Training Camp Cuts: 9/29/18
With the season-opening roster deadline fast approaching, many teams will be putting the final touches to their rosters this weekend so another busy day of cuts is expected. We’ll keep tabs on the non-waiver roster cuts here and update this post throughout the day.
Boston Bruins (via CapFriendly)
G Zane McIntyre (to Providence, AHL)
Buffalo Sabres (via team Tweet)
D Lawrence Pilut (to Rochester, AHL)
Carolina Hurricanes (per team release)
D Michal Cajkovsky (to Charlotte, AHL)
F Janne Kuokkanen (to Charlotte, AHL)
F Saku Maenalanen (to Charlotte, AHL)
D Roland McKeown (to Charlotte, AHL)
G Alex Nedeljkovic (to Charlotte, AHL)
F Nicolas Roy (to Charlotte, AHL)
Dallas Stars (per Mark Stepneski of Stars Inside Edge)
F Denis Gurianov (to Texas, AHL)
Detroit Red Wings (per team release)
D Jake Chelios (to Grand Rapids, AHL)
G Patrik Rybar (to Grand Rapids, AHL)
Edmonton Oilers (per CapFriendly)
G Al Montoya (to Bakersfield, AHL)
Florida Panthers (per team release)
F Anthony Greco (to Springfield, AHL)
G Michael Hutchinson (to Springfield, AHL)
D Julian Melchiori (to Springfield, AHL)
New York Rangers (per CapFriendly)
D Chris Bigras (to Hartford, AHL)
F Peter Holland (to Hartford, AHL)
G Marek Mazanec (to Hartford, AHL)
F Cole Schneider (to Hartford, AHL)
G Dustin Tokarski (to Hartford, AHL)
Vancouver Canucks (via CapFriendly)
F Brendan Gaunce (to Utica, AHL)
Washington Capitals (per team Twitter)
F Shane Gersich (to Hershey, AHL)
Winnipeg Jets (via TSN’s Brian Munz)
F Dennis Everberg (to Manitoba, AHL)
F Seth Griffith (to Manitoba, AHL)
F J.C. Lipon (to Manitoba, AHL)
F Nicolas Kerdiles (to Manitoba, AHL)
D Cameron Schilling (to Manitoba, AHL)
Prospect Notes: Kahun, Tomek, Scarfo
Not long after the initial report that German Olympic hero Dominik Kahun was drawing NHL interest, there is now a more concrete picture of what the market looks like for the young scoring forward. German new site TZ reports that Kahun’s jump overseas is a sure thing, as ten NHL teams have legitimate interest in signing him. They go one step further, adding that the Chicago Blackhawks are at the top of the list and have offered Kahun a two-year contract worth around $940K per year. While it may not seem like that much, the article indicates that the contract would be worth more than three times Kahun’s current pact with EHC Munich. It’s also a fair value for an unproven import. The 22-year-old certainly shows some promise though, with nearly a point per game pace in the German DEL and at the Winter Games in 2017-18. The Blackhawks, or whoever else ends up winning the bidding war, will land an exciting prospect in Kahun.
- An intriguing career path continues for young Slovakian goalie Matej Tomek. A third-round pick of the Philadelphia Flyers back in 2015, Tomek originally enrolled at the University of North Dakota in 2015-16 and expected to take over for departed starter, and Hobey Baker finalist, Zane McIntyre. Instead, he lost out to Cam Johnson, who remains the North Dakota starter to this day, and made just two appearances in two seasons, struggling mightily. Tomek left school, joining the USHL’s Waterloo Blackhawks for the 2017-18 season, and saw improved performance at the junior level. Now, Tomek has announced that he’s heading back to the NCAA, committing to the University of Nebraska-Omaha for next season. Tomek still has two years of eligibility remaining, but may only need one to re-establish his pro potential. All three Omaha keepers have struggled this year and Tomek may have an easy path to take over next season. Even if starter Evan Weninger holds on to the job or at least forces a split in net, Tomek can always stick around for the 2019-20 campaign when he would surely be the starter. Either way, Flyers fans should be happy to see another of their many promising goalie prospects working to get back on track.
- A top senior scorer and college free agent is off the market, but he’s not headed to an NHL team just yet. Ryan Scarfo, the leading scorer for Union College, has signed with the AHL’s Belleville Senators, the team announced. Scarfo will skate with the team on a tryout deal for the remainder of this season, but already inked a full AHL contract for the 2018-19 season. Scarfo, 24, saw a major boost in production in his fourth and final year as a starter for Union. The alternate captain led all Dutchmen in goals and points and his rugged, two-way play also placed him in the top five on the team in plus/minus and penalty minutes. His 20 goals additionally ranked 13th in the entire NCAA. Scarfo has likely reached the extent of his skill development, but with some time in the minors, can further polish his hockey sense. He has some upside to be a bottom-six forward given his ability to be physical and find the back of the net. A strong performance in his first pro season in 2018-19 could earn Scarfo a big-league deal with the Ottawa Senators or another NHL squad sooner rather than later.
Bruins Send Agostino, McIntyre Back To AHL
The Boston Bruins have assigned forward Kenny Agostino and goaltender Zane McIntyre back to Providence of the AHL, after both dressed for the team last night. McIntyre backed up Tuukka Rask, while Agostino played just under six minutes up front. Both will return to the P-Bruins, where they were having excellent seasons.
With Anton Khudobin dealing with just a minor injury, McIntyre was never expected to stay up with the NHL club for much longer. He’ll serve as the third goaltender for the Bruins organization all season, but hopefully not need to start many games for the big club. The 25-year old goaltender has a .928 save percentage with Providence this season, something he’ll look to continue now that he’s back in the AHL.
Agostino is a more interesting story. Last year’s AHL MVP and scoring leader, he signed a one-year, one-way $875K contract with the Bruins this summer and looked like he had an inside track for a role up front. That all disappeared in training camp when several young players showed they were ready, and Agostino has been limited to just five games and 12 minutes a night for Boston. He’s registered just one point in those games, but has generated 11 shots. While there are obvious shortcomings to his game, he does have offensive upside that could feature at some point this season.
For now, he’ll have to continue his domination of the AHL and prove that he’s ready to take the next step. At 25, Agostino now has seasons of 43, 57 and 83 points in the minor leagues and was off to a hot start with seven points in his first three games for the P-Bruins. If there ever was such a thing as a “Quad-A” player in hockey, he is it.
Minor Transactions: 10/29/17
Here’s where we’ll keep tabs on the minor news and notes throughout the day with the most recent moves at the top:
- After a fleury of goaltending moves in the last few days that saw the team trade for New Jersey goalie Scott Wedgewood and place backup Louis Domingue on waivers, Elite Prospects tweeted that the Arizona Coyotes have called up goaltending prospect Hunter Miska today. Miska, who signed in April this year after dominating year at the University of Minnesota-Duluth in which he took the team to the Frozen Four finals, wasn’t fairing as well with the Tucson Roadrunners, where he had a 4.02 GAA and a .884 save percentage in four games. The call-up suggests that starting goaltender Antti Raanta may not be as healthy as the team thought.
- Mark Divver of the Providence Journal tweets that the Boston Bruins will recall Providence Bruins’ goaltender Zane McIntyre today as an emergency backup. The 25-year-old AHL goalie has been called up for this reason before, but has not made it into a game yet for the Bruins. He is currently 4-1 with Providence and has played well, with a 1.81 GAA and a .928 save percentage. Divvers adds that he believes it’s due to the fact that Bruins’ starting goalie Tuukka Rask kept getting run into during Saturday’s game against the Los Angeles Kings.
- The Minnesota Wild announced they have also sent three players down to the Iowa Wild of the AHL, including two former first-round picks, including 2015 first-round pick Joel Eriksson Ek and 2016 first-round pick Luke Kunin as well as Zack Mitchell. No corresponding moves have been made yet. Eriksson-Ek who many believed might have a breakout year has struggled in nine games with the Wild. The 20-year-old center has had just one goal and two assists in that span after putting up better numbers in a 15-games stint with the team last year when he put up three goals and four assists. Eriksson-Ek struggled in the preseason and was a candidate to not make the team at one point, but the team instead sent down Kunin instead. Kunin has been going back and forth between Iowa and Minnesota all year. However, Kunin has been more successful lately as his minutes and numbers have started to increase. The 19-year-old has a goal and two assists that all have come recently, as his short-handed goal against the Islanders Thursday makes him the first player in team history to score his first goal short-handed. Mitchell has also been up and down quite a bit this year, helping out the team’s fourth line while the team deals with multiple injuries. Mitchell has a goal and an assist in five games.
- Vancouver Canucks’ general manager Jim Benning announced the team has recalled center Jayson Megna today. The 27-year-old returns to the team after having played in 54 games for Vancouver a year ago, tallying four goals and four assists. He has been with the Utica Comets since the start of the season, putting up an assist in four games this year. The move was expected after the team sent Michael Chaput down to Utica on Friday, leaving the team with only 12 healthy forwards.
- The Colorado Avalanche tweeted that they have assigned forward Andrew Agozzino to the San Antonio Rampage today. He was recalled yesterday for their evening game against the Chicago Blackhawks, but was a healthy scratch. Agozzino has been an offensive force for the Rampage, putting up two goals and six assists in seven games so far this year. He was called up as an emergency forward after the team placed Gabriel Bourque on injured reserve due to an upper body injury.
Boston Bruins Make Three Transactions
The Boston Bruins have completed three injury-related transactions, moving Ryan Spooner to injured reserve, activating David Backes and recalling goaltender Zane McIntyre to serve as backup in tonight’s game. Tuukka Rask, injured at practice yesterday will not dress for the Bruins when they take on the Vancouver Canucks.
Backes’ activation means that the veteran forward will make his season debut tonight after dealing with a bout of diverticulitis to start the year. His return will be a handy one for the Bruins, who have been leaning more and more on their young players recently. Patrice Bergeron, also close to a return is apparently a game-time decision but seems unlikely to play.
Rask’s injury has not been updated, but McIntyre will be on the end of the bench tonight as Anton Khudobin gets his second start of the year. Khudobin has stopped 38 of 40 shots in his two appearances this year, and may have to carry the load for at least a few games. The 27-year old has done it before, and actually has a .917 save percentage during his two separate stints in Boston.
If Khudobin falters McIntyre does actually have eight games of NHL experience, all of which came last season. The 25-year old has posted strong numbers in college and the minor leagues, but only posted a save percentage above .900 in one of his eight appearances. In the three games he started, he allowed 12 goals on 84 shots. Sufficed to say, the Bruins will cross their fingers that Rask’s injury is minor.
Early Notes: Carter, Rask, Cehlarik
The Los Angeles Kings were already thin on scoring, relying on their top names to carry most of the load this season. Then, last night against the Montreal Canadiens Jeff Carter absorbed a hit from Jeff Petry and will be out “a little while” according to Jon Rosen of LA Kings Insider. Bob McKenzie of TSN believes that means “multiple weeks”
Carter was cut by a skate blade in the collision, a fluke injury that will really hurt the Kings. Los Angeles is off to a great 5-0-1 record, extending their smooth start with a 5-1 blowout of the Canadiens last night. The team finally received some secondary scoring, as Adrian Kempe and Mike Cammalleri both broke out for four-point nights. Prior to last night neither player had any points, but stepped up in a fashion the team desperately needed.
- Anders Bjork crashed into Tuukka Rask at practice yesterday, and though the goaltender was helped off the ice the Bruins still haven’t made a roster move. As McKenzie reports, the team wanted to see how he was feeling this morning before making any decision. Remember, if Rask is out the team no longer has Malcolm Subban to turn to in the minor leagues, and would likely turn to Zane McIntyre as a backup for Anton Khudobin. If Rask deals with an injury for any length of time, the goaltending depth of the Bruins organization will really be tested.
- Still with the Bruins, the team has returned Peter Cehlarik to the AHL according to Fluto Shinzawa of the Boston Globe. Cehlarik had been called up along with Kenny Agostino this week to help fill in for the injured forwards, but with David Backes and Patrice Bergeron nearing returns he’s no longer needed. Agostino will likely stay and fill some of the role of the injured Ryan Spooner, at least on the powerplay.
Boston Bruins Sign McIntyre, Subban To Two-Year Deals
The Boston Bruins have locked up their goaltending depth for a couple more seasons, signing both Zane McIntyre and Malcolm Subban to two-year, two-way contracts. Each player will earn the minimum of $650K at the NHL level.
The tandem of McIntyre and Subban was one of the best in the AHL last season, recording a .930 and .917 save percentages respectively. They split the games almost completely evenly, and both even had short stints in the NHL when injuries struck Tuukka Rask and Anton Khudobin. Both NHL netminders are back next season, though Khudobin’s deal expires next summer. At that point, the Bruins will be able to make a decision on who is their next backup, and who will remain the starter in the AHL.
McIntyre, 24, took a huge step forward this year in his second season since signing out of the University of North Dakota and may have positioned himself as the leader in that race as of this moment. That’s not to say the decision is made though, as Subban, 23, comes with a much higher draft pedigree—he was selected 24th-overall in 2012—and has proven he is a capable goaltender at the AHL level for a longer stretch.
Bruins Notes: Krejci, C. Miller, Morrow, Subban
Fresh off a 2-1 Game One win against the Ottawa Senators on Wednesday night without three starters in David Krejci, Torey Krug, and Brandon Carlo, it appears that the Boston Bruins will have to line up for Game Two with an even more short-handed roster. While the team has until their matinee puck drop on Saturday to make any official announcement, it sounds as though defenseman Colin Miller will join the growing list of injuries. Miller, who left the previous game after suffering a lower body injury on a trip from Mark Borowiecki, was on the ice for practice today, but left early due to pain and discomfort. After practice, head coach Bruce Cassidy made it sound very unlikely that Miller would be available for the next game.
With Miller out, in addition to Krug and Carlo, Joe Morrow is the next man up to slot in on the blue line. Morrow, a former first-round pick and a piece of the Tyler Seguin trade, has not been able to work his way into regular play time in years with the Bruins. With John-Michael Liles in the fold this season, Morrow was bumped down to eighth on the depth chart and has not played in almost three months. However, the Bruins were able to beat the Senators with just five defenseman for most of Game One, so even a cold Morrow could be an upgrade as Boston looks to take a stranglehold on the series with another road win.
- Having Krejci back would certainly go a long way to help the Bruins take a 2-0 series lead, but Cassidy confirmed that Boston’s highest-paid player will miss another game. Cassidy did add the qualifier that “as of today” he would miss the game, and Krejci did suit up for warm-ups before being a late scratch in Game One, however he missed practice today and all signs point to the Bruins playing is safe with their third-highest scorer.
- As reported earlier, the Bruins have made it official that they have returned goalie Zane McIntyre, who suited up as Tuukka Rask‘s backup for Game One, back to the AHL and has recalled Malcolm Subban on an emergency assignment to serve, fittingly, as an emergency backup should anything cause Rask or Anton Khudobin. Don’t worry Bruins fans, there’s no reason to worry about Rask’s health.
Evening Transactions: Bruins, Sharks
Some assorted transactions from around the NHL this evening:
- After recalling him earlier today on an emergency basis, the Bruins have sent goalie Zane McIntyre back to Providence, reports Amalie Benjamin of the Boston Globe (via Twitter). The 24-year-old was insurance for injured goaltender Anton Khudobin, who was ultimately healthy for this evening’s contest. In eight games with the Bruins this year, McIntyre has compiled an .858 save percentage.
- Union defender Nick DeSimone will join the Sharks organization, reports Elliotte Friedman on Twitter. We heard earlier this week that the free agent was expected to garner interest from multiple teams. DeSimone set career-highs this season in both goals (nine) and points (19).
Boston Bruins Recall Zane McIntyre On Emergency Basis
5:05pm: Steve Conroy of the Boston Herald reports that it is in fact Khudobin who has suffered a minor injury today. If he’s not able to dress, it would still put the Bruins at risk of having to use an unproven rookie in what will amount to another must-win game.
4:38pm:Despite saying this morning that Tuukka Rask would be back in net for the Boston Bruins tonight against the Nashville Predators, the team has recalled Zane McIntyre from Providence on emergency conditions. Whether this means Rask isn’t ready, or somehow Anton Khudobin has suffered an injury during the day isn’t clear.
Rask sat out the Bruins last game against the New York Islanders on Saturday with a mysterious lower-body injury, allowing Khudobin to make the start instead and help the team to a 2-1 victory. Rask received some heat from media and fans who compared it to last year when the goaltender sat out the final game with an illness and watched as the Bruins lost 6-1 to miss the playoffs. While it’s certain Rask and the Bruins wouldn’t fake an injury this late in the season, it is horrible timing for a club that is fighting for their playoff lives on a nightly basis. With the Tampa Bay Lightning now just one point behind the Bruins for the final playoff spot, they need every win they can down the stretch.
Though if it is Khudobin who makes the start tonight, perhaps it’s not the worst thing that could happen. The goaltender is 5-1 since the beginning of February and boasts a .920 save percentage in those matches. On Saturday, he stopped 18 of 19 shots in one of the biggest victories of the season for the Bruins. McIntyre on the other hand has appeared in eight games this season for Boston and has proved he’s not quite ready for the NHL with a save percentage of .858.