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Boucher Waived; Gelinas Clears Waivers

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The New Jersey Devils have placed forward Reid Boucher on waivers.

Boucher has been a healthy scratch for the past week, and with Taylor Hall coming back from injury, the Devils needed to make space on their roster for the return of their superstar.

With just two points in nine games, Boucher has been unable to find last season’s scoring success. The 5’10, 195 lbs center scored 19 points in 39 games with the Devils in 2015-16. If he’s not claimed, look for him to be assigned to the Albany Devils of the AHL, where he’s scored 105 points in 164 games.

Meanwhile, former Devil and current Colorado Avalanche defenseman Eric Gelinas cleared waivers.

The 25-year-old defenseman has just one assist in seven games this year. Gelinas is in his first full season with Colorado after being acquired at the 2016 trade deadline from New Jersey for a 3rd round pick in this year’s draft. Interestingly enough, before the trade to the Avalanche, Gelinas was originally the Devils defenseman that Edmonton GM Peter Chiarelli contacted New Jersey about before talks turned to Adam Larsson.

The 6’4, 215 lbs left-handed defenseman has 55 points in 169 games, but is not considered to be a dependable defenseman because of his defensive awareness. Gelinas is in the final season of a two year deal that carries a cap hit of $1.575MM.

Avalanche Place Eric Gelinas On Waivers

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The Colorado Avalanche have placed defenseman Eric Gelinas on waivers, reports Sportsnet’s Elliotte Friedman (Twitter link).

Gelinas is in his first full season with Colorado after being acquired by the team at the trade deadline last year from New Jersey in exchange for a 2017 3rd round pick.  However, he has played a sparing role this season, suiting up in just seven games, recording one assist while averaging just 12:30 per game.

The 25 year old is best known for his offensive skill set and size.  He has 55 points (14-41-55) in just 169 games and at 6’4, possesses ideal size for a defender.  However, his play in his own end isn’t the sharpest and as a result, he had been deployed by the Devils as a forward or strictly a power play specialist at times before they dealt him last season.

Gelinas is in the final season of a two year deal that carries a cap hit of $1.575MM.  He’s eligible for restricted free agency at the end of the season and will be due a qualifying offer of $1.65MM.

Still on the waiver wire, Friedman also reported in that tweet that Nashville defender Adam Pardy cleared waivers.  He signed a one year, two-way NHL deal with the team on Wednesday but had to clear waivers to return to Milwaukee of the AHL.

Adam Pardy Signed By Nashville, Placed On Waivers To Gain Eligibility

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Adam Pardy is back in the NHL. The veteran of 338 games has been signed to an NHL deal with the Nashville Predators and, as Elliotte Friedman of Sportsnet explains, has been placed on waivers to gain eligibility after spending the early part of the season on a minor-league deal. The team has also placed Anthony Bitetto on IR and sent Miikka Salomaki to the AHL on a conditioning stint.

After the Predators lost Matt Carle recently to retirement, they needed another NHL level defenseman who could fill in at times but also not lose development by sitting in the press box. Pardy, a former member of five different NHL teams is that player. Never mistaken for an offensive threat, Pardy hasn’t scored 10 points in a season since his rookie year (where he scored exactly 10) but can be a strong physical presence in his own end.

Pardy had been playing on an AHL deal for the Milwaukee Admirals this season recording (amazingly) five points in twelve games, including two goals. The 32-year old will now earn an NHL salary again while he tries to help the Predators shore up their back end.

Edmonton Oilers Recall Fayne, Move Gryba To IR

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After losing the rematch against the Toronto Maple Leafs on home ice last night, the Edmonton Oilers have decided to make a move. The team has recalled Mark Fayne from the AHL, while moving Eric Gryba to injured reserve.

Fayne was sent to the minors just yesterday after clearing waivers, but will rejoin the team for their upcoming matchup against the Winnipeg Jets. Playing in just one game this season it’s obvious that his favor has soured with head coach Todd McLellan and the entire Oilers organization.

Fayne once wore an alternate captain’s ’A’ for the Oilers, suiting up in 143 games over the past two seasons. The 29-year old was demoted at one point last year and now seems destined to bounce back and forth as a contingency plan. His $3.65MM cap hit prevents anyone from putting in a claim on waivers, so it doesn’t matter much how many times he goes up and down.

On the other, but very similar, hand is Gryba. Another hulking defenseman, Gryba came over from the Ottawa Senators in 2015 and played 53 games for the team last season. Off to a pointless start in fourteen games, he last played for the Oilers on the 17th. The Oilers will likely continue to dress the six other healthy defensemen for the time being.

Scott Wedgewood Undergoes Surgery, Out Six Months

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The New Jersey Devils announced today that goaltender Scott Wedgewood underwent successful shoulder surgery today and will be sidelined for approximately six months. The surgery was to repair a torn labrum in his right shoulder. Wedgewood suffered the injury on Friday November 19th, when he relieved AHL backup Mackenzie Blackwood against the Binghamton Senators.

This is the same shoulder that Wedgewood injured last season and forced him to miss time. This summer, the netminder was one of the final cuts from the New Jersey training camp to the surprise of many. With outstanding AHL numbers in 2015-16 (when he was healthy), many believed that he was ready to step up to an NHL job. Instead, he cleared waivers and was assigned to Albany where he’d been playing well again. In 10 games this season he was 5-3-0 with a .912 save percentage and a 2.18 GAA.

The baby-Devils will now ask two rookie goaltenders to fill the pipes for them, as Blackwood and Ken Appleby are the current duo. While Blackwood has struggled in eight games, Appleby has performed extremely well since a callup from the ECHL. In three games, the 21-year old is undefeated with a .932 save percentage. While Blackwood was the Devils’ second-round pick in 2015, Appleby went undrafted after playing his junior hockey with the Oshawa Generals of the OHL.

Peter Holland Stays Home During Maple Leafs Road Trip

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2:11pm: Darren Dreger has a quote from Resnick:

Peter and Lou met this weekend. At this time, it appears that Peter’s future with the club is limited and Lou will do his best to trade him. Lou also stated that Peter not go on the road trip during this time frame.

It seems like Lamoriello is trying to protect his asset from any sudden injury by keeping him at home during the road trip, but whatever value he had must have been damaged by the public admission that he’s trying to trade him. We’ll see if the Maple Leafs can get anything of substance for the struggling forward.

1:21pm: Uncertainty around the fringes of the Maple Leafs roster continues, as today Peter Holland was not present at the morning skate in Edmonton. According to Lance Hornby of the Toronto Sun, Holland stayed home after talking to his agent Joe Resnick.  Luke Fox of Sportsnet also tells us that Resnick met with Lou Lamoriello recently, and Darren Dreger says that he “absolutely wanted to go on Leafs’ trip west in hopes of playing.”

The expectation, from Dreger and Kristen Shilton of TSN, is that either a trade or waivers will follow soon for the 25-year old. Holland cleared waivers earlier this summer while negotiating a new contract and has only seen eight games through the early part of the season, registering a single point.

Since being drafted by Anaheim 15th overall in 2009, Holland has developed into a solid bottom-six player that contributes around 10 goals and 25 points per season. The Leafs and head coach Mike Babcock seem to have grown tired of him however, as even when he’s dressed he’s only seen around ten minutes of ice time per game.

With the impending return of Josh Leivo from injury, the team had a decision to make about the last roster spot, and it seems as though it won’t go to Holland. If he is placed on waivers, it will be interesting to see if another team takes a chance on him this time around. He’s currently earning $1.3MM on his second RFA contract.

Oilers Place Mark Fayne On Waivers

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The Edmonton Oilers announced (via Twitter) that they have placed defenseman Mark Fayne on waivers.

2016-17 has been a tough year for Fayne who has played in just one game with the Oilers this season (back on October 18th), getting hurt in the first period of that contest with an undisclosed injury.  The fact that he has beeng waived is a sign that he is ready to come off of injured reserve as injured players cannot be waived.  With the team already carrying seven healthy blueliners and a full 23-man roster, a move had to be made with Fayne ready to return.

[Related: Oilers Depth Chart]

This is Fayne’s third season in the Oilers organization after joining the team in free agency from New Jersey in the summer of 2014.  In 144 games with Edmonton, he has four goals and 12 assists with 32 penalty minutes and a -26 rating.  He also had 48 points (13-35-48) in 242 contests over four seasons with the Devils.

Given that Fayne has a cap hit of $3.625MM and that he’s just coming off of injury, it’s unlikely that they will be able to find a taker for him.  Assuming he clears, the Oilers will be able to clear $950K off of the salary cap if he is demoted to their AHL affiliate in Bakersfield.

Predators Make Handful Of Roster Moves

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The Nashville Predators appear to have lost three key regulars to upper-body-injuries and to take their places the club has recalled four from Milwaukee of the AHL. James Neal, Ryan Ellis and Colton Sissons all missed either all or part of the team’s game Friday and each sat out practice today, according to the team’s official website. Jim Diamond, who covers the Predators for the AP, tweeted that the players were all listed on IR on the NHL media site.

Robby Stanley, the team correspondent for NHL.com, reported via Twitter that the team recalled forwards Kevin Fiala, Frederick Gaudreau and Michael Liambas along with blue liner Petter Granberg.

The loss of Neal is a particularly tough one for the Predators. The veteran winger leads the team in goals with 10 and his 15 points rank second on the team.

Ellis is one of the team’s top defenseman, averaging the third most ice time among skaters on the team. He has nine points in 19 games and is a plus-six on the season.

Fiala, one of Nashville’s top prospects, has appeared in 10 games this season with the Predators and has two goals. He has tallied two goals and eight points in seven AHL contests.

Liambas is known more for his toughness than for his skill. He has just one goal but 29 penalty minutes in 16 contests with Milwaukee. The 5-foot-10, 195-pound winger was originally signed as an undrafted free agent by the Chicago Blackhawks in July of 2015. The 27-year-old has yet to appear in an NHL game during his career.

Gaudreau played in one game earlier this season, the first NHL action of his career, seeing nine minutes of ice time and failing to register a point. He has nine points in 15 games for the Admirals.

Granberg appeared in a career-high 27 games last season with Nashville, recording two assists while averaging 13:43 of ice time. The 24-year-old was selected by Toronto in the fourth-round of the 2010 entry draft but was lost to Nashville on waivers last year. In 16 games for Milwaukee, Granlund has not registered a point.

 

Matt Puempel Claimed Off Waivers By Rangers

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The New York Rangers have claimed Matt Puempel off waiver from the Ottawa Senators, according to Sportsnet’s Chris Johnston.

Puempel was the Senators first round pick in 2011, but has not been able to find consistent scoring in the NHL. He has played 13 games this season, but has not scored a point. He has six points in 52 NHL games over the last three seasons. Puempel has been a prolific scorer in the OHL and AHL, so perhaps a change of scenery will do him good. His contract is worth $900K and expires after this season.

Read more: Senators Place Matt Puempel On Waivers, Andrew Hammond Clears

The Rangers received some bad injury news on Monday morning, with former Senator Mika Zibanejad out for 6-8 weeks after breaking his fibula on Sunday night. New York will be hoping that Puempel can re-discover his scoring touch to help replace some of Zibanejad’s offence.

Anaheim Ducks Notes: Wagner, Shaw, Kase, Cramarossa

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Since joining the Anaheim Ducks organization as a fifth-round pick in 2010, center Chris Wagner has carved out a career on the fringes of the NHL, and as The Orange County Register’s Eric Stephens writes, the 25-year-old pivot has learned a hard lesson about the business side of hockey. Wagner has been placed on waivers several times over the last two seasons, most recently two days ago, but instead of a reassignment to San Diego after he cleared, he was back in the Ducks lineup Thursday night following the trade of Michael Sgarbossa to Florida.

Wagner and Sgarbossa had been competing for playing time but that changed following the trade:

“It’s crazy. Sgars (Sgarbossa) was playing well, too. We competed. We had a really good relationship and everything. It just proves that it’s a business. We’re kind of just cogs in the business.

“Sometimes you can’t really explain why things happen. Just got to worry about your team and yourself. Make the most of your opportunity.”

Despite moving from Anaheim to Colorado and back again last season via waivers, Wagner says it’s not a process you “become immune to,” as Stephens reports:

“Once you go on, it’s just waiting. I don’t know if I’m numb to it now. It’s part of the worst 24 hours in hockey. You have no control and you don’t know what’s going to happen until the next day.”

With just two goals in 16 appearances so far this season, Wagner is likely to remain vulnerable to losing his roster spot as long as he is with Anaheim. Wagner provides an interesting insight into what it’s like for all of the fringe NHL players active today.

More from Anaheim:

  • From the same piece, Stephens notes that while Logan Shaw, recently acquired from Florida in the Sgarbossa deal, was assigned to San Diego immediately after the trade, the possibility exists that the 25-year-old winger could see time with Anaheim this season. Bench boss Randy Carlyle points to Shaw’s size and versatility as advantages over the recently departed Sgarbossa: “He can play right side or center. He’s a bigger-bodied individual. We’re looking at a little size differential between him and Sgarbossa. Sgarbossa came in and played well for us. Was up and down. Was a good player. Got nothing but great things to say about Sgarbie (Sgarbossa).
  • Anaheim today recalled forward Ondrej Kase from San Diego, tweets the busy Eric Stephens. Kase will likely take the spot of Joseph Cramarossa, who Stephens said did not skate this morning and appeared to get hurt Thursday. In nine games for San Diego of the AHL, Kase has scored three goals and seven points. He’s also appeared in two games for the Ducks tallying a single point this season. Kase was Anaheim’s seventh-round pick in 2014 and the 21-year-old recorded eight goals and 14 points in 25 games with the Gulls last year, his first action as a professional in North America.

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