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Remi Elie

Sabres Place Remi Elie On Waivers

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The Sabres announced (Twitter link) that they have placed winger Remi Elie on waivers.  It’s expected that Buffalo will recall someone from Rochester of the AHL once he’s either claimed or clears waivers on Sunday.

This is the second time this season that Elie has been on the wire as the Stars waived him late in training camp despite the fact he was a regular on their fourth line last season.  He hasn’t been able to hold down a regular spot with Buffalo, however.   The 23-year-old has played in just 16 games this season despite being healthy throughout the year and hasn’t contributed much, picking up just a single assist while logging 10:21 per night.

Given those struggles, there is a good chance he will go unclaimed this time around although if a team wanted to take a gamble on him, it wouldn’t cost much as Elie is only making $735K this season after accepting his qualifying offer in July.  He’s slated to be a restricted free agent this summer with salary arbitration rights.

Snapshots: Pominville, Moravcik, Winnipeg

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When the Buffalo Sabres take the ice tonight against the Dallas Stars, they will do so without veteran forward Jason Pominville. Lance Lysowski of the Buffalo News, after speaking with head coach Phil Housley, relays that Pominville will sit out Wednesday night’s contest as a healthy scratch. Some quick research by the Olean Times Herald’s Bill Hoppe indicates that this is Pominville’s first healthy scratch since April 4, 2006 – during his rookie season. Pominville, 36, has been an All-Star and frequent Selke Trophy candidate over his 15 years in the league, split between two stints with Buffalo and five seasons with the Minnesota Wild. So why now is he out of the Sabres’ lineup? Lysowksi writes that the only reason Housley gave was to rest the veteran of more than a thousand games in the second night of a back-to-back and give young Remi Elie a shot. However, Pominville’s streak of one goal and two assists in his past 24 games likely contributed as well. Even though Pominville is on pace to meet or exceed his 34 total points from last season, he has cooled off significantly after a hot start, much like the Sabres overall. His spot in the lineup could be in jeopardy, especially if Elie proves to be the spark that Buffalo is seeking.

  • It didn’t take long for defenseman Michal Moravcik to find new employment. Just a day after clearing unconditional waivers and having his contract terminated by the Montreal Canadiens, Moravcik has returned home to the Czech Republic. HC Plzen has announced a contract with the 24-year-old blue liner for the remainder of the season. Plzen is the same team that Moravcik had come up through the system with and was playing for before signing in North America. As such, Morazcik should soon return to the elite form that first caught the eye of NHL scouts. Plzen is surely looking forward to the boost, as the team that also employs familiar names like Jakub Kindl and Petr Straka hopes to make up ground in the standings.
  • The city of Winnipeg already hosts the NHL’s Jets and the AHL’s Manitoba Moose, but it will have yet another tenant beginning next season. The WHL’s Kootenay Ice have decided to move to Winnipeg, as first reported by The Winnipeg Free Press’ Jeff Hamilton. The team is expected to keep the “Ice” moniker and same logo and will soon get to work on a long-term development plan for a new arena and sports complex on the south side of the city. While Winnipeggers already have two good teams to root for, no one in the area is likely to complain about the return of major junior hockey and should be excited to watch presumptive top-15 pick Peyton Krebs lead a young, rebuilding team next season.

Remi Elie Re-Signs With Dallas Stars

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The Dallas Stars have turned their attention to their own restricted free agents, and have signed Remi Elie to a one-year $735K contract. Elie had reached free agency for the first time since being selected 40th overall in 2013 and is coming off his first full season with the Stars. The $735K salary was the qualifying offer that Elie was given last week, as he still wasn’t eligible for arbitration.

Elie, 23, played 72 games for the Stars this season and recorded 14 points while getting just over 10 minutes of ice time per game. The big, physical winger was part of a Dallas bottom six that really threw their weight around last season, but will be asked to do more than just bang and crash going forward. It’s not like Elie doesn’t have some offensive skill, but with such a top-heavy lineup in Dallas wasn’t given much of a chance to use it. With a new coach in town in Jim Montgomery, perhaps players like Elie will get a chance to shine more and contribute at both ends of the rink.

Even if he doesn’t take a step forward offensively, an NHL player for $735K is always a bargain. The Stars still have work to do to become the powerhouse that many believed they were headed for a few seasons ago, and getting solid contributions from their young players is a big first step.

Minor League Notes: Niku, Elie, Oilers

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Sami Niku’s season is just getting better, as today the AHL announced that he has been named the league’s top defenseman for the 2017-18 season. Niku had already been named to the All-Rookie and First All-Star Team, after recording 53 points in 73 games. His first year of professional hockey in North America couldn’t have gone any better—unless of course the Manitoba Moose win the Calder Cup—as he even scored his first NHL goal in the one game he played for the Winnipeg Jets.

Niku was selected in the seventh round three years ago, and is now the youngest player to ever take home top defenseman honors in the AHL. After playing well at every level so far, you can pencil him into a roster spot with the Jets in the coming years. That’s another hit for their draft and development systems, that have started to churn out NHL talent at a ridiculous rate.

  • Remi Elie has been sent back to the AHL for the Texas Stars playoff run, after a successful rookie campaign with the Dallas Stars. Elie recorded 14 points in 72 games, and will now get a chance to show off in the minor leagues. Never an elite scoring talent, Elie will nevertheless be an offensive weapon for Texas, who are currently staring at a first round series with the Tucson Roadrunners. The second-round pick from 2013 won’t be waiver exempt again next season, meaning this might be his last chance to really contribute in the minor leagues for the Dallas organization.
  • Similarly, the Edmonton Oilers have sent both Ethan Bear and Keegan Lowe back to the AHL to help the Bakersfield Condors in their last few matchups. Bear got into 18 games with the Oilers down the stretch, and could be a potential option for the team next season when they are looking for puck-moving right-handed defensmen. For now, both will focus on improving their play in the last few games of the AHL season and putting in an offseason of training.

West Notes: Benning, Horvat, Dunn, Folin, Elie

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After the Blues locked up GM Doug Armstrong to a four-year extension last week, the focus has shifted to other managers in the final year of their contracts.  One of those is Canucks GM Jim Benning.  Speaking with the press, including Sportsnet’s Iain MacIntyre, team president Trevor Linden indicated that there will be no discussions on a new deal anytime soon.  While he stated that he is pleased with the current direction of the team, Linden prefers to leave those discussions for the offseason.  Benning is in his fourth season at the helm of the team.

Linden also indicated that center Bo Horvat may take longer than expected to make it back to the lineup than originally anticipated.  While he was initially supposed to miss four-to-six weeks after breaking his foot on December 5th, the Canucks are now expected to be without their top pivot until after the All-Star break which falls three weeks from now.

Elsewhere out West:

  • Blues defenseman Vince Dunn did not accompany the team for their two-game road trip, notes Tom Timmermann of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch (Twitter link). He is dealing with an illness that kept him out of the lineup on Thursday as well.  The rookie rearguard has been a pleasant surprise this season, logging just under 17 minutes per game of ice time while recording seven points in 39 games.
  • Kings defenseman Christian Folin is expected to be cleared to return to the lineup in advance of Saturday’s game against Nashville, reports Jon Rosen of LA Kings Insider. He has been dealing with an upper-body issue for the last couple of weeks.  As Los Angeles is at the maximum roster of 23 active players, they will need to make a corresponding move before they can activate Folin off injured reserve.
  • Stars winger Remi Elie has recovered from his illness and is available to suit up on Saturday against Edmonton, notes Mike Heika of the Dallas Morning News (Twitter link). He had missed the last two games and is expected to slot in on the fourth line.  Elie has four goals and three assists in 34 contests so far this season.

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