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Zach Aston-Reese

Snapshots: Tanev, Bunting, Butler, Aston-Reese

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The Dallas Stars could be without their newest defenseman for an extended time, with Trade Deadline acquisition Chris Tanev leaving the team’s Saturday night game early after taking an elbow to the head from Seattle Kraken Adam Larsson. Larsson received a five-minute major and game misconduct for the hit, while Tanev exited after 17 minutes of ice time. Tanev will be re-evaluated on Sunday, with the Stars hoping for an update early this week, per Lia Assimakopoulos of the Dallas Morning Star (Web link).

Tanev is 12 games into his time with the Stars, recording one goal, two points, and 10 penalty minutes. The Stars sent away prospect Artem Grushnikov, a conditional second-round pick, and a fourth-round pick to land Tanev – and they’re getting their money’s worth, with Tanev stepping into an immediate impact role and averaging over 18 minutes of ice time each game. He’s served as much-needed depth behind star Miro Heiskanen, elevating the impact of depth defenseman Esa Lindell. Dallas would normally turn towards Jani Hakanpaa in the event of Tanev’s absence, though he’s also bearing through a day-to-day injury. The Stars aren’t carrying any other defenders, meaning they’ll need to make a call-up if neither Tanev nor Hakanpaa can go.

Other notes from around the league:

  • Michael Bunting left the Pittsburgh Penguins’ Saturday night game due to illness, head coach Mike Sullivan confirmed after the game (Twitter link). Bunting played in nearly 10 minutes of ice time before exiting, with a -1 representing his only stat change. He’s found a strong scoring groove through his first 12 games in Pittsburgh, with three goals and seven points – though he’s still finding where he fits best in the lineup. There’s been no update on Bunting’s availability moving forward, though healthy scratch Emil Bemstrom is available to slot in if needed.
  • The Columbus Blue Jackets have sent right-winger Cameron Butler back to the minor leagues, after awarding him with his NHL debut on Saturday (Twitter link). He played in just one shift – staying on the ice for 54 seconds – during the eventual shootout-win. Butler, who is in his first year of pro hockey, will now return to the AHL, where he’s already managed two goals, eight points, and 63 penalty minutes in 46 games. He signed with the Blue Jackets as an undrafted free-agent in March of 2023.
  • Zach Aston-Reese has been sent back to the minor leagues by the Detroit Red Wings after being recalled on Friday (Twitter link). Aston-Reese didn’t appear in any NHL action during the call-up, making his sole game in December his only NHL game of the season. He’s managed 13 goals, 28 points, and 47 penalty minutes in 56 AHL games this season – his first year in the league since 2018-19.

Red Wings To Recall Zach Aston-Reese

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The Red Wings are expected to recall forward Zach Aston-Reese from AHL Grand Rapids ahead of Saturday’s matinee game against the Panthers. Per Sean Shapiro of EP Rinkside, Aston-Reese departed midway through Grand Rapids’ morning skate today and is returning to Detroit to join the team.

An illness making its way through the Detroit room kept forwards Austin Czarnik and Patrick Kane out of last night’s game against the Hurricanes. It didn’t end well for Detroit, who was forced to dress 11 forwards and seven defensemen in their absence and lost 4-0 to Carolina, dropping their playoff chances to 15.6%, per MoneyPuck.

Recalling Aston-Reese allows the Wings to return to a typical 12-6 alignment against Florida tomorrow as they enter must-win territory for every game down the stretch. They’re two points back of the Capitals for the second wild-card spot in the Eastern Conference but have one less game remaining.

Aston-Reese, 29, has only logged one NHL game this season, playing 6:21 against the Stars in a loss on Dec. 11 while recording two hits. Once a highly regarded shutdown fourth-liner with the Penguins, ZAR is on his third team since Pittsburgh traded him to the Ducks at the 2022 trade deadline as part of the package for top-six scoring winger Rickard Rakell.

He’s had to settle for attending training camp on PTOs in two straight seasons. Last year’s with Toronto was successful, parlaying it into a one-year deal that saw him score 10 goals in 77 games, but a drop-off in his possession impacts and decreased usage (his 10:56 ATOI was a career low) lowered his value when he reached free agency again last summer. The Hurricanes decided to give him a chance on a tryout but ended up cutting him loose. He then signed a one-year, two-way deal ($775K/$300K/$350K) with the Wings just before the campaign began and promptly cleared waivers.

In his first extended AHL action since the 2017-18 season, Aston-Reese has been decent in a middle-six checking role, posting 13 goals and 28 points in 56 games. However, it hasn’t been enough for Detroit to give him an extended look back in the majors, especially as they’ve remained relatively healthy up front this season.

Aston-Reese has been recalled three times this season, all lasting less than a week. This is his first summons to the NHL roster since being assigned to Grand Rapids on Jan. 7.

Red Wings Reassign Zach Aston-Reese

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01/07/23: The Red Wings have now reassigned Aston-Reese back to Grand Rapids after six days on the NHL roster. He did not play at all during that time, his last actual game action coming December 31st with Grand Rapids. That’s now where he’ll return, still with just one NHL game played on his record so far this year. He’s scored 11 points in 26 games at the AHL level.

01/01/23: The Red Wings recalled forward Zach Aston-Reese from AHL Grand Rapids on Monday, per a team announcement. After assigning Jonatan Berggren and Austin Czarnik to Grand Rapids on Saturday, Detroit had two open spots on the active roster, so no corresponding transaction is needed.

Aston-Reese, 29, will serve as injury insurance as the Red Wings embark on a three-game road swing against the league’s California-based teams this week. There are currently no injuries to Detroit’s forward group that would necessitate him entering the lineup, and he will likely serve as a healthy scratch on Tuesday against the Sharks.

This season was Aston-Reese’s second straight year participating in training camp on a professional tryout. After earning a contract based on his performance with the Maple Leafs last season, his brief time in camp with the Carolina Hurricanes wasn’t as successful. The Hurricanes released him on October 6, four days before the start of the regular season.

It didn’t take Aston-Reese long to land on his feet, however. He signed a one-year, two-way deal with a $350K salary guarantee in Detroit two days later and promptly cleared waivers, allowing him to begin the season in Grand Rapids with potential for NHL recalls.

The shutdown winger has historically thrived in the defensive end, never receiving more than 40% of his zone starts in the offensive zone at even strength in a single season throughout his career. That’s remarkable for a forward and a testament to where his game shines the most. However, his once-spectacular advanced metrics have become slightly more average over the past two seasons, limiting his value at the NHL level without much to show for his 308-game career on the scoresheet.

That’s not to say Aston-Reese can’t put the puck in the net. He posted 1.66 points per game in his senior season at Northeastern and was a rather highly-touted undrafted free-agent signing out of school by the Penguins. However, he’s never cracked the 20-point mark at the NHL level and, as such, remains a decidedly fourth-line threat who can log time on the penalty kill.

The Red Wings have a deep forward core, though. Christian Fischer is the only one of their top 12 forwards producing less than 0.4 points per game. It’s made it more difficult for Aston-Reese to carve out a role in the NHL lineup, resulting in him playing 26 games for Grand Rapids this year – his most minor-league usage since suiting up in 41 contests for AHL Wilkes-Barre/Scranton in 2017-18.

His minor-league play hasn’t been convincing enough to award him another full-time NHL role, either. His five goals and 11 points are seventh and 12th on the team, respectively, verifying concerns that he’s now too much of an offensive liability to fit in with the skill players in the Red Wings’ bottom six. He’s also one of nine players on Grand Rapids with a minus rating, and although that’s likely more a testament to his assumed excessive defensive zone usage, not being able to dominate those minutes in goals-against suppression at a lower level doesn’t indicate that he’ll suddenly rebound to his former defensive prowess in the NHL.

This is his third recall of the season. He’s been on the NHL roster for five days and played in one game since clearing waivers back in October, meaning he can remain on Detroit’s roster for another 25 days and play nine games before needing waivers to head back to Grand Rapids again.

Aston-Reese has one appearance with the Red Wings, coming on December 11 in a 6-3 loss to the Stars. He logged just 6:21, recording two hits and no shots on goal. He will be an unrestricted free agent at the end of the season.

Ducks Recall Calle Clang, John Gibson To Non-Roster

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The Anaheim Ducks have announced the recall of goaltender Calle Clang from the San Diego Gulls of the AHL. The move comes as former all-star netminder John Gibson was moved to the Non-Roster to attend to the birth of his child.

The 21-year-old Clang is in his second season with San Diego after dressing in five games last year. This season has been ripe with learning as the native of Olofström, Sweden has struggled through 12 games, posting a 3.76 goals-against average to go along with a 2-7-2 record and a .882 save percentage. Despite the slow start to his professional career in North America, Clang remains a promising young prospect within the Ducks organization. He was originally a third-round pick of the Pittsburgh Penguins back in the 2020 NHL entry draft and was the central piece of the Rickard Rakell trade with the Penguins back in March 2022. The deadline deal saw Rakell head to Pittsburgh in exchange for Clang, Zach Aston-Reese, Dominik Simon and a 2022 second-round selection (Tristan Luneau).

Gibson dressed last night in the Ducks 5-1 win over the New Jersey Devils and left the game in the second period after stopping 18 of 19 shots. No word on what caused him to leave, but the Ducks are back in action tonight as they take on the Detroit Red Wings. With Gibson headed back home to celebrate the birth of his child, Clang will likely serve as the backup tonight as the Ducks look to keep it going after snapping their five-game losing streak last night.

Red Wings Assign Zach Aston-Reese To AHL

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The Detroit Red Wings announced this morning that they’ve assigned forward Zach Aston-Reese to their American Hockey League affiliate the Grand Rapids Griffins. Aston-Reese was recalled earlier in the week along with two others to help the Red Wings deal with a multitude of injuries to members of their forward group.

The 29-year-old did see action during his recall as he dressed for Detroit’s 6-3 loss on Monday night at the hands of the Dallas Stars. Aston-Reese played just 6:21 in that game on 11 shifts and was held scoreless while dishing out two hits.

The Staten Island, New York native has been one of the most polarizing forwards in recent memory as his defensive analytics and impacts are among the best in the NHL, while his offensive abilities are very limited. Aston-Reese has never topped 17 points in an NHL season, and his 10 goals last season with the Toronto Maple Leafs were a career-high. This year with the Griffins in the AHL, Aston-Reese has dressed in 20 games, registering four goals and three assists.

For the second consecutive year, Aston-Reese was a fall signing as he inked his one-year, two-way deal with Detroit back on October 8th. Aston-Reese is currently making $775K in the NHL while being paid $300K during his time in the AHL.

Despite being sent down, Aston-Reese will likely remain one of the Red Wings best options should they need to make a recall later in the season.

Red Wings Recall Three Forwards, Place Three On Injured Reserve

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The Detroit Red Wings have recalled forwards Zach Aston-Reese, Jonatan Berggren, and Austin Czarnik on an emergency basis. The team also announced that they’ve assigned J.T. Compher (retroactive to 12/5), Dylan Larkin (retroactive to 12/7), and Klim Kostin (retroactive to 12/9) on injured reserve.

Larkin and Compher have operated as Detroit’s top two centers so far this season, scoring 25 and 19 points respectively in 24 games each. It’s been an especially exciting season for Compher – a University of Michigan alum in his first year with the Red Wings. Detroit represents the first organization that Compher has played for outside of the Colorado Avalanche, despite being originally drafted by the Buffalo Sabres.

Larkin’s injury caught social media attention, as the top centerman was cross-checked in the head during a scrum in front of the net by Ottawa’s Mathieu Joseph. The 27-year-old Larkin is leading Detroit in scoring, scoring the same amount of points as winger Alex DeBrincat in two fewer games. It’s Larkin’s ninth NHL season, with the Michigan native totaling 608 career games and 462 career points over that span.

Among the wave of emergency relief is Zach Aston-Reese, who signed with Detroit in early October after originally signing a professional try-out with the Carolina Hurricanes ahead of the season. Aston-Reese played in 77 games with the Toronto Maple Leafs last season, scoring 10 goals and 14 points. Detroit becomes one of four organizations that the 29-year-old forward has played for in the last four seasons. He’s spent the start of this season in the minors, appearing in 20 games and recording seven points, 16 penalty minutes, and a -2.

Detroit Red Wings Recall Austin Czarnik, Send Down Zach Aston-Reese

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Per a team announcement, the Detroit Red Wings have recalled forward Austin Czarnik, while sending down forward Zach Aston-Reese to their AHL affiliate, the Grand Rapids Griffins. Aston-Reese was recently recalled by the team in preparation for last night’s win against the Tampa Bay Lightning but ultimately did not dress.

Based on the severity of forward Robby Fabbri’s undisclosed injury, this may not be the last time that Detroit cycles through depth forwards over the coming days. Even if Czarnik does not stay with Detroit for long, the Red Wings also have forward depth such as Jonatan Berggren, Elmer Soderblom, and Taro Hirose who could see more NHL minutes in the future.

Playing on the last season of a two-year, $1.525MM contract signed with Detroit before the 2022-23 season, Czarnik has spent much of his time as a part of the Griffins during his stay with the Red Wings organization. In 43 games played last year in Grand Rapids, Czarnik would chip in 14 goals and 23 assists, as well as getting off to a hot start this season scoring two goals and one assists in the team’s first two games.

Aston-Reese, on the other hand, is much newer to the Red Wings organization, signing a one-year, $775K contract only a week ago. He did go scoreless in his first career game with the Griffins but could be a solid bottom-six player for Detroit throughout much of the season. Playing in a similar role last year with the Toronto Maple Leafs, Aston-Reese would chip in 10 goals and four assists in 77 games played.

Red Wings Recall Zach Aston-Reese

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With Robby Fabbri set to miss tonight’s game against Tampa Bay, the Red Wings needed to bring up a forward.  They’ve decided that forward will be Zach Aston-Reese as the team announced that the winger has been recalled from AHL Grand Rapids.

The 29-year-old was able to turn a PTO into a guaranteed deal last season with Toronto, a move that worked out relatively well for him.  Aston-Reese set career highs in games played (77) and goals (10) in 2022-23 while recording 163 hits in what was predominantly a fourth line role.  He also suited up in six playoff contests, picking up a goal along with 16 more hits despite averaging less than nine minutes a night.

However, Aston-Reese once again had to go the PTO route for this season, getting one with Carolina a month ago today.  It wasn’t successful and he was cut earlier this month although he was able to rebound quickly, inking a two-way deal with Detroit last Sunday.  That move coincided with a waiver placement where he passed through unclaimed, resulting in him suiting up for the Griffins in their opener last night.

While Aston-Reese’s recall gives Detroit a dozen healthy forwards on the roster, don’t expect that to automatically mean that Aston-Reese will play tonight.  Instead, it appears as if they’ll go with seven defensemen, allowing Olli Maatta to make his season debut.  Fabbri, meanwhile, is listed as day-to-day and hasn’t been ruled out for Monday’s contest against Columbus.

Waivers: 10/08/23

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Oct. 9: Four players on this list were claimed today: A.J. Greer (Calgary), John Ludvig (Pittsburgh), Ivan Prosvetov (Colorado), and Lassi Thomson (Ottawa). All others have cleared and are expected to be assigned to their team’s respective AHL affiliates, aside from Boyd, who PHNX Sports’ Craig Morgan reports remains on the Coyotes’ active roster for now.

Oct. 8: It’s expected to be a busy day on the waiver wire, as NHL teams are making their final adjustments to the roster they’ll bring into the start of the 2023-24 season. There have already been numerous notable names exposed to the waiver wire thus far this preseason, and that list could only expand today. All players from yesterday’s waiver wire have cleared.

Anaheim Ducks

D Lassi Thomson
G Alex Stalock
F Andrew Agozzino

Boston Bruins

F Patrick Brown
F A.J. Greer

Arizona Coyotes

F Travis Boyd
F Zach Sanford
G Ivan Prosvetov

Carolina Hurricanes

D Dylan Coghlan

Chicago Blackhawks

F Joey Anderson

Colorado Avalanche

F Riley Tufte

Dallas Stars

F Riley Damiani

Detroit Red Wings

F Zach Aston-Reese

Edmonton Oilers

F Raphael Lavoie
F Lane Pederson
D Ben Gleason

Florida Panthers

F Zac Dalpe
D John Ludvig
D Casey Fitzgerald

Los Angeles Kings

F Jaret Anderson-Dolan

Montreal Canadiens

F Joel Armia
D Gustav Lindström

Ottawa Senators

F Bokondji Imama

Pittsburgh Penguins

G Magnus Hellberg
F Colin White
D Mark Friedman
F Vinnie Hinostroza
F Radim Zohorna

St. Louis Blues
F Mackenzie MacEachern
D Calle Rosen
G Malcolm Subban
F Nathan Walker

Tampa Bay Lightning

D Zach Bogosian
F Gabriel Fortier

Toronto Maple Leafs

G Martin Jones
F Kyle Clifford
F Dylan Gambrell
D William Lagesson
D Maxime Lajoie

Vancouver Canucks

F Jack Studnicka
D Christian Wolanin

Vegas Golden Knights

F Grigori Denisenko

Winnipeg Jets

D Kyle Capobianco
G Collin Delia
F Axel Jonsson-Fjallby

The big surprise here out of Arizona regards Boyd. The versatile 30-year-old veteran doesn’t have an exorbitant contract (just $1.75MM through the end of the season) and has scored 69 points across the last two seasons.

He’s been something of a breakout player for the Coyotes as his 17-goal, 35-point 2022-23 was far and away his best season in his career, so it’s definitely a surprise to see him exposed on waivers.

For Anaheim, the move to waive Stalock likely means that Lukáš Dostál has won the Ducks’ backup goalie job behind John Gibson, as should Stalock clear the Ducks will have the option to send him down to the AHL’s San Diego Gulls.

In Edmonton, it comes as a little bit of a surprise to see Lavioe waived. The 23-year-old power forward was drafted just outside of the 2019 first round, and took a real step forward in his development last season. He became a genuinely impactful AHLer, scoring 25 goals and 45 points. He’s a name to watch in terms of players with the potential to be claimed out of this group.

Anderson-Dolan finally made the NHL on an extended basis last season, and scored 12 points in 46 games. He even got some playoff action under his belt, but seeing as he was a near-point-per-game scorer in his last season in the AHL, it seems the Kings could prefer to have him start the season with the AHL’s Ontario Reign.

Rosen appears the likeliest candidate from the Blues’ group of waived players to be of interest to other teams, as he’s owed just a $762.5k cap hit this season and impressed in 49 games of NHL action last season. He scored 18 points in that span and could interest teams in need of some additional defensive help.

Out of Tampa is Bogosian, and it’s reported that the Lightning are hoping to put the veteran blueliner in a position to land on another team where he can play a bigger role than he’d be offered in Tampa. The 33-year-old won a Stanley Cup for the Lightning and it seems that the organization is looking to do right by the player while also turning to other options to staff their defense.

One of the biggest names on waivers comes out of Toronto, as Jones played in 48 games last season but now finds himself exposed to 31 other clubs. With an $875k cap hit, the veteran netminder could end up claimed by teams in need of instant goaltending support, such as the Lightning who don’t have much depth after the injury to superstar Andrei Vasilevskiy.

This page will be updated throughout the day.

Detroit Red Wings Sign Zach Aston-Reese

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The Detroit Red Wings have signed forwarad Zach Aston-Reese on a one-year, two-way contract according to a team announcement.

According to Daily Faceoff’s Frank Seravalli, the deal is a one-year $775k contract with a $350k guarantee. Seravalli also adds that he’ll be placed on waivers today so that the Red Wings can send him down to AHL Grand Rapids.

This signing comes after Aston-Reese was released from a PTO he signed with the Carolina Hurricanes.At a league-minimum cap hit, Aston-Reese is capable of providing a decent amount of value.

Although he doesn’t possess the size and physicality many coaches want to see out of fourth-line role players, Aston-Reese has established himself as a strong defensive contributor in the NHL.

Aston-Reese was a star scorer in the NCAA and has produced decently in the AHL, but in the NHL Aston-Reese’s offense has all but dried up. He scored 10 goals and 14 points in 77 games for the Toronto Maple Leafs last season, and for 2023-24 the Red Wings would be mistaken to expect anything more than quality defensive contributions from their newest signing.

The Red Wings already have quite a bit of depth along their wings. With the news that Aston-Reese will end up on waivers, it appears the plan for Detroit could be to have him start out in the AHL, and then serve as a first-choice call-up option for head coach Derek Lalonde.

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