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Nick DeSimone

Metropolitan Notes: Hamilton, Siegenthaler, Wheeler

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New Jersey Devils writer Sam Kasan tweeted an update today on Devils’ defenseman Dougie Hamilton. In speaking with the media New Jersey head coach Lindy Ruff told reporters that Hamilton remains “quite a ways away” from returning to action. The 30-year-old rearguard hasn’t played since November 28th and had surgery on a torn left pectoral muscle in early December. There was no timetable given at the time of the procedure and it appears to be status quo for the time being.

Hamilton’s injury dealt a huge blow to a Devils team that had dreams of contending for the Stanley Cup this season. Hamilton has received Norris Trophy consideration in six of the last seven seasons and was playing well for New Jersey this year with five goals and 11 assists in 20 games.

In other Metropolitan Division notes:

  • Ruff also offered an update on Devils defenseman Jonas Siegenthaler who has been sidelined since January 6th with a broken foot. No specific timetable was given at the time, but the 26-year-old did take part in practice today dressed in a regular jersey. The Zurich, Switzerland native lined up on the team’s fourth defensive pair alongside Nick DeSimone and will be a big boost for the Devils’ defense core when he is ready to return to the lineup.
  • New York Rangers forward Blake Wheeler left tonight’s game with a lower-body injury and will not return. Wheeler was hit by Montreal Canadiens defenseman Jayden Struble and fell back awkwardly and appeared to trap his right leg under his body as he hit the ice. Wheeler was in visible pain on the play which looked eerily similar to the injury of Tampa Bay defenseman Mikhail Sergachev. Wheeler reached for his knee in obvious discomfort and was ruled out for the evening. If Wheeler has suffered a similar injury to Sergachev it is possible he could be done for the rest of the regular season. Wheeler is having one of the worst offensive seasons of his career, but he has provided the Rangers will depth scoring and would need to be replaced if he is sidelined long-term.

New Jersey Devils Claim Nick DeSimone Off Waivers From Calgary

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The New Jersey Devils have claimed defenseman Nick DeSimone off of waivers from the Calgary Flames. The 29-year-old has appeared in 23 games with the Flames this season, netting five points and a -4. He’s also appeared in 10 AHL games, recording eight assists and a +7.

DeSimone is in his eighth professional season since making his AHL debut at the end of the 2016-17 season – signing a two-year contract as an undrafted free agent with the San Jose Sharks. DeSimone served as a locked-in lineup piece for the AHL’s San Jose Barracuda for five seasons, before moving to the New York Rangers organization in the three-team trade that sent Mattias Janmark and Brett Howden to Vegas. DeSimone signed with the Calgary Flames soon after this move, continuing to serve as a minor league option for a variety of AHL clubs.

The Flames finally rewarded DeSimone’s long tenure in the minors with four NHL games last season. The defender went without a point, adding two penalty minutes and a -4. He’s gotten a chance at a much bigger NHL role this season, finally playing a majority of the year in the top league. He will look to continue carving out an NHL role on a Devils team that’s currently missing top defenseman Dougie Hamilton and Jonas Siegenthaler, as well as depth option Brendan Smith. The Devils also granted defenseman Callan Foote a leave of absence on Wednesday, effectively sliding DeSimone into the role of seventh defenseman.

Calgary Flames Recall Walker Duehr

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The Calgary Flames have recalled forward Walker Duehr from the Calgary Wranglers of the AHL a week after the team had assigned him there. Duehr was placed on waivers on January 17th and was assigned to the AHL the next day, after he had cleared.

The 26-year-old had an assist in two games during his quick assignment to the AHL and is being called back up after the Flames placed both Adam Ruzicka and Nick DeSimone on waivers yesterday.

This season was supposed to be Duehr’s first year as a full-time NHLer after he was signed to a two-year, one-way contract extension in the offseason with an AAV of $825K. Duehr started the season in Calgary, dressing in the Flames first 12 games, but his struggles with consistency kept him out of the lineup for most of December and January as the Sioux Falls, South Dakota native played just five times in two months. Throughout 19 NHL games this season, Duehr has just a single goal and three helpers and has averaged less than eight minutes of ice time per game.

Duehr’s call-up is likely an insurance policy in case Ruzicka or DeSimone are claimed, or if the Flames were to lose a player to illness or injury during the day. Calgary is in action tonight against the Columbus Blue Jackets as they try to climb back into the playoff picture in the Western Conference.

Flames Place Nick DeSimone, Adam Ružička On Waivers

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The Flames placed defenseman Nick DeSimone and center Adam Ružička on waivers Wednesday for the purpose of assignment to AHL Calgary, per TSN’s Chris Johnston.

Ružička seemed like a candidate to challenge for a top-nine job with the Flames to start the season after logging 20 points in only 44 games last season. However, the 24-year-old cooled down significantly after recording four points through his first four games of the year, and his offensive pace is now down by half from 2022-23. He’s without a point in his last ten outings and was a healthy scratch in yesterday’s 4-3 loss to the Blues. He has three goals and nine points in 39 games on the year and is averaging a career-low 10:10 per game.

Still, the 2017 fourth-round pick could garner some interest on the waiver wire. Being in the second year of a two-year, league-minimum deal means his cap hit is $762.5K, $12.5K less than this year’s minimum salary. While he’s slated for RFA status with arbitration rights at the end of the season, opting not to issue him a qualifying offer would relieve a team of going to arbitration with him if they’re not impressed with his play.

DeSimone lands on waivers after his most recent call-up lasted nearly six weeks. The 29-year-old played in 15 of 19 games since his Dec. 12 call-up but has been a healthy scratch in each of the last two games, falling behind depth defenders Dennis Gilbert and Jordan Oesterle on the depth chart. His lack of role becomes more apparent with Oliver Kylington set to return from a year-and-a-half-long absence for mental health reasons against the Blue Jackets tomorrow.

Like Ružička, DeSimone is on an expiring deal carrying a $762.5K cap hit, although he’s slated for unrestricted free agency this summer. The right-shot blueliner has a career-high 23 games with Calgary this year, recording a goal and four assists while averaging 12:02 per game.

Flames Notes: Tanev, DeSimone, Dube

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There has certainly been no shortage of trade speculation surrounding Flames defenseman Chris Tanev.  A pending unrestricted free agent, he’s the type of shutdown blueliner that many teams would covet.  However, as Eric Duhatschek of The Athletic notes (subscription link), Calgary’s preference is still believed to be to sign him to an extension, preferably a two-year agreement.  The soon-to-be 34-year-old is currently injured with no timetable yet for a return which will further stall any possible trade discussions.  Tanev has a $4.5MM AAV and it will likely take something close to that to get him to put pen to paper on an early extension if he decides he’d like to stay with the Flames.

More from Calgary:

  • In Calgary’s last game, defenseman Nick DeSimone played in his tenth game, meaning he will now have to pass through waivers to return to the minors. With plenty of trade speculation surrounding Tanev and Noah Hanifin, it’s fair to wonder if GM Craig Conroy may be hesitant to risk losing DeSimone for free if he tries to send him back down.  The 29-year-old has four assists in those ten appearances while logging a little under 13 minutes a night.
  • One of the bigger questions surrounding the Flames revolves around winger Dillon Dube, opines Postmedia’s Danny Austin. After spending a lot of last season in a top-six role where he set career highs offensively with 18 goals and 45 points, the 25-year-old has struggled mightily this season, notching just three goals and four helpers thus far in 29 games.  Notably, his ice time has dipped below the ten-minute mark in four of the last five games.  Dube is a pending restricted free agent this coming summer, owed a $2.4MM qualifying offer with arbitration eligibility.  If things don’t pick up for him in the coming weeks, his name could be in trade speculation leading up to the trade deadline.

Calgary Flames Announce Several Roster Moves

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The Calgary Flames made several roster moves today, announcing that the team has recalled defenseman Nick DeSimone from their AHL affiliate, the Calgary Wranglers, while subsequently sending down forward Matthew Coronato. On the injury front, the team also relayed that defenseman Chris Tanev is considered day-to-day with an upper-body injury, and will not play in the team’s game tonight against the Vegas Golden Knights.

After placing fellow defenseman Jordan Oesterle on waivers towards the beginning of the season, DeSimone quickly became a stable presence on the blue line, scoring four points in eight games, and averaging just under 13 minutes of ice time per game. As the team regained salary cap flexibility due to the trade of Nikita Zadorov to the Vancouver Canucks, the Flames would recall Oesterle from the AHL, and send DeSimone back to the Wranglers on November 26th.

Much like DeSimone, Coronato has split time this season between the NHL and the AHL, only managing two points in 11 games when playing for Calgary. One of the team’s more notable up-and-coming prospects, Coronato is having quite the season with the Wranglers already, scoring eight goals and 18 points in only 14 games. Even though the team has re-entered the playoff conversation over the last couple of weeks, the Flames are still largely considered sellers heading into trade season, meaning Coronato may earn a full-time spot with the team if the forward core is thinned out.

In the context of the trade deadline picture, Tanev is thought to be one of the more sought-after defensemen on the market, primarily being linked to the Toronto Maple Leafs. Luckily, in terms of his trade value for the Flames, Tanev should only miss a game or two, meaning the return package in any deal shouldn’t be negatively impacted by the injury.

Flames Assign Nick DeSimone To AHL

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The Flames assigned defenseman Nick DeSimone to the AHL’s Calgary Wranglers on Sunday, per a team announcement. As Postmedia’s Wes Gilbertson points out, DeSimone finds himself on the outside looking in for a regular spot in the Flames lineup, and with the team not feeling a need to carry an extra defender during their upcoming homestand, the veteran blueliner will head back to the minors for the time being.

Returning DeSimone to the Wranglers also delays when he’ll need to clear waivers again to return to the AHL, which could be an impactful decision. The 29-year-old has been a healthy scratch in three straight contests but was impactful in over eight prior games, serving in a third-pairing role but seeing some offensive zone usage that translated to good possession numbers. An undrafted free agent signing by the Sharks after three seasons at Union College, DeSimone has played for three NHL organizations but has only appeared in the big leagues for the Flames.

After four full pro seasons spent mainly with the Sharks’ AHL affiliate and a brief stop with the AHL’s Rochester Americans while on loan from the Vegas Golden Knights in late 2021, DeSimone signed a one-year, two-way deal with the Flames that summer. He again spent the entire season in the minors with the AHL’s Stockton Heat.

Still, he opted to re-sign with the Flames after reaching unrestricted free agency, signing a two-year contract with a salary guarantee of $350K in both seasons. It’s proved to be a wise choice, as DeSimone tied his AHL career-high with 46 points in 65 games with the Wranglers last season and earned a handful of call-ups, which resulted in him making his NHL debut.

DeSimone passed through waivers unclaimed at the beginning of this season but was called up to the Flames less than a month in. He’s been on the roster since his initial recall on November 3, aside from a one-day paper transaction that saw him briefly head back to the Wranglers two days later.

The right-shot defender recorded his first NHL point in his season debut against the Kraken on November 4 and managed to record four assists across eight games, although he averaged just 12:50 per game when in the lineup. However, he was far from a defensive liability, posting a 56.5% Corsi share at even strength. That’s much improved from his 47.9% mark in four games last season.

As he has been on the Flames’ roster for less than 30 days and played less than 10 games since clearing waivers at the beginning of the campaign, he does not need to clear them again to return to the AHL at this time. He’ll suit up for the Wranglers again in the coming days, with whom he has four assists and a +4 rating in six games.

Calgary Flames Assign Three Players To AHL

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11/6: As expected, Ryan Pike confirmed today that the Flames organization had re-called all three players back up to the NHL club.

11/5: Ryan Pike of FlamesNation is reporting that the Calgary Flames have assigned forwards Martin Pospisil and Connor Zary, as well as defenseman Nick DeSimone to their AHL affiliate, the Calgary Wranglers. Because the team does not play today, and considering Pospisil and DeSimone have already cleared waivers this year, it is entirely likely this is only a paper transaction. All three players should be on the Flames roster again shortly.

Since coming over to the Flames organization during the 2019-20 season, Pospisil has been a solid player at the AHL level when healthy. This season, when playing for the Wranglers, Pospisil has scored three goals and three assists in six games, sitting fourth on the team in points in the early days of the season. He made his NHL debut last night against the Seattle Kraken and scored his first NHL goal while getting a bit over 10 minutes of ice time.

Now in his third season with Calgary, DeSimone was called up to replace the minutes left behind by defenseman Jordan Oesterle, who had recently been placed on waivers in order to send him down to the AHL. DeSimone was also able to crack the lineup during last night’s game against the Kraken, where he provided one assist in 12 minutes of ice time.

Similarly to Pospisil, Zary is another young prospect in the Flames organization and has played in two games since being called up on an emergency loan on October 31st. In those two games played, Zary has provided Calgary with one goal and one assist, playing on the team’s second line next to Nazem Kadri and Yegor Sharangovich.

Flames Recall Nick DeSimone

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The Calgary Flames have recalled defenseman Nick DeSimone from the AHL’s Calgary Wranglers, per a team release issued Friday. To make room on the active roster, the team assigned Jordan Oesterle, who cleared waivers just minutes ago, to the Wranglers.

DeSimone, 28, is expected to make his 2023-24 Flames debut tomorrow against the Kraken as Nikita Zadorov remains away from the team on personal leave. The right-shot minor-league mainstay has four NHL games to his name, all coming in a Calgary sweater last season. He is, however, still looking for his first NHL point.

The Union College product is a veteran of 337 AHL games across eight seasons, mainly in the Sharks organization with the San Jose Barracuda. He joined the Flames in the summer of 2021 via free agency and is now in the second season of a two-year, two-way deal that earns him a minimum guaranteed salary of $350K. He has four assists through six contests with the Wranglers this season, and his +4 rating is tied for the team lead.

DeSimone will likely partner with Dennis Gilbert on the Flames’ third pairing, reuniting teammates who have both played heavy minutes for the Wranglers in recent seasons.

Training Camp Cuts: 10/7/23

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While teams have considerably whittled down their rosters compared to where they were just a weekend ago, there are still plenty more cuts to be made in the coming days.  Here are today’s roster trimmings excluding earlier waiver placements.

Buffalo Sabres (via team Twitter)

D Ryan Johnson (to Rochester, AHL)
F Lukas Rousek (to Rochester, AHL)

Calgary Flames (via team release)

D Nick DeSimone (to Calgary, AHL)
F Mathias Emilio Pettersen (to Calgary, AHL)
F Martin Pospisil (to Calgary, AHL)

Carolina Hurricanes (per team release)

G Yaniv Perets (to Norfolk, ECHL)

Columbus Blue Jackets (per team release)

D Marcus Bjork (to Cleveland, AHL)
D Jake Christiansen (to Cleveland, AHL)
F Joshua Dunne (to Cleveland, AHL)
F Brendan Gaunce (to Cleveland, AHL)
F Carson Meyer (to Cleveland, AHL)
D Billy Sweezey (to Cleveland, AHL)

Dallas Stars (via team Twitter)

D Alexander Petrovic (to Texas, AHL)

Detroit Red Wings (via team Twitter)

F Austin Czarnik (to Grand Rapids, AHL)
F Timothy Gettinger (to Grand Rapids, AHL)
F Taro Hirose (to Grand Rapids, AHL)
G John Lethemon (to Toledo, ECHL)
D Jared McIsaac (to Grand Rapids, AHL)
D Wyatt Newpower (to Grand Rapids, AHL)
D Brogan Rafferty (to Grand Rapids, AHL)
F Nolan Stevens (to Grand Rapids, AHL)

Nashville Predators (per ESPN’s John Buccigross)

D Marc Del Gaizo (to Milwaukee, AHL)

New Jersey Devils (via team Twitter)

D Santeri Hatakka (to Utica, AHL)
G Isaac Poulter (to Utica, AHL)

New York Rangers (per team Twitter)

F Jonny Brodzinski (to Hartford, AHL)
D Ben Harpur (to Hartford, AHL)

Philadelphia Flyers (via team Twitter)

F Wade Allison (to Lehigh Valley, AHL)

San Jose Sharks (via team Twitter)

F Ryan Carpenter (to San Jose, AHL)
F Oskar Lindblom (to San Jose, AHL)
F Quentin Musty (to Sudbury, OHL)
F Jacob Peterson (to San Jose, AHL)

Seattle Kraken (per team Twitter)

D Ryker Evans (to Coachella Valley, AHL)
F Shane Wright (to Coachella Valley, AHL)

Washington Capitals (per team Twitter)

F Nicolas Aube-Kubel (to Hershey, AHL)
G Mitchell Gibson (to Hershey, AHL)
F Alex Limoges (to Hershey, AHL)
D Dylan McIlrath (to Hershey, AHL)
F Joe Snively (to Hershey, AHL)
F Michael Sgarbossa (to Hershey, AHL)
G Hunter Shepard (to Hershey, AHL)

This post will be updated throughout the day.

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