Minor Transactions: 2/8/2017
Tracking the minor transactions from around the NHL for February 8, 2017.
- The Boston Bruins, fresh off firing their head coach, have once again swapped goaltenders with their AHL squad. Anton Khudobin has been recalled and Zane McIntyre demoted to Providence. Khudobin is in the first year of a two-year contract worth $1.2MM annually. His second stint in Boston has not gone well; he’s 1-5-1 with an 0.885 and a 3.06 GAA. While he has a 7-3-1 record in the AHL, that comes with a poor 0.896 SV% and 2.69 GAA. McIntyre is 0-3-1 in seven NHL games with a 0.860 SV5 and a 3.95 GAA, but has a sterling record in the AHL, going 11-0-0 with a 0.950 SV % and 1.44 GAA. Unfortunately for the Bruins, backups Khudobin, McIntyre, and Malcolm Subban have combined for one win in 11 starts.
- The Bruins Atlantic Division rivals in Montreal have also made a few roster moves, calling up Michael McCarron and Daniel Carr while sending Jacob de la Rose to the AHL. McCarron has four points in 15 NHL games and 19 points in 30 AHL games; Carr has eight points in 31 NHL games and the same total in just six AHL games. de la Rose has no points in nine NHL games, but has 15 in 34 games in the AHL.
- The NHL-leading Washington Capitals have recalled Zachary Sanford from the AHL. Sanford has one point in 20 NHL games and 14 points in 24 AHL games.
- Over in Minnesota, the Wild swapped defensemen with their AHL club. Mike Reilly will be heading to Iowa while Gustav Olofsson is coming back to Minnesota. Reilly has one point in 17 NHL games while Olofsson has only appeared in one NHL game this season.
Bryan Bickell Nearing Return For Carolina
Carolina Hurricanes winger Bryan Bickell, out since late October with what was later revealed to be Multiple Sclerosis, plans to be ready to return following the team’s bye week, according to Tom Gulitti of NHL.com. The ‘Canes begin a five-game homestand on February 17th and barring a setback, Bickell could be in the lineup for Carolina when they host the Colorado Avalanche.
As Gulitti writes, Bickell has made tremendous progress since starting treatments of Tysarbi, a drug given monthly to “limit the debilitating effects of MS.” He began taking the medication in December and has been skating since early January.
“I feel good,” Bickell said after a conditioning skate at Verizon Center, where the Hurricanes face the Washington Capitals on Tuesday (7 p.m. ET: CSN-DC, FS-CR, NHL.TV). “I obviously don’t feel good right now, I just got skated pretty hard, but it’s going to help me down the long run. I think we’re getting there and getting close to getting back in the rotation. We’re shooting for probably after the bye week and then kind of day by day from there.”
Of course just because Bickell may be cleared for action doesn’t mean the Hurricanes will insert the veteran winger into the lineup. As the player himself notes, much of the decision will have to do with how other players are performing.
“It all depends too on what other guys are doing if they’re going on a huge streak,” Bickell said. “I like to see them win. If they need me, I’m sure an extra week of me skating is not going to hurt me. We’re just going to wait until after the next treatment and after the bye week and go from there.”
It’s also possible the team will seek to send Bickell down to Charlotte of the AHL on a conditioning assignment to help prepare him to return to the lineup.
Bickell was acquired last summer in a trade with Chicago that also brought winger Teuvo Teravainen to Raleigh in exchange for draft picks. The Blackhawks were forced to part with the talented, young Teravainen as a means to extricate themselves from the final year of Bickell’s $4MM cap charge.
With 58 points, the Hurricanes are currently on the outside looking in at a playoff berth but are just four points behind Philadelphia for the second wild card spot and have three games in hand on the Flyers. Carolina will likely hold onto their prospects but if the right opportunity arises, they could find themselves buying at the deadline. However, if Bickell returns and is effective, it reduces the team’s need to add.
Bruins Fire Claude Julien
Claude Julien, in his 10th season as the bench boss of the Boston Bruins, has been relieved of his duties, the team announced this morning. He will be replaced in the interim by his assistant, Bruce Cassidy.
The Bruins have struggled this season on the ice, compiling a 26 – 23 – 8 record through 55 games. They are currently one point behind Philadelphia for the second wild card slot in the Eastern Conference and are tied with Toronto for third in the Atlantic Division, though the latter has four games in hand on the Bruins.
Julien ends his Bean Town tenure with a record of 419 – 246 – 94, qualifying for the postseason seven times in his nine full campaigns with the team and leading the club to the 2011 Stanley Cup championship. He captured the Jack Adams trophy as the league’s top coach following the 2008-09 season. Julien spent 2 1/2 seasons behind the bench in Montreal, and famously led the 2006-07 New Jersey Devils to a 47 – 24 – 8 record through 79 games before being fired by the team and being replaced by Lou Lamiorello with three games left in the season.
Cassidy spent five seasons as the head coach of the Providence Bruins, Boston’s AHL affiliate. He is in his first campaign as an assistant in Boston. Previously he was the head coach of the Washington Capitals from 2002-04.
The firing is certain to generate plenty of criticism as it’s widely believed the team has achieved the results expected based on the quality of the roster. Many of the team’s top players, including team captain Zdeno Chara, Patrice Bergeron, David Backes and David Krejci are all on the wrong side of 30. The team has also received underwhelming play from their backup goaltenders, with Anton Khudobin, Zane McIntyre and Malcolm Subban combining for just one win in 11 starts with all three posting GAA’s comfortably above three.
Julien is the fourth head coach to lose his job during the 2016-17 season, joining Ken Hitchcock, Jack Capuano and Gerard Gallant on the unemployment line. He immediately becomes one of the top available coaching candidates and it’s likely he will be receive consideration for any of the job openings available.
Barry Trotz Thinks Alexander Radulov Will Re-Sign In Montreal
After signing for a relatively modest one-year contract this summer with the Montreal Canadiens, Alexander Radulov has returned to the NHL with a vengeance. The former Nashville Predators forward came back from the KHL for $5.75MM, and has performed exceptionally well. 41 points in 52 games and the question has now become where will he sign this summer when he becomes an unrestricted free agent once again.
While Pierre McGuire was speaking to Mitch Gallo on TSN 690 in Montreal, he related a conversation he had with Washington Capitals head coach Barry Trotz. “I would be shocked if Radulov doesn’t sign with Montreal, he loves it there” said Trotz, making it clear he things the Russian playmaker will stay long-term in the French-Canadian city. Trotz likely has a bit of inside information on Radulov, as the two spent parts of three seasons together in Nashville after Trotz and the Predators drafted him 15th overall in 2004.
For Montreal, signing Radulov would be a big boost to their offensive production going into next season. With Tomas Plekanec slowing down considerably, and David Deharnais looking like a shadow of his former 50-point self, the Habs have serious question marks up front for next season. Radulov has looked like the elite player many believed he was during the short time he was in the NHL, skating mostly beside Max Pacioretty and Phillip Danault – though when Alex Galchenyuk is healthy, he is an obvious fit for the top line.
We ranked Radulov second among our mid-season free agents, stating that he had already done enough to warrant a long-term deal with someone. Be advised Montreal fans, that just because Trotz knows he loves it there, doesn’t mean he will definitely re-sign. If we’ve come to learn anything about professional athletes (and really anyone in general) it’s that money dictates where they go. If the Canadiens don’t offer Radulov the best (or close to the best) offer, he’ll be taking his talents somewhere else. The KHL is always an option, though it seems as though he’s made a decision to come and try to win in North America for the time being.
Minor Transactions: 2/2/17
Here is where we’ll keep track of today’s minor roster moves:
- The Capitals announced that they’ve assigned center Chandler Stephenson back to Hershey of the AHL. Stephenson got into a trio of games with the Caps over the past week and a half, being held pointless while averaging 8:45 per night. He has spent the bulk of the year at the AHL level, recording six goals and 18 assists in 41 games with the Bears.
- With goalie Antti Raanta taking a leave of absence to be with his wife gave birth to their first child earlier today, the Rangers announced that they have summoned Magnus Hellberg from AHL Hartford. The 25 year old netminder has played in 26 games with the Wolf Pack, going 10-9-5 with a 2.86 GAA and a .906 SV%.
- The Wild announced that they have recalled 2014 first round pick right winger Alex Tuch from Iowa of the AHL. Tuch is in his first professional season and has 11 goals and 11 assists in 34 games at the minor league level this season and has yet to play at the NHL level. He also was named to the AHL All-Star game which took place late last month.
- Anaheim has recalled defenseman Shea Theodore from San Diego (AHL), reports Eric Stephens (Twitter link). He has been back and forth plenty of times this season (this is recall number 12 for him) and has played in 25 games with the Ducks, scoring once while adding seven assists. He has fared better offensively at the minor league level with nine points (1-8-9) in 13 contests with the Gulls.
- Toronto has assigned center Frederik Gauthier back to the AHL’s Marlies, reports Sportsnet’s Chris Johnston (Twitter link). Taking his place on the roster is center Ben Smith who had been out since late December with a hand injury. Gauthier has played in 18 games with the Maple Leafs this season, picking up two goals and an assist while winning just over 51% of his faceoffs. At the minor league level, he has a goal and three helpers in 17 contests.
- The Devils announced (via Twitter) that they have recalled forward Joseph Blandisi from AHL Albany. Blandisi spent half the season in the NHL last year, picking up 17 points (5-12-17) in 41 games. However, he has yet to see action with New Jersey this season. However, he has been productive with the AHL Devils this year scoring seven goals to go along with 16 assists in just 28 games.
Minor Transactions: 2/1/2017
Here’s where we will track the day’s less significant roster transactions:
- The Columbus Blue Jackets reassigned defenseman Dean Kukan to the Cleveland Monsters of the AHL, according to The Columbus Dispatch’s Aaron Portzline (via Twitter). The 23-year-old blue liner was recalled Sunday but did not appear in the Jackets wild 6 – 4 win over the New York Rangers last night. He appeared in eight games last season, his first in the NHL, but failed to register a point. The Swiss-born Kukan signed a deal with Columbus prior to the 2015-16 season after a lengthy pro career playing in his home country. In 37 games this year with Cleveland, Kukan has 13 points.
- Joe Haggerty of CSNNE has relayed that Zane McIntyre has been recalled by the Boston Bruins to replace Anton Khudobin as the team’s backup netminder. The Bruins are desperate for quality play in goal behind starter Tuukka Rask. McIntyre and Khudobin have combined to post a woeful record of 1 – 8 – 2 in 15 appearances with a GAA of 3.42 and a S% of 0.875. Boston has just two back-to-backs scheduled this month, suggesting they won’t have to rely on their backup much, provided Rask remains healthy.
- Defenseman Dylan McIlrath and forward Paul Thompson, each of whom was placed on waivers by Florida yesterday, went unclaimed and will remain in the Florida Panthers organization, according to Sportsnet’s Chris Johnston. George Richards, who covers the Panthers for the Miami Herald, later added that McIlrath was reassigned to Springfield, along with forward Jared McCann. McIlrath, acquired earlier this season from the New York Rangers, has seen action in just five games for Florida this season. The former first-round draft pick has had trouble earning regular playing time. Thompson, 28, has played in 21 games for the Panthers, registering three assists while averaging less than eight minutes per game.
- The Washington Capitals returned blue liner Christian Djoos to Hershey of the AHL, reports Tarik El-Bashir of CSN Mid-Atlantic. Djoos was Washington’s seventh-round selection in the 2012 entry draft and has yet to debut in the NHL. He’s in the midst of a solid season for Hershey, tallying 26 points in 35 AHL contests.
Snapshots: Letang, Carlson, NHL
News and notes from around the NHL this evening:
- The Pittsburgh Penguins activated defenseman Kris Letang off of Injured Reserve today. Pittsburgh Post-Gazette reporter Jason Mackey tweeted that Letang was on the ice for the Penguins warmup skate before tonights game against the Nashville Predators. Letang suffered a lower-body injury January 14th against the Detroit Red Wings, and has been out ever since. The Penguins did not struggle without him, but adding Letang back into the mix should propel the Penguins higher atop the Metropolitan Division.
- The Penguins aren’t the only Metropolitan team getting their defenseman back. The Washington Capitals welcome John Carlson back to the ice after the young defenseman missed the last two weeks. Carlson suffered a lower body injury against the Philadelphia Flyers on January 15. Carlson has 5G and 20A in 43 games so far for the Capitals and the leads all Capitals skaters in average ice time.
- TSN’s Darren Dreger reports that the NHL plans to have two regular season games in Sweden next season, pending NHLPA approval. Dreger says that the Ottawa Senators and Colorado Avalanche will likely play each other in two games in November. Both teams have Swedish captains: Erik Karlsson for Ottawa and Gabriel Landeskog for Colorado. It is unclear whether both games will take place in one city or divided amongst two.
Minor Transactions: 1/30/2017
The All-Star festivities are over and teams are back to reloading their rosters before game action starts up again tomorrow. The Washington Capitals were the first to get back at it today, announcing early this morning that they have recalled forward Chandler Stephenson and defenseman Christian Djoos. Stephenson has made multiple trips to Washington this season and made his season debut on his most recent stint. The 22-year-old center, a 2012 third-round pick, has yet to record his first NHL point through 11 career games, but has 24 points in 41 games for the AHL’s Hershey Bears so far this season. Stephenson was demoted on Friday, only to be recalled today, seemingly to get into a game and for some minor cap savings for the Caps. Meanwhile, this is the first career promotion for Djoos. The small, speedy Swedish defenseman has impressed at the AHL level this season with great skating and puck-moving ability to go along with a solid defensive game. However, whether or not he makes his NHL debut anytime soon depends on the status of John Carlson. Djoos’ call-up is likely for insurance in case Carlson is not ready to return from injury just yet, but all signs point to the Capitals’ #1 defenseman being ready to go.
Elsewhere around the league:
- The Boston Bruins continue to flip-flop their backup goaltenders. After recalling Anton Khudobin and sending rookie Zane McIntyre back down to the AHL’s Providence Bruins on Friday, the Bruins then recalled McIntyre again, after he got the start for the P-Bruins, and sent Khudobin down to play for the team on Saturday night. Well, the Bruins then swapped the keepers again yesterday, allowing McIntyre, the AHL’s best goalie so far this season, to take part in All-Star festivities last night and today.
- Another team undoing a recent All-Star break move is the New Jersey Devils, who today announced the recalls of Steven Santini, Karl Stollery, and Seth Helgeson. The defensive trio was re-assigned on Friday to give them some AHL play time with the Albany Devils this weekend. Santini and Stollery have been lining up as the team’s third defensive pair of late, with Andy Greene and John Moore still sidelined with injuries.
- The St. Louis Blue also made a quick switch regarding Ivan Barbashev. The AHL All-Star had been recalled last week after the injury to Kyle Brodziak, but was returned to the AHL’s Chicago Wolves on Friday to play in games over the weekend. However, Barbashev has now been called up again, without participating in any AHL All-Star festivities. Barbashev has 19 goals and 18 assists in 45 AHL games in 2016-17, and is expected to get a long look in St. Louis while Brodziak remains out.
- The Minnesota Wild have promoted defenseman Mike Reilly from the Iowa Wild of the AHL. The Western Conference leaders are about to embark on a four-game road trip through western Canada, and appear to be bringing Reilly along as an extra man with Jonas Brodin still not ready to return to the lineup.
- The Montreal Canadiens have placed defenseman Zach Redmond on waivers today, according to TVA’s Renaud Lavoie. After trading for Nikita Nesterov, Redmond has become expendable to the Habs. While they don’t have such deep defensive depth that they don’t care if he is claimed or not, Montreal feels comfortable subjecting him to waivers in order to send him to the AHL with the right side of their blue line set with Shea Weber, Jeff Petry, and now Nesterov. The 28-year-old defenseman is in his first season with Montreal, and has five assists though 16 games with the team thus far.
- Tampa Bay is bringing back Jake Dotchin, as the the Tampa Bay Times’ Joe Smith reports that the rookie defenseman has been recalled by the Lightning. Dotchin received his first career call-up last week and played in three games with the Bolts prior to the All-Star Break. He then played in a couple contests with the AHL’s Syracuse Crunch this weekend before now heading back to the Gulf Coast. Tampa Bay’s roster is very fluid right now, and if Dotchin is impressing the team in his limited bottom pair play, they have no reason to demote him any time soon.
More to come
Snapshots: Olympics, Waivers, Hurricanes Sale
In what proved to be a short meeting, the NHL Board of Governors met today to discuss the 2018 Olympics and whether the league will be participating. Deputy Commissioner Bill Daly reported to Frank Seravalli of TSN that the meeting lasted just ten seconds, and said there was nothing new to report.
It’s looking more and more like the league will not be headed to the Pyeong Chang games, though some players have expressed that they will go regardless of the league’s decision. It’s hard to imagine players like Alex Ovechkin leaving their team in the middle of the season, but it may come to that. For his part, Capitals owner Ted Leonsis has said he would support his superstar winger if he did decide to go against the NHL’s wishes.
- Erik Erlendsson of Lightning Insider reports that Michael Bournival and Gabriel Dumont have both cleared waivers today, though both are currently still with the NHL team. The two player transaction represents the latest in what will be a busy few weeks for GM Steve Yzerman. Starting on Thursday, what some believe may become a fire-sale kicked off with the dealing of Nikita Nesterov to the Montreal Canadiens. The team has a lot more work to do as it works to protect itself from the expansion draft.
- Tampa has also re-assigned Jake Dotchin back to the AHL according to Bryan Burns of NHL.com, oddly enough without any mention of Bournival or Dumont. Perhaps something is brewing with the recently waived forwards. Dotchin has played three games for the Lightning this year and was held scoreless.
- The Carolina Hurricanes owner Peter Karmanos told Pierre LeBrun of ESPN that he’s now willing to sell the entire franchise, not just a part of it as previously reported. Karmanos has been looking for a buyer for a while now, but has previously been quoted as saying he would guarantee it stays in North Carolina. Obviously, if he were to sell the entire thing he wouldn’t be able to make that guarantee, though he could refuse to make a deal with anyone planning on a relocation. With the Canes floundering at the bottom of the Eastern Conference and still unable to draw a decent crowd each night, perhaps relocation does fall in their future. For now, we’ll keep an eye on any potential buyers the team may be in contact with.
Minor Transactions: 1/27/2017
As is customary over the NHL’s All-Star weekend, many teams have begun the day with sending waivers-exempt players down to the minors for some salary cap savings over the next few days. No team has been as enthusiastic to move some bodies as the New Jersey Devils, who announced that nearly half of their defensive corps will take a short trip to Albany to visit the AHL Devils. Joining the recently demoted Yohann Auvitu this weekend will be Steve Santini, Seth Helgeson, and Karl Stollery. Although the trio has only played in a combined 26 games in 2016-17, Santini and Stollery have formed the bottom pair for the Devils of late with Auvitu, Andy Greene, and John Moore sidelined with injuries. Helgeson has generally been the seventh defenseman this season, spending most games in the press box, but getting to see the ice in five contests. The 29-year-old journeyman Stollery has played in just eight games, but is already having the best season of his NHL career, recording his first big-league points and playing about 16 minutes per night.The rookie Santini has shown promise so far in the first half, skating in 13 games and scoring two goals and three assists while playing a sound defensive game as well. Expect Santini and at least one of Stollery and Helgeson to be back up in New Jersey after a brief break.
Elsewhere in minor moves:
- Another Metropolitan team has moved a majority of one position down to the AHL, but it should come as welcome news to the fans. The Carolina Hurricanes announced that, after a long hiatus dealing with concussion symptoms, goalie Eddie Lack has been activated from the injured reserve and has been assigned to the AHL’s Charlotte Checkers for a rehab stint. With Cam Ward having played in 41 of 48 games for the ‘Canes, including 22 of the last 24, he, the organization, and the fans will be happy to have Lack back in the fold as soon as possible. Joining him in the minors will be his recent replacement, veteran Michael Leighton, whose demotion could be more of the permanent variety this time around. However, Leighton, who is the AHL’s all-time leading goalie in games played, will at least get to participate in the AHL All-Star Game upon his return.
- The Washington Capitals have reassigned forward Chandler Stephenson to the Hershey Bears of the AHL for the time being. Unlike his last call-up to the Caps, Stephenson got to see some game action during this last trip. Though the young center was held scoreless and is still looking for his first NHL point through 11 games, Stephenson played confidently in the past two contests and has earned another promotion in the near future.
- The Columbus Blue Jackets have again returned forward Markus Hannikainen to the AHL’s Cleveland Monsters. The big Finnish winger, playing in just his second season in North America, scored his first NHL goal in the Jackets’ 3-2 win over the Carolina Hurricanes last Saturday, his only game action on this trip to Columbus.
- The Buffalo Sabres announced that defenseman Casey Nelson has been assigned to the Rochester Americans of the AHL. Nelson has done his best to help Buffalo out with their rash of blue line injuries this season, but has struggled to make much of a difference in nine scoreless games.
- After his recent NHL debut and first career goal, the Arizona Coyotes’ Christian Fischer gets to continue his highlight-reel week by heading to the AHL All-Star Game. The Coyotes announced his demotion, but more than anything the move allows the AHL to honor the league’s top rookie in the first half of the season before he likely heads back to the NHL for the second half.
- In addition to placing Michael Bournival and Gabriel Dumont on waivers, the Tampa Bay Lightning have demoted forward Erik Condra to the AHL’s Syracuse Crunch, which has become common this season. The bottom-six groupings are set to change drastically following the All-Star break.
- The Ottawa Senators have activated Andrew Hammond from the injured reserve, and in a corresponding move and have sent down Chris Driedger to the Binghampton Senators of the AHL. However, this only partially helps the Sens’ logjam in net. Mike Condon has taken over as the starter with Hammond out and Craig Anderson on leave since early December, but with both soon back in the fold, Ottawa will still be carrying three goalies. Expect another move sooner rather than later.
- The San Jose Sharks are using All-Star weekend to get a whole group of guys some play time. The team announced that Barclay Goodrow, Kevin Labanc, Timo Meier, and Tim Heed have all be reassigned to the AHL Barracuda and will join the team in Michigan tonight for a game against the Grand Rapids Griffins.
- After just recalling Ivan Barbashev to replace the injured Kyle Brodziak, the St. Louis Blues have returns the AHL All-Star to the Chicago Wolves for this weekend. Expect he, or fellow All-Star Kenny Agostino, or possibly both, to be right back with the Blue after the break.
- The Boston Bruins have recalled goalie Anton Khudobin from the Providence Bruins and reassigned rookie keeper Zane McIntyre to the AHL. While McIntyre’s demotion was expected, as he has been the best goalie in the AHL this year and a highlight of the AHL All-Star Game, the subsequent recall of Khudobin could signal that the Bruins are ready to return to the veteran as their backup to begin the second half of the season.
- The Winnipeg Jets returned Brian Strait to the Manitoba Moose of the AHL, one day after recalling the six-year veteran defenseman from the minors, the team announced via Twitter. Strait was a healthy scratch last night as the Jets took a 5-3 decision from Chicago. The 6-foot-1, 206-pound blue liner has yet to see action in the NHL this season but has appeared in 182 regular season contests over parts of six seasons with the Pittsburgh and New York Islanders organizations.
- The Columbus Blue Jackets continue to flip-flop backup goalies, sending Joonas Korpisalo to Cleveland of the AHL and recalling Anton Forsberg from the same affiliate. The team announced the corresponding transactions via Twitter. Forsberg has made just one appearance this season for Columbus, allowing four goals on 27 shots in a 5-3 loss to Carolina. Korpisalo has won two of his three starts and has appeared in four games overall.
- The Pittsburgh Penguins have sent Carter Rowney back to the AHL after just a day with the big club. The forward came up last night with Evgeni Malkin out, but didn’t make it into the game against the Boston Bruins. Rowney will need to wait for his next shot with the big club.
- The Anaheim Ducks have signed some depth between the pipes, inking ECHL netminder Ryan Faragher to a one-year deal. The 26-year old Faragher has been in their system since 2014, but wasn’t under a pro-deal until now. He’ll earn $575K if he should ever make it to the NHL (which he most likely will not, unless something drastic happens in Anaheim) and $50K in the AHL.