Minor Transactions: 01/29/22
It’s the thick of the NHL season and teams are busy with roster transactions and rumors suggest starting to look toward the trade deadline. The season will now continue unabated as well, since the league pulled out of the upcoming Winter Olympics. Yet, the 2022 Games will still be the next-biggest focus of the hockey world behind NHL action, if not on par for a few weeks. However, there are still notable moves being made around the globe at both the pro and amateur levels. Here is a look at some “minor” transactions worth attention:
- For many teams, especially in the Eastern Conference, the season is far enough along for teams to realize that they are not postseason contenders. As those clubs look ahead to the trade deadline, they know that the top prize for an elite rental is usually a late first-round draft pick. And as teams evaluate who they might be able to select with a late first-rounder, they are no doubt discussing Swiss defenseman Lian Bichsel. In a draft class that is short on high-caliber left-handed defenders, Bichsel is a rising name given his play in the SHL this season and could sneak into the first round. Interested suitors should know though that the big, two-way blue liner will not be immediately available next season, as Leksands IF plans to keep him in Sweden. Impressed with his play so far, Leksands offered Bichsel a permanent contract for this season that included an extension through the 2022-23 campaign as well. It remains to be seen if Bichsel will remain in the SHL beyond that point, but it is a good spot for the mature defender to develop anyhow.
- An NHL legacy has selected his next team. Chase Dafoe, son of former All-Star goaltender Byron Dafoe, has committed to Providence College and is expected to enroll next year. Dafoe, a forward, is currently playing in the BCHL with the West Kelowna Warriors and enjoying the best season of his junior career. Dafoe has 11 goals and 18 points in 28 games thus far and has maintained his solid two-way game. Though he was not selected in the 2021 NHL Draft, it was his first time through and Dafoe will be eligible again this year.
- A rare ECHL trade has been completed and it involves a name familiar to NHL fans. Veteran defenseman Steven Oleksy has been dealt to the Orlando Solar Bears by the Toledo Walleye in exchange for young power forward Ian Parker. Oleksy is still going strong at 35 years old, recording eight points in 16 games so far this season despite taking last year off. Oleksy, who has 73 NHL games to his credit and a surprising 20 points in those games, will be a big boost to the Orland blue line. Meanwhile, Toledo lands the 6’9″, 250-lb. Parker, a unique prospect out of the University of Windsor. The 25-year-old rookie has 12 points in 30 games this season.
Minor Transactions: 10/14/19
Get ready for a full day of hockey. Monday’s lineup features four games being held at 1:00pm home team local time, as well as 3:00pm, 5:00pm, and 7:30pm. Among the story lines to watch are the Wild, Devils, and Blackhawks seeking their first wins of the season, the Avalanche and Oilers looking to stay perfect, and a collision of the league’s two stingiest teams, the Ducks and Bruins. Also to watch for are the roster moves made to open up the third week of the season. Keep up with all of the action here:
- The Ottawa Senators continue to routinely shuffle their forward group around early this season. After giving youngsters like Drake Batherson, Filip Chlapik, and Vitaly Abramov a chance already, the team has recalled a pair of veterans from AHL Belleville. The team announced that Nick Paul and Jordan Szwarz have been promoted to Ottawa. While Paul is a familiar name to Sens fans, Szwarz is a new free agent addition. The long-time AHL veteran and former Providence Bruins captain has played in 47 NHL games in his career, split between Arizona and Boston. His reliable two-way energy game could be more of the boost that the coaching staff feels they need right now rather than the offensive focus of the team’s top young prospects. This recall would also seem to indicate that there is a chance that Mikkel Boedker and Artem Anisimov are not ready to return to the lineup today as expected.
- After flipping Kyle Capobianco to the AHL for Ilya Lyubushkin on Saturday, the Coyotes are now flopping. CapFriendly reports that Capobianco has been called back up from the AHL’s Tuscon Roadrunners. The move comes on the heels of an injury to Niklas Hjalmarsson on Saturday that will likely push either Capobianco or Lyubushkin into a starting role for the time being.
- The Toronto Maple Leafs have made a somewhat surprising switch. The team announced that 19-year-old rookie defenseman Rasmus Sandin has been sent down to the AHL’s Marlies, while free agent addition and veteran blue liner Kevin Gravel has been recalled in his place. Sandin, considered by many to be Toronto’s top D prospect, had skated in all six games for the team thus far and recorded a pair of assists, strong possession numbers, and an even plus/minus rating. Although, Sandin’s ice time has been limited and his special teams role has been non-existent, so this could be about putting him in a better position to develop in the AHL. However, this may be more about adding Gravel than subtracting Sandin. The Leafs have surrendered at least three goals in four of their six games so far, including a 7-3 drubbing by the Tampa Bay Lightning. They may simply be looking to tighten things up on the back end and stay-at-home specialist Gravel can help. Gravel has recorded 137 blocked shots and 124 hits in 106 NHL games with the Los Angeles Kings and Edmonton Oilers.
- Steven Oleksy worked his way up from the ECHL ranks early in his career and has been on an NHL contract every year since 2012. However, that streak was snapped this summer when the 33-year-old seemingly could not attract another two-way deal. His bad luck now continues, as the AHL’s Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins announced that they have released Oleksy from his tryout agreement. The veteran of 73 NHL games and more than 400 AHL games saw his production fall off somewhat last year in a season split between the San Diego Gulls and Toronto Marlies, but is simply looking for the opportunity to show he can still contribute. In all likelihood, Oleksy will land on his feet elsewhere in pro hockey sooner rather than later.
- The Vancouver Canucks have granted starter Jacob Markstrom a leave of absence to attend to a family matter. He is expected to re-join the team later this week. In the meantime, Vancouver announced that Zane McIntyre has been recalled to serve as the backup to Thatcher Demko. McIntyre, a free agent addition, has made eight NHL appearances in his career with the Boston Bruins, all back in 2016-17. Ironically, his lone call-up last season was to serve as backup to Jaroslav Halak while Tuukka Rask took a leave of absence himself. McIntyre was a star at the college level and has strong AHL numbers, but at 27 years old he no longer a prospect that the Canucks would be trying to force into play time. Expect them to lean on Demko until Markstrom returns.
Western Notes: Vlasic, Shipachyov, Kossila, Oleksy
The San Jose Sharks seem to have faired well on a five-game East Coast road trip and the team is 5-5. The Athletic’s Kevin Kurz (subscription required) released his 10 Sharks observations, and is quick to lodge his complaint on the team’s usage of veteran defenseman Marc-Edouard Vlasic, who he believes should not be used on the power play any more.
While Kurz writes that he isn’t taking away from Vlasic’s defensive game as he is fantastic at covering other team’s top players, he points out that he is the wrong guy for the power play and has been for some time. Since the start of the 2015-16 season, Vlasic has played 169:25 minutes of ice time on the power play for San Jose, sixth-most on the team. He has one goal and seven assists in those two-plus years on the power play and just a lone assist this year in 25 minutes of power play time.
The team needs to look for a younger defenseman to take over that role on San Jose’s second power play unit and Kurz pointed to rookie Joakim Ryan as a possible candidate. While the 24-year-old has been pointless so far this season, Ryan led the AHL’s San Jose Barracuda in shots on goal last season with 185. His 10 goals and 39 assists last year, suggest he might be able to handle that role.
- The Vadim Shipachyov saga isn’t over yet. Expected to skate tonight with the AHL Chicago Wolves after being assigned there Wednesday by the Vegas Golden Knights, the 30-year-old playmaker is not in tonight’s lineup for the Wolves in their game against the Milwaukee Admirals, according to Jesse Granger of The Las Vegas Sun. Chicago has not specified why he isn’t in the lineup. However, according to Sportsnet’s Eric Engels, Shipachyov will not play and is returning to Las Vegas to be with his family. He did practice with Chicago yesterday, which is why he was expected to play today. The KHL veteran had been assigned at the start of the year to Chicago, but didn’t report and Vegas allowed him to stay in Vegas. However, there is no indication the team had planned to allow him the same courtesy this time around.
- The Anaheim Ducks announced they have reassigned center Kalle Kossila and defenseman Steven Oleksy to the San Diego Gulls of the AHL. Two moves had to be made after the team activated both Sami Vatanen and Ryan Miller for tonight’s game against the Tampa Bay Lightning. Kossila, played in two games for Anaheim this week, putting up a goal and an assist. The 24-year-old had two goals and four assists in five AHL games. Oleksy was called up Thursday, but did not play. The 31-year-old blueliner has two goals and two assists in five games for the Gulls.