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Tom Kuhnhackl

Tom Kuhnhackl And Tim Schaller Sign Minor League Tryouts

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The way back to the NHL for wingers Tom Kuhnhackl and Tim Schaller will first require making an AHL team.  The Bridgeport Sound Tigers (affiliate of the Islanders) announced that they’ve inked Kuhnhackl to a PTO agreement for training camp while the Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins (affiliate of Pittsburgh) did the same for Schaller.

Kuhnhackl split last season between the Islanders and Sound Tigers with the majority of his playing time coming in New York where he played in 28 regular season games and three postseason contests compared to just four AHL games.  However, he was unable to land a contract in free agency and didn’t secure a two-way deal with the Isles in their training camp.  He’ll now look to land a one-way AHL deal in the hopes of getting converted to an NHL contract later on.

As for Schaller, the 30-year-old played in 53 NHL games last season, the majority of which came with Vancouver.  He had just five goals and one assist to speak for it and cleared waivers at the trade deadline, largely due to his $1.9MM AAV.  He could be an option for Pittsburgh if injuries strike midseason but in the meantime, he’ll be forced to try to lock down a guaranteed AHL deal first.

Dmytro Timashov Joins Islanders Camp

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The New York Islanders, notorious for failing to announce contract details, had another surprise as the on-ice portion of training camp opened today. According to Andrew Gross of Newsday, recently acquired restricted free agent Dmytro Timashov joined his new teammates. That means Timashov has signed a contract of some sort, whether it be a new NHL deal or perhaps a professional tryout.

The 24-year-old forward was acquired from the Detroit Red Wings last month, brought to New York for nothing more than future considerations. In 44 career NHL games, he has just nine points but does have a certain familiarity with GM Lou Lamoriello from their time together in the Toronto Maple Leafs organization.

Timashov’s contract should be officially announced at some point, along with Mathew Barzal who was also listed on the Islanders’ training camp roster (but has not appeared on the ice yet). Notably, that roster also included Tom Kuhnhackl who had not yet been announced as a re-sign, but could also be participating on a professional tryout.

As always, Lamoriello’s group is the most secretive in the NHL. For now, Timashov at least is taking part.

Islanders’ Cizikas, Kuhnhackl Will Miss Remainder Of Playoffs

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The New York Islanders sent out an injury update just before their Game 4 against the Tampa Bay Lightning. The team announced that injured forwards Casey Cizikas and Tom Kuhnhackl are both injured, have left the bubble and will not return for the remainder of the Stanley Cup Playoffs. Those are two key blows for the Islanders, who are trying to even up their series against Tampa Bay.

Cizikas missed Game 3 with an undisclosed injury and was thought to be a game-time decision for Game 4, but obviously, the injury was worse than anyone thought. The forward played in 18 games so far throughout the playoffs. While boasting just two assists during the playoffs, the forward has been invaluable as a fourth-line center next to Cal Clutterbuck and Matt Martin. Both Clutterbuck and Martin have been playing next to Jean-Gabriel Pageau in the meantime. However, with Cizikas out, the team loses an impressive defender who plays with much-needed physicality and matched up well against Tampa Bay’s size on the other side. He finished the regular season with 113 hits and a 53.5 percent faceoff win percentage and has been a candidate for the Selke in his career twice.

Kuhnhackl is another loss, albeit less significant. However, with the loss of Cizikas, Kuhnhackl’s injury is even more important. The 28-year-old forward has only appeared in three playoff games this season and splitting his regular season time between the Islanders and the Bridgeport Sound Tigers of the AHL. He has been a healthy scratch often when with the Islanders. However, with team depth being of utmost important with injuries mounting, Kuhnhackl might have seen more and more playing time.

No word on what type of injury each player has sustained.

Minor Transactions: 12/16/19

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Another week begins in the NHL with five games this evening, including two top tier Western Conference matchups. The St. Louis Blues and Colorado Avalanche battle for the top seed in the Central Division, while the Edmonton Oilers and Dallas Stars try to keep pace with the rest of their divisions. As always we’ll keep track of all the minor moves right here.

  • The Ottawa Senators have recalled J.C. Beaudin and Erik Brannstrom from the minor leagues, as they prepare for action against the Florida Panthers tonight. Brannstrom, the big return for Mark Stone last season, has now played in 23 games this season with the Senators and has two points.
  • Martin Marincin and Timothy Liljregren have both been recalled by the Toronto Maple Leafs, raising concern about the injury Tyson Barrie sustained over the weekend. X-rays on Barrie’s ankle were negative, but both defensemen have been recalled under emergency conditions. Liljegren, 20, would be playing in his first NHL game if he suits up for the Maple Leafs.
  • Tom Kuhnhackl has been recalled by the New York Islanders, after playing in four games with the Bridgeport Sound Tigers. The veteran forward is still looking for his first NHL point of the season after playing in six games earlier this year.
  • The Vancouver Canucks have swapped Guillaume Brisebois for Jalen Chatfield again, with the latter coming to the NHL today. Chatfield has still not made his debut with the Canucks yet, despite being recalled every few days this month.
  • Sam Carrick and Jacob Larsson have both been recalled by the Anaheim Ducks, while Josh Mahura is on his way back to the AHL. The 22-year old Larsson has played 25 games with the Ducks this season, but found himself demoted to the minor leagues at the beginning of the month.
  • The Minnesota Wild have announced a flurry of moves, highlighted by the placement of Joel Eriksson Ek on injured reserve. The young center has been sidelined recently, but he will officially take a seat for the next ten days or more as he nurses an upper-body injury. Fortunately, the Wild have been getting healthier elsewhere in the lineup, with starting goalie Devan Dubnyk among those slated for a return. As a result, young Kaapo Kahkonen has been reassigned to AHL Iowa. Filling the two newly vacated roster spots are forwards Nico Sturm and Luke Johnson. Sturm, a highly sought-after college free agent last year, has been a solid two-way contributor in the AHL this season. Johnson has been limited by injury to just ten AHL games this year, but returns to Minnesota after playing in 15 games with the Wild last season.
  • In one of the more common moves of this season so far, Brian Gibbons is on the move again, this time going to Carolina from AHL Charlotte. The veteran forward has been back and forth all year, logging 13 games wth the Hurricanes and 14 with the Checkers.

Minor Transactions: 12/05/19

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The Metropolitan Division kept on rolling last night, with wins by both the Washington Capitals and Pittsburgh Penguins. That group has five teams that would be divisional playoff seeds in the Atlantic, meaning they are running away with the wild card positions at the moment. With nine games on the schedule for tonight, we’ll see if the other Metro teams can keep pace.

  • The Ottawa Senators have sent Erik Brannstrom and Marcus Hogberg back to the AHL, probably a good decision for the development of their young defenseman at this point. Brannstrom was the prize for Mark Stone last season and needs to grow into that first-pairing option that the Senators believed he could be.
  • Cory Conacher has been brought right back to the Tampa Bay Lightning today, though he wasn’t in the morning skate lines as the group prepares for their game against the Minnesota Wild.
  • Tom Kuhnhackl has been placed on long-term injured reserve in order to get him a conditioning stint with the Bridgeport Sound Tigers, which actually signals that the veteran forward is getting closer to a return. Kuhnhackl has played just six games for the New York Islanders this season and is still looking for his first point.
  • The Colorado Avalanche have sent Logan O’Connor back to the minor leagues, suggesting that Gabriel Landeskog might be close to returning. The captain has been out for the last several weeks, but after Mikko Rantanen’s recent return the Avalanche are getting closer to full strength.
  • Matt Tennyson has been placed on injured reserve by the New Jersey Devils, while Jack Hughes returned to practice. The Devils are in a state of turmoil after firing head coach John Hynes, but will hopefully get their star forward into the lineup.

New York Islanders Place Martin, Kuhnhackl On IR

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The New York Islanders have placed both Matt Martin and Tom Kuhnhackl on injured reserve with lower-body injuries, retroactive to October 25th. In their place, the team has recalled prospect Otto Koivula from the AHL for the first time in his career.

Martin and Kuhnackl are both expected to miss four to six weeks after suffering serious injuries, meaning Koivula and other young players may get a chance with the Islanders.

Selected in the fourth round of the 2016 draft, the 21-year old forward didn’t join the Islanders organization until last season. The wait was worth it though as he performed quite well for the Bridgeport Sound Tigers in the AHL, recording 21 goals and 46 points in 69 games.

Not only does Koivula have some offensive upside, but he also brings a 6’4″ 225-lbs frame to the table for the Islanders, helping them replace some of the size they lost through injury. Whether he can contribute at the NHL level is still to be see, but he should get his chance.

Islanders’ Martin, Kuhnhackl Out Four To Six Weeks

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The New York Islanders have been dealing with injuries up front since the season began and that isn’t going to change any time soon. GM Lou Lamoriello spoke with the media this morning and The Athletic’s Arthur Staple relays the news that both Matt Martin and Tom Kuhnhackl will be out of the lineup with lower-body injuries for the next four to six weeks. The pair, who were both injured in the Islanders’ last game on Friday night, join Jordan Eberle, Leo Komarov, and Andrew Ladd on the shelf. The timeline would see Martin and Kuhnhackl return to action around when Ladd is also expected to be healthy, late November into early December.

Kuhnhackl was injured early in the first period on Friday against the Ottawa Senators when a crunching check left him favoring his right leg as he skated off the ice. There has been no specific designation of what his injury is, but it is certainly related to his left leg. Not long after that, Martin fell awkwardly into the Senators’ open bench door and appeared to injure his leg as well. With the Islanders already icing a lineup of eleven forwards and seven defensemen for the game, losing both Kuhnhackl and Martin would have left them with just nine forwards. Amazingly, given the recovery timeline of the injury he suffered, Martin returned to the game to avoid leaving New York with only three lines. Granted, he only managed 5:17 time on ice, but that was nearly double the lost Kuhnhackl. Perhaps even more impressive is that the Isles still came away with the 4-2 win over Ottawa despite the Senators outnumbering them by three healthy forwards.

Despite the prognosis for Martin and Kuhnhackl, Lamoriello stated that the team would not make a roster move right away. Staple provided updates that Komarov is considered day-to-day and Eberle has resumed skating, so the pair could return to action soon. While the Islanders wait for their now five-man group of veterans to recover, the team will lean on its younger forwards. New York scratched all three of Michael Dal Colle, Ross Johnston, and rookie Oliver Wahlstrom for their last game, but now the trio are all expected to join the starting roster for now. Fortunately, Casey Cizikas also just returned from the injured reserve and is able to help out. It will be entirely different looking bottom six when the Isles take the ice against the Philadelphia Flyers tonight and it could be a group that remains in flux through the next month or longer.

Islanders Re-Sign Tom Kuhnhackl

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The Islanders have kept part of their bottom six group of forwards intact just before free agency officially gets underway.  TVA Sports’ Renaud Lavoie reports (Twitter link) that New York has re-signed winger Tom Kuhnhackl to a one-year, $850K contract.

The 27-year-old spent most of last season with the Islanders despite passing through waivers unclaimed at the start of the year.  He wound up playing in 36 regular season contests, recording five goals and four assists to beat his output from 2017-18 in nearly half the games.  He also saw action in all eight postseason games and finished tied for fifth on the team in assists with three.

The deal represents a small raise for Kuhnhackl, who made $700K in 2018-19.  He will likely be in a battle to reprise his role on the fourth line depending on what else GM Lou Lamoriello has in store over the coming days.  They already have a dozen forwards under contract that saw regular NHL action last season and still have UFA winger Anders Lee as well as RFA winger Anthony Beauvillier in need of new contracts so it’s far from a guarantee that Kuhnhackl will be able to lock down a spot in training camp.

Minor Transactions: 11/05/18

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Ten teams are back in action tonight, kicked off by the reigning Stanley Cup champions welcoming Connor McDavid and the red hot Edmonton Oilers into Washington. Before the games start, we’ll be here keeping track of all the minor moves:

  • Tom Kuhnhackl has been recalled by the New York Islanders in time for their game tonight against the Montreal Canadiens. Kuhnhackl scored three points in his lone AHL contest, and will try to reestablish himself in the Islanders bottom six. Unfortunately, he’ll have to wait for at least one game as the Islanders will go with the same lineup that won on Saturday night.
  • Anton Blidh is the latest call-up for the Boston Bruins, giving them another option up front. The 23-year old forward has six points in 11 games for the Providence Bruins this season, but adds some energy and physicality to whatever lineup he joins.
  • The Florida Panthers are no longer carrying three goaltenders, as Michael Hutchinson has been returned to the minor leagues. Roberto Luongo was activated just before the team went to Europe, meaning Hutchinson is no longer required to stay with the group at the NHL level. Unfortunately, his short opportunity didn’t go well, as the 28-year old goaltender registered just an .839 save percentage in four appearances. He’ll still serve as quality depth at the position, but needs to get his game back on track.
  • Travis Boyd is back with the Washington Capitals after finishing his conditioning stint in the minor leagues. The 25-year old forward played two games with the Hershey Bears, but now will re-join the Capitals in time for their game against the Edmonton Oilers tonight. Nathan Walker has been reassigned to the AHL in the meantime, after clearing waivers today.

Islanders Sign Tom Kuhnhackl To One-Year Deal

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The New York Islanders announced they have added another depth player today, signing forward Tom Kuhnhackl to a one-year deal.  Terms have not been announced yet.

The 26-year-old spent the past three seasons with Pittsburgh in a fourth line role.  Last season, he played in a career-high 69 games but his production dropped to a career-low eight points.  He was also held off the scoresheet in a dozen postseason contests.  Despite that, the Penguins had offered him a two-year contract extension prior to the qualifying offer deadline last Monday but after they weren’t able to come to terms, the team opted to non-tender him instead of running the risk of him filing for salary arbitration.

With the Islanders, Kuhnhackl will likely reprise the role he had with Pittsburgh and serve in a penalty killing/checking role.  New York has been active in trying to fill out their roster since receiving the news that John Tavares wouldn’t be returning and since they’ve added some depth now, it wouldn’t be surprising to see them try to take a running at adding another top-six forward in the days to come.

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