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Scott Wedgewood

Edmonton Oilers To Sign Tobias Rieder

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Darren Dreger of TSN is reporting that the Edmonton Oilers have decided the price is no longer too high on Tobias Rieder, and will sign the free agent forward to a one-year contract worth $2MM. Rieder did not receive a qualifying offer from the Los Angeles Kings and became an unrestricted free agent.

The deal is the optimal “prove it” contract as the Oilers aren’t risking more that $2MM to see if they can get him to have a breakout season and if it fails, they can move on with no repercussions. With Rieder’s speed, he might be a solid fit next to Connor McDavid or Leon Draisaitl on one of the top two lines. If he is a success, then Edmonton still gets his restricted free agent rights next season, so they can keep him in the fold. And at age 25, he’s still has potential to improve his game and fit in well with the younger core of Oilers. He also has some penalty killing experience, which can’t hurt an Edmonton team that struggled with special teams last season.

The speedy winger has always had a tremendous amount of potential and looked to be well on his way after his first three years in Arizona in which he tallied 13, 14 and 16 goals. However, he fell out of favor with Rick Tocchet and the team opted instead to send him and goaltender Scott Wedgewood to Los Angeles for backup goalie Darcy Kuemper. Rieder posted four goals and six points in 20 games after the trade, but it wasn’t enough for the Kings to give him an qualifying offer.

Minor Goalie Signings: Sateri, Hutchinson, Hammond, Wedgewood

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Among the flurry of signings this morning are a quartet of goaltenders that are likely to be third stringers with their new organizations.  Here are those moves:

  • The Red Wings have agreed to terms with Harri Sateri, reports Fox Sports Midwest’s Andy Strickland (Twitter link).  The 28-year-old spent most of last season with Florida’s AHL affiliate in Springfield, posting a stellar .927 SV% with a 2.30 GAA in 29 games.  He got into nine games with the Panthers down the stretch, going 4-4-0 with a 2.92 GAA and a .911 SV%.
  • Replacing Sateri with Florida will be Michael Hutchinson, once again per Strickland on Twitter.  He lost the number two spot in Winnipeg last year after they brought in Steve Mason although Mason’s frequent time on IR allowed Hutchinson to get into a handful of games with the Jets.  He played in 26 games with AHL Manitoba, posting a sterling .935 SV% along with a 2.08 GAA.  With 103 NHL games under his belt, the Panthers should be comfortable using him should one of Roberto Luongo or James Reimer get hurt.
  • On top of adding Carter Hutton shortly, the Sabres are set to add Scott Wedgewood as well, reports Sportsnet’s Elliotte Friedman (via Twitter).  The 25-year-old cleared waivers with New Jersey at the start of the year but was flipped to Arizona where he served as their backup for a big chunk of the season.  He got into 20 games with the Coyotes where he put up a 3.45 GAA and a .893 SV% before being moved to the Kings as part of the Darcy Kuemper deal where he was once again waived and sent to the minors.
  • Minnesota is set to have a competition for their number two spot as Michael Russo of The Athletic reports (Twitter link) that the Wild have agreed to terms with Andrew Hammond.  The 30-year-old spent most of the season with Ottawa’s AHL affiliate in Belleville (even after his NHL rights were moved to Colorado as part of the Matt Duchene trade) but he did get into three postseason games with the Avalanche after their top two goalies went down with injuries.  He will battle with Alex Stalock to back up Devan Dubnyk next year.

Carter Hutton Expected To Sign With Buffalo Sabres

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The Buffalo Sabres have decided that goaltending is an area of need after letting Robin Lehner walk in free agency, and are expected to sign Carter Hutton to a three-year contract. Elliotte Friedman of Sportsnet also reports that the team will sign Scott Wedgewood, giving them a third option behind Hutton and Linus Ullmark. Hutton is expected to command a cap hit just under $3MM per season, while Wedgewood is on a two-way deal.

Hutton, 32, is arguably the best goaltending option on the open market after another excellent season in St. Louis. The veteran netminder has plenty of experience pushing young goaltenders and supporting them when they invariably face inconsistency, and he’ll be asked to do much of the same with Ullmark in Buffalo. After posting a .931 save percentage in 32 appearances last year though, Hutton will also be asked to help lead the Sabres back into playoff contention. After finishing at the bottom of the standings once again, Buffalo will be bringing in young phenom Rasmus Dahlin on the blue line and have already acquired some help up front in Conor Sheary. Now with a solidified goaltending situation, the team is poised to find much more success in 2017-18.

Wedgewood on the other hand will be asked to fill a different role for the organization. GM Jason Botterill has been very clear that he intends on building a winning organization from top to bottom, and that includes the Rochester Americans of the AHL. Wedgewood is an extremely capable minor league goaltender, who should fill Ullmark’s shoes admirably going forward.

Trade Deadline Recap: Western 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 Western Conference:

Deadline Day

Winnipeg Jets receive:
F Paul Stastny

St. Louis Blues receive:
F Erik Foley
2018 first-round pick
Conditional 2020 fourth-round pick

 

Vegas Golden Knights receive:
F Tomas Tatar

Detroit Red Wings receive:
2018 first-round pick
2019 second-round pick
2021 third-round pick

 

Nashville Predators receive:
F Ryan Hartman
2018 fifth-round pick

Chicago Blackhawks receive:
F Victor Ejdsell
2018 first-round pick
2018 fourth-round pick

 

San Jose Sharks receive:
F Evander Kane

Buffalo Sabres receive:
F Danny O’Regan
Conditional 2019 first-round pick
Conditional 2020 fourth-round pick

 

Anaheim Ducks receive:
F Jason Chimera

New York Islanders receive:
F Chris Wagner

 

Vegas Golden Knights receive:
D Philip Holm

Vancouver Canucks receive:
F Brendan Leipsic

 

Winnipeg Jets receive:
D Joe Morrow

Montreal Canadiens receive:
2018 fourth-round pick

 

Calgary Flames receive:
F Nick Shore

Ottawa Senators receive:
2019 seventh-round pick

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Scott Wedgewood Placed On Waivers By Los Angeles Kings

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Saturday: Sportsnet’s Elliotte Friedman reports that Wedgewood has cleared waivers. Wedgewood will be a nice depth option for the Kings in the AHL, but don’t be surprised if L.A. takes a look at an upgrade to he and Campbell at backup goalie.

Friday: After acquiring him this week, the Los Angeles Kings have placed goaltender Scott Wedgewood on waivers according to Chris Johnston of Sportsnet. Wedgewood was part of the package acquired in exchange for Darcy Kuemper, but immediately seemed extraneous after the Kings recalled Jack Campbell.

Wedgewood, 25, is no stranger to the waiver process, having cleared twice since October 2016. If he does clear, he’ll become valuable depth for the Kings as they enter their stretch run, but has had a rough season so far. Though he looked sharp at times for the Coyotes, his entire body of work while Antti Raanta dealt with injury wasn’t good. He posted an .893 save percentage in 20 games for Arizona, but still could be claimed by a team looking for more depth.

Selected in the third-round of the 2010 draft, Wedgewood is a talented but small (by today’s standards) goaltender who has shown excellent ability in the minor leagues but rarely given a chance in the NHL. He made his debut last season with the New Jersey Devils, but is set to become a Group VI unrestricted free agent this summer if not given another handful of starts. Wedgewood has only played 30 minutes or more in a game 22 times in his NHL career, meaning he’d need six more appearances to become ineligible for Group VI status. With his placement on waivers, that doesn’t seem like it will happen with the Kings.

Kings Acquire Tobias Rieder From Coyotes In Three-Player Trade

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The Kings and Coyotes have made a trade as Los Angeles has acquired winger Tobias Rieder and goaltender Scott Wedgewood from Arizona in exchange for goaltender Darcy Kuemper.  Both teams have announced the swap.

Nov 10, 2016; Glendale, AZ, USA; Arizona Coyotes center Tobias Rieder (8) looks to the scoreboard after scoring a goal in the third period against the Winnipeg Jets at Gila River Arena. Mandatory Credit: Matt Kartozian-USA TODAY SportsRieder has struggled this season under new bench boss Rick Tocchet and as a result, he is on pace for the lowest goal total of his career after tallying just eight through 58 games this season.  However, the Kings would certainly have cause for optimism that he could bounce back as the 25-year-old has surpassed the 30-point mark in each of the last two seasons.  Rieder is set to be a restricted free agent this summer and currently carries a $2.25MM cap hit and a $2.45MM salary; that amount will serve as his qualifying offer in June.  The Coyotes are retaining 15% of that contract, per TSN’s Bob McKenzie (Twitter link).

Los Angeles GM Rob Blake has been looking to add to the roster without losing any of his top draft picks and prospects and this deal accomplishes that, similar to the Dion Phaneuf swap with Ottawa last week.  Rieder slots in as a versatile middle-six winger that can not only play both special teams units but he can also play on both the left and right side.

[Related: Updated Kings and Coyotes Depth Charts from Roster Resource]

This is Kuemper’s first season out of the Minnesota organization and to say he has thrived would be an understatement.  In 19 games with the Kings this season (15 starts), he has compiled a 10-1-3 record with a 2.10 GAA and a .932 SV%.  He’s making just the league minimum of $650K this season and will earn considerably more than that on his next deal as McKenzie reports (via Twitter) that he will receive $3.7MM on a two-year contract extension with Arizona for an AAV of $1.85MM.

The trade and subsequent new deal for Kuemper gives the Coyotes a little bit more certainty when it comes to the goaltending position with starting netminder Antti Raanta slated to become an unrestricted free agent in July.  Raanta, when healthy, has played quite well for Arizona with a 2.45 GAA and a .924 SV% in 35 games which should have in line for a considerable raise on the $1MM he is receiving this season.  The Finnish netminder is set to be an unrestricted free agent in July.  Craig Morgan of Arizona Sports adds (Twitter link) that the team still intends to try to re-sign Raanta.

Wedgewood was in his first season with Arizona after being acquired from New Jersey back in late October.  He has compiled a 3.45 GAA and a .893 SV% in 20 contests this season.  The 25-year-old is also making the league minimum this season and is eligible for restricted free agency with arbitration rights this summer.

Sportsnet’s Elliotte Friedman was first to report (Twitter link) that a deal between the two sides was close and that a Kuemper extension was likely.

Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.

Arizona Coyotes Decide Not To Start Antti Raanta At Last Minute

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11:00pm: Morgan reports that Raanta was involved in a car accident on the way to the game, and was given the night off for precautionary reasons. The goaltender is unharmed.

8:25pm: The Arizona Coyotes are back in action tonight, and were expected to have Antti Raanta back in net as they take on the Dallas Stars. Instead, Scott Wedgewood took the net at the last minute without an explanation. Craig Morgan of AZ Sports reports that the move was not disciplinary, that he hasn’t been traded, and that Raanta was supposed to still be the backup for the game. Oddly though, he isn’t on the bench yet.

Raanta has been included in trade rumors since the Coyotes dropped out of contention, but GM John Chayka has recently said that he didn’t plan on making any big moves, including trading his starting goaltender. Instead, this move might be related to an illness or some other injury.

Still, it’s intriguing to follow Raanta as we close in on the trade deadline. The goaltender is on an expiring contract after being acquired in the offseason, and could represent an upgrade for several teams around the league. The 28-year old has a .919 save percentage on the season even as he’s battled injuries, and could get a large raise in the summer to become a full-time starter in either Arizona or elsewhere around the league.

Minor Transactions: 12/05/17

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As always, we’ll keep track of all the minor moves around the NHL right here. Make sure to refresh the page throughout the day, or check back on your favorite mobile device.

Minor Transactions: 10/30/17

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The NHL will have plenty of moves today as team prepare for the next month of the season, and try to deal with injury and inconsistency. The Columbus Blue Jackets already called up an intriguing young forward prospect as they try to overcome an injury to Cam Atkinson. We’ll chronicle the rest of today’s minor moves right here.

  • The Ottawa Senators have recalled Max McCormick once again from the AHL’s Belleville Senators. McCormick has played two games for Ottawa this season, and is an important member of Belleville’s group. The 25-year old, that blends physical play with a bit of scoring upside, has just four points in 29 NHL games. Should he get back into the lineup, it will likely be as a fourth-line presence once again.
  • The Arizona Coyotes have recalled Hunter Miska from the AHL, continuing their merry-go-round of goaltenders. Miska has yet to make an appearance in the NHL after signing a two-year entry-level contract this spring. The Coyotes of course placed Louis Domingue on waivers yesterday, and will likely send him to the AHL if he is not claimed by another team. It seems as though Scott Wedgewood, who the team acquired recently, will be asked to step into the starter’s role should Antti Raanta remain injured.
  • According to Sam Carchidi of the Philadelphia Inquirer, the Flyers are expected to recall Mark Alt from the AHL. Philadelphia is dealing with injuries to both Samuel Morin and Shayne Gostisbehere, meaning Alt will likely go straight into the lineup alongside Brandon Manning for their game tonight against the Coyotes. If he does, it would be just the second NHL game for the 26-year old Alt, who hasn’t turned into quite the shutdown defender that the Carolina Hurricanes envisioned when they selected him 53rd-overall in 2010.
  • Rick Dhaliwal of News 1130 in Vancouver reports that the Canucks will recall Anton Rodin from the Utica Comets, marking his first call-up since clearing waivers just prior to the season. Rodin, a 26-year old forward who spent three games with the Canucks last season, underwent knee surgery in February and had a long rehab to get back on the ice. In three games with Utica this year he’s scored two points.
  • The Buffalo Sabres have sent Zach Redmond back to the AHL, likely due to the impending return of Justin Falk to the lineup. The Sabres are off until Thursday when they travel to Arizona to take on the Coyotes, and could have Falk back in the lineup. Redmond will return to the Rochester Americans where he can make a much bigger impact.
  • The Minnesota Wild have brought two of their recent assignments back up, recalling Joel Eriksson Ek and Luke Kunin. The Wild had a couple of days off in between Saturday’s matchup and tomorrow’s game, so they sent the pair down to let them bank some cap space by manipulating the roster. The young promising forwards will likely be back in the lineup when they take on the Winnipeg Jets, especially after Kunin was buzzing all over the ice in this weekend’s game.

Coyotes Acquire Scott Wedgewood

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The Coyotes have brought in some goaltending depth, acquiring Scott Wedgewood from the Devils in exchange for Calgary’s fifth-round pick in 2018.

Arizona has had all sorts of problems between the pipes this season with Antti Raanta missing of the year thus far due to injury while backup Louis Domingue has struggled considerably in an expanded role.  Adin Hill has had some good and bad moments in his first NHL stint but he isn’t the solution either.  The duo rank 46th and 43rd respectively in save percentage among 50 qualifying goaltenders league-wide.  Following the trade, the Coyotes announced that they’ve returned Hill to AHL Tucson.

Mar 25, 2016; Newark, NJ, USA; New Jersey Devils goalie Scott Wedgewood (31) watches the puck sail over his head during the third period at Prudential Center. The Capitals defeated the Devils 1-0 in overtime. Mandatory Credit: Ed Mulholland-USA TODAY SportsWedgewood missed most of 2016-17 due to labrum surgery but has been one of the more reliable goaltenders at the AHL level over the past few seasons.  However, with MacKenzie Blackwood, New Jersey’s top goaltending prospect, needing as much ice time as possible, playing time has been hard to come by for Wedgewood this year as he has made just one appearance at the minor league level.  Taking his place on the roster for New Jersey is Cory Schneider, who has been activated off injured reserve.

The 25-year-old could battle Domingue for the backup role behind Raanta when he’s ready to return to the lineup (which is expected to happen in the near future) or serve as an upgrade in the minors.  Having cleared waivers back in training camp, he still has some exemption time remaining.  If Wedgewood does go to the minors, it will be interesting to see if Marek Langhamer, currently in Tuscon, exercizes an opt-out in his contract next month (per Arizona Sports’ Craig Morgan) that would see him go to the Czech Extraliga (Arizona would still retain his rights).

Wedgewood is making the league minimum of $650K at the NHL level and just $110K in the minors making this a wise pickup for Arizona.  However, although he is too young to become a standard unrestricted free agent, he’ll still likely hit the open market in July as a Group VI free agent unless he gets in 24 NHL games (playing at least 30 minutes in each) this season.

Sportsnet’s Elliotte Friedman (Twitter link) was first to report the two sides were closing in on a deal while Arizona Sports’ John Gambadoro was first with the details.

Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.

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