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Turner Elson

Waivers: 9/29/23

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As training camps and the preseason continues, teams continue to trim down their roster to get closer to the final group of players they’ll carry when the regular season gets underway next month. We’ll keep track of the names that hit the waiver wire here.  Today’s list was provided by Sportsnet’s Elliotte Friedman (Twitter link).

Colorado Avalanche (per team Twitter)

D Keaton Middleton
F Spencer Smallman

New York Rangers

F Alex Belzile
F Anton Blidh
F Turner Elson
D Ty Emberson
D Connor Mackey
F Riley Nash

New Jersey Devils

D Tyler Wotherspoon

St. Louis Blues

F Adam Gaudette

The Rangers have the players of some note on this list.  Belzile held his own as a midseason recall with Montreal last season, notching six goals and eight assists in just 31 games.  That allowed the 32-year-old to get a two-year commitment from New York this summer including a one-way salary in 2024-25.  Nash didn’t see any NHL action last season but is no stranger to playing at the top level as a fourth-line center, suiting up 627 times over parts of 11 years.  Blidh struggled in limited action with Colorado last season while Elson has just three NHL appearances thus far in his career.

Mackey could be a name to keep an eye on.  The 27-year-old split last year between Calgary and Arizona, getting into a career-best 30 games.  His performance there also earned him an opportunity to play at the Worlds for Team USA, his second appearance in that tournament over the last three years.  This will be Emberson’s first time on waivers.  The 23-year-old saw his production in the minors improve considerably last season, going from 11 points to 27 but he still sits fairly low on New York’s depth chart.

As for the other players on waivers today, Gaudette has 218 career NHL appearances under his belt and last season was the first time he didn’t see action at the top level in his six-year professional career.  He was a productive scorer in the minors in 2022-23, notching 51 points between the affiliates of the Maple Leafs and Blues, who acquired him at the trade deadline.  Wotherspoon last played in the NHL back in 2016-17 with Calgary while Middleton has three NHL games under his belt back in the 2020-21 campaign.  Smallman, meanwhile, hasn’t seen any NHL action over his seven professional campaigns and is coming off a career-best 13 goals with AHL Colorado last season.

These players will be on waivers until 1 PM CT on Saturday.

East Notes: Bruins, Werenski, Elson

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The Boston Bruins got some expected but tough news today, with captain and two-way dynamo Patrice Bergeron retiring after a fruitful 19-year career with the club. However, their focus can’t drift too far away from their main to-do list items still unchecked this offseason: new contracts for restricted free agents Jeremy Swayman and Trent Frederic.

Boston is facing arbitration hearings with both players. Swayman’s is up first on July 30, while Frederic’s is slated for August 1. The two parties have up until the start of the hearing to settle on a deal themselves – otherwise, their next contracts will be decided by an independent arbitrator. Independent Bruins reporter Joe Haggerty surmised today that a pair of recent arbitrators’ decisions, Chicago’s Philipp Kurashev (two years, $2.25MM AAV) and Toronto’s Ilya Samsonov (one year, $3.55MM AAV), have set the framework for Frederic’s and Swayman’s deals if they both reach arbitration. It’s worth noting that Samsonov was only eligible for a one-year deal via arbitration, given his pending UFA eligibility next season, while Swayman is still eligible for two. Even so, a combined $5.8MM cap hit for Frederic and Swayman would push the Bruins to the limit of the salary cap, per CapFriendly, and would likely result in the team carrying less than the maximum 23-man roster to start the season.

More out of the Eastern Conference today:

  • The Columbus Blue Jackets need a giant refresh button after a disappointing and injury-laden campaign last season. No one needs it more than their number one defender, Zach Werenski, who’ll be ready to go after missing all but 13 games last season with a shoulder injury. Today he told reporters, including BlueJackets.com’s Jeff Svoboda, that he’s met with incoming head coach Mike Babcock and is feeling revitalized ahead of an important transitional season for the club. Werenski said the conversation “kind of fired me up a little bit. I think from that point on, I just wanted to get to training camp and get the season going.” The 26-year-old left-shot defender registered eight points in his limited action last year and skated over 23 minutes per game.
  • A rare press release error was clarified by CapFriendly today, confirming that minor-league forward Turner Elson will remain under contract with the Rangers next season despite the team saying they’d signed him to a one-year deal in 2022. CapFriendly reported the two-year deal correctly at the time. Elson, 30, played a bottom-six role with the AHL’s Hartford Wolf Pack last year and will earn a minimum guaranteed salary of $250K in 2023-24. Coming to the Rangers last summer after a decade spent in the Calgary Flames, Colorado Avalanche, and Detroit Red Wings organizations, Elson registered a strong 17 goals, 24 assists and 41 points in a team-leading 72 games for the Wolf Pack. It’s been quite the winding career for the undrafted free agent, who has three NHL games to his name and has cemented himself as solid veteran leadership and scoring depth in the minors.

New York Rangers Sign Turner Elson

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The New York Rangers have signed some AHL depth, inking forward Turner Elson to a two-year, two-way deal with a $762.5K cap hit, per CapFriendly. He’ll make $750K NHL salary in 2022-23 and $775K in 2023-24, while earning a minor salary of $225K in both seasons. He’s also guaranteed $250K in both years.

The 29-year-old Elson saw his first NHL action this year since he got his first NHL game all the way back in 2015-16. He’d spent the last five years in the Detroit Red Wings organization, serving as an alternate captain with the AHL’s Grand Rapids Griffins. His leadership there has obviously helped the Wings as the prospects they developed begin to hit NHL ice.

He’ll try and keep the same role in the Rangers organization, this time with the Hartford Wolf Pack. A dependable bottom-six AHL option, Elson should only see ice time with the Rangers if an extreme number of injuries occur.

Detroit Red Wings Sign Turner Elson

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How about rewarding a strong performance at the minor league level with a taste of the NHL? The Detroit Red Wings have done just that, signing Turner Elson to a one-year contract for the remainder of the 2021-22 season. According to PuckPedia, Elson is expected to play in the final two games of the season for the Red Wings and will carry a pro-rated NHL salary of $750K.

Elson, 29, will be an unrestricted free agent again at the end of the year, but gets a few days of increased pay and another chance to play in the NHL. The long-time minor league forward played one game for the Calgary Flames in 2015-16 and has been a pillar of the Grand Rapids Griffins lineup for the past five years. This season, in 73 games, he has 21 goals and 45 points, both career highs.

An ECHL Kelly Cup champion, the undrafted Elson may very well have to settle for another AHL contract next season, though he has put together quite the career in the minor leagues. Over parts of 11 seasons, he has played in 469 AHL contests, scoring 95 goals and 210 points. Notably, signing this contract means he is no longer eligible to play for the Griffins this season, but they will not be making the playoffs as they sit last in the Central Division with a winning percentage of just .486.

Training Camp Cuts: 01/12/21

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It’s the last day before NHL hockey returns, so teams will have to finalize their rosters and get ready for action. Though most of the heavy lifting was done yesterday, there will still be some cuts made today. We’ll keep track of them right here. This page will be updated throughout the day as more releases come in.

Buffalo Sabres (via team release):

F Andrew Oglevie (to Rochester, AHL)
F Arttu Ruotsalainen (to Rochester, AHL)
D Jacob Bryson (to Rochester, AHL)
D Mattias Samuelsson (to Rochester, AHL)

Carolina Hurricanes (via team release):

F Jeremy Bracco (to Chicago, AHL)
F David Cotton (to Chicago, AHL)
F Jason Cotton (to Chicago, AHL)
F Seth Jarvis (to Chicago, AHL)
F Stelio Mattheos (to Chicago, AHL)
F Jamieson Rees (to Chicago, AHL)
F Sheldon Rempal (to Chicago, AHL)
F Drew Shore (to Chicago, AHL)
F Spencer Smallman (to Chicago, AHL)
F Ryan Suzuki (to Chicago, AHL)
D Joey Keane (to Chicago, AHL)
D Maxime Lajoie (to Chicago, AHL)
G Antoine Bibeau (to Chicago, AHL)

Chicago Blackhawks (via team release):

F John Quenneville (to Rockford, AHL)
D Anton Lindholm (to Rockford, AHL)
D Nick Seeler (to Rockford, AHL)
G Matt Tomkins (to Rockford, AHL)

Detroit Red Wings (via team release):

F Riley Barber (to Grand Rapids, AHL)
F Kyle Criscuolo (to Grand Rapids, AHL)
F Turner Elson (to Grand Rapids, AHL)
F Taro Hirose (to Grand Rapids, AHL)
F Chase Pearson (to Grand Rapids, AHL)
F Evgeny Svechnikov (to Grand Rapids, AHL)
F Dominic Turgeon (to Grand Rapids, AHL)
D Joe Hicketts (to Grand Rapids, AHL)
D Brian Lashoff (to Grand Rapids, AHL)
D Dylan McIlrath (to Grand Rapids, AHL)
G Kaden Fulcher (to Grand Rapids, AHL)
G Pat Nagle (released)

Montreal Canadiens (via team release):

F Brandon Baddock (to Laval, AHL)
F Alex Belzile (to Laval, AHL)
F Joseph Blandisi (to Laval, AHL)
F Laurent Dauphin (to Laval, AHL)
F Jacob Lucchini (to Laval, AHL)
F Joel Teasdale (to Laval, AHL)
F Lukas Vejdemo (to Laval, AHL)
F Jordan Weal (to Laval, AHL)
D Otto Leskinen (to Laval, AHL)
D Gustav Olofsson (to Laval, AHL)
D Xavier Ouellet (to Laval, AHL)
G Vasili Demchenko (to Laval, AHL)
G Michael McNiven (to Laval, AHL)
G Cayden Primeau (to Laval, AHL)
F Kevin Lynch (to Laval, AHL)

 

Philadelphia Flyers (via team release):

F Pascal Laberge (to Lehigh Valley, AHL)
F Zayde Wisdom (to Lehigh Valley, AHL)
F Linus Sandin (to Lehigh Valley, AHL)
F Tyson Foerster (to Lehigh Valley, AHL)
F Matthew Strome (to Lehigh Valley, AHL)
D Tyler Wotherspoon (to Lehigh Valley, AHL)
D Mason Millman (to Lehigh Valley, AHL)
D Chris Bigras (to Lehigh Valley, AHL)
D Derrick Pouliot (to Lehigh Valley, AHL)
D Egor Zamula (to Lehigh Valley, AHL)
D Wyatte Wylie (to Lehigh Valley, AHL)
G Felix Sandstrom (to Lehigh Valley, AHL)
F Max Willman (to Lehigh Valley, AHL)
G Roddy Ross (to Lehigh Valley, AHL)

San Jose Sharks (via team release):

F Kurtis Gabriel (to San Jose, AHL)
F Antti Suomela (to San Jose, AHL)
D Trevor Carrick (to San Jose, AHL)
D Nick DeSimone (to San Jose, AHL)
D Fredrik Claesson (to San Jose, AHL)

St. Louis Blues (via team release):

F Sam Anas (to Utica, AHL)
F Dakota Joshua (to Utica, AHL)
F Tanner Kaspick (to Utica, AHL)
F Hugh McGing (to Utica, AHL)
F Curtis McKenzie (to Utica, AHL)
F Jake Neighbours (to Utica, AHL)
F Evan Polei (to Utica, AHL)
F Nolan Stevens (to Utica, AHL)
F Nathan Walker (to Utica, AHL)
D Scott Perunovich (to Utica, AHL)
D Mitch Reinke (to Utica, AHL)
D Steven Santini (to Utica, AHL)
D Tyler Tucker (to Utica, AHL)
D Jake Walman (to Utica, AHL)
G Evan Fitzpatrick (to Utica, AHL)
G Jon Gillies (to Utica, AHL)
F Matthias Laferriere (to Blainville-Boisbriand, QMJHL)

Vancouver Canucks (via team release):

F Jonah Gadjovich (to Utica, AHL)
F Lukas Jasek (to Utica, AHL)
F Kole Lind (to Utica, AHL)
F Will Lockwood (to Utica, AHL)
D Josh Teves (to Utica, AHL)
D Jett Woo (to Utica, AHL)
G Jake Kielly (to Utica, AHL)

Washington Capitals (via team release):

F Shane Gersich (to Hershey, AHL)
F Michael Sgarbossa (to Hershey, AHL)
F Phillippe Maillet (to Hershey, AHL)
D Lucas Johansen (to Hershey, AHL)
D Paul Ladue (to Hershey, AHL)
D Cameron Schilling (to Hershey, AHL)

Red Wings Re-Sign Turner Elson

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Saturday: The Red Wings have officially announced the deal.

Friday: Detroit has kept one of their veteran minor leaguers around for another season as PuckPedia reports (Twitter link) that the Red Wings have re-signed forward Turner Elson to a one-year, two-way deal.  The contract will pay $725K in the NHL and $115K at the minor league level.

The 28-year-old has spent the past three seasons in Detroit’s farm system with AHL Grand Rapids.  After a career year in 2018-19 that saw him put up 18 goals and 21 assists in 72 games, his production dipped to closer to his usual level with 22 points (9-13-22) in 61 contests.

Elson has just one game of NHL experience in his seven-year professional career which came with Calgary back in 2015-16 but is still carving out a decent career as a veteran AHL player.  He was slated to become an unrestricted free agent next month but instead, he has chosen to stick around where he’s comfortable, even taking a pay cut in terms of his minor league pay to do so as he made $175K on the two-way portion of his deal this past season.

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