NHL Notes: Didomenico, Okposo, Neal
While Ottawa Senators general manager Pierre Dorion has been working the trade lines hard in order to acquire a scoring forward, but the team may have found that forward in their own ranks in Chris Didomenico, writes Don Brennan of The Ottawa Sun. Of course, the scribe writes that its too early to tell whether he would make for a good permanent fill-in with the Senators, but the journeyman showed the team something in Friday night’s shootout loss to the New Jersey Devils.
The 28-year-old forward had a goal and an assist in the loss, but Didomenico came close to changing that outcome. His goal in the final minute of regulation tied the game, helping the Senators get a point in the standings. He was even given the chance to take the first shot in the shootout Friday, although he was stopped by New Jersey’s Keith Kinkaid.
Brennan writes that once Didomenico was a highly-touted prospect whose size and injury history forced him to play overseas for much of his career, but he is playing for a chance to earn a permanent spot in the team’s rotation. He has played with Mike Hoffman on several occasions in his career and has been teamed with him once again. He had three goals and two assists in four games with the Belleville Senators in the AHL before being called up and now has a goal and two assists in four games with Ottawa.
- Mike Harrington of the Buffalo News writes that the team could find itself in hot water if Kyle Okposo doesn’t start showing up. The scribe writes that if Okposo isn’t affected by any lingering concussion affects or having any medication reactions like he did last year, then he needs to take his game up a notch. The 28-year-old signed a seven-year, $42MM contract a year ago and has just two assists in 10 games. If he doesn’t find his offense soon, the team will be stuck with a middling forward, who the team gave the highest-ever free agent contract to and they will be stuck with him for another five years. Toss in the fact that he is untradeable, while Evander Kane is likely to be traded and the situation for the team looks even worse.
- Vegas Golden Knights winger James Neal lost some teeth during the team’s 7-0 victory over the Colorado Avalanche Friday, according to Las Vegas Review-Journal’s David Schoen. While there is no word on how many teeth the team’s top scorer lost when he took a high-stick from Colorado’s Patrik Nemeth in the first period, it didn’t stop the 30-year-old. He came back to score his seventh goal of the season in the second period and still dove to block a shot in the third period to help preserve the shutout. Neal is not expected to miss any time with the injury.
Western Notes: Vlasic, Shipachyov, Kossila, Oleksy
The San Jose Sharks seem to have faired well on a five-game East Coast road trip and the team is 5-5. The Athletic’s Kevin Kurz (subscription required) released his 10 Sharks observations, and is quick to lodge his complaint on the team’s usage of veteran defenseman Marc-Edouard Vlasic, who he believes should not be used on the power play any more.
While Kurz writes that he isn’t taking away from Vlasic’s defensive game as he is fantastic at covering other team’s top players, he points out that he is the wrong guy for the power play and has been for some time. Since the start of the 2015-16 season, Vlasic has played 169:25 minutes of ice time on the power play for San Jose, sixth-most on the team. He has one goal and seven assists in those two-plus years on the power play and just a lone assist this year in 25 minutes of power play time.
The team needs to look for a younger defenseman to take over that role on San Jose’s second power play unit and Kurz pointed to rookie Joakim Ryan as a possible candidate. While the 24-year-old has been pointless so far this season, Ryan led the AHL’s San Jose Barracuda in shots on goal last season with 185. His 10 goals and 39 assists last year, suggest he might be able to handle that role.
- The Vadim Shipachyov saga isn’t over yet. Expected to skate tonight with the AHL Chicago Wolves after being assigned there Wednesday by the Vegas Golden Knights, the 30-year-old playmaker is not in tonight’s lineup for the Wolves in their game against the Milwaukee Admirals, according to Jesse Granger of The Las Vegas Sun. Chicago has not specified why he isn’t in the lineup. However, according to Sportsnet’s Eric Engels, Shipachyov will not play and is returning to Las Vegas to be with his family. He did practice with Chicago yesterday, which is why he was expected to play today. The KHL veteran had been assigned at the start of the year to Chicago, but didn’t report and Vegas allowed him to stay in Vegas. However, there is no indication the team had planned to allow him the same courtesy this time around.
- The Anaheim Ducks announced they have reassigned center Kalle Kossila and defenseman Steven Oleksy to the San Diego Gulls of the AHL. Two moves had to be made after the team activated both Sami Vatanen and Ryan Miller for tonight’s game against the Tampa Bay Lightning. Kossila, played in two games for Anaheim this week, putting up a goal and an assist. The 24-year-old had two goals and four assists in five AHL games. Oleksy was called up Thursday, but did not play. The 31-year-old blueliner has two goals and two assists in five games for the Gulls.
Jason Garrison Clears Waivers
- Golden Knights defenseman Jason Garrison has cleared waivers, Sportsnet’s Elliotte Friedman reports (Twitter link). That shouldn’t come as much of a surprise with his $4.6MM cap hit. It will be interesting to see if there is any trade interest in him where Vegas could retain part of his contract to facilitate a move or take a notable contract back in return. It’s worth noting that the first-year team has already used one of its three retention slots from their trade of Alexei Emelin back in July. In the meantime, they have assigned him to Chicago of the AHL, per the AHL’s Transactions page.
Vadim Shipachyov Reports To Chicago Wolves
Representatives from Shipachyov’s former team SKA St. Petersburg in Russia made clear to KHL reporter Aivis Kalnins that they cannot negotiate with him while he’s still under contract with the Golden Knights or any other NHL team. There can be no talks until a mutual termination is achieved which both seems unlikely for a number of reasons, and has never been intimated by Shipachyov or his representatives. For now, he’ll have to just continue to try and adjust to the North American game while playing in the AHL.
Las Vegas Places Jason Garrison On Waivers
The Golden Knights have finally done what many expected weeks ago, and placed some of their defensemen on waivers. Jason Garrison is the odd-man out according to Elliotte Friedman of Sportsnet, after only dressing for four games this season,
It seems as though George McPhee has finally accepted that a trade isn’t going to be possible for some of his assets, and has resigned to trying to squeeze them through waivers. Garrison is an unlikely claim, as he comes with a $4.6MM cap hit for this year (though he earns only $2.5MM in actual salary and is an unrestricted free agent next summer). The 32-year old defenseman was once one of the most frightening weapons in the league with the man advantage, scoring 16 goals with Florida in 2011-12. While his shot is still powerful, the rest of his game has deteriorated while powerplays are moving further and further away from relying on defensive shots from the point.
Garrison has made quite the career for himself after going undrafted and attending the University of Minnesota-Duluth. In 534 career games, he’s recorded 159 points and earned himself a six-year contract worth $27.6MM. While this seems like it may be the end of his NHL career this season, there may be renewed interest in him on the open market next summer, albeit with a greatly reduced price tag.
Vegas, to the ire of many of their fans, have been using the minor leagues to house some of their more interesting players. Shea Theodore, Alex Tuch and Vadim Shipachyov have all spent time in the minors, while the NHL squad carried nine or ten defensemen on the active roster. The waiver-exempt status all three hold has been an important asset to McPhee and the Golden Knights, but now as they get healthy they will need to make decisions on other players. Remember, there is a chance that Garrison is not assigned to the AHL after clearing waivers, as the team could instead make a different decision. Sometimes, players are waived to help their trade value, though in this case it still seems unlikely.
*This article previously linked to a erroneous report of Griffin Reinhart also being placed on waivers. He has instead been sent to the Chicago Wolves on a conditioning stint, but remains on the Vegas roster.
Vadim Shipachyov Not On Columbus Radar
One of the biggest stories in the NHL right now is the ongoing drama surrounding Vadim Shipachyov and the Vegas Golden Knights. After being sent down once again to the minor leagues this week, reports broke yesterday that the team had given his representatives the green light to seek out potential trade partners. We already heard that Montreal is likely not interested, and now Aaron Portzline of The Athletic crosses another name off the list. Portzline has been told that Columbus “will not be a landing spot” for the Russian forward, despite having a perceived depth issue at center.
Columbus recently lost Lukas Sedlak for six weeks to an ankle injury, and had already moved Nick Foligno to center ice full-time for the first time in his NHL career. While they certainly have the wing depth to keep him there all season—and why not, his play has been excellent so far—adding depth at an important position is never a bad thing.
Still, Shipachyov comes with a hefty price tag as he’s owed $4.5MM this year and next. While Columbus would have the cap room should they change their minds, committing that much money to a player who so far hasn’t shown much in his short NHL career is a tough decision to make. Add in whatever asset the Golden Knights are looking for in trade, and you have a risky proposition for any team, let alone one that is already considered a Stanley Cup contender. If the Blue Jackets do make a forward addition, it likely won’t be Shipachyov.
Vadim Shipachyov’s Representatives Given Permission To Pursue Trade
The Golden Knights have given permission for Vadim Shipachyov’s representatives to pursue a trade for the center, Sportsnet’s Elliotte Friedman reports (Twitter link). However, they have yet to find the right fit for a deal. TSN’s Darren Dreger adds (via Twitter) that the permission was granted Tuesday morning.
Shipachyov was the top free agent signing for Vegas as he inked a two-year, $9MM contract back in May. He was coming off of a dominant season with SKA St. Petersburg of the KHL where he finished second on the team in scoring (third in the league) with 26 goals and 50 assists in 50 games (plus 16 points in 15 postseason contests). As a result, many expected him to be the top line center to start the season.
However, that has not been the case. Shipachyov was among the players who fell victim to a numbers game when it came to waiver exemption. In an effort to keep as much talent as possible without risking running players through waivers, the 30-year-old was sent to Chicago of the AHL to start the season (along with winger Alex Tuch and defenseman Shea Theodore). That has allowed them to keep nine defensemen on the active roster and GM George McPhee is believed to be seeking a trade for one of his surplus defenders (including Griffin Reinhart, Brad Hunt, and Jon Merrill) but nothing has come to fruition just yet.
Shipachyov was told he didn’t have to report to the minors and wound up being recalled back on October 14th as injuries started to strike. He got into three games with the Golden Knights, recording a goal but he averaged just 10:35 per night in ice time. The team had to make a roster move yesterday to activate Jonathan Marchessault off IR and it was Shipachyov who lost his spot as he was sent back to the minors.
Shipachyov had interest from NHL teams dating back to two years ago but he was under contract in Russia through 2016-17 so he wasn’t able to make the jump initially. However, teams were hesitant to commit multiple years to him which played a role in him choosing to go to Vegas in the first place. Sportsnet’s Eric Engels notes (Twitter link) that Montreal (who had interest in the past on a one-year deal) was contacted but they are not interested in pursuing him now. With just three NHL regular season games plus four preseason contests under his belt though, he hasn’t really had the opportunity to showcase himself enough to the point where another team might be more confident to take a chance on him.
With his agent having less than 48 hours to secure a possible trade partner, there’s still plenty of time to get something done. In the meantime, it will be worth watching to see if Shipachyov reports to the AHL’s Wolves this time around. If he doesn’t, the Golden Knights will be able to suspend him without pay if they so desire. With the trade market not being particularly robust at this time, his name is likely to come up in plenty of speculation in the days to come.
Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.
Vadim Shipachyov Assigned To AHL
Amazingly, the Vegas Golden Knights have once again assigned Russian forward Vadim Shipachyov to that AHL, according to SinBin.vegas. With the team welcoming Jon Marchessault back off of injured reserve, a move needed to be made to clear a roster spot. Shipachyov is that move, as the veteran center will return to the AHL and wait for his next opportunity. Whether he actually reports to the Chicago Wolves this time is unclear, as he did not play a game for them on his first minor league stint.
Shipachyov has one point in three games, but head coach Gerard Gallant wasn’t exactly glowing about his play so far. Asked by David Schoen of the Las Vegas Review-Journal what he thought of Shipachyov’s first three games, he had this to say:
I didn’t have expectations for him. I know he’s a high [priced] free agent we got this summer and we’d like to see him score more and all that. It’s tough on the guy. He didn’t start here, he started in the minor leagues. Came up and played a few games, and you know he was okay. Wasn’t great, but he was okay. He’s been bounced around a little bit, and we just want him to compete hard and get used to the NHL game. Like I said, it hasn’t been easy right now for him but we’re seven games in so we’ve got to be patient.
The 30-year old center was signed to a two-year, $9MM contract this summer but with the way the Golden Knights are playing they can afford to keep him out of the lineup. The team is 6-1 and has received scoring help from many different sources. Like defenseman Shea Theodore, who remains in the minor leagues despite nine points in five games, Shipachyov will likely have to wait until this hot streak dies down or another injury takes a key player out of the lineup. As waiver-exempt players, both represent asset protection for the expansion club.
Malcolm Subban Out Four Weeks
The Vegas Golden Knights’ goaltending depth will be tested, as today they announced that Malcolm Subban would be out for at least four weeks. Subban was placed on injured reserve with a lower-body injury, joining the already injured Marc-Andre Fleury on IR.
Injuries will now have the Golden Knights turning to a combination of Oscar Dansk—who is already with the team—and Maxime Lagace in net, though obviously there is an opportunity to make a move for another goaltender. The team has already been in conversations with teams about their excess of defensemen, something that could now be accelerated due to injury.
It must be noted that the Golden Knights traded Calvin Pickard away earlier this month after he cleared waivers instead of assigning him to the AHL, a move that is looking worse today as the team finds themselves without much NHL experience in the crease.
If the team does call up Lagace, the Chicago Wolves would be left with C.J. Motte as their starter, though there are other options they could use. The St. Louis Blues, who are using the Wolves as a partial affiliate this season, had moved Jordan Binnington to Providence because of the log-jam in net. He could be brought back, although Providence has their own goalie problems while Zane McIntyre is in the NHL filling in for Tuukka Rask.
For those hoping the team will acquire another option, part of the press release from GM George McPhee seems to throw cold water on that option.
Injuries provide opportunities for others and that is the situation we have here. Our top two goaltenders are currently sidelined, so we will now give our AHL goalies the chance to play in their absence. We felt Oscar Dansk performed well in relief on Saturday in his NHL debut.
While the GM is hoping to give his young goaltenders confidence, the idea that they won’t make a corresponding move could change at any moment. Should someone approach them with an interesting offer, it’s unlikely that McPhee would hang up the phone.
Haula, Marchessault Could Be Activated Soon
- While the Vegas Golden Knights await the injury status of goaltender Malcolm Subban, Las Vegas Review-Journal’s Steve Carp tweets out that Erik Haula, who was put on injured reserve eight days ago, practiced with the team today and told Carp he is ready to return to the team, but wouldn’t say when. David Schoen of the Las Vegas Review-Journal tweets that Jon Marchessault, who was placed on injured reserve on Oct. 15, also says he is ready to return to the Golden Knights lineup and said he expects to be activated for Tuesday’s game against the Chicago Blackhawks after practicing today. The team may reverse their transactions from last week and send Vadim Shipachyov and Alex Tuch back to the AHL. Both Shipachyov and Tuch tallied no points and neither had any shots on goal in Saturday’s game against the St. Louis Blues. Shipachyov received only 10:22 of ice time, while Tuch had 8:49.