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AHL Shuffle: 10/30/21

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With 20 teams in action on a busy Saturday around the NHL, there will likely be quite a bit of roster movement throughout the day.  We’ll keep track of those moves here.

Atlantic Division

  • The Bruins have re-assigned center Oskar Steen to Providence, per the AHL’s transactions page. The 23-year-old had an assist on Sunday, his only NHL appearance in 2021-22.  Steen also has two points in three contests in the minors so far this season.
  • Forward Zac Dalpe has been recalled from the Charlotte Checkers by the Florida Panthers, per a team tweet. The recall would put the team over the roster limit, likely meaning that Chase Priskie will be returned to Charlotte or Kevin Connauton could be placed on injured reserve. The 31-year-old veteran Dalpe has just one goal in four AHL contests with Charlotte this year, but got into 12 NHL games with Columbus last season.

Metropolitan Division

  • The Red Wings announced that they have recalled center Joe Veleno from Grand Rapids of the AHL. The 2018 first-rounder got into five games with Detroit down the stretch last season and is off to a good start with the Griffins this year with three goals in five games at the minor league level.  Veleno will take the spot of Tyler Bertuzzi on the roster with the winger being unable to be with the team for their upcoming games in Canada.

Central Division

 

Pacific Division

  • The Kings announced (Twitter link) that they’ve assigned winger Vladimir Tkachev to Ontario of the AHL with center Lias Andersson being activated off season-opening IR to take his place. Tkachev came over from the KHL and has a pair of assists in four games this season but has only played once in the last week and a half so an appearance in the minors will keep him fresh. Andersson, meanwhile, had six points in 23 games with Los Angeles last season and suffered a groin injury late in the preseason.
  • The Kraken announced (Twitter link) that they’ve recalled center Max McCormick from Charlotte of the AHL while transferring Mason Appleton to injured reserve.  McCormick has seen NHL action in five of the last six seasons, compiling 13 points in 83 games along the way.  As for Appleton, he suffered a lower-body injury earlier this week against Montreal.

This post will be updated throughout the day.

Minnesota Wild Place Jordan Greenway On Injured Reserve

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The Minnesota Wild placed winger Jordan Greenway on injured reserve Friday afternoon, recalling Adam Beckman from the Iowa Wild in his place, per a team release.

Greenway suffered a lower-body injury during Thursday night’s game against the Seattle Kraken after taking a hit from Kraken captain Mark Giordano.

The Athletic’s Michael Russo expands on the nature of a recent injury bug that’s hit the Wild, stating defenseman Alex Goligoski is out one to two weeks with an upper-body injury while Dmitry Kulikov is day-to-day with a lower-body injury.

If Beckman draws into the lineup, it will be his NHL debut. The 75th overall pick in 2019 has seen his stock rise sharply and now finds himself mentioned in a trio of skilled forward prospects in Minnesota’s system, along with Marco Rossi and Matthew Boldy. Beckman has three points in four AHL games this season.

Greenway’s had somewhat of a rough start to the season with just two assists in seven games. He was expected to be a major contributor in the team’s top-six forward group after scoring a career-high 32 points in 56 games last season.

Beckman could certainly get a look playing directly in Greenway’s spot with Ryan Hartman and Marcus Foligno, but head coach Dean Evason could also shuffle the team’s line combinations to put Beckman in less of a checking role.

Mason Appleton Will Miss Some Time

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  • Kraken winger Mason Appleton will “miss some time”, head coach Dave Hakstol told reporters including Marisa Ingemi of the Seattle Times (Twitter link). The 25-year-old left Tuesday’s victory over Montreal after two periods with an undisclosed injury.  Appleton has an assist in seven games so far this season while his average ice time has dipped by more than three minutes a night compared to his usage with Winnipeg in 2020-21.

Colin Blackwell Resumes Light Skating

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  • Kraken center Colin Blackwell has resumed light skating as he works his way back from a lower-body injury that kept him out of training camp, notes Marisa Ingemi of the Seattle Times. He’s hoping to avoid surgery but it appears he’s still a few weeks away from returning.  Blackwell was selected back in expansion after picking up 12 goals and 10 assists in 47 games (all career highs) last season with the Rangers.

Seattle “On The Radar” For Outdoor Game

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The Seattle Kraken haven’t even played a game at their home rink yet, but there may be plans forming for them to host a different kind of event. Chris Daniels of KING 5 reports that Gary Bettman said today Seattle is “on the radar” for an outdoor game. Bettman was speaking at the Climate Pledge Arena opening event, where the Kraken will host the Vancouver Canucks tomorrow night for the first home game in franchise history.

The Vegas Golden Knights, the most recent expansion team prior to the Kraken, had to wait a few years before gracing the outdoor circuit. They battled the Colorado Avalanche at the first “NHL Outdoors at Lake Tahoe” earlier this year, an event that didn’t go very smoothly once the sun came out and started making playing conditions dangerous.

Still, the overall neutral location idea was well received and there are likely more games like that in the works for the future. This year, the schedule currently has three outdoor games confirmed. January 1 in Minneapolis, when the Wild will host the Blues at the Winter Classic, February 26 in Nashville where the Predators will host the Lightning in the Stadium Series, and March 13 in Hamilton when the Sabres will “host” the Maple Leafs in the Heritage Classic.

While the shine of an outdoor game may have dulled for some fans, players, coaches and team staff routinely marvel at the experience and speak about how unforgettable it is. The events have also been successful financial hits for the league, both in-person and via broadcast. While Seattle is just getting their feet wet in the NHL, you can bet they’ll be on the outdoor lineup before long.

Tampa Bay Lightning Claim Alex Barre-Boulet

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The Tampa Bay Lightning weren’t going to pass up the opportunity to bring back one of their own. The team has claimed Alex Barre-Boulet off waivers from the Seattle Kraken. If they were the only team to submit a claim, they can assign the young forward directly to the AHL as if he cleared.

It certainly made sense for the Lightning to reclaim the 24-year-old Barre-Boulet, given what has happened since he was claimed by the Kraken earlier this month. While he was skating in two games for Seattle, the Lightning lost Nikita Kucherov from the lineup with an injury. By placing Kucherov on long-term injured reserve, Tampa Bay now has cap space and a roster spot to keep Barre-Boulet up if they choose.

It’s basically the best scenario possible for the Lightning. Not only did they reclaim a valuable asset, but Barre-Boulet was able to keep in game shape by suiting up twice for the Kraken. He even recorded a point, despite averaging fewer than nine minutes of ice time. That’s nothing new for the undrafted forward, who has been essentially a point-per-game producer at the minor league level for several seasons. In terms of depth forwards to plug into the lineup, the Lightning certainly could do worse.

Jarnkrok Activated; Barre-Boulet Placed On Waivers

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The Seattle Kraken have placed Alex Barre-Boulet on waivers today, as Calle Jarnkrok returns from the COVID protocol. Barre-Boulet was claimed off waivers earlier this season from the Tampa Bay Lightning.

After two games for the Kraken, Barre-Boulet finds himself once again available to the entire league. Should the Lightning place the only claim on him, he can be assigned directly to their minor league affiliate. If he is unclaimed, the Kraken can stash the young forward with the Charlotte Checkers, where he would be a welcome addition. In 148 career AHL games, Barre-Boulet has registered 139 points, showing just how dangerous he can be offensively in the right situation. The undrafted forward even registered an assist for the Kraken despite playing fewer than ten minutes in each of the two contests.

His placement on waivers is because Jarnkrok has been activated from the COVID protocol after spending the last two weeks unavailable to the Kraken. Seattle’s selection from the Nashville Predators looked in the preseason like he would play a key role for the Kraken, and indeed was practicing on the first line today according to Marisa Ingemi of the Seattle Times. His return, along with the recent appearance of Yanni Gourde, should give the team some additional firepower as they look to make a splash on home ice. After a five-game road trip to open the year, their finally heading home for a match against the Vancouver Canucks on Saturday night.

Seattle Kraken Activate Yanni Gourde

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One of the Seattle Kraken with the highest expectations coming out of the expansion draft was Yanni Gourde, but that excitement was quickly squashed when GM Ron Francis announced that the former Tampa Bay Lightning forward would require shoulder surgery. Gourde was given a four-month recovery timeline, meaning he’d be back at some point in November or early December.

Hard work has paid off in this case, with Gourde activated from injured reserve well ahead of schedule. The talented center will make his Kraken debut this evening when Seattle takes on the New Jersey Devils in their fifth game of the season.

Unfortunately, good news rarely comes alone these days for the Kraken, and today is no different. The team has also moved backup goaltender Chris Driedger to injured reserve, recalling Joey Daccord from the minor leagues in his stead. Kole Lind has been moved to the AHL to make room for Gourde on the roster.

Missing just four games is a best-case scenario for Gourde, who is coming off consecutive Stanley Cup championships with the Lightning and represents the team’s best option down the middle. Though he has been known for his work as a checking-line player the last couple of years in Tampa Bay, Gourde does have exceptional offensive upside, and scored 17 goals and 36 points in 56 games last season. His career-highs of 25 goals and 64 points came in 2017-18 as Brayden Point was just breaking out and before Anthony Cirelli had established himself in the Lightning lineup. In Seattle, he should get the chance to get back to that level of offensive production given the minutes he is expected to receive.

It’s not clear exactly what happened to Driedger to put him on the shelf. He came into last night’s game in relief of Philipp Grubauer and was expected to start tonight in the second half of the back-to-back, but will now be out at least seven days. In the interim, Daccord will serve as the backup, a great chance for a young goaltender that looked very promising before injury robbed him of most of last season. In one start for the Charlotte Checkers this season, the 25-year-old Daccord stopped 26 of 27 shots for the win.

Vince Dunn Won't Play Saturday

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  • Vince Dunn will miss tonight’s game for the Kraken, relays Ryan S. Clark of The Athletic (Twitter link). The blueliner is listed as day-to-day with an undisclosed issue.  Haydn Fleury will take Dunn’s place in the lineup.

Injury Notes: Boeser, Severson, Perron, Hoffman

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While Vancouver fans are relieved to see Elias Pettersson and Quinn Hughes back in action after they signed new contracts to stay with the team, they’ll have to wait a bit longer to see one of their young core members debut this season. Head coach Travis Green said Friday morning that it’s doubtful Brock Boeser plays in that night’s game against the Philadelphia Flyers. Boeser has been on the shelf with an undisclosed injury since October 2. He was expected to only miss one week, but that timeline has passed and his status is now day-to-day. In his absence, it appears rookie Vasily Podkolzin will now get a look on the second line with Pettersson and J.T. Miller.

Some other injury notes from around the league:

  • New Jersey Devils head coach Lindy Ruff notes that defenseman Damon Severson is progressing and could play in New Jersey’s game next Tuesday against the Seattle Kraken. The Devils play their season opener tonight, meaning Severson might only be on the shelf for one game. Severson suffered an undisclosed injury on October 4 and has been listed as day-to-day since then.
  • The Montreal Canadiens could see a big free-agent addition make his debut soon. Head coach Dominique Ducharme says that winger Mike Hoffman could be ready for the team’s Tuesday or Thursday night games next week, but he’ll miss Saturday’s tilt against the New York Rangers. That’s about right on time for Hoffman, who was projected to miss four weeks with a lower-body injury suffered in late September.
  • With the St. Louis Blues’ season opener looming Saturday in Colorado, they could be without forward David Perron, per the St. Louis Post-Dispatch’s Jim Thomas. Perron was absent from the Blues’ practice today but was seen at the facility wearing street clothes. Head coach Craig Berube called it a “maintenance day” for Perron, who’s questionable for the game with an undisclosed injury.

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