

Injury Notes: Red Wings, Bogosian, Beleskey, Peca

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The Detroit Red Wings’ defense could look much different to begin the season than many expected. With top pair defenseman Mike Green already shut down and confirmed to be out for at least the team’s opener due to a viral infection, coach Jeff Blashill revealed today that banged-up blue liners Danny DeKeyser, Jonathan Ericsson, and Trevor Daley are all considered questionable to begin the season. As Ansar Khan of MLive.com points out, it could be a very young, inexperienced defensive corps to start the year in Detroit. Niklas Kronwall and Nick Jensen could be the only regulars healthy enough to play, joined perhaps by a veteran like Brian Lashoff or Dylan McIlrath. Outside of those options, rookies will likely make up the rest of the top six. 5’8″ Joe Hicketts, who got a brief look last season, leads the way, with 2016 first-rounder Dennis Cholowski, second-rounder the same year Filip Hronek, and Czech import Libor Sulak in the mix as well.

  • Injury news about Zach Bogosian usually isn’t good and unfortunately, this could be trending in that direction as well. Bogosian has been taking it easy in training camp, working his way back from major hip surgery, but the Athletic’s Joe Yerndon reports that he has still managed to get injured. According to head coach Phil Housley, Bogosian is day-to-day with a lower-body injury. Even worse, Yerndon notes that it is a new injury, unrelated to his hip issues. Bogosian’s career has been marred by frequent injuries and an inability to bounce back quickly. The Sabres have to hope that this case is different, as Bogosian and Marco Scandella will be needed to lead a young defensive unit and groom top overall pick Rasmus Dahlin.
  • It didn’t take long for the New York Rangers to get clarification on Matt Beleskey’s status. After head coach David Quinn said yesterday that it was “too early to tell” the extent of Beleskey’s injury, suffered during a fight on Monday night, the Rangers released an update today. Beleskey will be out two to four weeks with a separated shoulder, the team determined. Since Beleskey was a likely training camp casualty anyway, the only change for the Rangers is that he cannot be placed on waiver while injured. Instead, he will be placed on the injured reserve with only a minor salary cap charge.
  • Montreal Canadiens’ free agent addition Matthew Peca is currently sidelined. The team revealed that he is dealing with a minor groin injury. No timeline has been established for his return. Peca’s NHL ability and role for the Habs is still unclear, so missing preseason action and potentially the start of the season is unfortunate. The former Tampa Bay Lightning prospect will have to hit the ground running upon his return.

Sabres Notes: Botterill, Skinner, Reinhart, Smith, Okposo

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The Buffalo Sabres acquisition of winger Jeff Skinner only suggests to a defeated Buffalo fanbase that the Sabres intend to shake things up and improve on their inability to even reach the playoffs since the 2010-11 season. However, Mike Harrington of the Buffalo News takes it a step further as he suggests that general manager Jason Botterill and the Sabres fleeced the Carolina Hurricanes in their stealing of Skinner and it shows how Buffalo means business.

The key to the deal is the fact that Buffalo didn’t give them anything off their current rosters for a top-line left wing. The only player they did hand over will be playing in the NHL next season. Of the picks that Botterill did give to Carolina, the GM didn’t give up one of the three first-rounders that Buffalo has in the 2019 draft. And for Buffalo, Harrington writes, it’s a no-lose for the Sabres. If Skinner signs a long-term deals, they win. If they trade him at the deadline, they should be able to get a similar return than what they paid for him in the first place.

  • The Athletic’s Jon Vogl (subscription required) writes that Skinner is currently focused on getting integrated in Buffalo and coach Phil Housley’s system and his mind is not on his contract. The 26-year-old has said he is not focused on his contract. “Our focus with Jeff is to make this transition into Buffalo as easy as possible for him,” general manager Jason Botterill said, “for him to get settled in, focused in on the start of the season, go through the process here for him to get to know his teammates, get to know Phil (Housley), get to know myself, and we’ll talk about things such as extensions or contract down the road.”
  • The Athletic’s Joe Yerdon writes that there is little movement on a contract for Sabres’ restricted free agent Sam Reinhart. Botterill said the team would be waiting until all arbitration cases are completed, which suggests that Reinhart and his camp wanted to see how everyone did before agreeing to a new deal. Reinhart is coming off a career-high 25 goals and 50 points.
  • In another Yerdon piece, the scribe writes that the Sabres are expecting a lot of development from their defensemen now that they have assistant coach Steve Smith aboard for this upcoming season. The former Carolina Hurricanes’ assistant is well known for working well with young defensemen including Justin Faulk, Brett Pesce, Jaccob Slavin and Noah Hanifin to name a few. He could have a positive affect on a number of players in Buffalo, including Rasmus Dahlin, Rasmus Ristolainen, Nathan Beaulieu, Marco Scandella and Brendan Guhle.
  • Scott Billeck of NBC Sports writes that this will be a big year for high-priced winger Kyle Okposo to prove himself. After suffering through two major concussions over the past two years, the 30-year-old needs a bounce back season after posting just 34 goals over the past two seasons. He’s likely going to start on the team’s second-line next to rookie center Casey Mittelstadt. However, he must show he can stay healthy to even come close to showing he’s worthy of the $6MM AAV he’s carrying for the next five years.

Draft Lottery’s Biggest Winner Is Buffalo’s Ristolainen

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While adding superstar prospect Rasmus Dahlin with the No. 1 overall pick in June will aid in the Buffalo Sabres rebuild a lot quicker, perhaps the biggest beneficiary will be defenseman Rasmus Ristolainen. Taken eighth overall in 2013, the blueliner has been tabbed as the team’s No. 1 defenseman since that day and treated as such as he’s averaged more than 26 minutes a game for the past three years. In fact, Ristolainen ranked fourth in the NHL this year in average ice time (ATOI) with 26:30 behind only Los Angeles Kings’ Drew Doughty, Minnesota Wild’s Ryan Suter and Ottawa Senators’ Erik Karlsson.

However, as the years have passed, it’s been quite obvious that he’s not the coveted No. 1 defenseman that they hoped he’d be. In fact, as this season wrapped up, there has been talk of moving on from him. However, everything changed Saturday when the Buffalo Sabres won the draft lottery. With Dahlin taking over the responsibilities as the team’s top defenseman next season, which is inevitable, the team may get more production out of Ristolainen with a lesser role, according to The Hockey News’ Ryan Kennedy.

The scribe writes that Ristolainen has been leaned on too much over the course his career and his development has paid for it with the amount of minutes the team has forced him to play over his short career, mostly due to the fact that the Sabres have lacked any depth in quality defensemen over the years. Of course, he’s put up modest seasons, including three straight 40-point seasons, but has done nothing to earn top-flight minutes.

However, with Dahlin in the team’s rotation next season and perhaps another addition in the offseason, the Sabres will have more depth and can give Ristolainen more rest during games. Whether the right-handed defenseman is paired with the left-handed Dahlin or whether they are split into two pairs, the 23-year-old Ristolainen looks like he’s finally got the help he needed the last few years.

Throw in an improved season by Marco Scandella and a full-season from Brendan Guhle, there is a sign of hope in Buffalo. The team also is close to signing top Sweedish defenseman Lawrence Pilut and have also signed top college defenseman Will Borgen, although both could end up starting in the AHL for a while. Regardless, their blueline has a lot of promise.

 

Minnesota Wild GM Chuck Fletcher May Not Get Extension

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After suffering a embarrassing 5-0 defeat Friday that knocked the Minnesota Wild from the first-round of the playoffs, there is likely to be consequences going forward. At least that’s what The Athletic’s Mike Russo (subscription required) writes, suggesting that general manager Chuck Fletcher’s job may not have the security it did a couple of weeks ago. The GM is in the last year of his deal and is awaiting a contract extension.

For the third consecutive season, the Wild have exited after the first-round and have lost 16 of their last 20 playoff games, suggesting that Fletcher may not have assembled the right players meant to sustain a run throughout the playoffs. Granted, Fletcher has done a lot of good in Minnesota. His team’s have reached the playoffs for six straight seasons and the team has reached 100 points in three of the last four seasons. On top of that, key injuries have hampered this year’ playoff hopes, including losses to defensemen Ryan Suter and most recently Zach Parise.

Russo wrote a story 10 days ago, suggesting owner Craig Leipold felt Fletcher deserved an extension and was ready to extend Fletcher after the playoffs, but Russo now says he’s heard that Leipold might be rethinking that.

Much could have to do with recent moves over the last year. One major blunder that is often pointed out is that the Vegas Golden Knights walked away with two top-six forwards from the expansion draft in Erik Haula and Alex Tuch so the Wild could protect some of their younger defensemen. Both players are starting on the Golden Knights’ second line on a team that has advanced farther than Minnesota recently in just one year of existence, thanks in part to the performances of those two players. Haula, who had 15 goals and 11 assists last year in Minnesota, broke out for a 29-goal, 55-point season in Vegas, while the 20-year-old Tuch had 15 goals and 22 assists in his rookie campaign.

Last season at the trade deadline, the team sent their 2017 first-round pick to Arizona for rentals Martin Hanzal and Ryan White, neither of which made much of an impact for the team’s playoff fortunes that year. The team also traded Jason Pominville and Marco Scandella for Marcus Foligno and Tyler Ennis in the offseason. Foligno produced one of his worst NHL season with just eight goals, while Ennis was a healthy scratch four out of five times in the playoffs and is a buyout candidate this summer at $4.6MM. Other deals, including signing defenseman Kyle Quincey and then quickly burying him in the AHL (although he never played a game there) after just 18 games.

The franchise will likely take a few days before making any decisions on their management.

 

Minor Transactions: 3/4/18

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The NHL continues its busy schedule Sunday with seven games after an eight-game showcase on Saturday, including a rare outdoors game in which the Washington Capitals defeated the Toronto Maple Leafs 5-2 in the Stadium Series at the U.S. Naval Academy. With so many games, teams will continue to make roster moves throughout the day, so check back to see what teams are doing.

  • The Arizona Coyotes announced they have recalled defenseman Andrew Campbell from the Tucson Roadrunners of the AHL. The 30-year-old veteran has been recalled several times this year by the Coyotes as an emergency defenseman, but has not made it into a game this season. He has played 42 career NHL games and has two goals and four assists in 47 games for the Roadrunners. AZ Sports Craig Morgan writes that Campbell was recalled as defenseman Alex Goligoski is expected to miss Monday’s game as he and his wife are expecting the birth of their second child.
  • The Buffalo Sabres announced they have recalled forward Kyle Criscuolo and defenseman Brendan Guhle from the Rochester Americans of the AHL. Criscuolo, who signed a two-year, $1.3MM contract with the Sabres this offseason has put up solid numbers with Rochester as he’s put up 15 goals and 34 points in 50 AHL games. The 25-year-old out of Harvard University has appeared in eight games with Buffalo, but hasn’t gotten on the scoreboard yet. Guhle, the team’s second-round pick in 2015, is having a solid season in Rochester as well as he’s scored eight goals and 16 assists in 48 games. He has one assist in two NHL games he played in January. The Buffalo News’ Mike Harrington showed surprise at the transaction as the team indicated that they were not going to make any recalls. As reported earlier, defenseman Marco Scandella looked ready to go in practice Sunday despite suffering an upper-body injury on Friday. Evan Rodrigues is still suffering from an upper-body injury he sustained Wednesday, but the team was using Benoit Pouliot at center out of position. No word if another injury has altered the team’s plans.

Injury Notes: Eichel, Jets’ Updates, Scandella, Schmidt, Neal

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Jack Eichel has taken his first step or skate in his road to recovery from the high ankle sprain that sidelined him on Feb. 10. Given a timetable of four to six weeks, Eichel skated Saturday for the first time, according to the Buffalo News’ Mike Harrington. Despite skating, head coach Phil Housley stated that he is not ready to return to practice yet and there is no timetable for a return.

“We don’t want to put him under that sort of pressure,” Housley said. “He has skated. He started skating yesterday so that’s good to see him start making progress.”

With the season hitting its final stretch, there is no guarantee that Eichel will return to the lineup at all, although Housley said that Eichel definitely wants to return before the end of the season. The 21-year-old was on pace to surpass his career highs in goals as he already had 22 goals in 55 games (24 goals is his career high). The team is 4-5-1 without Eichel these past 10 games.

  • Ken Wiebe of the Winnipeg Sun writes that Winnipeg Jets defenseman Jacob Trouba and forward Adam Lowry are both progressing, but aren’t expected to return during the Jets’ six-game road trip. Trouba has been missing since Jan. 25 with an ankle injury has been skating for more than a week, while Lowry has been out since Feb. 1 with a lower-body injury. However, forward Brandon Tanev is ready to return, but head coach Paul Maurice doesn’t want to change his forward lineup. Defenseman Toby Enstrom is expected back either Tuesday or Thursday. He’s missed two games with a lower-body injury.
  • Wiebe also adds that Winnipeg Jets goaltender Steve Mason is traveling to New York City to meet up with team for their upcoming game against the New York Rangers on Tuesday. He got in a game of conditioning with the Manitoba Moose Saturday, allowing four goals on 22 shots in a 5-4 overtime victory. Mason has been out with a concussion and hasn’t played in a game since Jan. 9.
  • Mike Harrington of the Buffalo News tweets that defenseman Marco Scandella, who missed most of Friday’s game due to a big hit on the boards, is practicing with the team today.
  • SinBinVegas tweets that Vegas Golden Knights defenseman Nate Schmidt and winger James Neal (hand) both did not fly with the team to New Jersey, which will start the team’s five-game road-trip. However, both are expected to eventually meet up with the team.

 

Snapshots: Free Agency, Soshnikov, Scandella

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While all eyes are on John Tavares of the New York Islanders as we get closer and closer to July 1, 2018, Craig Custance of The Athletic examines the impressive list of other top names headed for unrestricted free agency next summer. Custance updates us on the current situations for each one, including interesting notes on several impending KHL free agents.

The most intriguing one out of Russia will once again be Ilya Kovalchuk, who last year wasn’t able to find a deal because of the rights New Jersey still held. Those rights will expire after the season because he’s now 35, making him free to sign with anyone in the league. Custance expects it to take “a multi-year deal in the $6 to 7 million range,” but notes that he is still seen as a potential impact player around the league. Kovalchuk has 20 goals and 36 points in 31 games for St. Petersburg this season.

  • Also from The Athletic, Pierre LeBrun speaks directly to Toronto Maple Leafs GM Lou Lamoriello about the recent Nikita Soshnikov recall, and how it was partially forced by a clause in his deal that would have allowed him to go back to Russia. Interestingly, Lamoriello tells him that even had Soshnikov been assigned to the KHL the Maple Leafs would have retained the ability to recall him at any time. Instead, the team brought him up and are excited about how he’s played this season in the minor leagues. With 12 points in 14 games for the Toronto Marlies, Soshnikov was arguably their best player so far this year.
  • Marco Scandella has been fined $5,000 for slashing Patric Hornqvist last night, the maximum amount allowed under the CBA. It’s not the first time Scandella has been disciplined by the Department of Player Safety, as he was fined and suspended previously for checks to the head. Some New York fans might even be familiar with his slashing prowess (h/t @myregularface) from his days with the Minnesota Wild.

Injury Notes: Lightning, Sabres, Jets

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Despite finishing the 2016-17 season with 94 points and missing the playoffs, the Tampa Bay Lightning are the favorite of many to win the Atlantic Division and possibly even the Eastern Conference. Why? It’s not because they added Dan Girardi, Chris Kunitz, and Michael Leighton this off-season. No, the real reason for the resurgence of hope in Tampa is of course the return of captain Steven Stamkos. The Bolts’ superstar is set to return to the team after missing nearly all of last season, and the first step is his preseason debut tonight at home against the Predators. Stamkos told the Tampa Bay Times’ Joe Smith that, more than anything, he’s feeling curious about his first game action since November 15, 2016, eager to see how he feels and how he plays. Lightning fans are eager as well; their season rides on the health and performance of Stamkos. When Stamkos returned from a broke leg in 2014, he tells Smith that he felt he was playing “the best hockey of my career”. However, the serious knee injury that sidelined him for much of 2017 could take a bit longer to work back from. Only time will tell how one of the best players in the game returns from his latest injury, but there is no doubt that the spotlight will be on him, starting tonight.

  • Smith also issued an update today on Anton Stralman, the Lightning defenseman whose undisclosed injury had kept him from even practicing this week and had some worried about the start of the season. That is, until today. Previously, Stralman had only been seen skating at practice in a red, non-contact jersey and was not taking part in drills, but Smith reports that he was back it today, cleared for contact and participating fully. Stralman told Smith that he expects to be back t full strength for the season opener, easing the fears of the fan base.
  • Another team with a pair of potential difference-makers currently sidelined are the Buffalo Sabres. The Buffalo News’ John Vogl reports that big off-season trade acquisition Marco Scandella was back at practice today after sitting out the last few days. Still recovering from hip surgery, Scandella said that he is preparing for the season mentally, even if he’s taking it easy physically. The Sabres plan to use Scandella on the top pair this season, and while they would love for him to be at 100% come October 5th, his long-term health and durability is of greater concern.
  • Unfortunately, Vogl’s article didn’t have as much optimism about young scorer Alexander Nylander. The team’s 2016 first-round pick has yet to take the ice in training camp after suffering a lower body injury in the Sabres’ prospect camp. Nylander’s status is up in the air, but it seems highly unlikely that he will be ready for the season if he is still watching practices from the stands. New head coach Phil Housley acknowledged that the team is letting Nylander move slowly with his recovering, but admitted that there is no definite time table for his return.
  • The NHL is trying to cut down on injuries this season and to achieve that goal they are ramping up the enforcement of penalties. That presents a substantial problem for the Winnipeg Jets, who have taken more penalties than any team in the league over the past four seasons and haven’t been very good on the penalty kill either. In a stroke of genius, the team hosted former NHL referee Paul Devorski in camp today, who provided some in-depth instruction on how to void penalties, especially those like slashing that have been given special emphasis by the league this season.

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