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Spencer Martin

East Notes: Jarry, Grebenkin, Sgarbossa, Martin

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The Pittsburgh Penguins goaltending room has been thrown for a loop to start the season. A clear hierarchy set up in training camp was quickly dismantled when Tristan Jarry was sent to the minor leagues for a five-game conditioning stint. His absence gave Joel Blomqvist and Alex Nedeljkovic a chance to plant their feet in the Penguins’ starting crease – and while the former has performed well, Pittsburgh’s 6-8-2 record could give Jarry a golden chacne to work his way back into the lineup.

At least, that’s the path laid out by NHL.com’s Wes Crosby, who spoke with Jarry on his path back to the NHL. The netminder told Crosby, “Hopefully, that’s the way it goes. I want to come back here, and I want to play well. That’s my goal. That’s what I want to do. I want to help this team as much as possible. Whenever I’m in the net, I think giving them a chance to win and helping this team get in a good place.”

The 29-year-old Jarry posted a 4-1-0 record and .926 save percentage in five AHL games –  far better than the .836 save percentage he’s managed through three NHL games this year. He stood up to 51 games last season, though his 19-25-5 record marked the first losing season of his five-year tenure as Pittsburgh’s go-to goalie. He’s managed a 137-86-34 record in his nine-year career, working above future Hall of Famer Marc-Andre Fleury and the less-successful Matt Murray in his climb to an everyday role. Jarry will now look to get back to his rightful spot, as Pittsburgh tries to buck a 3-5-2 record in their last 10.

Other notes from out East:

  • The Toronto Maple Leafs could have a hidden gem in 21-year-old winger Nikita Grebenkin, who’s managed seven points and no penalties through his first nine AHL games. The bruising winger brings a welcome mix of grit and skill to the Toronto depths, which Steven Ellis of Leafs Nation says could lead to a hardy lineup role someday soon. Ellis points out that Grebenkin’s climb to the lineup is blocked by a long list of bottom-six wingers, including Nicholas Robertson and the soon-to-return Connor Dewar – but Grebenkin could be quick to take advantage of his next chance. The young forward is already a seasoned pro, totaling 41 points in 67 games for Magnitogorsk Metallurg last season as the team pursued their first KHL Championship since 2016. That winning mindset will make Grebenkin a name to watch, especially if Toronto chooses to part ways with some of their crowded bottom-six.
  • The Washington Capitals have returned minor league centerman Michael Sgarbossa to the AHL’s Hershey Bears just two days after he was recalled to the NHL, per AHL transaction logs. He appeared in 11:25 in ice time and recorded one goal and one assist in Washington’s 8-1 dousing of the St. Louis Blues on Saturday. They were Sgarbossa’s first NHL points since late March of last season, and brought his NHL scoring up to par with the nine points he’s managed in seven AHL games this season. No Capitals player has been involved in more roster moves to start the early season, and it’s likely that another shot at NHL ice time isn’t too far out of reach for the 32-year-old Sgarbossa.
  • The Carolina Hurricanes also returned a player to the minors, per transaction logs, sending goaltender Spencer Martin back down after he allowed the Colorado Avalanche to score five goals on 28 shots on Saturday. Martin was recalled to help fill-in for the injured Frederik Andersen, who head coach Rod Brind’Amour dubbed as week-to-week with a lower-body injury on October 31st. Pyotr Kochetkov has taken over starting duties in response, but his .896 save percentage through eight games – and Martin’s poor performance this weekend – could have the team looking for other outlets. Martin currently leads the AHL’s Chicago Wolves in save percentage (.920), well ahead of Ruslan Khazheyev (.898) and Yaniv Perets (.825) despite each playing only a few games

Hurricanes Recall Spencer Martin

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Hurricanes general manager Eric Tulsky announced today in a team release that the team has recalled goaltender Spencer Martin from AHL Chicago. Carolina has two open roster spots, so no corresponding transaction is necessary.

The recall could indicate that either Frederik Andersen or Pyotr Kochetkov is unavailable for tonight’s game against the Canucks. It’s unclear why, however. Neither sustained an apparent injury in their most recent appearances last week.

That means Martin may have the opportunity to at least dress against his former team. The 29-year-old journeyman got his first actual NHL look in Vancouver, making a career-high 29 appearances for them in the 2022-23 campaign. That workload was out of necessity, not performance, however. The 2013 third-round pick of the Avalanche struggled to the tune of a .871 SV%, 3.99 GAA, and an eye-popping -27.5 GSAA, still managing an 11-15-1 record that’s far better than his play warranted.

While that experiment clearly showed Martin isn’t a legitimate full-time NHL option, he’s still an above-average No. 3 netminder. Martin was claimed off waivers twice last season – first by the Blue Jackets from the Canucks during the preseason and again by the Hurricanes from Columbus after the Jackets no longer had a need for him on the roster in January. Martin was a slight improvement over struggling veteran Antti Raanta in limited action for Carolina last season as a backup option for Kochetkov while Andersen missed most of the season with a blood clotting issue, recording a .896 SV%, 2.63 GAA, and 4-1-1 record in six starts.

That was evidently enough for the Hurricanes to decide to keep him around, signing him to a one-year, one-way extension worth the league minimum $775K in March. With Andersen and Kochetkov healthy, he unsurprisingly landed on waivers during preseason. Unlike last season, he managed to clear, and was subsequently assigned to the minors. He’s off to a strong start with Chicago, posting a 2.32 GAA, .920 SV%, and a 1-1-1 record in three appearances.

Martin can remain on the NHL roster for up to 30 days until he needs waivers again to return to the AHL. He has a 21-26-7 record, a 3.52 GAA, and an .887 SV% in 52 career NHL starts and five relief appearances.

Waiver Wire: 10/2/24

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Twelve new faces were placed on waivers Wednesday, per PuckPedia. All who were waived yesterday cleared, aside from goaltender Jiří Patera, who’s heading from Vancouver to Boston. Here’s the listing of today’s players who hit the wire:

Carolina Hurricanes

G Spencer Martin

Colorado Avalanche

D Jack Ahcan
F Matthew Phillips
D Calle Rosén

Columbus Blue Jackets

F Trey Fix-Wolansky

New York Rangers

F Benoit-Olivier Groulx

Pittsburgh Penguins

D Mac Hollowell
F Jimmy Huntington
F Marc Johnstone

Philadelphia Flyers

G Calvin Petersen

San Jose Sharks

F Andrew Poturalski
F Scott Sabourin

Hurricanes Sign Spencer Martin To One-Year Extension

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Spencer Martin has made a positive impression since joining the Hurricanes on waivers in mid-January.  He was rewarded for his efforts today as the team announced they’ve signed the goaltender to a one-year, one-way contract extension worth $775K.  GM Don Waddell released the following statement on the move:

Spencer has been an excellent addition to our team. He stepped right in and played well for us, and we’re excited to sign him for next season.

Waddell is certainly correct about Martin playing well since Carolina picked him up.  The 28-year-old has made five starts with his new team, winning four while posting a 1.97 GAA along with a .922 SV%.  Those numbers are a vast improvement on the 3.65 and .887 marks he put up in 13 appearances with the Blue Jackets.

Martin has bounced around this season.  He attended training camp with Vancouver but was waived soon after they picked up Casey DeSmith from Montreal.  Columbus quickly scooped him up with Daniil Tarasov being injured to start the season.  Once he returned, the Blue Jackets briefly carried three goalies before putting him back on the wire where Carolina picked him up with injury concerns of their own.

At the moment, Martin is Carolina’s third-string goalie with Antti Raanta playing in the minors.  That’s likely to remain his role for next season with Pyotr Kochetkov and Frederik Andersen both under contract for 2024-25.  Martin could have become an unrestricted free agent in July but instead, he has decided that staying put is the right course of action with what will be his third-straight season on a one-way agreement.

Hurricanes Claim Spencer Martin Off Waivers From Blue Jackets

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The Hurricanes have claimed goaltender Spencer Martin off waivers from the Blue Jackets, per a team announcement. Sportsnet’s Elliotte Friedman was the first to report the news. Given the Hurricanes have no open spots on the active roster, the team has likely assigned rookie backup Yaniv Perets to ECHL Norfolk to create space for Martin.

Martin, 28, has now been claimed off waivers for the second time this season. He began the campaign with the Canucks in training camp, expecting to serve out the second season of a two-year, $1.525MM extension. After Vancouver made a mid-September trade to acquire Casey DeSmith from the Canadiens to serve as the primary backup to starter Thatcher Demko, though, Martin fell to third on the organizational depth chart. The Canucks waived him at the end of the month, at which point he got picked up by the Blue Jackets to serve as their backup while youngster Daniil Tarasov was on the shelf with a knee injury.

In 13 appearances with Columbus (10 starts), Martin posted a .887 SV% and a 3-8-1 record. He has a 17-25-6 record and .886 SV% in 51 career showings with the Blue Jackets, Canucks and Avalanche dating back to 2016. A third-round pick of Colorado in the 2013 draft, Martin was primarily an AHL starter for the organizations he played in until getting a more extended look as a backup to Demko in Vancouver last season.

Unfortunately, Martin’s poor play last season was a large reason behind the 2022-23 Canucks’ dysfunction. His -23.5 goals saved above expected was third-worst in the NHL, per MoneyPuck, trailing only Columbus’ Elvis Merzļikins and San Jose’s Kaapo Kähkönen. He’s been marginally better this season, but he’s still been far below average, with -4.7 goals saved above expected in his 13 appearances for the Blue Jackets.

He now heads to Carolina as a more permanent answer for the veteran third goalie position they’ve been looking to fill ever since starter Frederik Andersen exited the lineup in November due to blood clots. The club had signed Jaroslav Halák and Aaron Dell to PTOs earlier in the season, but never converted their tryouts into a full-time contract.

Their thin depth at the goalie position was exacerbated last week when Pyotr Kochetkov entered concussion protocols, leaving the Hurricanes with Antti Raanta and his .869 SV% as their lone option between the pipes with NHL experience. Claiming Martin also allows the Hurricanes to let the 23-year-old Perets continue his development in the ECHL, where he has a .906 SV% and 2.62 GAA in his first professional season.

Blue Jackets Put Spencer Martin On Waivers, Jiricek Sent To AHL

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The Columbus Blue Jackets announced that they’ve placed goaltender Spencer Martin on waivers today and sent defenseman David Jiricek to the Cleveland Monsters of the AHL. Martin was placed on waivers for the purpose of sending him to the AHL, but he will need to clear waivers first before he can be sent there.

Martin has struggled this season after he was acquired on waivers from the Vancouver Canucks back in September 2023. He has not appeared in a game since a loss on January 2nd to the Boston Bruins. For the season, Martin has dressed in 13 games and has a 3-8-1 record with a 3.65 goals-against average and a save percentage of .887%. Those numbers are not great, and some might speculate that they are being dragged down by playing on a bad team in Columbus, however, Martin’s numbers are only slightly worse with the Blue Jackets as his career average goals against is 3.63 and his career save percentage is lower at .886. Martin’s demotion could lead to Elvis Merzļikins getting more playing time in the coming days, which could be interesting given his recent trade request.

Jiricek heads to Cleveland after dressing in 36 games this season for the Blue Jackets. The former sixth overall pick in the 2022 NHL entry draft has played okay this season, although he hasn’t posted much in the way of offense with just a goal and eight assists this year. The Blue Jackets tried to give the 20-year-old the bulk of his zone starts in the offensive zone and did appear to be sheltering him as best they could. With his demotion to Cleveland, he will likely see more minutes and have an opportunity to play in more high-leverage situations which could help his development long-term.

Afternoon Notes: Martin, Colton, Sharks

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After an injury to Daniil Tarasov put the Columbus Blue Jackets short one goaltender, the team claimed veteran Spencer Martin off of waivers from the Vancouver Canucks. It was a somewhat risky bet, as Martin struggled immensely in 2022-23. But so far Martin has put forth improved performance, as his .903 save percentage this year is quite a bit better than the .871 mark he had last year.

Unfortunately for Martin, his time in Columbus could very well be nearing an end. As Tarasov gets closer to a return from his injury, The Athletic’s Aaron Portzline reports that Martin is “likely to go back on waivers.” (subscription link)  Although Martin could clear waivers and end up with the AHL’s Cleveland Monsters, the dire state of goaltending for some teams across the NHL means its far from a guarantee that the Blue Jackets will be able to retain Martin.

Some more notes from the rest of the NHL:

  • Colorado Avalanche forward Ross Colton was fined $5,000, the maximum allowable under the CBA, for a “dangerous tripping” on Anaheim Ducks rookie Leo Carlsson. Colton was assessed a penalty on the play and now is deducted $5,000 as well. An offseason trade addition for the Avalanche, Colton has scored seven goals and 12 points in 23 games this year.
  • The San Jose Sharks have activated defenseman Jan Rutta and forward Alexander Barabanov off of injured reserve in advance of their game this evening against the New York Rangers in Manhattan. It had been widely reported that both players were nearing a return, and now the team has made it official. Barabanov is the more notable name of the duo, as he scored 15 goals and 47 points in 68 games last season.

Blue Jackets Assign Daniil Tarasov To AHL For Conditioning

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The Blue Jackets have assigned netminder Daniil Tarasov to the AHL’s Cleveland Monsters on a conditioning stint as he nears recovery from a knee injury, GM Jarmo Kekäläinen announced today.

To do this, the Blue Jackets first moved Tarasov from injured reserve to long-term injured reserve retroactive to the beginning of the season, then assigned him on an LTIR conditioning loan to Cleveland. This sub-type of conditioning stint means Tarasov can remain with Cleveland for up to six days or three games (with a potential two-game extension), after which the Blue Jackets can determine whether Tarasov can return to play. He remains on LTIR during the conditioning stint, although since the Blue Jackets had over $4MM in accrued cap space before placing him on LTIR, it’s irrelevant to the team’s financial picture.

Tarasov, 24, sustained a knee injury early in training camp and was initially listed as day-to-day. His recovery has drawn out much longer than expected, causing him to miss well over two months of action. The intriguing goalie prospect is no stranger to injury troubles, missing more than half of the 2021-22 season after undergoing right hip surgery.

The 2017 third-round pick began last season on the Blue Jackets roster but was eventually demoted due to poor play. He posted a 4-11-1 record, .892 SV%, 3.91 GAA, and conceded 6.4 goals above average in 16 starts, although he was far from the reason Columbus ranked 31st in goals against last season. Now in the second season of a three-year, $3.15MM contract, he has just 19 NHL starts to his name over the past three seasons, and his mediocre play in the minors since coming over from Russia must have the Blue Jackets questioning his long-term stance in the organization.

Assigning Tarasov on conditioning buys some time for Kekäläinen to make a choice regarding current backup netminder Spencer Martin, who’s given the Blue Jackets a solid .903 SV% and 3.20 GAA in nine appearances (seven starts) since they claimed him off waivers from the Canucks during the preseason. Whether the Blue Jackets opt to prioritize Tarasov over Martin remains to be seen, although it would make sense to go with the younger, higher-ceiling player, given the team sits far out of playoff contention. Martin is 28 years old, and his only season as a full-time backup, last year with Vancouver, was disastrous – posting a .871 SV% and conceding 27.5 goals above average in just 29 appearances.

The Blue Jackets could either trade Martin or look to pass him through waivers, although teams looking for goalie help may want to take a flyer on him, given his decent performance to open the campaign. Tarasov is no longer waiver-exempt and would need to be exposed in order to head to Cleveland full-time.

Blue Jackets Claim Spencer Martin Off Waivers From Canucks

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The Blue Jackets have added some depth between the pipes as Sportsnet’s Elliotte Friedman reports (Twitter link) that they’ve claimed goaltender Spencer Martin off waivers from the Canucks.

Martin came into last season as the backup in Vancouver following a strong showing with their AHL affiliate in Abbotsford in 2021-22 plus an impressive six-game effort with the Canucks that saw him post a .950 SV%.  However, the 28-year-old wasn’t able to come anywhere close to duplicating that success as he posted a 3.99 GAA along with a SV% of just .871 in 29 games with the Canucks before eventually clearing waivers in mid-February.  He was much better on the farm, however, putting up a 2.43 GAA with a .916 SV% in 16 appearances down the stretch.

That gave Martin the presumptive edge to be Thatcher Demko’s backup again this season.  However, those plans changed quickly when Vancouver acquired Casey DeSmith from Montreal earlier this month, a move that pushed Martin to the waiver wire.  His removal from the roster should give prospect Nikita Tolopilo, a free agent signing back in March, a spot in Abbotsford’s tandem with Arturs Silovs.

Columbus had plenty of struggles of their own between the pipes last season with Elvis Merzlikins having a year to forget and youngster Daniil Tarasov taking a step back as well.  Tarasov is currently dealing with a knee injury and has yet to take part in training camp, creating the opening for Martin to step into as Merzlikins’ backup for the time being.  Martin is in the final season of a two-year contract worth the league minimum in both seasons, meaning his cap hit of $762.5K actually checks in below the $775K minimum salary.

All other players that were on waivers yesterday cleared, per Friedman.

Waivers: 09/28/23

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As training camps and the preseason continues, teams are trimming down their roster and getting closer to the final group of players they’ll bring into opening night. We’ll keep track of the names that hit the waiver wire here. Today’s list comes courtesy of CapFriendly.

Colorado Avalanche

F Callahan Burke

Pittsburgh Penguins

F Jonathan Gruden
F Rem Pitlick
D Ty Smith
D Taylor Fedun
D Xavier Ouellet

Vancouver Canucks

G Spencer Martin

Smith is the biggest name here is Smith. Smith was a 2018 first-round pick of the New Jersey Devils and became a star WHL blueliner for the Spokane Chiefs. He turned pro in 2020-21, scoring 23 points in 48 games. That performance landed him on the NHL’s All-Rookie team, as well as some down-ballot Calder Trophy votes.

The Devils dealt Smith and a third-round pick to the Penguins in exchange for John Marino, who went on to have a stellar 2022-23 season. Smith, on the other hand, played in only nine NHL game for the Penguins. He spent most of last season in the AHL, scoring 24 points in 39 games, and now the AHL is where he’ll be once again assuming he can clear waivers.

Given the promise Smith showed earlier in his career and his pedigree as a former top prospect, it would not be shocking whatsoever to see a team put a claim in on Smith, who is playing on a one-year, league-minimum cap-hit.

In terms of the other names on the waiver wire, Martin’s placement comes as no surprise after the Canucks’ acquisition of Casey DeSmith from the Montreal Canadiens. Martin posted a dreadful .871 save percentage in the NHL last season, but fared far better in the AHL. The Canucks will hope he’ll clear waivers so he can provide quality goaltending alongside prospect goalie Artūrs Šilovs in AHL Abbotsford.

Another recognizable name on the waiver wire is that of Rem Pitlick. Pitlick scored 37 points in 2021-22 on the Montreal Canadiens and Nashville Predators, but struggled in 2022-23. He was dealt to Pittsburgh by Montreal as part of the Erik Karlsson trade with the hope, from Pitlick’s perspective, that the Penguins would provide a solid change-of-scenery NHL opportunity.

He now finds himself on the waiver wire, though, and his $1.1MM cap hit could be a barrier towards another team putting in a claim. The versatile forward scored at an above-point-per-game rate in the AHL last season, and could end up an impact player for AHL Wilkes-Barre Scranton.

Photos courtesy of USA Today Sports Images

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