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Minor Transactions: 1/17/2017

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The Anaheim Ducks continue to use frequent promotions and demotions to their advantage. With their AHL affiliate now right down the road, and not somewhere on the Eastern seaboard, it has become much easier and less costly to swap young players in and out and the Ducks are at it once again. Anaheim announced last night that defenseman Shea Theodore and forward Stefan Noesen are heading to the San Diego Gulls. Theodore has been back and forth a few different times so far in 2016-17, as he searches for consistency. In 19 NHL games last season, Theodore had three goals and five assists and was a +7. Through 23 games this year, he has just one goal and six assists while playing to a -7. With all of the blue line depth that the Ducks enjoy, they can afford to let Theodore find his game in the AHL (nine points in eleven games) and still call him up when necessary. Noesen, a 2011 first-round pick of the Ottawa Senators who was acquired alongside Jakob Silfverberg in the Bobby Ryan trade, has not panned out like Silfverberg has. Noesen has played in just eleven NHL games, nine of which have come this season, and has recorded just a single point. Quickly approaching 24-years-old, Noesen appears to be a bona fide bust.

Update (1:00pm CT): After demoting Theodore and Noesen last night, the Ducks have promoted the same pair this afternoon. Anaheim continues to be the poster-team for AHL transactions in 2016-17, squeezing ever little bit of salary cap savings they can out of numerous moves.

Elsewhere around the NHL:

  • The Penguins announced that they have recalled defenseman Cameron Gaunce from their AHL affiliate in Wilkes-Barre/Scranton.  They also re-assigned fellow blueliner David Warsofsky to the minors.  This will be Gaunce’s first stint with Pittsburgh after joining the team in the offseason.  He has two goals and six assists with the Baby Pens this season.  As for Warsofsky, he got into two games with Pittsburgh since last being recalled.  On the season, he has suited up in six games with the team, being held off the scoresheet.  In 24 AHL games though, he has fared much better, tallying 28 points.
  • The Oilers announced that they have re-assigned blueliner Jordan Oesterle to Bakersfield of the AHL.  He did not get into a game with Edmonton after being recalled by the team on Sunday.  In 18 minor league contests this year, he has three goals and eight assists.
  • Having already claimed defenseman Brad Hunt and placed defenseman Petter Granberg on the injured reserve, a busy morning continued for the Nashville Predators as they re-assigned rookie forward Kevin Fiala to the AHL’s Milwaukee Admirals. The Swiss winger has six goals and three assists on the season and has shown flashes of brilliance, but could use some more seasoning in order to build a more complete game. When the Predators can find him some extra play time down in the AHL, it only stands to help his development.
  • The Montreal Canadiens have sent impressive prospect Michael McCarron back down to the St. John’s Ice Caps of the AHL. The 2013 first-rounder was called up to help Montreal deal with a slew of injuries, but with the team getting healthier he has been returned to the minors. In 15 games with the Canadiens, McCarron registered a goal and three assists and didn’t look out of place at all. However, the 21-year-old will benefit more this season from top-six time with the Ice Caps than bottom-six play with the Canadiens. Look for McCarron to challenge for a full-time spot on the team next season. Or, if Montreal’s injury luck continues, it will be much sooner that he returns to the NHL.
  • Tim Heed and Ryan Carpenter will have to change locker rooms again, as the San Jose Sharks announced that the pair have been demoted to the AHL’s San Jose Barracuda (down the hall to the right). The 25-year-old defenseman Heed is fresh off of his NHL debut last week, having been recalled due to his excellent AHL numbers. Heed is second in the minors in defenseman scoring with 31 points in 28 games with the Barracuda. Carpenter played three games for the Sharks back in November, skating on the team’s energy line, but has not made it into a game in any of his subsequent call-ups in 2016-17.
  • The Tampa Bay Lightning announced that they have recalled young defenseman Jake Dotchin from the AHL’s Syracuse Crunch. This is the first career call-up for Dotchin, who has become relevant within the organization as he enjoys a career year. In his third season with the Crunch, Dotchin is on pace to shatter his pro career-high of 20 points, set back in 2014-15, and is also a +10 after back-to-back minus seasons. The big, two-way defenseman only put up modest numbers in his OHL junior career as well and was a sixth-round selection back in 2012, so he has had to put in a lot of hard work to get to where he is and has earned a promotion. If Dotchin suits up for the Lightning tonight, he will be the 30th different player to line up for Tampa this season.
  • Following last night’s legendary contest, the Washington Capitals have returned Chandler Stephenson to the Hershey Bears of the AHL. However, Stephenson didn’t play in the game against the Penguins, or any game for that matter, in this most recent call-up, nor did he play in his earlier promotion this season. After being held scoreless in nine games in Washington last season, it seems the Capitals are in no rush to get the play-making forward back into the NHL lineup.

Ryan Callahan Out Four Weeks

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Tampa Bay Lightning right winger Ryan Callahan has had nothing but bad luck when it comes to hip issues this year and that trend will continue as he will miss the next four weeks as the problems linger, the team announced (Twitter link).  He has already missed the last three games because of the soreness.

This isn’t the first time this season that Callahan has missed time due to hip problems as he underwent surgery in the offseason which caused him to miss the first few weeks of the year.  Callahan noted he played with hip pain during the second half of the 2015-16 season.  He also missed 15 games this year while resting the hip from late November into early January.

Callahan has played in just 18 games for the Lightning this season, scoring twice while adding a pair of assists.  He’s signed for three more seasons beyond this one with a cap hit of $5.75MM and while Tampa Bay will be looking to shed some salary this summer, Callahan’s contract and injury problems will make him extremely difficult to move.

The 31 year old is one of four Tampa forwards out of the lineup although Brayden Point is nearing a return to action from his upper body injury.  Steven Stamkos remains out long-term as he recovers from knee surgery while J.T. Brown is hoping to return by the end of the month from an upper body issue.

Quotable: Darryl Sutter

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Los Angeles Kings head coach Darryl Sutter has been one of the best interviews in hockey for a long time. He’s the perfect blend of one-liners and no-nonsense. In her latest “Practice Quotes” column, Lindsay Czarnecki jotted down some of Sutter’s latest responses. The whole thing is an amazing read as always, but here are some highlights:

On the Tampa Bay Lightning’s Victor Hedman (the Lightning are in town to face the Kings tomorrow):

He’s going to win the Norris. Now they don’t say is he, they say he is. He’s dynamic. He has some risk in his game. He can play physical, he’s fast. Plays special teams. There’s a handful of guys in the league, exciting guys to watch, don’t like playing against them. Wish I had two or three of them.

On long playoff runs:

It takes its toll. Guys are human, not machines. Look at guy like Jonathan [Quick]. Since I’ve been here in six years he’s had three major surgeries. It takes its toll. These guys play a lot of — everybody looks at these sexy numbers, how many games they’ve played and all that. You should also factor 150 playoff games as they count almost as double.

On expanding roster limits:

I think as long as you’re under the cap why can’t you have whatever you want? What difference does it make? To me it doesn’t make — what’s the point? You got a salary cap, everybody’s now at 75 million dollars, well, why can’t you have 25 guys?

The Kings will take on the Lightning tomorrow afternoon at 3pm before welcoming in the San Jose Sharks to town. After that is stretch where the team will play nine out of ten games on the road before their mandated bye-week. The team currently sits in the final wild card position in the West, but has several teams nipping at their heels. This stretch will be huge in deciding the team’s fate this season.

Blue Jackets Add Anton Forsberg On Emergency Conditions

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Despite having sent him down just Thursday, the Columbus Blue Jackets have executed an emergency recall of goaltender Anton Forsberg from the AHL. He’ll back up Joonas Korpisalo against the Florida Panthers tonight.

With Sergei Bobrovsky still fighting an illness, the team is without two NHL goaltenders. Curtis McElhinney was lost on waivers this week to the Toronto Maple Leafs, when it seemed that Forsberg had taken over the backup role. In the meantime, Forsberg was sent down to start last night’s game for the Cleveland Monsters (one in which he stopped 24 of 26 saves for a win) but has now returned.

Forsberg and Korpisalo both represent solid goaltending prospects, but with Korpisalo’s younger age and higher draft pedigree it was assumed he would stay in the AHL to start as many games as possbile to continue his development. With Bobrovsky out though, those starts are happening at the NHL level. Last night, he allowed just a single goal 3-1 victory over the Tampa Bay Lightning, continuing the strong play he’s shown in his short NHL stints.  Last year, the 22-year old Korpisalo was forced to play in 31 games for the Blue Jackets, putting up an excellent .920 save percentage.

Forsberg on the other hand has gotten into just 10 NHL games in his career, faring rather poorly. While he is still just 24-years old himself and has shown elite ability at the AHL level, is seems he’s rightly fixed behind Korpisalo on the depth chart. He may however stay up when Bobrovsky returns as the team’s full-time backup. Aaron Portzline reports that the team has sent Bobrovsky back to Columbus, where he will likely practice with the team on Monday.

Morning Snapshots: Canadiens, Lightning, Leafs, Patrick

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News and notes from around the NHL this morning:

Atlantic Notes: Beleskey, Leafs, St. Louis

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Since being injured on December 6th, Matt Beleskey hasn’t skated with the team once – until now. Beleskey returned to practice today to the cheers of his teammates, though he still was in a non-contact sweater. According to Joe Haggerty of CSNNE, the 28-year old winger was skating alongside David Krejci and David Backes when he did get into some rushes; otherwise that spot went to Frank Vatrano.

Beleskey was originally given a six-week timeline, which would be up on Tuesday, which looks like a possibility for the Bruins forward. Late next week might be more realistic, with Friday against Chicago being a likely target.

  • The Maple Leafs are back in action tonight after their bye week, and new backup Curtis McElhinney will wear #35 according to Lance Hornby of the Toronto Sun. The Maple Leafs claimed McElhinney off waivers and are expected to give him his first start tomorrow against the Ottawa Senators.
  • The Maple Leafs are playing tonight at Madison Square Garden, where the Rangers are honoring Steven McDonald, a former police officer who passed away Tuesday. He had been a big fan of the Rangers since he was shot in the line of duty 20 years ago, and the team honored him by wearing throwback sweaters in warm-up that had #104 on the back – the number of McDonald’s precinct. McDonald was paralyzed from the neck down in the shooting, but instead of despair he has spread a message of forgiveness since his injury. Adam Graves and Mark Messier were on hand to escort McDonald’s wife and son to center ice.
  • In other pre-game ceremony news, the Tampa Bay Lightning retired Martin St. Louis’ number tonight with former head coach John Tortorella on hand to speak (Torts’ Columbus Blue Jackets are in town to face the Lightning). “He is a man who has been told ’no’ so many times in his career… I just have so much respect for him in how he did it.” Steven Stamkos also spoke about St. Louis, saying “He was, he still is, and he forever will be the heart and soul of this organization.” 

Snapshots: Olympics, St. Louis, Florida Injuries, Oleksiak

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While the International Olympic Committee was originally hoping to have a firm answer regarding the NHL’s participation in the upcoming Winter Olympics by January 15th, there is no specific deadline for the league to make their decision, an IOC rep told ESPN’s Pierre LeBrun.

The league continues to work on two different schedules for next season, one that would accommodate the NHL stopping midseason and one that would not.  While that might sound like reason for optimism, Deputy Commissioner Bill Daly isn’t as bullish on the league heading to South Korea:

“The fact of the matter is that we have never at any time received a direct communication from the IOC on the prospect of NHL Player participation in the 2018 Winter Olympic Games, and we still do not have the details of precisely how the expenses related to our possible participation would be funded as they have been in the past in the event we decided to go.

“In addition to that, and as we have said on numerous occasions, while those logistical and funding details are obviously important, absent there being some new and compelling reason for the Board [of Governors] to potentially reconsider the issue, there does not appear currently to be anywhere near the requisite support from our clubs that would be necessary for the league to commit to Olympic participation in 2018.”

While there hasn’t been a firm announcement yet regarding the funding, it is believed that International Ice Hockey Federation President Rene Fasel has a plan in place to cover the costs although it remains to be seen if that alone will be enough to sway NHL owners to participate.  At any rate, it’s looking like this may not be as close to being resolved one way or the other as originally anticipated.

Other news and notes from around the league:

  • The Tampa Bay Lightning will retire Martin St. Louis’ jersey tonight. He will be the first player in team history to receive the honor.  Louis spent parts of 13 seasons with the Lightning while also seeing time with the Flames and Rangers (after requesting a trade there in 2014) and has the most assists and points in franchise history.  Among those scheduled to speak at the ceremony tonight is former head coach John Tortorella and NHL Commissioner Gary Bettman.
  • Panthers GM and interim head coach Tom Rowe provided an update to George Richards of the Miami Herald regarding several of their injured players. Left winger Jonathan Huberdeau, who has missed the entire season with a torn Achilles tendon, is now expected to be back in the lineup in early March instead of sometime in early-to-mid February.  Blueliner Alex Petrovic (ankle) could be back following the All-Star Break while center Nick Bjugstad (groin) is still out at least a couple more weeks.  The team didn’t have as much of an update on center Aleksander Barkov, who remains week-to-week with a lower body issue.
  • Though the original report suggested he’d miss only a couple of weeks, the Stars will be without defenseman Jamie Oleksiak will miss three to six weeks with a hand injury, head coach Lindy Ruff told reporters, including Mike Heika of the Dallas Morning News. The injury occurred on Tuesday against Anaheim.  While Oleksiak spent a lot of time early on as a healthy scratch, he had been playing more frequently as of late.  The 24 year old has five goals and an assist in 20 games with Dallas this year.

Minor Transactions: 1/13/17

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Here is where we’ll keep tabs on today’s minor roster moves:

  • Following their loss to Minnesota, the Canadiens announced (Twitter link) that they assigned right winger Nikita Scherbak and left winger Bobby Farnham to their AHL affiliate in St. John’s. Scherbak played in three games with Montreal, picking up a goal while Farnham was held off the scoresheet in his three outings though he recorded 17 PIMS.  It’s believed the team is likely to have at least one of center Alex Galchenyuk or right winger Andrew Shaw back in the lineup shortly and these moves open up the roster spots for them to be activated off injured reserve.
  • The Lightning have recalled right winger Erik Condra from AHL Syracuse per a team release. The 30 year old has been up and down a lot recently but has yet to see much NHL action overall, skating in just eight games with Tampa this season.  He has collected 23 points (7-16-23) in 24 minor league contests but isn’t expected to be in the lineup tonight against Columbus.
  • Winnipeg announced that they have recalled blueliner Julian Melchiori from Manitoba of the AHL. He will take the roster spot of rookie winger Patrik Laine, who was placed on injured reserve retroactive to January 7th.  Melchiori has seen action in four games with the Jets this season but has spent most of the year with the Moose, picking up two goals and four assists in 31 minor league games.
  • The Sharks announced (Twitter link) that they have sent defenseman Mirco Mueller back to the San Jose Barracuda, their AHL affiliate. This marks the fourth separate occasion that he has been sent back to the minors this season.  He has got into just three NHL games this year, scoring a goal while adding an assist.  He also has eight helpers in 25 AHL contests.
  • New Jersey announced via Twitter that they have assigned right winger Nick Lappin to Albany of the AHL in order to activate center Jacob Josefson off injured reserve.  The 24 year old Lappin made his NHL debut earlier this year and has spent the bulk of this season with the Devils, collecting four goals and three assists in 35 games.

Evening Snapshots: Murray, Avalanche, Callahan

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News and notes from around the NHL this evening:

  • Pittsburgh Penguins goaltender Matt Murray makes his first start tonight since suffering a lower body injury on December 28th. Murray actually returned to action last night against the Washington Capitals but rode the pine as Marc-Andre Fleury’s backup. The Penguins welcome Murray back as he’s earned a .928 SV% and a 2.18 GAA in 19 games this season. That is in contrast that with Fleury’s .908 SV% and 3.12 GAA. Every point matters in the tight Metropolitan division this season, and right now Murray gives the Penguins that best chance to win in the season’s second half.
  • Colorado Avalanche GM Joe Sakic wants to reboot the team to get younger and faster, reports TSN’s Pierre LeBrun this evening (video link). The expectation is that a number of players currently in the AHL with the San Antonio Rampage are ready to step up. But Sakic also admitted that he has been in talks with other teams about undisclosed players. We mentioned here and here that both Gabriel Landeskog and Matt Duchene are also rumored to be traded.
  • Tampa Bay Lightning forward Ryan Callahan will miss his second straight game tonight as he deals with a lower body injury. While the team did not disclose the nature of the injury, many think it’s related to his hip after he underwent surgery on it this season. Callahan is struggling this season, scoring only 2G and 2A in 18 games.

Snapshots: Fisher, Myers, Milestones, Lightning

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When it comes to the pending Las Vegas expansion draft, many teams are likely to go with the 7-3-1 protection route (seven forwards, three defensemen, and one goalie) over protecting eight skaters plus a goaltender.  One of the exceptions is the Nashville Predators, who have four blueliners that are pretty much ‘must-protect’ in P.K. Subban, Roman Josi, Ryan Ellis, and Mattias Ekholm.

That means that just four forwards could be protected and as ESPN’s Pierre LeBrun writes, it could play a role when it comes to pending unrestricted free agent center Mike Fisher.  It seems likely that there is mutual interest in him sticking around beyond this season given his ties to the market but if they opt to extend him now, that will then result in one more quality forward being exposed to the Golden Knights.  As things stand, it’s likely that all but one of forwards Viktor Arvidsson, Calle Jarnkrok, Colin Smith, and Colin Wilson will have to be left unprotected as it is.

As a result, LeBrun wonders if the two sides will wait until the draft passes before getting a new contract done.  That way, the team can protect an extra forward while Fisher avoids the risk of being extended and then exposed (which would be a legitimate possibility given who they are already slated to leave unprotected).  It’s a strategy that is likely to be used by many teams as they look to limit the amount of talent they have to leave available for Vegas to pick from.

Other news and notes from around the league:

  • Jets defenseman Tyler Myers has taken a leave of absence from the team to attend to a family matter, notes Mike Sawatzky of the Winnipeg Free Press. There is no timetable for his return.  Myers has already been out of the lineup since November 11th due to a lower body injury but has started skating as he works towards a return to game action.
  • Tonight will mark a milestone for Colorado right winger Jarome Iginla. He will suit up in his 1,514th career game, tying him with Tampa GM and long-time Red Wings center Steve Yzerman for 15th overall in league history.  Meanwhile, fellow winger Blake Comeau will also reach a milestone as he’ll suit up in his 600th NHL contest.
  • Although Tampa Bay has struggled as of late, the team is not planning on making any changes to their coaching staff, reports Joe Smith of the Tampa Bay Times. On the trade front, Yzerman told Smith that he’d like to add to their current core but acknowledged he may have to deal from it to address certain team needs.  While he didn’t specify what needs those might be, they’ve long been searching for an upgrade at defense and the team has several forwards that could be moved in order to secure some help on the back end.

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