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Training Camp Cuts: 09/28/19

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The final weekend of the preseason is upon us with the regular season getting underway next week. Final training camp cuts will be coming in with regularity over the next 48 hours or so. We’ll keep track of all of today’s right here. Keep up with the news, as the page will be updated throughout the day:

Arizona Coyotes (per team release)

F Michael Bunting (to Tucson, AHL)
F Michael Chaput (to Tucson, AHL)
F Hudson Fasching (to Tucson, AHL)
D Aaron Ness (to Tucson, AHL)

Calgary Flames (per team release)

F Devante Smith-Pelly (released from PTO)

Dallas Stars (per team releases)

D Joseph Cecconi (to Texas, AHL)
D Joel Hanley (to Texas, AHL)

Detroit Red Wings (per team release)

D Oliwer Kaski (to Grand Rapids, AHL)
F Ryan Kuffner (to Grand Rapids, AHL)
D Gustav Lindstrom (to Grand Rapids, AHL)
F Jarid Lukosevicius (released from ATO)
F Gregor MacLeod (released from ATO)
F David Pope (to Grand Rapids, AHL)
D Vili Saarijarvi (to Grand Rapids, AHL)
F Dominik Shine (released from PTO)
F Givani Smith (to Grand Rapids, AHL)
F Evgeny Svechnikov (to Grand Rapids, AHL)
F Joe Veleno (to Grand Rapids, AHL)
F Filip Zadina (to Grand Rapids, AHL)

Edmonton Oilers (per team release)

F Anton Burdasov (released from PTO)

Los Angeles Kings (per team release)

F Nikolai Prokhorkin (to Ontario, AHL)

New York Islanders (per team release)

F Travis St. Denis (to Bridgeport, AHL)
F Matthew Lorito (to Bridgeport, AHL)
F Cole Bardreau (to Bridgeport, AHL)
D Kyle Burroughs (to Bridgeport, AHL)
D Seth Helgeson (to Bridgeport, AHL)
G Christopher Gibson (to Bridgeport, AHL)
G Jared Coreau (to Bridgeport, AHL)

San Jose Sharks (per team release)

D Jacob Middleton (to San Jose, AHL)
F Antti Suomela (to San Jose, AHL)

Toronto Maple Leafs (per team releases)

F Pontus Aberg (to waivers for purpose of assignment to Toronto, AHL)
F Tyler Gaudet (to waivers for purpose of assignment to Toronto, AHL)
D Ben Harpur (to waivers for purpose of assignment to Toronto, AHL)
D Jordan Schmaltz (to waivers for purpose of assignment to Toronto, AHL)
F Darren Archibald (to Toronto, AHL)
F Jeremy Bracco (to Toronto, AHL)
F Adam Brooks (to Toronto, AHL)
F Rich Clune (to Toronto, AHL)
F Hudson Elynuik (to Toronto, AHL)
F Pierre Engvall (to Toronto, AHL)
D Teemu Kivihalme (to Toronto, AHL)
G Joseph Woll (to Toronto, AHL)

Vegas Golden Knights (per team tweet)

G Dylan Ferguson (to Fort Wayne, ECHL)

Washington Capitals (per team release)

F Shane Gersich (to Hershey, AHL)
D Lucas Johansen (to Hershey, AHL)
F Beck Malenstyn (to Hershey, AHL)
F Brian Pinho (to Hershey, AHL)
G Vitek Vanecek (to Hershey, AHL)
D Colby Williams (to Hershey, AHL)

Snapshots: Aberg, Bournival, Pasquale, Glass

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Minnesota is not expected to tender winger Pontus Aberg a qualifying offer this summer, reports Michael Russo of The Athletic (subscription required).  The Wild acquired him from Anaheim in January in the hopes that he’d be able to give them some much-needed secondary scoring after picking up 11 goals in just 37 games with the Ducks.  However, he managed just a single tally in 22 games with Minnesota.  Between that and the fact he has arbitration eligibility where his dozen goals would have him in line for a nice raise from the league minimum $650K he made over each of the last two seasons, the fact that they’re leaning towards letting him go shouldn’t be too much of a surprise.

Elsewhere around the league:

  • Tampa Bay UFA Michael Bournival has retired, the Lightning’s AHL affiliate in Syracuse announced (Twitter link). The 27-year-old showed some promise early in his career with Montreal but injuries limited him in his time both there and with Tampa.  In 2018-19, he suffered a season-ending shoulder injury after just five games.  He wraps up his career with 127 NHL games between Montreal and Tampa Bay (regular season and playoffs), posting 12 goals and 11 assists.
  • While he made his NHL debut this past season, Lightning UFA goaltender Eddie Pasquale is heading overseas. Barys Nur-Sultan of the KHL announced that they’ve signed the netminder to a one-year contract.  Pasquale was the starter for AHL Syracuse in 2018-19, posting a 2.35 GAA in 45 appearances while also getting into three games with Tampa Bay, his first career NHL appearances.  Between this and their trade of Connor Ingram earlier today, their goaltending depth has taken a bit of a hit.
  • Veteran winger Tanner Glass has retired and will join the Rangers in a player personnel role, reports Brett Cyrgalis of the New York Post. He spent parts of four seasons with New York in the past and after failing to land an NHL contract last summer, he played in France in 2018-19.  He wraps up his playing days with nearly 600 career NHL games played with six different teams.

Central Notes: Zuccarello, Parise, Byfuglien, Rantanen, Landeskog

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The Dallas Stars continue to hang onto the top wildcard playoff spot and continue to attempt to fend off several teams trying to steal away their spot. The Stars may get a much-needed boost soon as veteran Mats Zuccarello, who appeared in just one game with Dallas after they acquired him from the New York Rangers at the trade deadline, is making progress and could return to the team soon.

Zuccarello, who scored a goal an assist in his first game in Dallas before breaking his arm while blocking a shot on Feb. 24, participated in Dallas’ pre-game skate, according to NHL.com’s Mark Stepneski. His four-week recovery estimate is almost up and the team hopes that he could be ready soon.

“It increases every day,” Zuccarello said of the stickhandling. “Maybe a week, just started light and now I can shoot a little bit more, but it still hurts a little bit.”

The 31-year-old Zuccarello has 12 goals and 39 points so far this year, but the Stars need his experience on their struggling second line, especially if they want to remain in the playoff position they are currently in.

  • The Minnesota Wild announced that the team will be without forward Zach Parise Saturday, who suffered an undisclosed injury Friday after colliding with Washington Capitals’ forward Tom Wilson. Parise, however, remained in the game and assisted on the team’s game-winning goal. The 34-year-old Parise is having a big season with 26 goals and 59 points in 73 games and has only missed two games this year up until now. It’s Parise’s biggest season since 2014-15. The team will replace Parise in the lineup with Pontus Aberg.
  •  The Winnipeg Jets are close to getting back a pair of key defensemen as both Dustin Byfuglien and Josh Morrissey each skated prior to the team’s morning skate Saturday, suggesting they could return soon, according to Mitchell Clinton of NHL.com. Byfuglien, who has been out since Feb. 14 with a lower-body injury, while Morrissey has been out since Feb. 24 with an upper-body injury. Head coach Paul Maurice said that Byfuglien has actually been skating on his own since Wednesday. “The way this works now is he skates, if he feels good the next day, he’ll start thinking about morning skates going forward,” said Maurice. “Then start building toward contact.”
  • The Denver Post’s Mike Chambers reports that the team will be without star forward Mikko Rantanen again on Sunday at Chicago after missing his first game of the season against the Blackhawks at home on Saturday with a midsection injury. The 22-year-old was hurt in Thursday’s game against Dallas when he was checked into the boards along the team benches. He remains day-to-day.
  • One a more positive note, BSN’s Adrian Dater reports there’s a chance, albeit a small chance, that injured forward Gabriel Landeskog, who was listed as being out four to six weeks with an upper-body injury back on Mar. 8, could return a bit early. That would be welcome news for a Colorado team that looked to be sliding out of the playoffs, but have had a recent resurgence that has brought them back into the playoff race. Landeskog is having a breakout year with 33 goals and 69 points.

Minor Transactions: 02/03/19

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It’s Super Bowl Sunday and the eyes of the world’s sports fans will likely be fixated on just that one big event later on tonight. Yet, the NHL will continue with business as usual, albeit with a small three-game slate today. The Boston Bruins will face the Washington Capitals early this afternoon before rooting on their football counterparts, the New England Patriots, later on tonight. The Edmonton Oilers and Montreal Canadiens square off later this afternoon, as do head coach Bill Peters and the Calgary Flames in a homecoming against the Carolina Hurricanes. Other teams will be active as well, just in the front office, making minor changes to their rosters in anticipation of the coming week of games. Keep up with all the transactions here:

  • One day after handing Michael McNiven his first NHL call-up to serve as the team’s backup, the Montreal Canadiens have sent the young goaltender back down, per the AHL. Curiously, the team has flipped yesterday’s transaction completely and have recalled buried defenseman Karl Alzner. Alzner has played in just one game with the Habs since November and has suited up for the AHL’s Laval Rocket for more games than he has with Montreal this season. Yet, the team seems open to giving him another chance to earn his keep in the second half. Alzner is signed for three more seasons at $4.625MM and the Canadiens would undoubtedly like to see his play improve to the point that he can win his job back.
  • As hinted at yesterday, the Washington Capitals have now officially reassigned defenseman Christian Djoos to the AHL’s Hershey Bears on a conditioning assignment. Djoos has returned from a serious bout with compartment syndrome sooner than expected, but the Caps would rather he work out the kinks in his game and get back up to speed down in the minors. He’ll get the start for Hershey right away today. Djoos should be patrolling the D.C. blue line again soon enough, though.
  • After clearing waivers today, the Buffalo Sabres will be sending forward Remi Elie to the Rochester Americans of the AHL, according to CapFriendly. Elie played just four regular season games in the AHL last season with the Texas Stars, but he did return and play for the veteran-laden team in the playoffs as they went all the way to the Calder Cup finals before losing to the Toronto Marlies, playing 19 games, scoring two goals and nine points.
  • Already potentially clearing two roster spots, the Minnesota Wild announced they have placed Pontus Aberg on injured reserve after leaving Friday’s game against Dallas with a lower-body injury. Aberg has played five games so far for Minnesota since being acquired via trade from Anaheim. He has three assists so far.
  • The Toronto Maple Leafs announced they have loaned defenseman Martin Marincin to the Toronto Marlies of the AHL after he cleared waivers earlier today. The 26-year-old Marincin is familiar with playing with the AHL squad as he played 52 regular season games with them last year as well as playing another 20 in the playoffs, helping the franchise win the Calder Cup. His NHL experience should only help the AHL squad, full of prospect defensemen.

Wild Acquire Pontus Aberg From Ducks

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The Wild have acquired winger Pontus Aberg from Anaheim in exchange for minor league center Justin Kloos.  Both teams have announced the deal.

It has been an interesting year for Aberg.  He was waived by Edmonton late in training camp and was claimed by Anaheim.  However, less than a week later, he was back on the wire and with the Oilers passing on reclaiming him (as well as the rest of the league taking a pass), he was quickly assigned to San Diego of the AHL.

After just two games with the Gulls, Aberg was recalled to the Ducks and has done rather well.  His 11 goals in 37 games are just one shy of the team lead and have more than doubled his career total of five heading into the season.  Unfortunately for him and Anaheim, Aberg’s output has tailed off in recent weeks which has caused him to be a healthy scratch as of late.

The 25-year-old will add some depth on the wing for Minnesota at a cheap price.  Aberg is in the second and final season of a two-year, one-way contract that pays him the league minimum $650K.  He will be a restricted free agent this summer and will have salary arbitration eligibility.  Minnesota GM Paul Fenton is familiar with Aberg having drafted him back in Nashville back in 2012.

As for Kloos, he has had a very productive season with Iowa of the AHL, leading the team in scoring with 30 points (12-18-30) in 34 games, putting him on pace to surpass the 50 points he put up in his first full AHL campaign last season.  The 25-year-old will give the Ducks some extra firepower in the minors and the move allows them to get something in return for a player in Aberg that wasn’t likely to make it through waivers unclaimed once again.  Kloos is in the final season of his entry-level contract with an NHL cap hit of just over $790K and he will also be arbitration-eligible this summer.

Michael Russo of The Athletic was the first to report that the two sides were discussing the trade.

Anaheim Ducks Place Pontus Aberg On Waivers

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Monday: Aberg has cleared waivers according to Chris Johnston of Sportsnet, an interesting move given that the Oilers could have reclaimed him for their minor league squad. That means Aberg will now be able to go to San Diego should the Ducks decide to send him there.

Sunday: The Anaheim Ducks decided that Pontus Aberg may not be the best fit after all. After claiming him on waivers from the Edmonton Oilers last week, Elliotte Friedman reports that the Ducks have put the 25-year-old winger on waivers Sunday.

Aberg played just one game for the Ducks, who added Aberg due to multiple injuries to their roster, including Ryan Kesler, Corey Perry and Ondrej Kase. Aberg played 20 shifts in the team’s season opener against San Jose and played 13:47, but didn’t register a point. He did have a minus-one rating and picked up two penalty minutes, made one hit and blocked a shot.

There is no guarantee that any team might take a flier on Aberg after being waived after a one-game trial, but if Edmonton opts to claim him back and no one else does, the Oilers can send him directly to the Bakersfield Condors of the AHL without having to re-waive him again. If Edmonton opts not to bring him back and he passes through waivers, he can be sent to the San Diego Gulls of the AHL.

Ondrej Kase Suffers Concussion, Out Indefinitely

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The reasons for the Anaheim Ducks claiming Pontus Aberg are becoming even more clear, as the team today announced that Ondrej Kase suffered a concussion in the final preseason game and has no timetable for his return. Brian Gibbons has been cleared to play after suffering a bone bruise, but Josh Cooper of The Athletic reports that Ryan Kesler will not play in the opener and Patrick Eaves was not at practice today.

The Ducks of course are already without Corey Perry for the next several months at least, and still have not signed restricted free agent Nick Ritchie. Any team in the league would be desperately trying to find replacements at this point, given their decimated depth on the wing the last few weeks. Kase, the latest to go down, broke out last season with a 20-goal campaign and is an integral part of their offense. The seventh-round pick recorded 38 points in just 66 games and was expected by some to even eclipse that total this season given the opportunity presenting itself, but this injury will quickly put a damper on those projections.

Obviously there could be a quick recovery in this case, but head injuries can affect players long after they are medically cleared to play. If Kase does return to the lineup soon, there’s no telling how effective he’ll be in an increased role. Instead, the Ducks will have to find offense from some different sources which could include rookie Sam Steel, who is still with the club for the time being.

Anaheim Ducks Claim Pontus Aberg

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The Anaheim Ducks have claimed forward Pontus Aberg off waivers from the Edmonton Oilers, according to Elliotte Friedman of Sportsnet. Aberg was a somewhat surprising inclusion yesterday, given that he was only acquired in February and had put up eight points in 16 games down the stretch with Edmonton. Some had hoped he could develop into a secondary scoring option for the Oilers this season, but with the additions of Tobias Rieder and Kyle Brodziak this summer, along with likely full-time graduations for some of the organization’s younger players, there wasn’t enough room for Aberg any longer.

That means the 25-year old forward will get his next chance in Anaheim, where the Ducks are desperately trying to find offense after Corey Perry’s recent injury and the decline of some of their other weapons. Selected 37th overall by the Nashville Predators in 2012, Aberg has shown elite scoring ability in the minor leagues and has flashed NHL potential at times including a solid performance in the 2017 postseason. It’s not clear exactly where he’ll fit into Anaheim’s lineup, but is a worthwhile addition at this point in the year.

Anaheim will assume the $650K cap hit of Aberg for this season, after which he will become a restricted free agent with arbitration rights. It’s a big year for him to prove he can cut it in the NHL, and should get at least some opportunity to do just that with the Ducks.

Trade Deadline Recap: Eastern Conference

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After a month of lead up, a sprinkling of trades over the last week or so, and a wild deadline day today, NHL teams are done with transactions for the 2017-18 NHL season. Here are the deals that improved contenders in the Eastern Conference:

Deadline Day

Tampa Bay Lightning receive:
D Ryan McDonagh
F J.T. Miller

New York Rangers receive:
F Vladislav Namestnikov
F Brett Howden
D Libor Hajek
2018 first-round pick
Conditional 2019 second-round pick

 

Columbus Blue Jackets receive:
F Thomas Vanek

Vancouver Canucks receive:
F Tyler Motte
F Jussi Jokinen

 

Columbus Blue Jackets receive:
D Ian Cole

Ottawa Senators receive:
F Nick Moutrey
2020 third-round pick

 

New Jersey Devils receive:
F Patrick Maroon

Edmonton Oilers receive:
F J.D. Dudek
2019 third-round pick

 

New York Islanders receive:
F Chris Wagner

Anaheim Ducks receive:
F Jason Chimera

 

Boston Bruins receive:
F Tommy Wingels

Chicago Blackhawks receive:
Conditional 2019 fifth-round pick

 

Pittsburgh Penguins receive:
F Josh Jooris

Carolina Hurricanes receive:
F Greg McKegg

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Predators Add Depth In Minor Move With Sharks

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The Nashville Predators announced they have made a minor deal as they acquired forward Brandon Bollig and goaltender Troy Grosenick from the San Jose Sharks for a sixth-round pick in the 2018 draft.

It’s the second move for the Predators today, who earlier traded away forward Pontus Aberg in a three-team deal, that netted them a fourth-round pick in the 2018 draft.

Bollig, a 31-year-old veteran, hasn’t played a game for the Sharks this season. The winger has played the past two years in the AHL and likely is being brought aboard to increase the depth on the Milwaukee Admirals, their AHL affiliate. With the Barracuda, Bollig has eight goals and two assists in 45 games this year with 68 penalty minutes.

Grosenick also will provide the team some depth on the goaltending depth chart. The 28-year-old has served as an emergency backup this year for the Sharks, but has never appeared in a game. He currently has a 2.98 GAA with the Barracuda in 20 appearances.

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