Headlines

Go To MLB Trade Rumors
Go To Hoops Rumors

Lightning Rumors

Lightning Rookie Forward Erne Out 4 – 6 Weeks

at CDT | by Leave a Comment

Adam Erne, who made his NHL debut on January 3rd against Winnipeg, will be out 4 – 6 weeks after x-rays Tuesday revealed the rookie forward suffered a broken foot in Tampa Bay’s 6 – 2 loss to Pittsburgh, tweets Erik Erlendsson. The Lightning had reassigned the 21-year-old to the minors yesterday but because the injury occurred while he was a member of the team, Erne will be returned to the team’s roster. Erlendsson adds that Tampa will likely place Erne on IR to free up a roster spot and they may ultimately put him on LTIR.

In four games with the Lightning, the 6-foot-1, 214-pound forward did not register a point while averaging 11:44 of ice time. In 31 games with the Syracuse Crunch this season, Erne tallied eight goals and 18 points with 21 penalty minutes. In 98 career AHL contests, Erne has potted 23 goals and 28 assists with 97 penalty minutes.

Tampa Bay used their second-round choice in 2013 to select Erne from the Quebec Remparts of the QMJHL. In his final season of junior, Erne scored 41 times while recording 45 helpers in 60 contests.

Minor Transactions: 1/11/2017

at CDT | by Leave a Comment

There has been a flurry of roster transactions so far today with several players recalled from or reassigned to the minor leagues. We’ll keep track of those moves in this post:

  • According to Eric Stephens of The Orange County Register, the Anaheim Ducks recalled forward Stefan Noesen and blue liner Shea Theodore from the San Diego Gulls of the AHL. In a corresponding move, defenseman Brandon Montour was reassigned to the Gulls. Montour made his NHL debut after initially being recalled on December 28th though he failed to register a point in five appearances. Noesen has one goal on the campaign in seven games while Theodore has a goal and five assists in 21 contests this season for Anaheim.
  • Mike Heika of the Dallas Morning News tweeted this morning that Jamie Oleksiak is dealing with a hand injury and will likely be “out for a bit.” He goes on to say that fellow defenseman Stephen Johns will take Oleksiak’s spot in the lineup for tomorrow’s game at home against Detroit. With eight defensemen on the roster – Patrik Nemeth is currently playing for the AHL Texas Stars on a conditioning assignment though remains on Dallas’ official roster – no call-up is expected to be made. In a later tweet, Heika adds that with Texas playing at home, Stars head coach Lindy Ruff would easily be able to bring Nemeth back from his assignment if necessary.
  • After adding forward Derek Grant via waiver claim from Buffalo today, the Nashville Predators reassigned fellow forward Frederick Gaudreau to Milwaukee of the AHL, according to The Tennessean’s Adam Vingan. The 23-year-old rookie has made nine appearances for Nashville this season, the first NHL action of Gaudreau’s career, and has tallied a single assist. In 24 contests with the Milwaukee Admirals, Gaudreau has netted five goals and 14 points. Vingan speculated that Gaudreau’s reassignment might indicate that either James Neal or Colin Wilson could be ready to return to the lineup. Neal was placed on IR retroactive to 1/3 and is currently eligible to be activated. Wilson last played on 1/6.
  • The Pittsburgh Penguins have recalled blue liner David Warsofsky from Wilkes-Barre/Scranton while reassigning net minder Tristan Jarry to the Baby Pens. Jason Mackey, who covers the club for the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, reported on the moves and added that with Jarry back to the minors, Matt Murray should be ready to at least serve as Marc-Andre Fleury’s back-up for tonight’s game against Washington.
  • Defenseman Slater Koekkoek and goalie Kristers Gudlevskis were both returned to the AHL Syracuse Crunch, Tampa Bay’s top minor league affiliate, tweets Joe Smith of the Tampa Bay Times. Koekkoek’s assignment might seem odd on the surface as the blue liner had appeared in 12 of the last 13 Lightning games. But, as Smith points out, Koekkoek does not need to clear waivers to be sent to the minors while fellow defenders Luke Witkowski and Nikita Nesterov do.
  • The Washington Capitals announced they have sent forwards Paul Carey and Liam O’Brien to Hershey of the AHL, according to the team’s official Twitter account. The assignments leave the team with just 12 forwards on the active roster, a fact that suggests T.J. Oshie will be back in the Caps lineup tonight. That was later confirmed by Capitals head coach Barry Trotz.
  • Two days after sending the fourth overall selection in the June entry draft, Jesse Puljujarvi, to Bakersfield the Edmonton Oilers have assigned fellow forward Anton Lander to the same club. Called up from the Condors was forward Jujhar Khaira, who has eight goals and 18 points in 24 AHL games this season.

Snapshots: Capitals-Penguins, Myers, Lightning, Oilers

at CDT | by Leave a Comment

Capitals fans will likely see a major milestone when Washington hosts the Pittsburgh Penguins on Wednesday night.

Captain Alex Ovechkin needs one point to hit 1,000 for his career. His fellow captain, Sidney Crosby, is sitting at 982, though in 139 less games. Ovechkin will become the 84th player in NHL history to hit the 1,000-point mark, and the second-fastest active player to do so behind only former Penguin and Capital Jaromir Jagr.

Ovechkin has 19 goals and 14 assists for 33 points in 40 games so far this season. Overall, he has 544 goals and 455 assists in 879 games. In a swap of their normal roles, Crosby has been the more prolific scorer this season with 26 goals and 18 assists for 44 points in 33 games. Crosby has 364-618-982 in 740 games. Both superstars, who broke into the NHL together back in 2005-06, will hit the 1,000-mark in the same season.

The two teams have played twice, with the Penguins winning in overtime in the season-opener and the Capitals winning 7-1 in mid-November. Washington has a six-game winning streak while the Penguins are riding a five-game streak.

In other good news for the Capitals, top-six winger T.J. Oshie will make his return after missing one game with an upper-body injury.

  • Tyler Myers will be away from the Winnipeg Jets for an unknown amount of time, as the defenseman deals with a personal matter, according to Scott Billeck, who covers the Jets for the Winnipeg News and the NHL. Billeck reports that Myers had been travelling with the team, but left the team sometime last week while the team was in Florida. Myers has been out of the lineup since mid-November with a back injury. He has two goals and five points in 11 games played.
  • It’s been a nightmare of a season for the Tampa Bay Lightning. Steven Stamkos is likely out until the playoffs, but there’s no guarantee that the Lightning can survive that long. Currently, they have 42 points, four back of a playoff spot. While that’s not a big deficit, the Lightning have lost four games in a row for the second time this season, and are battling several key injuries. Stamkos, Brayden Point, Ryan Callahan, Brian Boyle, J.T. Brown, Braydon Coburn, and Ben Bishop are all out of the lineup. The Lightning are facing the end of their current roster’s window of Cup contention, with Bishop, Tyler Johnson, Ondrej Palat, and Jonathan Drouin all needing new contracts. GM Steve Yzerman won’t be able to sign all of his pending free agents, and the team needs to go for it this year. TSN’s Bob McKenize reports that Yzerman is willing to deal nearly “just about anybody” up front, besides Drouin in order to acquire a top-four defenseman (interview transcribed by Chris Nichols of FanRag). Kevin Shattenkirk, Michael Stone, and Dougie Hamilton have all had their names out there this season, and are potential targets for Yzerman to go for. The former two are pending free agents while the latter has been the subject of rumors all year, despite Brian Burke’s insistence that he’s not available for less than 20 first-round picks.
  • The Edmonton Oilers are on pace for 94 points, which would be their first season above 90 points since 2005-06, when they went to the Stanley Cup Finals. Despite their fancy new digs, the Oilers are just 9-8-2 at home. OilersNation’s Robin Brownlee gave a startling statistic: the Oilers have won just 86 of their last 207 home games. Brownlee writes that the Oilers need to improve their home record if they want to solidify a playoff spot, seeing as 13 of their last 18 games of the season are at home. The Oilers are on pace to make the playoffs, in spite of their home record, not because of it.

Minor Transactions: 1/10/17

at CDT | by Leave a Comment

In the midst of a four-game losing streak, the Tampa Bay Lightning continue to shake up their roster. After sending Erik Condra and Adam Erne back down to the AHL yesterday, the team has recalled forward Gabriel Dumont from the Syracuse Crunch today. The 26-year-old center is in his first season with Tampa Bay, after signing a deal with the team this summer, but has yet to make his Lightning debut. It is expected that he will get the opportunity to do so when the Bolts return to action on Thursday night against the Buffalo Sabres. Dumont has not played an NHL games since February 2015, and in total has a goal and two assists in 18 NHL games with his former team, his hometown Montreal Canadiens. Dumont has ten points in 19 games for the Crunch so far in 2016-17.

Meanwhile, Tampa also made a move in net, sending down backup Adam Wilcox and replacing him with highly-touted prospect Kristers Gudlevskis. This could signal the end of Andrei Vasilevskiy ’s long run without a rest. Since Ben Bishop went down with injury, Vasilevskiy has started ten games in a row and the Lightning have allowed six goals in three of those last four starts. Wilcox did not make an appearance in his stint with the team, but considering the diminishing returns of Vasilevskiy, it would seem likely that Gudlevskis gets the chance. The young Latvian keeper has made just one NHL appearance per year in three of the past four seasons, missing out on his annual try in 2014-15 and coming in as a late-game replacement earlier this year. Though a small sample size, Gudlevskis has a stunning .959 save percentage and 1.37 goals against average in those few appearances. Though Vasilevskiy is on a three-day break and Bishop appears close to returning (back at practice today), expect Gudlevskis to get a shot while in Tampa and have his first multi-game NHL season.

Update (4pm CT): Forget all of that about Gudlevskis getting to make an appearance on this trip to Tampa. Less than 12 hours after recalling the minor league goalie, the Lightning have returned him to the Syracuse Crunch. This means that the Bolts coaches liked what they saw out of Bishop today and expect the star keeper to be back in action sooner than predicted. Heading back to the AHL with Gudlevskis is defenseman Slater Koekkoek, the 2012 first-rounder who is still trying to carve out a role for himself with the Lightning. Koekkoek has already far surpassed his career high in games with 29 on the season, but has little to show for it with four assists and a -4 rating. He’s continually been shifted in an out of the lineup and has now been demoted to Syracuse for the eighth time this season.

In other moves:

  • The Nashville Predators have promoted forward Pontus Aberg to the NHL squad, as the rookie winger has been nearly a point-per-game player for the AHL’s Milwaukee Admirals this season. He has already earned nine games with Nashville so far, but has just one goal and one assist to show for it. The Predators hope he can bring his minor league scoring touch to the big leagues and stick around for a longer stint this time around. The 2012 second-round pick has had a strong AHL career, but had not developed a complete enough game for the NHL level until this season, as least in the eyes of GM David Poile. 
  • As speculated yesterday, the Calgary Flames have recalled defenseman Brett Kulak from the Stockton Heat. In a corresponding move, Tyler Wotherspoon is headed back to the AHL. The 23-year-old Kulak has bounced back and forth this season, but has already played in a career-high 15 NHL contests. He has three assists in that span, and a goal and four assists in 11 games with Stockton. Wotherspoon has been held scoreless in four NHL games this season, and has six points in 20 AHL games so far. The 2011 second-round pick has not developed as the Flames would like and has seen his small role somehow decrease over the past few seasons.
  • A day after placing veteran goalie Curtis McElhinney on waivers (and subsequently losing him) and re-calling young Anton Forsberg, the Blue Jackets were forced to promote Joonas Korpisalo today as starter Sergei Bobrovsky is sick and unable to go tonight against the Carolina Hurricanes. Forsberg will start tonight’s game, with Korpisalo as the backup.
  • The Buffalo Sabres have placed forward Derek Grant on waivers. The journeyman center has played in 35 games already with the Sabres, but has only three assists to show for it. A team still looking for their identity, Buffalo is better served playing their own home-grown young talent rather than mediocre veterans, likely promting Grant’s movement.
  • Andrej Nestrasil has cleared waivers and will be assigned to the AHL’s Charlotte Checkers, reports Carolina Hurricanes GM Ron Francis. The Hurricanes have been busy on the waiver wire this season, including both claiming and losing Detroit’s Martin Frk and recently adding former St. Louis Blue Ty Rattie. Given Nestrasil’s age and his decent output in each of the last two seasons, as well as the fact that the only other player on waivers, McElhinney, was claimed, Carolina is lucky that this waiver transaction wasn’t yet another newsworthy one.
  • As expected, the Vancouver Canucks have recalled defenseman Andrey Pedan from the Utica Comets of the AHL. With Ben Hutton joing the laundry list of out or injured Canucks blue liners, Pedan can expect an extended stay in Vancouver, which needs all the defensive depth it can get right now.
  • With T.J. Oshie ready to return to the Capitals lineup, Washington has returned forwards Paul Carey and Liam O’Brien to the AHL’s Hershey Bears. While both forwards are having good seasons in the AHL with 25 and 18 points respectively in 28 games apiece, neither has managed to turn minor league success into any NHL production. The duo have combined for four points total in 42 combined games over the past four seasons.

More to come

Sunday Evening Snapshots: Panarin, Mason, Simmonds, Kane

at CDT | by 1 Comment

Super sophomore Artemi Panarin recently inked a two-year extension that will tie him to the Blackhawks through his restricted free agent years. Upon the expiration of the pact, one that carries an AAV of $6MM, Panarin will be a UFA and at 28 should be positioned to land a lucrative long-term deal in free agency. The structure is ideal for Panarin, as it allows him to max out his earnings over the next two years while still allowing him to reach free agency while still young enough to command a max-term deal. As Chris Kuc and Chris Hine of the Chicago Tribune write, the deal overcame a late and unexpected obstacle in order to reach the finish line.

Panarin decided to change representation from Tom Lynn to Dan Milstein just before the agreement was finalized but the former stayed on to help the new agent complete the negotiations. Lynn, a former assistant GM with the Wild, has a strong relationship with Chicago assistant GM Norm MacIver and that helped grease the wheels on the arrangement. Milstein credits Lynn for his professionalism in difficult circumstances.

“After Artemi told him about the change, (Lynn) offered to stay on to help in any way he could,” Milstein told the Tribune. “He had called me and offered to pass on any and all things he had worked on previously. He and I consulted closely … (and) the whole thing came together in 48 hours.

“(Lynn) was very instrumental and he’s a class act. Ninety-nine percent of people would have hung up the phone and never spoke to you again. I can’t say anything bad about Tom and I know Artemi can’t say anything (bad) either.”

Panarin, who doesn’t speak English well, made the move because of the language barrier.

“As somebody who doesn’t really speak English fluently, it was a little bit of a hassle to bring everything to a translator first, have meetings and have to go through a translation at some point,” Panarin said via an interpreter. “I felt more comfortable getting somebody who speaks Russian.”

Kuc and Hine report that a source conveyed that despite what Milstein said, the relationship he shared with Lynn “was not as amicable as Milstein portrayed.” Regardless, Chicago and Panarin were ultimately able to find common ground and work out a deal both sides were happy with.

Elsewhere around the NHL tonight:

  • Sam Carchidi of Philly.com wonders whether the Flyers should re-sign goaltender Steve Mason to serve as a bridge to the team’s prospects at the position. According to Carchidi, the plan at the beginning of the campaign was to allow Mason and Michal Neuvirth, both pending free agents, to compete to see which one would earn an extension but injuries to Neuvirth have allowed Mason to take the lead in that competition by default. Ultimately the scribe feels Neuvirth is simply too injury-prone to be counted on as an undisputed #1 goalie. Carchidi believes a strong second half would nearly guarantee that the Flyers would look to re-up Mason. As it stands, should the team extend Mason, the team would have to expose young net minder Anthony Stolarz, who Carchidi feels has potential. The best bet, in the opinion of Carchidi, might be to deal Neuvirth and add another goaltender under contract for 2017-18 and whom they can leave exposed for the expansion draft.
  • Sticking with the Flyers, the Department of Player Safety will not have a hearing with Wayne Simmonds for his hit that knocked Lightning forward J.T. Brown out of yesterday’s game, tweets Joe Smith of the Tampa Bay Times. Smith adds that Brown has been placed on IR requiring him to sit out at least seven days as a result.
  • With Buffalo hosting Winnipeg last night, John Vogl of The Buffalo News revisits the blockbuster trade the two clubs made nearly two years ago. On February 11, 2015, Buffalo acquired winger Evender Kane, defenseman Zach Bogosian, and young goaltender Jason Kasdorf in exchange for defenseman Tyler Myers, winger Drew Stafford, forward prospects Joel Armia and Brendan Lemieux and a 1st round draft pick. While Kane has struggled to produce up to his talent level, he did hit the 20-goal plateau last season and is on an 82-game pace for 26 goals this season. Myers, meanwhile, has missed all but 11 games this season but did contribute 27 points in 73 contests last season. Stafford had a 21-goal campaign a year ago but has slumped to just three this season. Vogl considers it too early to declare a winner, though with the 20-year-old Lemieux and Jack Roslovic – the player chosen with that first round pick – still developing, the Jets have a good chance of ultimately coming out ahead in the swap.

 

Lightning Notes: Brown, Yzerman, Trades

at CDT | by Leave a Comment

Jets star rookie Patrik Laine wasn’t the only player forced to depart his game after taking a big hit during the day’s early action. Checking winger J.T. Brown left Tampa Bay’s contest against Philadelphia in the third period after taking a shoulder/upper arm to the head courtesy of Wayne Simmonds. Simmonds wasn’t penalized on the play as the officials evidently deemed the hit to be inadvertent.

The two came together along the Tampa Bay blue line with Simmonds cutting in front of Brown, presumably making an effort to remain onside prior to going off the ice on a change as a Flyers teammate dumped the puck into the offensive zone. The Lightning winger, who has just four points in 36 games this season, didn’t see Simmonds coming and stayed on the ice for a couple of minutes after the hit.

Joe Smith of the Tampa Bay Times tweeted that Lightning head coach Jon Cooper didn’t offer anything specific as to Brown’s condition after the game, saying just that it “didn’t look good to me.” Cooper also declined to comment on the hit itself, instead deferring to the league.

The Department of Player Safety reviews all plays of this nature and it’s conceivable Simmonds could face discipline. Replays do seem to show the Flyers leading goal scorer leaning in towards Brown just prior to contact. However, it doesn’t appear Simmonds has ever been fined by the DoPS, much less suspended; a fact which will likely work in his favor.

In other Lightning related news:

  • With the Lightning currently on the outside looking in at a playoff spot, it’s time for Tampa Bay GM Steve Yzerman to do something to shake up a roster that all too often appears uninspired, opines Smith in a post for the Tampa Bay Times. However, like every other team looking to address their shortcomings via trade, Yzerman has found it difficult to find a deal to his liking:  “If there was something I could have done to this point that would make our team better, I would have done it,” Yzerman said. “We’ll keep trying.” Smith argues the Lightning desperately need a top-four defenseman though that also seems to be high on the list for several other clubs, consequently adding to the challenge of finding a good fit. In Yzerman’s experience, it’s been tougher than ever to make a trade as teams are cognizant of the upcoming expansion draft as well as careful of taking on contracts with term remaining given the expectation of the salary cap remaining flat next season. Yzerman also cites the presence of so few obvious sellers as another factor it’s been so quiet on the trade front.

Atlantic Notes: Carlo, Lightning Draft, Nyquist, Eisenschmid

at CDT | by Leave a Comment

Boston Bruins defenseman Brandon Carlo has been a revelation on their back end this season but CSN New England’s Joe Haggerty suggests that in recent games, he’s showing signs of hitting the proverbial rookie wall.

Over the last six games, Carlo’s ice time has been below his season average (21:50) while he was down to just 16 minutes in his last outing against Edmonton, a career low.  He also has posted a -10 rating in his last 15 games and while plus/minus doesn’t quite carry the same level of importance nowadays, that’s still far from a good thing.

Rookie struggles, especially for blueliners, is hardly an uncommon thing but considering the fact that Carlo has often been a top pairing player for the Bruins, the pressure on him to turn this rough patch around is that much higher.  For his part, Carlo isn’t getting down on himself too much:

“I feel like pucks definitely aren’t bouncing my way as much as they were in the beginning of the year. But that’s something that I just need to continue with, keeping it simple and moving the puck. I’m just trying to keep my gaps up and go through every game and know that I worked my hardest out there.”

The Bruins have been looking for help on the back end dating back to the summer.  While Carlo’s emergence as a regular player lessened the need to add someone from outside the organization, GM Don Sweeney could be forced to again join the mass of teams looking to add a defenseman if the 20 year old continues to scuffle.

More from the Atlantic:

  • When the Lightning recalled goaltender Adam Wilcox to serve as Andrei Vasilevskiy’s backup, he became the sixth and final player from Tampa Bay’s 2011 draft class to suit up in an NHL game, notes Roger Mooney of the Tampa Bay Times. In fact, all six players were in a Tampa uniform for their last game – forwards Vladislav Namestnikov, Nikita Kucherov, Ondrej Palat, and Matthew Peca as well as defenseman Nikita Nesterov.  Wilcox’s stint with the Lightning isn’t likely to last too long though.  He was brought up in part to allow Kristers Gudlevskis to get some playing time in while Ben Bishop is hoping to be back in the lineup during their six game road trip that kicks off January 16th in Los Angeles.
  • Red Wings right winger Gustav Nyquist is at a loss to explain his scoring drought, writes MLive’s Ansar Khan. Despite averaging more ice time and more shots on goal per game, Nyquist is stuck at just four goals on the season with just one of those coming in his last 33 outings.  While head coach Jeff Blashill is pleased with his effort level on a night-to-night basis, he’d like to see the 27 year old play less on the perimeter and more around the net.
  • The Canadiens announced the signing of German center Markus Eisenschmid to a two year, entry level contract. The 21 year old is in his second season with their AHL affiliate in St. John’s.  Through 32 games so far this year, he has six goals and four assists.

Snapshots: Panthers, Stars, Lightning

at CDT | by 1 Comment

News and notes from around the NHL this evening:

  • The Florida Panthers have called up Jared McCann from the AHL’s Springfield Thunderbirds, reports Harvey Fialkov. The Panthers acquired McCann from the Vancouver Canucks—alongside a 2016 2nd and 4th round pick—for defenseman Erik Gudbranson and a 2016 5th round pick. Initially drafted by Vancouver in the first round in 2014, McCann now has 1G and 2A in 17 games for the Panthers. He has also scored 4G and 2A in 15 games for Springfield.
  • Dallas Stars prospect Denis Guryanov scored the overtime game-winning goal for Russia—against Sweden—to win the bronze medal in the World Junior Championships. The Russian forward scored 4G and 3A this tournament, good for 11th overall in scoring. Stars color commentator Daryl Reaugh tweeted that the team’s veterans liked Guryanov’s attitude, work-ethic, and talent. Guryanov currently plays for Dallas’s AHL affiliate the Texas Stars, and has scored 4G and 9A in 23 games. The team hopes his tournament performance carries over to the second half of his AHL season.
  • Tampa Bay Lightning forward Cedric Paquette returns to the lineup tonight against the Nashville Predators. Paquette missed the last six games with a lower-body injury suffered on December 20th against the Detroit Red Wings. Paquette has struggled so far this season, scoring only 3G and 4A in 31 games. Tampa is currently on the outside of the playoffs looking in, but could make a late season push when both Ben Bishop and Steven Stamkos return.

 

Minor Transactions: 1/4/2016

at CDT | by Leave a Comment

A day after calling up Daniel Altshuller from Charlotte of the AHL, the Carolina Hurricanes have returned the goaltender to the Checkers, according to the team’s official Twitter account. Meanwhile, the club has recalled veteran net minder Michael Leighton from their top minor league affiliate to serve as the team’s back-up between the pipes behind starter Cam Ward.

Altshuller did not see action in last night’s 3 – 1 loss to Carolina and has yet to make his NHL debut. The 22-year-old was selected in the third-round of the 2012 draft, 69th overall, by the Hurricanes and has appeared in 33 contests across the last two seasons with Charlotte, posting a record of 11 – 12 – 5.

Leighton, 35, has seen action in three games with Carolina this season, starting two, and has a 2 – 1 – 0 record with a GAA of 3.53 and a Save % of 0.875. He has appeared in 109 games over parts of 10 NHL seasons, spending time in the Chicago, Nashville, Philadelphia and Hurricanes organizations during that time. He famously backstopped the Flyers to a surprising berth in the 2009-10 Stanley Cup Final, ultimately losing to the Blackhawks in six games.

  • The Florida Panthers have loaned blue liner Dylan McIlrath to the Springfield Thunderbirds on a conditioning assignment, the team announced on their website. McIlrath, a first-round pick of the New York Rangers in 2010, has appeared in four games with the Panthers since joining the team after being acquired from New York in a November trade for fellow defenseman Steven Kampfer and a seventh-round pick in 2018. The hulking defender has tallied a single goal and has 14 penalty minutes on the season, while averaging just 9:39 of ice time per game.
  • Yanni Gourde was reassigned by the Tampa Bay Lightning to their AHL affiliate, the Syracuse Crunch, tweets Joe Smith of the Tampa Bay Times. The 25-year-old pivot made two appearances this season, failing to register a point while seeing about nine minutes of action per night. The Lightning welcomed veteran forward Ryan Callahan back into the lineup last night and his return allowed the team enough roster flexibility to send Gourde to the minors.
  • In a procedural move necessitated by the activation of goaltender Michal Neuvirth from IR, the Philadelphia Flyers have placed blue liner Mark Streit on LTIR, according to CSN Philly’s Tim Panaccio. Streit last played on December 11th and is expected to be out until sometime later this month due to a shoulder injury. By placing the veteran defender on LTIR, the Flyers are temporarily able to clear his $5.25MM cap hit from their ledger, thus allowing for the activation of Neuvirth. Had the transaction not been made, Philadelphia would have been over the salary cap by around $682K.

Snapshots: Tavares, D. Sedin, Erne

at CDT | by Leave a Comment

The New York Islanders enjoyed a very successful 2015-16 campaign.

Seven months after winning their first playoff series since 1993, the Islanders couldn’t be further away from repeating last year’s feat. They’re fifteenth (out of 16) in the Eastern Conference and nine points out of the final wildcard spot. Nine points isn’t insurmountable, however, the Islanders are in the best division in hockey and would need a miracle to catch any of their playoff-bound division peers.

Matthew Coller of Hockey Prospectus took a look at what happened to one of the feel-good stories of last year’s playoffs (ESPN Insider link). He links their downfall to three items: allowing Kyle Okposo and Frans Nielsen to walk in free agency, signing Andrew Ladd to replace Okposo, and the poor goaltending of Jaroslav Halak.

The team’s leader and superstar John Tavares has struggled by his standards this season, with 27 points in 36 games. Coller suggests that could be because the loss of his longtime winger in Okposo. Anders Lee and Josh Bailey have been Tavares’ most common linemates this season, and while they’re both undoubtedly quality NHLers, neither are at the level of Okposo. Ladd has not been good as a replacement for Okposo’s offence (at similar salaries), and GM Garth Snow was unable to replace Nielsen, who was one of the most valuable players in their lineup.

That leads to Coller’s most important point about the Islanders future: getting an answer from Tavares. He’s set to be an unrestricted free agent (UFA) in the summer of 2018, and is the key to the entire franchise. Should he be willing to sign long-term, then Snow “can start moving assets to acquire win-now players around Tavares.”

However, should Tavares express concern over the direction of the team and want to test free agency as a franchise center in his prime, then Coller believes the Islanders should trade him sooner rather than later. It’s hard to imagine the kind of haul that Snow could acquire for a player of Tavares calibre. A rebuild would be greatly boosted by the assets acquired for Tavares, which could include several big-time prospects who are close to contributing at the NHL level and high draft picks. Consider Tavares’ trade at the OHL level as a possible template, where the Oshawa received three players and six draft picks for the star forward.

Ultimately, the future of the Islanders comes down to whether or not Tavares wants to stay long-term and right the ship. If he stays, then the club will try to make moves to become a Stanley Cup contender; if he wants to move on, then it will be a full-on rebuild for the Islanders.

  • On Monday night, Vancouver Canucks left winger Daniel Sedin got his 600th career assist on a goal by Sven Baertschi. Sedin currently sits in sixth for assists among active players; the top five are Jaromir Jagr, Joe Thornton, Henrik Sedin, Jarome Iginla, and Sidney Crosby. Marian Hossa is three assists behind Daniel. Sedin’s 600 assists are good for 83rd all-time. He’s one point behind Hockey Hall of Famer Glenn Anderson and two behind Kirk Muller. Crosby is 77th all time, 16 points ahead of D. Sedin.
  • With the injuries piling up in Tampa Bay, three players have made their NHL debuts so far this season. Now, a fourth as Adam Erne will be suiting up for his first NHL game. Erne was the 33rd overall pick in 2013 and has 18 points in 31 games at the AHL level this year. Brian Boyle is out with a lower-body injury, and head coach Jon Cooper wasn’t optimistic about a possible return this week, according to Joe Smith of the Tampa Bay Times. However, injury-plagued Ryan Callahan is listed as probable for Tuesday night’s game against the Jets. Callahan told Smith that he’s ready to play his game after being out since November with a lower-body injury.

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