Lukas Radil Questionable For Saturday
- Sharks winger Lukas Radil is questionable for Saturday’s game due to an illness, notes Curtis Pashelka of The Mercury News (Twitter link). If he’s unavailable and Marcus Sorensen is unable to return, San Jose will be down to 11 forwards on their roster and may have to reserve today’s assignment of Danil Yurtaykin to the minors.
Minor Transactions: 10/17/19
All six home teams won last night in the NHL, including the high-flying Edmonton Oilers continuing their resurgence against the Philadelphia Flyers. Connor McDavid led the way with five points and put himself squarely in the conversation for a second consecutive first star of the week, while Mikko Koskinen made 49 saves as the Flyers poured on the pressure. The action continues tonight with nine more games on the schedule, including the first meeting of the top two 2019 draft picks. Jack Hughes is looking for his first NHL point while Kaapo Kakko and the New York Rangers will suit up for just the fourth time this season. As teams prepare, we’ll be right here keeping track of all the minor moves.
- The San Jose Sharks have returned Trevor Carrick to the minor leagues, something that we should get used to this season. Carrick seems to be the player GM Doug Wilson will flip back and forth to save cap room this season on off days (at least until Radim Simek is back to full health), as he’s already been involved in four transactions since the start of the month.
- The Carolina Hurricanes have sent Brian Gibbons back to the AHL after playing two games with the NHL club. Gibbons, 31, has spent plenty of time in the minor leagues over his career to this point but is a nice depth piece for Carolina to call on when they face injury up front.
- Nelson Nogier has been recalled once again by the Winnipeg Jets, who take on the New York Islanders tonight. Winnipeg is off to a 4-4 start to the season despite massive changes to their defense corps, but will need even more from their group to compete for a Central Division playoff spot.
Pacific Notes: Hjalmarsson, Subban, Middleton
The Arizona Coyotes could be without one of their defensemen for a while as The Athletic’s Craig Morgan noted last night that Niklas Hjalmarsson left Pepsi Center last night on crutches. The 32-year-old blocked a shot last night from Erik Johnson against Colorado Saturday and was forced to leave the game. He only played 4:32.
Morgan reported that Hjalmarsson did not join the team on their flight to Winnipeg last night and while there is no word on the severity of the injury, he is expected to miss some time.
“At this point I’m not sure, but it doesn’t look like it’s going to be day to day,” said head coach Rick Tocchet after the game Saturday. “That’s a big loss for us. Nik is a good defenseman.”
The team is expected to recall a defenseman to serve as the team’s seventh defenseman while Hjalmarsson is out. The scribe followed that report up that Kyle Capobianco, who was assigned to the Tucson Roadrunners Saturday, will be returning to the team.
- Sinbin’s Steve Carp suggests that the Vegas Golden Knights could be in trouble in goal in the near future with the constant injury problems that backup Malcolm Subban has dealt with over his career in Vegas. Subban left after the first period Thursday against Arizona with a lower-body injury. The team brought Oscar Dansk up as an emergency recall, but the problem is 34-year-old Marc-Andre Fleury has received no rest so far this year, which could continue with the team likely hesitant to give Dansk a start. The team also has Garret Sparks in the AHL, who they can recall, but have not done so yet. However, with Subban unable to remain healthy, the team may have some issues to come down the road if they can’t get a solid goaltender to take a significant amount of playing time from an overworked Fleury.
- San Jose Sharks head coach Peter DeBoer gave an update for defenseman Jacob Middleton, who has been out with an undisclosed injury, and is just one of a number of defensive injuries that has depleted the Sharks’ depth there so far this year. The blueliner is expected to miss between four to six weeks, according to Mercury News’ Curtis Pashelka. The scribe writes that the team is more likely to get back veteran Dalton Prout sooner as he has already started skating again.
Pacific Notes: Marleau, Sorenson, Eakin, Crouse
The San Jose Sharks lost a key piece of their core this offseason when veteran Joe Pavelski signed with the Dallas Stars. The Sharks were looking to bring in some of their young prospects to fill the gaps on their team. However, it didn’t take long for San Jose to realize that those pieces might not be ready yet.
The team rectified that issue when it went out and inked former Sharks’ veteran Patrick Marleau to a one-year deal. The veteran immediately made quite an impact, scoring two goals in his return to the franchise. However, ESPN’s Greg Wyshynski writes that head coach Peter DeBoer felt that was a major need.
“One hundred percent. You’re not replacing Pav. But he’s definitely of that ilk,” said DeBoer, who said he had several conversations with general manager Doug Wilson after he was bought out by the Carolina Hurricanes this summer. “There was a commitment here to give the young guys an opportunity. The reality is sometimes it takes a bit longer.”
- Sticking with the Sharks, Curtis Pashelka of the Mercury News reports that forward Marcus Sorensen, who has been out for the past two games with an undisclosed injury after taking a collision into the boards, could be ready to return to the lineup on Sunday against the Flames. Sorensen scored 17 goals last season and could help the struggling Sharks get back into the win column. The scribe also reported that defenseman Tim Heed is also close to returning, but likely won’t be available Sunday.
- Vegas Golden Knights have activated center Cody Eakin as the team expects to insert the veteran into their lineup tonight, according to Las Vegas Review Journal’s David Schoen. The team is expected to have him step onto the third line with youngster Cody Glass moving to the wing. Eakin had a career-year last year, scoring 22 goals and 41 points last year. The 28-year-old has been out with an undisclosed injury that he sustained during the preseason.
- NHL.com’s Alex Kinkopf writes that Arizona Coyotes forward Lawson Crouse remains day-to-day with an upper-body injury. The 22-year-old forward is expected to play today against Colorado. Crouse finished last season with 11 goals, 25 points and 288 hits.
Jonny Brodzinski, Michael McCarron Placed On Waivers
Thursday: Both players have cleared waivers. McCarron was immediately sent to the minor leagues.
Wednesday: According to Elliotte Friedman of Sportsnet, the San Jose Sharks have placed Jonny Brodzinski on waivers today and he’ll be joined by Montreal Canadiens forward Michael McCarron. The Sharks needed to make room for Patrick Marleau, who is coming in on a one-year deal, while McCarron must be healthy enough to get back into game action after starting the year on season-opening injured reserve.
Brodzinski, 26, was brought in on a one-year, two-way contract after he became a Group VI unrestricted free agent this summer and allowed to compete for a job with the Sharks. He ended up landing one and played in the team’s last two games, but rarely saw the ice and is now likely headed for the minor leagues. Brodzinski has dominated the minor leagues throughout his young career, but can’t seem to find much opportunity at the NHL level. Through 56 career games, he has 11 points.
McCarron meanwhile has been down this road before with the Canadiens, as he cleared waivers at the end of the 2018 training camp as well. The 2013 first-round pick has suited up in 70 games for Montreal over the years, but has just eight points and has had a tough time even securing a fourth-line role. Standing 6’6″ he would provide the diminutive Canadiens group with some size down the middle if he could ever figure things out, but at 24 years old time is running out for McCarron to become an impact player.
San Jose Sharks Sign Patrick Marleau
Wednesday: The team has officially filed the Marleau contract, meaning his iron man streak was not broken last night. Marleau was at practice today for the Sharks alongside Logan Couture and Timo Meier, indicating he’ll be asked to play a big role right from the start with the struggling club.
Tuesday: It was inevitable after all. Patrick Marleau has signed with the San Jose Sharks, returning after a two-year absence to the city where he spent most of his career. A deal was hinted at earlier today by Pierre LeBrun of The Athletic, who noted that several teams had recently reached out to the veteran forward. The deal will be a one-year contract that pays a league-minimum salary of $700K.
Marleau, 40, left the Sharks as an unrestricted free agent in 2017 to sign a lucrative three-year deal with the Toronto Maple Leafs, but didn’t finish it. Instead, after two seasons with in Toronto, Marleau was shipped off to the Carolina Hurricanes in order to facilitate a buyout of the final year of his contract. The Hurricanes were happy to eat the $6.25MM cap hit in exchange for a first-round pick, meaning Marleau could decide exactly where he wanted to play this season. There seemed to be an obvious fit in San Jose, but things didn’t materialize through the summer as the Sharks dealt with a cap crunch thanks to their hefty defensive contracts and restricted free agent deals.
Now, with the Sharks suffering multiple injuries (however minor) up front, the time was right for Marleau to rejoin his old squad. Originally selected second overall in 1997, Marleau jumped into the NHL right away and played 74 games with the team in 1997-98. That would turn out to be the fewest games of his career in a single non-lockout-shortened season, as he proved to be a pinnacle of health. In fact, Marleau has played in at least 81 games in 14 different seasons and hasn’t missed a single game in ten years.
Even though his iron man streak is something to behold, there are questions about how effective Marleau can be at this point in his career. His play dropped off last season for the Maple Leafs as he scored just 16 goals and 37 points—both the lowest totals he’s had in a full season since his rookie year—while even his previously elite skating ability seemed to slow somewhat. While Sharks’ teammate Joe Thornton still believes Marleau can skate well enough for the NHL, that doesn’t necessarily mean he’ll be an effective option for the Sharks on a nightly basis.
Still, for a team like San Jose that has struggled out of the gate and is looking for reinforcements up front, you could do worse than a player who has scored 551 goals in his NHL career. Marleau currently sits fifth on the all-time games played list, and needs 77 to pass both Ron Francis and Jaromir Jagr. With 79 games left in the Sharks season it is certainly possible, especially for a player who hasn’t sat one out in a decade.
Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images
Marcus Sorensen Listed As Day-To-Day
- While the Sharks are getting Evander Kane back from suspension tonight, they’ll be without another winger as Marcus Sorensen is listed as day-to-day with an undisclosed injury, notes Curtis Pashelka of The Mercury News. He suffered the injury partway through San Jose’s game on Saturday. Pashelka also notes that defensemen Tim Heed (upper body) and Jacob Middleton (upper body), Dalton Prout (upper body), and Radim Simek (knee) all remain unavailable which is certainly testing their depth on the back end in the early going.
Patrick Marleau Market “Heating Up”
When the Toronto Maple Leafs traded Patrick Marleau to the Carolina Hurricanes who subsequently bought him out earlier this summer, it wasn’t expected to end his career. The 40-year old forward made it clear that he wanted to continue playing, but the season eventually started without a contract being signed. Marleau has continued to skate hoping something would come up however, and Pierre LeBrun of The Athletic tweets that things are “heating up” with regards to a potential offer. LeBrun reports that multiple teams including the San Jose Sharks have reached out to Marleau’s camp.
Any contract for Marleau now would obviously qualify as a 35+ deal, meaning it comes with certain restrictions and benefits. For one, it would mean that if the veteran forward retired at any point or was bought out, the entire cap hit would remain on the books. However it also allows a team to include performance bonuses in a one-year deal, something that could limit the risk involved with adding a player of his age after the season has already started.
For the Sharks, who are dealing with some injuries up front (Marcus Sorensen is now listed as day-to-day according to Kevin Kurz of The Athletic), would have to send down or waive one of their other forwards in order to even bring Marleau on board, and it would need to be for a near-minimum salary in order to fit in under the cap ceiling. The team would have to worry about potential bonuses being carried over to next season, though obviously there are infinite ways to structure the contract at this point.
There has been a prevailing though that Marleau would prefer the end up on the west coast, but at this point perhaps other teams are reaching out to see if he’ll consider somewhere else. Former Sharks teammate Joe Thornton just this morning told Kurz that Marleau “should be playing somewhere,” indicating that his old friend can still skate well enough to be in the league. Marleau scored 16 goals and 37 points in 82 games with the Maple Leafs last season, and hasn’t missed a game due to injury since the 2008-09 season.
Snapshots: Pietrangelo, Ho-Sang, Marleau
Sportsnet’s “Saturday Headlines” segment was filled with interesting information this week, headlined by negotiations between the defending champion St. Louis Blues and No. 1 defenseman Alex Pietrangelo. The status quo has shifted dramatically over the last two weeks in terms of extension talks between the two sides, as the Blues first acquired Justin Faulk from the Carolina Hurricanes and handed him a seven-year, $45.5MM extension and then signed another impending free agent, Brayden Schenn, to an eight-year, $52MM extension. The team would obviously still like to re-sign their captain, but they have significantly more future salary committed now, as well as more security on the blue line in Faulk if Pietrangelo does leave. How that affects contract talks remains to be seen. Elliotte Friedman reports that GM Doug Armstrong plans to meet with Pietrangelo’s Toronto-based Newport Sports agents when the Blues visit the Maple Leafs this week to open up the conversation. Friedman adds that St. Louis’ preferred contract would be similar to that of Arizona Coyotes top defender Oliver Ekman-Larsson, who signed an eight-year, $66MM extension in 2018. Friedman implies that Pietrangelo would likely be able to beat an $8.25MM salary on the open market. However, a proportional contract to Ekman-Larsson’s based on either this year’s salary cap or next year’s projected salary cap would place that number between $8.5-8.75MM at least, which could be enough to keep Pietrangelo. The real question is whether the Blues can afford that, with nearly $74MM already committed to 17 players next season.
- Joshua Ho-Sang isn’t opposed to playing in the AHL, just doing so any longer for the New York Islanders. At least that’s what Friedman reports that his camp is telling other NHL teams. Ho-Sang has requested a trade from the Islanders and the club is trying to oblige, giving him permission to talk to other teams. Ho-Sang is letting them know that he is willing to do “whatever it takes” to find a regular NHL role, even if that means starting the process in the AHL. This could potentially broaden the level of interest in the disgruntled winger, who may not have the best reputation but honestly seems in search of a fresh start.
- Chris Johnston reports that Patrick Marleau remains “confident” that he will find a home in the NHL this season. The respected veteran had the final season of his contract with the Toronto Maple Leafs bought out following a trade to the Carolina Hurricanes this off-season, but so far hasn’t been able to find an ideal fit to continue playing. Much of the speculation had him returning to the San Jose Sharks, with whom he played much of his Hall of Fame career with, but the team was not as receptive to a comeback as expected. Marleau maintains that he would like to stay close to his family in San Jose, making Pacific Division rivals like the Los Angeles Kings, Anaheim Ducks, Arizona Coyotes and Vegas Golden Knights the likely targets. However, given the Sharks’ 0-3 start and early scoring woes, perhaps the team will come calling after all. Marleau continues to work out and stay optimistic for whenever an opportunity does arise.
Minor Transactions: 10/5/19
The first Saturday in the regular season is a busy one with a total of 26 teams in action. Accordingly, there figures to be plenty of roster movement throughout the day. We’ll keep tabs on those moves here as well as other minor moves around the hockey world.
- The Blackhawks announced (Twitter link) that they have activated center John Quenneville off season-opening IR and assigned him to AHL Rockford. Chicago acquired the 2014 first-round pick from New Jersey back in June for John Hayden with the hopes that a change of scenery could help him take the next step in his development. The Chicago Blackhawks also announced they have returned defenseman Dennis Gilbert to the Rockford Ice Hogs of the AHL in a corresponding roster move. The 22-year-old defenseman was brought on the trip to Prague for the Global Series games and he played in Friday’s game against the Flyers. While he didn’t score any points in 14:57 of playing time, he did have four hits, a block and two shots on goal.
- As the injuries continue to pile up in Dallas, the Stars have recalled defenseman Joel Hanley and winger Joel L’Esperance, per a team release. Hanley got into 16 games with Dallas last season but was held off the scoresheet in all of them while L’Esperance had the top point-per-game rate with Texas while contributing a pair of goals in 18 NHL contests a year ago.
- While the Oilers were open to giving Anton Burdasov some AHL games to basically extend his tryout, the Russian winger had other ideas. SKA St. Petersburg of the KHL announced that they’ve signed the 28-year-old to a one-year contract. Burdasov had 19 goals and 114 PIMS last season with Salavat Yulaev and another good year could get him back on the NHL radar next summer.
- The Arizona Coyotes announced they have recalled goaltender Antti Raanta from the Tucson Roadrunners. The team’s starting netminder was allowed to go on a conditioning stint before the season started as the team has confidence in backup Darcy Kuemper, but have already decided that one AHL start was all that Raanta needed. He could get the call tonight against the Boston Bruins. Raanta has dealt with several injuries in the past two years and has missed quite a bit of time, but the team is hoping for an injury-free season this year. The Coyotes also returned goalie Adin Hill to Tucson to offset the Raanta move.
- The San Jose Sharks announced they have placed defenseman Jacob Middleton on long-term injured reserve with an undisclosed injury after leaving Friday’s game against the Vegas Golden Knights during the first period. In a corresponding move, the Sharks have recalled defenseman Trevor Carrick from the San Jose Barracuda of the AHL to replace him. The 24-year-old defenseman, who signed with the Sharks during the offseason, has only four games of NHL experience after playing the last five years with the Charlotte Checkers of the AHL.
- The Anaheim Ducks announced they have recalled forward Isac Lundestrom from the San Diego Gulls of the AHL. The team’s first-round pick from 2018 played 15 games last season, picking up two assists as the team burned the first year of his entry-level contract already. He dealt with injuries however, and only appeared in 12 games with the Gulls last season.