Minor Transactions: 11/19/17
There are only five games on tap today, but teams may use their time to make some roster adjustments in preparation of a new week of play. Keep up with everything right here:
- Winnipeg Jets insider Jamie Thomas tweets that the Jets will recall defenseman Tucker Poolman to replace defenseman Toby Enstrom, who will reportedly miss eight weeks due to a lower-body injury. Poolman has been up with the team before and has played three games for Winnipeg. He had played seven games with the AHL’s Manitoba Moose, picking up an assist. The 24-year-old blueliner signed with the club earlier this year after playing three years with the University of North Dakota.
- The St. Louis Blues announced they have sent Wade Megan to the Chicago Wolves of the AHL. Megan was recalled Friday by the Blues for Saturday’s game against the Vancouver Canucks, but was a healthy scratch. The 27-year-old center has played in just one game for the Blues, but has played 10 games with the Wolves and has three assists in that span.
- According to Ducks beat writer Eric Stephens, Anaheim has returned rookie Kalle Kossila to the AHL’s San Diego Gulls. After making his NHL debut with one game in 2016-17, the French-Finnish forward has already skated in seven games for the Ducks this season and has performed well. A four-year product of St. Cloud State, Kossila was a major scoring threat for the Gulls last year and has shown flashes for the Ducks, with a goal and an assist already. Undersized, but strong on the puck, Kossila is likely to get another shot at the NHL soon enough.
- The Florida Panthers have announced that Curtis Valk is headed back to the AHL, as they have loaned him to their affiliate, the Springfield Thunderbirds. Valk made his NHL debut on Tuesday, albeit he played only 3:25 and contributed only three face-off losses, but in doing so reached a level that likely seemed impossible at a time. Despite a solid junior career in the WHL, Valk spent almost all of his first two pro seasons in the ECHL, a rare way for a future NHLer to start out. It was only after a breakout AHL campaign with the Utica Comets last season that he drew any big league attention, signing a one-year deal with Florida on July 1st. Valk is small, but has a scoring touch that should keep him in the AHL for a while and could afford him some more looks at the highest level.
- Arizona Coyotes promising defender Dakota Mermis is on his way back to the AHL, the team announced. Mermis has played in seven games for the ‘Yotes thus far, but can get some more work in with the Tuscon Roadrunners, especially with the likes of Niklas Hjalmarsson and Jakob Chychrun soon returning from injury. However, Mermis has looked good in his limited exposure and will continue to be the next man up on the Arizona blue line.
- Following the first two games of his NHL career, Andrew Crescenzi has been reassigned to the AHL’s Ontario Reign, their parent club, the L.A. Kings, announced. The 6’5″ forward debuted on Tuesday vs. the Vancouver Canucks and skated again on Thursday against the Boston Bruins, but failed to make much of an impact in limited ice time. He’ll head back to the minors for some more seasoning.
What Your Team Is Thankful For: Arizona Coyotes
As the holiday season approaches, PHR will look at what teams are thankful for this year. There also might be a few things your team would like down the road. We take a look at what’s gone well in the first month and what could improve as the season rolls on.
What are the Arizona Coyotes most thankful for?
An impressive 2018 draft class.
The Coyotes have just seven points through 20 games, and have yet to win in regulation. Even with a rebuilt blue line that includes newcomers Niklas Hjalmarsson and Jason Demers, the team has allowed an incredible, league-leading 79 goals against this season. They’re now 17 points behind the Los Angeles Kings in the Pacific Division, and would need an absolute miracle to claw their way back into the playoff race.
Luckily, the 2018 draft class is shaping up to be a good one. Finishing last in the league obviously doesn’t guarantee you the first-overall pick (just ask Colorado) but it does get you into the top four. Though Rasmus Dahlin looks like a franchise-altering presence at the top, there are four or five other elite prospects with superstar potential. After trading away the seventh-overall pick this summer, it seemed like the Coyotes were done waiting on prospects. Now they might need to hitch their wagon to a new one.
Who are the Coyotes most thankful for?
The Coyotes have seen their fair share of busts over the years, but their 2016 draft looks like a good one. Jakob Chychrun has been injured all season, but made the jump to the NHL right away last year and kept his head above water. He’s expected back at some point, and will likely take on an important role on the blueline once again. But it’s Keller that is really turning heads around the league.
The seventh-overall pick from 2016 has 17 points in 20 games this season including 11 goals. That number puts him fifth in the league, and in front of the pack in terms of Calder Trophy voting (though it is anything but decided yet). His development into an All-Star talent is something every Coyotes fan can cheer about, even in what has become another dreadful season.
What would the Coyotes be even more thankful for?
A win (or two).
It’s not that the Coyotes needed to compete for the Stanley Cup this year, but after all the trading this offseason they were at least expected to improve. Last year’s club finished 30-42-10 even with Radim Vrbata as their most dangerous forward and a sale at the deadline of Michael Stone and Martin Hanzal. That club was still one of the worst in the league, but not a disaster on a nightly basis.
Hjalmarsson, Demers, Derek Stepan and Antti Raanta all cost the team young or future assets (not to mention money), and were supposed to push the team towards a playoff spot. That hasn’t happened and now they’re left scratching their heads wondering which direction to go in.
Oliver Ekman-Larsson remains the biggest target of trade speculation, as his current contract ends after next season. But who would rule out any of the veterans on this team at this point? If the season isn’t turned around quickly, the seat will get warmer and warmer for young GM John Chayka and the pressure to make a move will increase. They shouldn’t be as bad as they are, but who would fault him for planting a “For Sale” sign outside the arena near the deadline once again?
What should be on the Coyotes’ Holiday Wish List?
Needy GMs.
There’s nothing to add to the roster to make it a playoff contender at this point. One or two additions wouldn’t fix what’s ailing the Coyotes, and the front office must know it. Making more short-term moves wouldn’t help the team, so instead they’ll be wishing for a desperate contender near the deadline.
Last year, they moved a pending UFA in Hanzal for a first and second-round pick from Minnesota in a deal that the Wild regretted just a few months later. That sort of desperation is exactly what the team will hope for again this season, to try to squeeze some value out of a team in the middle of an arms race. Remember that Raanta is an unrestricted free agent at the end of the year, and carries just a $1MM cap hit this season.
It’s a tough thing to hope for this early in the year, but there’s not a lot more on their wish list at the moment. Chayka will be patient as their schedule eases a bit as we head into the winter, but in the desert no seats ever get truly cold.
Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images
Tampa Bay Lightning Acquire Louis Domingue
The Tampa Bay Lightning have acquired recently demoted goaltender Louis Domingue from the Arizona Coyotes, sending Michael Leighton and Tye McGinn to the desert in return. Domingue’s role as the backup had been usurped by Scott Wedgewood, and he’ll now have to find his game somewhere else.
Of course that likely won’t be in Tampa Bay, at least not right away. The Lightning have Andrei Vasilevskiy and Peter Budaj locked in as their NHL duo for the time being, while Leighton had been starting for the Syracuse Crunch. Still, it could be just the fresh start Domingue needs to get his game back on track. At one point in the past, Domingue was an up-and-coming goaltender that looked poised to take on at least a part-time role in the NHL. He posted acceptable numbers over the last two years behind a bad Coyotes team, but saw his play fall off this year.
Interestingly like Dominuge, Leighton doesn’t have a clear place to play in the Coyotes organization. The Tucson Roadrunners, Arizona’s AHL affiliate, already have three goaltenders on the roster in Hunter Miska, Adin Hill and Marek Langhamer. Perhaps the 36-year old Leighton will be loaned somewhere else.
The only forward in the deal is McGinn, who hasn’t seen the NHL since 2015-16. Though he’s an effective minor league player, his NHL career has been less than impressive. In 89 career games he has 17 points, but has little upside at the age of 27. Still, he could find his way into the Coyotes lineup at some point if they continue to struggle this season.
Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images
Morning Notes: Price, Soshnikov, GMs
Carey Price says he would be in the lineup if tonight’s Montreal Canadiens game was a playoff contest. Price hasn’t played since suffering a lower-body injury in warm-up before the Canadiens’ November 2nd game, and doesn’t have a clear timeline yet.
Skating by himself once again, he’ll need to rejoin the team in practice before suiting up for a game. That slow process is being helped by the play of Charlie Lindgren, who now carries a .964 save percentage through his four starts. The 23-year old Lindgren looks ready to take on at least a backup role in the NHL, which will complicate things with Al Montoya when all three goaltenders are back to full health. Montoya is under contract through next season, but has played poorly in his small sample this year.
- Nikita Soshnikov was called up to the Maple Leafs earlier today because of his KHL clause that would have allowed him to return to Russia, but Chris Johnston of Sportsnet reports that the team isn’t out of the woods in that respect just yet. The clause allows Soshnikov to request a loan to the KHL at any future point this season if they try to send him back down. That, along with the fact that he’ll become waiver-eligible after playing in three games, complicates things for the Maple Leafs. While Soshnikov has done little offensively in his 67 NHL games (14 points), he is off to a fast start in the AHL this season at nearly a point-per-game pace.
- Sean McIndoe of Sportsnet breaks down the current GMs that are feeling the heat, listing four among the “Smoke, sparks and fire alarms” group. One of those members, John Chayka of the Arizona Coyotes wouldn’t have been considered in trouble a year ago when the team was going through a slow rebuild. That was accelerated this summer when they made some supposed win-now moves like bringing in Derek Stepan and Niklas Hjalmarsson, but it hasn’t paid off at all. The Coyotes have still yet to win a game in regulation, and look even further away from contention than they did before giving up the seventh-overall pick this summer.
Snapshots: Flames, Hammond, Ekman-Larsson
Tanner Glass has cleared waivers and been assigned to Stockton of the AHL, leaving room for the Calgary Flames to activate Jaromir Jagr prior to their game tonight. Glass signed a one-year, one-way deal with the Flames this summer but is at best a 13th forward used in especially physical matchups. It won’t surprise if the 33-year old is back up before long to serve in that role.
Jagr though will jump back into the lineup after a long layoff, and will look to recapture the early success he had found with his new team. The legendary winger’s already exquisite possession numbers were off the charts in his first five games for Calgary, and he should help the team continue their current win streak. Jagr is just 51 games behind Gordie Howe for the most all-time, a record he could break should he stay relatively healthy for the rest of the year.
- Andrew Hammond was clearly a salary dump by the Ottawa Senators in their recent trade, to help even out the salary difference between Matt Duchene and Kyle Turris. Now, James Gordon of The Athletic reports that Colorado will look to flip Hammond somewhere else around the league. Hammond will remain with the Belleville Senators on loan until that happens, but it may not be so easy. “The Hamburgler” as he is so affectionately nicknamed, is owed $1.5MM this season and carries a $1.35MM cap hit. Though last year was a struggle for him before going down to injury, he’s played well early on for Belleville.
- Oliver Ekman-Larsson has somehow become the center of much trade speculation, but Arizona Coyotes GM John Chayka wants to put an end to that. Speaking with Craig Morgan of AZ Sports, Chayka again said he won’t trade the All-Star defenseman, and revealed “I haven’t had a single conversation about Oilver that has lasted more than five seconds.” Ekman-Larsson is a free agent after next season and would be one of the top names on the market.
Snapshots: Raanta, Golden Knights, Maple Leafs
Antti Raanta has been activated off injured reserve and is expected to start tonight against the Buffalo Sabres according to Craig Morgan of AZ Sports. Raanta hasn’t played in three weeks with a lower-body injury after being acquired this summer to be the Coyotes starting goaltender. He’ll head to the crease with a new backup in Scott Wedgewood, a tandem that could prove capable for Arizona as they try to climb out of the bottom of the standings.
The team unfortunately will not have Niklas Hjalmarsson on the ice however, meaning Dakota Mermis will make his NHL debut on the blueline. The Coyotes are currently last in the league with just one win in their first 13 games, and right now look like the odds-on favorite for the first-overall pick next June.
- The Vegas Golden Knights will not trade for another goaltender, according to general manager George McPhee. The front office boss told Steve Carp of the Las Vegas Review-Journal that the Golden Knights will “ride it out with who we have.” Currently who they have is Maxime Lagace and 19-year old Dylan Ferguson, the last two goaltenders in the entire organization on NHL contracts. The team has given up six goals in back to back games, and still have four games remaining on their current road trip. Riding it out is likely the best move long-term for the organization, but it won’t feel good for Vegas fans who were on cloud nine after the team’s early season success. That excellent record could evaporate if they can’t find some stability in net soon.
- The Toronto Maple Leafs are clearly not settled with the fringes of their lineup, as even after a win last night in Anaheim head coach Mike Babcock intends on shaking things up. Chris Johnston of Sportsnet reports that Kasperi Kapanen and Roman Polak will draw back into the lineup in place of Josh Leivo and Connor Carrick for tonight’s matchup with Los Angeles. That uncertainty will be an interesting one to follow as the Maple Leafs’ season continues. For a team that is expected to compete not only for a playoff spot, but for a considerable seeding in the postseason, they have several unresolved issues with their lineup. James van Riemsdyk, Tyler Bozak and Leo Komarov are all unrestricted free agents, and remain possible mid-season trade candidates. If they are moved, the rotating bottom-pairing on the Toronto blueline is likely the target of upgrade.
Adam Clendening Placed On Waivers
The only player on waivers today is Adam Clendening of the Arizona Coyotes, according to Pierre LeBrun of The Athletic. Freddie Hamilton and David Booth, who were placed on the wire yesterday, have both cleared. Booth and Hamilton will stay with their respective teams for the time being, but can now be sent to the minor leagues for the next 30 days without having to pass through waivers again.
Clendening, 25, wasn’t extended a qualifying offer from the New York Rangers this summer and instead signed a one-year deal with the Coyotes. The contract is one-way, meaning Clendening will earn his $650K even if he clears and is sent to the minor leagues. Though he was once a second-round pick and emerging prospect for the Chicago Blackhawks, Clendening has bounced around the league in recent years unable to secure a full-time role. Playing 31 games for the Rangers last year he recorded 11 points, but wasn’t in their future plans.
The Coyotes recalled Dakota Mermis yesterday, but it’s unclear if he’ll figure into their immediate plans or if he’s just another paper transaction to help them stay cap compliant. Mermis was signed as an undrafted free agent in 2015, but has yet to make his NHL debut. Since Niklas Hjalmarsson is nursing an upper-body injury, the team did need an insurance policy on defense. If Clendening is ticketed for the minor leagues, Mermis becomes that policy.
One thing to remember is that team’s sometimes waive players to increase their trade value around the league. Should Clendening clear, it wouldn’t be surprising to see him shipped off to a team looking for some depth on defense. As a short-term option he can be used on the NHL roster, and if he clears waivers he’ll be able to be stored at the AHL level in case of emergency. Claiming is also an option, but he’d then need to stay on the NHL roster.
Minor Transactions: 10/30/17
The NHL will have plenty of moves today as team prepare for the next month of the season, and try to deal with injury and inconsistency. The Columbus Blue Jackets already called up an intriguing young forward prospect as they try to overcome an injury to Cam Atkinson. We’ll chronicle the rest of today’s minor moves right here.
- The Ottawa Senators have recalled Max McCormick once again from the AHL’s Belleville Senators. McCormick has played two games for Ottawa this season, and is an important member of Belleville’s group. The 25-year old, that blends physical play with a bit of scoring upside, has just four points in 29 NHL games. Should he get back into the lineup, it will likely be as a fourth-line presence once again.
- The Arizona Coyotes have recalled Hunter Miska from the AHL, continuing their merry-go-round of goaltenders. Miska has yet to make an appearance in the NHL after signing a two-year entry-level contract this spring. The Coyotes of course placed Louis Domingue on waivers yesterday, and will likely send him to the AHL if he is not claimed by another team. It seems as though Scott Wedgewood, who the team acquired recently, will be asked to step into the starter’s role should Antti Raanta remain injured.
- According to Sam Carchidi of the Philadelphia Inquirer, the Flyers are expected to recall Mark Alt from the AHL. Philadelphia is dealing with injuries to both Samuel Morin and Shayne Gostisbehere, meaning Alt will likely go straight into the lineup alongside Brandon Manning for their game tonight against the Coyotes. If he does, it would be just the second NHL game for the 26-year old Alt, who hasn’t turned into quite the shutdown defender that the Carolina Hurricanes envisioned when they selected him 53rd-overall in 2010.
- Rick Dhaliwal of News 1130 in Vancouver reports that the Canucks will recall Anton Rodin from the Utica Comets, marking his first call-up since clearing waivers just prior to the season. Rodin, a 26-year old forward who spent three games with the Canucks last season, underwent knee surgery in February and had a long rehab to get back on the ice. In three games with Utica this year he’s scored two points.
- The Buffalo Sabres have sent Zach Redmond back to the AHL, likely due to the impending return of Justin Falk to the lineup. The Sabres are off until Thursday when they travel to Arizona to take on the Coyotes, and could have Falk back in the lineup. Redmond will return to the Rochester Americans where he can make a much bigger impact.
- The Minnesota Wild have brought two of their recent assignments back up, recalling Joel Eriksson Ek and Luke Kunin. The Wild had a couple of days off in between Saturday’s matchup and tomorrow’s game, so they sent the pair down to let them bank some cap space by manipulating the roster. The young promising forwards will likely be back in the lineup when they take on the Winnipeg Jets, especially after Kunin was buzzing all over the ice in this weekend’s game.
Domingue, Reinhart Placed On Waivers
Monday: Both Domingue and Reinhart have cleared waivers and will be assigned to their respective AHL clubs.
Sunday: Arizona goaltender Louis Domingue and Vegas Golden Knights’ defender Griffin Reinhart were both placed on waivers this morning, according to Elliotte Friedman. Assuming both players clear waivers on Monday, they will be assigned to their respective AHL teams.
Domingue became expendable yesterday after the Coyotes traded for New Jersey Devils goaltender Scott Wedgewood. Domingue has received the lions’ share of minutes in goal for Arizona this year with the injury woes that starter Antti Raanta has sustained. The Coyotes’ backup for the past two years has struggled this year with a 4.33 GAA and a miserable .856 save percentage in seven games, prompting the team to look for a replacement in Wedgewood. The transaction also likely indicates that Raanta might be ready to return to action after having sit out for all, but three games so far this year with multiple injuries.
Reinhart has been one of the Vegas Golden Knights multitude of defensemen who general manager George McPhee has been protecting on their roster, forcing other players such as Shea Theodore to have to sit in the AHL, waiting for an opening. The former fourth-overall pick in the 2012 draft has never been able to break through at the NHL level and along with his size (6-foot-4, 212 pounds) and draft status has been considered to be a guy that could develop into a legitimate NHL player and has been given numerous chances to succeed. However, Reinhart was a healthy scratch for the Golden Knights’ first seven games before they sent him to the Chicago Wolves on a conditioning stint. He has struggled there in two games, prompting the decision to put him on waivers.
Philadelphia Calls Up Samuel Morin
Given the rash of recent injuries on the Philadelphia blue line, it came as no surprise when the Flyers announced this evening that they had recalled rookie defenseman Samuel Morin from the AHL’s Adirondack Phantoms. Morin is expected to suit up for the team when they host the Arizona Coyotes tomorrow night.
In Saturday night’s contest against the Toronto Maple Leafs, Shayne Gostisbehere left early with injury and his status is still unknown. With Andrew MacDonald out long-term with a lower body injury, an extended absence for Gostisbehere would have left the Flyers down two starters with only five defenseman on the roster. Morin rounds that number back up to six and provides Philly with another capable defenseman.
However, the Flyers may need to think about looking around for another defenseman, if they aren’t already. The “future is now” mentality may be exciting, but Philadelphia will square off with the Coyotes tomorrow with three rookies – Morin, Robert Hagg, and Travis Sanheim – and 20-year-old Ivan Provorov, a severe lack of experience on the back end. Add in just two stay-at-home defenders in Radko Gudas and Brandon Manning as their veteran support, and Philadelphia could benefit from another body on the blue line. With four waiver-exempt assets, the Flyers have the flexibility to add another defenseman without causing themselves any sort of roster crunch down the road.