Snapshots: Gignac, Pitlick, Cammalleri, Stone
The New Jersey Devils announced (Twitter link) that they have signed 2016 third round pick (80th overall) Brandon Gignac to a three year, entry-level contract. Financial terms of the deal were not disclosed.
Gignac is off to a strong start this season with Shawinigan of the QMJHL, scoring five goals while adding 11 assists in 14 games. The 19 year old will remain with his junior team and since it’s highly unlikely that he will play in more than nine games with the Devils this season (the only way he can be brought up is via an emergency recall), his contract won’t officially kick in this season and will instead slide a year.
He’s also set to represent Team QMJHL next week in the Canada-Russia series, a primer for next month’s World Junior Hockey Championships.
Elsewhere around the league:
- In his sixth year at the professional level, Edmonton right winger Tyler Pitlick is making his case to stick around, writes Dan Barnes of the Edmonton Sun. Through 15 games this season, the 25 year old has five goals, more than he had in his previous NHL stints combined and has moved off of the fourth line. The team hasn’t given him the green light to move out of the hotel and look for a more permanent residence just yet though: “I think they just want to see if I can keep it up. A lot of guys come in here and have a good first 10 games and then it starts to drop off. I think they want to see if I can hold it consistently.”
- New Jersey left winger Mike Cammalleri will miss his second straight game tonight due to personal reasons, notes Andrew Gross of Fire and Ice. Head coach John Hynes told reporters that he’s not sure how long Cammalleri will be away from the team.
- Arizona defenseman Michael Stone is expected to return to the lineup tonight after missing the last six games with an upper body injury, writes Sarah McLellan of the Arizona Republic. This already marks the second time this year that Stone is coming back from an injury after he missed time early on as he finished recovering from knee surgery. Stone has three assists in four games this season but as a pending UFA, it’s safe to say that this hasn’t been the start to the season that he was hoping for so far.
Snapshots: Duchene, Trouba, Waiver Activity
Winnipeg Jets defenseman Jacob Trouba made his presence felt in his first game of the season. It wasn’t on the scoresheet, however. Just ask Matt Duchene.
Trouba caught Duchene with a high hit to the head, causing the speedy Avalanche center to leave the game. Adrian Dater reported that the NHL’s concussion spotters may have pulled Duchene from the game. Avalanche coach Jared Bednar said post-game that he has no update on his star’s condition.
The two players have been linked before, with some speculation the Avalanche offered Duchene up in a trade for Trouba. With Trouba signing a two-year contract with the Jets before withdrawing his trade request and Duchene leading the Avalanche in scoring, it seems unlikely that anything will come to fruition soon.
- The Florida Panthers have claimed forward Seth Griffith on waivers from the Toronto Maple Leafs, according to Chris Johnston. The Leafs had previously claimed Griffith on waivers from the Bruins just last month, but he was held off the scoresheet in just three games in blue and white. The Leafs needed to make a move with Matt Hunwick returning from IR and Josh Leivo coming back from a conditioning stint. As Johnston points out, the young forward will have a much better chance to make an impact in Florida, where the Panthers are dealing with a handful of injuries. Griffith won’t have to wait long to face his former team; the Panthers are in Toronto this Thursday.
- Defenseman Nicklas Grossmann is on unconditional waivers for the purpose of mutually terminating his contract with the Calgary Flames. Sportsnet’s Elliotte Friedman suggests Grossmann may have an offer to play overseas. He’s been in and out of the Flames lineup after a successful PTO. Shortly after the signing, Christian Roatis of Flames Nation broke down why the Flames signed the aging defenseman to a one-year, league-minimum contract: to boost their LTIR savings on the injured Ladislav Smid.
- Carolina Hurricanes defenseman Jakub Nakladal cleared waivers and has been assigned to the Charlotte Checkers of the AHL. The Hurricanes have called up Matt Tennyson to take his place on the roster. Nakladal is -4 in three games this season; Tennyson has 7 points in 9 AHL games so far. Also clearing waivers was Florida’s Shane Harper who was assigned to Springfield of the AHL. Harper has two goals and an assist in 14 games with the Panthers this season.
Snapshots: Larsson, Sabres, Minor Moves
It was one of the most controversial moves of the summer, but so far the Adam Larsson–Taylor Hall trade isn’t looking as bad as many in Edmonton expected, writes David Staples of the Edmonton Journal.
Staples notes Devils GM Ray Shero is one of the strongest proponents of the trade, and why wouldn’t he be? His Devils are in a playoff spot and Hall is tied for the Devils scoring lead. But he also believes the Oilers got what they needed, according to Kevin Allen of USA Today.
“The Oilers have taken a lot of grief over this, but has anybody sat down and watched Larsson? He’s actually pretty good.”
Shero pointed to Edmonton’s desperate need for a good, young defenseman to go with their young offensive forwards, while the Devils desperately needed an offensive catalyst like Hall.
“You have to make a team, and that is challenging in a salary cap world… They are off to a great start this season. That says something.”
Staples take on the trade is that he likes Larsson’s game, but doesn’t love it yet. He’s had the occasional struggle, but he’s also playing incredibly tough minutes with a skilled but inexperienced parter in Oscar Klefbom. Staples gives the trade a passing grade, with the note that Hall is clearly the better player but the Oilers got what they needed.
- Meanwhile, only one defense core in the NHL has yet to score a goal this season. Despite having weapons like Rasmus Ristolainen and Cody Franson, none of the Buffalo Sabres defensemen have scored. They have contributed 14 assists, however eight of those belong to Ristolainen. Franson told Bill Hoppe that he couldn’t “care less if I scored one goal in a season,” saying he prefers to get assists. Coach Dan Bylsma isn’t concerned with the lack of production, but would like his defensemen to be more aggressive.
- The Columbus Blue Jackets have recalled LW Markus Hannikainen from the Cleveland Monsters. The undrafted Hannikainen has seven points in 11 games for the Monsters so far.
- The Philadelphia Flyers have recalled LW Roman Lyubimov from the Lehigh Valley Phantoms. He was sent down to the AHL on Wednesday; Sam Carchidi reported it was simply a paper transaction made for salary cap reasons. Lyubimov has one goal in 11 NHL games so far this season. Carchidi also noted that it appears Chris Vande Velde will be a healthy scratch, despite scoring twice in the last four games.
- Rookie center Noel Acciari did not take part in Boston Bruins practice on Thursday morning, according to Joe Haggerty. He hasn’t skated since suffering a lower-body injury on Monday night versus the Sabres.
Snapshots: Eichel, Haula, Sgarbossa, Desjardins
Buffalo center Jack Eichel is making progress as he continues to recover from a high ankle sprain sustained in practice suffered four weeks ago, writes NHL.com’s Joe Yerdon. The original timetable for the injury was six to eight weeks.
Eichel was expected to meet with team doctors today to see if he can escalate his workouts but head coach Dan Bylsma didn’t want to put a timeline onto when he could possibly begin on-ice drills:
“I don’t want to suggest that it’s going to be today, tomorrow or the next day that he’s getting on the ice. He’s progressing quite nicely. He’s been working out at another level the last four or five days and hopefully he continues to progress to getting to the ice soon.”
Eichel has yet to play this season after a strong rookie campaign that saw him record 24 goals and 32 assists in 81 games to finish second on the team in scoring. Once he does return to the lineup, he’ll undoubtedly be a big boost to a Buffalo lineup that sits 28th in the league in goals scored per game.
[Related: Sabres Depth Chart]
Elsewhere around the league:
- Wild center Erik Haula skated with the team today for the first time since October 20th, notes Dan Myers of the team’s official site. Head coach Bruce Boudreau said Haula, who has been dealing with a foot issue, would be a game time decision for their game against Pittsburgh on Thursday. He skated on a line with Jason Zucker and Zack Mitchell, who is expected to make his NHL debut against the Penguins.
- The Ducks announced that they have recalled center Michael Sgarbossa from their AHL affiliate in San Diego. This marks the third time already that this season that the 24 year old has been brought up. Sgarbossa has two assists in six games with Anaheim so far this season.
- Chicago center/left winger Andrew Desjardins is set to return to the lineup tonight after missing the first 13 games of the season with a foot injury sustained at the end of the preseason, notes CSN Chicago’s Tracey Myers. While he hasn’t been much of a point producer (he had 13 points in 77 games last year), he logged the most minutes shorthanded of any Blackhawks forward in 2015-16. Chicago has the worst penalty kill in the league heading into tonight’s game at 65.2% so Desjardins should be a big boost to the team in that area.
U20 Notes: McDavid, Laine, Matthews
“I think he’s the best 19-year-old hockey player I’ve ever seen.”
Wayne Gretzky had some high praise for Connor McDavid on Tuesday night. In an appearance on the NHL Network (transcribed by Chris Nichols of Today’s Slapshot), Gretzky called McDavid the “catalyst” of the Oilers. Edmonton is off to a 9-4-1 start, tied with Chicago for tops in the Western Conference, and McDavid is a major part of that. He is tied for second in the NHL with 17 points.
Tuesday night marked the first time McDavid, the future face of the NHL, took on Sidney Crosby, the current face of the NHL. The Oilers captain posted three assists while Crosby was held pointless for the first time this season. McDavid won the battle, but his team lost the war on a Benoit Pouliot own-goal with less than two minutes remaining.
Despite his high praise for McDavid, Gretzky still believes Crosby is the best player in the NHL, until “somebody knocks him off that mantle.”
McDavid leads the way for several highly-skilled young players like the top two selections from last June’s draft: Auston Matthews and Patrik Laine. Laine is leading the NHL with 11 goals in 14 games; he already has two hat-tricks in his young career, earning him the nickname “Hat-trick Laine”.
ESPN’s Joe McDonald relayed a story from the World Cup, where Laine represented the Finns. During a team practice, Laine ripped a shot past Bruins goalie Tuukka Rask. Rask admitted he never even saw the puck go past him. Laine’s 11 goals in 14 games ties former Winnipeg Jets sniper Teemu Selanne‘s record for goals in his first 14 NHL games. While Laine may not reach Selanne’s mark of 76 goals this season, he will certainly be among the NHL rookie leaders.
In Toronto, Matthews set an NHL record with a four goal outburst in his debut, but has slowed down slightly since then. He has six goals and 11 points in 13 games on a rebuilding Maple Leafs squad.
On the NHL Network, Gretzky complimented a few young players, including McDavid and Matthews for accepting “a responsibility of being that person for their city.”
Still in their prime, Crosby and Alexander Ovechkin are two of the best player in the NHL. With McDavid, Matthews, and Laine now in the picture, the future appears to be in very skilled hands.
Snapshots: Scandella, Benson, Sabres
The Minnesota Wild will be without defenseman Marco Scandella for the foreseeable future. Scandella suffered a high ankle sprain in his right ankle back on October 27 versus the Buffalo Sabres, according to a team release.
Scandella had previously been listed as week-to-week, before the Wild placed him on Long Term Injured Reserve. According to Cap Friendly, his entire $4MM cap hit is now available for the Wild to use until he returns. While Minnesota hasn’t given an indication other than week-to-week and now LTIR, generally high ankle sprains take 4-6 weeks at minimum to recover from. The Wild have recalled defenseman Mike Reilly from Iowa to take his place, as well as forwards Christoph Bertschy and Zack Mitchell.
- The WHL All-Stars and Russian Juniors are even at one game apiece in the CIBC Canada Russia Series. One of the WHL’s best players in their game two win was Vancouver Giants left winger Tyler Benson, with a goal and two assists in a 4-1 win. Benson was playing in his hometown of Edmonton, who also drafted him 32nd overall back in June. Benson has dealt with injuries for much of his junior career, but told Sportsnet’s Mark Spector that he’s “starting to get [his] game back” after dealing with a shoulder injury in training camp. Benson was expected to be a top pick before injuries contributed to his slide down the rankings. Back in 2013, Benson was widely predicted to be the first CHL Exceptional Status Player from the WHL, before he decided to play at a prep school in B.C. In 2012-13, Benson scored an astounding 57 goals and 146 points in 33 games in Bantam AAA hockey (doubling his next highest-scoring teammate), breaking that league’s record for points.
- The Buffalo Sabres received some news on the injury front, with winger Evander Kane expected to return tonight, according to Dan Bylsma (quoted by Amy Moritz). However, Ryan O’Reilly is questionable for tonight with an unspecified injury and Tyler Ennis is out with a “mid-body injury.”
Pacific Division Snapshots: Vermette, Puljujarvi, Kassian, Miller
As part of the team’s widespread youth movement, the Arizona Coyotes jettisoned Antoine Vermette, buying out the final season of the veteran pivot’s contract during the summer despite a solid 38-point showing in 2015-16. Several teams were interested in securing Vermette’s services but the 13-year pro elected to ink a two-year pact with the Ducks in the hopes he could add some scoring punch to the team’s bottom-six. While the $1.75MM annual investment is minimal, given the Ducks tight salary cap situation and with the need to re-sign Hampus Lindholm and Rickard Rakell as restricted free agents, some felt that money was best utilized elsewhere. But Eric Stephens of The Orange County Register argues the signing is paying off just fine for Anaheim.
Vermette has tallied two goals and seven points in 12 contests while averaging 15:46 of ice time per game. He’s assumed the third line pivot position behind Ryan Getzlaf and Ryan Kesler but has the ability to slide up the lineup when needed. Always known for his abilities in the faceoff circle, Vermette has won two-thirds of his draws so far on the young season.
Stephens also notes that Ducks coach Randy Carlyle is comfortable using Vermette in his penalty-killing rotation as well as on the power play. To date, Carlyle has been pleased with Vermette: “We had a discussion on where I saw him being used and where I felt he would get an opportunity. I could guarantee him that he would get certain things but if he held up his end of the bargain. That’s what the plan was. And I think that you can ask him that we’ve help up our end of the bargain and he’s held up his end of the bargain.”
As long as Vermette continues to perform at this level, the Ducks appear to have made a quality, value signing.
More from around the Pacific Division:
- Edmonton is off to a rare good start but like many other teams in the league, injuries are starting to pile up for the Oilers, as Kurt Leavins of the Edmonton Journal writes. Both Jesse Puljujarvi and Zack Kassian left Saturday’s game against the Islanders with injuries and did not return. Puljujarvi went down with what is being termed a Charley horse. Speaking from his own experience, Leavins termed the injury “short-term” but also noted that while the pain may be manageable, the stiffness might not be. The Oilers obviously decided not to risk it and scratched the Finnish winger for today’s game against Detroit. Kassian’s injury could be worse, according to Leavins. Head coach Todd McClellan called it a lower body injury but gave no other information. Leavins says the Oilers are at least fortunate that the rash of injuries have so far missed the team’s top players, noting that it would be much different if Connor McDavid, Oscar Klefbom or Cam Talbot went down for any length of time.
- Last night’s tilt between Vancouver and Toronto was a rough and tumble affair, as we wrote about earlier on Pro Hockey Rumors. At one point, Canucks goalie Ryan Miller left his crease to defend rookie blue liner Troy Stecher, who had been jumped by Toronto’s Matt Martin. Miller would then be confronted by Leafs goalie Frederik Andersen, and after all was said and done, Miller was assessed two game misconduct penalties. By rule, that would automatically come with a minimum two-game suspension but as Postmedia’s Ben Kuzma tweets, the league has rescinded one of those game misconducts, meaning Miller will not face a suspension.
Central Division Snapshots: Trouba, Mitchell, Hudler, Dowling
To this point, the only outcomes discussed in the Winnipeg/Jacob Trouba stalemate have involved either the player caving in and signing a new contract to remain with the Jets or a trade sending the RFA defenseman elsewhere. But as Rory Bolyen of Sportsnet writes, there is a possibility Trouba re-signs with the team as a way to help facilitate a trade down the road.
Bolyen references comments made by Nick Kypreos and Elliotte Friedman made yesterday on the Saturday’s Headlines segment. Kypreos states the a signed Trouba may have more value on the trade market than he does currently.
“Kurt Overhardt (Trouba’s agent) met with Kevin Cheveldayoff in Detroit. The feeling is it’s still pretty quiet on that front, but Winnipeg would love to sign this guy. And sign him to that same contract we’ve seen other defensemen get. The perception out there right now is that there is a deal, like a Morgan Rielly deal, for $5 million, six years.
“And that would still come with the thought that it could be tradable if in fact he signs this and starts playing again, that they could be in a position where teams would love the known certainty of Jacob Trouba for the next six years and it would be tradable if that’s the direction they wanted to go.”
Friedman added that Overhardt went through a similar situation with another client, Kyle Turris.
“Just so you know, Kyle Turris when he went through the situation, he signed on November 22, he was traded on December 17,”
Sitting out the season likely would do little to enhance Trouba’s value so getting back on the ice should be a priority. Obviously he would sacrifice the only leverage he possesses as Winnipeg could simply choose to hang onto the young blue liner instead of moving him. But perhaps it would be best for both sides if Trouba signs a new deal and gets back to playing while the Jets continue to pursue a trade to their liking.
Elsewhere in the Central Division:
- The Colorado Avalanche placed John Mitchell on waivers Friday and the veteran pivot, who is in his ninth NHL season, cleared Saturday. Mitchell, who has been held scoreless in five appearances this season, is in his fifth season with Colorado. He has reached double-figures in goals and tallied at least 20 points in each of his first four campaigns with the Avalanche. With only a projected $1.7MM in available cap space, the move was made in order to provide additional cap flexibility for GM Joe Sakic, as Mike Chambers of The Denver Post writes. The club can now send Mitchell down to their AHL affiliate in San Antonio at any point over the next 30 days to open up a spot on the roster for a younger player and/or to clear an additional $950K in salary cap space. Mitchell is in the last season of a three-year deal worth $5.4MM. He is making $1.9MM in actual salary.
- According to Mark Stepneski, who covers the Stars for the team’s official website, Dallas has placed Jiri Hudler on injured reserve due to an undisclosed illness and recalled forward Justin Dowling from Texas of the AHL. Hudler was signed this summer to provide secondary scoring but the 12-year veteran has played in just four games and has so far failed to record a point. Mike Heika of the Dallas Morning News adds that since Dowling played both Friday and Saturday in California for the Texas Stars, head coach Lindy Ruff may elect to dress seven defensemen for tonight’s game. According to Ruff (via Heika), the team has no idea what specifically has afflicted Hudler as tests have revealed nothing.
Pacific Division Notes: Flames, Canucks, Oilers
The Calgary Flames have struggled in the early stretches of this season, and some of their fans have found a scapegoat: “The Wideman Effect”.
The belief is that since January 2016, when Dennis Wideman ran linesman Don Henderson from behind, ending the latter’s career, the referees have been biased against the Flames. Despite the catchy name, it appears that the perception just isn’t true. Sportsnet’s Mark Spector broke down the penalties called in the 47 games before the incident and the 46 since. While the Flames did see a nearly 50 per cent increase in penalties last season after the attack, they still spent more time on the power-play. Moving to this season, the Flames are the second-most penalized team in the NHL after the Bruins. But they’ve also had the fifth-most power-play opportunities of any team.
Fans can look no further than the struggles of Sean Monahan, Johnny Gaudreau, and Brian Elliott, and some questionable lineup choices on the blue line. Fresh off signing new contracts for $6.375MM and $6,75MM respectively, Monahan and Gaudreau have combined for just 11 points through 12 games. That’s eight less than last season at this time.
Elliott was traded for to stabilize the Flames wretched goaltending from last season, and so far has a sub-900 save percentage and a GAA over 3. Backup Chad Johnson has been better, but is still below league-average.
Finally, the Flames new coach Glen Gulutzan‘s usage of Dougie Hamilton has been weird this season. Hamilton scored 43 points last season while playing just under 20-minutes per game, but has fallen below 19 minutes this season and has been playing third-pairing at even-strength with lesser players.
- It has been an ugly stretch for the Canucks, who have lost seven games in a row after starting 4-0-0. They’ve fallen from first in the NHL to 26th. Even worse, the Canucks have scored just seven goals in that stretch and have been shutout in four of their last five games. The Blue Jackets outscored the Canucks’ entire losing streak in 38-minutes on Friday night, and they weren’t even done yet. Coach Willie Desjardins said he believes in their players and thinks they can turn it around, despite admitting this season’s losing has been tough on him. Desjardins is on the hot seat, considering GM Jim Benning believes the Canucks are a playoff team. However, Benning may not be entirely accurate in that belief: the Canucks are averaging just 1.45 goals-per-game, nearly a goal-and-a-half less than the league-average. Most prognosticators have the Canucks pegged as a real contender, not for the playoffs, but for the best draft lottery odds.
- Meanwhile, the Edmonton Oilers are sitting in first in the Western Conference after a hot start. They’ve cooled down a little, going 0-2-1 in the last week. Spector echoed a common sentiment about the team: if they can get their hands on a legit point-threat for their floundering power-play, then watch out. The Oilers were linked to Kevin Shattenkirk, P.K. Subban and Tyson Barrie over the summer, and more recently pending-UFA Brent Burns. In his article, Spector suggests Jason Garrison might be available in Tampa Bay as a cap casualty, though he’s another lefty; when healthy, five of the Oilers top-six defenders are left-handed.
Snapshots: Vrbata, Detroit Injuries, Beleskey, Flyers
Arizona right winger Radim Vrbata holds a unique distinction among the 719 players to suit up in the NHL this season, writes Alex Prewitt of Sports Illustrated. Vrbata is the lone player in the league to be in his third stint with the same organization. Vrbata played with the Coyotes in 2007-08, then was traded back there again in 2009, staying until 2014. After a two year stint with Vancouver, he returned to the desert, signing a one year, incentive-laden deal with Arizona this summer.
When he had signed with the Canucks, Vrbata admitted that he never really wanted to leave the Coyotes and had stayed in touch with plenty of players and staffers over the past two seasons with the hope of returning down the road. The 35 year old enjoyed the familiarity that only Arizona could provide, from the market to the coach (Dave Tippett), to even his linemate in Martin Hanzal.
That comfort level appears to have been quite helpful for Vrbata in his third stint with the team. After following up a 63 point effort two years ago with arguably the worst season of his career in 2015-16, he’s off to a strong start with Arizona this season with four goals and six assists through his first nine games and is currently skating on their top line.
[Related: Coyotes Depth Chart]
Elsewhere around the league:
- Red Wings right winger Thomas Vanek is expected to miss the next 2-3 weeks with a hip strain, GM Ken Holland told MLive’s Ansar Khan. Holland remains hopeful that defenseman Niklas Kronwall, who has yet to play this season with a knee injury, will be able to return to the lineup in the next week or so. Meanwhile right winger Tomas Jurco, who is still recovering from offseason back surgery, is likely to be cleared for contact sometime next week. Holland anticipates Jurco would need another 7-10 days beyond that to get into game shape.
- Bruins left winger Matt Beleskey is set to be a healthy scratch tonight against Tampa Bay, notes CSN New England’s Joe Haggerty. Beleskey is off to a tough start this season with no points and a -7 rating in nine games. Prospect Sean Kuraly will make his NHL debut in Beleskey’s spot on Boston’s third line.
- The Flyers have sent center Scott Laughton to their AHL affiliate in Lehigh Valley on a conditioning assignment, the team announced. The 22 year old suffered a lower body injury back in training camp and is currently on long-term injury reserve. He’s eligible to be activated on Saturday but it would appear that he’ll get into a couple of games in the minors before joining Philadelphia’s active roster. Still with Philly, defenseman Andrew MacDonald is expected to miss at least the next week with a lower body injury, the club announced (Twitter link).