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Chad Johnson, Martin Bakos Placed On Waivers

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After making a move to recall Jordan Binnington yesterday, it was obvious something was brewing in St. Louis. The Blues today have placed goaltender Chad Johnson on waivers, likely with the intention of sending him to the minor leagues. The Boston Bruins meanwhile have placed Martin Bakos on unconditional waivers according to Elliotte Friedman of Sportsnet.

It’s a tough break for Johnson, who signed a one-year $1.75MM contract in the offseason to replace the outgoing Carter Hutton—who coincidentally, replaced Johnson in Buffalo. The veteran goaltender has not played well this season, posting an .884 save percentage through ten appearances, but is by no means the only problem in St. Louis. The entire team has struggled to string any wins together, but this is the move that they’ve decided to make to shake things up.

Johnson, 32, does have a history of success in the NHL, but took a big step backwards last season with the Sabres and has followed it up with an even worse start. It would be surprising to see anyone jump at the chance to claim him given his cap hit, though there are some teams around the league in need of goaltending help that may take a chance. More likely is he reports to the minor leagues to try and get his game back in order, before eventually returning to the NHL to help the Blues. If he does clear and is assigned to the AHL, the Blues will also get a $1.025MM break on his cap hit, though Binnington’s $650K eats up most of the savings.

Bakos on the other hand has been playing the entire season in the minor leagues with the Providence Bruins, after signing a one-year two-way contract in the summer. The Slovakian forward has played the last few seasons in the KHL or Czech league, and figured he’d try his hand at North American hockey. That experiment seems to be over, and Bakos will return to Europe after seeing his contract terminated with the Bruins.

Sergei Shumakov Clears Unconditional Waivers, Signs A Minor League Deal With Florida

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Saturday: In a somewhat surprising move, Shumakov has inked a tryout deal with Springfield of the AHL, Florida’s minor league affiliate, reports Igor Eronko of Sport-Express.  That suggests he hasn’t given up on playing in the NHL just yet and will now try his luck in the Panthers organization.

Friday: Shumakov has cleared waivers and will see his contract terminated.

Thursday: The season of contract terminations continues, this time with the placement of Sergei Shumakov on unconditional waivers according to Isabelle Khurshudyan of the Washington Post and Chris Kuc of The Athletic. The Washington Capitals only signed the Russian forward in September, but obviously things have not worked out as planned between the two sides. Shumakov will likely be headed back to the KHL provided his termination goes smoothly.

Shumakov, 26, signed a one-year entry-level contract this offseason to try his hand at the NHL, but couldn’t crack the Capitals roster out of camp. After a career-high 40 points in the KHL last year, even his play at the AHL level wasn’t exceptional with just four points in ten games. Those ten sound like the only games he’ll play in North America, though after terminating his deal he could technically sign elsewhere around the NHL.

On the one-year deal, if Shumakov expressed a desire to return to Russia there was little reason for the Capitals to keep him around. Unless they had plans on recalling him soon, there’s little chance he would have agreed to a new contract in the summer, despite being a restricted free agent. Washington will give up those rights by terminating the deal.

It will be interesting to see if Shumakov returns to CSKA, where he played last season for the first time. There is always a chance that we see him back in North America down the line, but he’s no longer an asset of the Washington organization.

Xavier Ouellet Clears Waivers

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12/8: Ouellet has cleared waivers and has been reassigned by the Habs to the AHL’s Laval Rocket.

12/7: The Montreal Canadiens have placed another young player on waivers, as Xavier Ouellet finds himself there today. The Canadiens are expecting Noah Juulsen back this weekend, and needed to clear some room on the blue line for him.

Ouellet, 25, has played 19 games for the Canadiens this season after signing a one-year, two-way deal in the summer. Bought out of his previous contract with the Detroit Red Wings, Ouellet landed in the city where he started his junior career, and looked to be a capable fill-in while the Canadiens waited for Shea Weber and company to get healthy. He’d fallen out of favor in Detroit, but was still young enough to establish himself in the NHL.

Unfortunately, Ouellet finds himself in an overcrowded group now that Juulsen is set to return and Brett Kulak has played his way into the lineup. The Canadiens will have eight healthy defensemen and needed to make a decision on someone. Ouellet is the only one of them outside of Juulsen that is on a two-way deal, which may have factored into the decision. That $700K two-way deal might be interesting to someone else around the league though, as he provides a relatively cheap option that has experience coming in and out of the lineup.

The Canadiens have already lost Nikita Scherbak and Jacob de La Rose on waivers this season, and very well could lose Ouellet tomorrow. Though none of the three are exactly fundamental players on their roster, losing depth for nothing is never the ideal situation. The Canadiens have plenty of contract slots available, and are likely hoping that Ouellet can sneak through and report to the Laval Rocket of the AHL.

Boston Bruins Claim Gemel Smith Off Waivers

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The Boston Bruins have added some depth to their forward group, today claiming Gemel Smith off waivers from the Dallas Stars. Smith was the odd man out in Dallas now that Roope Hintz has established himself as a full-time player and Martin Hanzal is returning to the lineup.

It’s not hard to understand why the Bruins claimed Smith, given the struggles of their bottom six this season. The team went out this offseason and added Chris Wagner and Joakim Nordstrom to replace some of their outgoing talent, but the pair has combined for just eight points on the year. Add that to the fact that David Backes is a shadow of his former self and young players like Danton Heinen and Ryan Donato have seemingly taken a step backwards and you have a clear picture of top-heavy situation in Boston. Only five forwards have more than 10 points on the season, and even David Krejci’s 19 includes just two goals.

To be sure, Smith isn’t some sort of offensive dynamo that will be the cure to everything that ails the Bruins. In fact he only has 20 points in 77 career games, and was never an elite scoring threat in junior or the minor leagues. What he does bring though is a consistent two-way effort every night that can chip in a goal now and then, while providing some positional versatility. Smith has a history at the center position, though he has rarely gotten the opportunity to play there in Dallas.

It’s not a home run for the Bruins, but another swing for a team that has yet to find much consistency in the bottom part of their lineup. Add in that Smith is just 24, is a restricted free agent at the end of the year and costs only $720K this season, and it’s easy to see why the claim was made.

Gemel Smith Placed On Waivers By Dallas Stars

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The Dallas Stars have made a move up front to create some room for the imminent return of Martin Hanzal, placing Gemel Smith on waivers today according to Sean Shapiro of The Athletic. Shapiro tweeted yesterday that the Stars were making a decision between sending Roope Hintz back to the AHL or waiving Smith, and they’ve now apparently chose the latter option.

Smith, 24, has played 77 games with the Stars since the beginning of the 2016-17 season but hasn’t been able to establish himself as the consistent bottom-six option many believed he could be. The fourth-round pick has 11 goals and 20 points in those 77 games, but has been played so sparingly that it’s not surprising to see him on the way out. There is some reason to believe he could be claimed, given his relative youth and inexpensive contract—Smith carries just a $720K cap hit—but given that he already cleared waivers in the offseason the more likely result is he will be sent to the Texas Stars of the AHL.

Interestingly, if Smith does make it through to the minor leagues and spends the rest of the season there the Stars will likely be sacrificing him as an asset altogether. Turning 25 in April, Smith will be eligible for Group VI unrestricted free agency after this season if he fails to play in another three NHL games. Even if he does get into another few games, the fact that he has been passed over on the Stars depth chart and is arbitration eligible once again makes him a candidate to go unqualified by the team in the offseason anyway.

Canucks Return Sam Gagner To Toronto Marlies

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Veteran forward Sam Gagner was surprised to find that he would not be starting the season at the NHL level after the Vancouver Canucks waived him and subsequently assigned him to the AHL’s Toronto Marlies prior to the start of the 2018-19 season. However, Gagner got the call from the injury-plagued Canucks in mid-November and saw it as an opportunity to win back his job with Vancouver. Gagner’s efforts were clearly not enough, as the team announced today that they have returned Gagner to the Marlies.

In seven games in Vancouver, Gagner played a pivotal role for the Canucks, averaging more than 18 minutes of ice time per game. In fact, in his last game on Saturday, Gagner logged more than 19 minutes, among the Canucks’ top skaters that night. His ice time also included a healthy amount on the power play, where he has always been effective. Altogether, Gagner only recorded three points – a goal and two assists – but was crippled by a 5.9% shooting percentage that would currently go down as the lowest of his career and is far from the norm over his twelve seasons. Nevertheless, three points in seven games is far from overwhelming and Gagner was a non-factor defensively and a liability at the face-off dot during his brief call-up. Gagner could certainly be of benefit to Vancouver this season, but he certainly did not do enough to force their hand in keeping him, especially with trade acquisition Josh Leivo incoming and Jay Beagle getting close to a return.

The question now is whether or not Gagner improved his stock enough during the recall to rejuvenate his trade market. The likely end to Gagner’s time in Vancouver became a trade as soon as they waived and reassigned him earlier this season. A solid player with years of success at the NHL level, few believe Gagner should be relegated to the minors full-time, but no teams were willing to take on his full contract via waivers. After seeing him play big minutes again for the Canucks, as well as point-per-game production in the AHL, it is possible that competitors could begin putting in calls to Vancover GM Jim Benning.

Pacific Notes: Ritchie, Burns, Stastny, Gaudette

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While most of the hockey world had been focused on the contract holdout of William Nylander all season, there were much fewer eyes on the holdout of restricted free agent Nick Ritchie. The 22-year-old wasn’t a big name. After all, the most points he had ever posted was 14 goals and 28 points in 2016-17. Yet hold out he did before eventually signing a three-year bridge deal worth a total of $4.6MM. A small footnote in the restricted free-agent process.

However, Ritchie is starting to get hot as he has scored all four of his goals in the last four games, including a two-goal performance Wednesday against Florida as well as eight points in the last seven games. The Athletic’s Eric Stephens (subscription required) writes that Ritchie is starting to develop into the player they drafted in the first round (10th overall) in 2014.

Ritchie admits that he has made minor adjustments such as adjusting his footwork and how he handles the puck, but after initially playing in the top six and then getting demoted to the fourth line was a game-changer. The winger says that he worked harder than ever to work his way back to the top-six. It’s working as Anaheim has won four in a row and six of their last seven.

  • Kevin Kurz of The Athletic (subscription required) writes one of the many issues that the San Jose Sharks are struggling with is the play of veteran defenseman Brent Burns. The 33-year-old blueliner is having a good season statistically with 27 points in 27 games, but hasn’t scored a goal in more than a month and holds a minus-3 plus-minus rating. His general play has been disappointing and that really stood out in the team’s 6-2 loss to the Ottawa Senators Saturday.
  • The Vegas Golden Knights got good news as injured center Paul Stastny was seen skating during the team’s morning skate, according to SinBin Vegas. Stastny has been skating for several days for about 20-30 minutes, which is the next step in his recovery from a lower-body injury that has held him for most of the season. The 32-year-old has appeared in just three games for the Golden Knights.
  • When the Vancouver Canucks placed Brendan Leipsic on waivers earlier today, many were surprised they didn’t just assign Adam Gaudette to Utica of the AHL instead of potentially losing Leipsic. However, general manager Jim Benning explained that the team prefers to see Gaudette continue his development with the Canucks. “We want to keep him around because he plays centre and because every game he’s showing some good things and gaining more confidence,” Benning said via Postmedia’s Ben Kuzma. “We feel he’s helping us.”

Brendan Leipsic Placed On Waivers

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According to CapFriendly, the Vancouver Canucks have placed forward Brendan Leipsic on waivers. Leipsic didn’t play in the Canucks most recent game and likely will be sent to the minor leagues if he clears.

Leipsic hasn’t been able to make much of an impact on Travis Green and the Vancouver coaching staff since coming over from the Vegas Golden Knights last year, and will now be at risk of claim. The 24-year old forward has a nice offensive ceiling, but has recorded just five points this season in limited minutes. With Jay Beagle’s return coming closer, the Canucks needed to make a decision on who would go, and felt that Adam Gaudette’s NHL development was more important.

With two other young offensive talents swapping teams through waivers the last few days, there may not be as many interested teams left for Leipsic. If he does clear, the Utica Comets will be getting a huge boost. The third-round pick has 159 points in 188 career regular season AHL games, including a better than point-per-game pace in his last stint during the 2016-17 season.

Los Angeles Kings Claim Nikita Scherbak

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After letting Valentin Zykov pass through to the Edmonton Oilers earlier this week, the Los Angeles Kings were not going to watch another talented young forward go unclaimed. The Kings have claimed Nikita Scherbak off waivers from the Montreal Canadiens.

This is the second high draft pick the Canadiens have lost on waivers this season, following Detroit’s claim of Jacob de La Rose earlier in the year. Scherbak was selected 26th overall in 2014, after exploding onto the CHL scene as a rookie for the Saksatoon Blades. His minor league career was also quite successful, but the 22-year old forward was unable to crack the Montreal lineup on a regular basis and faced injury this season. The Canadiens did try to trade the young forward, but with their obvious roster crunch approaching teams likely just waited them out.

For the Kings, this is a worthwhile gamble given the performance of their own forward group this season. Los Angeles ranks easily last in the NHL in scoring with just 56 goals through 26 games, an amazing 47 fewer than the league-leading Tampa Bay Lightning. While their goaltending and defensive play has been good enough to keep them from being shelled on a nightly basis, expecting to win while averaging just over two goals a game is impossible. Scherbak doesn’t offer a guaranteed upgrade to that group, but at least has a healthy dose of potential left in him and could just be waiting for an opportunity.

CapFriendly reports that Scherbak will remain on injured reserve for the time being, but the Kings will likely try to get him into the lineup as soon as possible. A restricted free agent at year’s end, he should get every chance to prove he can be a useful contributor going forward, deserved of a new contract.

Canadiens Place Nikita Scherbak On Waivers

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The Canadiens have placed winger Nikita Scherbak on waivers, Sportsnet’s Elliotte Friedman reports (Twitter link).  Sportsnet’s Eric Engels adds (via Twitter) that Montreal had unsuccessfully tried to trade him before going this route.

The 22-year-old made the team out of training camp but didn’t see any action before being sent to the minors on a conditioning stint at the end of October.  He got into five games with AHL Laval and struggled, picking up just a single goal in that span.  Scherbak also suffered a lower-body injury in the minors and was placed on injured reserve following his recall.  The fact he’s on waivers suggests he’s cleared to return.

Scherbak was a first-round pick of the Canadiens back in 2014 (26th overall) but has yet to have much success at the NHL level.  He played in 26 games with Montreal last season, recording just six points while spending a lot of time in a bottom six role.  As an offensive-oriented player, he’s someone who is best served playing in the top six but he hasn’t had that opportunity on a regular basis just yet.

Given the offensive potential he has shown at the minor league level, his age, and the fact he’s on a cheap contract (he’s in the final year of his entry-level pact with a cap hit of $863K), there’s a good chance that he will be claimed, similar to what happened on Friday with winger Valentin Zykov joining the Oilers.  If he passes through unclaimed, he’ll be sent back to Laval.

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