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Bryan Bickell Cleared To Return To Professional Hockey

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After what has been a long and tough road back for the Carolina Hurricanes’ Bryan Bickell, he has finally been cleared to play and set to the Charlotte Checkers for a conditioning stint. He’s also been placed on waivers, according to Elliotte Friedman of Sporstnet because he will need longer than the two-weeks allowed on a normal loan. Bickell was diagnosed with Multiple Scleroris back in November, and immediately announced that he wanted to play hockey again and would work to find a way to continue his career. Now, just a few months later he is returning in what is one of the feel-good stories of the year.

Bickell was traded to Carolina as part of a salary dump this summer along with Teuvo Teravainen, the latest victims of the Chicago Blackhawks cap crunches. Bickell was part of all three Stanley Cup winning teams, though he played a small role as a 23-year old in 2010. Known for his high compete level and relentless forecheck, Chip Alexander of the Raleigh News & Observer says that his goal is to play in the NHL again this season. Coach Bill Peters told Alexander to “not bet against him” in his quest.

For the Hurricanes, this is great news after a morning that saw one of their key players shipped off to Pittsburgh to pursue a Stanley Cup. Ron Hainsey was sent out which will likely leave a leadership hole on the team, one that Bickell could fill admirably. Everyone here at PHR wishes him well in his recovery and hopes to see him on the ice again in the NHL soon.

Snapshots: Gilbert, Schmaltz, Vrbata

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When Tom Gilbert was traded from Los Angeles to the Washington Capitals just over a week ago, it was a step in the right direction for the veteran defenseman. Gilbert had played just 18 games for the Kings and was clearly not in their plans after sending him through waivers to the AHL. He told Isabelle Khurshudyan of the Washington Post as much and admitted that coming to Washington was very exciting for him. The Capitals acquired him mostly as injury depth, as he is still playing at the AHL level. But perhaps his coming East will pay off already.

Matt Niskanen was taken out of last night’s game with a lower-body injury, and though it doesn’t seem to be serious it is a sign of how close Gilbert is to having to play a vital role on the best team in the NHL. The Capitals already have just two right-handed defensemen—Niskanen and John Carlson—and use Nate Schmidt on his off-side with Brooks Orpik. If either of Niskanen or Carlson went down it would open a gaping hole on the Caps back end, one that Gilbert would gladly step into. Remember that though it was a long time ago, Gilbert was once a 45 point defenseman, capable of moving the puck with the best of them. It’s nice to have depth.

  • It’s a dream come true for Chicago Blackhawks winger Nick Schmaltz as he plays alongside Jonathan Toews. Schmaltz had three points last night and looks to be finding a nice groove on the wing of the resurgent Toews. In his rookie season Schmaltz has just 14 points in 41 games, but six of those have come in the last five as he’s gotten a nice icetime bump. Mark Lazerus of the Chicago Sun-Times writes in his latest column that the Blackhawks may have found an answer long-term on the captain’s wing. It doesn’t hurt that both are from the University of North Dakota and have taken a very similar path to the NHL.
  • If you consider Schmaltz a long-term piece on the top line, then how do you fill the other side? Is Richard Panik really the answer beside Toews? Craig Morgan of FanRag Sports has his doubts, and suggests a former Hawk should make his way back to the Windy City. Radim Vrbata is available at the deadline, and with his ridiculously low cap-hit of just $1MM, Chicago could likely afford him for the final part of the season. The veteran winger has 41 points this season and has rebounded well from the worst year of his career.

Injury Notes: Marner, Senators, Johnson

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The Maple Leafs escaped with two points last night against Winnipeg despite having to kill an Auston Matthews penalty in overtime, and got some more good news this morning. Though practice was cancelled for the majority of the team, Mitch Marner hit the ice and looked no worse for wear since sustaining a shoulder injury last week. Though coach Mike Babcock says he won’t play tomorrow night against the New York Rangers, he has a chance at playing on Saturday.

That would be a nice boost for the Maple Leafs who are actually just five points out of first place in the Atlantic Division. The continued brilliance of their rookies was on display again last night as Matthews recorded three assists in the victory.

  • The Leafs will be without Connor Carrick however, who suffered an upper-body injury when he collided awkwardly with Mathieu Perreault and left the game. Alexey Marchenko will slot into the lineup in his place for the first time since being acquired off waivers from the Detroit Red Wings earlier this month. Carrick’s timeline for return is unknown.
  • Pierre Dorion told the Ottawa Citizen that both Mike Hoffman and Mark Stone could play as early as Sunday, which is extremely important news for the Ottawa Senators. Getting the two wingers back would be a boost to a group that had trouble scoring last night in a 2-1 victory. The team generated just 23 shots on goal and needed Kyle Turris and Erik Karlsson—their two remaining offensive options—to each light the lamp in the win.
  • Erik Johnson will return to the Colorado Avalanche lineup on Saturday according to Terry Frei of the Denver Post. The big defenseman has been out since the beginning of December and is finally skating without the non-contact jersey. As the Avalanche prepare for a busy trade deadline, Johnson looks like he’ll remain in Denver for the time being. His long contract and partial no-trade clause would make him difficult to move in-season even if there were people impressed enough by his return.
  • Ryan Callahan had another surgery on his hip yesterday, and is out indefinitely for the Tampa Bay Lightning. Callahan only played in 18 games for the club this season and now sounds like he might be out for the remainder of the year. While he’s not an integral part of their offense, losing a player of his experience is never a good thing. About to turn 32, Callahan is signed for another three seasons in Tampa Bay at a cap-hit of $5.8MM. Steve Yzerman said just a few days ago that he was operating under the assumption that Callahan and Steven Stamkos would be back at some point along with their cap-hits, and perhaps this clears that up.

Jeff Zatkoff Placed On Waivers, Brooks Laich Clears

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According to Chris Johnston of Sportsnet, the Los Angeles Kings have decided to put Jeff Zatkoff on waivers today, perhaps signalling a callup of Jack Campbell from the AHL or the return of Jonathan Quick a little earlier than expected. Zatkoff hadn’t performed as the Kings had hoped this season, and never seemed to fully recover from an early injury. His .879 save percentage is just simply not good enough for a team trying to make the playoffs.

Campbell on the other hand is playing well at the AHL, finally putting together what was supposed to be a promising career. Drafted 11th overall in 2010, he has spent time in the ECHL as recently as last season. His .913 save percentage for the Ontario Reign isn’t all-star worthy, but it is at least consistent for a player who has often lacked it.

Quick has been out since opening night but has been practicing with the team lately. It wasn’t clear that he was ready to return to game action, but perhaps the club is just waiving Zatkoff in preparation for his return. Quick would be quite a boost to the Kings, who find themselves just out of the playoff picture at the moment.

Brooks Laich has also cleared waivers after being placed on them yesterday. He is currently playing in a game for the Toronto Marlies, and continues to honor his contract there. Laich spoke out about how he wanted to play for another team if the Leafs weren’t going to bring him up, and it seems as though GM Lou Lamoriello was trying to see if someone would take him.

As we wrote about yesterday, retaining 50% of Laich’s salary in any trade for the veteran would actually cause a larger cap-hit on the Maple Leafs than just keeping him buried in the minors, thus he stays down. It seems the biggest chance for Laich would be a rash of injuries to the Maple Leafs down the stretch, forcing them to bring up experience instead of youth from their AHL team. He, Milan Michalek and Colin Greening are all a built in security blanket for the young Maple Leafs.

Snapshots: Laich, Vermette, Bye Weeks

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Brooks Laich isn’t happy. He’s making more than $4MM, playing in Toronto on a young team that has had a lot of recent success.  The only problem is that it isn’t the Toronto Maple Leafs, it’s the Marlies. He’s been stuck in the AHL all season, and after telling The Athletic yesterday that he would like to be sent somewhere else if he wasn’t in their plans, he was placed on waivers today by the club. James Mirtle, the Editor-in-Chief of The Athletic penned a piece today that contained quotes from Laich’s agent, explaining that his client still believes he can contribute at the NHL level and deserves to have that chance.

Well he’s under contract. He’s not going to break the contract. He’s committed. [But] he’d like to be moved to a team that can use him and help that team make a run for it. Obviously Toronto is trying to fulfill that request.

It’s a tricky situation as Mirtle points out, because if Toronto were to trade him and retain half his salary, it would actually be a bigger cap-hit than leaving him buried in the minors. That’s not something a team does just to be nice, regardless of how much space they might have. It’s unfortunate that it has come to this for the former Washington Capitals forward, after he made such an excellent impression on the team and fan base last spring when he arrived .

  • John Shannon of Sportsnet reports that the appeal of Antoine Vermette’s 10-game suspension will happen on Thursday at 2pm in New York. The Ducks will be on their mandated bye-week following Saturday’s upcoming game against the Los Angeles Kings, which will encompass the trade deadline. The team because of Vermette, needs help up front as we outlined yesterday in the Ducks’ deadline primer. If the suspension is reduced, the Ducks will welcome Vermette back with open arms and could move Rickard Rakell back to the wing.
  • Speaking of bye-weeks, it seems like the NHL isn’t happy with the much-publicized struggles of team’s coming back from them. Bill Daly was on TSN 1040 this afternoon discussing the possibility of having just two periods and splitting the teams in half instead of having them throughout the season. Daly said there have been concerns over this season’s schedule from pretty much every important group involved in the NHL, from the owners to the players. If the tweak goes through, teams will play each other coming off the bye-weeks, instead of going up against a squad that doesn’t have any rust. The 4-12-4 record for teams’ first game back off the bye—which includes one win from the Maple Leafs over the Rangers after they both ended their time off—is a clear sign that there was a competitive imbalance to the way things were scheduled this year.

Brooks Laich Placed On Waivers By Maple Leafs

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After asking yesterday to be sent somewhere that he could pursue a Stanley Cup, the Maple Leafs have placed Brooks Laich on waivers today, according to Bob McKenzie of TSN. We wrote just yesterday about how the Leafs had some built in deadline depth in a trio of veterans stashed in the minors. Laich, Milan Michalek and Colin Greening all have extensive NHL experience and could help a team that hits injury trouble down the stretch. McKenzie adds that these are not unconditional waivers to terminate his contract. That means this is likely just a testing of the waters so to speak, to gauge interest prior to the deadline.

Laich has played 764 games in his NHL career, scoring 20+ goals three times during his run with the Washington Capitals. The 33-year old was acquired by the Maple Leafs as a salary dump along with Connor Carrick and a second round pick last season for Daniel Winnik. Though Laich spent the remainder of the 2015-16 season with the big club, he hasn’t played a game with them this season, instead buried in the AHL playing sparingly there too.

For a player who thinks he can still contribute to a team’s pursuit of the Stanley Cup, wasting away the last few years of your career in the minors mostly because of your cap hit must be extremely frustrating. Though Laich seemed happy to take on a leadership role earlier this season, that playoff itch seems to have surfaced once again. For what it’s worth, Laich does have 32 career playoff points in 65 games and one year averaged almost 22 minutes a night for the Capitals in the postseason. If playoff experience is what you’re after, he’s got it.

Devils Trade Kalinin To Leafs For Loov

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The New Jersey Devils had lost faith in Russian center Sergey Kalinin and had not been able to trade him, so they placed him on waivers yesterday. Not long after it was announced he had cleared this afternoon, the trade they were looking for came together. The New Jersey Devils announced that they had found a trade partner in former GM Lou Lamoriello and the Toronto Maple Leafs and that Kalinin had been exchanged for defenseman Viktor Loov. 

A new home for Kalinin is very unsurprising, and in fact was predicted in the Devils’ Deadline Primer. After showing some promise in the KHL at a young age and in his rookie year in North America in 2015-16, Kalinin seemingly hit a wall in his development this year. Kalinin has just four points in 42 games this season, and his valuable two-way game has disappeared. Kalinin was providing no value to a struggling New Jersey squad that would be better served to play younger players that actually have some potential. It was predictable that Kalinin would clear waivers, but also a shrewd move by GM Ray Shero to still get something for him.

By trading for Kalinin after he had cleared waivers, the Maple Leafs no longer have to worry about keeping him in the NHL. Kalinin is expected to report to the AHL’s Toronto Marlies, and may not even see action with the Leafs before his contract expires at the end of the year. Kalinin gives Toronto a player who can be physical and has some big-league experience, but his numbers in 2016-17 inspire little confidence to give him substantial ice time down the stretch or in the postseason. The Maple Leafs’ fourth-line center Ben Smith hasn’t been much better this season, but he is just six games away from becoming Expansion Draft eligible and will likely hold on to his spot, at least for the time being. Kalinin will be a restricted free agent at year’s end and the Leafs could retain his services if they so choose.

And what of the return? Loov was a seventh-round pick of the Maple Leafs in 2012 and has exceeded his low expectations thus far in his pro career. The 24-year-old Swedish defenseman is having a down season though, after admirable efforts with the AHL’s Marlies in each of the past two years. Loov even skated in four games with Toronto in 2015-16, contributing two assists and a +4 rating. However, any defenseman unable to supplant the likes of Matt Hunwick and Roman Polak, even for just a few games, has a questionable future at best. Loov is a physical player who skates pretty well, but is a ways off from an NHL gig if he doesn’t work on his vision and puck-moving. Loov is a restricted free agent at the end of the season and New Jersey will use his performance from here on out with the AHL’s Albany Devils as a tryout to gauge if he warrants another contract.

Ty Rattie And Taylor Fedun Placed On Waivers

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Right winger Ty Rattie finds himself back on the wire as the Hurricanes announced Saturday that they have placed him on waivers.  It’s the second time he has been waived in 2017 as Carolina picked him up via waivers from St.  Louis back in early January.

Since being claimed on January 4th, the 24 year old played in just five games with Carolina, picking up two assists while averaging 13:28 per game.  However, he was also a healthy scratch 12 times in that span.  On the season between the Blues and Hurricanes, he has two assists in nine games while logging 10:44 per game in ice time.  In his career, he has five goals and five assists in 35 games.  Rattie is making $650K this season and will be a restricted free agent this summer with arbitration eligibility.

Rattie wasn’t the only player put on waivers on Saturday as the Sabres placed blueliner Taylor Fedun on the wire per Sportsnet’s Chris Johnston (Twitter link).  The defenseman has played in 25 games with Buffalo this season, picking up seven assists while playing a little under 14 minutes per night.  He has been a much bigger offensive threat at the minor league level, recording 17 points (4-13-17) in just 20 games with Buffalo’s AHL affiliate, the Rochester Americans.  Buffalo activated fellow rearguard Cody Franson off of injured reserve earlier today, leaving Buffalo with eight defensemen in the active roster.  Fedun carries a cap hit of just $600K and is slated to be an unrestricted free agent in July.

Still with the waiver wire, Devils center Sergey Kalinin cleared, reports Andrew Gross of the North Jersey Record (Twitter link).  He has been assigned to their AHL affiliate in Albany.

Devils Place Sergey Kalinin On Waivers

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As predicted in their recent Trade Deadline Primer, the New Jersey Devils appear to have reached the end of their rope with young forward Sergey Kalinin. TVA’s Renaud Lavoie reports that the Devils have placed Kalinin on waivers today. It’s unknown whether or not GM Ray Shero explored trading the center beforehand, but one way or another, they appear willing to lose him at this point in time.

Kalinin is far from a lock to be claimed on waivers in the next 24 hours, though. After breaking into the KHL at just 19 years old and establishing himself as a consistent two-way player capable of producing decent offensive numbers, many thought that his signing by the Devils was a shrewd move by Shero. When Kalinin contributed 15 points in his rookie year and showed that he could be a dominant physical threat, the future seemed bright for a solid bottom-six role. Yet, just a year later, his development seems to have hit a wall. Kalinin has just four points in 42 games, continues to struggle mightily at the face-off dot, and for some reason has disappeared defensively. The 25-year-old forward has lost the majority of his value since he was an unknown commodity in Russia and now that other teams have gotten a good look at what Kalinin is, they may shy away from taking a chance of their own.

Kalinin will be a restricted free agent at the end of the season, so New Jersey or another team will have some control over his future if they’re interested in retaining him. However, since he is in just his second season in North America, he does not qualify to be exposed in the Expansion Draft, in case any teams hoped to scoop him up and offer him to the Vegas Golden Knights. Without that added bonus, Kalinin seems very likely clear waivers and head to Albany of the AHL by this time tomorrow. If he isn’t able to make up some NHL good will by the end of the season, Kalinin will likely be back in the KHL next year.

Minor Transactions: 2/17/2017

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The Washington Capitals announced that they have recalled rookies Zach Sanford and Jakub Vrana from the AHL’s Hershey Bears. The pair has combined to play in 33 games for the Capitals in 2016-17, and their continued growth will become even more important down the stretch. Sanford has played in 21 games, but has only a goal and an assist in limited ice time. Vrana has suited up for just 12 games, but has a goal and two assists in that time, as well as a +2 rating. When active, Vrana has seen more ice time with the Capital’s skill players, while Sanford has settled into a bottom-six role. Regardless, both players need to work harder to bring their strong AHL production to the next level in Washington. With Andre Burakovsky sidelined, the Capitals approach the Trade Deadline with very little forward depth beyond their starters other than the two rookies. If Sanford and Vrana can’t pick up the pace when the Caps return from their bye week on Saturday, Washington will very likely target one or two veteran forwards by March 1st.

Elsewhere around the league:

  • Arizona was forced to promote goalie Marek Langhamer last night on an emergency basis, as backup Louis Domingue was injured earlier in the day. The AHL Tuscon Roadrunners’ keeper traveled to Los Angeles to meet the team prior to their road game and will head back to Arizona and remain with the team for now. Langhamer hasn’t had his best season in 2016-17,  posting a .914 save percentage and 2.90 goals against average to accompany a losing record in 12 games with the Roadrunners, but performed much worse in his first AHL season last year. Langhamer has looked much better down in the ECHL over the past two campaigns and seems to just need more time to develop. He is still a better prospect than many would have expected when he was drafted in the seventh round in 2012 out of the Czech Republic national junior program.
  • In the wake of injuries to Olli Maatta and Justin Schultz, the Pittsburgh Penguins have recalled fellow defensemen Steven Oleksy and Cameron Gaunce from their AHL affiliate in Wilkes-Barre/Scranton. Maatta will miss the next six weeks, while Schultz’ condition is still unknown, so a long-term role or two may have just opened up for Oleksy, Gaunce, or Chad Ruhwedel.
  • The Tampa Bay Lightning have promoted forward Gabriel Dumont from the AHL’s Syracuse Crunch. Dumont was passed through waivers last month and demoted to the minors, but in need of an extra body up front, he’ll return to West Florida from upstate New York. Dumont has just two points in 14 games with the Bolts, and five points overall in his NHL career.
  • The Calgary Flames assigned defenseman Brett Kulak to the AHL’s Stockton Heat, the team announced.  Kulak has played in 21 games with the Flames this year, picking up three assists while averaging a little more than 14 minutes per game.  He also has suited up in 11 minor league games with the Heat, recording five points.
  • Anaheim Ducks blueliner Shea Theodore has once again been re-assigned to their AHL affiliate in San Diego per a team release.  This marks the 12th different time he has been sent down this year in an effort to save cap space and to get him as much playing time as possible.  In 30 games with the Ducks, Theodore has eight points but has been more of an offensive threat in the minors with nine points in just 13 games.
  • The San Jose Sharks continued their near-daily shuffle of youngsters to and from the minor leagues, announcing (via Twitter) that winger Timo Meier and defenseman Tim Heed have been assigned to the AHL’s San Jose Barracuda.  Meier has played in 26 games with the Sharks while Heed, despite being recalled eight separate times since January, has played just one NHL game this year.
  • The Nashville Predators have flipped backup goalies once again, sending Juuse Saros to AHL Milwaukee while recalled Marek Mazenec, reports Adam Vingan of the Tennessean.  The move will allow Saros to get into a game or two in the minors to stay in game shape before likely returning to Nashville next week.
  • The Montreal Canadiens announced that they have recalled center Michael McCarron from St. John’s of the AHL.  McCarron had been sent down to play while the team was on their bye week.  McCarron, who is one of the players Arizona is coveting in a Martin Hanzal trade, has a goal and four assists in 18 games with the Canadiens this season.
  • The Winnipeg Jets announced that they recalled winger Brandon Tanev from the Manitoba Moose.  Defenseman Toby Enstrom was placed on injured reserve (retroactive to February 12th) to make room on the roster for him.  Tanev has spent the bulk of the season with the Jets, playing in 39 games while scoring two goals and two assists.

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