Headlines

Go To MLB Trade Rumors
Go To Hoops Rumors

Snapshots

Snapshots: Islanders, Lipanov, Cramarossa

at CDT | by Leave a Comment

The Oak View Group submitted their proposal for a new arena at Belmont Park, Elmont today, with the intention of housing the New York Islanders there once completed. Several other proposals are expected to be submitted, including one from New York City FC, the city’s Major League Soccer team.

John Shannon of Sportsnet reports that the Islanders’ ownership group was in Detroit to tour the new Red Wings arena, as they continue to try to work out where the team will play in the future. We aren’t expected to get a ruling on which is the successful bid for several months.

  • The Tampa Bay Lightning have signed Alexei Lipanov to a three-year, entry-level contract. The 18-year old forward was selected in the third round of the most recent draft, and is now playing with the Barrie Colts of the OHL. Last year in the Russian junior and minor leagues, Lipanov scored 11 points in 32 games but captained the Russian U18 World Junior team to a bronze medal.
  • Joseph Cramarossa was released from his PTO this week with the Calgary Flames, but signed an AHL deal today with the Stockton Heat to continue his professional career. Cramarossa is still just 24 and was selected in the third round in 2011, but has yet to catch on full-time around the NHL. He’ll try to rebuild some of that value in the AHL this year, and prove that he can add more than just a checking role.

Snapshots: Thornton, Gionta, Gelinas, Red Wings

at CDT | by 2 Comments

While the Maple Leafs landed one long-time San Jose Shark in winger Patrick Marleau over the summer, Pierre LeBrun of The Athletic reports that Toronto was among the teams that were pursuing center Joe Thornton and at one time were looking to bring the veteran duo in as a package deal.  Thornton’s preference was to remain in San Jose and he wound up agreeing on a one-year, $8MM deal while Marleau wound up receiving both more money and term from Toronto than what the Sharks were offering him.  Given where Toronto is with regards to the salary cap, it’s hard to imagine how the duo would have fit in money-wise but the fact that they pursued both of them together suggests GM Lou Lamoriello had something ready if both would have signed.

Other notes from around the league:

  • Unrestricted free agent winger Brian Gionta is considering signing an AHL-only deal with Rochester, the minor league affiliate of the Sabres, Sportsnet’s Elliotte Friedman reports. While it’s believed he has NHL offers on the table, he’d like to stay close to his family which this would allow him to do while also maintaining his eligibility to suit up in the upcoming Olympics.
  • The Canadiens have yet to initiate any sort of contracts with PTO defenseman Eric Gelinas, notes TVA Sports’ Renaud Lavoie. Gelinas is looking to land a spot on Montreal’s back end after turning down multiple offers overseas during the summer.  He split last season between Colorado and their AHL affiliate in San Antonio.
  • The Red Wings are expecting a trio of veterans to return from injuries, notes MLive’s Ansar Khan. Niklas Kronwall is expected to make his preseason debut on Thursday after missing time with back spasms while Justin Abdelkader is hopeful to play then as well; he has missed the last ten days with a groin issue.  Meanwhile, captain Henrik Zetterberg is slated to play on Friday for the first time as his neck soreness is improving.

Snapshots: McDavid, Polak, Dotchin

at CDT | by Leave a Comment

Connor McDavid has taken over the top spot on TSN’s yearly player rankings, after an incredible eight-year run by Sidney Crosby. McDavid still only edged the former #1 for the top spot, but will try to start a run of his own this year. Several other players made huge jumps, including Nikita Kucherov who jumped from 27 to 7, and Mark Scheifele who improved 35 spots to crack the top 15.

Two top-10 stalwarts in Alex Ovechkin and Jonathan Toews both plummeted down the rankings after disappointing seasons, but could easily see a resurgence should they should it was more an anomaly than a trend. Check out the entire list, then leave below what you think should have been different.

  • Roman Polak won’t play tomorrow night for the Toronto Maple Leafs, but according to head coach Mike Babcock (via James Mirtle of The Athletic) he’s making progress and should still get in before the season begins. Polak is technically on a professional tryout with the team, but it does seem like he would be signed by the team should he show that he’s completely healthy after the terrible injury last year. The Maple Leafs already have several players competing for the last few defensive spots, but none of them save for Connor Carrick are right-handed. Since the Maple Leafs are already going with three lefties in their top-4, having a right-handed option like Polak in a depth role seems prudent, even if he’s not an exciting option.
  • Jake Dotchin still hasn’t gotten into any preseason action for violating a team issue, and he told Joe Smith of the Tampa Bay Times that “it’s hurting” him. Dotchin was widely expected to start the year in an increased role with the Lightning after an impressive rookie campaign, but every day he sits out is another chance for someone else to make an impression. The young defender has been known to cross the line physically while on the ice, and though there is no report on what he did yet the team is clearly not happy with him.

Snapshots: Duchene, Athanasiou, Vegas, Belmont Park

at CDT | by 1 Comment

Matt Duchene has been suiting up in the preseason for the Colorado Avalanche despite continuing trade speculation, and Adrian Dater of BSN Denver has now been told it’s very likely the unhappy forward will begin the year with the team. That does seem like the only option at this point, as a team has still yet to step forward and meet GM Joe Sakic’s asking price.

Some of the hesitation to pony up for Duchene comes from his disappointing season a year ago, when he scored just 18 goals and 41 points. Those numbers were both career-lows in full seasons, and there has been some debate over whether Duchene can handle top center duties any longer. From all accounts, the 26-year old has looked great in training camp so far as he tries to prove that he can still help turn the tide for any organization.

  • Unsigned restricted free agent Andreas Athanasiou hasn’t spoken to the Detroit Red Wings in almost ten days according to Helene St. James of the Detroit Free Press. St. James says that since a face-to-face meeting on September 16th, there has been “nothing but silence.” It’s starting to look like Athanasiou will not start the season with the Red Wings, despite multiple offers extended from the team. Holdouts rarely end in big raises for players involved in them, and it’s not clear exactly why the two sides are so far apart.
  • Jason Pothier of SinBin examined the history of George McPhee when he was the GM of the Washington Capitals, and shows that if he’s operating similarly a trade may be coming in the next few days. McPhee has completed eight trades in the last week before the season in the past, and since there still seems to be too many NHL-level defensemen in town, it could happen once again.
  • As expected, there will be at least one other bid for the Belmont Park location is a potential spot for a new New York Islanders’ arena and it will indeed be New York City FC. Jim Baumbach of Newsday reports that the soccer franchise will submit a bid, but it’s actually not the team’s preferred location. We’ve heard before that it could take months to be given a decision, but proposals must be officially submitted by Thursday afternoon.

Snapshots: Lecavalier, Miller, Rodrigues

at CDT | by 1 Comment

The Tampa Bay Lightning will retire the second number in their franchise history this season, when they raise Vincent Lecavalier’s #4 to the rafters on February 10th. Lecavalier, who last played in 2015-16, is the franchise leader in goals and was once the NHL’s youngest ever captain (since broken by multiple players) when he was given the “C” at just 19.

In 1,037 games with the Lightning, the 1998 first-overall pick scored 874 points and led them to a Stanley Cup in 2004. Twice he was nominated for the Hart Trophy as league MVP, including 2006-07 when he led the league in goals with 52. A prototypical number-one center, Lecavalier played an exceptional all around game that combined speed, power and skill. He finished his career with 949 points in 1,212 games.

  • Despite spending time in the middle during the preseason, J.T. Miller will be back in his familiar wing position when the season starts, Alain Vigneault confirmed today to a group of reporters including Dan Rosen of NHL.com. Vigneault has been impressed with the play of 2017 first-round draft picks Lias Andersson and Filip Chytil, as well as former University of Michigan standout Boo Nieves. While it has been expected for a while that just one of the young players would make the roster with David Desharnais taking the other center role, there is a growing suspicion that both Andersson and Chytil could start the year with the Rangers. That would be quite the turnaround for a team that hadn’t even drafted in the first round for several years.
  • Buffalo Sabres forward Evan Rodrigues was injured this weekend in a preseason game against the Toronto Maple Leafs when Andreas Borgman crumpled him into the boards, and will be held out for the time being with a hand injury. Head coach Phil Housley was non-committal when asked if it would linger into the regular season, similar to the way he spoke about Jake McCabe’s upper-body injury. Both players were expected to be in the lineup for opening night, which now could open spots for some others to start the year in Buffalo instead of Rochester.

Snapshots: Sproul, Giroux, Tryamkin, Benson

at CDT | by Leave a Comment

Detroit defenseman Ryan Sproul has been given the green light to return to the lineup and will make his preseason debut on Monday, reports MLive’s Ansar Khan.  Sproul underwent ACL surgery on April 18th, a procedure that typically requires six months to recover from so it appears his recovery process is a little bit ahead of schedule.  Had that not been the case, he was a potential candidate to land on LTIR to start the season.

Red Wings GM Ken Holland confirmed to Khan that the team plans to carry only seven defensemen to start the season so right now it appears that the 24-year-old is on the outside looking in at a roster spot despite playing in 27 games with Detroit in 2016-17.  Sproul will require waivers in order to be assigned to AHL Grand Rapids.

Other notes from around the hockey world:

  • The Flyers will experiment with placing long-time center Claude Giroux on the left wing on Monday night, notes CSN Philly’s Jordan Hall. Giroux has spent time at that position earlier in his career but not very often lately.  The idea of switching positions might allow Giroux a bit less wear and tear on his body but would also allow someone like Sean Couturier – who has been more of a shutdown player so far in his career – to take on more of an offensive-oriented role.
  • Defenseman Nikita Tryamkin’s decision to leave the Canucks to go back to the KHL caught some by surprise. The blueliner told Sport-Express’ Igor Eronko (Twitter links) that a lack of playing time was a big factor in his decision to leave.  Tryamkin averaged 16:44 per night last season, the lowest of any regular blueliner in Vancouver.  He added that he could see himself back with the team but he won’t discuss that possibility while still under contract to Avtomobilist Yekaterinburg; he’s signed there through the 2019-20 season.
  • Oilers prospect Tyler Benson will likely start the season on injured reserve but is expected to join his junior team (the WHL’s Vancouver Giants) on October 13th, notes Postmedia’s Jim Matheson. Benson, Edmonton’s second-round pick (32nd overall) in 2016, has yet to skate with the team in training camp and has not been cleared for any contact drills after undergoing double sports hernia surgery over the summer.

Snapshots: Bertuzzi, Leivo, Officiating, McDonald

at CDT | by 6 Comments

Red Wings winger Tyler Bertuzzi will be out three-to-four weeks due to tendon inflammation in his wrist, GM Ken Holland told reporters including MLive’s Ansar Khan.  That will keep him out of the lineup for the first week or two of the season which should give converted defenseman Luke Witkowski a bit more of an edge on a lineup spot on the wing.

Bertuzzi will likely be headed for season-opening injured reserve which will allow them to prorate his cap hit.  Bertuzzi spent 50 days on the NHL roster last season (playing seven games with Detroit) so he will carry a discounted cap hit of nearly $184K on the Red Wings’ books once the season gets underway.

Other news and notes from around the league:

  • The Leafs received at least one serious trade inquiry for winger Josh Leivo but placed a high asking price despite his status as a seldom-used player, reports Sportsnet’s Chris Johnston. It’s evident that the team still values him having protected Leivo from Vegas in expansion but Toronto’s winger depth is comparable to last season if not stronger.  As a result, the 24-year-old is likely to be on the outside looking in at a regular spot in the lineup once again which means there’s a good chance he’ll draw more trade interest in the coming weeks.
  • While the NHL continues to crack down on faceoff and slashing violations, the league sent a memo to its officials on Friday to ask them to scale back the calls a little bit, reports Sportsnet’s John Shannon (Twitter link). Penalties for both of these are up substantially through the opening week of the preseason.  TVA Sports’ Renaud Lavoie clarified via Twitter that the toe on the line standard is what will be relaxed at the faceoff dot.
  • Flyers winger Colin McDonald will be out an undisclosed number of weeks due to a lower-body injury, notes Andrew Kulp of CSN Philly. McDonald spent the bulk of last season with AHL Lehigh Valley but was with Philadelphia for a handful of games as well.  Accordingly, he will head on SOIR and count on their cap at a discounted rate similar to Bertuzzi in Detroit although his reduced charge checks in at a little over $14K.

Snapshots: Khudobin, Fast, Hanzal

at CDT | by Leave a Comment

One of the battles in Boston’s training camp is for the backup goalie position.  Veteran Anton Khudobin is the incumbent but is coming off an inconsistent season that saw him post just a .904 save percentage, well below the league average in 2016-17.  Accordingly, some have wondered if youngster Zane McIntyre could push for the number two job with the Bruins but head coach Bruce Cassidy told CSN New England’s Joe Haggerty that Khudobin remains the favorite for the job.

“He’s in very good shape and he’s practiced well, so he’s got a leg up on the other [goalies] based on his experience.  We know that going in, but he’s going to get pushed. Zane was good in a game, and Malcolm [Subban] let in a couple where he could have been more aggressive. But it was a first game, so right now they all look good. That’s a good problem to have if they all push each other, but to get direct to the point Anton has done nothing to lose that backup spot.”

If McIntyre isn’t able to supplant Khudobin for the backup role with the Bruins, he will be able to go down to Providence without going through waivers as he’s exempt for this season.  The same can’t be said for Malcolm Subban, who would have to hit the wire before heading to the AHL.

Elsewhere around the league:

  • Rangers winger Jesper Fast is progressing well in his recovery from offseason hip surgery, notes Matt Calamia on the Rangers’ team site. Head coach Alain Vigneault said that the team is targeting late October for his return to the lineup which would actually put him ahead of schedule from the five months he was expected to miss when he went under the knife in early June.  The 25-year-old has six goals and 15 assists in 68 games with New York last season and will push for a bottom-six role when he returns to the lineup.
  • Stars center Martin Hanzal is expected to start skating with the Stars on Saturday, reports Mark Stepneski of Stars Inside Edge. The 30-year-old has been out since the start of training camp with an ankle injury.  While Dallas has a surplus of centers, head coach Ken Hitchcock suggested earlier this month that it won’t be Hanzal who shifts positions and that it might be Jason Spezza who spends time on the wing instead.

Snapshots: Sheahan, Robinson, Aaltonen

at CDT | by Leave a Comment

In Elliotte Friedman’s latest 31 Thoughts column for Sportsnet, the venerable hockey insider touches on several different trade topics we’ve heard about over the last few weeks. The most interesting is perhaps one brewing between the Pittsburgh Penguins and Detroit Red Wings surrounding Riley Sheahan. Friedman seems to think the deal could be contingent on whether Detroit comes to terms with restricted free agent Andreas Athanasiou, who is currently still holding out of training camp without a contract.

The Red Wings wouldn’t want to lose Athanasiou and Sheahan both, but if they wait much longer Pittsburgh GM Jim Rutherford might move on to one of his other two options. The Red Wings need to take advantage of trades when they can, even if moving Sheahan would weaken their center depth considerably.

  • Larry Robinson has been hired by the St. Louis Blues as a Senior Consultant to Hockey Operations. Robinson is a legendary hockey player and mind who has found success everywhere in the game. From a player, winning six Stanley Cups with the Montreal Canadiens to a coach, raising three more championships with the New Jersey Devils. Most recently, he has been an associate coach and director of player development with the San Jose Sharks, helping them reach the Stanley Cup Finals for the first time in their history.
  • Jonas Siegal of The Athletic penned an interesting piece on Toronto Maple Leafs’ new acquisition Miro Aaltonen, outlining his battle for a roster spot this season. Aaltonen was a free agent after the Anaheim Ducks—the team who originally drafted him—chose not to sign him in 2015, and apparently decided between the Maple Leafs and Vegas Golden Knights on where to start his North American career. It’s interesting that he chose Toronto, as he likely could have made the Vegas roster out of camp but will have a tough battle for the Maple Leafs. Part of that likely has to do with him signing way back in March, before Vegas even had a roster at all.

Snapshots: Mueller, Kronwall, Loktionov, Scandella

at CDT | by Leave a Comment

After failing to land an NHL contract with Boston last season, center Peter Mueller is heading back across the pond as he has signed a one-year contract with EC Salzburg, the Austrian team announced.  Mueller has 297 career NHL games under his belt but last saw action at the top level in 2012-13 with Florida.  He also previously spent time with the Coyotes and Avalanche.  The 29-year-old collected 13 goals and 12 assists in 56 games with AHL Providence last season and at this point, another run at an NHL spot doesn’t seem too likely.

Other notes from around the hockey world:

  • Although Red Wings defenseman Niklas Kronwall has yet to practice with the team or suit up in early preseason action, head coach Jeff Blashill told reporters, including Helene St. James of the Detroit Free Press, that Kronwall has been skating on his own and could start practicing soon. Kronwall battled knee problems last season and had back spasms earlier in the week.
  • Although he inked a PTO deal with the Kings, center Andrei Loktionov initially drew interest from the Maple Leafs, reports Jon Rosen of LA Kings Insider. He opted to take the tryout with Los Angeles in large part due to his familiarity with the organization, having been drafted by the team in 2008 and being with them until February of 2013.  A path to an NHL roster spot is likely easier with the Kings than in Toronto as well.  Loktionov had 27 points in 58 games with Yaroslavl Lokomotiv of the KHL last season.
  • The Sabres plan to hold defenseman Marco Scandella out of game action until sometime next week, head coach Phil Housley told reporters, including Bill Hoppe of the Olean Times Herald. Scandella is recovering from offseason hip surgery and the team has been cautious with him so far, giving him some off days in the early going of training camp.

Pro Hockey Rumors is not affiliated with National Hockey League, NHL or NHL.com

Do not Sell or Share My Personal Information

scroll to top