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Nathan Beaulieu

Anaheim Ducks Recall Nathan Beaulieu From Conditioning Stint

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Jan 16: It didn’t last quite the maximum of 14 days, as Beaulieu was recalled today by the Ducks. He played in four games with the San Diego Gulls, recording his first AHL goal in years.

Jan 5: After playing just a few days ago, Anaheim Ducks defenseman Nathan Beaulieu has now been curiously sent to the AHL on a conditioning loan. He’ll join the San Diego Gulls for the time being, with the loan lasting a maximum of two weeks.

Beaulieu, 30, received 15 shifts in Monday’s loss to the Philadelphia Flyers, his 22nd appearance of the season. Nothing has really gone well for the Ducks this year but Beaulieu’s play specifically has been lacking, with the defenseman rarely impacting things in a positive manner. He has a -12 rating in his 22 games, despite only averaging 13 minutes a night.

The curious part is that conditioning loans are usually only for players who have missed a good amount of time due to injury or those that have faced several healthy scratches in a row. While Beaulieu did miss yesterday’s game, against the Dallas Stars and two last week, he has been dressed relatively frequently so far.

Sending him on a conditioning loan doesn’t clear a roster spot the same way a regular loan would. For the latter, he would need to clear waivers, though it’s hard to believe there would be a ton of interest in claiming him, given his $850K salary and struggles this season.

Regardless of why the Ducks did it, Beaulieu will get the chance to play in the minor leagues for the first time in years. He hasn’t appeared in an AHL game since the 2014-15 season with the Hamilton Bulldogs, while still a part of the Montreal Canadiens organization. For his career, Beaulieu has 441 NHL regular season appearances and has recorded 97 points.

Anaheim Ducks Place Nathan Beaulieu On IR

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Shortly after placing defenseman Kevin Shattenkirk on IR, the Anaheim Ducks have placed fellow blueliner Nathan Beaulieu on IR as well, according to CapFriendly and the team’s roster page. No corresponding move was announced and the team now has 22 of 23 players on its roster. Recent recalls of defensemen Drew Helleson and Austin Strand still give Anaheim a comfortable seven defensemen on their roster.

It’s unclear what’s ailing Beaulieu at this time, however the defenseman has missed Anaheim’s last three games, including tonight’s contest at the Winnipeg Jets, with an undisclosed injury. When healthy, the veteran depth defenseman has played, recording two assists in 10 games thus far for a young and struggling team.

A first-round pick of the Montreal Canadiens in 2011, Beaulieu has made a career as a solid, experienced defenseman capable of giving teams minutes in whatever role he’s asked to play. Anaheim signed him to a one-year, $850K deal back on October 1st to add an additional veteran presence to a fairly inexperienced defense core. In his absence, the Ducks will have to rely on younger options such as Helleson or Strand to make up the minutes, however that exposure for younger players, while keeping Beaulieu’s influence around could be a silver lining in the meantime.

Ducks Sign Nathan Beaulieu

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Another defenseman has turned a PTO into a full contract as the Ducks announced that they’ve inked Nathan Beaulieu to a one-year contract.  Eric Stephens of The Athletic reports (Twitter link) that Beaulieu receives a one-way deal worth $850K.

The 29-year-old spent last season in a limited role with Winnipeg where he played in 24 games, recording four assists while logging just 10:46 per game, well below his career average of 16:26 per contest.  Pittsburgh acquired him at the trade deadline to give them extra depth for the playoffs once he recovered from his lower-body injury but he never suited up for the Penguins.

Beaulieu has played in 419 NHL contests spanning a 10-year career between Montreal, Buffalo, and Winnipeg, picking up 12 goals and 82 assists.  With Urho Vaakanainen being injured in yesterday’s game against San Jose, it certainly looks as if he’ll be out for a little while at least so Beaulieu will have a shot at landing a full-time spot on the roster on what is a new-look back end with John Klingberg and Dmitry Kulikov being added earlier this offseason.

Anaheim Ducks Sign Nathan Beaulieu To PTO

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We have another PTO signing for today. Defenseman Nathan Beaulieu has signed a professional tryout agreement with the Anaheim Ducks, per CapFriendly.

Beaulieu, 29, arrives in Anaheim coming from the Pittsburgh Penguins. Beaulieu didn’t actually suit up in a game for Pittsburgh, but he was acquired by the team at the 2022 deadline.

Beaulieu played 24 games last season, all for the Winnipeg Jets, averaging a career-low 10:46 time-on-ice per game. Beaulieu has over 400 games of NHL experience, and has operated in a seventh-defenseman role for the past four seasons as a member of the Penguins, Jets, and Buffalo Sabres.

In Anaheim, Beaulieu will join the competition for one of the open spots on the Ducks’ blueline, a competition that is getting relatively expansive. John Klingberg, Cam Fowler, Kevin Shattenkirk, Dmitry Kulikov, and Jamie Drysdale are all locks to be in the NHL, which means Beaulieu will be competing with Josh Mahura, Urho Vaakanainen, Simon Benoit, Colton White, and Olli Juolevi for one of the final two spots on the Ducks’ blueline, should the team choose to carry seven defensemen on their roster.

Given the state of the Ducks as a rebuilding club, it’s more likely that the team would prefer to run younger defensemen with more upside in those open roles. But even as he faces that reality entering camp, Beaulieu can still earn a spot and showcase his value to the Ducks. Should Beaulieu play well in the preseason while some of the younger defenseman struggle, he could earn an NHL contract to serve as the team’s seventh defenseman, just as he has for other NHL teams these past few seasons.

East Notes: Flyers, Ruotsalainen, Beaulieu

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The Flyers are expected to interview Jim Montgomery for their vacant head coaching position next week, reports Sam Carchidi of Philly Hockey Now.  Montgomery has been an assistant in St. Louis since 2020 and with the Blues being eliminated last night, teams can now talk to him about their coaching vacancies.  Montgomery has some NHL head coaching experience under his belt having coached Dallas for parts of two seasons before being let go for unprofessional conduct which he later revealed was related to his battle with alcoholism.  John Tortorella and Barry Trotz are among those that are believed to have already interviewed for Philadelphia’s vacant position.

Elsewhere in the East:

  • Following Rochester’s elimination in the AHL, Sabres winger Arttu Ruotsalainen told reporters, including Mike Harrington of The Buffalo News, that his intention is to re-sign with Buffalo and not go to the Swiss League as has been previously suggested. Assistant GM Jason Karmanos also stated a desire to keep the 24-year-old in the fold.  Ruotsalainen, who will be a restricted free agent with arbitration eligibility this summer, had four points in 18 games with Buffalo this season but was quite productive in the minors, notching 51 points in 57 contests while tying for the team lead in playoff scoring.
  • After acquiring Nathan Beaulieu at the trade deadline, Seth Rorabaugh of the Pittsburgh Tribune-Review suggests it’s likely that the defenseman will leave the Penguins without ever suiting up for them. Pittsburgh picked him for a conditional draft pick that they ultimately retained as the conditions weren’t met.  Beaulieu was added as injury insurance for the playoffs and while he was close to suiting up, he wound up being a healthy scratch in the postseason after being activated off LTIR.  The 29-year-old will be an unrestricted free agent this summer and after playing in just 24 games with Winnipeg this season while averaging less than 11 minutes a game, it’s unlikely the 2011 first-rounder will be able to command much more than the minimum salary.

Snapshots: Stone, Fleury, Beaulieu

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Today has been a big day for news surrounding the Vegas Golden Knights, with coach Pete DeBoer being relieved of his duties this morning. That run of news now continues thanks to GM Kelly McCrimmon’s press conference today, where he revealed that captain Mark Stone, who battled injuries all year, would “most likely” be undergoing back surgery this offseason. McCrimmon did note that they expect Stone to be ready for training camp this fall, but this is nonetheless unwelcome news for a team looking to rebound from the most disappointing season in the history of their young franchise.

Stone, who just turned 30, struggled to stay healthy this season and only managed to get into 37 games. Stone’s back injury bothered him all season, leading to his placement on long-term injured reserve in early February. Stone did eventually return from LTIR in order to help the Golden Knights in their ultimately unsuccessful playoff push, but it now seems likely that his late-season activation from LTIR was more about trying to keep the team’s playoff hopes alive than it was about Stone’s back being fully recovered. If the cap-strapped Golden Knights have any hope of returning to contention next season, getting their captain back to 100% health should be a top priority, and it seems that they have elected a back surgery as the best way for Stone to get there.

Now for some other bits of news from across the NHL:

  • The goaltending situation of the Minnesota Wild has been a major storyline surrounding the team ever since they acquired the legendary Marc-Andre Fleury at the deadline. It was a move that would end up costing the incumbent number-one goaltender, Cam Talbot, his chance to be the team’s unquestioned starter come playoff time, and  There has been much speculation devoted to whether or not the Wild could manage to return that tandem for next season. Today Fleury spoke to the media and clarified his thoughts on the matter. Fleury said, per Michael Russo of The Athletic, that a return to the Wild would be “very appealing,” but that he will test free agency to at the very least see what his options are. Fleury went 9-2 in his 11 regular-season appearances with the Wild, and although he eventually ceded the crease to Talbot by the end of the Wild’s first-round loss to the St. Louis Blues, it’s clear that he was a good fit in Minnesota. Whether or not he continues that arrangement will be a storyline to watch going forward, as his comments do indicate clear interest in a return.
  • While this will give no solace to Pittsburgh Penguins fans still reeling from the team’s season-ending overtime loss to the New York Rangers, their team failing to advance in the playoffs does have one (very small) benefit. As CapFriendly notes, because of the Penguins’ elimination, they will retain the 2022 seventh-round pick they surrendered to the Winnipeg Jets as part of their trade for defenseman Nathan Beaulieu at the deadline. Beaulieu was acquired with the intention of being a reserve defenseman for the playoffs, and although he did end up activated from LTIR during the playoffs he did not skate in any games. For the Jets, this outcome is likely their favored one as had the Rangers lost to the Penguins, the Jets would lose their chance at landing a first-rounder as part of the Andrew Copp trade.

Ryan Lindgren, Brian Dumoulin Out For Game 2

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Both the Pittsburgh Penguins and New York Rangers will be missing a top-four defenseman for tonight’s Game 2. Brian Dumoulin is out for the Penguins, while Ryan Lindgren is out for the Rangers.

Dumoulin nearly hit 50 shifts in Game 1’s triple-overtime win, logging 36:35 of ice time, two shots, one hit, and one blocked shot. Making a name for himself as the longtime defense partner to Kris Letang, it’s likely Mike Matheson will slot in Dumoulin’s place on the top pair. Both Mark Friedman and Nathan Beaulieu took warmups for the Penguins, and one of them is expected to draw into the lineup.

Lindgren was banged up in the last game and was called a game-time decision with a lower-body injury this morning. He serves a very similar role as Dumoulin does in Pittsburgh, serving as the more defensively-inclined partner to Adam Fox. He didn’t quite hit 30 minutes of ice time in Game 1, struggling with the injury during the game. Justin Braun is drawing into the lineup, but it’s unclear how the pairs will look.

Two-time Stanley Cup champion Barclay Goodrow is also missing for the Rangers.

Pittsburgh Penguins Activate Nathan Beaulieu

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The Pittsburgh Penguins don’t have Rickard Rakell for tonight’s matchup, but their other trade deadline acquisition is finally available. The team has activated Nathan Beaulieu off injured reserve and could potentially make his Penguins debut this evening.

After an exhausting triple overtime game one, the Penguins could get some fresh legs in the form of Beaulieu, who hasn’t played since March 4 when he was still with the Winnipeg Jets. The 29-year-old defenseman was acquired for nothing more than a conditional seventh-round pick at the deadline given the uncertainty that surrounded his injury at the time.

The conditions of that pick would have Winnipeg receive the seventh-round selection only if the Penguins win three rounds and Beaulieu plays in 50 percent of the games. That’s still certainly a tall task at this point, and means there’s no risk in putting Beaulieu into the lineup whenever he’s ready.

Of course, whether he can actually help is still up for debate. The left-shot defenseman was averaging fewer than 11 minutes over his 24 games with Winnipeg this season before the trade, and hasn’t played more than 40 games in a single season since 2018-19. Never much more than a third-pairing option, he can’t represent much more than that for the Penguins either.

Still, defensive depth is certainly important for the playoffs, and Penguins fans should know that as well as anyone. During the 2017 Stanley Cup run they dressed eight different defensemen–none of which were named Kris Letang–and iced a sort of mismatched group of journeymen and depth players. No one that year averaged even 22 minutes a night. You never know what will come about in the Stanley Cup playoffs, and having experienced options to insert into the lineup is never a bad thing.

Penguins Acquire Nathan Beaulieu

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The Penguins have added some low-cost defensive depth as TSN’s Darren Dreger reports (Twitter link) that they’ve acquired Nathan Beaulieu from the Jets.  In return, Winnipeg receives a conditional seventh-round draft pick.  CapFriendly provides the specifics of the condition – for the Jets to get the pick, Pittsburgh has to make it to the Stanley Cup Final with Beaulieu playing in at least half of their games.

It has been a tough year for the 29-year-old as Beaulieu has played in just 24 games this season while being scratched 21 times.  His role has been diminished when he has been in there as he’s averaging just under 11 minutes per game in those contests, nearly five minutes below his career average while picking up just four assists in that stretch.

On top of that, Beaulieu is currently on LTIR with an undisclosed injury with his placement coming back on March 9th.  That means that he’s out for the rest of the month at a minimum and potentially longer.  His $1.25MM AAV will slide into Pittsburgh’s current LTIR space with Jason Zucker still on there for the time being although he is expected to be activated in the coming weeks.  If Beaulieu does return between now and the end of the season, the Penguins would have to make some roster moves to get cap-compliant but if he’s only able to return for the playoffs, they won’t have to worry about the cap then and they’ll have themselves a veteran of over 400 career NHL games for next to no cost.

Cole Perfetti Moved To Injured Reserve

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The Winnipeg Jets announced three injury-related transactions today, including activating both Nathan Beaulieu and the recently claimed Adam Brooks from injured reserve. To make room on the roster, Cole Perfetti has been moved to IR after suffering an upper-body injury last week against the Seattle Kraken.

Getting Beaulieu back explains the demotion of Ville Heinola yesterday and suggests that the veteran defenseman will finally get to continue his season. Beaulieu hasn’t played since January 27 and has just 19 games on the year, between absences from injury and illness. In the second season of a two-year, $2.5MM deal signed in 2020, when he does return to the action he’ll be jumping aboard a Jets team that is still scuffling along, unable to string together any sort of winning streak.

Winnipeg lost on Saturday night to the Edmonton Oilers, snapping a short two-game winning streak from last week. They’ll now take on the Calgary Flames today–a game that won’t include Beaulieu just yet–and try to snap the red-hot Pacific Division leader’s nine-game winning streak. Brooks is making his Jets debut on a line beside Kyle Connor and Pierre-Luc Dubois after being shipped all over the league this season through waivers.

That spot had belonged to Perfetti, who has quickly shown that he is already a full-time NHL option. The 20-year-old forward has seven points in 18 games this season after being the tenth-overall pick in 2020. It’s not clear yet how long Perfetti will be out, but he has to miss at least seven days from his last appearance–February 17.

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