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Minor Transactions: 4/1/2017

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There may be just a little more than a week remaining in the NHL regular season, but teams are still making roster moves. We’ll track all of the days minor league call-ups and reassignments in this post.

  • Philadelphia Flyers GM Ron Hextall announced this morning that the team has recalled forward Colin McDonald from the Lehigh Valley Phantoms of the AHL. McDonald, 32, has yet to appear in the NHL this season but has 145 NHL games on his resume, a vast majority coming as a member of the New York Islanders. He is expected to be in the team’s lineup tonight as the Flyers are set to host their Metro Division rivals, the New Jersey Devils. McDonald, the Phantoms captain, has tallied 23 goals with 18 assists in 67 AHL games and has helped the team to the third best record in the league. The recall of McDonald seems strange on the surface, as Dave Isaac of the Courier-Post notes via Twitter. The team has plenty of healthy options and a lengthy stay in Philadelphia may have a negative impact on the Phantoms AHL playoff chances. Perhaps it’s a reward for the veteran pro, who has had a strong season, giving him a chance to earn a larger paycheck while in the NHL, but it wouldn’t be a surprise to see him returned to Lehigh Valley after tonight’s game.
  • Joel Vermin continues to rack up the frequent flyer miles as the 25-year-old native of Switzerland was again reassigned to Syracuse of the AHL, according to Lightning GM Steve Yzerman. Vermin has been called up seven different times this season, only to be reassigned each time. In 16 games for Tampa Bay, Vermin has tallied three assists in 10:00 of ice time per night. Joe Smith of the Tampa Bay Times suggests the reassignment bodes well for Nikita Kucherov, who missed the Lightning’s victory over Detroit Thursday night due to an illness, but would appear set to return to the ice tonight.
  • The St. Louis Blues announced via Twitter that they have recalled defenseman Petteri Lindbohm from the Chicago Wolves of the AHL on an emergency basis. Jeremy Rutherford of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch adds that fellow blue liner Robert Bortuzzo was hurt in last night’s 2 – 1 shootout loss to Colorado and may not be able to play tomorrow. Additionally, Carl Gunnarsson is still out, thus necessitating the call up of Lindbohm. In five earlier appearances this season with the Blues, Lindbohm is pointless with four penalty minutes while averaging under 13 minutes of ice time a night.

Snapshots: Pronger, Goldobin, Aaltonen

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When Chris Pronger was inducted into the Hall of Fame in 2015, it marked the end of an outstanding career. Stanley Cup winner, Hart trophy winner, Norris trophy winner, All-Star. Everything was accomplished, and yet something remained—a contract. Pronger was then, and still is now under a player contract with an NHL team, and though he’ll never play a game for the Arizona Coyotes—who traded for his empty contract just days before the Hall of Fame induction ceremony—he was technically a part of their organization. His deal will expire at the end of this season, and there is now something else on his mind for the future.

Pierre LeBrun of TSN writes in his latest column that though Pronger is happy with his current position at the Department of Player Safety, he’d like a chance to apprentice under an established GM in hopes of one day running a team of his own. Pronger reached out to former rival Steve Yzerman to learn what he could about the Tampa Bay Lightning GM’s path to the front office, which included time under Ken Holland in Detroit. Though he had all the physical tools to make him great in the game, it was his hockey mind that made him a legend. As former teammate Jamie McLennan put it in LeBrun’s piece: “His ability to adapt and learn in any situation is what makes [him] special.” Don’t be surprised to see Pronger’s name pop up in a front office as soon as next season.

  • It wasn’t just a regular flu for Vancouver Canucks forward Nikolay Goldobin. The young player says that he didn’t eat for five days and has lost fifteen pounds while he’s been out. While he is feeling better, he won’t travel to Edmonton with the team when they take on the Oilers tomorrow night. Instead, he’ll hit the practice rink and try to get back to where he was before falling ill. The 21-year old was acquired in exchange for Jannik Hansen at the trade deadline, and scored a single goal in the three games he played for Vancouver before being kept out of the lineup.
  • James Mirtle of the Athletic provides some context for the Maple Leafs newest signing Miro Aaltonen. One source told him that the Finnish forward has a 50-50 shot to play in the NHL, but represents no downside for the team. He’ll be on just a one-year deal, and will play for the Marlies next season if he doesn’t crack the NHL team out of camp. Chris Johnston of Sportsnet adds that Aaltonen is most comfortable on the left wing, an area of need for the Maple Leafs. The team currently only has James van Riemsdyk as a true goal-scoring left winger, with the other three, Zach Hyman, Leo Komarov and Matt Martin, all being better suited to play in the bottom-half of a lineup (despite the fact that Hyman has played on Auston Matthews’ wing all season). Even in the minor leagues Kasperi Kapanen and Brendan Leipsic, the prospects closest to making an NHL impact both play the right side most often.

Tampa Bay Lightning Recall Byron Froese

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The Tampa Bay Lightning have flipped prospects today, calling up Byron Froese from Syracuse and assigning Matthew Peca. The Lightning will take on the New York Rangers tonight at Madison Square Garden, before travelling to Ottawa for the second half of their back to back tomorrow night.

Froese was acquired by Tampa Bay from the Toronto Maple Leafs in the Brian Boyle deal late last month, and had showed off in his three games in the AHL. Three points in two games was worth a call-up, and with the team desperately needing help at center he should get a chance to prove his NHL readiness.

The 26-year old Froese has 58 games of NHL experience, almost all of which came last year on the last place Maple Leafs. He is a very effective scoring threat at the AHL, with 26 goals and 42 points in 50 games this season. Likely never going to turn into a top-line player, he’ll try to force his way the bottom-six plans of GM Steve Yzerman before becoming a restricted free agent this summer.

Lightning Notes: Yzerman, Callahan, Stamkos

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It was a successful trade deadline for the Tampa Bay Lightning, who moved Valtteri Filppula, Brian Boyle and Ben Bishop out of town to create cap space for this season and beyond. The team finds themselves just three points back of a playoff spot after Nikita Kucherov’s disgusting shootout winner, and is right in the thick of the race as the season comes into its final stretch.

Just because the deadline is over though, doesn’t mean Steve Yzerman can relax. He still has quite a bit of work ahead of him to sort out the cap issues the Lightning will face this summer reports Joe Smith of the Tampa Bay Times. With Jonathan Drouin, Ondrej Palat and Tyler Johnson all needing big raises (that are getting bigger as the playoffs get closer), the team will likely have to move out even more salary at some point. Smith points to the Nashville Predators as a natural trading partner for the team, and that they scouted each other heavily leading up to the deadline.

  • Ryan Callahan may miss the rest of the season, but there is optimism he’ll be ready for next year. The latest hip procedure was not to repair a labrum tear like originally reported, but just to clean up a scar tissue issue that was impacting his movement. Smith quotes Bryan Kelly, the surgeon who performed both operations: “There’s no reason to think [players who go through this procedure] couldn’t go back to play.” Callahan has three years remaining on his current contract at $5.8MM per season.
  • Though Smith’s article is enlightening on many subjects, he drops a bombshell in the notes at the bottom. Smith “would not be stunned” to see Steven Stamkos back at practice with the team this week. Stamkos has been out since the middle of November, but has recently returned to the ice for his own workouts. The idea that he would be back at practice with his teammates would be a huge step towards his recovery, and makes the Lightning a team to watch down the stretch. Even without one of the greatest goal scorers in the league they’ve climbed their way back into the playoff picture, imagine what they can do when their captain returns.

Tampa Bay Flips Streit To Pittsburgh

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Give Steve Yzerman credit. In two moves, the Lightning GM was able to rid himself of Valtteri Filppula, whose contract was a heavy burden for the team, by trading him to the Philadelphia Flyers. He then took the inexplicable return, defenseman Mark Streit, and traded him to the Pittsburgh Penguins, according to ESPN’s Pierre LeBrun. In exchange, Tampa Bay will receive a fourth-round pick from the Penguins, which will recoup the pick they sent to the Flyers in the previous deal. Basically, he took advantage of the fact that Philly and Pittsburgh don’t do business with each other to help his team in a major way by moving out Filppula.

However, Streit is also a big gain for the Penguins. After the rival Washington Capitals added elite puck-moving defenseman Kevin Shattenkirk, the Penguins have now added Streit and Frank Corrado. The Lightning will also retain 50% of Streit’s remaining salary (Philadelphia held on to 4.7% of his original contract), helping the Penguins to fit him on to the roster.

Flyers Trade Mark Streit To Lightning For Valtteri Filppula

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The Tampa Bay Lightning have acquired veteran defenseman Mark Streit from the Philadelphia Flyers in exchange for another veteran, center Valtteri Filppula. Streit is an impending free agent, while Filppula has another year remaining at $5MM and had to accept this trade to Philadelphia. The Lightning will also send a 2017 fourth-round pick and conditional 2017 seventh-round pick to Philly. The Flyers will retain 4.7% of Streit’s contract.

The trade is really centered around Tampa Bay’s salary cap crunch and Expansion Draft scenario. Filppula’s No-Movement Clause made him automatically protected in the draft, which put pressure on both Tampa’s expansion decisions and 2017-18 payroll. By moving Filppula and the final year of his five-year, $5MM contract, the Lightning have had many of those issues alleviated. Rather than choosing who they wanted to leave exposed or which restricted free agent they couldn’t sign, Yzerman will now have more flexibility in his maneuvers.

However, there is certainly a trade-0ff in talent. Filppula is still an effective NHL contributor, with 34 points this season, and joins a talented group of forwards in Philadelphia who may be in need of a strong veteran presence to turn their season around or, at least, to help them get back into shape next season. The Flyers had the cap space and expansion situation to acquire Filppula, and were one of the few teams who could, which explains why the cheap price of 39-year-old Streit was enough to get the deal done and why Tampa sent over draft picks as well. Streit is still a good puck-mover, but his production has dropped off significantly. The Lightning are outside of the playoffs right now, and Streit won’t hurt their chances, but trading away Ben Bishop, Brian Boyle, and now Filppula shows that the postseason is not the primary focus of the team right now.

Steve Yzerman Explains Ben Bishop Trade

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Yesterday a shockwave went through the NHL world when the Tampa Bay Lightning decided to trade pending free agent netminder Ben Bishop to the Los Angeles Kings. Almost no one understood it at the time, as the Kings had just gotten Jonathan Quick back from injured reserve and looked set in net. Lightning GM Steve Yzerman met with the media today and explained a few things about the trade and where his franchise goes from here (video link via TSN).

I did talk to a team in the league about [Bishop] prior to the draft last year, but for whatever reason that didn’t come to fruition.

The biggest reason to make the move now, ultimately is that we’re concerned with the salary cap for next year. With what we have in some performance bonuses for our younger players we felt we’re going to be squeezed next year with the cap. We felt the need to do this right now to give ourselves as much cap space [as possible] for next year.

It’s true, the Lightning do have bonuses that will kick in this season and should they not have the cap room to pay them, would be penalized next season. By trading Bishop they have opened up a good amount in order to not have any carry over to next year, when they’ll have to re-sign Jonathan Drouin, Ondrej Palat and Tyler Johnson among others.

While it had been speculated that as many as five teams could have had interest in Bishop to help them down the stretch and into the playoffs, Yzerman relates that the appetite wasn’t quite so ravenous around the league.

When I decided to get the deal done yesterday, that was the deal that made the most sense and to be honest with you was the only option I had. My options were to make this deal with LA or to sit tight and go through with the season.

If that’s true and there was no interest from anywhere else in the league, then Yzerman did well to clear the cap space and at least receive a prospect in the form of Erik Cernak. While Bishop would have undoubtedly helped the Lightning in their playoff push—one that he assures is still the goal of the team this season—the cost of the bonus penalties on the squad going forward would have been far greater than his impact. In getting Budaj in return, he at least addressed the issue of insurance for a Andrei Vasilevskiy injury should the team make it to the post-season.

Yzerman also spoke about Steven Stamkos and his potential return this year. Stamkos has been out November 15th and has recently begun skating again on his own. Yzerman admits that it’s not a guarantee, but that he’s progressing well. A healthy Stamkos would definitely give the team a boost as they sit just six points out of a playoff spot in the Eastern Conference.

Lightning Trade Ben Bishop To Kings

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Superstar goalie and impending free agent Ben Bishop has been traded by the Tampa Lightning to the Los Angeles Kings. TSN’s Bob McKenzie was the first to break the news. The return for Tampa is confirmed to be 2016-17 surprise Peter Budaj, 2015 second-round defenseman Erik Cernak, a 2017 seventh-round pick, and another conditional 2017 pick. Details of the conditional pick are complicated, but in essence there is no pick if the Kings miss the playoffs and can go as high as a second-rounder depending on L.A.’s postseason success and Bishop’s play.

If this trade confuses you, you’re not alone, as it is officially the biggest surprise of the 2017 NHL Trade Deadline to date and will be tough to beat. The Kings just got back starter Jonathan Quick last night, after he had missed all but one game this season with injury. This is the same Quick that led the team to Stanley Cup championships in 2012 and 2014 and has a career 2.26 goals against average, a Conn Smythe, a Jennings, and an All-Star appearance. In his return, Quick allowed just  one goal on 33 shots against the rival Anaheim Ducks and looked like he was fully healthy and ready to lead the Kings back into a playoff spot. So is Bishop an insurance policy for the stretch run? It’s possible. Bishop is an impending unrestricted free agent at the end of the season and would be, without question, the top goaltender on the open market. As far as deadline deals go, the Kings did not give up that much either. As good as Budaj has been, the 34-year-old was not in L.A.’s long-term plans. Cernak is a solid defensive prospect, playing for the OHL’s Erie Otters, who has a smart, responsible defensive style, but Cernak also lacks much offensive punch and was the King’s third or fourth-best defensive prospect at best.

The truly strange situation is that the Kings are currently fifth in the Pacific Division and sitting outside of a playoff spot and if they are going to get in, need scoring and not better goaltending. Budaj has been stellar and Quick is finally healthy. So why give up anything for Bishop when you may not even make the playoffs. It seems like Los Angeles could possibly have future plans for Bishop then. So does that mean Quick is on the trade block? Bishop’s career numbers are slightly superior to Quick’s, but Quick is the established goalie in Los Angeles and is signed long-term with a decent $5.8MM cap hit until 2022-23. Bishop would more than likely command a greater salary than that on the open market. So what’s the next move for GM Dean Lombardi and the L.A. Kings.

Meanwhile, the Lightning have received a solid backup to Andrei Vasilevskiy for the remainder of the season and possibly beyond, a young defenseman (which they are in need of), and some picks for a player they were willing to let walk in free agency. While many will debate this trade from the Kings side for the next month plus, GM Steve Yzerman can rest easy that he got something for nothing at this deadline in a time where Tampa Bay needs any good news they can get.

Ben Bishop Has A Limited No-Trade Clause In His Current Contract

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During the blitz of this morning’s Ron Hainsey deal that saw the defenseman move to the Pittsburgh Penguins, CapFriendly tweeted out a bombshell about pending UFA Ben Bishop. Bishop has been long thought of to be on the move at the deadline if the Tampa Bay Lightning feel they’re out of the playoff race, but it may be harder for Steve Yzerman and company to do that than previously believed. According to the site, Bishop actually has an eight-team list that he cannot be traded to. While there isn’t any clarification on which teams those may be, it definitely makes it harder to trade him. Ben Bishop

The goalie market is more robust than year’s past because of the sheer number of teams that are still in the mix for the postseason, but if that list contains some specific teams it could completely tie the Lightning’s hands at the deadline.

New York (Islanders), Calgary, St. Louis, Philadelphia and Winnipeg could all have various interest in the goaltender, depending on how the next week shakes out for them and their own confidence in their current situation. His recent play has looked more like the Vezina-quality netminder than the one we saw earlier this season, including a shutout of the Los Angeles Kings earlier this month. The Lightning, who are making a case for their own playoff spot, may choose they are better off with him but risk losing him for nothing this summer.

The 30-year old netminder ranked fifth among our Top Midseason UFAs, and he is destined to be sought after this summer by multiple teams looking for a change in goal. All this NTC does is make it even tougher for the Bolts to move him, should any of the above teams fall on his list. He could, however choose to waive the clause to go after a Stanley Cup somewhere else if the Lightning fall out of it—with just two games before the deadline, it could very well hinge on Monday night’s tilt against the Ottawa Senators to decide which way the team goes at the deadline.

Lightning Notes: Deadline, Playoffs, Stamkos

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Joe Smith of the Tampa Bay Times caught up with Lightning GM Steve Yzerman for his latest column and discussed things from expiring contracts to injured players. When broaching the subject of the trade deadline and the possibility of moving upcoming free agents like Ben Bishop and Brian Boyle, Yzerman wasn’t willing to give up on his squad.

We’re competing for a playoff spot so if I’m going to move people.. I’m not just giving people away here. If it makes sense, I’ll do it. If it doesn’t make sense, I’m not. It’s not a firesale.

That’s a common opinion among GMs across the league, who are finding the deadline this year extremely difficult. The looming expansion draft is changing the way teams operate this year, and as Yzerman notes “protection issues, that is a factor in acquiring and trading players.” Indeed, adding a player who might have to be left exposed is just another complication to a deadline that has become more and more difficult since the salary cap debuted.

  • The other thing to note about the Tampa Bay deadline is that playoff spot that Yzerman mentions. Even though the team is just two games over .500 and four points out of last place in the entire Eastern Conference, he’s right when he says they’re still in a playoff race. The Atlantic division in particular is still wide open, with only 12 points separating first and last place. The Lightning find themselves just five points out of the final wildcard spot, and six out of third in the Atlantic.
  • Yzerman is still operating as if Steven Stamkos and Ryan Callahan will return at some point this season, which would greatly affect their salary cap situation. If the two can get back though, they’ll be a bigger addition than any trade deadline acquisition. Stamkos has reportedly begun some light skating, and is still on his 4-6 month timeline—that leaves much speculation though, as four months would be mid-March and six would be the end of the playoffs.
  • Even if a firesale isn’t happening, the Lightning will have some tough decisions up front. As we’ve detailed before, they have an expansion draft crunch and a salary situation that will make for a tough summer. With Tyler Johnson, Ondrej Palat and Jonathan Drouin all needing new deals, it looks like at least one of their forwards will need to be shipped out. Alex Killorn looks like a natural possibility, but it may have to be the diminutive Johnson depending on the offers that come in.

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