Carolina Hurricanes Still Determining Goaltender Situation
The Carolina Hurricanes struggled last season to stop the puck, with newcomer Scott Darling posting an .888 save percentage despite his previous career total of .923. When Cam Ward moved on to the Chicago Blackhawks in free agency this summer, the Hurricanes brought in Petr Mrazek to battle with Darling and potentially give the team a bounce-back tandem of sorts. Instead, Darling suffered an injury in training camp and still has no timetable for his return. In the meantime the Hurricanes claimed Curtis McElhinney off waivers from the Toronto Maple Leafs and have given him two starts already.
McElhinney, 35, has found a fountain of youth the last few seasons and looks as sharp as ever in net for the Hurricanes in the early going. The journeyman goaltender is 2-0 with a .930 save percentage and is starting to turn heads as a possible starting option for the entire season. On the latest edition of Insider Trading on TSN, panelist Pierre LeBrun spoke about how the Hurricanes saw that opportunity in McElhinney even before the Darling injury and may have claimed him regardless. The team may decide to carry three goaltenders for a while when Darling is back, meaning expectant Maple Leafs fans would not get a chance to reclaim their former backup.
The Hurricanes are by no means a cap ceiling team, as they currently sit near the very bottom of the league in salary commitments for this season. Mrazek, who has not looked sharp through his two starts and has struggled in recent seasons, is earning $1.5MM and could be expendable if the team decides to keep McElhinney around. It’s tough to imagine any other team taking a shot at Mrazek on waivers given his salary and play so far, meaning the Hurricanes could likely sneak him through into the minor leagues for some added depth. Regardless, the team will ride the hot hand for the time being and hope that McElhinney still has enough in his tank to keep them on their winning streak. Carolina is first in the NHL with seven points in their first four games, and a near-perfect 3-0-1 record.
Anaheim Ducks Place Pontus Aberg On Waivers
Monday: Aberg has cleared waivers according to Chris Johnston of Sportsnet, an interesting move given that the Oilers could have reclaimed him for their minor league squad. That means Aberg will now be able to go to San Diego should the Ducks decide to send him there.
Sunday: The Anaheim Ducks decided that Pontus Aberg may not be the best fit after all. After claiming him on waivers from the Edmonton Oilers last week, Elliotte Friedman reports that the Ducks have put the 25-year-old winger on waivers Sunday.
Aberg played just one game for the Ducks, who added Aberg due to multiple injuries to their roster, including Ryan Kesler, Corey Perry and Ondrej Kase. Aberg played 20 shifts in the team’s season opener against San Jose and played 13:47, but didn’t register a point. He did have a minus-one rating and picked up two penalty minutes, made one hit and blocked a shot.
There is no guarantee that any team might take a flier on Aberg after being waived after a one-game trial, but if Edmonton opts to claim him back and no one else does, the Oilers can send him directly to the Bakersfield Condors of the AHL without having to re-waive him again. If Edmonton opts not to bring him back and he passes through waivers, he can be sent to the San Diego Gulls of the AHL.
Anthony Stolarz Clears Waivers
Oct. 6: Stolarz has cleared waivers, reports Dave Isaac of the Courier-Post. That will pave the way for him to be assigned to Lehigh Valley of the AHL.
Oct. 5: The Philadelphia Flyers claimed Calvin Pickard earlier this week when the Toronto Maple Leafs were forced to waive him, and have now done it to their own relatively young goaltender. The team has placed Anthony Stolarz on waivers today, risking him to the rest of the league. The Winnipeg Jets have also placed Simon Bourque on unconditional waivers for the purpose of a contract termination.
With the selection of Pickard it was obvious that the next move would have to be Stolarz, unless the team wanted to carry three goaltenders for the next little while. With Michal Neuvirth eventually returning, Pickard may actually face the same fate down the road which would allow the Maple Leafs a chance to reacquire him. For Stolarz, there could be another team waiting for a chance to snatch up a young goaltender, though we’ll have to wait and see.
The 24-year old has battled injury for more than a year, playing in only four minor league games last season and somewhat derailing the solid career he’d had up to that point. In 2016-17 when he made his NHL debut, Stolarz impressed with a .928 save percentage in seven appearances and looked like the potential goaltender of the future for the Flyers. He had after all been selected in the second round in 2012 and showed good skills at the minor league level. Since that debut though, undrafted college goaltender Alex Lyon had shown himself a capable prospect in his own right who took the Flyers net for 11 games last season, and uber prospect Carter Hart won his second and third WHL Goaltender of the Year awards.
Hart—and to a lesser degree Felix Sandstrom—is now the future in net for the Flyers despite the fact that Stolarz and Lyon are still both relatively young, leaving little opportunity in the organization for development. The Lehigh Valley Phantoms will want to get Hart as much experience as possible, in order to prepare him to take over the Philadelphia net before long. There’s reason to believe that Stolarz could thrive elsewhere, but he’d need someone to take a chance on him and keep him on the NHL roster. If he is claimed, that team wouldn’t be able to put him in the minor leagues until he cleared for them, giving the Flyers a chance to reacquire him at some point this year. With the Carolina Hurricanes already snatching Curtis McElhinney from the Maple Leafs, and the Chicago Blackhawks closing in on a healthy return for Corey Crawford, there aren’t many obviously needy franchises.
Overseas Notes: Rodin, Haapala, Robak
Anton Rodin signed with the Anaheim Ducks this summer hoping to get a second chance at the NHL. Rodin had previously played for the Vancouver Canucks, without much luck. Rodin played in three NHL games and three AHL games in 2016-17 but was otherwise shut down for the year with injury. Then, upon failing to crack the Canucks’ roster last season, the two sides came to a mutual agreement on the termination of Rodin’s contract and he played out the remainder of the year back in Europe, again limited by injury. Unfortunately, history repeated itself in training camp this year, as Rodin was unable to land a spot with the Ducks. He requested a termination of his contract and cleared unconditional waivers last week. Now, Rodin seems to have already found a new home, returning to the Swiss club he played for last year, HC Davos. Swiss new source “Hockey News” reports that a deal is in place to bring Rodin back to Davos, where he will join fellow former NHLers Shane Prince and Anders Lindback. The former Swedish Hockey League MVP reportedly had interest from clubs throughout Europe, including the KHL and other NLA teams, but opted for familiarity, returning to Davos. While his experiments with the NHL are likely over, hopefully the talented winger cans stay healthy and return to his status as one of the top players in Europe.
- By all accounts, Henrik Haapala is still technically under contract with the Florida Panthers. However, the former Liiga scoring leader has signed with HC Lugano of the NLA for this upcoming season, the team announced. The Finnish forward signed a two-year entry-level contract with Florida last summer and even played in five games with the Panthers. After 20 games with the AHL’s Springfield Thunderbirds, Haapala was loaned back to his Liiga club, Tappara, for the remainder of the season. However, he still had a year remaining on his contract and no deal in place with Tappara and was expected to return to Florida this season. Instead, Haapala didn’t even participate in training camp and now appears slated to spend 2018-19 with Lugano. There is no word on what this means for his contract status with the Panthers, but Lugano is happy to have him. The small, speedy winger has excellent play-making ability and has the potential to be a major contributor in the NLA.
- Former Florida Panther Colby Robak is also on his way to Europe, leaving North America for the first time in his career. Robak has signed with Vassan Sport of the Liiga in Finland, the team announced. Robak, a second-round pick in 2008, has not played in an NHL game since 2014-15, in which he split the yeat between Florida and the Anaheim Ducks, but has made a living as a veteran leader in the AHL. Apparently, his time in that role ran out, as Robak was unable to find another AHL contract this summer and has made the jump overseas. Sport finished dead last in the Liiga last year and get a major boost from Robak’s arrival, as the experienced defender should easily become a leader for the team in their efforts to improve this season.
Ottawa Senators Recall Paul Carey
The Ottawa Senators are bringing in some early season reinforcements, recalling veteran Paul Carey from the AHL’s Belleville Senators. The gritty, versatile forward is likely to compete for a job on the Senators fourth line. Carey, 30, recorded career highs across the board in 2017-18 with the New York Rangers and was Ottawa’s most notable free agent addition this off-season.
Despite skating in 60 games with the New York Rangers last season and posting seven goals and seven assists, as well as finishing among the Rangers’ forward leaders in hits, Carey has not seen the expected bump in attention paid his way this off-season. Carey was without any one-way offers on July 1st, signing a two-way contract with Ottawa in order to join a scenario where he felt he could find significant play time. He was then a relatively early cut from training camp, placed on waivers back on September 24th. Although Carey is almost exclusively an off-the-puck style player who was exposed at times last year and certainly benefited from an inflated shooting percentage, he is nevertheless an experienced, hard-nosed forward who can line up at all three positions and contribute to both special teams units. Even after a strong campaign in New York, Carey is still on the hunt for respect this season with Ottawa.
If he can find his niche with the Senators, he does have a chance to play an important role. Ottawa’s current fourth line of Tom Pyatt between Max McCormick and Magnus Paajarvi won’t strike fear into many opponents and Carey would seem to be an upgrade over either wing. Carey also could work his way into a regular short-handed role. With McCormick presently listed as day-to-day with a lower body injury, Carey likely will get his first chance to show that he can be a permanent fixture on the checking line when the Sens square off with the Toronto Maple Leafs tomorrow night.
Minor Transactions: 10/05/18
Another outstanding set of season openers last night brought some incredible saves and exciting performances. Now as teams get ready for the weekend, we’ll be watching all the minor moves around the league.
- The St. Louis Blues have called up Chris Thorburn after clearing waivers just a few days ago, and decided to send Niko Mikkola down to the AHL. Mikkola didn’t play in the Blues opener, in which they were defeated 5-1 by the Winnipeg Jets. Thorburn, a veteran forward with 800 games under his belt, may be inserted to give the team a little more experience in their next matchup. The Blues have also shuffled their goaltending assignments. Their AHL affiliate, the San Antonio Rampage, announced that Evan Fitzpatrick has been reassigned to the ECHL’s Tulsa Oilers. With Jordan Binnington and Ville Husso manning the net in San Antonio, the first-year pro Fitzpatrick will see far more play time with Tulsa.
- Rasmus Andersson will get his chance at the NHL a little sooner than expected this season, as he’s been recalled by the Calgary Flames after just one game. Travis Hamonic suffered a facial fracture in the season opener for Calgary when he was fighting Erik Gudbranson and will be out for at least a week. The 21-year old Andersson played 10 games for the Flames last season, and performed quite well in the preseason.
- The Boston Bruins have sent Urho Vaakanainen back to Providence to play for their AHL team, delaying his NHL debut a little longer. Vaakanainen, the Bruins first-round pick from 2017, will start his North American career in the minor leagues and try to make an impact right away. The smooth skating defenseman is fairly polished in his own end already, and should be able to provide a boost to the Providence blue line this season.
- Collin Delia didn’t even get time to unpack his bags for the Chicago Blackhawks, as the team has sent the young goaltender back to the minor leagues. Delia came up to fill in for an injured Anton Forsberg, who took a puck up high in practice, but will return to his place with the Rockford IceHogs this season.
- Former Pittsburgh Penguins prospect Philip Samuelsson has signed with the AHL’s Lehigh Valley Phantoms, the team announced. Samuelsson, 27, was a second-round pick of the Pens back in 2009 but has never been able to live up to that billing. He has bounced between the Arizona Coyotes’ and Carolina Hurricanes’ organizations over the past few years, but still has just 13 NHL games to his credit. Unable to find a new NHL opportunity this off-season, Ulf Samuelsson‘s son will try to repair his image with a strong minor league campaign this year in hopes of one day returning to the NHL.
- The Arizona Coyotes have sent forward Laurent Dauphin to the AHL’s Tuscon Roadrunners on a conditioning stint. Dauphin, 23, missed the final 15 game of the regular season last year with a lower-body injury and rehabbed this summer, but remained limited during the preseason. To get him back to full strength, the ‘Yotes will give Dauphin some time to get his legs going in the minors. There won’t be a corresponding call up to Arizona, as players reassigned for conditioning purposes continue to count against the NHL roster.
Curtis Lazar Assigned To Stockton Heat
It’s been a tough career so far for Curtis Lazar, who today was assigned to the minor leagues and will report to the Stockton Heat of the AHL. The Calgary Flames forward has admitted this offseason that he’s willing to go down and rebuild his game, and he’ll get the chance to play a lot in the minor leagues as he tries to find something to send him back in the right direction. The 2013 17th-overall pick wore out his welcome with the Ottawa Senators in 2016-17 and was traded to the Flames for a second round pick, but still failed to produce much offense last season and finished with just two goals in 65 games. Lazar cleared waivers on Monday, and now faces the tough task of rebuilding his stock before being forgotten as a washed up top prospect.
There is so obviously plenty of talent in Lazar, but the 23-year old has never been able to establish himself at the NHL level. Caught somewhere between a checker and a scoring threat, his role led to fewer than 10 minutes a night last season for Calgary. In Stockton he should be given every chance to perform at a high level, likely including some time on the powerplay and a regular shift among the team’s best forwards. If that can spark something in him and get him back on the right track the Flames might still have an NHL player on their hands, but with a $950K one-way cap hit he’ll have to really prove it before being recalled for any length of time.
The toughest hurdle for Lazar may be that the Flames have several other young players who’ve already made a bigger impact in their short careers. Mark Jankowski staked a claim to a full-time role last season and now Dillon Dube looks to be doing the same in the early going. Lazar, who was a big time offensive weapon for the Edmonton Oil Kings in junior, is at risk of being left behind and going unqualified next summer. As an arbitration eligible forward coming off a $1.05MM salary, the Flames may decide to just move on from him if there isn’t a quick turnaround.
Jordan Maletta Placed On Unconditional Waivers
Friday: Maletta has cleared waivers and will see his contract terminated.
Thursday: According to Elliotte Friedman of Sportsnet, the Chicago Blackhawks have placed Jordan Maletta on unconditional waivers for the purpose of a contract termination. Maletta was acquired by the Blackhawks as part of the Marian Hossa trade with the Arizona Coyotes and is in the final season of his entry-level contract.
Maletta, 23, is likely facing the end of his playing career after not being medically cleared to attend camp this season and instead taking a role with the Niagara IceDogs coaching staff (though he’s not listed in any official capacity so far). The young forward played parts of four seasons in Niagara during his junior career, and is originally from the area.
Though he obviously wasn’t the central target for the Hossa trade, Maletta had shown some promise as an undrafted minor league player. In 2016-17 with the Cleveland Monsters, he scored 12 goals and 23 points in 76 games while being a big part of the team’s penalty kill. There was little chance he would play a big role in the NHL at any point in his career, but there was certainly reason to believe he could contribute at the minor league level if healthy. That doesn’t seem to be the case anymore, and he’ll see his contract terminated by the Blackhawks tomorrow.
Jayson Megna Clears Waivers
Thursday: Megna has cleared waivers, according to Elliotte Friedman of Sportsnet.
Wednesday: The Washington Capitals have placed Jayson Megna on waivers, though the team announced that they will not loan him to the Hershey Bears right away should he clear. With the season just barely underway, the Capitals are likely hoping they can sneak the forward through the process to give them some added flexibility.
Megna, 28, suited up for just a single NHL game last season with the Vancouver Canucks, instead spending nearly the entire year in the minor leagues with Utica. That’s a familiar feeling for the undrafted forward, who has played many more AHL games than NHL ones in his professional career so far. Still, he may have a chance in Washington this season as the team doesn’t have quite the same center depth and is still pushed right up against the cap. With Tom Wilson‘s long suspension landing today, the team will have even less salary flexibility.
That’s where the versatile Megna could come into play, given that he earns just the league minimum on his one-year two-way deal. There’s obviously no reason to believe he could replace a player like Wilson, but he could give them legitimate NHL bottom-six minutes without costing very much. That is of course if he’s not claimed, given that there are several other teams in similar situations.
Montreal Acquires Gustav Olofsson From Minnesota
After clearing waivers earlier today, Gustav Olofsson is on his way to the Montreal Canadiens organization. The Minnesota Wild have traded the depth defenseman to the Canadiens in exchange for forward Will Bitten. Olofsson will be able to report directly to the Laval Rocket of the AHL.
Olofsson, 23, is a fairly interesting player for the Canadiens, who seem to be collecting young defensemen that were in tough situations when it comes to playing time. With a defense corps that is expected to struggle without Shea Weber for the first half of the season—and perhaps even after he returns—taking chances with players like Olofsson or Brett Kulak makes a lot of sense. There’s no guarantee that Olofsson will make an impact at the NHL level, but with a solid draft pedigree (46th overall in 2013) and 41 games or reasonably reliable defensive play last season there is at least some hope that he will.
Interestingly though they needed to give up Bitten, despite having a chance to claim Olofsson for free. That would have required them to keep the young defenseman on their NHL team or risk him being reclaimed by the Wild at some point, but giving up on a 2016 third-round pick in Bitten is a bit tough to swallow. There’s not elite offensive potential in the 20-year old forward, but few have ever come away from a Bitten viewing without noticing his incredible work ethic and drive. Scoring 64 points in 62 games for the Hamilton Bulldogs last season, Bitten was also one of the more effective defensive forwards in the OHL. That’s not always an indicator for success at the professional level, but the Canadiens now won’t even get the chance to find out.