Scott Wedgewood Placed On Waivers By Los Angeles Kings
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
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.
Rieder 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
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
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.
- The Arizona Coyotes have assigned Marek Langhamer to the Tucson Roadrunners of the AHL. Langhamer had been backing up Scott Wedgewood while Antti Raanta was on injured reserve, a designation that he is expected to shed this week. The Coyotes don’t play until Thursday evening, and could have Raanta back, at least as a backup option.
- Henrik Haapala is headed back to the AHL after just five games, as the Florida Panthers announced today. Haapala, signed in the offseason to his entry-level contract after an outstanding season in Finland, had just one point in five NHL contests. The 5’8″ forward has some interesting offensive upside, but may find the physical nature of the NHL tough to navigate throughout his career.
- Eric Stephens of the Orange County Register has heard that Jaycob Megna is likely headed back to the Anaheim Ducks, as the team deals with an upper-body injury for Hampus Lindholm. Megna has already played 11 games for the Ducks this season before clearing waivers on November 24th. Players are allowed to spend up to 30 days (or 10 games) on the active roster before needing to clear waivers again, meaning Megna can come up and down as needed while Lindholm rehabs the minor injury.
- The New York Rangers have recalled goaltender Alexandar Georgiev from Hartford, citing the flu for Henrik Lundqvist. Georgiev is about to get company at the AHL level, as the Rangers are also expected to sign Marek Mazanec to a contract after he clears waivers tomorrow.
Minor Transactions: 10/30/17
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
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.
Wedgewood 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.