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Eastern Notes: Carlo, Tkachuk, Dobson, Chaput

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The Boston Bruins dealt with numerous injuries over the course of the 2017-18 season, but that didn’t stop the team from getting into the second round of the Stanley Cup playoffs last season. One injury that truly crippled the team was the loss of defenseman Brandon Carlo right at the end of the season with a broken fibula. While the team is solid on defense, the presence of the 6-foot-5 blueliner has been critical to their team.

Boston Globe’s Kevin Paul Dupont writes that Carlo injury is fully healed as x-rays were clean and the 21-year-old has already been skating for more than a month. Not an offensive defenseman, Carlo has had trouble adjusting to the NHL physical game, having spent his rookie campaign next to Zdeno Chara and then being teamed up as the defensive presence to offensive sparkplug Torey Krug. However, Carlo said he’s added close to 10 pounds of muscle to his frame this offseason and is ready to take the bulk of another full campaign in Boston.

“I think last year was good for me in an aspect,” Carlo said, “to learn so much about myself and my game. Coming into this third year, I have really high expectations for myself. I expect to be back on track with helping out in every aspect that I can. I think overall I have to come in with a little bit of a chip on my shoulder and have a little more confidence in myself and my overall game.”

  • While there are many people who feel that winger Brady Tkachuk, who announced his intention of going pro Saturday, might be better served playing with the OHL London Knights or the AHL’s Belleville Senators next year to continue his development, Bruce Garrioch of The Ottawa Sun writes that Tkachuk actually has as good a shot of anyone on the roster to make the NHL squad out of training camp. The team isn’t deep at the left wing position, which includes players such as Ryan Dzingel, Mikkel Boedker, Max McCormick, Magnus Paajarvi, Tom Pyatt and Zack Smith. Not exactly top of the line. Considering that Smith is likely to move to center next year and Pyatt could move to the right side, if needed, there is plenty of space for Tkachuk if he impresses in training camp.
  • Historically, players picked at No. 12 in the NHL Draft usually don’t end up with their NHL time right away in their first season, but that could be a possibility when it comes to New York Islanders 2018 first-round pick Noah Dobson. The 18-year-old prospect showed off his skills with a dominant performance at the World Junior Showcase for Canada by posting five goals in three games. The Athletic’s Arthur Staple (subscription required) writes another impressive showing at training camp in front of coach Barry Trotz could force the team’s hand to keep him, considering the team’s lack of depth on defense.
  • While the Montreal Canadiens didn’t make too many waves this offseason, the team did sign several smaller names, including Michael Peca, Xavier Ouellet, Kenny Agostino and Michael Chaput. The 26-year-old Chaput is an interesting case as he’s played 135 NHL games already in his career, but with the exception of a 68-games season back in 2016-17, the center has spent most of his career in the AHL. Now, with many openings potentially available in Montreal, Chaput feels he’s got a great shot a full-time role with Montreal this year, according to NHL.com’s Matt Cudzinowski. “My mindset is to try and make this team. I want to play for the Canadiens. That’s my main goal. That’s what I’m working towards,” said Chaput.

Minor Transactions: 02/14/18

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We finally saw the first crack in the trade market last night, when Dion Phaneuf was sent to Los Angeles in a swap of bad contracts. Could that be the start of a fire sale in Ottawa, or did they just take advantage of a (perceived) opportunity? We’ll have to wait and see, but for now we’ll keep track of all the minor moves that go on around the rosters of the NHL.

  • In Ottawa the team has sent Max McCormick to the minor leagues, a move they’ve completed several times recently. This time though, it’s unclear if he’ll be on his way back up after the Senators added a couple forwards last night. McCormick has played in six games for the Senators this season, registering two points.
  • According to the AHL transactions page, the St. Louis Blues have returned Tage Thompson to the San Antonio Rampage. This comes after a minor injury that has kept him out of the lineup the last few games. Thompson has shown flashes of his potential as a big scoring winger, but hasn’t yet really put his stamp on the NHL as a full-time player. The Blues don’t play again until Friday, meaning they could recall Thompson in a few days.

Minor Transactions: 02/06/18

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As always, we’ll keep track of all the minor moves around the league right here. Make sure to refresh throughout the day.

  • According to the AHL transaction page, the Anaheim Ducks have recalled Nicolas Kerdiles from the minor leagues, though it is unclear what the corresponding move is to make room for him. Kerdiles has played in just two games for the Ducks this season, but has 19 points in 23 games for the AHL’s San Diego Gulls.
  • The Ottawa Senators have recalled Max McCormick once again, as they deal with injuries to Bobby Ryan and Mark Stone. McCormick is still looking for his first NHL point this season, after being held scoreless in his first three games.
  • After spending time as a healthy scratch recently, Michael Bournival will return to the Syracuse Crunch to get back into some game action. The Tampa Bay Lightning forward has played in only four NHL games this season, but is a key part of the AHL attack.

Senators Claim Gabriel Dumont Off Waivers

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The Ottawa Senators have made the best kind of in-season roster addition, the kind that doesn’t cost them anything. After trading away substantial resources for Matt Duchene, it would have been easy to assume that the Sens would stand pat for the remainder of the season. However, that is not the case, as Ottawa has announced that they have claimed forward Gabriel Dumont off of waivers.

Dumont, 27, has been a member of the Tampa Bay Lightning for the past year plus, after leaving the Montreal Canadiens to sign with Tampa in 2016. While it may not look like much, Dumont’s 39 games, two goals, and four points last season were all career highs, as the undersized forward carved out a role for himself as an energy liner and reliable AHL depth. Before coming to Tampa, Dumont was a high-scoring AHLer for the Canadiens, but has settled into a more gritty, two-way role that better serves his NHL pursuits. In seven games so far in 2017-18, Dumont has been held scoreless, but is averaging over ten minutes of ice time per night for the first time in his NHL career.

Yet, Dumont has cleared waivers multiple times since signing with the Bolts. Why now have the Senators claimed him? It may have less to do with Dumont’s talent and more to do with Ottawa’s lack of talent. Dealing with many different injuries this season, at times the Senators lineup has featured a majority of players best suited for their minor league affiliate in Belleville. Rather than continue to depend on the likes of Nick Paul, Chris DiDomenico, Jack Rodewald, Max McCormick and even defenseman Ben Harpur at forward, Dumont brings some experience and fourth-line reliability that the Senators could really use.

Minor Transactions: 10/30/17

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The NHL will have plenty of moves today as team prepare for the next month of the season, and try to deal with injury and inconsistency. The Columbus Blue Jackets already called up an intriguing young forward prospect as they try to overcome an injury to Cam Atkinson. We’ll chronicle the rest of today’s minor moves right here.

  • The Ottawa Senators have recalled Max McCormick once again from the AHL’s Belleville Senators. McCormick has played two games for Ottawa this season, and is an important member of Belleville’s group. The 25-year old, that blends physical play with a bit of scoring upside, has just four points in 29 NHL games. Should he get back into the lineup, it will likely be as a fourth-line presence once again.
  • The Arizona Coyotes have recalled Hunter Miska from the AHL, continuing their merry-go-round of goaltenders. Miska has yet to make an appearance in the NHL after signing a two-year entry-level contract this spring. The Coyotes of course placed Louis Domingue on waivers yesterday, and will likely send him to the AHL if he is not claimed by another team. It seems as though Scott Wedgewood, who the team acquired recently, will be asked to step into the starter’s role should Antti Raanta remain injured.
  • According to Sam Carchidi of the Philadelphia Inquirer, the Flyers are expected to recall Mark Alt from the AHL. Philadelphia is dealing with injuries to both Samuel Morin and Shayne Gostisbehere, meaning Alt will likely go straight into the lineup alongside Brandon Manning for their game tonight against the Coyotes. If he does, it would be just the second NHL game for the 26-year old Alt, who hasn’t turned into quite the shutdown defender that the Carolina Hurricanes envisioned when they selected him 53rd-overall in 2010.
  • Rick Dhaliwal of News 1130 in Vancouver reports that the Canucks will recall Anton Rodin from the Utica Comets, marking his first call-up since clearing waivers just prior to the season. Rodin, a 26-year old forward who spent three games with the Canucks last season, underwent knee surgery in February and had a long rehab to get back on the ice. In three games with Utica this year he’s scored two points.
  • The Buffalo Sabres have sent Zach Redmond back to the AHL, likely due to the impending return of Justin Falk to the lineup. The Sabres are off until Thursday when they travel to Arizona to take on the Coyotes, and could have Falk back in the lineup. Redmond will return to the Rochester Americans where he can make a much bigger impact.
  • The Minnesota Wild have brought two of their recent assignments back up, recalling Joel Eriksson Ek and Luke Kunin. The Wild had a couple of days off in between Saturday’s matchup and tomorrow’s game, so they sent the pair down to let them bank some cap space by manipulating the roster. The young promising forwards will likely be back in the lineup when they take on the Winnipeg Jets, especially after Kunin was buzzing all over the ice in this weekend’s game.

Senators Activate Colin White, Assign Him And Two Others To AHL

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The Senators are starting to get a bit healthier up front which has forced them to make some roster moves.  The team announced (via Twitter) that they’ve assigned centers Max McCormick and Filip Chlapik to Belleville of the AHL.  This comes on the heels of Zack Smith returning from an upper-body injury on Friday while Kyle Turris, who has missed the last two games due to illness, is expected to be available for their next game on Monday night.

Chlapik, who was just recalled back on Wednesday, recorded an assist in his lone game with the big club but was a scratch on Friday night.  As for McCormick, he was held off the scoresheet in his two contests.

The team also activated center Colin White off season-opening injury reserve and revealed (Twitter links) that he has also been sent to Belleville.  However, he has not yet been given the green light to play this weekend but is likely to be in their lineup next week.

White was expected to push for a full-time spot in training camp after finishing last season in Ottawa but broke his wrist in the early going.  Once he gets into game action, it will be interesting to see how long he stays down there as while the team is hopeful that he can be an impact player sooner than later, he only has six games of professional experience under his belt (including the playoffs) so from a development perspective, he would certainly benefit from an extended stint in the minors.

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