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Tyler Motte

Vancouver Canucks Re-Sign Tyler Motte

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The Vancouver Canucks have signed restricted free agent Tyler Motte to a one-year, $975K contract. The deal will leave Motte a RFA again next summer, though he will have arbitration rights. GM Jim Benning explained the move:

Tyler plays a physical, two-way game that complements our forward group. He’s strong on the forecheck, helps our penalty kill and showed he can contribute offensively last year. We’re pleased to have Tyler continue his career as a member of the Vancouver Canucks.

Motte, 24, ended up playing in 74 games last season for the Canucks, scoring nine goals and 16 points in a limited role. He did however lead the team in hits by a good margin, sacrificing his own body countless times to hunt down pucks in the offensive zone. The problem with logging that many hits—200 in his 74 contests—is it usually means that you don’t have the puck much. Motte registered terrible possession numbers for the third straight season in his young career, something that will have to improve if he’s ever to make a big impact on the team.

He becomes the 11th forward on the Canucks roster with a one-way contract, and with three more restricted free agents to go—Brock Boeser, Josh Leivo and Nikolay Goldobin—the team will have to make some tough decisions on who stays and who goes down to the minor leagues. The only waiver-exempt forwards on the roster are Boeser, Elias Pettersson and Adam Gaudette, meaning Vancouver will be in quite the roster crunch when the season rolls around if they don’t make any trades this summer.

Vancouver Canucks Send Three To AHL

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Now that the Vancouver Canucks’ season is over, they’ve sent Nikolay Goldobin, Tyler Motte and Ashton Sautner to the Utica Comets for their upcoming playoff run. While Sautner was up under emergency conditions and could always be sent back, both Goldobin and Motte had been involved in paper transactions at the trade deadline to make them eligible for the AHL playoffs. Reid Boucher, who is also eligible, would need to clear waivers in order to be assigned to the AHL.

The Comets have clinched their playoff spot with three games remaining, but are looking at a first round matchup with the Toronto Marlies if they can’t catch the Rochester Americans in the next few days. Though anything can happen in a playoff series, the Marlies have been the best team in the AHL for much of the season and will head in as the top seed.

Goldobin especially should be a huge help for the Comets, as he finished fifth in team scoring despite playing just 28 games in the minor leagues this season. His 30 points in those games continued the near point-per-game pace he’s set in the minors. The 22-year old forward should spend most of the season in Vancouver again next year.

Trade Deadline Recap: Eastern Conference

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After a month of lead up, a sprinkling of trades over the last week or so, and a wild deadline day today, NHL teams are done with transactions for the 2017-18 NHL season. Here are the deals that improved contenders in the Eastern Conference:

Deadline Day

Tampa Bay Lightning receive:
D Ryan McDonagh
F J.T. Miller

New York Rangers receive:
F Vladislav Namestnikov
F Brett Howden
D Libor Hajek
2018 first-round pick
Conditional 2019 second-round pick

 

Columbus Blue Jackets receive:
F Thomas Vanek

Vancouver Canucks receive:
F Tyler Motte
F Jussi Jokinen

 

Columbus Blue Jackets receive:
D Ian Cole

Ottawa Senators receive:
F Nick Moutrey
2020 third-round pick

 

New Jersey Devils receive:
F Patrick Maroon

Edmonton Oilers receive:
F J.D. Dudek
2019 third-round pick

 

New York Islanders receive:
F Chris Wagner

Anaheim Ducks receive:
F Jason Chimera

 

Boston Bruins receive:
F Tommy Wingels

Chicago Blackhawks receive:
Conditional 2019 fifth-round pick

 

Pittsburgh Penguins receive:
F Josh Jooris

Carolina Hurricanes receive:
F Greg McKegg

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Columbus Blue Jackets Acquire Thomas Vanek From Vancouver Canucks

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The Columbus Blue Jackets have continued to add, acquiring Thomas Vanek from the Vancouver Canucks according to Bob McKenzie of TSN. Vancouver will get Tyler Motte and Jussi Jokinen in return.

Vanek is the definition of a trade deadline rental, and will play for his eighth club in Columbus. Last season he brought the Detroit Red Wings a third-round pick, but Vancouver decided to target a young player instead.

In Motte, the Canucks receive a 22-year old center that was only acquired by Columbus last summer. Part of the Brandon Saad–Artemi Panarin trade, he looked like a player who could compete for a fourth-line spot and perhaps move up the lineup if his offensive potential started to show. The former Michigan Wolverine scored 32 goals in 38 games in his final NCAA season, but has just 12 points in 64 career NHL games.

Jokinen will be joining his fourth team of the season, and is just a body to even out some of the salary in the deal. After being bought out by the Florida Panthers last offseason, he signed a $1.1MM deal with Edmonton before being flipped for Mike Cammalleri early in the year. He was then claimed off waivers by the Blue Jackets, and now flipped again to Vancouver. The veteran forward can play multiple positions, but has just seven points on the season and looks close to being out of the league entirely.

Vanek looks like a great fit in Columbus, who have needed some help on the powerplay all season. After finding chemistry with Brock Boeser in Vancouver this year, Vanek has 41 points in 61 games and can still be a healthy offensive contributor in a sheltered role. The 34-year old was once one of the league’s very best goal scoring threats, but will only be needed to be a secondary option on a deep Blue Jackets roster.

Minor Transactions: 01/24/18

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We’ve already seen a signing today that brought Nathan Gerbe back into the North American fold, but there will be several other minor moves around the league. Right here is where we’ll keep track of all of them.

  • The Winnipeg Jets have recalled Tucker Poolman from the minor leagues, placing Shawn Matthias on injured reserve. The move could be due to Dmitry Kulikov’s injury, suffered after being hit by Tomas Hertl last night. Poolman has played 13 games this season for the Jets, recording a single point but showing that he could potentially be an answer on defense in the coming years. The 24-year old turned pro out of the University of North Dakota last March, and will be a restricted free agent at the end of this season.
  • Oscar Dansk has been loaned back to the Chicago Wolves, now that he is healthy enough to return to action. Dansk was moved off injured reserve this week and will continue his development in the AHL. The 23-year old played in four games with the Vegas Golden Knights this season, allowing just five goals and recording a .946 save percentage.
  • The Detroit Red Wings have indeed sent David Booth to the minor leagues now that he’s cleared waivers for the third time. The team recalled Dominic Turgeon, who had only just been sent down this week, to take his place.
  • The Columbus Blue Jackets have sent Tyler Motte back to the minor leagues, another good sign for Cam Atkinson who is close to returning. Atkinson had his foot broken by a Seth Jones shot just a month ago, but has been skating with the team recently.
  • With James Reimer dealing with a lower-body injury, the Florida Panthers have recalled goaltender Samuel Montembeault from the AHL. That puts the Panthers with a duo of Montembeault and Harri Sateri, who have a combined three NHL appearances (all Sateri). It’s not clear how serious Reimer’s injury is, but we’ll surely find out soon.
  • According to Kevin Kurz of The Athletic, the San Jose Sharks have brought Marcus Sorensen back up from the minor leagues after getting the news that Joe Thornton would be out at least a couple of weeks. Sorensen has played 15 games for the Sharks this season, scoring three goals.
  • The Penguins Penguins have sent goaltender Tristan Jarry to AHL Wilkes-Barre/Scranton.  This will allow him to play in up to two games in the minors during the NHL All-Star break.  Jarry has lost playing time to Casey DeSmith in recent games so this will serve as an opportunity to keep him in playing shape before deciding whether or not to bring him back afterwards.

Sonny Milano Out Four To Six Weeks; Tyler Motte Recalled

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The Columbus Blue Jackets add another reason to their claim of Jussi Jokinen earlier today, as they announce that Sonny Milano will be out four to six weeks with a torn oblique. The team has also recalled Tyler Motte from the AHL for the time being.

Milano was injured during a game earlier this month against the Toronto Maple Leafs, and will miss out on a big chunk of his first full-time chance in the NHL. In 35 games this season, Milano had 13 points. The 21-year old is a big part of the Blue Jackets future, and could be considered a trade deadline acquisition when he’s able to return later in February.

The Blue Jackets, who currently sit third in the Metropolitan Division but have struggled recently, are one of the most interesting teams to watch as the trade deadline approaches. Though Jokinen could be an option to fix some of their powerplay woes and depth issues up front, they likely are continuing to monitor the trade market for a more impactful fix.

Still dealing with injured reserve stints for Brandon Dubinsky and Cam Atkinson, Columbus could be a tough team to bring down if they could ever get healthy. With Milano now joining the walking wounded, the team could be forced to make an additional move before long to make sure they don’t fall behind in the extremely competitive Metro. They sit just five points ahead of the last-place Hurricanes, and at any point could fall out of a playoff spot.

Minor Transactions: 1/13/18

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With several teams ending their bye weeks, Saturday is once again shaping up to be a busy day in the NHL with nine games on tap.  Here is where we’ll keep tabs on the minor roster moves of the day.

  • Following their loss to Vancouver on Friday, the Blue Jackets announced (Twitter link) that they have sent winger Tyler Motte and goaltender Joonas Korpisalo to AHL Cleveland. Motte has spent the bulk of the season on the fourth line in Columbus but should be in line for more playing time in the minors while Korpisalo’s reassignment has been classified as a conditioning stint.  He has made just two starts at the NHL level since December 2nd but has had a couple of appearances with Cleveland already this month after being sent down earlier in the month.  With Columbus on their bye, both will likely be recalled next week.
  • The Capitals announced that they have returned winger Travis Boyd to Hershey of the AHL.  His stint with the big club was short-lived as he was only recalled yesterday and he did not play in their game against Carolina.  Boyd has been productive at the minor league level this season, tallying 27 points (8-19-27) in 37 games.  Washington has also returned winger Jakub Vrana and defenseman Madison Bowey to Hershey, via the AHL’s transactions page.  The moves come as no surprise with the Caps on their bye as they have been shuffling the two back and forth on a regular basis recently to save a little bit of cap room.
  • With the Lightning entering their bye, the team has sent goaltender Louis Domingue back to AHL Syracuse, per a team release.  Domingue has made one appearance with Tampa Bay since being recalled, earning a victory over Detroit.  That is his lone win this season as he struggled considerably in six appearances with Arizona earlier this season.  CapFriendly notes via Twitter that Connor Ingram has been recalled to take Domingue’s spot and keep the team at the mandatory minimum goalies on the roster.
  • The Stars have recalled defenseman Dillon Heatherington from Texas of the AHL, CapFriendly reports (Twitter link).  The 2013 second-round pick has yet to play in an NHL game.  He is in his third professional season and has picked up three goals and ten assists in 39 minor league contests so far this season.
  • The Canucks announced via Twitter that they have assigned winger Nikolay Goldobin to AHL Utica.  The 22-year-old has been reasonably productive this season with four points in 14 games but saw just 6:32 of ice time last night as Sven Baertschi’s return dropped him down the depth chart.  He’ll be in line for much more playing time with the Comets where he has averaged more than a point per game (19 points in 18 contests) so far this season.
  • After losing both Darren Helm and Justin Abdelkader to injuries during today’s game against the Pittsburgh Penguins, MLive’s Ansar Khan reports the Detroit Red Wings have recalled Dominic Turgeon from the Grand Rapids Griffins of the AHL this evening for Sunday’s game against the Chicago Blackhawks. The 21-year-old center was a third-round pick in 2014 and will be making his first trip to Detroit. He has nine goals and 14 assists in 23 games for the Griffins this year.

Minor Transactions: 12/27/17

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As the NHL gets back to its regularly scheduled programming today, league rosters will start to thaw after the holiday season. At 12:00am on December 28th, teams will be once again allowed to trade, waive and loan any player on the active roster. For now, we’ll have to make do with recalls from the minor leagues.

Minor Transactions: 12/24/17

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After a 15-game schedule on Saturday and a three-day holiday break, you would expect little action over the next few days, but a few teams made a few roster moves before starting their vacations. Let’s see if more are coming …

  • The Ottawa Senators made four roster moves this morning, sending goaltender Daniel Taylor, defensemen Andreas Englund and Ben Harpur as well as forward Chris Didomenico to the Belleville Senators of the AHL. Taylor was recalled due to the unavailability of goaltender Craig Anderson. DiDomenico was brought up Friday after injuries to Zack Smith and Bobby Ryan and played in 8:47 of ice time in Saturday’s 1-0 loss to Florida. Englund was recalled after the team lost forward Gabriel Dumont and Harpur has been up and down all season covering the team’s many injuries. Harpur played in 14:22 on Saturday, while Englund and Taylor were scratches.
  • The Montreal Canadiens assigned defenseman Brett Lernout to the Laval Rocket of the AHL Sunday morning. Lernout got into Saturday’s game to fill in defensive injuries with Shea Weber out, and played 14:43 of ice time and getting two hits in. He was recalled on Thursday.
  • The Columbus Blue Jackets made three moves of their own, assigning forwards Jordan Schroeder, Tyler Motte and defenseman Cameron Gaunce to the Cleveland Monsters of the AHL. Both Schroeder and Motte were recalled on emergency loans Saturday for the team’s 2-1 shootout win over the Philadelphia Flyers. Both played in the game. Gaunce had been recalled on Dec. 17, but didn’t play in a game.
  • The Los Angeles Kings made a couple of moves Sunday, as they assigned defenseman Kevin Gravel and goaltender Jack Campbell to the Ontario Reign of the AHL. Neither player got into a game with the Kings. Campbell was an emergency backup last night as backup Darcy Kuemper was unavailable. Gravel was recalled after the team placed defenseman Christian Folin on injured reserve.

Columbus Blue Jackets Recall Motte, Schroeder

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The Columbus Blue Jackets have made a pair of roster moves before tomorrow’s game, recalling both Tyler Motte and Jordan Schroeder. Schroeder is up on emergency conditions, which signals an injury somewhere on the roster. It likely means that Alexander Wennberg, whose status was unclear for the game, won’t be available. Wennberg missed the end of last night’s game against Pittsburgh, though no injury has been disclosed at this point.

Interestingly, the team had just sent down Sonny Milano earlier today and instead recalled Motte and Schroeder. Both players have experience at center, a position that has continuously frustrated the Blue Jackets this season. Without Brandon Dubinsky, the team has been forced to use Nick Foligno at center again recently, something that’s not ideal for their roster. If Pierre-Luc Dubois hadn’t burst onto the scene this season and been able to handle a full load, the team would be in even worse condition.

The Blue Jackets were in on Matt Duchene earlier in the year, and adding a center seems like an inevitable scenario for the team before the trade deadline. While Motte is an interesting player for the future, he doesn’t represent an answer at present. With the team just one point out of first, and seven points out of last in the Metropolitan Division, even the smallest of margins can be the difference between going to the playoffs and going to play golf this season.

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