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Teemu Pulkkinen

Minor Transactions: 12/13/16

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Here are today’s minor roster moves:

  • With Peter Holland and Josh Jooris being added to the roster in recent days, the Coyotes had to make a roster move to get back to 23 players.  They announced that they have assigned center Laurent Dauphin to Tucson of the AHL.  Dauphin has three points (2-1-3) in 20 games with Arizona this season and has a goal in his lone minor league appearance as well.
  • The Canadiens announced that they have assigned right winger Sven Andrighetto and defenseman Mark Barberio to their AHL affiliate in St. John’s. Both players were recalled last week; Andrighetto had a pair of assists in three games after getting called while Barberio was a healthy scratch.  Montreal is now carrying only 18 skaters on their active roster but are off until Friday so they will save a bit of salary cap space with these moves before bringing them or other players back up later in the week.
  • The Wild have recalled right winger Teemu Pulkkinen from AHL Iowa, per a team release. Minnesota claimed him off waivers from Detroit in October but struggled with just one goals in eight games and eventually cleared waivers to be sent to the minors.  He has fared better at the minor league level with 15 points in 15 games and was the AHL’s Player of the Week two weeks ago.
  • Islanders defenseman Scott Mayfield has been sent back to Bridgeport of the AHL, the team announced (Twitter link). The 24 year old has made the most of limited ice time with New York, picking up a goal and two assists in just three games while averaging under 12 minutes per game.  He has that same statline in 14 games with the AHL’s Sound Tigers.

Minor Moves: Witkowski, Kulak, Wotherspoon

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Thursday night in the NHL and there are 10 games on the docket tonight. With so many teams playing, there are sure to be a handful of minor moves to fill out rosters and cover injuries. We’ll keep you up to date right here.

  • The Tampa Bay Lightning are off to a solid 14-11-2 start to the season, but have been struggling lately, losing five of their last six games. With three days off to regroup since their game on Sunday, the team has called up Luke Witkowski to give them a bit of a defensive boost. The Syracuse Crunch captain, Witkowski has played six games for the Lightning this year and offers a big physical presence on the back end. The 26-year old was a sixth-round pick of the Lightning back in 2008 and was a standout at Western Michigan University before joining the Crunch.
  • Going in the opposite direction, the Calgary Flames are on a four-game winning streak but will make a move to give some more icetime to a young player. Brett Kulak has been sent down to the AHL to play more, as he’d sat out the last five games. Kulak is a 22-year old defender that the Flames think can be an NHL player for a long time, and they’d like him to develop just a bit more before installing him on their blueline. To replace him, the team has called up Tyler Wotherspoon from the Stockton Heat. A former second-round pick, Wotherspoon is a bit more polished and can offer a more physical game. Though Wotherspoon only has 26 NHL games under his belt, this will be his fourth season spending time with the Flames. No word on whether he’ll get into the lineup right away, or just take Kulak’s spot in the press box.
  • The Vancouver Canucks have recalled Andrey Pedan from the AHL. Pedan has played 18 games for the Utica Comets this season, scoring just three points while racking up thirty penalty minutes. The former third-round pick played thirteen games for the Canucks last season, but hasn’t been able to crack the NHL lineup this year.
  • After not playing in last night’s game against the Toronto Maple Leafs, Teemu Pulkkinen has been sent down to the AHL. Just like his entire career to this point, Pulkkinen has been an outstanding scoring threat at the lower level but is unable to replicate it in the NHL. With 15 points in 16 games for the Iowa Wild, but just a single goal in 8 contests for Minnesota, the enigma persists.
  • Brad Hunt, the AHL’s leading scorer, has been recalled by the St. Louis Blues. Amazingly, the defenseman has 29 points in 23 games playing for the Chicago Wolves. Always a big point producer at the lower level, Hunt has suited up in 21 NHL contests over the years.

Wild Waive Teemu Pulkkinen; Assigned To Iowa

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Saturday:  Pulkkinen has cleared waivers and been assigned to the Iowa Wild of the AHL.

Friday: Only 17 days after claiming him from the Detroit Red Wings, the Minnesota Wild waived forward Teemu Pulkkinen after just eight games with the team. In those eight games, Pulkkinen had one goal and was a -1. Though many felt Pulkkinen didn’t get a fair shake in Motown, his performance in Minnesota fell short of what the Wild brass certainly thought they were getting in a player expected to score goals.

NBC Sports’ Mike Halford wonders if Pulkkinen could be reacquired by the Red Wings, since he would be able to go back to Grand Rapids, not impacting the NHL roster as he did three weeks ago. Halford quotes Wings coach Jeff Blashill as having “an unreal amount of respect” for him. Perhaps a return to Detroit isn’t far fetched after all.

Should Pulkkinen clear waivers, he will report to the AHL’s Iowa Wild.

Red Wings Notes: Vanek, Howard, Pulkkinen

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The Detroit Red Wings are off to a great 6-2-0 record this season, and part of it has been the exceptional play from Thomas Vanek. The Austrian winger has scored eight points in seven games this season, but missed the Wings last game against the Blues with a lower-body injury.  He’s not at the morning skate again today, according to Ansar Khan of MLive.com and won’t play again tonight.

Vanek signed a one-year, $2.6MM deal with the Red Wings this summer, a huge bargain if he could get back to the ~60 point player he was once a lock to be. The former forty-goal man has been on a steady decline in recent years, and has big question marks defensively.

  • Jimmy Howard will start tonight, his third of the season. After Petr Mrazek took the job last season, Howard has been fighting to prove that he is capable of starting at this level still, in order to entice another team to go after him.  The 32-year old has been heavily rumored to be on the market, but since he comes with such a big price tag Detroit might ultimately have to keep him as the backup. Howard is owed almost $5.3MM annually for the next three seasons.
  • Former Red Wing Teemu Pulkkinen has been waived again, this time by the Minnesota Wild. The AHL sniper can’t seem to find his footing in the NHL, and will likely be claimed by a team once again. He had one goal in his eight-game stint with Minnesota that was filled with concern about his foot speed at the NHL level. While his shot is incredibly strong, he often couldn’t keep up with the level of play.
  • Tomas Jurco was back skating today at practice, according to Khan. While the young forward hasn’t played this season, he’s set to make his return from a back injury in mid-November.

East Notes: Kessel, Daley, Pulkkinen, Mueller, Ekblad

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Penguins right winger Phil Kessel and defenseman Trevor Daley are both on track in their recovery from injuries sustained in the postseason, writes Bill West of the Pittsburgh Tribune-Review.  Kessel had hand surgery back in July and isn’t expected to participate in much (if any) preseason action but anticipates he’ll be ready when the puck drops to start the season:

“I’ll obviously be out there skating in camp. I’ll progress as it goes. But I’ll be ready to start the first game of the year. … (The hand) feels a lot better now than it did last year.”

As for Daley, who broke his ankle in the Eastern Conference Finals, he has been training hard on the ankle for the last three or four weeks.  He’s set to begin his first full season with Pittsburgh after being acquired from Chicago last December.

More from the Eastern Conference:

  • Red Wings right winger Teemu Pulkkinen has been cleared for contact following shoulder surgery back in June, notes MLive’s Ansar Khan. Pulkkinen struggled in his first full NHL campaign last season, spending a lot of time as a healthy scratch.  He got into just 36 games, recording six goals and six assists, a disappointment considering he had scored just over a point per game in the AHL.  The 24 year old is hoping to be able to get into a couple of games towards the end of the preseason with the hoping of being available for Detroit’s season opener.  His recovery appears to be well ahead of schedule as he was originally expected to miss 4-6 months.
  • Forward Peter Mueller, who is attending training camp on a PTO, is open to signing an AHL contract, reports WEEI’s DJ Bean. The willingness to play in the minors hasn’t always been there as two years ago Mueller requested his release after training camp with St. Louis, who had planned to send him to their AHL affiliate.  Last season, Mueller played with Malmo of the SHL, picking up 13 goals and 12 assists in 43 games.  His positional versatility could come in handy for the Bruins as Mueller has spent time at all three forward positions in recent years.
  • The Panthers have decided to bring Aaron Ekblad back to Florida, which all but confirms that he will miss the remainder of the World Cup of Hockey, tweets Harvey Fialkov of the Sun Sentinel. Ekblad, who was on Team North America, missed Monday’s game due to an upper body injury.  Still with North America’s back end, Columbus defenseman Ryan Murray missed practice today but is expected to play tomorrow vs Sweden, reports ESPN’s Craig Custance.

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