Tyler Moy Clears Unconditional Waivers
Nov 5: Moy has indeed signed with Lausanne HC in Switzerland for the remainder of the 2018-19 season.
Nov 1: The Nashville Predators have placed Tyler Moy on unconditional waivers for the purpose of a contract termination. Moy is in the second year of a two season entry-level contract signed back in 2017 after graduating from Harvard. The sixth-round pick will be an unrestricted free agent once the contract is terminated.
There have been rumors from Swiss news outlets that Moy, whose mother was born in Switzerland, has been in talks with various clubs in the NLA but nothing so far has been announced. A standout in his senior year in Harvard scoring 45 points in 36 games, he hasn’t quite been able to replicate that success in the minor leagues and had been playing in the ECHL for part of this season. That can’t be what he expected when he signed with the Predators, which could have led to him wanting to terminate the deal.
If there’s no bad blood between the two, it could allow him to return to the Predators organization down the road if his play improves at his next stop. He’ll turn 24 in July though, meaning he’s closing in on the end of prospect status and entering the veteran depth portion of his career.
Nathan Walker, Matt Donovan Placed On Waivers
Monday: Friedman reports that all three players have cleared waivers today, meaning Walker will be sent to the minor leagues. Donovan meanwhile has signed a two-year deal with the Predators and can now play in the NHL this season.
Sunday: Elliotte Friedman reports that two players were put on waivers today, as the Washington Capitals have waived forward Nathan Walker, while the Nashville Predators waived defenseman Matt Donovan. Friedman also notes that the Calgary Flames have placed Yasim Ehliz on unconditional waivers with the purpose of releasing him from his contract.
With Washington Capitals’ Travis Boyd expected to be activated off of LTIR shortly, someone on the roster had to go and with the impressive play the Capitals have received from recent waiver claim Dmitrij Jaskin, Walker was the only option left to put on waivers. Walker was placed on waivers by the Capitals last year and he was claimed by Edmonton on Dec. 1. However, the Oilers decided not to keep him and placed him back on waivers on Dec. 20, allowing the Capitals to claim him back and send him to Hershey. The team hopes it can slip him past without going through the same troubles this year. Walker only managed to appear in three games this season with just an assist, so putting him on waivers made the most sense.
Donovan’s situation was a little more confusing as he isn’t even on the team’s roster as he signed an AHL deal with the Milwaukee Admirals, the Predators AHL affiliate. However, the fact he’s on waivers means that Nashville has signed the 28-year-old blueliner to a NHL-level contract, which would require the team to send him through waivers. Early reports suggest the team has signed him to a one-year, two-way deal. Donovan, a fourth-round pick in 2008, played much of the early part of his career with the New York Islanders organization, including a 52-game stint with the Islanders in the 2013-14 season even though most of his career was spent in the AHL. He played the past two years in the SHL before joining Milwaukee. He has six goals and six assists in 13 games so far this year.
Calgary originally signed Ehliz back in June after the 25-year winger wrapped up his eighth-year in the German DEL. The undersized forward, however, didn’t make the Flames NHL team and has had trouble cracking the Stockton Heat lineup in the AHL as he has only appeared in four games with no points and a minus-5. It’s likely Ehliz would prefer to return to Europe to continue his career.
Nashville Signs Matt Donovan To Two-Year Deal
When the Nashville Predators placed AHL defenseman Matt Donovan on waivers yesterday, it was clear that they had signed him to some sort of NHL contract. That’s the only reason that would have made them send him through the waiver process, but it wasn’t clear what the deal was. Now, CapFriendly reports that Donovan has signed a two-year two-way contract that carries a $675K cap hit at the NHL level.
Donovan, 28, has spent the last two seasons in Sweden playing for Frolunda after finding himself without a contract in the summer of 2016. A fourth-round pick by the New York Islanders in 2008, he played just 67 NHL games with the organization and instead spent most of his time racking up points at the AHL level. An excellent offensive defenseman, Donovan was leading the Milwaukee Admirals in scoring this season after accepting another AHL deal to return to North America, and has now been rewarded for his hard work. The Predators will add him to a stable of offensively-minded defensemen in the organization, and hope that the lessons he learned in Sweden can translate to more consistent play in his own end.
The best part about this deal for the Predators is that Donovan can still be placed in the minor leagues and help the Admirals to AHL success, while being a potential call-up down the line. The team didn’t have a ton of NHL experience among their potential call-ups, meaning any rash of injuries to their NHL group could leave a huge hole on the blue line. There’s no guarantee that Donovan can fill a spot like that adequately, but he does at least have a history of success in several different professional leagues.
Jeremiah Addison Clears Unconditional Waivers
Saturday: The Canadiens announced that Addison has cleared waivers and that his contract has been terminated.
Friday: The trend of mutual contract terminations continues this season, as the Montreal Canadiens have placed Jeremiah Addison on unconditional waivers in order to terminate his deal according to Elliotte Friedman of Sportsnet. Addison had been assigned to the Brampton Beast of the ECHL recently, but according to Patrick Friolet of RDS had refused the assignment and instead wants to go back to school.
Addison, 22, was a late-blooming offensive player in junior who only really broke out in 2014-15 with the Ottawa 67’s. That earned him a seventh-round selection by the Canadiens in 2015, but he only suited up for a total of 10 games in the AHL. That didn’t include a single contest this year, and it appears as though his professional hockey career is over at this point.
There’s still reason to keep an eye on his name, given that he easily showed enough skill to compete in the minor leagues, but should he clear tomorrow and see his contract terminated the Canadiens will no longer have any claim to him as a prospect.
Edmonton Activates Ty Rattie From Injured Reserve
Entering the 2018-19 season, forward Ty Rattie was labeled as one of the players who could make or break the Edmonton Oilers’ season. Any determination of Rattie’s impact on the campaign was put on hold in mid-October, when the 25-year-old was placed on the injured reserve with an undisclosed injury. Expected to be out until later this month, it came as somewhat of a surprise this afternoon when the Oilers announced that Rattie has been activated from the IR and is set to return to the lineup. In a corresponding move, rookie forward Cooper Marody has been returned to the AHL’s Bakersfield Condors.
After an incredibly productive preseason, Rattie was handed a coveted first-line slot on the right wing of superstar center Connor McDavid. It was a career-defining opportunity for Rattie, who has been little more than minor league depth thus far in his pro career. A second-round pick of the St. Louis Blues in 2011, Rattie played in only 30 NHL games in parts of four seasons in St. Louis, recording eight points. He was lost on waivers briefly to the Carolina Hurricanes in 2016-17 and contributed two points in five games. Rattie opted to sign with Edmonton as a free agent in 2017 and played in a career-high 14 games last season, posting a career best 15:28 ATOI. It was far from regular NHL action, but was the first step toward taking a permanent role with the Oilers, and he made the most of it by posting nine points. Expected to take a step forward this year, Rattie notched a goal and an assist in his five games prior to the injury. While he’s not quite back at square one, he may very well have to work his way back into top minutes and first-line consideration.
If Rattie can find his scoring touch quickly, he should be back in the top-six as soon as possible. The Oilers have struggled with secondary scoring this season, with only McDavid, Leon Draisaitl, and Ryan Nugent-Hopkins holding more than seven points on the year. The platoon on the right side is an especially troublesome situation, with Alex Chiasson, Drake Caggiula, Zack Kassian, and Jesse Puljujarvi all failing to make the most of their opportunities. Rattie’s addition would be a welcome addition to the competition for production and consistency at right wing.
Marody, a first-year pro out of the University of Michigan, skated in two games for the Oilers during Rattie’s absence. While he was limited to under nine minutes of ice time per night and held scoreless, he didn’t look out of place at the NHL level. A sixth-round pick of the Philadelphia Flyers acquired for a third-round pick last spring, Marody’s stock is clearly on the rise and he should see more action in Edmonton before the end of the season.
Mike Condon, Ben Street Placed On Waivers
Thursday: Both Condon and Street have cleared waivers, and can now be assigned to the minor leagues.
Wednesday: After a tough night in Arizona, Mike Condon has been placed on waivers by the Ottawa Senators according to Elliotte Friedman of Sportsnet. Joining Condon today is Ben Street of the Anaheim Ducks, while Jakub Jerabek has cleared and has been assigned to the minor leagues by the St. Louis Blues.
Condon has gone through quite a disastrous spell since signing a three-year, $7.2MM contract with the Senators in June of 2017. That summer he was coming off a very successful campaign in which he recorded a .914 save percentage and helped Ottawa get all the way to the Eastern Conference Finals. Since, he’s recorded just a .898 save percentage and won just five of his 28 starts. His and fellow netminder Craig Anderson‘s disappointing 2017-18 season were a huge part of why the Senators fell to the bottom of the standings, and now there’s some question about whether or not he’ll be able to find his game again.
It’s not like Condon is at the beginning of his career, just dealing with a bump in the road. He’ll turn 29 this season, and could very well be on his way out of the league if he can’t turn things around. For now, he’ll likely clear waivers due to his hefty contract and try to work his way back to relevancy in the minor leagues. John Shannon of Sportsnet reports that it will be either veteran goaltender Mike McKenna or prospect Filip Gustavsson that will be called up to replace Condon in Ottawa and back up Anderson.
For Street, it’s a numbers game as the Ducks try to find a way to right the ship in the early part of the season. Patrick Eaves is close to a return, and with Kalle Kossila and Kiefer Sherwood making there return Anaheim needed to send someone back down. Street will likely join Sam Steel in the minor leagues, though was still skating with the team today.
Ottawa Senators Make Five Roster Moves
The Ottawa Senators have had a busy morning when it comes to roster moves, sending Jack Rodewald and Christian Wolanin to the AHL in exchange for Erik Burgdoerfer, Nick Paul and Mike McKenna. McKenna in particular is the name fans were waiting to hear, as he’ll be the option to replace Mike Condon in net for the time being. Condon is on waivers and is expected to be assigned to the AHL should he clear today.
Ottawa has a game tonight against the Buffalo Sabres, and will have Craig Anderson in net behind the suddenly struggling team. After a solid start to the year, the group has lost their last four matches and are plummeting towards the bottom of the Atlantic Division. Perhaps Burgdoerfer can give them some secrets on their opponent tonight, given he spent a season playing in the Buffalo organization in 2016-17. The team is currently carrying eight defensemen, given Mark Borowiecki‘s ongoing suspension, and have dressed seven of them at times already this season.
If they don’t dress seven, they’ll be inserting Paul back into the lineup given they only have 12 forwards currently on the roster. The 23-year old forward does have six points in his first six AHL games, and is looking to get back into NHL action for the first time this season.
St. Louis Blues Place Jakub Jerabek On Waivers
The St. Louis Blues have placed Jakub Jerabek on waivers, according to Elliotte Friedman of Sportsnet. Jerabek has played just a single game for the Blues, after coming over from the Edmonton Oilers just before the season started.
If claimed, Jerabek could be joining his fourth NHL team since coming over from the KHL, despite only playing 39 games between the regular season and playoffs. The 27-year old defenseman signed with the Montreal Canadiens in the summer of 2017 only to be traded at the deadline to the eventual Stanley Cup winning Washington Capitals. A new contract with the Oilers didn’t even last all of training camp before he was cut from the squad and sent south to the Blues, where he still hasn’t been able to make much of an impression.
With the recent return of Carl Gunnarsson and several forwards from their conditioning stints, the Blues need room on the roster and Jerabek is the easiest choice to lose. His $1MM salary may actually protect him from claim, but one has to wonder if he’ll accept another demotion to the minor leagues. The Czech-born defenseman was an excellent professional player for years in his home country, and if he’s not going to get another opportunity at the NHL level this season there seems little chance of him earning a one-way contract next summer.
Pittsburgh Penguins Place Kevin Czuczman On Waivers
Monday: Czuczman has cleared waivers and can now be assigned to the AHL should the Penguins decide to do so.
Sunday: The Pittsburgh Penguins have placed defenseman Kevin Czuczman on waivers today, according to TVA’s Renaud Lavoie. He suffered a shoulder injury during training camp and was placed on season-opening injured reserve.
The 27-year-old, who is expected to be out until December, had to go through the formality of waivers at some point and with the defenseman’s continued progression through his shoulder injury, it makes sense to do it now. He has already been with the AHL team throughout the early part of the season of his recovery.
Czuczman spent all of last year with the Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins in the AHL, finishing with four goals and 35 points in 71 games. Entering his fifth season in the AHL, he will be brought back slowly and eventually placed on one of WBS’s top defensive lines after he is fully healthy. Czuczman chose to re-sign with a one-year, $650K contract with Pittsburgh just before free agency opened this summer.
Minor Transactions: 10/29/18
Just two games on the schedule around the league tonight, which will give teams ample time to make roster moves and get ready for this week. As always, we’ll be right here keeping track of all the minor transactions.
- The New Jersey Devils have recalled Cory Schneider from his conditioning stint as expected, meaning Eddie Lack is on his way to the minor leagues. Interestingly though, the team has used a conditioning loan for Lack too, meaning the team will currently still have three goaltenders on the NHL roster. Lack will get in some games for the Binghamton Devils before the team decides whether or not to place him on waivers.
- Jeremy Lauzon is back up with the Boston Bruins under emergency conditions, as Matt Grzelcyk was not able to practice today. The team is still also without Charlie McAvoy as he works his way back from injury, while Joe Haggerty of NBC Sports Boston reports that Kevan Miller skated on his own. Lauzon has already made his NHL debut this season, and is now looking for his first NHL point. After practice, the team also recalled Colby Cave under emergency conditions while moving McAvoy to injured reserve.
- The St. Louis Blues have recalled Ville Husso from the minor leagues to fill in for Jake Allen while he deals with injury. Robby Fabbri, Nikita Soshnikov and Carl Gunnarsson meanwhile have all been recalled from their conditioning assignments according to Lou Korac of NHL.com.