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Reto Berra

Reto Berra, Andrew Miller Headed To Swiss League

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A pair of top minor league performers are headed to Switzerland, as HC Fribourg-Gotteron announced deals for Reto Berra and Andrew Miller. Both players are scheduled to become unrestricted free agents this summer.

Berra, the third goaltender for the Anaheim Ducks, actually got into five games at the NHL level this season and posted a .926 save percentage. The 31-year old is returning home after five years bouncing around the NHL, including stops in Calgary, Colorado and Florida. In 76 appearances he posted a .905 save percentage, but had trouble locking down a full-time role recently.

Miller on the other hand has spent the last two seasons exclusively in the minor leagues, racking up 52 points this season for the Charlotte Checkers. That was good enough for third on the club, and he was a big part of their three game sweep in the first round of the AHL playoffs. Though not specified, Miller will likely finish out the playoffs with the Checkers before jumping to the NLA next season. Charlotte begins their second round series on Friday.

Anaheim Ducks Recall Reto Berra, Jacob Larsson

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The Anaheim Ducks, fresh off a crushing 8-1 defeat at the hands of the San Jose Sharks, have recalled goaltender Reto Berra and defenseman Jacob Larsson. The San Diego Gulls missed the playoffs on a tiebreaker—ironically to the San Jose Barracuda—meaning several players will likely come up to skate with the team as “Black Aces.”

It’s unlikely that Berra especially will get into a game unless John Gibson and Ryan Miller are injured, but for Jacob Larsson one has to wonder if it’s a different story. The 20-year old defenseman might be able to help the Ducks right away, as their current group has been ravaged by injury and inconsistency. Andy Welinski and Marcus Pettersson were used for only 13 and 15 minutes respectively last night, and Cam Fowler is still trying to work his way back from injury.

Larsson is expected to play a big role on the Anaheim blue line in the future, and the first-round pick performed well this season for the Gulls. In 50 games he had just 16 points, but is a capable two-way player that can skate with the opponent’s best.

Goalie Notes: Sparks, Tokarski, Berra

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After an absolutely outstanding season, Toronto Maple Leafs prospect Garret Sparks has been named Goaltender of the Year in the AHL. Sparks appeared in 42 games for the Toronto Marlies and went 30-9-1 with a .936 save percentage. This huge year for Sparks—along with a similarly impressive season for teammate Calvin Pickard—creates an interesting problem for the Maple Leafs going forward.

Frederik Andersen is entrenched as the starter, while Curtis McElhinney actually led the NHL in save percentage this season in his limited backup role. Pickard is scheduled to be a restricted free agent while Sparks has one year left on his contract. Both likely deserve another opportunity at the highest level, but it will be tough to displace McElhinney after the season he had.

  • The Philadelphia Flyers have recalled Dustin Tokarski as a third goaltender for the playoffs, leaving Alex Lyon in the AHL to start for the Lehigh Valley Phantoms. Tokarski is no stranger to NHL postseason play however, as he started five games for the Montreal Canadiens back in 2014. If the Flyers suffer injuries to their primary goaltenders, it’s nice to have someone with playoff experience as an insurance policy.
  • The Anaheim Ducks on the other hand have sent Reto Berra back to the minor leagues, signalling that John Gibson is indeed ready to return and start Game 1. Gibson’s status was unclear until the last few days, but he’ll try to show he deserves some attention as one of the league’s best when he takes on the San Jose Sharks tomorrow night.

Minor Transactions: 02/21/18

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After a busy night in the NHL, the league has just three games on tap for today. Instead, teams might use their time off to cement their status for the trade deadline and make inquiries around the league. All the minor moves we’ll keep track of right here. Refresh the page throughout the day to make sure you stay up to date on all the comings and goings.

Options In Net For The Edmonton Oilers

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Things went from bad to worse for the Edmonton Oilers’ 2017-18 season when dependable starting goaltender Cam Talbot went down with and upper body injury and landed on IR and could remain out through December. His replacement, Laurent Brossoit, is struggling and that’s putting it gently. In 8 appearances, Brossoit has one win, an .872 save percentage, and a 3.80 GAA. Neither of the backup options, Nick Ellis or Eddie Pasquale, has any NHL experience, nor has either been given a chance to gain any just yet, nor has either played remarkably well in the AHL as well. It’s a dire situation for a team that is desperate for wins, or else the face a familiar possibility of finishing as one of the league’s worst teams this season.

So what are the options? TSN’s Frank Servalli believes that Oilers GM Peter Chiarelli is scouring the trade market for help in net. Servalli lists Buffalo’s Chad Johnson, Winnipeg’s Michael Hutchinson, Philadelphia’s Michal Neuvirth, Toronto’s Calvin Pickard, and Detroit’s Petr Mrazek as the top targets for Edmonton.

Johnson, of course, is known to be on the trade block courtesy of the Sabres’ own struggles and seems to be the best fit of these options as a reliable veteran on a one-year deal. Servalli even states that Johnson, along with Neuvirth, were among the Chiarelli’s free agency targets to be Talbot’s backup. However, as Servalli points out, there could be other suitors for Johnson, which could drive the price up.

More affordable assets to acquire could be Hutchinson or Pickard, due to their teams’ depth in goal. The Maple Leafs acquired Pickard from the Vegas Golden Knights earlier this year, but with Frederik Andersen playing well, a veteran backup in Curtis McElhinney, and other promising young goalies in Garret Sparks and Kasimir Kaskisuo in line, Pickard is expendable. So too could be McElhinney or Sparks as well, if Chiarelli favors those Toronto alternatives. In Winnipeg, the thriving Jets are doing just fine with Connor Hellebuyck, rookie Eric Comrie, and expensive free agent acquistion Steve Mason as their net rotation. A solid goaltender with ties to Chiarelli from the Boston Bruins, fourth-string Hutchinson seems like a likely target.

Mrazek and Neuvirth less so. Mrazek is still young, is making $4MM, and will be a restricted free agent at the end of the season. It is likely that he would be costly to acquire and costly to re-sign, when the Oilers really just need a stopgap. Neuvirth, who has a year remaining at $2.5MM, could replace Brossoit as the long-term backup to Talbot if Chiarelli so chooses, but also seems like an unlikely acquisition. AHL goaltenders from both the Red Wings and Flyers – Jared Coreau and Alex Lyon – might actually make more sense.

Other options: Eddie Lack or David Rittich from the rival Calgary Flames, Colorado’s Andrew Hammond, Anaheim’s Reto Berra, L.A.’s Jack Campbell or Jeff Zatkoff, and several more. The options are there, so the pressure is on Chiarelli to find a fair deal and to do it soon. Edmonton may simply lose upcoming games regardless of who is in net, but if the team continues forward with only Brossoit, the blame will fall on the front office for not doing something to at least increase their chances.

Minor Transactions: 11/24/17

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With no games on the schedule on Thursday, Friday is a busy day in the NHL with all but three teams in action.  Here’s where we’ll keep tabs on today’s minor roster moves.

  • The Anaheim Ducks announced they have assigned defenseman Jaycob Megna and goaltender Reto Berra to the San Diego Gulls of the AHL. Megna, who was placed on waivers Thursday and cleared this morning, will indeed, be sent to the Gulls. Now that Cam Fowler was healthy, the team had to make a move to reduce their number of defensemen. Berra will also return to San Diego as backup Ryan Miller is expected to return after being out for the past week with a lower-body injury. The team didn’t have to put Berra on waivers as the goaltender had been placed on waivers on Nov. 4 and cleared. Since he wasn’t up for 10 games or 30 days, he doesn’t have to pass through waivers again.
  • The Vancouver Canucks announced they have reassigned defenseman Philip Holm to the Utica Comets of the AHL. The 25-year-old defenseman was recalled on Monday, but did not see any action. Holm has two goals and eight assists in 15 games for Utica. He was sent down after the team activated defenseman Troy Stecher off injured reserve.
  • Dallas Stars prospect Nick Caamano has been dealt from the Flint Firebirds to the Hamilton Bulldogs tweets NHL.com’s Sean Shapiro. Caamano has 21 points in 23 games and was highlighted during training camp as a player who continues to rise through the organization. Within that article, The Dallas Morning-News’ Mike Heika writes that he would return to Flint “as a face” to specifically sell Firebird hockey. Now, he’s off to Hamilton where he will be reunited with former Flint coach John Gruden.

Earlier updates:

  • The Capitals announced that they have recalled center Tyler Graovac from his long-term conditioning loan with Hershey of the AHL. He got into four games with the Bears during that stretch, recording a goal and an assist.  Those loans typically only last three games but Graovac agreed to the extension.  The 24-year-old played in three games with Washington early in the season before suffering an upper-body injury back on October 17th.
  • Buffalo has reassigned defenseman Casey Nelson to AHL Rochester per a team release. That suggests that Rasmus Ristolainen is ready to return to the lineup after missing the last three weeks with an upper-body issue.  While Nelson was recalled back on November 16th, he didn’t get into any action with the Sabres.  In 14 minor league games this season, he has a goal and three assists.
  • Tampa Bay has recalled forward Cory Conacher according to an announcement from their AHL team in Syracuse. Conacher leads the Crunch in scoring this season with 13 points (6-7-13) in 17 games.  While this will be his first NHL stint in 2017-18, the 27-year-old did relatively well in his NHL action with the Lightning last year when he recorded a goal and three helpers in 11 contests.  GM Steve Yzerman told Joe Smith of the Tampa Bay Times (Twitter link) that a couple of forwards are dealing with minor injuries so Conacher’s recall is insurance as the team heads into back-to-back games.
  • Calgary has brought up goaltender David Rittich from Stockton of the AHL, reports Wes Gilbertson of the Calgary Sun (Twitter link). The Flames were expected to bring up a goaltender following their decision to waive Eddie Lack on Thursday.  The 25-year-old is off to a solid start with the Heat, posting a 2.17 GAA and a .931 SV% in six minor league appearances so far this season.
  • The Canadiens announced that they have assigned defenseman David Schlemko to Laval of the AHL on a conditioning stint.  This marks the second time this season that this has happened; he played in one game the first time and then went back on injured reserve with the same hand injury.  He has yet to play in Montreal after being acquired from Vegas shortly after the Expansion Draft.

Reto Berra Placed On Waivers

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UPDATE (11/4): Berra has cleared waivers and is expected to be reassigned to the AHL’s San Diego Gulls prior to tonight’s game against the rival San Jose Sharks.

The Anaheim Ducks had been carrying three goaltenders for the past few days, but have now decided to place Reto Berra on waivers according to Elliotte Friedman of Sportsnet. Adam Clendening, the only player on waivers yesterday, has cleared and is being sent to the Tucson Roadrunners of the AHL.

As we spoke about in our live chat yesterday, placing Berra on waivers seems like a risky proposition at the moment. With the Vegas Golden Knights struggling to continue their early pace, and relying on a tandem of Maxime Lagace and Dylan Ferguson, sneaking a goaltender with NHL experience through waivers will be tough. While there is always no guarantee of a claim, it wouldn’t be surprising to see Berra on his way out of the Anaheim organization.

The 30-year old goaltender has 73 games of NHL experience under his belt, including a run of 27 starts for Calgary in the 2013-14 season. Though he’s never been a goaltender you can rely on as a full-time starter, his career save percentage of .903 is at least good enough for an emergency. With a cap hit of just $700K, he will come completely off the cap for the Ducks if they’re able to successfully bury him in the minors.

Reto Berra Exercises NHL Option, Signs With Anaheim Ducks

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Though he signed a three-year contract with Friborg-Gottéron of the NLA earlier this spring, Reto Berra has exercised an NHL option he had to leave the team and sign with the Anaheim Ducks for the 2017-18 season. The final two years of his contract will still be in effect in Switzerland, though it’s unclear whether another deal would void those as well.

Berra played last season with the Florida Panthers and their AHL affiliate, and has some NHL experience going back to 2013. The 30-year old goaltender was a fourth-round selection by the Blues in 2006 and has gotten into 71 games in his career.

The Ducks, having lost both Jhonas Enroth and Matt Hackett to free agency, needed some help at the AHL level. They do still have Dustin Tokarski there, and Ryan Miller was brought in to backup John Gibson at the NHL level, but extra depth in net is never a bad thing.

Reto Berra Expected To Sign In NLA After Season Ends

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Even though Reto Berra is currently playing for the Florida Panthers and will be in net tonight against the Montreal Canadiens, RTS Sports is reporting that he has agreed to a three-year contract with Friborg-Gottéron of the Swiss NLA. The netminder has been rumored for months to prefer a return to Switzerland after the season. Berra is in the final season of a three-year, $4.35MM deal he signed with the Colorado Avalanche in 2014 and will be an unrestricted free agent this summer.

While it’s not unusual for a player to leave the NHL to play in his home country, it is surprising to see it play out so publicly while Berra is getting his chance to start. With Roberto Luongo and James Reimer still battling injuries, the team had to turn to Berra to finish the season for them. A good showing could have easily turned into a contract somewhere around the league as a backup, though it is clear he would rather return home to start. At times, Berra has looked like a viable starting option in the NHL, only to lack the consistency that one needs. He clearly has talent to play among the best in the world and with the NLA continually getting better and better as a league—some even consider it among the top three in the world—he’ll still face challenges every night.

At 30 years old, it’s not impossible for him to return to the NHL but it does seem unlikely. After this year ends, the next chance an NHL fan will likely get to see him would be at an international event like the World Championships, where he has played five times throughout his career.

Florida Panthers Recall Reto Berra On Emergency Basis

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After Roberto Luongo was injured in last night’s game, the Florida Panthers have recalled Reto Berra from the AHL on an emergency basis. According to Stephen Whyno of the Associated Press, Luongo will be out at least a week.

As it is an emergency recall due to injury, the Panthers will not burn one of their four remaining recalls. Berra will need to be returned when Luongo becomes healthy enough to play, but can stay as long as he needs. The former Colorado Avalanche netminder has played in 31 games for Springfield this year, registering a .910 save percentage. Since coming over from Switzerland in 2013, Berra has played in 64 NHL games and put up a .906 save percentage.

This is exactly why the Panthers went out and signed James Reimer in the offseason, in order to protect themselves from any potential injury to their 37-year old netminder. Reimer will now take over the crease full-time until Luongo gets back, presenting a great chance for him to prove that he’s capable of being a standalone #1 goaltender in this league. The Panthers are currently just a single point behind both the Maple Leafs and Islanders for the final playoff spot, and have be playing well as of late.

Reimer actually has better numbers than Luongo this season, leading some to believe he should have been in the net all season long. The Panthers do have four back-to-back situations remaining, including next weekend against the Minnesota Wild and Tampa Bay Lightning.

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