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Lightning Rumors

Nikita Kucherov Closing In On Bridge Deal With Tampa Bay

October 10, 2016 at 5:38 pm CDT | by Gavin Lee Leave a Comment

According to Bob McKenzie of TSN, restricted free agent Nikita Kucherov is en route to North America from Russia to sign a bridge deal with the Tampa Bay Lightning.  While the team has been trying to lock the winger up long-term, it doesn’t look like that kind of a deal will get done before the season starts; instead, the two sides will agree to a shorter term and re-evaluate in two or three years.

Kucherov is coming off back-to-back all-star seasons, scoring 65 and 66 points over the last two. Leading a team in scoring that includes Steven Stamkos is no small feat, though the winger did just that in 2015-16. Already a 30-goal scorer at 23, Kucherov will eventually be given a huge contract to play in this league.

After re-signing Stamkos, Victor Hedman and others this summer, the Lightning have to be careful with their cap space going forward, having just $5.5MM at the moment for this season. Though a bridge deal would likely come in just shy of that for Kucherov, a long-term deal that bought out any free agent years would have seen that rate jump quite a bit.  Johnny Gaudreau recently signed for $6.75MM, and only gave up a single year on the open market.

Tampa Bay Lightning Bob McKenzie| Johnny Gaudreau| Nikita Kucherov| Steven Stamkos| Victor Hedman

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Training Camp Cuts And Waiver Wire Placements: 10/10/16

October 10, 2016 at 10:00 am CDT | by Mike Furlano 1 Comment

Keeping track of all the training camp cuts and waiver placements today before tomorrow’s NHL 23-man roster deadline.

Anaheim Ducks
F Michael Sgarbossa (waivers -> San Diego Gulls, AHL)

Arizona Coyotes
D Zbynek Michalek (waivers -> Tuscon Roadrunners, AHL)
D Klas Dahlbeck (waivers -> Tuscon Roadrunners, AHL)

Boston Bruins
RW Tyler Randell (waivers -> Providence Bruins, AHL)
RW Seth Griffith (waivers -> Providence Bruins, AHL)
C Tim Schaller (waivers -> Providence Bruins, AHL)
D Christian Ehrhoff (released from PTO)

Buffalo Sabres
D Justin Falk (waivers -> Rochester Americans, AHL)

Calgary Flames
F Brandon Bollig (waivers -> Stockton Heat, AHL)
F Chris Higgins (released from PTO)

Chicago Blackhawks
F Alexandre Fortin (returned to Rouyn-Noranda Huskies, QMJHL)
F Brandon Mashinter (waivers -> Rockford Ice Hogs, AHL)
F Mark McNeill (waivers -> Rockford Ice Hogs, AHL)
G Ivan Nalimov (returned to Vladivostok Admiral, KHL)

Colorado Avalanche
D Duncan Siemens (assigned to San Antonio Rampage, AHL)
F Gabriel Bourque (waivers -> San Antonio Rampage, AHL)
F Michael Sislo (waivers -> San Antonio Rampage, AHL)

Columbus Blue Jackets
C Gregory Campbell (waivers -> Cleveland Monsters, AHL)

Dallas Stars
D Mattias Backman (waivers -> Texas Stars, AHL)

Detroit Red Wings
F Teemu Pulkkinen (waivers -> Grand Rapids Griffins, AHL)
F Ben Street (waivers -> Grand Rapids Griffins, AHL)

Edmonton Oilers
F Anton Lander (waivers -> Bakersfield Condors, AHL)

Florida Panthers
F Paul Thompson (waivers -> Springfield Thunderbirds, AHL)

Los Angeles Kings
D Rob Scuderi (waivers -> Ontario Reign, AHL)
C Michael Latta (waivers -> Ontario Reign, AHL)

Minnesota Wild
G Alex Stalock (waivers -> Iowa Wild, AHL)

Montreal Canadiens
F Michael McCarron (assigned to St. John’s Ice Caps, AHL)
G Mike Condon (waivers -> St. John’s Ice Caps, AHL)

New York Islanders
F P.A. Parenteau (waivers -> Bridgeport Sound Tigers, AHL)

New Jersey Devils
G Scott Wedgewood (waivers -> Albany Devils, AHL)

Ottawa Senators
F Fredrik Claesson (waivers -> Binghamton Senators, AHL)

Tampa Bay Lightning
RW Erik Condra (waivers -> Syracuse Crunch, AHL)
LW Cory Conacher (waivers -> Syracuse Crunch, AHL)
RW Joel Vermin (waivers -> Syracuse Crunch, AHL)

Washington Capitals
D Aaron Ness (waivers -> Hershey Bears, AHL)
F Zach Sill (waivers -> Hershey Bears, AHL)

Winnipeg Jets
F Andrew Copp (assigned to Manitoba Moose, AHL)
F Marko Dano (assigned to Manitoba Moose, AHL)
F Chase De Leo (assigned to Manitoba Moose, AHL)
F Anthony Peluso (waivers -> Manitoba Moose, AHL)
F Nic Petan (assigned to Manitoba Moose, AHL)
D Julian Melchiori (waivers -> Manitoba Moose, AHL)
D Brian Strait (waivers -> Manitoba Moose, AHL)
G Ondrej Pavelec (waivers -> Manitoba Moose, AHL)

Anaheim Ducks| Boston Bruins| Buffalo Sabres| Calgary Flames| Chicago Blackhawks| Colorado Avalanche| Columbus Blue Jackets| Dallas Stars| Detroit Red Wings| Edmonton Oilers| Florida Panthers| Los Angeles Kings| Minnesota Wild| Montreal Canadiens| New Jersey Devils| New York Islanders| Ottawa Senators| Tampa Bay Lightning| Transactions| Utah Mammoth| Waivers| Washington Capitals| Winnipeg Jets

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Week In Review: 10/3/16 – 10/9/16

October 9, 2016 at 7:00 pm CDT | by Glen Miller Leave a Comment

It’s officially the last week of the offseason with the first games of the new regular season slated for Wednesday. Obviously roster pare downs dominated the headlines this week but there were a few other transactions of note as well as a handful of injuries that might prompt teams to see what’s available on the open market. Without further ado, here is the roundup of this week’s top hockey stories.

Key Free Agent Signings:

  • Kris Russell – Edmonton (one year, $3.1MM): It’s probably not the lucrative deal Russell was looking for at the outset of free agency but the veteran shot-blocker finally did secure a contract for 2016-17. Perhaps with a solid performance for the Oil, Russell will be in better position to pursue a multi-year pact next summer.
  • Tobias Rieder – Arizona (two years, $4.45MM): It looks like the Coyotes got the player at the price they wanted. It had been reported that Rieder was looking for $5MM over two years while the club was offering $4.4MM. Clearly the 23-year-old forward gave more than he got, presumably because he wanted to get back on the ice.
  • Jakub Nakladal – Carolina (one year, $600K): It will be interesting to see how the 28-year-old Nakladal fits with the Hurricanes current crop of talented blue liners. Not including Nakladal, Carolina has seven NHL-caliber defensemen on the roster, only one of whom is older than 24.

Added on Waivers:

  • Martin Frk – Carolina: Carolina wasn’t the only team that put a claim in on Frk but the Hurricanes were awarded the young Czech RW. He potted 27 goals for Detroit’s AHL affiliate in Grand Rapids in 2015-16 and it was mildly surprising to see the Wings risk losing him by placing him on waivers but clearly they felt the roster spot was best committed elsewhere.

Trades: 

  • Edmonton trades RW Nail Yakupov to St. Louis in exchange for Zach Pochiro and a conditional draft choice (a third in 2017 can become a second in 2018 if Yakupov scores 15 or more goals).
  • Montreal deals Tim Bozon to Florida for D Jonathan Racine in an exchange of minor leaguers.

Injury Report:

  • Jonathan Huberdeau is expected to miss 3 – 4 months with what is being called a lower-body-injury. It will be interesting to see if Panthers management looks outside the organization in an attempt to fill the void as Huberdeau was the team’s top scorer on the LW. The team does have around $10MM in cap space if they did choose to go that route.
  • Nick Bjugstad will be out for four weeks due to a broken hand. The Panthers third-line pivot tallied 34 points in 67 games last season.
  • Michael Del Zotto is set to miss the next 4 – 5 weeks with the dreaded lower-body-injury.
  • Again with the lower-body-injury, the Flyers will also be without C Scott Laughton for three to our weeks.
  • Devils defenseman Jon Merrill is out four weeks with a broken index finger.
  • Penalty-killing specialist Matt Hendricks will miss significant time, once more due to a lower-body-injury. Oilers head coach Todd McLellan indicated it would be “weeks” before Hendricks would be able to return.

Retirements:

  • Defenseman Barret Jackman called it quits after a solid, 14-year NHL career. Jackman was originally chosen in the first-round by St. Louis back in 1999 and played all but one season with the Blues before finishing up in Nashville. He wraps up his career with 186 points more than 1,100 penalty minutes in 876 regular season contests.
  • Dan Boyle announced his retirement following 17 seasons in the NHL. Boyle, one of the league’s top offensive blue liners throughout much of his career, recorded at least 39 points eight out of nine seasons from 2002-03 through 2011-12. He would score more than 600 regular season points in nearly 1,100 NHL games. Boyle was a member of the 2003-04 Stanley Cup champion Tampa Lightning and also spent time with Florida and San Jose before wrapping up his career playing two seasons with the New York Rangers.

 

 

AHL| Carolina Hurricanes| Edmonton Oilers| Florida Panthers| Free Agency| Injury| NHL| New Jersey Devils| New York Rangers| Philadelphia Flyers| Retirements| St. Louis Blues| Tampa Bay Lightning| Todd McLellan| Transactions| Utah Mammoth| Waivers Barret Jackman| Dan Boyle| Jakub Nakladal| Jon Merrill| Jonathan Huberdeau| Kris Russell| Martin Frk| Matt Hendricks| Michael Del Zotto| Nail Yakupov| Nick Bjugstad| Tobias Rieder| Week In Review

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Friedman’s Latest: RFAs, Yakupov, Datsyuk

October 9, 2016 at 4:50 pm CDT | by Glen Miller 4 Comments

Sportsnet’s Elliotte Friedman published his weekly 30 Thoughts column today and devoted a significant portion to the big name RFAs who remain unsigned. His first note was on Nikita Kucherov, whose agent – Scott Greenspun – Friedman believes has met with at least one club on the subject of an offer sheet. Due to Tampa’s precarious cap situation, both in the short and long term, the Lightning would be vulnerable to an offer sheet, particularly this close to the start of the regular season when all teams must be in cap compliance. The Lightning have roughly $5.5MM in available cap space but Kucherov may well be able to land significantly more than that from another club. GMs tend to steer clear of offer sheets for fear of angering their colleagues but Kucherov’s talent and track record might eventually prove too tempting for one manager to resist.

The full column is always worth the read but here are a few more key points from Friedman:

  • With regards to Johnny Gaudreau, Friedman believes there has been progress made since the two sides met earlier this week. He also notes that negotiations could again reach a stalemate if and when the two sides have moved far enough. The key, Friedman says, is how many unrestricted free agent years the Flames will be buying out, suggesting the longer the term, the higher the AAV. Gaudreau has five years remaining before reaching free agency meaning a max, eight-year term would buy out three free agent seasons.
  • There may be as many as six teams with serious interest in trading for Winnipeg Jets RFA defenseman Jacob Trouba. The scribe lists Buffalo, N.Y. Rangers, Detroit, Colorado, Boston and Arizona as the clubs looking at making a deal for the talented young blue liner. Of course given Winnipeg’s believed asking price – a left defenseman of similar ability and age – it’s difficult to fathom any of the aforementioned clubs being a match. Evidently that thought has also occurred to the Jets and that has prompted interested suitors to try to engage a third team to help meet Winnipeg’s demands. One obvious team that could facilitate a trade would be Anaheim as Friedman notes. The Ducks still have Hampus Lindholm to come to terms with and recently sent both Brandon Montour and Shea Theodore – two of the team’s top blue line prospects – to San Diego in the AHL. They certainly have the depth to meet Winnipeg’s needs.
  • Apparently the Jets also asked Trouba’s camp to provide the numbers it would take to convince the 22-year-old to re-up in Winnipeg but they were told as long as the situation on the right side of the team’s defense remained the same that re-signing “wasn’t going to happen.”
  • Friedman wonders whether the St. Louis Blues will employ the newly acquired Nail Yakupov as a power play specialist and if so, would they play him with two right-shooting forwards. He notes that Yakupov’s man-advantage shooting percentage with Edmonton was 14.8% when on the ice with at least two right-handed forwards and just 7.1% otherwise. The problem with the theory is that the Blues list just three forwards who fire the puck from the starboard side and of those, just David Perron is likely to see much power play time. St. Louis does have four right-handed blue liners so the coaching staff could get creative if they have in fact given any thought to Friedman’s suggestion.
  • When the Arizona Coyotes agreed to take on the final year of Pavel Datsyuk’s contract from Detroit, it was thought their primary motivation was moving up in the 2016 draft four slots to secure the rights to talented young blue liner Jakob Chychrun. Secondarily, Datsyuk’s $7.5MM cap charge would help the team exceed the cap floor. However, Friedman reports that first-year GM John Chayka had something else entirely in mind. With Datsyuk already committed to signing in the KHL, Chayka tried to convince St. Petersburg to allow the Coyotes to speak with two of their players, Yevgeni Dadonov (perhaps misidentified in Friedman’s post as Evgeny Davydov) and Vadim Shipachyov, in exchange for releasing Datsyuk’s rights. Obviously it didn’t work out for Chayka but it shows his willingness to look at outside-the-box for ways to upgrade his roster.

AHL| Anaheim Ducks| Calgary Flames| Free Agency| KHL| New York Rangers| Players| RFA| St. Louis Blues| Tampa Bay Lightning| Utah Mammoth| Winnipeg Jets David Perron| Elliotte Friedman| Hampus Lindholm| Jacob Trouba| Jakob Chychrun| Johnny Gaudreau| Nail Yakupov| Nikita Kucherov| Offer sheets| Pavel Datsyuk

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Atlantic Division Notes: Richards, Foligno, Carlo, Heinen

October 8, 2016 at 4:00 pm CDT | by Glen Miller 7 Comments

Many pundits consider the Tampa Bay Lightning roster to be among the deepest and most talented in the league. The team boasts a franchise player in Steven Stamkos along with plenty of skilled skaters – Tyler Johnson, Nikita Kucherov and Jonathan Drouin to name a few – joining him up front. They have Victor Hedman to anchor the blue line with Anton Stralman to provide support. In goal Tampa Bay has two netminders capable of carrying a team through a lengthy playoff run.

If the Lightning have one weakness that could derail their Stanley Cup plans it could be an ineffective power play. Tampa Bay ranked 28th in the NHL in power play efficiency, converting just 15.8% of their opportunities. While the team elected to essentially avoid signing outside free agents in order to save their limited cap space for their own, one addition could go a long way toward fixing their power play, as Joe Smith of the Tampa Bay Times writes.

Smith notes that since joining the team as head coach, Jon Cooper oversaw the man-advantage unit but he has ceded those duties to newly hired assistant coach Todd Richards. Richards of course was head coach in Columbus before losing his job on the heels of an 0 – 7 start to the 2015-16 season. Cooper expects Richards to provide a “fresh look and fresh face” to the power play.

In Richards’ last full season at the helm in Columbus, the Blue Jackets tied for fifth in power play efficiency with a 21.7% success rate. While Smith reports Richards won’t be making too many changes with regard to system or personnel, the players have noted some subtle changes including an emphasis on shooting the puck.

A more potent power play could go a long way to helping the Lightning over the hump and Richards’ solid showing in that area while with the Jackets offers hope he can help in Tampa.

Elsewhere in the Atlantic:

  • It’s taken the better part of five seasons but it finally appears as if winger Marcus Foligno has found his niche with the Buffalo Sabres, writes John Vogl of The Buffalo News. After a rough start to the 2015-16 campaign, Foligno finished the year strong scoring eight goals and 16 points in his final 40 contests. He credited a mid-season conversation with the Buffalo coaching staff as helping him find consistency with his game: “I voiced my frustration a little bit. I remember talking to the coaches about ‘What can I do?’ and things like that. It was good. It was positive criticism, and then from there I never looked back. You’ve got to look at the man in the mirror sometimes, and that’s what I did.” Foligno, now 25, is expected to fill a spot in the Sabres top-nine and to provide leadership, grit and toughness. For his part, head coach Dan Bylsma noted the change in Foligno: “In the past, there was some fluctuation in his game, there was some inconsistencies from game to game and week to week. Marcus’ game can’t change and fluctuate. He has to be a hard guy to play against. He has to be a big, physical presence. He’s got to be a guy who plays on the inside. Marcus grew into that, and in the last 45 games delivered that on a consistent basis.”
  • A few Boston prospects are making a case to stick with the big club to start the campaign, as Joe Haggerty of CSNNE writes. As Haggerty reports, Bruins head coach Claude Julien and his staff are looking at a roster scenario that would include rookies Brandon Carlo, Danton Heinen and Austin Czarnik making the club. With an aging and thin blue line, the fact Carlo, a 19-year-old, right-shot defender is closing in on a roster spot should be of little surprise. But for Heinen, a 2014 fourth-round pick, to be on the verge of securing a regular job in the team’s bottom six is somewhat surprising. Czarnik’s chances likely hinge on whether or not the Bruins use David Backes on the RW on one of the top two lines or as the team’s third-line pivot. Though a strong performance for Providence in the AHL that saw Czarnik tally 61 points in 68 contests, suggests the Miami of Ohio graduate is close to, if not fully ready for NHL action.

AHL| Boston Bruins| Buffalo Sabres| Coaches| Columbus Blue Jackets| NHL| Players| Tampa Bay Lightning Austin Czarnik| David Backes| James Wisniewski| Marcus Foligno| Nikita Kucherov

7 comments

Training Camp Cuts: 10.06.2016

October 6, 2016 at 10:37 am CDT | by Gavin Lee Leave a Comment

We’re now less than a week from the regular season and teams are starting to make the final cuts from their squads. Here is where we’ll keep track of all the day’s cuts.

Anaheim Ducks (via team release and General Fanager):

LW Ondrej Kase (to San Diego, AHL)
C Julius Nattinen (to San Diego, AHL)
D Clayton Stoner (on waivers for purposes of AHL assignment)
F Sean Bergenheim (released from PTO)

Buffalo Sabres (via John Vogl):

G Linus Ullmark (assigned to Rochester, AHL)

Carolina Hurricanes (via team release):

D Jake Bean (to Calgary, WHL)
F Julien Gauthier (to Val d’Or, QMJHL)
F Aleksi Saarela (to Lukko, FEL)
G Alex Nedeljkovic (to Charlotte, AHL)
D Dennis Robertson (to Charlotte, AHL)
D Jake Chelios (to Charlotte, AHL)
F Andrew Poturalski (to Charlotte, AHL)
F Valentin Zykov (to Charlotte, AHL)
F Raffi Torres (released)

Read more

Colorado Avalanche (via team release):

D Chris Bigras (assigned to San Antonio, AHL)
LW J.T. Compher (assigned to San Antonio, AHL)
D Anton Lindholm (assigned to San Antonio, AHL)

Dallas Stars (via General Fanager and Mark Stepneski):

C Justin Dowling (on waivers for purposes of AHL assignment)
LW Remi Elie (assigned to Texas, AHL)
G Maxime Lagace (assigned to Texas, AHL)
C Travis Morin (assigned to Texas, AHL)
RW Matej Stransky (on waivers for purposes of AHL assignment)
LW Cole Ully (assigned to Texas, AHL)

Detroit Red Wings (via team release):

D Conor Allen (released from PTO, will report to Grand Rapids, AHL)
LW Dylan Sadowy (assigned to Grand Rapids, AHL)

Florida Panthers (via team release):

F Connor Brickley (to Springfield, AHL)
F Dryden Hunt (to Springfield, AHL)
F Kyle Rau (to Springfield, AHL)
D MacKenzie Weegar (to Springfield, AHL)
D Adam Pardy (released)

New York Islanders (via Arthur Staple and General Fanager):

F Steve Bernier (released from PTO)
D Kyle Burroughs (to Bridgeport, AHL)
LW Michael Dal Colle (to Bridgeport, AHL)
D Matt Finn (to Bridgeport, AHL)
F Tanner Fritz (to Bridgeport, AHL)
G Chris Gibson (to Bridgeport, AHL)
D Jesse Graham (to Bridgeport, AHL)
RW Josh Ho-Sang (to Bridgeport, AHL)
LW Ross Johnston (to Bridgeport, AHL)
F Colin Markison (to Bridgeport, AHL)
D Scott Mayfield (on waivers for purposes of AHL assignment)
D Devon Toews (to Bridgeport, AHL)
G Stephone Williams (to Bridgeport, AHL)

New York Rangers (via General Fanager)

G Magnus Hellberg (on waivers for purposes of AHL assignment)

San Jose Sharks (via team Twitter):

D Tim Heed (assigned to San Jose, AHL)

Tampa Bay Lightning (via team release):

G Kristers Gudlevskis (assigned to Syracuse, AHL)

Vancouver Canucks (via General Fanager):

C Michael Chaput (on waivers for purposes of AHL assignment)
C Jayson Megna (on waivers for purposes of AHL assignment)
D Andrey Pedan (on waivers for purposes of AHL assignment)
C Michael Zalewski (on waivers for purposes of AHL assignment)

AHL| Anaheim Ducks| Buffalo Sabres| Carolina Hurricanes| Colorado Avalanche| Dallas Stars| Detroit Red Wings| Florida Panthers| New York Islanders| New York Rangers| QMJHL| San Jose Sharks| Tampa Bay Lightning| Transactions| Vancouver Canucks| WHL Connor Brickley| Raffi Torres

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Pacific Division Notes: Raymond, Etem, Coyotes

October 4, 2016 at 7:58 pm CDT | by Glen Miller Leave a Comment

Mason Raymond is out to prove that lightning does indeed strike twice as he works to earn a roster spot with the Anaheim Ducks. Shortly after the final year of his contract was bought out by the Calgary Flames, Raymond inked a one-year, two-way deal with Anaheim that guarantees the nine-year vet $675K while on an NHL roster and $225K if he’s suiting up in the AHL. It’s fair to say Raymond has reached a proverbial crossroads in his career, though as the Orange County Register’s Eric Stepens writes, the former Canuck, Leaf and Flame has history to fall back on as he attempts to make the Ducks roster.

Just three seasons ago Raymond was in a similar boat. Unsigned well into the summer of 2013, Raymond would eventually accept a PTO from Toronto and made the Leafs roster out of training camp. Playing for head coach Randy Carlyle, now behind the bench in Anaheim, Raymond saw action in all 82 games for the second time in his career and responded with a 45-point campaign. His 19 goals that year represented the second-highest single-season total of his career. He would parley that strong performance into a three-year deal with Calgary prior to the start of the 2014-15 season.

Raymond is hoping for a similar outcome in Anaheim and for his former Leafs bench boss. For his part, Carlyle believes Raymond can still contribute to an NHL team.

“He’s a talented player and he can score. He doesn’t need a lot of chances to score goals. I always used to use the analogy where some guys need 10 chances to score a goal. With Mason Raymond – when looking at him and watching his number of chances, he gets three or four and he scores a goal. That’s what his history has been, for me.”

Raymond’s chances of making the team went up after the Ducks released both David Booth and David Jones from their PTO’s. Sean Bergenheim, also in camp on a PTO, is still fighting for a job but the Ducks would have room for both players should they choose to go that route. If he can crack the roster, Raymond would add plenty of speed and some offensive potential in a bottom-six role.

Elsewhere in the NHL’s Pacific Division:

  • The Arizona Coyotes find themselves in rarefied air these days as the club can fairly be called a “cap team.” Most seasons, the Coyotes payroll ranks among the lowest in the league but this year they have the third highest projected salary cap hit according to Cap Friendly. Of course a significant chunk of space is taken up by the contracts of Chris Pronger, Pavel Datsyuk and Dave Bolland; players not even expected to suit up for Arizona this season barring an unexpected development. As Greg Wyshynski of Yahoo Sports writes, Coyotes GM John Chayka has an interesting perspective on the club’s sudden willingness to spend. He feels that Arizona’s commitment to spend to the cap ceiling this year is “good practice” as the team builds his roster into one capable of contention and the prices of players currently on ELCs begin to rise.  “As we grow this thing, there’s a day when we foresee ourselves being a cap team. It’s good practice.” 
  • Former first-round pick Emerson Etem may well be in jeopardy of losing his job in Vancouver opines The Province’s Ben Kuzma. Kuzma believes the top nine spots are locked up and that young forward Brendan Gaunce has done enough to make the team while Jake Virtanen should be on the roster come opening night. He goes on to note that Mikael Granlund has been better than Etem in the preseason and also suggests young Joseph LaBate has played well enough to garner consideration for one of the final roster spots up front. If Etem does in fact fail to make the team it would represent a low point in what has already been a disappointing career. Etem was selected by Anaheim with the 29th overall selection in the 2010 entry draft and would see action in 112 games with the Ducks before he was shipped off to the New York Rangers last summer as part of the package used to acquire Carl Hagelin. He failed to make an impact on Manhattan in 19 games and was shipped off mid-season to Vancouver in exchange for Nicklas Jensen. Etem would go on to net seven goals and 12 points in 39 games with the Canucks but now it looks as if his days in British Columbia may be numbered. The Canucks would have to expose the four-year veteran to waivers prior to sending him down to the AHL. It’s conceivable another club could take a flier on Etem’s talent should he hit the waiver wire.

 

AHL| Anaheim Ducks| Calgary Flames| NHL| New York Rangers| Players| Randy Carlyle| Tampa Bay Lightning| Utah Mammoth| Vancouver Canucks| Waivers Dave Bolland| Emerson Etem| Mason Raymond| Mikael Granlund| Pavel Datsyuk| Salary Cap

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2016-17 Season Preview: Tampa Bay Lightning

October 3, 2016 at 8:05 pm CDT | by natebrown 1 Comment

With the NHL preseason underway, PHR continues to look at every team prior to the regular season. Today, we look at the Tampa Bay Lightning.

Last season: 46-31-5 (97 points), Finished 2nd in NHL Atlantic Division. Defeated Detroit 4-1 in the first round; Defeated New York Islanders 4-1 in the second round; Lost to Pittsburgh 4-3 in Eastern Conference Finals.

Cap Space Remaining: $5.55MM via CapFriendly.

Key Newcomers: None

Key Departures: None

Player to Watch: Ben Bishop. There are so many players to keep an eye on (namely Nikita Kucherov), but Bishop is intriguing because of what general manager Steve Yzerman will do as the netminder enters the final year of his contract. With Andrei Vasilevskiy waiting patiently behind him, Bishop has become a valuable commodity. Does Yzerman hold onto him for insurance purposes and unbelievable goaltending depth? Will he peddle him at the trade deadline or even before that, trying to pick up additional depth for a deep Stanley Cup run? While many wonder what he’ll do, Yzerman has proven to be the master negotiator and a front office executive who will do whatever it takes to strengthen the team. With Bishop coming off of a stellar season, it will be interesting to see if Bishop can replicate the performance, and if so, whether it will be with the Bolts or another team starved for a great goaltender.

Key Storylines: Is this the season Tampa Bay puts it all together and wins the Cup? Tampa is one of the deepest, if not the deepest team in the NHL, and a major contributor to that is Yzerman. As problem after problem faced the team, Yzerman barely broke a sweat navigating every issue. Jonathan Drouin demands a trade? No problem. Yzerman remained firm, let the situation blow over, and when trouble brewed in the way of injuries, Drouin was brought back to the big club and amazingly, peace was restored. Drouin also went on to be a major factor in the Bolts’ return to the conference final.

Steve Stamkos had a number of suitors lining up for what could have been the biggest free agency bonanza since Zach Parise and Ryan Suter, and Yzerman locked him up before free agency could even begin. He then re-upped with Alex Killorn, Vladislav Namestnikov, J.T. Brown, Cedric Paquette, Victor Hedman, and Vasilevskiy. While they didn’t add or subtract any major players, Yzerman locked up significant pieces with the exception of Kucherov, who is holding out for a new contract. If there’s anything to be said, it’s that Yzerman will find a way to solve the problem, be it through a trade (think the Martin St. Louis deal that Yzerman won) or a new contract–though the latter will be more difficult to maneuver. If Yzerman does trade Bishop down the road, expect him to find a defenseman to help shore up the blueline.

Should the Lightning stay healthy, there are few teams that could rival them in the regular season or playoffs. This could be the season that Yzerman, Jon Cooper and company bring a second Stanley Cup back to Tampa.

Tampa Bay Depth Chart

Steve Yzerman| Tampa Bay Lightning Ben Bishop| Nikita Kucherov| Season Previews

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Training Camp Cuts: 10/2/16

October 2, 2016 at 4:04 pm CDT | by Zach Leach Leave a Comment

The cuts continue to roll in, with several teams reducing their rosters by massive amounts as the regular season draws closer. Here are today’s cuts thus far:

Arizona Coyotes (Via AHL Team Release)
C Zach Boychuk (released from PTO)
LW Michael Bunting  (assigned to Tuscon, AHL)
RW Craig Cunningham (assigned to Tuscon, AHL)
RW Conor Garland (assigned to Tuscon, AHL)
C Tyler Gaudet (assigned to Tuscon, AHL)
D Justin Hache (assigned to Tuscon, AHL)
G Adin Hill (assigned to Tuscon, AHL)
C Ryan MacInnis (assigned to Tuscon, AHL)
G Marek Langhamer (assigned to Tuscon, AHL)
D Dysin Mayo (assigned to Tuscon, AHL)
C Chris Mueller (assigned to Tuscon, AHL)
LW Brendan Perlini (assigned to Tuscon, AHL)
LW Garret Ross (assigned to Tuscon, AHL)
RW Henrik Samuelsson (assigned to Tuscon, AHL)
LW Eric Selleck (assigned to Tuscon, AHL)
D Kyle Wood (assigned to Tuscon, AHL)

Boston Bruins (Via Team Release)
D Linus Arnesson (assigned to Providence, AHL)
D Josh Atkinson (released to Providence, AHL)
LW Anton Blidh (assigned to Providence, AHL)
D Chris Breen (released to Providence, AHL)
D Chris Casto (waivers -> Providence, AHL)
C Colby Cave (assigned to Providence, AHL)
RW Peter Cehlarik (assigned to Providence, AHL)
D Tommy Cross (waivers -> Providence, AHL)
LW Jesse Gabrielle (returned to Prince George, WHL)
G Matt Ginn (released to Providence, AHL)
D Alex Grant (waivers -> Providence, AHL)
D Matt Grzelcyk (assigned to Providence, AHL)
LW Colton Hargrove (assigned to Providence, AHL)
RW Justin Hickman (assigned to Providence, AHL)
D Jeremy Lauzon (returned to Rouyn-Noranda, QMJHL)
G Zane McIntyre (assigned to Providence, AHL)
RW Peter Mueller (released from PTO)
F Mark Naclerio (released to Providence, AHL)
D Alex Roach (released to Providence, AHL)
RW Zach Senyshyn (returned to Sault Ste. Marie, OHL)
G Dan Vladar (assigned to Providence, AHL)
F A.J. White (released to Providence, AHL)
D Jakub Zboril (returned to Saint John, QMJHL)

Calgary Flames (Via Wes Gilbertson)
C Luke Adam (released from PTO)
D Rasmus Andersson  (assigned to Stockton, AHL)
F Austin Carroll (assigned to Stockton, AHL)
D Roman Dyukov  (assigned to Stockton, AHL)
LW Ryan Lomberg (assigned to Stockton, AHL)
LW Andrew Mangiapane  (assigned to Stockton, AHL)
G Tyler Parsons (returned to London, OHL)
RW Hunter Smith  (assigned to Stockton, AHL)

Montreal Canadiens
[reported earlier]

Tampa Bay Lightning
[reported earlier]

Boston Bruins| Calgary Flames| Montreal Canadiens| Tampa Bay Lightning| Transactions| Utah Mammoth

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Tampa Bay Trims Roster By 24

October 2, 2016 at 2:51 pm CDT | by natebrown Leave a Comment

The Tampa Bay Lightning trimmed their roster by 24 players today according to the team’s website, and now have 28 players remaining. Below are the players who were sent down or cut:

Forwards 

Cameron Darcy
Adam Erne
Yanni  Gourde
Mike Halmo
Brian Hart
Henri Ikonen
Pierre Letourneau-Leblond
Tye McGinn
Jeremy Morin
Matt Peca
Tanner Richard
Mitchell Stephens
Jonne Tammela

Defensemen

Dylan Blujus
Adam Comrie
Jake Dotchin
Dominik Masan
Matt Taormina
Ben Thomas
Daniel Walcott
James Wisniewski (Released)

Goalies

Nicola Riopel
Adam Wilcox

Veteran defenseman James Wisniewski was released from his professional tryout and will be on the move again. Adam Gretz writes that Wisniewski admitted it was difficult to adjust to Tampa’s system. Though he’s coming off of a major injury, Wisniewski could add value to a depleted blue line should he be able to shake the rust off and stay healthy.

Injury| Players| Tampa Bay Lightning| Transactions James Wisniewski

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