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Oilers Notes: McLellan, Lander, Russell, Caggiula, Hendricks

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Thursday night’s 4 – 2 loss to Los Angeles represented Todd McLellan’s 100th game behind the Edmonton bench. Bruce McCurdy of the Edmonton Journal felt that’s enough of a sample to determine whether McLellan has delivered on the promise of guiding the talented team back to the playoffs for the first time in a decade.

McCurdy compares McLellan’s performance to this point to the five other men who have guided the club since the 2009-10 campaign; a list that includes accomplished NHL coaches in Pat Quin and Tom Renney in addition to first-time NHL bench bosses like Ralph Krueger and Dallas Eakins.

It’s a relatively in-depth analysis using a number of categories including; the Oilers win rate, their share of goals and shots for and the team’s performance in the special teams department. A full read of the post is highly recommended but ultimately McCurdy concludes that the Oilers have improved only marginally under McLellan and despite a ton of high end talent – including Connor McDavid, Leon Draisaitl and Jordan Eberle – there is still much work to be done to turn Edmonton into a perennial playoff team.

Other items from Edmonton:

  • The club announced via their official Twitter account today that they have activated forwards Matt Hendricks and rookie Drake Caggiula, along with blue liner Kris Russell from IR. Also, Anton Lander who cleared waivers, has been assigned to the Bakersfield Condors of the AHL. Hendricks and Caggiula have yet to appear in a game for Edmonton this season while Russell, a late offseason free agent signing, has suited up for 11 contests and has three assists so far. Caggiula was a coveted college free agent last spring who capped off an impressive four-year career at the University of North Dakota with a 25-goal, 51-point senior season. He made the Oilers in training camp but a hip injury delayed his much anticipated debut. Now it appears as if he will get his chance in relatively short order.
  • Lastly, Jim Matheson of the Edmonton Journal took note of the rumored availability of Arizona Coyotes blue liner Michael Stone and wonders if the Edmonton Oilers would have an interest, assuming those rumors are in fact accurate. Stone has just three points in seven games this season but turned in a productive 2015-16 campaign with six goals and 30 helpers. Stone has had a positive affect on puck possession over the last three years while playing for a team that ranks 24th in Corsi For % during that time. It’s unclear what Edmonton would have to give up to pry Stone away from Arizona but Pierre Lebrun speculates that when and if the team elects to move center Martin Hanzal, the Coyotes would want a young roster player who can contribute right now as opposed to prospects and/or picks. It’s fair to guess then that Arizona would request the same in any hypothetical trade of Stone.

Oilers Place Anton Lander On Waivers

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The Edmonton Oilers have placed forward Anton Lander on waivers for purpose of assignment to the Bakersfield Condors.

Sportsnet’s John Shannon reports that Matt Hendricks and Drake Caggiula are coming off IR. Hendricks was injured in a pre-season game at the beginning of October, while Caggiula suffered a hip injury while taking a penalty shot. Lander, a second round pick in 2009, has already cleared waivers once this year. He was not assigned to Bakersfield, in part because of injuries to Hendricks and Caggiula.

Lander has proven to be a legit number one center in the AHL, but has never been able to have sustained success at the NHL level. His best stretch was in the 2014-15 season, where he scored 20 points in 38 games as the Oilers third line center. He was expected to be the Oilers third line center the next season, and actually tied Alex Ovechkin for pre-season goal scoring. Unfortunately for Lander and the Oilers, he only scored one goal in 61 regular season games and lost his spot as an NHL regular. This season, he’s played 16 games on the Oilers fourth line. He’s a great face-off man and a good penalty killer, but the Oilers have enough slow-to-average speed players in the bottom six, and Lander’s skill-set is replaced by Hendricks.

One wonders if the Detroit Red Wings take a look at Lander. They’ve suffered some injuries at the forward position, and Lander’s only NHL success came under the Red Wings current AHL coach Todd Nelson. Nelson coached Lander in Oklahoma City, where he ended up being a 1.1 PPG player at that level.

Lander will be a restricted free agent at season’s end, and makes $990K.

Penguins Waive Tom Sestito, Jets Place Axel Blomqvist On Unconditional Waivers

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The Pittsburgh Penguins have placed left winger Tom Sestito on waivers, reports CBC’s Tim Wharnsby (Twitter link).

Sestito has played in eight games with the Penguins this season, recording an assist along with 24 penalty minutes, second on the team to Evgeni Malkin.  He’s also averaging a team-low 5:28 per game of ice time.

This is Sestito’s second year in Pittsburgh’s organization although he spent the bulk of last year with their AHL affiliate in Wilkes-Barre/Scranton.  It would seem likely that he’ll be headed back there if he clears waivers on Friday although a team official told Dave Molinari of the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette (Twitter link) that the decision to waive him was to give them more roster flexibility.

The enforcer has played in 149 games in parts of nine NHL seasons with Columbus, Philadelphia, Vancouver, and Pittsburgh.  He has a total of ten goals and ten assists in that span along with 475 penalty minutes.

Wharnsby also reports that the Jets have placed prospect left winger Axel Blomqvist on unconditional waivers for the purposes of contract termination.  He signed with the Jets back in October of 2013 as an undrafted free agent but has yet to make it past the minor league level.  He has only suited up in Tulsa of the ECHL this season, scoring twice in six games.  A report from Johan Svensson of Expressen (Swedish link) states that Blomqvist is expected to sign with Sodertalje of the Swedish Allsvenskan.

Chris Wagner Clears Waivers

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Nov. 15: Wagner has cleared waivers, reports Eric Stephens of the Orange County Register (Twitter link).

Nov. 14: The Anaheim Ducks have placed center Chris Wagner on waivers, reports ESPN and TSN’s Pierre LeBrun (Twitter link).  This marks the third time in less than two years that Wagner has been on waivers.   Last November, the Ducks waived him and lost him to Colorado but Anaheim brought him back in late February after the Avalanche re-waived him.

This season, Wagner has played in all but one of Anaheim’s 16 games, tallying two goals, a -4 rating, six penalty minutes, and 15 shots on goal while averaging 10:43 of ice time per game.  However, he has struggled at the faceoff dot, winning just 29 of 72 faceoffs for a success rate of just 40.3%.

In his career, the 25 year old has played in 67 NHL games between the Ducks and Avalanche, picking up eight points (6-2-8).  He is in the first season of a two year, one-way deal he signed back in April shortly after rejoining Anaheim, carrying a cap hit of just under $640K.  If he clears, it’s likely that he will be assigned to Anaheim’s AHL affiliate in San Diego.

[Related: Ducks Depth Chart]

Luke Gazdic Clears Waivers, Assigned To Albany (AHL)

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New Jersey Devils left Luke Gazdic has cleared waivers, the team announced (via Twitter).  He has been assigned to their AHL affiliate in Albany.

Gazdic joined New Jersey back in the summer, signing a one year, two-way deal worth $700K in the NHL and $200K in the minors.  However, he broke his foot during the preseason and has been on injured reserve ever since.  Teams cannot waive injured players so it would appear that he is ready to return to action.

Injured players are eligible to have a two week conditioning stint in the minors without having to go through waivers.  However, in those cases, the player is on the active roster and continues to count in full against the salary cap.  By waiving him, the Devils get Gazdic off the roster and salary cap and will now be able to keep him in the minors as long as they deem necessary instead of being restricted to just two weeks.

The 27 year old enforcer has 136 career NHL games under his belt, recording just eight points (5-3-8) but also has 194 penalty minutes and 214 hits despite averaging just 6:21 of ice time per game.

[Related: Devils Depth Chart]

Blues Recall Ty Rattie From Chicago Following Conditioning Assignment

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With 14 NHL-caliber forwards on the roster it’s proven to be a challenge at times for St. Louis Blues head coach Ken Hitchcock to find playing time for everyone. In fact, Ty Rattie, once the 32nd overall pick in the 2011 draft, has made just one appearance for the Blues, playing just eight minutes in an OT loss to Vancouver on October 18th. The inactivity prompted the team to send Rattie down to Chicago just to get him some game action. Today the team recalled the 23-year-old right wing from the AHL.

The Blues obviously still see potential in Rattie as evidenced by their refusal to expose him to waivers and risk losing him to another club. Still, the clock has to be ticking for Rattie on his Blues career and if he doesn’t impress the coaching staff at some point in the near future, it’s possible the team will finally choose to move on. Given the Blues roster situation and barring an injury to a top-nine forward, it doesn’t appear as if there’s a clear path to playing time in St. Louis.

Rattie has put up good numbers in the AHL, tallying 69 goals and 137 points in 196 games in Chicago. But he’s had limited chances in the NHL, seeing action in just 27 contests and averaging 9:18 of ice time. His junior pedigree suggests he has the talent to succeed at this level and perhaps only needs an extended opportunity with another team.

Jakub Nakladal, Shane Harper On Waivers

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First-year forward Shane Harper has been placed on waivers by the Florida Panthers tweets Bill Whitehead, who covers the team for the AP. The 27-year-old Harper made his NHL debut this season, seeing action in 14 games and recording three points for the Panthers.

Harper was signed by the Panthers in the summer of 2015 and spent the entire campaign with the AHL Portland Pirates. He scored 12 goals and 37 points in 59 games for the Panthers top minor league affiliate. It’s probable Harper will go unclaimed and be returned to the minors.

Elliotte Friedman adds that joining Harper on waivers this afternoon is defenseman Jakub Nakladal of the Carolina Hurricanes. Nakladal inked an unrestricted free agent deal last month with the Hurricanes and appeared in three contests for Carolina. Nakladal was held scoreless and finished with a -4 plus-minus rating while averaging 14:30 of ice time per game.

Given Nakladal remained unsigned until just days before Carolina’s 2016-17 season opener, it would seem likely he’ll clear waivers and be eligible to be sent to Charlotte of the AHL.

Leafs Waive Seth Griffith

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Young forward Seth Griffith has been placed on waivers today by the Toronto Maple Leafs, according to Sportsnet’s Chris Johnston. As Johnston adds, with forward Josh Leivo and defenseman Matt Hunwick nearing their respective returns, the Leafs needed to create a spot on the roster and Griffith was the odd-man out.

TSN’s Kristen Shilton suggests the team’s October 24th addition of center Ben Smith from Colorado also helped to make Griffith expendable. Shilton points out that unlike Griffith, Smith kills penalties and excels in the faceoff circle and that might have provided further reasons for the move.

Toronto claimed Griffith off waivers from Boston just a month ago. He saw action in just three of the Leafs first 13 contests failing to register a point. Griffith has appeared in 37 NHL games over parts of three seasons, tallying six goals and five points along with 10 penalty minutes. It’s quite possible another team with room will take a chance on the skilled but unproven Griffith.

Leivo has yet to see action this season but is wrapping up his conditioning assignment and should soon be set to make his 2016-17 season debut. In 12 games with Toronto last season, the 23-year-old left wing scored five goals for the Leafs.

 

David Warsofsky Sent Back To AHL

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The Pittsburgh Penguins have assigned defenseman David Warsofsky to the Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins of the AHL. The 26-year old had played just four games with the NHL club this season, recording zero points.

Originally a fourth-round pick by the St. Louis Blues, Warsofsky is carving out a journeyman-like existence in the NHL, and has now been a part of four different organizations. Last season, he was claimed off waivers from the Penguins by the New Jersey Devils, before eventually re-signing with Pittsburgh in the offseason.

With the Penguins on a three game home stand that begins tomorrow against the Edmonton Oilers, they can easily recall a defenseman should an injury occur. Warsofsky meanwhile can head to the AHL and stay sharp until his next recall.

Panthers Notes: Jagr, Kampfer, Kindl, Injury Updates

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The Florida Panthers were widely expected to challenge the Tampa Bay Lightning for supremacy in the Atlantic Division but through 12 games this season they boast a 5 – 6 – 1 record and have dropped five of their last seven decisions. Injuries to several key players have obviously played a part in the team’s slow start but help may not be far off as a couple of players are nearing a return. As Tom Gulitti of NHL.com writes, the Panthers just need to hold it together and stay afloat for a while longer until those reinforcements arrive.

Jaromir Jagr is the latest to join the ranks of the wounded, sitting out the final two periods of Saturday’s 4 – 2 loss to Washington due to groin soreness. According to Florida bench boss Gerard Gallant, the injury to Jagr isn’t considered serious and the ageless wonder is listed as day-to-day.

Florida has been without the services of Nick Bjugstad (broken hand) and Jonathan Huberdeau (Achilles) all season while veteran winger Jussi Jokinen has been out since October 20th with a lower-body-injury. Gallant indicated Bjugstad and Jokinen may be able to return this week. While it might be understandable to do so, the coach won’t use the plethora of injuries as an excuse for his team’s early season woes.

“You can’t make excuses for injuries because everybody has them. But obviously with the depth of our hockey team it’s really testing us right now. The guys are working hard and competing. Sometimes you make mistakes. When you play against a great team like Washington, they’ll take advantage of your mistakes and we just made too many.”

While the absences have likely contributed to Florida’s recent slump, they have also allowed for two unheralded offseason additions to see more ice time and impress the organization. Jonathan Marchessault has potted six goals and has 12 points in 12 games while Colton Sceviour has five goals and eight points. While neither player is likely to maintain that scoring pace throughout the campaign, their early-season contributions have certainly been welcome and also represent hope for a balanced scoring attack upon the return of Florida’s top-six forwards.

While unlikely to change the team’s fortunes, the Panthers did place defenseman Steven Kampfer on waivers, according to Elliotte Friedman. To take his spot, presumably, the team has recalled fellow blue liner Jakub Kindl from Springfield of the AHL, as George Richards of the Miami Herald reported on Twitter. Kampfer appeared in just one game for Florida, going scoreless and taking two minor penalties in 16:48 of ice time. Kindl has recorded three points in nine minor league games this season. If Kampfer goes unclaimed, he will likely head to Springfield with Kindl assuming the role of seventh defenseman.

 

 

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