Hurricanes Make A Trio Of Roster Moves
The Hurricanes announced three separate roster moves today, including the recall of winger Lee Stempniak from his conditioning stint with Charlotte of the AHL. However, the move isn’t a sign that he’s ready to return to their lineup as he was injured in the first period on Friday night and as a result, he could be headed back to injured reserve.
The 34-year-old has yet to play this season as he had been dealing with a hip injury. Once healthy, he should be a nice boost to Carolina’s lineup after recording 40 points in his first season with them last year but his return to the lineup has been held up now.
Also coming up from the Checkers is winger Phillip Di Giuseppe. He sits fourth on the team in points with four goals and eight assists in 14 games. While this will be his first stint with Carolina this season, he has played in at least 36 NHL contests in each of the last two seasons.
He will take the place of winger Patrick Brown on the roster as the team re-assigned Brown back to Charlotte. Despite being recalled back on October 31st, he didn’t get into a game with the Hurricanes and was scratched five times. He had recorded four points and 25 penalty minutes in nine minor league contests prior to being summoned.
Carolina Hurricanes Extend Phil Di Giuseppe
The Carolina Hurricanes and Phil Di Giuseppe have come to terms on a new contract that will keep the young winger in Raleigh, or at least across the state in Charlotte, for another year. TSN’s Aaron Ward reports that Di Giuseppe has re-signed with the ‘Canes on a one-year, two-way deal that will pay him $725K at the NHL level.
Di Giuseppe, a 2012 second-round pick of the Hurricanes, will enter his fourth pro season in 2017-18, but is still looking for his breakout campaign. The 23-year-old has had modest success in the NHL, but has been unable to carve out a full-time role for himself in Carolina. A former star at the University of Michigan and a consistent scoring threat in the AHL in with the Charlotte Checkers, Di Giuseppe’s skill is undeniable. A swift skater with good instincts, Di Giuseppe has complied 77 points in 144 AHL games over the last three seasons after registering 78 points in 115 games for the Wolverines. However, that scoring pace has not quite translated to success with the Hurricanes, where Di Giuseppe has 24 points in 77 games over the past two seasons. Still working to build a well-rounded game, Di Giuseppe’s ability to put up points is nothing to complain about – he could very well be a 30-point player over the course of an 82-game NHL schedule – but on a team full of young talent, Di Giuseppe has simply been unable to hold onto a roster spot due. The young forward could stand to bring a little more two-way play and special teams ability to the mix if he wants to make himself into a valuable piece of the puzzle for a Carolina team that is desperate to get back to the playoffs.
For now, Di Giuseppe is likely to be given a shot to make the NHL roster in camp, but faces an uphill battle to secure a spot with Jeff Skinner, Sebastian Aho, Teuvo Teravainen, Elias Lindholm, Lee Stempniak, Brock McGinn and now Justin Williams as the competition for a shot on the wing. Di Giuseppe seems likely to head back to the Checkers to begin this season, but must capitalize on the next chance he gets in Carolina. The scoring forward seems like he has what it takes, but has simply lacked the ability to hold on to his job for longer than 30 or 4o games in a season. We’ll see if that changes in 2017-18.
With Di Giuseppe signed, the Carolina Hurricanes have dealt with all of their restricted free agents and look to have a deep and promising lineup that is ready to go for the new season. Predicted to be one of the worst teams in the NHL in 2016-17, the ‘Canes showed everyone with a season that nearly ended in a playoff berth. The young squad hopes that they can take that next step this year.
Afternoon Transactions: Oilers, Hurricanes, Blues, Wild, Capitals
Assorted transactions from around the NHL this afternoon:
- The Oilers announced (via Twitter) that they have assigned defenseman Jordan Oesterle to the Bakersfield Condors. The 24-year-old was recalled to the NHL earlier this month. In two games with the Oilers this season, Oesterle hasn’t recorded a point, although he has compiled three goals and 15 assists in 26 AHL games.
- The Hurricanes announced that they have recalled forward Phil Di Giuseppe from the Charlotte Checkers of the AHL. The 23-year-old has recorded one goal and one assist in 18 games with the Hurricanes this season, and he’s collected 20 points in 33 games with the Checkers.
- The Blues have assigned forward Kenny Agostino to the AHL, reports Norm Sanders of the Belleville News-Democrat (via Twitter). The former fifth-rounder has played in seven games with St. Louis this season, compiling one goal and two assists. In 48 AHL games, Agostino collected 18 goals and 42 assists.
- The Wild announced that they have returned right winger Alex Tuch back to Iowa of the AHL. Minnesota’s first round pick (18th overall) back in 2015 has played in six games with the big club this season, being held off the scoresheet while averaging 10:42 of ice time per night. He’s having a strong rookie year at the minor league level though, scoring 12 goals and 13 assists in 36 games with Iowa.
- The Capitals announced they assigned center Jakub Vrana to Hershey of the AHL. He was recalled on Friday but didn’t play over the weekend. The 20 year old has a goal and two assists in 12 games with the Capitals this season and has put up 25 points in 33 games with Hershey. Washington is off until Wednesday and there’s a good chance they’ll recall Vrana before that time but they will save a bit of cap space in the meantime by sending him down for a few days.