Minor Transactions: 12/13/19
After a busy Thursday only two games are on the NHL schedule for this evening, but both bring about some intrigue. The Dallas Stars and Vegas Golden Knights battle over wild card seeding, while the Colorado Avalanche get an up close viewing of the top trade deadline prize when Taylor Hall and the New Jersey Devils come to town. As teams prepare for action, we’ll keep track of all the minor moves.
- The Arizona Coyotes recalled Brayden Burke last night for the first time in his short professional career. The 22-year old was an undrafted free agent signing in 2018 by the Coyotes and has put it all together this season, scoring 24 points in 24 games for the Tucson Roadrunners.
- Joseph Blandisi has been returned to the Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins, which bodes well for Evgeni Malkin‘s status going into the weekend. Malkin missed last night’s contest with an illness, but the Pittsburgh Penguins were able to grind out a 1-0 win anyway.
- The St. Louis Blues have sent Austin Poganski back to the AHL, after Oskar Sundqvist made his triumphant return last night. With Alex Steen and Zach Sanford also getting healthier, the Blues don’t have enough room to keep the waiver-exempt Poganski around.
- Madison Bowey has been recalled by the Detroit Red Wings after Jonathan Ericsson suffered an injury last night. Bowey cleared waivers recently and was sent to the minor leagues, where he had played in just one game.
- After Eric Staal was deemed healthy enough to play last night, the Minnesota Wild have sent Gerald Mayhew back to the AHL. Mayhew is still one of the minor league’s most dangerous goal scorers, with 14 in 22 games this season for the Iowa Wild.
- Matthew Phillips has been returned to the Stockton Heat of the AHL without getting into an NHL game. The 21-year old forward has taken a huge jump in his development this season and is a real option for the Calgary Flames moving forward.
- Guillaume Brisebois has been recalled by the Vancouver Canucks, as they send Jalen Chatfield back down. Chatfield has yet to make his NHL debut and has just one point in 18 games for the Utica Comets.
- Nico Hischier has been activated off injured reserve by the New Jersey Devils, meaning Colton White is on his way back to the AHL. White hasn’t played in a game with the team this season, but did earn some NHL pay during his latest week in the league.
- Ryan Poehling is back. The Montreal Canadiens have completed a transaction with the young forward for the third consecutive day, this time recalling him from the minor leagues.
- With Trevor Moore approaching a return for the Toronto Maple Leafs, the team has sent Nic Petan to the minors. Petan has already cleared waivers earlier this season, and though he was being used regularly under new head coach Sheldon Keefe, he’ll be the odd man out.
Snapshots: Peca, Fox, Ferland
The Montreal Canadiens have lost a depth forward for more than a month, announcing that Matthew Peca will be out six weeks with a knee injury. Peca was injured when he got tied up with Pittsburgh Penguins forward Evgeni Malkin earlier this week.
Peca, 26, has played in just four games with the Canadiens this season, instead spending the majority of his season in the minor leagues. The 5’9″ forward was signed to a two-year, $2.6MM deal in July of 2018 but played just 39 games for Montreal last season.
- Adam Fox is still having an impact on the Carolina Hurricanes, despite not signing with them. CapFriendly points out that after Fox played in his 30th game of the season on Tuesday night, the third round pick that New York sent Carolina in the trade has been upgraded to a second round pick. It always seemed likely that the pick would be upgraded given his talent, but Fox has made it more than worthwhile for the Rangers by proving he can be an effective puck-moving option in the NHL.
- Though Micheal Ferland isn’t in the concussion protocol, he is seeing specialists for some symptoms that have popped up, according to head coach Travis Green who spoke with reporters including Iain MacIntyre of Sportsnet. Ferland didn’t even make it through two games after returning from more than a month off, leaving Tuesday’s match against the Toronto Maple Leafs.
Thatcher Demko Suffers Concussion
The Vancouver Canucks have recalled Michael DiPietro from the minor leagues once again, and this time might be for a bit longer of a stay. The team announced today that Thatcher Demko suffered a concussion in practice yesterday.
Demko, 24, is part of a tandem this season in Vancouver alongside Jacob Markstrom and has gone 7-4-1 through his 12 starts. Though his .906 save percentage isn’t incredible, the fact that he’s been able to hang in the NHL is a good sign after Demko patiently waited for his opportunity.
A high draft pick (36th overall in 2014) and star in the minor leagues, Demko has been seen as the goaltender of the future for the Canucks for years. While Markstrom is a stabilizing presence in the crease, he’s also an unrestricted free agent after this season and could be expendable if Demko and DiPietro each prove they are a legitimate option moving forward. The concussion certainly doesn’t help the evaluation of Demko, but it might give the team a better look at DiPietro on a short-term basis.
Minor Transactions: 12/11/19
After last night’s busy schedule in the NHL only three games are on the docket for this evening. That includes a powerhouse Eastern Conference matchup between the Boston Bruins and Washington Capitals however, perhaps a preview of a playoff matchup down the road. Boston and Washington easily lead their respective divisions with 46 and 49 points respectively, making them the best two teams in the NHL at the moment. As they and the rest of the league prepares for tonight, we’ll keep track of all the minor moves.
- With a date against the Ottawa Senators tonight, the Montreal Canadiens have made several transactions. Jesperi Kotkaniemi has been placed on injured reserve, while Ryan Poehling and Christian Folin have been recalled from the AHL. Folin had been on a conditioning stint but could soon make his return to the Montreal lineup. Poehling meanwhile has been on fire for the Laval Rocket and will try to establish himself full-time at the NHL level.
- The Philadelphia Flyers have recalled David Kase from the AHL for the first time in his short professional career. The 22-year old winger had six points in 21 games for the Lehigh Valley Phantoms but is defensively responsible and can potentially add another bottom-six option to the Flyers lineup.
- Filip Zadina has been sent back to the Grand Rapids Griffins, perhaps to get him away from the constant losing with the Detroit Red Wings. While he could be getting sent down just for the day to play tonight for the Griffins, their game is in San Diego while the Red Wings are headed home to play in Detroit tomorrow night. The team has also sent Dennis Cholowski and Dylan McIlrath to the AHL.
- Aleksi Saarela has been returned to the minor leagues by the Florida Panthers, after making his NHL debut and playing in three games total. The 22-year old prospect is still looking for his first point at the highest level, but is an intriguing player to keep an eye on in the Panthers’ system.
- After Micheal Ferland was knocked out of last night’s game with an upper-body injury, the Vancouver Canucks have recalled Zack MacEwen from the AHL. MacEwen has played in seven games earlier this year with Vancouver, recording two points.
- Adam Werner is back up with the Colorado Avalanche and will backup Pavel Francouz tonight, as Philipp Grubauer isn’t quite ready. It looked like the Avalanche would get their starter back for tonight’s action against the Philadelphia Flyers, but it appears as though they’ll have to wait a little longer.
- Gerry Mayhew is back with the Minnesota Wild, who have recently seen several top players go down to injury. Michael Russo of The Athletic believes the top three centers will be Viktor Rask, Ryan Donato and Joel Eriksson Ek tomorrow night, not exactly what the Wild had in mind at the beginning of the year.
Brandon Sutter Could Return Tuesday
Canucks center Brandon Sutter has been out of the lineup since suffering a lower-body injury back on November 12th but it appears that he’s ready to return. The team announced (Twitter link) that the veteran could be in uniform tomorrow night against Toronto.
That means that Vancouver is going to have to do some cap juggling in order to activate Sutter off LTIR. The team has less than $3MM in cap room to work with per CapFriendly and Sutter’s AAV checks in at $4.375MM. Tyler Motte ($975K) is eligible to be transferred to LTIR as he has already missed a month but that still won’t be enough to activate him. The Canucks are carrying seven defensemen at the moment and may be forced to drop that to six by sending Jalen Chatfield back to AHL Utica. If Sutter is cleared to play, expect some roster movement from Vancouver in a hurry.
Trade Rumors: Hall, Galchenyuk, Penguins
While New Jersey Devils GM Ray Shero has stated that he won’t pigeonhole teams into one specific type of return for superstar winger Taylor Hall, it’s safe to say that the eventual trade won’t be a one-for-one deal like the infamous trade that sent Hall to New Jersey in the first place. In fact, Sportsnet’s Chris Johnston reports that the belief around the league is that it will take at least four pieces to acquire Hall. That could be current NHL players, contracted prospects, prospect signing rights, or draft picks, but one way or another it seems that the Devils are seeking a large return not just in quality but in quantity for their best player. Of course, Johnston also adds that conversations thus far have mostly been one-sided, with Shero encouraging teams to make offers, but not yet diving in with any one suitor. That has not stopped rampant speculation though that the Colorado Avalanche are the heavy favorites to land Hall, given their contender status, ample cap space, and depth in picks and prospects. Not only does Johnston echo this sentiment, but he states that there is some belief that the Avs intend to try to land Hall prior to the league’s holiday trade freeze in late December. Other teams rumored to be in the mix include the Arizona Coyotes, New York Islanders, and a possible return to the Edmonton Oilers. But in all likelihood, the only team without some interest in having the Hart Trophy winner on their roster after the trade deadline is New Jersey.
- Sportsnet’s Elliotte Friedman reports that another name that has hit the rumor mill is Pittsburgh Penguins forward Alex Galchenyuk. Galchenyuk has been a poor fit in Pittsburgh since coming over in the Phil Kessel trade this summer, an idea all but confirmed by GM Jim Rutherford in recent comments about the team being unsure of his place in a healthy lineup. The impending UFA is being shopped and Friedman states that at least one team confirmed to be interested is the Buffalo Sabres. The Sabres have been on the hunt for forward help all season and it makes sense that they could be intrigued by buying low on Galchenyuk. However, Buffalo is currently outside the playoff picture, tied for tenth in the Eastern Conference. If they were to acquire Galchenyuk, it would likely be a scenario that required an extension agreement. This could complicate the process and could lead the Penguins to consider other teams looking for a pure rental and able to make the deal sooner rather than later.
- Of course, the question would then become what the Penguins do next. Rutherford is not the type to squander excess cap space and would look to use Galchenyuk’s $4.9MM absence to his advantage. While the Penguins are currently short-handed on the blue line without the injured Brian Dumoulin, it is doubtful that they would have any interest in taking back a long-term defenseman. Instead, the Penguins could seek a rental defenseman (Buffalo’s Marco Scandella or Zach Bogosian perhaps?) or could try to add a forward who can replace the production that they expected from Galchenyuk this season. If the Penguins opt to replace Galchenyuk in a separate deal, the Rangers’ Chris Kreider and Senators’ Vladislav Namestnikov are players with similar cap hits and production profiles to Galchenyuk who will be available.
Minor Transactions: 12/08/19
Goals were not exactly hard to come by on Saturday, as 10 of 11 contests featured 5+ goals, including five games with 8+ goals. While there are only five games on the docket on Sunday, there is a good chance of at least one more high-scoring affair, as the Panthers host the Sharks in a match-up of the two teams tied for 29th in goals against average. While you follow along with the action today – five games starting over a span of five hours – keep an eye on the transactions made by those teams out of action today, preparing for the week ahead. Judging by the number of early moves, it could be a busy day:
- After last night’s win, the Carolina Hurricanes returned forwards Brian Gibbons and Clark Bishop to the AHL, as announced by the Charlotte Checkers. The duo have been on the move frequently this season and that is unlikely to change soon. With both being sent down, the Canes currently have just 12 forwards and 19 skaters on the active roster and are about to embark on a long, five-game road trip on Tuesday. They are unlikely to depart before filling at least one of their two remaining roster spots with another forward, highly likely to be either Gibbons or Bishop, if not both.
- Rookie forward J.C. Beaudin is headed back to the minors, as the Ottawa Senators announced that he has been reassigned to AHL Belleville. Beaudin, 22, has played in 15 games with Ottawa this season but has recorded one lone point. In five games with Belleville, he has also been held to just one point. The Senators would likely like to see him rediscover his scoring touch before bringing him back up.
- Joseph Blandisi is another player being demoted, as the Pittsburgh Penguins announced that the two-way veteran has been sent down to AHL Wilkes-Barre/Scranton. Blandisi has split his season evenly between the NHL and AHL, but with double the scoring in the minors, unsurprisingly. Now in his fifth pro season, Blandisi has grown accustomed to splitting his time between the two levels and playing very different roles depending on the locale. A top-six forward in the AHL, Blandisi has been almost exclusively asked to play a bottom-six role in Pittsburgh, as well as with previous teams.
- The Chicago Blackhawks have made a swap, sending Anton Wedin down to the AHL and recalling Dylan Sikura. Sikura, the former Northeastern University standout, has not played in the NHL this season after skating in 33 games last year. However, he has finally earned the call as he leads the Rockford Ice Hogs with nine goals and 16 points in 22 games. Wedin, a rookie in his first season in North America, also has a nice 4-7-11 line in 17 games with Rockford but was held off the scoresheet in four games with Chicago, prompting his return.
- Austin Poganski has been reassigned to the AHL’s San Antonio Rampage, the St. Louis Blues announced. The move comes more than a week after Poganski was recalled, yet the young forward did not make an appearance in that time with the Blues. Poganski is still searching for his NHL debut, two years removed from a strong run at the University of North Dakota.
- While the Boston Bruins placed defenseman Steven Kampfer on waivers earlier today, CapFriendly also noted that the Colorado Avalanche have put forward T.J. Tynan on waivers as well. The 27-year-old career minor-leaguer got an extended run with the Avalanche this year after only appearing in three NHL games prior to that. He got 14 games in Colorado, only picking up one assist in that span. Tynan has already appeared in 377 AHL games and would be an unlikely candidate to be claimed.
- The Edmonton Oilers announced they have activated forward Ryan Nugent-Hopkins from injured reserve and have assigned forward Colby Cave to the Bakersfield Condors of the AHL. Nugent-Hopkins has missed the last six games with a hand injury, but will now return to the team and give their top-six a significant boost. Nugent-Hopkins has five goals and 16 points through the Oilers’ first 25 games before going down with the injury. Cave will return to Bakersfield where he has two goals and five points in 16 games.
- The Montreal Canadiens have recalled forward Riley Barber from the Laval Rocket of the AHL, according to Montreal Gazette’s Stu Cowan. The 25-year-old Barber, who signed with the Canadiens in the offseason after four years in the Washington Capitals system, leads Laval with 18 points, but has been much more impressive over the past two or three weeks and could help Montreal as a speedy fourth-line option.
- The Vancouver Canucks have returned goaltender Michael DiPietro to AHL Utica, notes TSN 1040’s Rick Dhaliwal. He had been up as the backup while Jacob Markstrom was away from the team but with Markstrom back, he’ll go back to the Comets to get some playing time.
Vancouver Canucks Activate Ferland, Beagle, And Markstrom
The Vancouver Canucks will be a lot closer to full strength when they take the ice this afternoon. The team has announced that forwards Micheal Ferland and Jay Beagle have been activated from the injured reserve, while goaltender Jacob Markstrom has been activated from the non-roster list following a leave of absence. The returns come just days after Antoine Roussel made his season debut after overcoming injury as well.
Ferland’s return to the lineup will be the greatest change in status quo for the Canucks. A free agent addition coming off a career year, Ferland suffered a concussion just 12 games into the season and has been on the IR since November 1st. The physical winger has just five points on the year, but recorded 40 points in 71 games last year, including a career high in assists. If he remains healthy, Ferland would be on pace for 65 games this regular season and the Canucks hope that might be enough to gt him back into that 40-point range. At the very least, Ferland will provide a physical presence and an injection of energy for the Vancouver forward corps
Beagle returns to the lineup at the earliest possible time, just ten days after he was placed on IR on November 27th. Yet, the veteran has been beat up for much of the early season, missing a total of nine games thus far due to a lower-body injury. Beagle’s scoring numbers may be down to begin the year, but he will be a welcome addition nonetheless. The experienced two-way forward is a leader and difference-maker on the ice for the Canucks, particularly at the face-off dot. Despite missing considerable time, Beagle remains second on the team in face-off wins thanks to a whopping 60% success rate. He is also a key piece to the team’s penalty kill, which has struggled in his absence and slipped into the bottom half of the league.
Markstrom returns to the team after being given the week off to attend his father’s memorial service in his native Sweden. Thatcher Demko will get the start again today, with Markstrom likely to return to the crease on Tuesday. Markstrom has played well this season with a .913 save percentage and 2.70 GAA and he and Demko have combined to provide consistent goaltending for Vancouver. The question this season will continue to be whether the Canucks feel they need to re-sign Markstrom, arguably the second-best keeper on the free agent market, or instead see Demko as ready to take over the starter’s role.
Even with this trio back in action, the Canucks are not fully healthy. The team was forced to place Alexander Edler and Tyler Graovac on injured reserve earlier this week, while Brandon Sutter and Tyler Motte remain there as well. There has been little news on a return from any of the group, although the initial timeline for Motte’s injury should have him back sooner rather than later. Additionally, with three additions to the active roster, the Canucks have sent down forward Zack MacEwen, who re-joins the AHL’s Utica Comets.
Snapshots: Hughes, Galchenyuk, Edwards
If you are a fan of the World Junior tournament and want to see the best under-20 athletes on the planet suit up, there may have been something nagging at your brain every time you looked at the NHL standings. All the way down near the bottom of the Eastern Conference are the New Jersey Devils, who just so happen to have one of those under-20 athletes on their roster.
Jack Hughes, the first-overall pick from last June, won’t turn 19 until May and has just 11 points in 24 games through his rookie season. The Devils haven’t had much success at all and appear to be considering trading off Taylor Hall, so what would be the problem with losing Hughes for a few weeks to dominate players his own age? Well, it won’t be happening as Devils interim coach Alain Nasreddine explained to Mike Morreale of NHL.com. “That (idea) was shut down right away, ” Nasreddine told reporters on Friday.
- Fans of the Pittsburgh Penguins have been dying to see their team at full strength this season, waiting out injury after injury in hopes that the group can pull it together at some point. Perhaps that idea isn’t so exciting for Alex Galchenyuk, who may not even have a spot in the lineup when everyone is back on the ice. That’s what GM Jim Rutherford suggested to Josh Yohe of The Athletic, saying “when we’re totally healthy, he’s going to have to work very hard just to get in the top 12.” Galchenyuk has just two goals and ten points in 19 games this season.
- The Calgary Flames announced earlier today that Ray Edwards will join the coaching staff as an assistant, replacing Geoff Ward who was bumped up to head coach when Bill Peters was fired. Edwards will maintain his other role of Director of Player Development while helping out the coaching staff, and comes with plenty of experience behind the bench.
Injury Notes: Juolevi, Spurgeon, Avalanche
The Vancouver Canucks issued an update on top prospect Olli Juolevi, explaining that his recent removal from the Utica Comets roster was precautionary but that he is now fit to return to action.
Juolevi hasn’t played an AHL game since November 17th, but will seemingly return soon for the Comets and continue his development. The 21-year old defenseman is such an important prospect for the Canucks after they used the fifth-overall pick on him in 2016, but he has yet to find any modicum of health during his relatively short professional career. In 14 games this season he has five points and still seems a long way from becoming a full-time NHL option.
- Jared Spurgeon will be out for two weeks after suffering an upper-body injury last night. The newly-extended defenseman is one of the Minnesota Wild’s most important players and averages close to 23 minutes a game. The team will also lose Mikko Koivu on a day-to-day basis with a lower-body injury.
- After returning to the Colorado Avalanche lineup and contributing four points in fewer than 11 minutes of ice time, Mikko Rantanen sat out the entire third period of Saturday’s contest against the Chicago Blackhawks and then missed a practice on Monday. He’s good to go for tonight’s game in Toronto however and will suit up against the Maple Leafs. Matt Calvert, who hasn’t played since taking a puck to the head against the Vancouver Canucks, will also return to the Colorado lineup tonight.