Edmonton’s Letestu Traded To Nashville, Then Flipped To Columbus
The Nashville Predators traded winger Pontus Aberg to the Edmonton Oilers for center Mark Letestu and then immediately flipped Letestu to the Columbus Blue Jackets for a 2018 fourth-round pick, according to Pierre LeBrun.
Letestu return to Columbus where he played for four years before signing with the Oilers in 2015. The bottom-six center fills a depth need at center as Columbus has struggled at the position with injuries, but also as a special teamer. He is an excellent penalty killer. In 60 games this season, the 33-year-old Letestu has eight goals and 11 assists and a minus-17 plus/minus ratio. He had a big year last year when he scored 16 goals for the playoff-bound Oilers.
The Oilers added a young scoring forward Aberg, who has had trouble breaking into the Predators’ lineup. The former second-round pick in the 2012 draft has been in and out of the lineup, often as a healthy scratch and has appeared in just 37 games with just two goals and six assists to show for it. He did make a name for himself during the Predators playoff run last year when he had to fill in due to injuries and scored two goals and three assists in 16 games.
For Nashville, the move is essentially a roster dump as the team is likely trying to clear a roster spot to eventually add 2017 first-rounder Eeli Tolvanen when his season is over when his KHL team has been eliminated from the playoffs. The Predators are also likely to bring in veteran Mike Fisher back as well, so roster space was needed.
Western Notes: Sedin, Predators, Gudbranson, Perron
Daniel Sedin has a chance to take the spotlight again for the Vancouver Canucks. At age 37, neither Sedin nor his brother, Henrik Sedin, are the focal points of the team anymore. However, after Daniel Sedin picked up a goal and an assist in Friday’s game against the New Jersey Devils, he now just needs two points to join his brother as the 87th NHL player to reach 1,000 points.
His next opportunity will be Sunday against the New York Rangers, according to Ben Kuzma of The Province. Henrik Sedin already accomplished the feat last season and currently boasts 1,032 points.
“It’s exciting,” said Henrik Sedin. “When it happened to me, I didn’t realize how big a thing it was for myself until it happened. I’m sure it’s going to be the same thing for him. He never talks about it or thinks about it and maybe not until today (Friday). But two points away. When it happens, it’s going to be fun for him.”
- Adam Vingan of the Tennessean hands out first quarter grades for the Nashville Predators, handing out excellent grades to Filip Forsberg and the Predators’ top three defenders in Roman Josi, P.K. Subban and Mattias Ekholm. He gave Forsberg the MVP award, who has 24 points in 22 games so far this year. He credited the defense for being the backbone of the team and believes that once Ryan Ellis returns from offseason knee surgery in the next few weeks, the team’s defense will be hard to beat. Amongst other notable grades, the scribe hands an incomplete to Nick Bonino who has been hurt for much of the season and hasn’t shown much so far and also hands a below average grade to youngster Pontus Aberg, who many thought could have a breakout year. Instead, he has been a repeated healthy scratch and hasn’t scored a goal yet in 12 games.
- Lyle Richardson of The Hockey News writes that while Vancouver Canucks defenseman Erik Gudbranson has been mentioned in trade rumors often, it might be just as equally possible the Canucks bring him back next year. Gudbranson, who is eligible for unrestricted free agency at the end of the season, could be a quality rental candidate with teams such as Toronto and Florida as possible trade targets. However, Richardson writes that Gudbranson loves playing in the team’s up-tempo style of play, is well liked by Vancouver brass and has shown an interest in re-signing with the Canucks. The real question is whether Vancouver would want to pay his rumored $5-6MM price tag.
- Vegas Golden Knights winger David Perron, who is not playing in tonight’s game against the Arizona Coyotes, did not accompany the team on the road trip down to Phoenix, according to Las Vegas Review-Journal’s Steve Carp. He is receiving treatment on his upper-body injury and remains day-to-day.
Minor Transactions: 11/20/17
With just six games on a Monday and a couple of suspensions last night, many teams may look to make minor changes to their roster for the coming week. Keep up with those moves right here:
- The Vancouver Canucks announced they have recalled defenseman Philip Holm from the Utica Comets and reassigned Patrick Wiercioch in a corresponding move. Holm will be recalled for first time as the undrafted free agent signed a one-year deal with Vancouver this summer. At 25 years of age and coming over from Sweden, he needed time to adjust to the North American hockey, but appears to be ready. He has played 15 games for Utica, leading all Comet defensemen in scoring as he has put up two goals and eight assists on the year. Wiercioch, who had been shuttled up and down for most of the season has been up with the team since Oct. 23, but has been serving as an emergency defenseman and hasn’t seen any action yet this year. He has only played two games for the Comets this season.
- The Nashville Predators announced they have recalled forward Pontus Aberg and goaltender Juuse Saros as well as Frederick Gaudreau from the AHL’s Milwaukee Admirals. The team also reassigned Anders Lindback to Milwaukee. Aberg had been serving in Milwaukee on a conditioning stint since Nov. 11. The 24-year-old had cracked the team’s lineup last year after putting up a 30-goal season in Milwaukee. He then proceeded to play in 16 playoff games for Nashville, but had trouble finding playing time this year as he had only played in nine games to start the year and was often a healthy scratch. In four games for the Admirals, he had four goals and two assists. Saros, the team’s backup behind starter Pekka Rinne, has struggled in his time with the Predators. In four games, he has posted a 3.94 GAA and a .855 save percentage. He was sent down to start for Milwaukee to get in some playing time. Although he took the loss in Saturday’s game against the Cleveland Monsters, he only allowed two goals in the game, stopping 20 shots. Lindback returns to Milwaukee after serving as an emergency backup for the team on Saturday.
- Arizona Sports reported that the Arizona Coyotes have assigned defenseman Dakota Mermis to the AHL Tucson Roadrunners. The 23-year-old blueliner has played seven games for Arizona with the team’s rash of defensive injuries from Niklas Hjalmarsson and Jakob Chychrun. Hjalmarsson is expected to return to the lineup tonight.
- The Dallas Stars have recalled goaltender Mike McKenna from the AHL Texas Stars Monday as backup Kari Lehtonen is unavailable due to personal reasons, according to the team. The 34-year-old McKenna has been a journeyman in the AHL and last got into an NHL game with the Arizona Coyotes back in the 2014-15 season and has played in 22 NHL games in his career. In 12 games with Texas, he has a 3.51 GAA. The Stars also announced they have recalled defenseman Julius Honka from Texas. The 2014 first-round pick has been unable to carve out a full-time role with Dallas as he struggled to earn playing time at the start of the year. He was sent down on Oct. 31 after playing six games, putting up no points. He played eight games with the Texas Stars, but also failed to produce a point.
Minor Transactions: 11/11/17
As is often the case, Saturday is set to be a busy day around the NHL with a dozen games on tap. Here’s where we will keep track of today’s roster moves as teams get their rosters set before puck drop.
- The Predators announced that they have assigned winger Frederick Gaudreau to Milwaukee of the AHL while loaning winger Pontus Aberg to the minors as well on a conditioning assignment. Gaudreau has played in ten contests with Nashville this season, recording two assists while Aberg has a pair of helpers in nine games but has only played once so far in November.
- After being recalled on Friday, the Stars returned winger Curtis McKenzie to AHL Texas, notes NHL.com’s Sean Shapiro via Twitter. With Brett Ritchie coming off IR and returning to the lineup last night, McKenzie was made a healthy scratch. While the 26-year-old has yet to play in Dallas this year, he’s off to a strong start in the minors with 11 points (6-5-11) in 12 games, good for second on Texas in team scoring.
- The Capitals announced that they have returned Liam O’Brien to Hershey of the AHL. The physical winger has played in three games with Washington this season, collecting five penalty minutes while averaging 6:55 per game. He also has a pair of goals in nine minor league contests. The move was made with the team expecting winger Brett Connolly to return to the lineup on Sunday from his head injury.
Salary Cap Deep Dive: Nashville Predators
Navigating the Salary Cap is probably one of the more important tasks for any general manager to have. Teams that can avert total cap chaos by walking the tightrope of inking players to deals that match their value (or compensate for future value without breaking the bank) remain successful. Those that don’t see struggles and front office changes.
PHR will look at every NHL team and give a thorough look at their cap situation heading into the 2017-18 season. This will focus more on those players who are integral parts of the roster versus those who may find themselves shuttling between the AHL and NHL. All cap figures are courtesy of CapFriendly.
Nashville Predators
Current Cap Hit: $68,913,333 (under the $75MM Upper Limit)
Entry-Level Contracts
F Kevin Fiala (Two years remaining, $863K)
G Juuse Saros (One year remaining, $693K)
Potential Bonuses
Fiala: $500K
Saros: $183K
Total: $683K
A team that is designed for a Stanley Cup run probably shouldn’t have too many players on entry level contracts and the Predators have just the two. Fiala is the team’s top young potential star as the former 2014 first-rounder found himself getting called up to the Predators and logged 54 games last year, scoring 11 goals. He even managed to cement himself in the starting lineup and played in five playoff games, scoring two goals, but then broke his femur and his playoffs were cut short. Nevertheless, the team is expecting a big year from the young wing and some even have him penciled in on the team’s second line. As for Saros, the 22-year-old goalie had a pretty good showing last year, playing in 21 contests (19 starts) and putting up a 2.35 GAA and a .923 save percentage. He should be able to shoulder the load as the backup and right now looks to be Nashville’s goaltender of the future.
One Year Remaining, Non-Entry-Level
D Alexei Emelin ($3MM, UFA)
F Scott Hartnell ($1MM, UFA)
F Cody McLeod ($800K, UFA)
D Yannick Weber ($650K, UFA)
D Matt Irwin ($650K, UFA)
D Anthony Bitetto ($613, UFA)
F Miikka Salomaki ($613K, RFA)
The team, already immersed in quality defenders, picked up another veteran defender in Emelin this offseason in a trade with the Vegas Golden Knights, who picked him from the Montreal Canadiens in the expansion draft. A solid veteran, Emelin, should fill in for the injured Ellis until he returns in December and then provide some veteran depth throughout the rest of the season, which should keep Nashville’s defensive corps as strong as it had always been and he will likely be allowed to move on when his contract expires next year.
Hartnell returns to Nashville after 10 years. Originally drafted in the first round by Nashville in 2000, the 35-year-old forward played six years for the Predators before being traded to Philadelphia. He has scored 314 goals, but only managed 13 in his last year in Columbus. The team hopes his presence will spark the team for another Stanley Cup run. The rest, including Weber, Irwin and McLeod
Pontus Aberg Signs With Nashville Predators
After handing out a three-year deal to Frederik Gaudreau yesterday, the Nashville Predators have signed another playoff surprise. The team announced a two-year contract for Pontus Aberg worth $1.3MM total. Aberg will earn the minimum salary of $650K each year.
Though he played just 15 games for the Predators during the regular season, the team turned to Aberg to provide some offensive jump in the playoffs, inserting him into the lineup for 16 games. Playing just under 13 minutes a night, Aberg provided five points in the team’s run to the Stanley Cup final, and showed flashes of the high potential he’s put on display at the AHL level.
Aberg was selected in the second round five years ago, and has been a goal-scoring master since coming over to North America. In 199 AHL games with Milwaukee, he’s scored 72 goals including 31 in just 56 games this season. That ability to find the back of the net is hard to come by, and the Predators will hope he can deliver at least part of that production in the NHL next year. Aberg is no longer waiver-exempt, meaning he’ll likely stay up with the club this year and try to force himself into a bigger role.
The Predators still have four restricted free agents to sign, including Viktor Arvidsson and Ryan Johansen. The pair represent the bulk of the offensive production for Nashville, and are incredibly important to get locked up under workable terms. Arvidsson’s arbitration hearing is set for Saturday, though there is still plenty of time to work out a long-term contract before then.