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Stephen Gionta

Tampa Bay Lightning Make Several Front Office Changes

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The Tampa Bay Lightning have shaken up their front office staff, announcing three promotions and six additions today. The team has hired Jean-Philippe Cote as director of player development, Mike Ellis as director of skill development and four scouts: Stephen Gionta, Grant Armstrong, Josh Dye and Jared Waimon. Promoted are Darryl Plandowski and Brad Whelen who will become the assistant directors of amateur scouting as well as John Rosso who will become the assistant director of player personnel.

Perhaps most notable among that group are Gionta, who played for the New York Islanders and Bridgeport Sound Tigers last year and Cote who previously played 19 games with the Lightning and 27 overall in the NHL.

The Lightning saw some of their front office members leave town recently to follow Steve Yzerman to the Detroit Red Wings, meaning there were always going to be some changes coming. These names will only help to insulate an already very successful scouting and development department that has unearthed hidden gems near countless times over the last several years.

Snapshots: Melnyk, Burakovsky, AHL

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The Ottawa Senators’ Lebreton Flats arena bid was dealt an expected death blow when owner Eugene Melnyk filed a $700MM lawsuit against his former partner John Ruddy, who was part of the group trying to acquire the development rights to the area. Now Ruddy has filed his own counterclaim, seeking more than $1 billion according to the Canadian Press. In the counterclaim Trinity Development, Ruddy’s company, alleges:

CSMI’s and Melnyk’s true aim is to have the City of Ottawa or Trinity fund and build the $500 million event centre for the Ottawa Senators hockey team, with the Senators getting 30 years’ free rent. CSMI also wants the valuable naming rights and an unreasonable degree of control over the Lebreton project.

Meanwhile, Melnyk’s group has issued a statement offering to amend the original plan and have Trinity fund the project but also take all of the expected profits. Though not technically dead, it does seem like a difficult path forward for the Senators to try and get a new arena near the downtown core. Lebreton was arguably their best chance for now, meaning they’ll be stuck dealing with the arena in Kanata going forward. That rink is far from the city center and difficult for many fans to get to, especially for weekday games.

  • While Andre Burakovsky’s name has surfaced in trade rumors recently, Isabelle Khurshudyan of the Washington Post is quick to point out that the Washington Capitals are not necessarily shopping the young forward around at this time. Though they would certainly listen to offers, the hope is that Burakovsky can turn things around on his own and be the productive middle-six forward that they have hoped he would be for some time. The 23-year old has just eight points this season and has never fulfilled the promise he showed as a young forward in Sweden or the OHL. Burakovsky is also a restricted free agent at the end of the season with arbitration rights, which could certainly give any acquiring team pause given his salary is already at $3MM this year.
  • The AHL announced multiple suspensions today, handing out a two-game ban to Matt Puempel and a three-game ban to Stephen Gionta. The two forwards, playing for the Grand Rapids Griffins and Bridgeport Sound Tigers respectively, will have to sit out a few contests over the holiday season following their supplementary discipline.

Minor Transactions: 12/04/18

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The NHL Board of Governors are meeting again today in Sea Island, Georgia, and are expected to approve the league’s 32nd team. Seattle will be joining the NHL in the next few seasons, meaning teams will have to start working towards an eventual expansion draft. Meanwhile, we’ll keep track of all the minor moves they make in preparation for tonight’s games.

  • The New York Islanders have sent Stephen Gionta to the minor leagues, in order to recall goaltender Christopher Gibson. Arthur Staple of The Athletic notes that the Islanders didn’t have Robin Lehner on the ice at the option skate this morning, but have not issued an update on the situation yet. Lehner last played on Thursday, stopping 35 of 36 shots in a shootout loss against the Boston Bruins.
  • Sheldon Rempal is on his way back to the AHL, after the Los Angeles Kings have claimed two new forwards on waivers. Brendan Leipsic and Nikita Scherbak will enter the lineup before long, leaving little chance for Rempal to make much of an impression at the NHL level.
  • Since the Detroit Red Wings will be without Tyler Bertuzzi for the next two games and Anthony Mantha a lot longer than that, the team has recalled Wade Megan to help out up front. Megan has played six games for the Red Wings this season and is still looking for his first point.
  • The AHL’s Hershey Bears, affiliate of the Washington Capitals, have signed defenseman Ryan Sproul to a one-year contract, the team announced. Sproul has had a surprisingly hard time finding employment this summer, after registering five points in 16 games with the New York Rangers last season and seven points in 27 games with the Detroit Red Wings the season prior. Sproul failed to turn PTO’s into contracts with both the Toronto Marlies and Laval Rocket this season, before landing in Hershey even without a tryout. The capable puck-mover will immediately provide a boost to the Bears’ blue line this season.

New York Islanders Recall Michael Dal Colle

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This season may be the last chance for Michael Dal Colle to prove that he can still be considered one of the New York Islanders top prospects, and now he’ll get an opportunity to show his skills at the NHL level. With the team dealing with injuries to Matt Martin, Andrew Ladd and Casey Cizikas—all three have been moved to injured reserve—they’ve decided to recall Dal Colle and Stephen Gionta from the AHL.

Dal Colle, 22, was selected fifth overall in the 2014 draft ahead of such established stars as William Nylander (8th), Nikolaj Ehlers (9th), Dylan Larkin (15th) and David Pastrnak (25th), and many other players making their mark in the NHL. Unfortunately, he has yet to work out for the Islanders and is still waiting to register his first NHL point. In fact, last season Dal Colle registered just 24 points in 60 AHL contests and finished behind three defensemen in scoring on the Bridgeport Sound Tigers. The 6’3″ forward hasn’t been able to find the offensive touch that led him to be so desirable in junior, though this season is off to a nice start. In 14 games with the Sound Tigers Dal Colle has 14 points, and may be finally rounding into form.

Still, he likely won’t get into the Islanders lineup tonight and will have to battle hard to change the early moniker of “draft bust” that has been applied to him somewhat prematurely. Big powerful forwards can often take a little longer to develop, and perhaps all Dal Colle needed was a little seasoning before becoming a difference maker in the NHL. The team could use one right now as they deal with injury to three physical players, especially given Dal Colle’s puck skills and still present offensive upside. The team is off to a better than expected start, and could use another secondary scoring option to push them over the top this season.

Minor Transactions: 10/17/18

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Lots of activity on the waiver wire today was followed by some minor moves, and we’ll keep track of all of them right here:

  • The New York Islanders have sent Stephen Gionta back to the AHL now that Casey Cizikas is ready to return to action. Gionta recently cleared waivers after being signed by the Islanders, and will likely be a common call-up this season. The 35-year old forward played one game with New York, but will report to the Bridgeport Sound Tigers to continue his professional career for now.
  • Sheldon Rempal is on his way up to join the Los Angeles Kings after his outstanding start at the AHL level. The former Clarkson University forward has eight points through his first four professional games, and has impressed enough to be recalled to the NHL. The Kings have already had trouble scoring this season, and the 23-year old Rempal could add some offensive punch to the lineup if he can make it in.
  • After being recalled yesterday to maximize the cap flexibility of placing Justin Schultz on long-term injured reserve, Jeff Taylor has been returned to the minor leagues by the Pittsburgh Penguins. The move was just a paper transaction to help the Penguins with their salary situation, and Taylor was never intended to play in the NHL at this point.
  • Eamon McAdam has been returned to the minor leagues, indicating that Frederik Andersen is ready to get back on the ice for the Toronto Maple Leafs. Interestingly, McAdam has been sent to the AHL this time instead of the ECHL where he’d been playing, meaning Kasimir Kaskisuo is likely still out with the injury he suffered on the weekend. McAdam didn’t get into a game for the Maple Leafs, but was just a Garret Sparks injury away from making his NHL debut.
  • Libor Sulak has been sent to the AHL by the Detroit Red Wings, despite the young defenseman playing relatively well in his first taste of NHL action. The Red Wings will activate Trevor Daley to take his spot, but there is a bright future for Sulak with the team.
  • The Minnesota Wild have recalled veteran Matt Read from the AHL to replace Matt Hendricks, who is headed for injured reserve. Read, 32, was signed to a one-year two-way contract in the summer but failed to make the club out of training camp. He’ll try to stake a claim to a fourth line spot while Hendricks is out, and show that he can still be a valuable NHL player.

Jacob De La Rose Placed On Waivers

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The Montreal Canadiens knew they were heading towards a roster crunch, but weren’t able to trade away their problems in time. Today the team has placed Jacob de La Rose on waivers, and risk losing him to another organization. The 23-year old forward had been dealing with a minor health concern to start the year, but with his return to action along with the impending return of Nicolas Deslauriers, the team had to make a decision on who to send down. With only Jesperi Kotkaniemi still waiver-exempt among the forward group, de La Rose has drawn the short straw and will be available for claim. Stephen Gionta, the only player on waivers yesterday, has cleared for the New York Islanders.

There is certainly reason to believe that de La Rose will be claimed by someone around the league, given his relatively high draft pedigree and still youthful career. Selected 34th overall in 2013, there were plenty who believed the Swedish forward could develop into a solid two-way player capable of using his size and speed to create offense on a regular basis. That hasn’t happened at any level, with de La Rose recording his professional high of 31 points in a combined 71 games in 2016-17. He experienced a minor cardiac episode earlier this summer which has kept him out of the lineup, but it’s his on-ice performance that’s put him in a situation like this.

It’s hard not to like the package though, as de La Rose stands 6’3″ and can skate extremely well for his size. Any number of teams may believe that he represents an upgrade on their fourth line, and a worthwhile investment. There is of course the fact that he is signed to a two-year, one-way contract with a cap hit of $900K, something that teams may not want to take on with no guaranteed production. That might help the Canadiens slip him through waivers and allow them to send de La Rose to the minor leagues, at which point they would still owe him the full salary but his cap hit would be removed from their books.

Colorado Avalanche Claim Marko Dano

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It seemed likely that Marko Dano would be claimed by some team in the NHL after he was waived by the Winnipeg Jets yesterday, and this time it was the Colorado Avalanche with the winning claim. The Avalanche will add Dano to their young group and hope he can start to live up to the high potential he’s shown in flashes throughout his career. Today’s waivers include only Stephen Gionta of the New York Islanders after he was signed this weekend, while Alex Biega has cleared and can be sent to the minor leagues.

Dano, 23, was a first-round pick of the Columbus Blue Jackets in 2013, but will now be with his fourth NHL organization. Traded first as part of the package that brought Brandon Saad to the Blue Jackets, he was then flipped to the Jets in a package for Andrew Ladd. In Winnipeg he failed to make much of an impact, registering just 22 points in 82 games while sitting in the press box or the injury room for most of his time there. He’ll try to change that in Colorado, where there is a bigger opportunity given the team’s less polished forward group.

Colorado now has ten forwards on the roster age 25 or under, and only three players on the whole roster—Carl Soderberg, Erik Johnson and Semyon Varlamov—who have had their thirtieth birthday. That young core surprised the entire league last season when they made the playoffs, and are off to a fine start with three commanding wins in their first five games. Dano still has the potential to be a key player in that group, but will have to quickly show his ability and prove that he deserves a long-term spot with the club. On a one-year, $800K contract this season, if he fails to crack the lineup on a regular basis there may be reason to not extend him a qualifying offer this summer given his arbitration rights.

Islanders Sign Stephen Gionta To A One-Year, Two-Way Contract

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The Islanders are bringing back a familiar face, announcing the signing of winger Stephen Gionta to a one-year, two-way contract.  Financial terms of the deal have not been disclosed.

The 35-year-old attended training camp with the team and opted to stick around on an extended PTO after not initially getting a contract before the season began.  A lower-body injury to center Casey Cizikas (who has been placed on injured reserve retroactive to Monday) opened up a spot for Gionta, who is expected to be in the lineup against Nashville.

Gionta did not see NHL action last season for the first time since 2009-10.  He played in 30 games with their AHL affiliate in Bridgeport in 2017-18, collecting two goals and three assists.  He’s just four games shy of 300 in his NHL career, split between the Devils and Islanders over parts of seven seasons.

Once Cizikas is activated off IR, it’s expected that Gionta will be placed on waivers where he’ll return to the Sound Tigers assuming he passes through unclaimed.

Snapshots: Hamonic, Russell, Seidenberg, Gionta

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When the Calgary Flames recalled Rasmus Andersson yesterday, it was an indication that defenseman Travis Hamonic’s facial fracture, suffered in the team’s opener, was going to cause him to miss some time. However, the team has now officially announced that Hamonic has been placed on injured reserve. The team has labeled his status as week-to-week with no specific timeline for a return. Hamonic suffered the blow in a first period fight with the Vancouver Canucks’ Erik Gudbranson and was forced to leave the contest early. Hamonic has been sidelined frequently in his career, with his 74 games for Calgary last season actually setting a new career-high. Hamonic missed eight games for the Flames in his first season with the team, but spread throughout the season and not more than four at a time. The Flames would be fortunate if this injury only costs Hamonic four games. In the meantime, Andersson, fellow rookie Juuso Valimaki, and veteran depth defender Dalton Prout will be asked to pick up the slack in Hamonic’s absence.

  • The rival Edmonton Oilers are getting one of their top defensemen back from injury, as the team announced that Kris Russell has been activated from the injured reserve. Russell’s injury was never disclosed by the team, nor was a timeline given, making his activation both a surprise and not a surprise at all. Russell traveled with the team to Europe and returns in time for the Oilers’ season opener against the New Jersey Devils in Sweden. Russell will skate with rookie and 2018 first-round pick Evan Bouchard, as he makes his NHL debut. In a corresponding move, Edmonton has returned young puck-moving blue liner Ethan Bear to the AHL’s Bakersfield Condors. Bear has been established as the next man up on defense, so if Bouchard’s early action does not impress and he is returned to junior, expect a prompt recall for Bear.
  • The New York Islanders are keeping defenseman Dennis Seidenberg and forward Stephen Gionta with the team on extended PTO’s, notes Newsday’s Andrew Gross. Both veterans played for the Islanders last season and are familiar with the roster and seem willing to hang around in case an opportunity to officially return arises. Per Gross, head coach Barry Trotz called the pair “long-term insurance”. Seidenberg and Gionta will participate in practice and wait to see how the early season unfolds for the Isles, both in health and performance. Neither veteran has much of a ceiling at this point in their career, but are experienced, serviceable, hard-working pros who could step in if needed and provided some immediate support.

Minor Transactions: 9/17/18

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Even with training camps open, preseason games underway, and even cuts beginning, additions continue to be made to camp rosters at the NHL and AHL level and more. Here are some of the latest moves:

  • The New York Islanders, the last team to formally release their training camp roster, had a number of tryout additions on the ice when camp opened, including previously confirmed pro invites like Stephen Gionta, Luca Sbisa, and Dennis Seidenberg, as well as several amateurs. However, one PTO that was unknown until the roster came out is forward Pius Suter. Suter, 22, is an undersized, but very skilled forward hailing from Switzerland. Although Suter played two seasons in the OHL with the Guelph Storm, including a 72-point campaign in his second year of NHL Draft eligibility, Suter was never selected or signed by an NHL team. He returned to Switzerland and has been a force for the ZSC Lions of the NLA for the past three seasons. Yet, he continues to press for a job in the NHL. Suter joined the Ottawa Senators on a PTO last year, but was an early cut from camp. Now he returns with the Islanders, eager to show that he can play at the highest level. The Isles are not the deepest team in the league, so Suter could be a name to keep an eye out for this preseason in case he does earn a contract for the coming season.
  • One player received a major surprise in the form of an unexpected camp invite. Goaltender Derek Dun, a 24-year-old British Columbia native who has never appeared in more than 16 games in a season since his BCHL days, has been temporarily added to the Boston Bruins camp roster, the team announced. Why? The journeyman goalie has been playing as a backup in China for members of the VHL, a Russian-based minor league, for the past two years. The Bruins contingent currently traveling though China wanted another goalie behind Tuukka Rask and Jaroslav Halak for the remainder of their trip and found a willing participant in the former Northern Michigan University keeper. Dunn called it “a surreal moment” when he stepped on the ice for his first practice with the Bruins.
  • First-year pro Kyle Rhodes has finally found a landing spot for his first season, signing with the AHL’s San Antonio Rampage. The physical defenseman was not much of a point producer in his four years in the OHL, but was applauded for his work ethic and leadership ability. After being traded to the Sudbury Wolves prior to last season, Rhodes embraced his veteran role and was named captain, before going on to set a career-high of ten goals and 24 points, both more than his three prior seasons combined. He then impressed in a short tryout stint in the ECHL at the tail end of the season. The Rampage may have found a player who is just beginning to reach his potential, but will take a solid defensive player and strong character presence at the very least.
  • Garrett Ladd has fought his way through the NAHL, Division III of the NCAA, six different ECHL teams, and even a brief stint in England, but he continues to take small steps toward the NHL. The AHL’s Chicago Wolves have awarded Ladd, who is signed to their ECHL affiliate, the Fort Wayne Komets, with an AHL camp tryout, Justin A. Cohn of the Journal Gazette explains. The 28-year-old forward likely won’t ever reach the NHL, but seems primed to get his first AHL action at some point this season.

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