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Marko Dano, Josh Brown Placed On Waivers

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The Colorado Avalanche have come to the same conclusion that the Winnipeg Jets did earlier this year, that Marko Dano is not ready to be a full-time NHL player. According to Elliotte Friedman of Sportsnet, the Avalanche have placed Dano on waivers today, along with Josh Brown of the Florida Panthers. Brown has been on the season-opening injured reserve list, meaning he’s likely now healthy enough to join the Springfield Thunderbirds of the AHL.

Dano, 23, hasn’t been able to live up to his first-round draft pedigree and could now potentially be joining his fifth organization since being selected in 2013. He made the biggest impact with his first team, the Columbus Blue Jackets, but has flamed out in Chicago, Winnipeg and now Colorado. That high pedigree and obvious talents are enough to make someone take a chance on him, but there is little reason to believe he’s going to put it all together at this point.

Winnipeg could also reclaim him, which would allow them to send him right to the minor leagues if they are the only team to do so. With Kristian Vesalainen expected to head to the KHL, perhaps they would take another chance on Dano and try to get him ice time in the minor leagues. The young forward carries an $800K one-way contract, but is a restricted free agent again after the season and comes with several years of team control. If he does slip through, he’ll almost certainly be assigned to the Colorado Eagles of the AHL.

Snapshots: Martinsson, Kovar, Niagara

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Eric Martinsson’s days with the Minnesota Wild seem to be numbered, but he’s not likely to be too upset about it. Swedish new source “Hockey News SE” reports that the Martinsson and the Wild have come to a mutual agreement that the recent free agent signing is to be placed on unconditional waivers in the near future for the purpose of terminating his contract. Martinsson, 26, signed with Minnesota back in May, looking to make the jump overseas after a successful stretch in the Swedish Hockey League with the Vaxjo Lakers. Instead of earning a spot on the NHL roster, Martinsson was in fact a relatively early cut from training camp. While the puck-moving blue liner has nine points through 13 games with the AHL’s Iowa Wild, he seems no closer to pushing for a chance in Minnesota than he did before the season began. As such, Martinsson would like to return home to Sweden and the Wild are expected to oblige him. Eric Martinsson is just the latest in a stream of players departing the North American minors to return to Europe this season, although Hockey New SE speculates that Martinsson’s return will be of considerable interest to many teams in the SHL.

  • Veteran forward Jan Kovar is also pondering a return to Europe. Kovar signed with the New York Islanders this summer after years of success in the KHL and in his native Czech Republic. Kovar was expected to not only compete for a job with the Isles, but potentially even center a scoring line. Instead, Kovar proved to be a poor fit with the team in camp and did not crack the starting lineup. His contract was quickly terminated, but in holding out hope for another NHL opportunity, he signed with the AHL’s Providence Bruins. Kovar has nine points in ten games with Providence, while their parent club, the Boston Bruins, have struggled with injuries and consistency, but no contract offer seems to be coming. The Providence Journal’s Mark Divver now reports that Kovar has not practiced with the team in two days and is supposedly weighing overseas contract offers. Divver believes that Kovar has offers in the KHL and NLA, as well as back home in the Czech Republic, but no such opportunities in North America. Divver additionally questions whether Kovar plays with the requisite pace to succeed in the NHL, a criticism that has come up frequently during his brief efforts this season.
  • Less than 25 games into the season doesn’t seem to be too early for a blockbuster trade in the Ontario Hockey League. The Kingston Frontenacs, with just seven win thus far the second-worst record in the league, have cashed in on two of their best assets. The Niagara Ice Dogs announced today that they have acquired Jason Robertson and Jacob Paquette from Kingston. Robertson, a second-round pick of the Dallas Stars in 2017, has back-to-back 80+ point seasons and is currently fourth among OHL scoring leaders with 38 points and second in goals with 23. Paquette, a seventh-round pick of the Nashville Predators in 2017, is a big, physical defender and a locker room leader as well. Niagara is currently tied for second in the Central Division and tied for sixth overall in the league, but will almost certainly see a considerable boost from this trade. Yet, Kingston also received a king’s ransom in the deal. The Ice Dogs surrendered a total of eleven future draft picks, including three second-rounders and three third-rounders, as well as promising draft-eligible defenseman Billy Constantinou and forward Ian Martin. The Frontenacs may have disappointed their fans by virtually giving up on the season less than halfway in, but will reward them with a solid flow of talent for years to come.

Ducks Place Hampus Lindholm On Injured Reserve

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The Anaheim Ducks continue to deal with a rash of injuries, as top defenseman Hampus Lindholm has now joined the sidelined. CapFriendly reports that Lindholm has been placed on the injured reserve, a change also reflected on the team’s official roster albeit not yet announced by the Ducks.

There has been no word yet on the type or extent of the injury that Lindholm has suffered, but Ducks fans will hold out hope that it is relatively minor. The team is already without Cam Fowler, on IR with a facial fracture, and have yet to see Korbinian Holzer this season due to a wrist injury. On top of a depleted back end, the team is also missing quite a few names up front, including core forwards Corey Perry and Patrick Eaves. A Lindholm absence of any length hurts, but Anaheim can ill afford a long-term hiatus.

Lindholm, 25, not only leads all Ducks skaters in ice time, but his 25:29 ATOI is seventh-best in the whole league. Lindholm is also tied for third in scoring for Anaheim with ten points, among the top scoring defensemen in the Pacific Division. Without Lindholm and Fowler, the Ducks are sorely lacking their regular leadership and top sources of production on the blue line. Although they have yet to announce this transaction as well, the team’s roster shows that defensemen Jake Dotchin and Josh Mahura have been recalled and both could soon find their way into the starting lineup, with Luke Schenn clearing waivers and destined for the AHL’s San Diego Gulls. Dotchin played in 48 games with the Tampa Bay Lightning last season, but has yet to make his Ducks debut, while first-year pro Mahura would be making his first NHL appearance. The two have performed well for San Diego this season, but face a tall task if asked to help make up for a long-term Lindholm absence in Anaheim.

Ducks Place Luke Schenn On Waivers

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Sunday: Jeremy Rutherford of The Athletic reports that Schenn cleared waivers and will report to the San Diego Gulls of the AHL.

Saturday: The Ducks have placed defenseman Luke Schenn on waivers, Sportsnet’s Elliotte Friedman reports (Twitter link).  The veteran has had a limited role with Anaheim this season, playing in just eight games while averaging a career-low 11:59 per night of ice time.  He’s in his first season with the Ducks after inking a one-year, $800K contract with them this offseason.

The timing of this move seems a little curious on the surface with Cam Fowler out indefinitely following surgery to repair a complex facial fracture.  At the very least, the team has a pair of veterans with recent NHL experience in the minors that they can call up to take Schenn’s place in Andrej Sustr and Jake Dotchin.

Given that Schenn is a right-shot defender (something that is typically in high demand) and has a relatively cheap price tag, it wouldn’t be surprising to see a team in need of some defensive depth place a claim.  They’ll have until 11:00 AM CST on Sunday to do so.  If Schenn clears and is sent to their AHL affiliate in San Diego, his full cap hit will come off Anaheim’s books.

Michael Bournival, Filip Sandberg Placed On Waivers

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Friday: Both players have cleared waivers, meaning Bournival can be sent to the Crunch, and Sandberg will see his contract terminated.

Thursday: The Tampa Bay Lightning have placed Michael Bournival on waivers according to CapFriendly, meaning the forward is likely healthy enough to resume playing after starting the year on season-opening injured reserve. Bournival played just five games for the Lightning last season and was always expected to spend much of the year in the minor leagues. The San Jose Sharks have also placed Filip Sandberg on unconditional waivers for purpose of a mutual contract termination, something we’ve seen more and more of this season.

Bournival, 26, has bounced around the league since being selected by the Colorado Avalanche in 2010. Traded to the Montreal Canadiens just a few months after he was drafted, he actually played 60 games in the NHL during the 2013-14 season and recorded 14 points before suiting up again for the team in the postseason. That would be the most NHL ice time he’d see though, as Bournival has played just 53 more NHL games since. Still, he’s developed into a quality minor league player for the Syracuse Crunch and scored 34 points in 57 games last season. Should he clear, he’ll likely bounce up and down for the Lightning as an extra forward capable of filling in for injury.

Sandberg meanwhile will likely return to Sweden where he was signed from in 2017, and continue his playing career in the SHL. The undersized forward never did make it to the NHL, instead playing just 55 games total at the AHL level. His contract will come off the books for the Sharks, and he’ll become an unrestricted free agent.

Overseas Notes: Merzlikins, Everberg, Bartulis, Boychuk

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The Columbus Blue Jackets will apparently have another name to consider in net next season. The Swiss Hockey News reports that young goaltender Elvis Merzlikins is expected to make the jump to North America next year. Merzlikins, 24, was Columbus’ third-round pick in 2014 and has been a standout member of the NLA’s HC Lugano ever since. The Latvian keeper took over Lugano’s starting job in 2015-16 at just 20 years old and has performed admirably. So far this year, he has been especially impressive; though 16 appearances, Merzlikins holds a .932 save percentage and a 2.19 goals against average. Fortunately for him, Merzlikins is in the final year of his NLA contract and is reportedly bound for the next level once it expires. Given his impressive performance, Merzlikins is likely to compete for the starting role with the AHL’s Cleveland Monsters and push for NHL appearances. With only Joonas Korpisalo and untested Matiss Kivlenieks under team control beyond this season, the Blue Jackets face questions in net moving forward and hope Merzlikins could potentially provide some answers.

  • The Swiss Hockey News also relays the news that Dennis Everberg has quickly found a new home. Everberg cleared unconditional waivers and had his contract with the Winnipeg Jets terminated only this morning, but clearly had a new opportunity lined up. Everberg has signed with EV Zug of the NLA, with whom he is surely going to take a much larger role than he had relegated to the minors with Winnipeg. Ironically, Zug was in search of a top forward after another former NHL forward, Viktor Stalberg, departed the team for the KHL’s Avangard Omsk last month.
  • Oskars Bartulis continues to make the most of his post-NHL career. A third-round pick of the Philadelphia Flyers back in 2005, Bartulis played in 66 games with the team but could never quite stand out. After spending much of his time in North America down in the AHL, Bartulis returned to Europe in 2012. Almost immediately, he began establishing himself as one of the top shutdown defenders in the KHL. Even thouhg his play has tailed off somewhat, Bartulis spent the last three years as the captain of Admiral Vladivostok and is still well-respected in the league. When he did not sign a new contract this off-season, there were questions about whether he was done. Yet, he’s back for another season at the age of 31. The KHL reports that Bartulis has signed a one-year, two-way contract with the Kunlun Red Star and should fit in well on a roster that is chock full of talented former NHLers.
  • On the other end of the spectrum, former top NHL prospect Zach Boychuk has been released from his contract with the KHL’s Severstal Cherepovets. Boychuk had been disappointing this year, with just four points in 25 games. In his first season with Severstal, the team was not willing to wait any longer to see if his play improved. The long-time Carolina Hurricane has been overseas for three years now and was very effective just last season with HC Slovan Bratislava. It remains to be seen what the next step is in the career of the capable forward.

Dennis Everberg, Michael Lindqvist On Unconditional Waivers

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Wednesday: Both players have cleared waivers and will now see their contracts terminated.

Tuesday: The season of contract termination continues, as the Winnipeg Jets are the latest to place a player on unconditional waivers. Dennis Everberg finds himself there today, for the purpose of mutually terminating his contract after just 11 games in the minor leagues. Bob McKenzie of TSN adds that the New York Rangers have placed Michael Lindqvist on unconditional waivers for the same purpose.

It seems as though the majority of undrafted European free agents have decided to terminate their deals in North America this year, with Everberg and Lindqvist only adding to the total. The former, who signed a one-year two-way contract on July 1st, was actually returning to this side of the ocean after previously playing two seasons in the Colorado Avalanche organization between 2014-16. The Swedish forward struggled last year in the KHL and didn’t find much more success in the AHL this time around. With just a single point in 11 games with the Manitoba Moose, Everberg will likely now return to the SHL to continue his playing career.

Lindqvist though is an even more interesting story, given that the Rangers did include a European Assignment Clause in his contract. Signed in May to a one-year entry-level contract, the team could have potentially allowed him to return to Sweden this season and still retain his rights as a restricted free agent next summer. After the 24-year old scored seven points in 16 games for the Hartford Wolf Pack one would think the Rangers were interested in keeping him in the system, but they’ve decided to terminate his deal instead. That will make Lindqvist an unrestricted free agent once again, though it seems unlikely that he’ll be back in an NHL organization anytime soon.

The Rangers likely made this decision thanks to the fact that Lindqvist would be arbitration eligible after the season, a process they would want to avoid. Everberg meanwhile would have been an unrestricted free agent anyway, and hadn’t found a real role in the Winnipeg organization.

Adam Clendening Placed On Waivers

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Wednesday: Brian Hedger of The Columbus Dispatch reports that Clendening has cleared waivers and will likely be assigned to the Cleveland Monsters of the AHL.

Tuesday: In addition to the Winnipeg Jets and New York Rangers using unconditional waivers to terminate contracts, the Columbus Blue Jackets have placed Adam Clendening on regular waivers today according to Bob McKenzie of TSN. Clendening hasn’t played for the Blue Jackets in a month, and will now likely get a chance to suit up in the minor leagues if he clears.

Clendening is one of the most well-traveled 26-year old players in the NHL. Originally selected 36th overall by the Chicago Blackhawks in 2011, the Blue Jackets are already his seventh organization—not even counting the second stint with Chicago last season. Suiting up for 90 total games split between the Blackhawks, Canucks, Penguins, Oilers, Rangers, Coyotes and now Blue Jackets, Clendening can’t seem to stick anywhere around the league. Despite being an excellent offensive presence in the minor leagues, the most NHL games he’s played in a single season was 31. That’s not to say there isn’t interest, as he continually is acquired through trade or signed to short-term contracts in free agency.

What he can’t seem to secure is a qualifying offer, as he’s been denied one in each of the last three offseasons and is at risk once again of not being retained by the Blue Jackets. Amazingly, the team still does own his rights as a restricted free agent through next season, something that they are risking by exposing him to waivers at this time. Still, Columbus has been carrying two extra defensemen for much of the season and had gotten Clendening into just four games. If he’s not going to play for you, losing him on waivers isn’t much of a risk.

Winnipeg Jets Sign Logan Shaw To One-Year Deal

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Monday: Shaw has cleared waivers and joined the Winnipeg organization. The team has assigned him to the Manitoba Moose for the time being, but could potentially recall him to spend some time in the NHL this season.

Sunday: The Winnipeg Jets have decided to add more forward depth to their roster as they announced that they have signed Logan Shaw to a one-year, two-way contract worth $675K. Shaw, who has appeared in 180 NHL games over his career, has been playing on an AHL-contract with the San Diego Gulls. As part of the contract signing, Shaw has also been placed on waivers, according to Elliotte Friedman.

The 26-year-old Shaw appeared in 72 NHL games last season between the Anaheim Ducks and Montreal Canadiens, but struggled to produce points, combining for just four goals and 14 points. He received a PTO with the Calgary Flames for training camp this year, but FlamesNation’s Ryan Pike reported that Shaw was solid, but unspectacular there. After signing an AHL deal with San Diego, Shaw has fared well, putting up two goals and five points in seven games.

Even with the addition of Shaw, the Jets have only 41 players under contract, which is the lowest number in the NHL. The next lowest is both the Pittsburgh Penguins and the Los Angeles Kings with 44. So, system depth was critical for Winnipeg and Shaw, who should clear waivers, can be assigned to the Manitoba Moose in the AHL.

Tomas Plekanec On Unconditional Waivers, Will Retire From NHL

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Sunday: Elliotte Friedman reports that Plekanec has cleared waivers.

Friday: Despite the Montreal Canadiens suffering several injuries to their forward group, the team announced today that they will place Tomas Plekanec on unconditional waivers for the purpose of a mutual contract termination. Plekanec hasn’t seen much ice time this season but is close to returning from his latest minor injury, but will not suit up again for the Canadiens.

At the press conference to discuss the move with the media, GM Marc Bergevin explained that this was a “hockey decision” to let Plekanec go. The 36-year old forward was near tears when talking about always wanting to retire in Montreal, but did note that he would look for opportunities in the Czech Republic for the next few years. It seems as though his NHL days are over. Plekanec spoke about how the team is in good hands with the young group in the dressing room, and how Bergevin did approach him with the idea of a trade at one point before making this decision.

Though there is still the formality of clearing waivers and then terminating the contract tomorrow, it seems like the end of the North American journey for Plekanec. Selected in the third round of the 2001 draft, he would make an impact at the AHL level right away and show that the rest of the league made a mistake in passing on him. By the time the league returned from lockout in 2005, he was a full-time player for the Canadiens and wouldn’t look back. Plekanec played in at least 77 games for 11 consecutive seasons (not counting the lockout-shortened 2012-13, in which he played 47 of 48) and was the picture of health and consistency for a team that went through plenty of change. Hitting a career-high of 70 points in 2009-10, Plekanec was a huge part of a Montreal team that went to the Eastern Conference Finals.

The Canadiens will not be on the hook for any of Plekanec’s cap hit, even though he signed his most recent contract over the age of 35. Because the deal was just for one season, the restrictions usually applied to 35+ deals—that is, a cap hit that remains with the team regardless of what happens to the player—do not apply. Only multi-year contracts are punished in this way, meaning the Canadiens are free and clear of anything to do with Plekanec’s contract.

In fact, the last year has been quite beneficial for the Canadiens when it comes to Plekanec. Last spring they traded the veteran center to their rival Toronto Maple Leafs for a package that included a second round pick, only to see him return to play his 1,000th game in Montreal this year. The Maple Leafs were knocked out of the first round anyway, and no other piece from the deal is still on either roster. The fact that he’s willing to step aside and allow the team to fill the roster with the next wave of Montreal forwards is just the latest in a long career filled with putting the Canadiens ahead of himself.

Known best for his trademark turtleneck and goatee, Plekanec will not go down alongside the very greats of the Montreal franchise. He was never part of a Stanley Cup run, and scored just 608 points in his 1,001 games. Still, he’ll be remembered as an efficient soldier by many fans and revered for his loyalty to the franchise to the very end.

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