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Matiss Kivlenieks

Minor Transactions: 01/23/20

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The last few teams have now packed up their things and headed out of town for the All-Star break, leaving behind some waiver-exempt players to head down to the minor leagues for another week. With NHL games suspended for the time being, several clubs will be using the AHL to keep their young prospects in action. As always, we’ll keep track of all the minor moves right here.

  • The Los Angeles Kings have sent Blake Lizotte to the minors for the first time in his short career. Lizotte was signed as an undrafted free agent out of the NCAA last season and has played in 45 games with the Kings this year. The 22-year old has four goals and 15 points in those games, after failing to register a point in his NHL debut at the end of the 2018-19 campaign.
  • Givani Smith, Filip Zadina, Dennis Cholowski and Calvin Pickard have all been sent to the minor leagues to continue their respective seasons. The Detroit Red Wings have recalled Kaden Fulcher from the ECHL’s Toledo Walleye in order to keep enough healthy goaltenders on the roster, but he isn’t expected to see any action. Fulcher actually made his NHL debut at the very end of last season, but has been limited to just two appearances in the minor leagues due to injury this year.
  • The Columbus Blue Jackets have sent Adam Clendening and Matiss Kivlenieks to the AHL over the break. Kivlenieks won his NHL debut just a few days ago by stopping 31 of 32 shots against the New York Rangers and could return after the break to back up Elvis Merzlikins until Joonas Korpisalo is back.
  • Nelson Nogier, Cameron Schilling and Kristian Vesalainen have all been sent to the Manitoba Moose, following the Winnipeg Jets’ final game before the break. The trio are all waiting for their first game in the NHL this season and could be called up when the Jets are back in action.

Minor Transactions: 01/16/20

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Nearly the entire league is in action tonight on a busy Thursday that will see 13 games in the NHL. Sidney Crosby is back and ready to challenge the Atlantic Division-leading Boston Bruins, while Peter DeBoer will be behind the Vegas Golden Knights bench for the first time when they take on the Ottawa Senators. As all of these teams prepare for the night’s action, we’ll keep track of any minor moves.

  • Late last night the Montreal Canadiens sent Matthew Peca to the minor leagues, returning him just a few days after activating him from injured reserve. Peca has played in five games for the Canadiens this season but is still looking for his first point.
  • The Columbus Blue Jackets have recalled Matiss Kivlenieks and Adam Clendening from the minor leagues, sending Veini Vehvilainen back down. With a home game scheduled against the Carolina Hurricanes tonight, Columbus will have Kivlenieks serve as the backup to Elvis Merzlikins.
  • Max Comtois and Isac Lundestrom have been sent to the AHL by the Anaheim Ducks, who have a game tonight and tomorrow before resting through the All-Star break. The two young players will likely continue to play in the minor leagues while the NHL club enjoys more than a week off.
  • After clearing waivers, Chris Stewart has been sent to the minor leagues by the Philadelphia Flyers. The team has recalled Joel Farabee in his place, bringing up the young forward again to continue his rookie season.

This page will be updated throughout the day

Minor Transactions: 01/15/20

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You never know what’s going to happen in the NHL as the Vegas Golden Knights proved this morning. The team fired head coach Gerard Gallant just before they take on the Ottawa Senators tomorrow night. The whole league will be watching that game to see how Peter DeBoer changes things, but tonight they have some interesting games to view as well. The Montreal Canadiens and Chicago Blackhawks are both markets that some have suggested coaching changes in, but they’ll try to grab a win tonight to continue their individual streaks. Later, the St. Louis Blues welcome in the Philadelphia Flyers for a chance to extend their Western Conference lead even further. As those teams and the rest of the league prepare, we’ll keep track of all the minor moves.

  • The Florida Panthers have recalled Sam Montembeault under emergency conditions, a quick trip back after only being sent back on Monday. Montembault’s presence suggests that Sergei Bobrovsky still isn’t ready to return for the Panthers, after being called “questionable” earlier this week.
  • The Columbus Blue Jackets are starting to get healthy, meaning the roster needs some cleaning up. After activating both Cam Atkinson and Andrew Peeke today from injured reserve, the team has assigned Peeke, Gabriel Carlsson, Matiss Kivlenieks and Ryan MacInnis to the AHL. Veini Vehvilainen has been recalled.
  • The Arizona Coyotes have called up Michael Chaput from the minor leagues, not for the first time this season. Chaput hasn’t played a game yet in the NHL, but has been recalled on three different occasions as injury insurance.
  • Brian Lashoff is on his way back to the minor leagues, assigned to the Grand Rapids Griffins by the Detroit Red Wings. The 29-year old has split time between the two teams, but isn’t much more than an injury replacement at this point in his career.

Columbus Blue Jackets Recall Matiss Kivlenieks

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12:30pm: Korpisalo will be out “weeks” according to Tortorella, who also admitted to Hedger that his comments were undisciplined.

9:12am: After Joonas Korpisalo was injured in last night’s game, the Columbus Blue Jackets have recalled Matiss Kivlenieks under emergency conditions. Korpisalo was injured in a shootout that head coach John Tortorella believes should never have even happened, after a clock issue late in overtime. Tortorella may be facing some discipline for his remarks, as NHL director of hockey operations Colin Campbell told Brian Hedger of the Columbus Dispatch that the comments were “unprofessional along with unacceptable.”

The focus now however is on Korpisalo, who has been excellent for the Blue Jackets lately and has them back on the playoff bubble in the Eastern Conference. While they still sit seventh in the Metropolitan Division, Columbus’ 42 points are just six shy of Carolina for the final playoff spot.

Kivlenieks meanwhile is having an inconsistent season with the Cleveland Monsters of the AHL in his third full professional campaign. The 23-year old goaltender carries an .894 save percentage in 15 appearances, well behind his partner Veini Vehvilainen. If Korpisalo misses any length of time, you can bet Elvis Merzlikins will get the first chance to take the NHL net.

Minor Transactions: 11/27/19

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The vast majority of the NHL is taking part in the action tonight, as 26 teams suit up in a busy Wednesday evening. That schedule includes some top-tier matchups like the Florida Panthers-Washington Capitals and Edmonton Oilers-Colorado Avalanche. As teams prepare for what should be an excellent night of hockey, we’ll keep track of all the minor moves.

  • As expected, the Columbus Blue Jackets have flipped backup goaltenders once again, sending Matiss Kivlenieks to the minor leagues and recalling Elvis Merzlikins. Merzlikins got into some game action last night for the Cleveland Monsters, stopping 28 of 29 shots.
  • Christian Folin has been sent to the AHL on a conditioning stint in order to get him a chance to play in a game for the first time in more than a month. The 28-year old has played in just five games for the Montreal Canadiens this season, none since the middle of October.
  • The Ottawa Senators have recalled Marcus Hogberg from the AHL, as Craig Anderson missed practice today. Hogberg is expected to serve as the backup for Anders Nilsson tonight when the Senators take on the Boston Bruins.

Minor Transactions: 11/26/19

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After an exciting night that brought us four overtime finishes, the NHL is much quieter tonight with just three games on the schedule. That does however include an old rivalry game when the Boston Bruins travel to face the Montreal Canadiens. Not only do these teams have a long history of hating each other, they’re both currently in Atlantic Division playoff spots and know tonight’s two points are very important. As they and other teams prepare, we’ll track all the minor moves.

  • The Columbus Blue Jackets have flipped backup goaltenders, sending Elvis Merzlikins to the minor leagues while recalling Matiss Kivlenieks. The team completed a similar move earlier this month in order to give Merzliklins some extra work in the minor leagues. Kivlenieks is still waiting on his first NHL action.
  • The Vancouver Canucks have sent Sven Baertschi back to the minor leagues, only to recall Nikolay Goldobin. The 24-year old Goldobin has 20 points in 18 games for the Utica Comets after spending all of last season with the Canucks.

Minor Transactions: 11/10/19

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With 16 teams playing today, the league is busy and teams could be making roster moves throughout the day. Keep your eye out for updates throughout the day.

  • The San Jose Sharks announced they have assigned defenseman Dalton Prout to the San Jose Barracuda of the AHL on a conditioning stint. The 29-year-old Prout has appeared just once this season, the season-opener. He suffered an upper-body injury, however, and has been out ever since. Prout played 20 games for the Calgary Flames last season, but the team hopes that Prout could return soon and make an impact on the team’s defense.
  • The Columbus Blue Jackets announced they have made four moves, which includes placing defenseman Markus Nutivaara on injured reserve, retroactive to Nov. 5 and assigning goaltender Matiss Kivlenieks to the Cleveland Monsters of the AHL. To replace the two roster spots, the Blue Jackets have recalled goaltender Elvis Merzlikins and forward Eric Robinson from Cleveland. Nutivaara was injured on Tuesday against Vegas, suffering an upper-body injury and remains day-to-day, but there is no word on how much time he could miss. Merzlikins went down to get some work in as the young netminder has only appeared in three games this season, but the 25-year-old made one appearance, allowing two goals and boasting a .933 save percentage. The 24-year-old Robinson played in 13 games for Columbus last season and has five points in 14 games with the Monsters this year. Robinson was likely recalled in anticipation that Nick Foligno is suspended by the league on Monday for his hit on Colorado’s Pierre-Edouard Bellemare.
  • With the improved health of forwards Joakim Nordstrom and Par Lindholm, the Boston Globe’s Matt Porter reports that the Boston Bruins have officially assigned forward Peter Cehlarik to the Providence Bruins of the AHL. The 24-year-old has been up and down for the last few weeks between Boston and Providence, playing in three games for the Bruins, most recently on Friday when he played 12:07 and picking up his first point of the season with an assist.
  • The Anaheim Ducks have recalled defenseman Josh Mahura from San Diego of the AHL, reports Elliott Teaford of the Orange County Register.  He’s taking the place of blueliner Hampus Lindholm who has been transferred to injured reserve with an undisclosed injury.  Mahura has played in three games with Anaheim already this season, recording three assists while averaging 16:46 per night.  He has also suited up in seven games with the Gulls where he has been held off the scoresheet.

Columbus Blue Jackets Make Several Roster Moves

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The Columbus Blue Jackets have given their roster a shake up, starting with the activation of Alexandre Texier from injured reserve. The young forward has been out since October 26th. Beyond that, the team has also sent down Elvis Merzlikins and Markus Hannikainen, while recalling Adam Clendening and Matiss Kivlenieks from the AHL.

The surprising name among the bunch is Merzlikins, who has served as the Blue Jackets’ backup goaltender this season. He has just four appearances so far however, and given the team doesn’t have a back-to-back situation until the end of the month, may not be getting much more action in the NHL anytime soon. In order to keep him fresh, the team likely wants him to get some minutes in the AHL with the Cleveland Monsters before coming back up.

Clendening too is an interesting recall, if only because it is for the first time this season. The 27-year old defenseman actually ended up playing in seven playoff games for the Blue Jackets last season, but was waived and sent to the minors again at the end of training camp this year. An AHL star, Clendening is off to another great start with six points in his first ten games for the Monsters.

Texier, 20, is a big part of the future for Columbus, who expect him to be a two-way force in their lineup for a long time. The young forward has three points in his first 11 games with the team but has missed the last four contests after suffering a knee injury against the Philadelphia Flyers. In that time, the Blue Jackets have gone 0-3-1 and dropped far behind in the playoff race in the Metropolitan Division.

Blue Jackets Sign Goaltender Daniil Tarasov To Entry-Level Contract

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If current playoff hero Sergei Bobrovsky does indeed leave the Columbus Blue Jackets as a free agent this summer, they are lining up options to help replace him in net. After signing NLA star Elvis Merzlikins to his entry-level contract back in March, the Blue Jackets have now locked up another of their young European goalie prospects. The team has announced a three-year entry-level deal with Russian keeper Daniil Tarasov, set to begin in the 2019-20 season.

Tarasov, 20, was a third-round pick by Columbus in 2017 out of the top Russian junior league, the MHL. Tarasov was a consensus top-five goalie in his draft class, but immediately proved that he likely should have been selected earlier. The 6’5″ behemoth took the league by storm in 2017-18, posting a .928 save percentage and 1.85 GAA in 40 games. This year, he left the junior level behind and put up even better numbers in 25 appearances in the minor league VHL. He also made two appearances in the KHL with Salavat Yulaev Ufa and many expected that he would play for Ufa again next season. That won’t be the case though. Tarasov is taking the opposite approach of Merzlikins, a fellow Columbus third-rounder who took his time developing overseas, instead opting to make the jump at a very young age for a goalie.

More likely than not, Tarasov is several years of AHL (and possibly some ECHL) play away from pushing for an NHL spot, but stranger things have happened. The Blue Jackets currently count existing backup Joonas Korpisalo and new addition Merzlikins as their top options heading into next year, assuming both restricted free agents sign extensions. Tarasov and Matiss Kivlenieks would be next in line if no other changes are made. Columbus still has one other option in Europe who could come over in Finnish standout Veini Vehvilainen, who is considering making the move if he is allowed to compete for NHL time. Vehvilainen or a trade or free agent acquisition could push Tarasov further down the depth chart and into ECHL territory next season, but at just 20 years old he has plenty of time to continue growing and proving that he is a future NHL talent.

Overseas Notes: Merzlikins, Everberg, Bartulis, Boychuk

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The Columbus Blue Jackets will apparently have another name to consider in net next season. The Swiss Hockey News reports that young goaltender Elvis Merzlikins is expected to make the jump to North America next year. Merzlikins, 24, was Columbus’ third-round pick in 2014 and has been a standout member of the NLA’s HC Lugano ever since. The Latvian keeper took over Lugano’s starting job in 2015-16 at just 20 years old and has performed admirably. So far this year, he has been especially impressive; though 16 appearances, Merzlikins holds a .932 save percentage and a 2.19 goals against average. Fortunately for him, Merzlikins is in the final year of his NLA contract and is reportedly bound for the next level once it expires. Given his impressive performance, Merzlikins is likely to compete for the starting role with the AHL’s Cleveland Monsters and push for NHL appearances. With only Joonas Korpisalo and untested Matiss Kivlenieks under team control beyond this season, the Blue Jackets face questions in net moving forward and hope Merzlikins could potentially provide some answers.

  • The Swiss Hockey News also relays the news that Dennis Everberg has quickly found a new home. Everberg cleared unconditional waivers and had his contract with the Winnipeg Jets terminated only this morning, but clearly had a new opportunity lined up. Everberg has signed with EV Zug of the NLA, with whom he is surely going to take a much larger role than he had relegated to the minors with Winnipeg. Ironically, Zug was in search of a top forward after another former NHL forward, Viktor Stalberg, departed the team for the KHL’s Avangard Omsk last month.
  • Oskars Bartulis continues to make the most of his post-NHL career. A third-round pick of the Philadelphia Flyers back in 2005, Bartulis played in 66 games with the team but could never quite stand out. After spending much of his time in North America down in the AHL, Bartulis returned to Europe in 2012. Almost immediately, he began establishing himself as one of the top shutdown defenders in the KHL. Even thouhg his play has tailed off somewhat, Bartulis spent the last three years as the captain of Admiral Vladivostok and is still well-respected in the league. When he did not sign a new contract this off-season, there were questions about whether he was done. Yet, he’s back for another season at the age of 31. The KHL reports that Bartulis has signed a one-year, two-way contract with the Kunlun Red Star and should fit in well on a roster that is chock full of talented former NHLers.
  • On the other end of the spectrum, former top NHL prospect Zach Boychuk has been released from his contract with the KHL’s Severstal Cherepovets. Boychuk had been disappointing this year, with just four points in 25 games. In his first season with Severstal, the team was not willing to wait any longer to see if his play improved. The long-time Carolina Hurricane has been overseas for three years now and was very effective just last season with HC Slovan Bratislava. It remains to be seen what the next step is in the career of the capable forward.

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