Boston Bruins’ Jeremy Lauzon Suspended Two Games
The Department of Player Safety announced that Boston Bruins defenseman Jeremy Lauzon has been suspended two games for his illegal check to the head of Arizona Coyotes forward Derek Stepan on Saturday.
The hit came at the end of the first period of the Bruins’ 4-2 win when Lauzon drove Stepan into the boards with a high hit that got some of Stepan’s head (video here). Stepan was shaken up and left for the final few seconds of the period, but was well enough to return to the game at the start of the second period. Lauzon received a five-minute major and a match penalty for the hit, but the league felt it deserved some supplementary discipline.
Lauzon, a rookie, has appeared in 23 total games over the past year, but has played in just seven for the Bruins this season. He has a goal, nine hits and five blocks in those seven games. The suspension further tasks a team that has several injured defenseman, including Connor Clifton and Kevan Miller. The team had already recalled defenseman Urho Vaakanainen from Providence in an emergency recall to fill Lauzon’s place for the next couple of games.
Minor Transactions: 02/09/20
It’s the first Sunday without football since September 1st, but the NHL is here to take over with a five-game slate today. The action kicks off at 12:30 local time in Detroit, where the Red Wings host the Boston Bruins. The contest doubles as both an Original Six match-up and a meeting between the best and worst records in the league. Zdeno Chara, who was honored yesterday in Boston for 1500 career games and 1000 games with the Bruins, will lead his team into what they hope is their seventh win in a row. Meanwhile, the Blackhaws-Jets and Avalanche-Wild present Central Division collisions between teams all jockeying for playoff position. Colorado would like to catch St. Louis atop the conference, while Chicago, Minnesota, and Winnipeg are just hoping they can punch their ticket to the postseason. Amidst the action today, there will also be a number of minor moves as teams prepare their rosters for the week ahead. Sunday is typically a busy day for transactions, and early indications are that today will be no different. Follow along with all the moves here:
- The Columbus Blue Jackets have announced that rookie center Ryan MacInnis has been reassigned to the AHL’s Cleveland Monsters. MacInnis, 23, has just one point in nine games with Columbus this season. The once-promising pivot looks as though his future in the NHL will likely be as a bottom-six contributor, rather than the top-six forward he was projected as when the Arizona Coyotes selected him in the second round in 2014. His spot is being taken on the roster by top prospect Liam Foudy as his OHL team in London announced that the 20-year-old has been recalled on an emergency basis. The 18th pick in 2018 has 43 points in 32 games with the Knights this season and can play in up to nine games without burning the first season of his entry-level deal.
- After sending defenseman Lawrence Pilut to the AHL on Saturday, the Buffalo Sabres have turned around and called him back up this morning. Pilut has been an impressive contributor for the Rochester Americans this season, but has been held off the scoreboard with Buffalo.
- Conversely, the Washington Capitals have demoted their young defender Martin Fehervary after he was recalled and added to the lineup yesterday ahead of the team’s game against the Flyers. CapFriendly reports that Fehervary is on his way back to the AHL’s Hershey Bears, where he has already logged 45 appearances this season.
- CapFriendly also reports that Edmonton Oilers forward Tyler Benson has been returned to the AHL. The promising prospect leads the Bakersfield Condors with 35 points in 42 games so far this year.
- The Vegas Golden Knights announced that oft-on-the-move forward Nicolas Roy has again been reassigned to the AHL’s Chicago Wolves. The big forward has split his season between both clubs and has been a consistent contributor at both levels. At least if Roy continues to be a frequent mover next season, the trip will be shorter, as the Knights hope to bring an AHL affiliate to the Las Vegas area.
- The Athletic’s Eric Stephens relays that the Anaheim Ducks have swapped a trio a prospects. Heading to the parent club are defensemen Brendan Guhle and Josh Mahura, while forward Kiefer Sherwood will return to the AHL’s San Diego Gulls. The uneven exchange and the addition of two defensemen indicates that veteran Erik Gudbranson has been moved to the injured reserve. The defensive duo should be able to fill in nicely, as they have each registered four points in a combined 29 points this season.
- With the Bruins “expecting something” from Jeremy Lauzon’s hearing with Player Safety this morning, Brandon Carlo flying to meet the team in Detroit after a personal day on Saturday, and John Moore leaving yesterday’s game in the third period, the team had more than enough reason to use an emergency recall on Urho Vaakanainen. However, the top D prospect is not expected to play after all, as Carlo and Moore are anticipated to be good to go for the matinee. Vaakanainen was sent back to Providence after the game, the team announced.
- The Detroit Red Wings have activated defenseman Mike Green off of injured reserve, according to CapFriendly, and he is playing against the Boston Bruins Sunday. Green has missed six contests with an upper-body injury. He has just eight points this season to go with a minus-27 rating.
- The Arizona Coyotes announced they have assigned defenseman Robbie Russo to the Tucson Roadrunners of the AHL. Russo was recalled on Thursday to serve as an extra defenseman, but wasn’t needed and didn’t appear in a game for the Coyotes. The 26-year-old has 14 points in Tucson.
- The Edmonton Oilers announced they have recalled forward Colby Cave from the Bakersfield Condors of the AHL. Even after sending Tyler Benson down earlier today (look above), the team still had an opening on the roster, which Cave should fill. He has just one goal in five games with Edmonton this season and 10 goals in 40 games in Bakersfield.
Evening Notes: Lauzon, Raanta, Kuemper, Hart, Olofsson
The Department of Player Safety announced that they will have a hearing Sunday for Boston Bruins defenseman Jeremy Lauzon for an illegal check to the head of Arizona Coyotes forward Derek Stepan.
The incident happened at 19:34 of the first period of Saturday’s game between Boston and Arizona when Lauzon caught Stepan with a high hit against the boards (video here). Stepan was shaken up, but returned for the second period of the game. Lauzon received a five-minute major and a match penalty. The 22-year-old has appeared in seven games for Boston this season and has one goal.
- Before their afternoon game Saturday, the Arizona Coyotes announced that Antti Raanta would start against the Boston Bruins. However, the team instead put backup Adin Hill into the starting lineup not long after. The Athletic’s Craig Morgan reports that it was announced after the game that Raanta missed the game due to a lower-body injury. That could be disastrous, Morgan adds that head coach Rick Tocchet did say that starter Darcy Kuemper, who has been out since Dec. 19 with a lower-body injury, is expected to practice with the team in Montreal on Sunday and, if all goes well, could be available for Monday’s game against the Canadiens. Kuemper has been terrific this season for the Coyotes in 29 appearances. He boasts a 2.17 GAA and a .929 save percentage.
- Sam Carchidi of Philly.com writes that Philadelphia Flyers goaltender Carter Hart could be back as soon as Monday against Florida. The second-year goalie has been out since Jan. 13 with an abdomen injury. Head coach Alain Vigneault said that he believes Hart could be ready soon, but much will defend on how Hart feels on Sunday before a final decision can be made. The 21-year-old has a 2.61 GAA and a .905 save percentage in 32 games this season.
- The Buffalo Sabres need to wait at least another week to get back rookie forward Victor Olofsson. Head coach Ralph Krueger said that Olofsson was close. “When you see a player back from an injury from this time period, you know that we are nearing a re-entry, but I would definitely say it will be a week or more still…We are really pleased to see him back out there today.” Getting Olofsson back would bring a much needed scorer back into the lineup. The 24-year-old has 16 goals and 35 points in 42 games before going down with a lower-body injury on Jan. 2.
Snapshots: Coyotes’ Violations, Pronger, Sundqvist, Byfield
After rumors that the Arizona Coyotes had broken recruitment violations earlier this week by fitness testing draft prospects before the NHL Scouting Combine, TSN’s Darren Dreger reports that sources are telling him that there are at least 20 incidents of that violation. The case has now been handed over to NHL Deputy Commissioner Bill Daly.
With many teams looking on to see how the NHL might react, Dreger notes that at $250K per incident, Arizona could be fined in the area of $5MM if those rumors are true. There is no timeline on when a decision will be made.
- St. Louis Post-Dispatch’s Tom Timmermann writes that the St. Louis Blues will retire another number to their rafters of Enterprise Center as the team will honor defenseman Chris Pronger at some point next season. The date has yet to be determined. Pronger played nine season with the Blues and was inducted into the Hockey Hall of Fame in 2015. He won both the Hart Trophy and the Norris Trophy in 2000. He played 598 regular season games with the Blues, posting 84 goals, 356 points and 931 penalty minutes. Pronger will be the eighth member of the Blues to have his number retired.
- Sticking with the Blues, Timmermann also writes that forward Oskar Sundqvist, who has been out with a lower-body injury since Jan. 27, skated today at the team’s optional morning skate. However, head coach Craig Berube stated that Sundqvist isn’t close to returning yet. “Not really,” he said. “He’s a ways away yet.” Sundqvist has 11 goals and 20 points in 44 games this season.
- Lottery teams breathed a sigh of relief after Dreger also reported that Sudbury Wolves’ Quinton Byfield, the current candidate to be the second-overall pick in the 2020 NHL Draft, only suffered a sprained wrist Friday night after being forced to leave the game against Oshawa. Many feared the OHL prospect had broken his wrist, but Dreger added that Byfield could return this weekend still. If not, he is expected to be back within the next few days. Byfield has 32 goals and 74 points in just 40 OHL games.
Jason Demers Week-To-Week, Oliver Ekman-Larsson To Travel On Upcoming Road Trip
While some veterans will be considering whether or not to leave their teams in pursuit of a Stanley Cup title, it doesn’t appear as if Anaheim center Ryan Getzlaf has any interest in doing so. Speaking with Eric Stephens of The Athletic (subscription required), the veteran stated that he has “no desire to try to chase a Cup somewhere else”. The 34-year-old has spent the entirety of his 15-year career with the Ducks and still has one year on his current deal left after this one with a cap hit of $8.25MM and a full no-move clause. The lack of interest in a trade appears to be mutual as Pierre LeBrun of TSN and The Athletic adds (Twitter link) that management has no intention of taking calls from teams that might be interested in bringing the veteran in for the stretch run.
More from the Pacific:
- Quinn Hughes’ second period assist on Thursday against Minnesota may not have seemed like a big deal at the time but it was a notable one for the Canucks. Postmedia’s Patrick Johnston notes that the helper ensured that the rookie would max out his Schedule A bonuses in his contract, worth a total of $850K. He had to hit four separate marks to get there; he has already reached 25 assists, 40 points, and played in the All-Star Game. His point per game average is also guaranteed to be over the 0.49 threshold which is the fourth one he’ll hit. With Vancouver already into LTIR, it’s likely that the bonuses will be carried over and applied on their salary cap for next season.
- Coyotes defenseman Jason Demers is dealing with an oblique injury that will keep him out for a while, reports Craig Morgan of The Athletic (Twitter link) who notes that the likely designation will be week-to-week. The 31-year-old ranks fourth among Arizona defenders in ice time per game at just under 21 minutes a night. Meanwhile, Morgan adds that blueliner Oliver Ekman-Larsson, who has been out with a lower-body injury sustained late last month, is expected to travel with the team for their upcoming four-game road trip which suggests that he could be nearing a return.
Barrett Hayton Sent To AHL On Conditioning Loan
After scoring a goal in the World Junior gold medal game with an injured shoulder, Barrett Hayton returned to the Arizona Coyotes in early January. Labeled back then as week-to-week as he recovered, the young forward will now head to the AHL’s Tucson Roadrunners for a conditioning stint. That move indicates that Hayton is close to returning, though how the Coyotes will use him is still unclear.
Interestingly, Hayton is actually too young to stay with Tucson beyond the conditioning loan. Still just 19, once healthy he has to stay with the Coyotes or be returned to his junior team. Returning to junior doesn’t make much sense at this point after the first year of his entry-level contract was already burned, but the top prospect was also not playing regularly for Arizona before leaving for the international tournament in the first place.
In 14 games this season with Arizona, Hayton has one goal and four points. He tripled that total in seven games at the WJC, as he captained Team Canada to gold. The fifth-overall pick from 2018, Hayton can do a little bit of everything on the ice and projects to be a star option down the middle for the Coyotes in the future. This short stint with the Roadrunners may prove to be his only time in the minor leagues.
Minor Transactions: 02/02/20
The biggest game of the day obviously belongs to the world of football, with Super Bowl LIV taking place down in Miami. However, the NHL is also providing a pretty big game of their own, with the league-leading Washington Capitals hosting the rival Pittsburgh Penguins in the first meeting of the two teams this year. The Penguins trail the Capitals by just six points with a game in hand for the top spot in the Metropolitan Division and possibly the NHL. The clubs will square off again in three weeks and for a final time two weeks after that in three crucial games for each. Interestingly, each team’s All-Star goalie will sit today, as Ilya Samsonov starts for the Capitals and Matt Murray goes for the Penguins. Pittsburgh is opting to go with experience, choosing Murray over standout rookie Tristan Jarry, while Washington will go with the hot hand, as Samsonov is 11-0-0 with a 1.73 GAA and .936 save percentage while serving as backup to inconsistent starter Braden Holtby. Penguins-Capitals is one of three games on the docket today, all of which begin this afternoon and should be over well before kickoff. Assuming NHL front offices aren’t totally consumed by the Super Bowl themselves, expect the 22 teams not in action to use the off day to tweak their rosters ahead of a new week of games. Keep up with all the action right here:
- After being recalled for last night’s game, Vegas Golden Knights defenseman Zach Whitecloud has been sent back down to the AHL. He won’t be alone, as the team announced that both Whitecloud and forward Nicolas Roy has been reassigned to the Chicago Wolves. Don’t be surprised if either is back up with the Knights shortly, sent down only as a means of cap savings.
- The Arizona Coyotes announced they have assigned defenseman Kyle Capobianco to the Tucson Roadrunners of the AHL. Capobianco was recalled Saturday to fill in against the Blackhawks last night, recording two shots and four hits in 14:44 of ice time.
- The New York Rangers announced they have recalled forward Phillip Di Giuseppe from the Hartford Wolf Pack of the AHL. The 26-year-old wing has received the call on several occasions this year, but has not gotten into a game. He has 14 goals and 26 points in 44 games this year with Hartford. He could have been added as extra insurance in case Chris Kreider has to miss some time after leaving the game on Saturday.
Evening Notes: Kubalik, Petry, Joseph, Ekman-Larsson, Barkov
The NHL announced that Chicago Blackhawks forward Dominik Kubalik as the “Rookie of the Month” for January after he scored 10 goals and 14 points in 10 games. Kubalik, whose rights were acquired from Los Angeles for a fifth-round pick more than a year ago, signed with the team and currently has 21 goals and 32 points in his rookie campaign.
The 24-year-old, in fact, was second in the NHL in goals scored in January, behind Washington’s Alex Ovechkin. Kubalik beat out goaltenders Elvis Merzlikins and Ilya Samsonov, as well as defensemen, Adam Fox, Quinn Hughes and Cale Makar in January.
- With rumors starting to surface that the Montreal Canadiens could consider moving defenseman Jeff Petry at the trade deadline, it could be one of the biggest trade chips if they wanted to move him. Besides being a solid blueliner, Petry has another year on his contract worth $5.5MM, making him a better option for teams that want to avoid rentals. However, Petry has made it clear he would like to remain in Montreal. “From the day I got here, it’s been a special place for me here,” said Petry (via Sportsnet’s Eric Engels). “Getting to play in the playoffs the first time here was incredible and I honestly believe I don’t think there is a better place to win that it would be here. I think, like I said, we have our work cut out for us this year. But I still believe this group can do it.”
- Joe Smith of The Athletic (subscription required) takes a look at all the assets the Tampa Bay Lightning might have at their disposal at the trade deadline. One of the top names on his list is forward Mathieu Joseph, who had an impressive rookie campaign last season. The 22-year-old surprised many last year when he made the team out of training camp and put up 13 goals and 26 points. However, his sophomore campaign has been disappointing and he is now trying to find his game with the Syracuse Crunch in the AHL. However, Smith notes that many teams are interested in a NHL-experienced player who possesses speed and defensive ability and has a good chance to find his game sooner than later. Joseph currently has three goals and 12 points in 16 AHL games.
- The Arizona Coyotes announced they will be without defenseman Oliver Ekman-Larsson Saturday after he suffered a lower-body injury Thursday against the Los Angeles Kings. The Coyotes blueliner went down after taking a hit from the Kings’ Dustin Brown and was forced to leave the game. He is considered day-to-day.
- The Athletic’s George Richards reports that Florida Panthers forward Aleksander Barkov will undergo an MRI Sunday after going down during today’s game against Montreal with what appears to be a left knee injury. Barkov has only missed two games in the past three years. Head coach Joel Quenneville did say he believed the injury was not serious.
Coyotes Recall Kyle Capobianco
The bye weeks are now over which means an uptick in games across the league. Saturday is typically a busy day around the NHL but with 28 teams in action today, it’s even busier than normal. There should be plenty of roster movement as a result which we’ll keep tabs on here.
- The Blue Jackets announced the recall of defenseman Andrew Peeke from AHL Cleveland. They had just six healthy blueliners on their roster so the 21-year-old will likely serve as injury insurance for the time being. He has one assist in seven games with Columbus so far this season while averaging 12:27 per game.
- Late Friday, the Golden Knights made a pair of roster moves, per team releases. They returned goalie Oscar Dansk to Chicago of the AHL which comes as no surprise now that Marc-Andre Fleury has served his one-game suspension for withdrawing from the All-Star Game. The other was the recall of defenseman Zach Whitecloud. He played one game with Vegas in 2018 after signing with them but since then has played exclusively with the Wolves, where he has two goals and five assists in 35 games this season.
- With Oliver Ekman-Larsson leaving Thursday’s game with an injury, the Coyotes announced that they have recalled defenseman Kyle Capobianco from AHL Tucson. The 22-year-old has played in eight games with Arizona this season but has spent most of the year with the Roadrunners where he has been quite productive with 21 points in 26 games.
- The Detroit Red Wings announced they have activated goaltender Jonathan Bernier off of injured reserve and as a result, have assigned Calvin Pickard back to the Grand Rapids Griffins of the AHL. Bernier has been out of the Detroit lineup since Jan. 10 with a lower-body injury. Pickard has appeared in three games for Detroit and struggled immensely, posting a .797 save percentage.
- CapFriendly reports that the San Jose Sharks have recalled forward Maxim Letunov from the San Jose Barracuda of the AHL. The 23-year-old has fared well this year in the AHL already passing his points total from last year. He has 10 goals and 30 points in 39 games.
- The Pittsburgh Penguins announced they have recalled forward Sam Lafferty from the Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins of the AHL. The 24-year-old has already appeared in 36 games with Pittsburgh, scoring four goals and 10 points. He was returned to the AHL, where he has had three goals in six games.
Coyotes Under NHL Investigation
As a result of the big-ticket contracts that the Sharks have handed out in recent years, the Sharks have become a team that isn’t able to afford much in the way of depth. As things stand, they already have more than $52MM locked up in their top-seven players for next year (plus 2021-22) which doesn’t leave a lot of room to round out their roster, especially if the jump in the Upper Limit of the salary cap is minimal. Despite that, GM Doug Wilson told Curtis Pashelka of The Mercury News that he doesn’t view that as an impediment towards making improvements:
To win in this league, I think you have to have a bit deeper of a core. I don’t think you can be carried by just one or two players. When you look at the positions those guys play, center, defense or power wingers, it allows you to bring in people around them. I think how we’ve dedicated our dollars is to the proper positions. We’ll have some opportunities to grow this team. But I don’t think I look at it as a big an issue as (an outsider) would.
Overall, San Jose has nearly $63MM in commitments to just a dozen players for next season, per CapFriendly. That will leave the Sharks some wiggle room to replenish their depth but it’s hard to imagine they’ll be shopping at the top of the free agent pool.
More from the Pacific:
- The Flames have been without defenseman Juuso Valimaki all season as he works his way back from knee surgery but GM Brad Treliving told reporters, including Postmedia’s Wes Gilbertson, that the youngster has resumed skating. There is no timetable for his return and it’s worth noting that if he plays even a single game this season, he’ll accrue a season of service time. That’s notable for expansion implications; if he plays this year, he’ll require protection but if he doesn’t he won’t. But with Calgary in a tough battle for position, they’re also not in a spot where they can afford to hold him out with that in mind either.
- The Coyotes are under investigation by the NHL for allegedly performing fitness testing on CHL draft-eligible players, reports TSN’s Darren Dreger in the latest Insider Trading. Teams are not permitted to test players in advance of the Draft Combine which typically runs in late May/early June. Dreger notes that multiple CHL teams have reported contact by Arizona which has them on the radar of the NHL now. The minimum fine for each violation is $250K.