Minor Transactions: 01/02/20
After the Winter Classic brought several lasting memories, including Corey Perry‘s long walk to the dressing room and a penalty shot by Denis Gurianov, the NHL is back to their regularly scheduled programming. Today brings 12 games and lots of intrigue, including a top matchup between the St. Louis Blues and Colorado Avalanche. As team’s prepare, we’ll keep track of all the minor moves:
- The Winnipeg Jets have sent Joona Luoto back to the AHL to continue his development. The 22-year old has played in 16 games at the NHL level but doesn’t have a point yet.
- After starting the year on season-opening injured reserve, Anton Blidh is ready to get into some action. He’ll go to the Providence Bruins on a LTI conditioning loan, which sounds bad but is actually a positive step.
- Jeremy Lauzon has also been sent to Providence by the Boston Bruins, after making his season debut earlier this week. Lauzon, 22, has ten points in 35 games for the P-Bruins.
NHL All-Star Selections Announced
Although it took some time, with each individual team rolling out their own selections, the final rosters for All-Star Weekend have come into focus. Below are each of the four divisional team, set to face off in the Skills Competition on Friday, January 24th and the All-Star Game on Saturday, January 25th:
Atlantic Division
G Frederik Andersen, Toronto Maple Leafs
G Tuukka Rask, Boston Bruins
D Victor Hedman, Tampa Bay Lightning
D Shea Weber, Montreal Canadiens
F Tyler Bertuzzi, Detroit Red Wings
F Jack Eichel, Buffalo Sabres
F Anthony Duclair, Ottawa Senators
F Jonathan Huberdeau, Florida Panthers
F Auston Matthews, Toronto Maple Leafs
F David Pastrnak, Boston Bruins (C)
Metropolitan Division
G Braden Holtby, Washington Capitals
G Joonas Korpisalo, Columbus Blue Jackets
D John Carlson, Washington Capitals
D Dougie Hamilton, Carolina Hurricanes
D Seth Jones, Columbus Blue Jackets
F Mathew Barzal, New York Islanders
F Jake Guentzel, Pittsburgh Penguins
F Travis Konecny, Philadelphia Flyers
F Kyle Palmieri, New Jersey Devils
F Artemi Panarin, New York Rangers
Central Division
G Jordan Binnington, St. Louis Blues
G Connor Hellebuyck, Winnipeg Jets
D Roman Josi, Nashville Predators
D Alex Pietrangelo, St. Louis Blues
F Patrick Kane, Chicago Blackhawks
F Nathan MacKinnon, Colorado Avalanche (C)
F Ryan O’Reilly, St. Louis Blues
F Mark Scheifele, Winnipeg Jets
F Tyler Seguin, Dallas Stars
F Eric Staal, Minnesota Wild
Pacific Division
G Marc-Andre Fleury, Vegas Golden Knights
G Darcy Kuemper, Arizona Coyotes
D Mark Giordano, Calgary Flames
F Logan Couture, San Jose Sharks
F Leon Draisaitl, Edmonton Oilers
F Anze Kopitar, Los Angeles Kings
F Connor McDavid, Edmonton Oilers (C)
F Elias Pettersson, Vancouver Canucks
F Jakob Silfverberg, Anaheim Ducks
F Matthew Tkachuk, Calgary Flames
Additionally, each divisional squad will have one more addition as decided by the Last Men In fan vote. Voting opens on January 1st and closes on the 10th. Here are the candidates:
Atlantic Division – Patrice Bergeron, Rasmus Dahlin, Dylan Larkin Aleksander Barkov, Max Domi, Jean-Gabriel Pageau, Steven Stamkos, Mitch Marner
Metropolitan Division – Teuvo Teravainen, Nick Foligno, Nico Hischier, Brock Nelson, Mika Zibanejad, Claude Giroux, Kris Letang, T.J. Oshie
Central Division – Jonathan Toews, Cale Makar, Jamie Benn, Ryan Suter, Matt Duchene, David Perron Patrik Laine
Pacific Division – Ryan Getzlaf, Clayton Keller, Johnny Gaudreau, Ryan Nugent-Hopkins, Drew Doughty, Tomas Hertl, Quinn Hughes, Max Pacioretty
Four Players Clear Waivers
Sunday: All four players have cleared waivers, per Sportsnet’s Elliotte Friedman. Comrie was quickly sent to the AHL.
Saturday: Today is the first day that players can be placed on waivers following the roster freeze and it’s a busy day on the wire. Sportsnet’s Elliotte Friedman reports (Twitter links) that Markus Granlund (Edmonton), Brandon Manning (Edmonton), Andy Andreoff (Philadelphia), and Eric Comrie (Winnipeg) have all been put on waivers.
Granlund is in his first year with Edmonton after joining them in the summer when he was non-tendered by Vancouver. The hope was that he could provide some secondary scoring along with some positional flexibility and while he has given them the latter, he hasn’t produced much as he has just three goals and one assist in 31 games this season while averaging a career-low 11 minutes per night of ice time. Nonetheless, with a $1.3MM deal that expires at the end of the season, there could be some interest from a team looking for some depth.
As for Manning, this marks his second time on waivers already this season. He went unclaimed at the beginning of the season but was never sent down as instead, the Oilers kept him up in a reserve role. He has only played in nine games this year but since he has been up for more than 30 days since clearing waivers, he needed to be put back on the wire to be sent down. He carries a $2.25MM cap hit which is likely too high for anyone to want to add. Assuming he does clear, Edmonton would get $1.075MM in cap relief and the same would apply if Granlund clears which would give them a bit of cap relief.
Andreoff is also on waivers for the second time this season. He cleared early in training camp and was sent to AHL Lehigh Valley where he picked up eight points in 14 games, earning himself a recall in early November. He was shuffled back and forth a couple of times to free up some cap room but now that he has played in ten NHL games (where he collected an assist), he has to go back on waivers to be sent down. He’s in the first year of a two-year, one-way deal that pays him $750K per year.
Comrie is no stranger to the waiver wire himself. He was placed on waivers by the Jets at the end of training camp and was claimed by Arizona to serve as injury depth. He didn’t see any action with them aside from a four-game AHL conditioning stint before he was dealt to Detroit who needed a short-term backup option. He got into three games with them before being waived again and picked up by the Jets. If he makes it through this time, he’ll be able to be sent to Manitoba of the AHL. Comrie is in the first season of a two-year contract that carries a $700K AAV. This season is a two-way pact before converting to a one-way deal for 2020-21.
Central Notes: Sissons, Laviolette, Shaw, Perreault
The Nashville Predators lost another forward Friday as the team has placed forward Colton Sissons on injured reserve with a lower-body injury during the team’s 5-2 loss to the Pittsburgh Penguins, according to the Tennessean’s Paul Skrbina. By being placed on IR, Sissons cannot return for at least seven days, meaning he is expected to miss Wednesday’s Winter Classic in Dallas at the Cotton Bowl.
Sissons was injured during the first period Friday after teammate Nick Bonino tripped up Pittsbugh Zach Aston-Reese who fell on Sissons’ ankle. He was wearing a walking boot after the game to protect his ankle. The 26-year-old had seven goals and 13 points in 37 games so far this season.
The team recalled forward Yakov Trenin from the Milwaukee Admirals of the AHL, who is expected to fill in some depth for the Predators.
- Sticking with the Predators, despite the team’s struggles in the standings (sixth place in the Central Division), The Athletic’s Adam Vingan writes that he doesn’t see an easy fix to fixing the fortunes of a team originally predicted to be among the top teams in the Western Conference. The scribe writes that firing coach Peter Laviolette isn’t a likely scenario as he remains in good standing with management and general manager David Poile doesn’t have a history of firing coaches. In fact, in nearly 40 years, Poile has only had five head coaches total.
- Chicago Blackhawks fans that were hoping to see forward Andrew Shaw soon will be disappointed, but head coach Jeremy Colliton said that the rugged forward will not be returning to the team anytime soon, according to NBC Sports’ Charlie Roumeliotis. Shaw, has been out since Nov. 30 with a concussion, and his status hasn’t improved much. The team is also without Drake Caggiula, also out with a concussion since Nov. 10. Caggiula, who is deemed closer by Colliton, however, will not join Chicago on their upcoming three-game roadtrip.
- The Winnipeg Jets could be getting back one of their players shortly. The Athletic’s Murat Ates reports that forward Mathieu Perreault continues to wear a yellow non-contact jersey, but the 31-year-old hopes to get in a full practice in soon with the hopes of possibly returning to the lineup on Tuesday when the team faces Colorado. Perreault has been out since Dec. 15 with a concussion. He has six goals and 12 points in 33 games this season and would be a great addition to the team’s bottom-six.
NHL Draft Picks Participating In The World Junior Championship
The 2020 IIHF World Junior Championship is underway from Ostrava and Trinec in the Czech Republic. The tournament began today and will run through the championship game on January 5th. Each of the NHL’s 31 teams has at least one representative at the WJC. Five teams have only one draft pick participating, while the Los Angeles Kings (9) and Arizona Coyotes (7) each have more than those teams combined. However, it only takes one player and one moment to make history at the WJC. Check out which future NHLers will have that chance this year:
Anaheim Ducks (2):
G Lukas Dostal, Czech Republic
F Trevor Zegras, USA
Arizona Coyotes (7):
F Barrett Hayton, Canada
F Jan Jenik, Czech Republic
F Matias Maccelli, Finland
D Aku Raty, Finland
D Victor Soderstrom, Sweden
F Valentin Nussbaumer, Switzerland
D Ty Emberson, USA
Boston Bruins (3):
F Jakub Lauko, Czech Republic
F John Beecher, USA
F Curtis Hall, USA
Buffalo Sabres (4):
F Dylan Cozens, Canada
F Matej Pekar, Czech Republic
G Erik Portillo, Sweden
D Mattias Samuelsson, USA
Calgary Flames (1):
G Dustin Wolf, USA
Carolina Hurricanes (5):
D Anttoni Honka, Finland
F Lenni Killinen, Finland
F Patrik Puistola, Finland
F Dominik Bokk, Germany
F Jack Drury, USA
Chicago Blackhawks (2):
F Antti Saarela, Finland
F Michal Teply, Czech Republic
Colorado Avalanche (4):
D Bowen Byram, Canada
G Justus Annunen, Finland
F Sampo Ranta, Finland
D Daniil Zhuravlyov, Russia
Columbus Blue Jackets (4):
F Liam Foudy, Canada
F Kirill Marchenko, Russia
F Dmitri Voronkov, Russia
D Tim Berni, Switzerland
Dallas Stars (3):
F Ty Dellandrea, Canada
F Oskar Back, Sweden
F Albin Eriksson, Sweden
Detroit Red Wings (5):
D Jared McIsaac, Canada
F Joseph Veleno, Canada
D Moritz Seider, Germany
F Jonatan Berggren, Sweden
F Jesper Eliasson, Sweden
Edmonton Oilers (4):
F Raphael Lavoie, Canada
G Olivier Rodrigue, Canada
F Matej Blumel, Czech Republic
D Philip Broberg, Sweden
Florida Panthers (3):
Justin Schutz, Germany
F Grigori Denisenko, Russia
G Spencer Knight, USA
Los Angeles Kings (9):
F Aidan Dudas, Canada
F Akil Thomas, Canada
F Lukas Parik, Czech Republic
F Rasmus Kupari, Finland
D Kim Nousiainen, Finland
D Tobias Bjornfot, Sweden
F Samuel Fagemo, Sweden
F Arthur Kaliyev, USA
F Alex Turcotte, USA
Minnesota Wild (1):
F Alexander Khovanov, Russia
Montreal Canadiens (4):
D Alexander Romanov, Russia
D Mattias Norlinder, Sweden
F Cole Caufield, USA
D Jordan Harris, USA
Nashville Predators (1):
D Spencer Stastney, USA
New Jersey Devils (5):
D Kevin Bahl, Canada
D Ty Smith, Canada
D Daniil Misyul, Russia
F Nikola Pasic, Sweden
G Akira Schmid, Switzerland
New York Islanders (2):
F Jacob Pivonka, USA
F Oliver Wahlstrom, USA
New York Rangers (5):
D Nico Gross, Switzerland
F Karl Henriksson, Sweden
D Nils Lundkvist, Sweden
D Zachary Jones, USA
D K’Andre Miller, USA
Ottawa Senators (3):
D Jacob Bernard-Docker, Canada
D Lassi Thomson, Finland
F Shane Pinto, USA
Philadelphia Flyers (4):
F Egor Zamula, Russia
D Adam Ginning, Sweden
F Bobby Brink, USA
D Cameron York, USA
Pittsburgh Penguins (1):
D Calen Addison, Canada
San Jose Sharks (1):
Santeri Hatakka, Finland
St. Louis Blues (2):
G Joel Hofer, Canada
F Nikita Alexandrov, Russia
Tampa Bay Lightning (3):
F Nolan Foote, Canada
F Maxim Cajkovic, Czech Republic
G Hugo Alnefelt, Sweden
Toronto Maple Leafs (3):
D Mikko Kokkonen, Finland
D Rasmus Sandin, Sweden
F Nicholas Robertson, USA
Vancouver Canucks (4):
F Karel Plasek, Czech Republic
D Toni Utunen, Finland
F Vasily Podkolzin, Russia
F Nils Hoglander, Sweden
Vegas Golden Knights (3):
F Pavel Dorofeyev, Russia
F Ivan Morozov, Russia
G Isaiah Saville, USA
Washington Capitals (2):
F Connor McMichael, Canada
D Martin Has, Czech Republic
Winnipeg Jets (2):
F David Gustafsson, Sweden
D Ville Heinola, Finland
Overseas Notes: Shore, Howden, Zatkoff
The NHL may have a holiday roster freeze, but there’s still plenty of action ongoing in Europe. A few recognizable names are on the move, including Drew Shore. The former top prospect, who last played in North America in 2016-17 with the Vancouver Canucks, is now in his fourth season in Europe, split between the Swiss NLA and KHL. Shore began this season with the KHL’s Dinamo Minsk, but after a hot start has been moved to Torpedo Nizhny Novgorod. Shore, who has 17 points in 24 games thus far, moves up the KHL’s Western Conference standings from a basement dweller to a team competing for a playoff spot.
- With the addition of Shore, Torpedo has opted to trade another NHL veteran, Quinton Howden, to Vityaz Podolsk. Howden, a former Florida Panthers prospect like Shore, last suited up in the NHL with the Winnipeg Jets in 2016-17. Howden had 13 points in 36 games prior to the trade, but Torpedo essentially sold Howden, using the money to pay for a more productive player in Shore. It’s a somewhat risky move however, seeing as how Vityaz holds a higher position in the standings than Nizhny Novgorod.
- Veteran goaltender Jeff Zatkoff will be staying overseas a while longer. The former Penguins and Kings keeper, who last played in North America in 2017-18, has signed an extension with the Straubing Tigers of Germany’s DEL. Now in his second season with the Tigers, Zatkoff has excelled since moving to Germany and it makes sense that the 32-year-old would like to stay put.
Five Key Stories: 12/16/19 – 12/22/19
The days leading up to the NHL’s Holiday Roster Freeze are always full of potential for big moves by teams looking to make a change before a stretch of mandatory inactivity. This year did not disappoint, as the biggest target on the rental market was dealt, highlighting a busy week. Here are the five biggest stories of the past week:
Taylor Hall Traded To Arizona: The week started with a bang, as the Taylor Hall saga came to an end with a trade to Arizona. The Coyotes sent a 2020 first-round pick, a conditional 2021 third-round pick, and prospects Nate Schnarr, Nick Merkley and Kevin Bahl to the Devils. New Jersey retained half of Hall’s $6MM cap as well. Hall was the top name in the rental market this season, but many were left underwhelmed by the trade return. The asking price may have been affected by Hall’s reluctance to negotiate an extension in-season, which he has maintained since arriving in the desert. Nevertheless, the Coyotes’ acquisition could make them the favorite to win the Pacific Division this year as they pursue the franchise’s first Stanley Cup.
Ilya Kovalchuk Leaves Kings: Veteran Ilya Kovalchuk is on the move as well, but his destination is yet to be determined. He and the Los Angeles Kings came to a mutual agreement on a contract termination on Monday, with Kovalchuk clearing unconditional waivers on Tuesday. The former superstar never fit with the Kings after returning from the KHL and could be tempted to return to Russia after this failure. However, he is reportedly willing to sign a minimum deal to remain in the NHL as he too is pursuing his first Stanley Cup, without much time left in his lengthy career.
Eric Comrie, Stefan Noesen Claimed: Three players entered the waiver wire on Wednesday and two emerged on new teams. Both goaltender Eric Comrie and forward Stefan Noesen were claimed on waivers. For Comrie, he returns to the Winnipeg Jets, the team with which he began the season, after making stops with the Arizona Coyotes and Detroit Red Wings. Meanwhile, Noesen only signed with the Pittsburgh Penguins a few weeks ago, but is already on the move to the San Jose Sharks. Austin Czarnik, the most accomplished player waived on Wednesday, but also the most expensive, was not claimed and remains with the Calgary Flames.
The Injury Bug Bites: Injuries are not exactly an uncommon occurrence in the NHL, but this week in particular took a heavy toll across the league. Just how bad was it? Here is the list of players who were announced this week as being out long-term: Josh Anderson, Danny DeKeyser, Troy Terry, Derek Grant, Andrew Peeke, Ryan Murray, Darcy Kuemper, Jason Zucker, Josh Leivo, Brandon Saad, Cal Clutterbuck, Anthony Mantha, and Oliver Bjorkstrand.
Chris Snow Diagnosed With ALS: Calgary Flames Assistant General Manager Chris Snow has been diagnosed with ALS, as disclosed by his wife in a public letter. As Snow begins this difficult battle, we here at PHR wish he and his family the best this holiday season.
Snapshots: Ovechkin, Islanders, Perreault
The NHL announced the captains of the 2020 NHL All-Star Game Saturday. One of the four captains announced, the Metropolitan Division representative Alex Ovechkin was also named a captain last year, but Ovechkin declined the offer and chose to rest instead, accruing a one-game suspension from the league for skipping their annual all-star event. When asked whether he would participate this year, Ovechkin was noncommittal, according to NBC Sports’ J.J. Regan.
“We’ll see,” he said. “It’s lots of games to play. I’m going to do the best for my health and for the playoffs and I have to be healthy for the most important games moving forward. It’s always nice to be a captain on the All-Star team. Thanks fans for voting me. It’s a huge honor for me, for this organization and this team.”
This marks the fourth time Ovechkin has been voted in as Metropolitan Division captain and third straight appearance. If he participates, it will be his eighth all-star appearance of his career. The all-star game will be held in St. Louis on Jan. 24 and 25.
- Kevin Paul Dupont of the Boston Globe writes if newly acquired Arizona Coyotes’ forward Taylor Hall gets to open free agency on July 1, which many people expect, don’t be surprised if the New York Islanders are the biggest bidders on the star forward. Even though New York has to sign young star Mathew Barzal to a new contract this summer, the team and general manager Lou Lamoriello still should have plenty of cap space to bring in a big-name free agent this summer.
- Winnipeg Jets’ head coach Paul Maurice said he hopes to get back forward Mathieu Perreault soon, according to The Athletic’s Murat Ates. The 31-year-old has been out since Dec. 15 after sustaining a concussion. However, Maurice feels he is getting closer to returning. “He’s getting better,” Maurice said. “We’re having good days now. It is possible that he might be ready for St. Louis… But we’re being very, very cautious. He’s had good days so he’s not far off, I don’t think.”
Comrie, Noesen Claimed Off Waivers
The Winnipeg Jets have brought back their former goaltending prospect Eric Comrie, claiming him off waivers from the Detroit Red Wings today. Stefan Noesen is also about to get on a flight, after being claimed by the San Jose Sharks. Austin Czarnik, the most expensive of the three, cleared waivers and can now be sent to the minor leagues by the Calgary Flames.
Comrie returns to the Jets following stints with Detroit and the Arizona Coyotes. The 24-year old goaltender was originally claimed by the Coyotes on October 1st and spent nearly two months on their roster without playing in a single NHL game. A conditioning loan did get him into four minor league games, but it took a trade to Detroit before he saw any action at the highest level.
Unfortunately, backstopping Detroit is a difficult task these days and Comrie ended up going 0-2 with an .864 save percentage in three appearances for the Red Wings. His return to Winnipeg comes as Jimmy Howard is expected to suit up for the Red Wings this weekend after dealing with injury for the last while.
Noesen meanwhile only signed an NHL contract a few weeks ago, after starting the year on a minor league deal with the Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins. After inking his new contract he played in six games with the Pittsburgh Penguins and scored a goal, but will now travel to San Jose to try and give the Sharks a little more depth. Noesen has plenty of NHL experience and was actually a quietly effective option for the New Jersey Devils in 2017-18 when he had 13 goals and 27 points in 72 games.
Snapshots: Copp, Seabrook, Mikheyev
The Winnipeg Jets have announced that Andrew Copp is out on a week-to-week basis with an upper-body injury, ruling him out until after Christmas at the earliest. The 25-year old Copp left last night’s game against the Carolina Hurricanes after a collision with Jordan Staal. Jets head coach Paul Maurice told reporters today including Ken Wiebe of The Athletic that the injury is not a concussion, but that more tests needed to be completed to understand the severity.
Copp has 14 points in 34 games this season and once again has been an integral part of the Jets’ penalty killing efforts, averaging more short-handed ice time than any forward other than Adam Lowry. Winnipeg has been struck by the injury bug several times this season, but right now are stretching their depth up front very thin.
- Good news for Chicago Blackhawks fans is bad news for Brent Seabrook. Duncan Keith will return tonight for the Blackhawks, meaning someone else had to come out of the lineup. That’s going to be Seabrook, who will be healthy scratched for the third time this season. The 34-year old Seabrook still has four more years on his current contract with the Blackhawks after 2019-20 and carries a $6.875MM cap hit.
- Ilya Mikheyev has scored in consecutive games for the Toronto Maple Leafs and now has six goals and 19 points through 35 games. That’s more than anyone could have expected from him in his first year in North America, but the Maple Leafs weren’t the only team that saw a future for the speedy winger when he was playing in the KHL. In fact, Pierre LeBrun of The Athletic tweets that about 20 teams showed interest in Mikheyev before he chose Toronto, suggesting that Chicago and the Vegas Golden Knights were among those who pursued him the hardest. Mikheyev is on just a one-year entry-level contract with Toronto and will be a restricted free agent at the end of the season.