Injury Updates: Crosby, Canadiens, Paul, Ryan
While it was looking like Penguins star center Sidney Crosby was nearing a return from his core muscle injury, it appears those plans have hit at least a small snag. The team announced (Twitter link) that although he was scheduled to skate ahead of today’s game in Colorado, he didn’t as he wasn’t feeling well. The veteran has yet to participate in a full team practice with contact yet so it appears he’ll miss at least another game or two. Crosby has missed the last 26 games heading into play tonight and still is in the top ten in team scoring with 17 points in as many contests.
Other injury notes from around the league:
- After bouncing between Ottawa and their AHL affiliates over the past few years, Senators winger Nick Paul has been establishing himself as a regular player this season. However, that progress has now been derailed as head coach D.J. Smith told Postmedia’s Bruce Garrioch that Paul is “done for the foreseeable future” due a lower-body injury sustained on Tuesday. He has already been ruled out for the next two weeks but it seems like it will be even longer now.
- Canadiens head coach Claude Julien told reporters, including TSN’s John Lu (Twitter link) that winger Paul Byron has suffered a setback as he works his way back from a knee injury and that he has yet to resume skating. Originally scheduled to be back several weeks ago, Julien acknowledged that winger Jonathan Drouin and Joel Armia are now both likely to return before Byron but that those two won’t be back until after the All-Star Game.
- Kings defenseman Joakim Ryan is expected to return to the lineup at some point on their current five-game road trip that runs through January 18th, reports Jon Rosen of LA Kings Insider. He has been out with a lower-body injury since late December. He’s currently on IR and Los Angeles has a full 23-man roster so they will need to make a roster move before they can activate him.
Minor Transactions: 10/14/19
Get ready for a full day of hockey. Monday’s lineup features four games being held at 1:00pm home team local time, as well as 3:00pm, 5:00pm, and 7:30pm. Among the story lines to watch are the Wild, Devils, and Blackhawks seeking their first wins of the season, the Avalanche and Oilers looking to stay perfect, and a collision of the league’s two stingiest teams, the Ducks and Bruins. Also to watch for are the roster moves made to open up the third week of the season. Keep up with all of the action here:
- The Ottawa Senators continue to routinely shuffle their forward group around early this season. After giving youngsters like Drake Batherson, Filip Chlapik, and Vitaly Abramov a chance already, the team has recalled a pair of veterans from AHL Belleville. The team announced that Nick Paul and Jordan Szwarz have been promoted to Ottawa. While Paul is a familiar name to Sens fans, Szwarz is a new free agent addition. The long-time AHL veteran and former Providence Bruins captain has played in 47 NHL games in his career, split between Arizona and Boston. His reliable two-way energy game could be more of the boost that the coaching staff feels they need right now rather than the offensive focus of the team’s top young prospects. This recall would also seem to indicate that there is a chance that Mikkel Boedker and Artem Anisimov are not ready to return to the lineup today as expected.
- After flipping Kyle Capobianco to the AHL for Ilya Lyubushkin on Saturday, the Coyotes are now flopping. CapFriendly reports that Capobianco has been called back up from the AHL’s Tuscon Roadrunners. The move comes on the heels of an injury to Niklas Hjalmarsson on Saturday that will likely push either Capobianco or Lyubushkin into a starting role for the time being.
- The Toronto Maple Leafs have made a somewhat surprising switch. The team announced that 19-year-old rookie defenseman Rasmus Sandin has been sent down to the AHL’s Marlies, while free agent addition and veteran blue liner Kevin Gravel has been recalled in his place. Sandin, considered by many to be Toronto’s top D prospect, had skated in all six games for the team thus far and recorded a pair of assists, strong possession numbers, and an even plus/minus rating. Although, Sandin’s ice time has been limited and his special teams role has been non-existent, so this could be about putting him in a better position to develop in the AHL. However, this may be more about adding Gravel than subtracting Sandin. The Leafs have surrendered at least three goals in four of their six games so far, including a 7-3 drubbing by the Tampa Bay Lightning. They may simply be looking to tighten things up on the back end and stay-at-home specialist Gravel can help. Gravel has recorded 137 blocked shots and 124 hits in 106 NHL games with the Los Angeles Kings and Edmonton Oilers.
- Steven Oleksy worked his way up from the ECHL ranks early in his career and has been on an NHL contract every year since 2012. However, that streak was snapped this summer when the 33-year-old seemingly could not attract another two-way deal. His bad luck now continues, as the AHL’s Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins announced that they have released Oleksy from his tryout agreement. The veteran of 73 NHL games and more than 400 AHL games saw his production fall off somewhat last year in a season split between the San Diego Gulls and Toronto Marlies, but is simply looking for the opportunity to show he can still contribute. In all likelihood, Oleksy will land on his feet elsewhere in pro hockey sooner rather than later.
- The Vancouver Canucks have granted starter Jacob Markstrom a leave of absence to attend to a family matter. He is expected to re-join the team later this week. In the meantime, Vancouver announced that Zane McIntyre has been recalled to serve as the backup to Thatcher Demko. McIntyre, a free agent addition, has made eight NHL appearances in his career with the Boston Bruins, all back in 2016-17. Ironically, his lone call-up last season was to serve as backup to Jaroslav Halak while Tuukka Rask took a leave of absence himself. McIntyre was a star at the college level and has strong AHL numbers, but at 27 years old he no longer a prospect that the Canucks would be trying to force into play time. Expect them to lean on Demko until Markstrom returns.
Waivers: 09/26/19
With the NHL regular season approaching quickly, many players will be put on waivers over the next several days. We’ll keep track of all of them right here:
Anaheim Ducks
F Andreas Martinsen
F Andrew Poturalski
F Chase De Leo
D Jani Hakanpaa
G Kevin Boyle
Boston Bruins
F Paul Carey
F Brendan Gaunce
D Alexander Petrovic*
Calgary Flames
Chicago Blackhawks
Colorado Avalanche
D Jacob MacDonald
D Dan Renouf
Montreal Canadiens
F Matthew Peca
F Phil Varone
F Dale Weise
D Karl Alzner
D Xavier Ouellet
New York Islanders
F Travis St. Denis
F Matthew Lorito
F Cole Bardreau
D Kyle Burroughs
D Seth Helgeson
G Christopher Gibson
G Jared Coreau
New York Rangers
Ottawa Senators
Vegas Golden Knights
F Patrick Brown
F Curtis McKenzie
*Petrovic was in Bruins’ training camp under a professional tryout. Waivers would indicate that the team has signed him to a standard player contract.
Training Camp Cuts: 09/26/19
Like always, we’ll keep you aware of all the training camp cuts right here. Keep checking back to see the updated list:
Anaheim Ducks (per team release)
F Alex Broadhurst (to San Diego, AHL)
D Hunter Drew (to San Diego, AHL)
D Zack Hayes (to San Diego, AHL)
F Justin Kloos (to San Diego, AHL)
F Jack Kopacka (to San Diego, AHL)
D Patrick Sieloff (to San Diego, AHL)
D Chris Wideman (to San Diego, AHL)
G Anthony Stolarz (to San Diego, AHL)
Boston Bruins (per team release)
F Ryan Fitzgerald (to Providence, AHL)
F Joona Koppanen (to Providence, AHL)
F Zach Senyshyn (to Providence, AHL)
F Pavel Shen (to Providence, AHL)
F Oskar Steen (to Providence, AHL)
D Jeremy Lauzon (to Providence, AHL)
D Urho Vaakanainen (to Providence, AHL)
G Kyle Keyser (to Providence, AHL)
F Paul Carey (placed on waivers before AHL assignment)
F Brendan Gaunce (placed on waivers before AHL assignment)
D Alexander Petrovic (placed on waivers before AHL assignment)
Buffalo Sabres (per team release)
F Dylan Cozens (to Lethbridge, WHL)
Carolina Hurricanes (per team release)
F Morgan Geekie (to Charlotte, AHL)
F Janne Kuokkanen (to Charlotte, AHL)
F Steven Lorentz (to Charlotte, AHL)
F Eetu Luostarinen (to Charlotte, AHL)
F Stelio Mattheos (to Charlotte, AHL)
D Jake Bean (to Charlotte, AHL)
D Kyle Wood (to Charlotte, AHL)
G Alex Nedeljkovic (to Charlotte, AHL)
D Jesper Sellgren (to Lulea HF, SHL)
F Ryan Suzuki (to Barrie, OHL)
Colorado Avalanche (per team release)
D Bowen Byram (to Vancouver, WHL)
F Martin Kaut (to Colorado, AHL)
F Sheldon Dries (to Colorado, AHL)
F Logan O’Connor (to Colorado, AHL)
F Michael Joly (to Colorado, AHL)
G Hunter Miska (to Colorado, AHL)
D Jacob MacDonald (placed on waivers before AHL assignment)
D Dan Renouf (placed on waivers before AHL assignment)
Edmonton Oilers (per team release)
F Kailer Yamamoto (to Bakersfield, AHL)
Florida Panthers (per team release)
F Anthony Greco (to Springfield, AHL)
D Ian McCoshen (to Springfield, AHL)
G Chris Driedger (to Springfield, AHL)
Montreal Canadiens (per team release)
F Matthew Peca (placed on waivers before AHL assignment)
F Phil Varone (placed on waivers before AHL assignment)
F Dale Weise (placed on waivers before AHL assignment)
D Karl Alzner (placed on waivers before AHL assignment)
D Xavier Ouellet (placed on waivers before AHL assignment)
New York Rangers (per team release)
F Daniel O’Regan (to Hartford, AHL)
Ottawa Senators (per team release)
F Parker Kelly (to Belleville, AHL)
G Marcus Hogberg (to Belleville, AHL)
F Nick Paul (placed on waivers before AHL assignment)
F Jordan Szwarz (placed on waivers before AHL assignment)
Vegas Golden Knights (per Jesse Granger, The Athletic)
F Reid Duke (to Chicago, AHL)
D Dylan Coughlan (to Chicago, AHL)
Atlantic Notes: Point, Senators Prospects, Olofsson
With the Tampa Bay Lightning preparing for another run to challenge for a Stanley Cup, one of the team’s top players remains unsigned in Brayden Point, who continues to sit out with a number of top restricted free agent forwards, including Toronto’s Mitch Marner, Colorado’s Mikko Rantanen, Calgary’s Matthew Tkachuk, Winnipeg’s Patrik Laine and Kyle Connor. Several defensemen, including Boston’s Charlie McAvoy and Columbus’ Zach Werenski.
However, there has been no end in sight for any of these players and there remains no timeline as all of these players are waiting for the first one to sign and set the market, according to Tampa Bay Times’ Diana Nearhos. Most expect that the first domino to fall will be Marner with everyone signing contracts just underneath him. However, that could change if one of the others opts to sign first. Point’s deal will be an interesting one on a team that already has quite a few top-paid players, but Point, who tallied 41 goals and 92 points.
“It’s a unique marketplace,” said agent Gerry Johannson, who counts Point among his clients. “Everyone is waiting for some clarity.”
So far only two key restricted free agents have signed, both in peculiar circumstances. Jacob Trouba forced a trade to the New York Rangers before finally signing, while Carolina matched Montreal’s offer sheet to Sebastian Aho in early July. In the meantime, the wait continues.
- With the signing of Colin White, the Ottawa Senators have 10 guaranteed spots on their forward line, according to Ken Warren of the Ottawa Sun. That will leave quite a training camp battle for three spots (assuming Ottawa keeps 13 forwards) between some of the team’s top prospects, including Max Veronneau, Rudolfs Balcers, Drake Batherson, Logan Brown, Alex Formenton, Jonathan Davidsson and Nick Paul. On defense, the team has five players already set, leaving two (or three) spots on their defense for prospects, which will include Christian Wolanin, Maxime Lajoie, Erik Brannstrom and Christian Jaros.
- One major question in Buffalo will be what role will forward prospect Victor Olofsson play next season. The 24-year-old prospect had dominant season in his first year in North America last season, tallying 30 goals and 63 points in 66 games with the Rochester Americans of the AHL and scored two goals and four points in six games for the Sabres last season. The Buffalo News’ Lance Lysowski reports that Oloffsson is likely to start the season with the Sabres and despite the logjam at left wing, he is likely to force either Conor Sheary or Marcus Johansson to the right-wing position as both have some experience playing there. However, Olofsson will likely have to beat out both Tage Thompson and C.J. Smith to earn a spot.
Ottawa Senators Re-Sign Nick Paul
The Ottawa Senators have signed restricted free agent Nick Paul to a one-year two-way contract, keeping him in the organization for another season. The deal carries a $750K salary at the NHL level, and could take Paul to Group VI unrestricted free agency if he fails to play in at least 24 NHL games next season.
Paul, 24, has been used as an emergency call-up for the Senators many times over the last several years, playing in 56 contests across four seasons. Mostly he has spent that time in a fourth-line role to give the team a big body, but at the minor league level he’s much more than that. Scoring 39 points in 43 games for the Belleville Senators last season he helped the young group including Drake Batherson, Logan Brown and Filip Chlapik compete every night. That’s likely the role he’ll have again in 2019-20, though he will fight for a roster spot in the NHL during a wide open training camp.
The Senators have just eight forwards on one-way contracts for next season, and there will certainly be competition for the final few spots. The team is set on building towards the future, and with players like Mikkel Boedker, Jean-Gabriel Pageau and Tyler Ennis all on one-year deals that lead to unrestricted free agency, more spots could potentially open up throughout the year.
Snapshots: Barrie, Spurgeon, Senators
The Colorado Avalanche are in the enviable position of having two first-round picks this year despite making the playoffs, and one of those selections is fourth overall. The team very well could be adding top defensive prospect Bowen Byram with that spot, giving them quite the young core on the blue line along with Samuel Girard and Cale Makar. That inevitably would lead to some speculating that the Avalanche will be looking to trade another defenseman, and A.J. Haefele of BSN Denver today tweeted that he believes Tyson Barrie is “in play.”
Haefele doesn’t mention the Byram connection, and perhaps that has nothing to do with it given Barrie plays the right side. With Erik Johnson already entrenched as a leader on the team and signed long-term, Barrie might be the one to go in order to give Makar more minutes on that side and the powerplay. The 27-year old Barrie had another excellent offensive season, recording 14 goals and 59 points in 78 games.
- The Minnesota Wild have made sweeping changes to the core of their team since GM Paul Fenton took over, but one name they’re looking to keep is Jared Spurgeon. Michael Russo of The Athletic reports that Fenton and agent Eustace King met yesterday to begin talks on an extension, given the defenseman has just a single year remaining on his contract. Spurgeon is one of the game’s premiere two-way defensemen, recording solid offensive numbers while being a reliable shutdown option in his own end. Coming off a career-high 43 points any extension will be an expensive one, and likely include a substantial raise over the $5.19MM cap hit he currently carries.
- Bruce Garrioch of Postmedia reports that the Ottawa Senators have issued qualifying offers to Cody Ceci, Christian Wolanin, Nick Paul, Colin White and Jack Rodewald, though all were expected. Ceci is still just 25 years old despite having played six seasons in the league, and is one of the more interesting players to watch on the Senators roster. He is a restricted free agent but could potentially settle for a one-year contract through arbitration and walk right into unrestricted free agency next season. His qualifying offer is $4.3MM, already a hefty contract for the Senators to swallow.
Minnesota, Ottawa Put Three Players On Waivers
Monday: All three players have cleared waivers and can now be sent to the minor leagues.
Sunday: Sportsnet’s Elliotte Friedman reports the Minnesota Wild and Ottawa Senators put three players on waivers Sunday as the Wild placed defenseman Nate Prosser and winger J.T. Brown on waivers, while the Senators put winger Nick Paul on waivers as well. Friedman also reported that Toronto Maple Leafs’ Martin Marincin and Buffalo Sabres’ Remi Elie both cleared waivers.
Loaded with eight defensemen after the team traded for Brad Hunt and claimed Anthony Bitetto off waivers from Nashville, the Wild had to add some roster flexibility. Wild general manager Paul Fenton is starting to get more active as this is the sixth roster move the team has made in less than three weeks. The team had no choice to make a move and still have two of their top young players, Joel Eriksson Ek and Luke Kunin sitting in Iowa, awaiting a recall since the All-Star break.
For Prosser, the move likely means the end of the line in Minnesota. The Wild also have defenseman Matt Dumba on IR currently and while he’s not expected back too soon, the team does expect him back at some point this season, meaning they had to make some move. The 32-year-old veteran was a great locker-room presence, but he has appeared in just 15 games this season and hasn’t registered a point. Prosser has played most of his career in Minnesota since signing as an undrafted free agent in 2010. He did opt to sign in St. Louis before the 2017-18 season, but only played one game for the Blues before the Wild claimed him off of waivers from him. He played 56 games for Minnesota last year. If he passes through waivers, which is no guarantee as many teams might be interested in a veteran defenseman, the team can opt to keep him on the roster or send him to the Iowa Wild of the AHL.
Brown makes his second trip to the waiver wire as Brown was put on waivers last year in January by the Tampa Bay Lightning and claimed by the Anaheim Ducks, playing in a bottom-six role for the Ducks. He then opted to sign with the Wild and has played sporadically, often being designated as a healthy scrtatch. He played in 35 games for Minnesota this year, posting a goal and four points.
As for Ottawa, NHL teams could find some interest in the 6-foot-4 Paul, who is still just 23 years old and has some potential. Unfortunately, he hasn’t shown that in 20 games with Ottawa as he’s put up just one goal and two points, while averaging just 8:28 of ice time. He played just 5:17 against Pittsburgh Friday and if he clears looks like he’ll be headed back to Belleville of the AHL. Paul cleared waivers to start the season, but the team had to place him back on waivers to return him to the AHL. He has played 15 games there, posting two goals and 11 points.
Minor Transactions: 11/12/18
The NHL has just four games on the schedule for tonight, meaning teams will have plenty of opportunity to make changes to their rosters in preparation for the rest of the week. We’ll keep track of all those minor moves right here:
- Aaron Ness has been sent back to the Hershey Bears, meaning Jonas Siegenthaler looks to have secured a spot with the Washington Capitals for the time being. With Brooks Orpik on long-term injured reserve, Siegenthaler was given his first opportunity at the NHL level and played just over 12 minutes. Ness meanwhile will return to the minor leagues where he has spent the majority of his career, and continue his role as a veteran leader on the Bears’ blue line.
- The Calgary Flames have assigned Anthony Peluso to the Stockton Heat of the AHL, returning the 29-year old winger after just one game. Peluso has been up and down several times this year, and will likely continue to serve as an injury call-up for the rest of the season.
- Nick Paul is on his way back to the AHL after the Ottawa Senators reassigned him today. Paul has played six games at both the AHL and NHL level this season, and looks poised to split the year between the two leagues. The 23-year old hasn’t been able to establish himself with the Senators as a full-time option, but does brings some size and physicality when needed.
Ottawa Senators Make Five Roster Moves
The Ottawa Senators have had a busy morning when it comes to roster moves, sending Jack Rodewald and Christian Wolanin to the AHL in exchange for Erik Burgdoerfer, Nick Paul and Mike McKenna. McKenna in particular is the name fans were waiting to hear, as he’ll be the option to replace Mike Condon in net for the time being. Condon is on waivers and is expected to be assigned to the AHL should he clear today.
Ottawa has a game tonight against the Buffalo Sabres, and will have Craig Anderson in net behind the suddenly struggling team. After a solid start to the year, the group has lost their last four matches and are plummeting towards the bottom of the Atlantic Division. Perhaps Burgdoerfer can give them some secrets on their opponent tonight, given he spent a season playing in the Buffalo organization in 2016-17. The team is currently carrying eight defensemen, given Mark Borowiecki‘s ongoing suspension, and have dressed seven of them at times already this season.
If they don’t dress seven, they’ll be inserting Paul back into the lineup given they only have 12 forwards currently on the roster. The 23-year old forward does have six points in his first six AHL games, and is looking to get back into NHL action for the first time this season.