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Xavier Ouellet

Minor Transactions: 02/29/20

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Today is leap day and a number of NHL teams will be looking to do just that when it comes to the standings. Saturday’s slate of a dozen games features ten games with at least one team in the thick of the playoff race, including six collisions between current playoff teams. The Bruins and Islanders kick off the action this afternoon; New York has a chance to pull into a tie with the Penguins for the final Metropolitan Division spot, but Boston has won their past ten road games versus the Isles. Later this afternoon, the Lightning – losers of four straight – look to get back on track as they host the Flames. The nighttime lineup begins with the Panthers, desperate for a win to keep up with the Maple Leafs, hosting head coach Joel Quenneville’s former club, the Blackhawks. Toronto will have their hands full themselves as they face the Canucks, who need to make the most of their games in hand to catch the red-hot Golden Knights. The new-look Hurricanes must do the same to keep up in the wild card race, as they visit the Canadiens. The Central Division could be in for a shake-up, as the streaking Avalanche take on the Predators while the equally hot Blues face the Stars. Finally, in late night action for those not on the west coast, the Jets and Oilers collide in a game that could make waves in the Western wild card chase, while the Penguins look to end the league’s worst current losing streak against the Sharks. With plenty of action, there very likely could be plenty of roster adjustments as well. Keep up with all those minor transactions right here:

  • The Columbus Blue Jackets announced that they have recalled Ryan MacInnis from the AHL’s Cleveland Monsters. MacInnis, 23, has been up and down a number of times this season, but has recorded just one assist in nine games with Columbus. However, he has already set a new career high in points in the minors, with 30 points in 45 games. The two-way center appears to be adding more of an offensive touch to his game, but just needs to transition that ability to the top level.
  • With the news that Blackhawks forwards Andrew Shaw and Zack Smith will not be returning this season due to their current injuries, there are opportunities for others to step up in the Chicago lineup. Brandon Hagel will get his chance, as the team has recalled the 21-year-old from the AHL’s Rockford Ice Hogs. The first-year pro has 19 goals and 30 points in 55 games with Rockford in an impressive debut campaign and will continue a year of firsts when he takes the ice for the first time with the Blackhawks. UPDATE: Unfortunately, for Hagel, the team announced they opted to return him just hours later as the Blackhawks did not need him.
  • CapFriendly reports that the Colorado Avalanche have reassigned forward Logan O’Connor to the AHL’s Colorado Eagles. The University of Denver product has been a fixture of Colorado hockey for many years now, but still has yet to make much of an impact at the NHL level with just one point in 14 games over the past two seasons.
  • The New Jersey Devils announced they have recalled forward Jesper Boqvist from the Binghamton Devils of the AHL. The team has been playing with 12 forwards and no reserves lately, but with three games in the next four days out on the West Coast, New Jersey is likely going to need some insurance at forward. Boqvist spent most of the season in New Jersey, posting four goals and no assists in 34 games, but was sent to the AHL on Jan. 19 to get more playing time. He has five goals and eight points in 15 games in Binghamton.
  • CapFriendly reports that the Montreal Canadiens have activated defenseman Xavier Ouellet off of injured reserve. The blueliner has missed more than a week with a concussion, but could be in the Canadiens’ lineup later today. That move could also signal the end for Karl Alzner, who replaced him on the roster and is likely headed for Laval.
  • The Philadelphia Flyers announced they have recalled forward Joel Farabee from the Lehigh Valley Phantoms of the AHL. Farabee was sent to the AHL last Monday, which allowed him to be eligible for the AHL playoffs. The 20-year-old has had an inconsistent rookie season with the Flyers, having posted seven goals and 20 points in 49 games, which included a January demotion to the Phantoms. He has two goals and three assists over his last nine games.
  • The Vegas Golden Knights announced they have recalled forward Brandon Pirri from the Chicago Wolves of the AHL. That likely suggests that forward Tomas Nosek, who left Friday’s game with an undisclosed injury. Pirri was expected to play a bigger role in Las Vegas this season after potting 12 goals last year. However, after going scoreless after 11 games, he was sent to Chicago where he has had 15 goals and 35 points in 38 games.

Montreal Canadiens Recall Karl Alzner

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For the first time in 2019-20, veteran defenseman Karl Alzner may finally see NHL action. The veteran defenseman has been recalled by the Montreal Canadiens for just the second time this season. The team announced that it is an emergency loan and Alzner will join the team on the road in Ottawa. Alzner, 31, has exclusively played in the AHL this season to the tune of a buried cap hit of $3.55MM.

While every off-season features regrettable signings, few have worked out as poorly in recent years as Montreal’s addition of Alzner in 2017. Alzner had established himself as a solid defensive blue liner over nine years with the Washington Capitals and leveraged that reputation into a five-year, $23.125MM contract that carried a $4.625MM AAV. Alzner actually played in all 82 games for the Habs in year one, but his combination of 12 points and a -7 rating made it arguably the worst season of his career. The Canadiens decided that they were a better team without their big free agent addition and kept Alzner buried in the minors for all but nine games in 2018-19.

This year, Alzner has been utilized even less to this point, making no NHL appearances with the regular season more than 75% complete. Yet, with Marco Scandella traded, Victor Mete on injured reserve, and Xavier Ouellet also sidelined, the Canadiens are hurting on the blue line. They also have a considerable amount of cap space and can easily afford to take on the extra cap bump of brining Alzner back to the NHL level. Whether or not Alzner, who has 13 points for the AHL’s Laval Rocket this season, will actually get into the lineup and even then make a difference remains to be seen, but the odds are that he will at least make an appearance.

As for next year and beyond, Montreal has been content to bury Alzner for two years now, but the question is whether they will continue to do so for another two years. Maybe Alzner could earn his way back into the mix with an impressive showing down the stretch this season, but that seems very unlikely. More probable is that the Canadiens could look to trade Alzner – who does have a seven-team no-trade list – or could buy him out, which would cost just under $4MM in 2020-21, just under $2MM in 2021-22, and only $833K for two years after that. Either way, this call-up could very well be both the first time this season and the last time ever that Alzner dons a Montreal sweater.

Snapshots: Sharks, Marchenko, Hronek

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Call it the thinnest of silver linings, but the numerous injuries of the San Jose Sharks may actually help the team to make something of their season. In a year in which everything has gone wrong in San Jose, including the season-ending injuries of Erik Karlsson and Tomas Hertl, the team is now in a position to take on considerable salary due to those absences and reap the rewards of doing so, writes NBC Sports’ Marcus White. The once cap-strapped Sharks now have more than $6MM in salary cap space following the trade of defenseman Brenden Dillon and that number could increase if more deals are made. This could allow for San Jose to land a pick or prospect from a contender lacking in cap flexibility who has been weighed down by a bad contract. Of course, the team would likely be looking for expiring contracts so as not to carry the added cap weight into next season, when they hope to be healthy and competitive once again. Still, there are a number of bad contracts out there that the Sharks could take on, making the most of a deadline in which they otherwise don’t have many valuable pieces to trade away.

  • Former NHL defenseman Alexey Marchenko is eyeing a return to North America and KHL insider Igor Eronko thinks that he has identified the most likely landing spot. Eronko notes that Marchenko’s teammate with CSKA Moscow is Montreal Canadiens’ top defensive prospect Alexander Romanov and the highest likelihood that Romanov could make the jump next year would be if he is joined by a familiar face. Marchenko, who struggled to carve out an NHL role for himself previously, has improved in the KHL and could be a suitable replacement on the Montreal blue line for impending free agents such as Christian Folin or Xavier Ouellet.
  • One of the few bright spots of the Detroit Red Wings’ dismal season has been the continued growth of defenseman Filip Hronek, who has become a dependable all-around defender for the franchise. However, fans can’t even cling to that as a reason to tune in to games for the next few weeks, as the Red Wings have placed Hronek on injured reserve. His injury is not expected to be serious, but the team also lacks any reason to rush him back to action. Long-time depth asset Brian Lashoff has been recalled to take Hronek’s roster spot for the time being.

Shea Weber Placed On Injured Reserve

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In what has been a terribly frustrating season for the Montreal Canadiens, this may be the breaking point. Shea Weber has been moved to injured reserve with a lower-body injury, according to several reports including Eric Engels of Sportsnet. The star defenseman will be out at least a week, but the Canadiens have not determined the exact extent of the injury. With several other injuries piling up—including Jordan Weal, Tomas Tatar, Ryan Poehling and Jonathan Drouin who may all miss tonight’s game—the team has recalled Xavier Ouellet and Jake Evans from the minor leagues.

Weber has been a shining light in an otherwise dreary season for the Canadiens, who currently have a 25-23-7 record despite going 7-3 in their last ten. The 34-year old defenseman has turned back the clock and has 13 goals and 34 points through 55 games, undoubtedly serving as the team’s leader both on and off the ice.

It’s not like Weber hasn’t been great for Montreal in the past, but injuries have stolen the last two seasons and now threaten this year as well. Since coming to the Canadiens in 2016-17, Weber has played just 217 of a possible 301 games.

Even with their recent encouraging play, it seems as though this is a cursed season. You can bet Weber’s absence will only amplify the rumors already swirling around players like Tatar and Jeff Petry as the trade deadline approaches.

Training Camp Cuts: 09/26/19

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Like always, we’ll keep you aware of all the training camp cuts right here. Keep checking back to see the updated list:

Anaheim Ducks (per team release)

F Alex Broadhurst (to San Diego, AHL)
D Hunter Drew (to San Diego, AHL)
D Zack Hayes (to San Diego, AHL)
F Justin Kloos (to San Diego, AHL)
F Jack Kopacka (to San Diego, AHL)
D Patrick Sieloff (to San Diego, AHL)
D Chris Wideman (to San Diego, AHL)
G Anthony Stolarz (to San Diego, AHL)

Boston Bruins (per team release)

F Ryan Fitzgerald (to Providence, AHL)
F Joona Koppanen (to Providence, AHL)
F Zach Senyshyn (to Providence, AHL)
F Pavel Shen (to Providence, AHL)
F Oskar Steen (to Providence, AHL)
D Jeremy Lauzon (to Providence, AHL)
D Urho Vaakanainen (to Providence, AHL)
G Kyle Keyser (to Providence, AHL)
F Paul Carey (placed on waivers before AHL assignment)
F Brendan Gaunce (placed on waivers before AHL assignment)
D Alexander Petrovic (placed on waivers before AHL assignment)

Buffalo Sabres (per team release)

F Dylan Cozens (to Lethbridge, WHL)

Carolina Hurricanes (per team release)

F Morgan Geekie (to Charlotte, AHL)
F Janne Kuokkanen (to Charlotte, AHL)
F Steven Lorentz (to Charlotte, AHL)
F Eetu Luostarinen (to Charlotte, AHL)
F Stelio Mattheos (to Charlotte, AHL)
D Jake Bean (to Charlotte, AHL)
D Kyle Wood (to Charlotte, AHL)
G Alex Nedeljkovic (to Charlotte, AHL)
D Jesper Sellgren (to Lulea HF, SHL)
F Ryan Suzuki (to Barrie, OHL)

Colorado Avalanche (per team release)

D Bowen Byram (to Vancouver, WHL)
F Martin Kaut (to Colorado, AHL)
F Sheldon Dries (to Colorado, AHL)
F Logan O’Connor (to Colorado, AHL)
F Michael Joly (to Colorado, AHL)
G Hunter Miska (to Colorado, AHL)
D Jacob MacDonald (placed on waivers before AHL assignment)
D Dan Renouf (placed on waivers before AHL assignment)

Edmonton Oilers (per team release)

F Kailer Yamamoto (to Bakersfield, AHL)

Florida Panthers (per team release)

F Anthony Greco (to Springfield, AHL)
D Ian McCoshen (to Springfield, AHL)
G Chris Driedger (to Springfield, AHL)

Montreal Canadiens (per team release)

F Matthew Peca (placed on waivers before AHL assignment)
F Phil Varone (placed on waivers before AHL assignment)
F Dale Weise (placed on waivers before AHL assignment)
D Karl Alzner (placed on waivers before AHL assignment)
D Xavier Ouellet (placed on waivers before AHL assignment)

New York Rangers (per team release)

F Daniel O’Regan (to Hartford, AHL)

Ottawa Senators (per team release)

F Parker Kelly (to Belleville, AHL)
G Marcus Hogberg (to Belleville, AHL)
F Nick Paul (placed on waivers before AHL assignment)
F Jordan Szwarz (placed on waivers before AHL assignment)

Vegas Golden Knights (per Jesse Granger, The Athletic)

F Reid Duke (to Chicago, AHL)
D Dylan Coughlan (to Chicago, AHL)

Montreal Canadiens Re-Sign Xavier Ouellet

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The Montreal Canadiens have re-signed Xavier Ouellet to a one-year, two-way contract that pays him $700K at the NHL level. Ouellet was set to become a restricted free agent this summer.

Now 25, Ouellet has had quite the odd start to his NHL career. After being selected in the second round by the Detroit Red Wings in 2011, he quickly made his way through their system and debuted in the NHL during the 2013-14 season. By 2017, he signed a two-year $2.5MM extension with the Red Wings after spending the entire year in the NHL, but saw that contract bought out just a year later. It’s rare you see a player that young bought out, and it actually comes with different rules. The Red Wings were forced to pay out just one third of the remaining salary, ~$433K spread over two years.

Ouellet, then an unrestricted free agent, signed a one-year two-way contract with the Canadiens to continue his career. While he played 19 games for Montreal, his real impact came at the minor league level where the Laval Rocket named him captain in February after a trade took Byron Froese out of town. Oullet ended up with 28 points in 47 games for the Rocket as their primary puck-mover on the blue line, and now heads into next season as the young captain of a squad trying to make their way in the AHL.

He also represents some important depth for the Canadiens, given that he does have 160 games under his belt at the NHL level. Ouellet will be waiver eligible, meaning he’ll have to clear after training camp if the team wants him to reclaim his position with the Rocket to start the year.

Xavier Ouellet Clears Waivers

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12/8: Ouellet has cleared waivers and has been reassigned by the Habs to the AHL’s Laval Rocket.

12/7: The Montreal Canadiens have placed another young player on waivers, as Xavier Ouellet finds himself there today. The Canadiens are expecting Noah Juulsen back this weekend, and needed to clear some room on the blue line for him.

Ouellet, 25, has played 19 games for the Canadiens this season after signing a one-year, two-way deal in the summer. Bought out of his previous contract with the Detroit Red Wings, Ouellet landed in the city where he started his junior career, and looked to be a capable fill-in while the Canadiens waited for Shea Weber and company to get healthy. He’d fallen out of favor in Detroit, but was still young enough to establish himself in the NHL.

Unfortunately, Ouellet finds himself in an overcrowded group now that Juulsen is set to return and Brett Kulak has played his way into the lineup. The Canadiens will have eight healthy defensemen and needed to make a decision on someone. Ouellet is the only one of them outside of Juulsen that is on a two-way deal, which may have factored into the decision. That $700K two-way deal might be interesting to someone else around the league though, as he provides a relatively cheap option that has experience coming in and out of the lineup.

The Canadiens have already lost Nikita Scherbak and Jacob de La Rose on waivers this season, and very well could lose Ouellet tomorrow. Though none of the three are exactly fundamental players on their roster, losing depth for nothing is never the ideal situation. The Canadiens have plenty of contract slots available, and are likely hoping that Ouellet can sneak through and report to the Laval Rocket of the AHL.

Montreal Canadiens Facing Difficult Decision On Defense

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The Montreal Canadiens are coming off another loss, this time at the hands of the New Jersey Devils who scored five goals in the first two periods. Montreal now sits fifth in the Atlantic Division with 26 points and a -3 goal differential. That’s not very impressive, but it does at least keep them in the playoff race as they await the return of their captain. Shea Weber is ahead of schedule and could be back on the ice before long, which while obviously good news also likely means the end of someone else’s tenure on the NHL roster. That’s what Eric Engels details in his latest for Sportsnet, breaking down the various options that the Canadiens have to make room for Weber.

The most startling of these options may be the idea that the Canadiens could waive Karl Alzner, less than 18 months after signing him to a five-year contract worth more than $23MM. The team has already sat the veteran defenseman in the press box for most of the season, getting him into just six games over their first 22. Importantly though, Elliotte Friedman of Sportsnet adds in his latest 31 Thoughts column that the Canadiens have been looking to trade a defenseman instead of risking them on waivers. In Alzner’s case it doesn’t seem like much of a risk given his high salary, but for some of the others—Jordie Benn, David Schlemko and Xavier Ouellet are mentioned as trade options in Engels’ piece—there would certainly be teams willing to take a shot.

Montreal is not in a place to be giving away assets for free, given their current balancing act on the line between competitiveness and concern. The team has played well this season to say in the mix and has some promising chemistry forming up front between Max Domi and Jonathan Drouin. Still, even with the emergence of Jesperi Kotkaniemi the team is lacking real impact prospects and could need to try and retool over the next few seasons.

So a trade, given the circumstances, seems the most beneficial option. Whether that will come to pass is still to be seen, especially given the fact that the rest of the league can see the situation that GM Marc Bergevin is in. Noah Juulsen’s injury may buy him a bit more time, but at some point something will have to happen on the Montreal blue line. Defense-needy teams will be watching closely.

Snapshots: Ouellet, Ryan, Utah

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Xavier Ouellet was bought out by the Detroit Red Wings to open up some roster spots for their young defensive prospects, but that doesn’t mean he won’t be part of an NHL organization next year. Pierre LeBrun of The Athletic tweets that the Montreal Canadiens have “kicked the tires” on Ouellet since his buyout, indicating that there is at least some interest.

Ouellet was actually born in France but played his minor hockey just outside Montreal and captained the Blainville-Boisbriand Armada during his QMJHL career. It would be a homecoming of sorts for the 24-year old defenseman should he sign with the Canadiens, who have a lot of experience on the blue line but found little success there last season. Montreal may not have room to add him on the NHL roster, but he would certainly provide a solid option for the Laval Rocket who are trying to rebuild after a disastrous season that included losing the last twelve games of the regular season.

  • The Calgary Flames are interested in their own version of reconnecting a player with a familiar structure, though this time it’s not a hometown. Derek Ryan is visiting the Flames today according to Frank Seravalli of TSN, a good fit given that his former head coach Bill Peters is now running the show. Peters was the coach who gave Ryan his first crack at the NHL after a long and winding hockey career, and the 31-year old center rewarded him with a 38-point season in 2017-18. Ryan is one of the top centers available this summer behind John Tavares, despite his relatively little experience in the NHL. Making his debut at the age of 29, he has just 153 games under his belt to this point.
  • The Utah Grizzlies are the new ECHL affiliate of the Colorado Avalanche, extending their organizational structure to a third tier below the newly promoted Colorado Eagles. The Eagles won the ECHL’s Kelly Cup in each of the past two seasons, but were bumped up to the AHL as a 31st team to provide equal numbers with the NHL. Utah wasn’t so lucky, missing the playoffs for the first time in more than a decade. The Avalanche will try to turn that around immediately, and make a commitment to developing a solid prospect base for the Grizzlies to work with.

Xavier Ouellet Expected To Be Bought Out

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Earlier this month we heard that the Detroit Red Wings were actively shopping defenseman Xavier Ouellet, but now as we close in on free agency it seems they’ve come to a different decision. Darren Dreger of TSN reports that the Red Wings will place Ouellet on waivers for the purpose of a buyout. Ouellet has one year remaining on his contract and carries a $1.25MM cap hit. Since he’s still just 24 though, a buyout would only pay him 1/3rd of his remaining salary, meaning the Red Wings would incur the following cap charges:

  • 2018-19: $166,667
  • 2019-29: $216,667

They would also save over $860K in real salary, while burying Ouellet in the minor leagues would leave them with a $225K cap charge this season and force them to pay all $1.3MM in salary. Though it was clear that the Red Wings didn’t see a future for Ouellet in Detroit, buyouts for players this young are fairly rare. The 2011 second-round pick hasn’t found a full-time role with the team and with several even younger prospects ready to push for jobs this season there is no longer any room.

The Red Wings had an outstanding weekend, snatching up Filip Zadina after he fell a few spots and collecting Joe Veleno at the end of the first round. Those two were paired with a few other excellent prospects at the start of the second, making quite an impressive haul for the team in this year’s draft. Detroit is in the middle of a rebuild as they try to get out from under some of the bad contracts given out during their playoff run, and are building quite the prospect pipeline in a short amount of time. Defensemen like Dennis Cholowski and Filip Hronek will be competing for roles in the NHL before long, while Zadina could jump into the league right away.

For Ouellet, it’s unclear where his market will land after this buyout. Not many 24-year old defensemen get an opportunity at free agency, but there obviously wasn’t a huge trade market or the Red Wings would have used that instead of resorting to a buyout. He may have to accept a two-way contract and prove himself in training camp, or else try to fight back up from the minor leagues at some point. Regardless, this is hardly the end of his professional career.

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