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Minor Transactions: 01/14/20

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11 games are on tap for tonight in a busy evening for the NHL, including the Dallas Stars and Colorado Avalanche clashing in an important Central Division match. The two teams are battling for home ice advantage in what would be a first round playoff series, with the Stars currently one point ahead of the Avalanche in the standings. The two teams have arrived there in very different ways, with Dallas allowing the fewest goals against in the league while Colorado ranks among the highest-scoring. As they and the rest of the NHL prepares for tonight, we’ll keep track of all the minor moves.

  • The Toronto Maple Leafs have recalled Timothy Liljegren after losing Morgan Rielly to a broken foot. The young defenseman will likely not play tonight, but now sits as the team’s seventh option as they insert Rasmus Sandin back into the lineup.
  • The Maple Leafs have also sent Mason Marchment back to the minors, an expected move after recently activating Andreas Johnsson from injured reserve. The team is still waiting on the return of Trevor Moore, while Ilya Mikheyev is not expected to play again this season.
  • Joseph Blandisi has been assigned to the AHL a few days after clearing waivers for the third time. The 25-year old forward has split his season between the Wilkes-Barre/Scranton and Pittsburgh Penguins, scoring five points at the NHL level.
  • The New York Rangers have sent Libor Hajek to the minor leagues, likely to get in some more game action before returning to the lineup. The 21-year old defenseman returned for the Rangers on Saturday night in St. Louis, but played just 15 minutes and was relatively ineffective. In 28 games this season Hajek has five points.

Morgan Rielly Out Eight Weeks With Broken Foot

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When the Toronto Maple Leafs recalled Rasmus Sandin from the minor leagues today, fans were excited about him potentially replacing the injured Jake Muzzin. It’s not Muzzin he’s replacing however as instead Toronto has announced that Morgan Rielly suffered a broken foot during last night’s game and will be out at least eight weeks.

The loss of Rielly is a tremendous blow to the Maple Leafs’ season, especially as they try to navigate a recent rough patch. The team now sits just a single point ahead of the Florida Panthers after being embarrassed last night and have lost three in a row to fall four points behind the second place Tampa Bay Lightning. Without Muzzin and Rielly for the next several weeks, the team suddenly looks thinner than ever on defense, a position that was already not their strength.

In Rielly’s absence, Travis Dermott will likely see an increased role but it’s not clear how the other two left defense spots will shake out. Martin Marincin was recently extended by the team but has struggled when asked to log heavy minutes in the NHL, while Sandin is still just 19 and has only six games of NHL experience under his belt.

It’s the unknown of Sandin that makes things interesting, given how much success he has had under Sheldon Keefe when they were together in the minor leagues. The 29th overall pick from 2018 recorded 28 points in 44 games last season as one of the youngest players in the AHL, and was even better in the Calder Cup playoffs. This season he was once again excellent before leaving for the World Juniors, where he was arguably the best defenseman in the tournament logging huge minutes for Sweden.

Still, the AHL and World Juniors are not the same as the NHL. With Toronto in a battle for every point just to qualify for the playoffs, the team may have to go out and get some more experienced hands to help out. How exactly they can afford it will be a creative task for the front office, given how complicated their cap structure has been this season moving players on and off long-term injured reserve. They also don’t have their first-round pick, thanks to an offseason trade with the Carolina Hurricanes.

Eastern Notes: Trouba, Panik, Palmieri, Hughes, Johnsson

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The Department of Player Safety announced that New York Rangers defenseman Jacob Trouba has been fined $5,000, the maximum allowable under the CBA, for slashing St. Louis Blues defenseman Vince Dunn Saturday. The incident happened during the third period when Dunn circled around the Rangers’ net with Trouba following who proceeded to slash at Dunn. That started a shoving match, which eventually led to a fight.

Trouba received a five-minute penalty for slashing and a 10-game misconduct, while Dunn received a two-minute penalty for roughing. Trouba has been in trouble before as he received a two-game suspension back in 2017 after a hit to the head of Mark Stone.

  • No lost time on the ice for Washington Capitals forward Richard Panik. The forward was back at practice Sunday with a full face shield after being cut in the lower lip by the stick of New Jersey Devils forward Miles Wood, according to NHL.com’s Tom Gulitti. In fact, Panik said that his lower lip was separated from his gums and required 20 stitches. Fortunately, his teeth are fine.
  • The New Jersey Devils have lost one forward and gained another. NHL.com’s Amanda Stein reports that forward Kyle Palmieri is out Sunday for their game against Tampa Bay. The forward suffered a lower-body injury during Saturday’s game against Washington. He did block a shot off his foot and was reportedly hurting on the bench, but didn’t leave the game. No indication on how serious the injury is, however. The 28-year-old has 16 goals this season. However, the team announced it is expecting to get center Jack Hughes back in the lineup. The 18-year-old has missed five games with an upper-body injury.
  • Toronto Maple Leafs head coach said that the team will be activating forward Andreas Johnsson off of injured reserve and he is expected to take warm-ups before today’s game against Florida and will be a game-time decision, according to TSN’s Mark Masters. The has been out since Dec. 4 with a leg injury and should be able to provide the Maple Leafs with some offensive depth as he has six goals and 16 points through 30 games. The Maple Leafs added that the team has placed defenseman Jake Muzzin on IR to make room for Johnsson. Muzzin has been out with a broken foot since Dec. 27.

Four More Players Voted In To All-Star Game

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The vote is in as four more players were added to the NHL All-Star Game as Sportsnet’s Elliotte Friedman reports that Toronto Maple Leafs’ Mitch Marner, Washington Capitals’ T.J. Oshie, St. Louis Blues’ David Perron and Vancouver Canucks’ Quinn Hughes were voted in by fans as the Last Men In.

For Marner, it will be the forward’s first all-star appearance despite posting a 94-point performance in the 2018-19 season. However, Marner remains on a similar pace and has impressive numbers once again. He currently has 11 goals and 42 points in just 34 games this season, putting him at a 100-goal pace had he not missed several weeks with a high ankle sprain. He joins Auston Matthews and Frederik Andersen as a third member of the team on the Atlantic Division roster.

Oshie will also be attending the all-star game for the first time in his career. The 33-year-old has had a solid career, but gets voted in as he has 18 goals through the first 45 games of the season and looks to be heading for a 30-goal pace. He will join defenseman John Carlsson and goaltender Braden Holtby. Alex Ovechkin was also supposed to go, but has opted to skip it for a second straight year. Head coach Todd Reirden is also going as coach of the Metro Division.

Perron is another addition for Stanley Cup champions, who will be the hosts of the all-star game, and gives the team four players on the Central Division squad. The 31-year-old looks to be heading for one of the best seasons of his career as he already has 19 goals through 45 games, including four overtime goals so far this year. Perron will be joined by forwards Ryan O’Reilly, defenseman Alex Pietrangelo and goaltender Jordan Binnington.

Finally, a defenseman was added in the Pacific Division, a much needed position for that squad, which had just Mark Giordano on the roster until the fan vote. Hughes has been a revelation for Vancouver and while fellow rookie Cale Makar gets most of the headlines, Hughes has posted four goals and 30 points in 43 games and is averaging 21:22 of ATOI in his first full season. He will join forward Elias Petersson and goaltender Jacob Markstrom as the Canucks’ representatives.

Toronto Maple Leafs Sign Martin Marincin To One-Year Extension

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The Toronto Maple Leafs have locked up one of their depth defenders for another year. Martin Marincin has signed a one-year contract extension worth $700K. The defenseman was scheduled to become an unrestricted free agent at the end of the season.

Marincin, 27, has become the annual injury replacement for the Maple Leafs, coming up from the AHL whenever needed. That has meant 13 games with the team this season thanks to a broken foot for Jake Muzzin, where he has averaged a little over 14 minutes a night.

There is little chance that Marincin becomes an impact—or even a full-time—player for the Maple Leafs, but when you have almost an entire defense corps set to hit free agency someone has to be retained to fill out the depth chart. Marincin joins Justin Holl as two that have been extended in-season, with big questions still surrounding the future of Muzzin and Tyson Barrie, both unrestricted in July.

When you spend so much money on your forward group you need minimum salaried players, meaning this likely isn’t the last low-cost deal the Maple Leafs will sign. At the very worst, Marincin will spend the season in the AHL where he has played well for the Toronto Marlies—notably under Sheldon Keefe, who is now in charge of the NHL club.

Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images

What Your Team Is Thankful For: Toronto Maple Leafs

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We’re in the home stretch in our thankful series where PHR will continue its look at what teams are thankful for as the second half of the season gets underway.  We’ll examine what has gone well in the first half and what each team may be looking for at the trade deadline.  Next up is the Toronto Maple Leafs.

What are the Maple Leafs most thankful for?

Their high-end group of forwards.  They have more than $40MM tied up in their big four up front in Auston Matthews, John Tavares, Mitch Marner, and William Nylander and after a sluggish start to the season, they are firing on all cylinders.  The four have combined for more than 47% of Toronto’s goals heading into action on Wednesday night (75 goals out of 159) and give them two very dangerous lines to work with.  Tying up that much money in a small group certainly has its risk but if they’re producing like this, they’re getting what they paid for.

Who are the Maple Leafs most thankful for?

It would be easy to pick one of Marner, Matthews, or Tavares but they’re most thankful for goaltender Frederik Andersen.  He has shown the ability to handle a large workload in terms of games played.  He faces an even bigger workload in terms of shots faced (and chances) as the team doesn’t have as strong of a back end as some contenders due to what they’ve committed to that forward group.  They’ve shown that they can overcome an injury to one of their big four up front but if Andersen goes down for any significant period of time, they’d be in trouble.  Toronto is also thankful that he’s on a below-market deal with a $5MM price tag but that won’t be the case for long as he’s up for a new deal after the 2020-21 season.

What would the Maple Leafs be even more thankful for?

For starters, going more than a few weeks without any injuries of significance.  At one point, they were looking like they were going to need to carry a roster that was close to the minimum size for salary cap reasons but that has yet to happen with so many regulars missing time in the first half of the season.

Beyond that, getting more from their back end will be crucial.  Cody Ceci hasn’t adapted too well to his new team while Travis Dermott hasn’t progressed relative to his role from a season ago.  Morgan Reilly and Tyson Barrie have both underwhelmed offensively.  Defense becomes even more important down the stretch and into the playoffs and a lot of their players have room for improvement; if they can do that, they’ll be in much better shape for their postseason push.

What should be on the Maple Leafs’ Holiday Wish List?

While the injuries have afforded them some short-term relief in the form of more LTIR room to work with, they’re still going to be somewhat limited in terms of cap space at the trade deadline.  As a result, it’s unlikely that Toronto will be able to add an impact player, even if they get the other team to retain salary.  Depth will be the name of the game for GM Kyle Dubas who would be wise to try to add a veteran to shore up their back end and give them some injury insurance.  Given their cap commitments in place already, it will likely need to be a rental acquisition.

Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.

Snapshots: Team Canada, Kreider, Nutivaara, Copp

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The World Junior Championships got a gold medal game to remember as Canada pulled off a big comeback victory Saturday to win the gold as Los Angeles Kings’ prospect Akil Thomas scored the go-ahead goal to give Canada a 4-3 win over Russia on Sunday.

Canada was down 3-1 to Russia in the third, but got key goals from Washington Capitals’ prospect Connor McMichael and Arizona Coyotes forward Barrett Hayton to come back and tie the game. It’s the third time in six years that Canada has won the World Championships, but the first time since 2008 that they have won the title on Europe ice. Russia finished with the silver, while Sweden topped Finland for the bronze medal earlier today.

Projected top pick in the 2020 draft, Alexis Lafreniere was named the MVP of the tournament, by the IIHF, as well as the top forward. Toronto Maple Leafs defenseman Rasmus Sandin was awarded the top defenseman award, while St. Louis prospect Joel Hofer won the top goaltender award.

  • One reason the Montreal Canadiens went through with signing forward Ilya Kovalchuk last week was that they realized they had little chance of acquiring New York Rangers forward Chris Kreider. The New York Post’s Larry Brooks notes that Kreider, who has a modified no-trade clause in which he has submitted an 11-team no-trade list, has all the Canadien teams on his list, meaning he has no interest in playing there. Kreider remains the top trade candidate at the trade deadline.
  • The Columbus Blue Jackets got some much needed depth back on their blueline as the team announced they have activated Markus Nutivaara off of injured reserve. The 25-year-old has been out since Nov. 5 when he suffered an upper-body injury and has now missed 27 games. The blueliner has two goals in 10 games this season, but should add a helping hand as the team has several defensemen on IR, including Ryan Murray, Dean Kukan and Andrew Peeke.
  • The Winnipeg Jets may have forward Andrew Copp back in the lineup as The Athletic’s Ken Weibe reports that the 25-year-old was a full participant in practice. Head coach Paul Maurice said that if he comes to the rink feeling as good as he left Sunday, that Copp should find himself back in the lineup. The forward has missed the past eight games with an upper-body injury.

 

Trade Rumors: Calgary, Baertschi, Sandin

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The Calgary Flames recently opened up significant salary cap space by trading away veteran forward Michael Frolik and his $4.3MM cap hit. The move occurred on Thursday and by Saturday the word was out that Calgary GM Brad Treliving was already on the hunt to fill that space. The Flames would like help up front and now have nearly $5MM to make and addition or perhaps even two. However, Sportsnet’s Elliotte Friedman reports that Treliving and company are not interested in the rental market. The team’s preference is to add a player with term as opposed to using up their newfound cap space on a short-term commitment, especially as they continue to sit outside the playoff picture in the Western Conference. Friedman feels that, if the Flames are comfortable with Elias Lindholm remaining at center, their trade focus will be on adding a right wing. While it is often hard to predict which term players may be available, some top-six right wing options that Calgary can afford and may be available could include New Jersey’s Kyle Palmieri, Montreal’s Joel Armia, Anaheim’s Ondrej Kase, or the Rangers’ Pavel Buchnevich. Of course, the team could also look into negotiating an extension with an available rental prior to making a deal, which would open up options like L.A.’s Tyler Toffoli or Florida’s Mike Hoffman or Evgenii Dadonov.

  • While one might assume that the Montreal Canadiens, currently in 13th in the Eastern Conference, would be sellers this season, the team proved otherwise this week by acquiring defenseman Marco Scandella and signing forward Ilya Kovalchuk. Friedman reports that the team was also considering Vancouver Canucks forward Sven Baertschi before pulling the trigger on Kovalchuk, although continued interest cannot be completely ruled out. It’s easy to forget about Baertschi’s availability, as the Canucks have kept him buried in the AHL for all but six games this season and have performed fine without him, currently riding the league’s longest winning streak in fact. Baertschi, who recorded 106 points in 216 games with the Canucks over the past four seasons, has been slowed by injuries in his career but productive when healthy. He has shown as much this year, scoring at an elite pace in the AHL. The risk-reward winger cleared waivers earlier this season, but as he continues to stay healthy and score in the minors, the Canadiens will not be the only team with interest. If Vancouver is willing to retain part of Baerstschi’s $3.367 cap hit through next season, that will only increase the likelihood that another team opts to take a chance on him.
  • While there has been some speculation that the red-hot Toronto Maple Leafs could turn to the trade market to add depth on the blue line, especially in light of recent injuries, Sportsnet’s Chris Johnston believes that the team may opt to fill the void internally instead. With Rasmus Sandin excelling overseas at the World Junior Championship, Johnston believes that Toronto’s opinion on playing the young defenseman this season has changed. Johnston does not believe that keeping Sandin under ten games of NHL action, so as to allow his entry-level contract to slide one more year, is a priority anymore for the team. He believes that when Sandin returns to Toronto, he will become a viable option for the remainder of the season. Sanin has already played in four games this season, so it would not take much time for him to burn the first year of his contract, but it may be worth it if the Leafs can solidify their back end.

Eastern Notes: Gostisbehere, Johnsson, Moore, Wolanin

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The Philadelphia Flyers have a lot to like as they sit in a playoff spot at the midway point of the season. While injuries have ruled the team’s first half, the team also has a lot of impressive play from members of the team. One member of the team who didn’t get much of a rating from The Athletic’s Charlie O’Connor (subscription required) — Shayne Gostisbehere.

While teammate Ivan Provorov has had quite the impact season, getting A’s across the board, Gostisbehere’s final grade was a C-. For a second straight season, the 26-year-old’s offense has disappeared as he is on pace for a 23-point season. What the big problem is, however, Gostisbehere’s defense has also disappeared and his usage is starting to drop. He has averaged just 18:24, more than three minutes below his career high of two years ago. The scribe writes that there is no positive spin on the blueliner and he must find his game quickly for the Flyers’ sake.

  • TSN’s Kristen Shilton reports that the Toronto Maple Leafs may be close to getting back a pair of forwards. Andreas Johnsson and Trevor Moore were both seen at Toronto’s morning optional skate. Johnsson, who has been out with a leg injury since Dec. 4, wore a non-contact jersey, while Moore, who has been out with a concussion since Dec. 23 was in a regular jersey, but hasn’t been cleared yet. “Very encouraging,” said Toronto head coach Sheldon Keefe. “They were skating a little bit while we were away, so today was a positive step. Both are still in non-contact situations but just to see them around the building and around the group is a good sign.”
  • The Athletic’s Graeme Nichols (subscription required) writes that the Ottawa Senators finally got an update on injured defenseman as general manager Pierre Dorion stated that Christian Wolanin, who has been out all season with a torn labrum, is targeting a return in mid to late February. Wolanin, who had surgery back on Sept. 21 and given a four-month timetable, is expected to immediately report to the Belleville Senators with the AHL once he’s been cleared to play. The 24-year-old could be with Ottawa in March if everything pans out.

Maple Leafs Assign Teemu Kivihalme To AHL

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  • The Maple Leafs announced (Twitter link) that they’ve assigned defenseman Teemu Kivihalme to AHL Toronto. The 24-year-old had spent the last few days as injury insurance but will return to the minors to get some playing time.  He has seven points in 28 AHL games so far this season.

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