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Toronto Maple Leafs Acquire Goaltender Michael Hutchinson

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With Frederik Andersen currently day-to-day with a groin injury, the Toronto Maple Leafs had already been forced to call up Kasimir Kaskisuo – and his .866 AHL save percentage. The team was a Garret Sparks injury away from having the struggling Kaskisuo as their starter in the short term. Depth in net had become a dire need for the organization and today GM Kyle Dubas was quick to address that need. The Maple Leafs have announced that they have acquired goaltender Michael Hutchinson from the Florida Panthers in exchange for a 2020 fifth-round pick.

Hutchinson, 28, is a shrewd pickup for Toronto, especially for a future late-round selection. Hutchinson is not far removed from being a regular fixture in net for the Winnipeg Jets from 2014 to 2017. While Hutchinson lost that job in Winnipeg last season, making only three appearances, he managed to play in 76 games over the three seasons prior. In a total of 106 NHL appearances, including four with Florida this year, Hutchinson has a .907 save percentage and 2.70 GAA. Hutchinson has had his fair share of struggles at both the NHL and AHL level this season and has not been the reliable third-string option to injury-prone Roberto Luongo and James Reimer as the Panthers had hoped when they signed him this past off-season. However, his minor league play has been vastly superior to Kaskisuo’s and his career NHL numbers are quite similar to Sparks’. The Leafs still don’t have a stalwart backup goalie to Andersen, but have cheaply acquired an experienced veteran keeper that is a clear upgrade to their depth in net.

Perhaps the best part about adding Hutchinson is that he has already cleared waivers this season and may be moved back and forth between the Maple Leafs and Marlies at will. Toronto’s goaltending depth issues began just prior to the start of the season, when both Calvin Pickard and Curtis McElhinney were claimed on waivers when the Leafs opted to protect Sparks. Pickard had a rough experience with the Philadelphia Flyers early on, but the Maple Leafs nevertheless tried to reclaim their lost property when the Flyers also placed him on waivers. However, they failed to bring Pickard back in as he was claimed by the Arizona Coyotes. McElhinney, on the other hand, has been the best of the Carolina Hurricanes’ trio of goalies and is unlikely to be up for claim again this season. Hutchinson was likely one of the top two-way keepers available and apparently one of the more affordable.

As for the Panthers, when healthy the duo of Luongo and Reimer have the roster spots in Florida locked up. Hutchinson was never going to overtake either keeper, especially given his performance this season. The team also hoped to get young Sam Montembeault some NHL experience this season and the Springfield Thunderbirds starter now takes over as the organization’s No. 3. It makes sense that the Panthers got what they could for a disappointing signing. However, if injury does strike Luongo again, Reimer’s struggles and Montembeault’s inexperience become of greater concern for Florida, especially if they are fighting for a playoff spot. Expect the Panthers to keep an eye on waivers and the goalie market for the remainder of the season.

Snapshots: Keane, Byfuglien, Bruins

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The London Knights must have felt a little thin on defense with Evan Bouchard and Adam Boqvist off playing in the World Junior Championship. The powerhouse OHL organization has added another top option to their blue line, trading for Joey Keane from the Barrie Colts. Keane himself was almost suiting up for Team USA at the tournament, but was one of the final cuts just before Christmas.

After going undrafted in his first year of eligibility, Keane was snapped up in the third round by the New York Rangers in June after putting up a solid season with Barrie. His 44 points in 62 games were impressive, but it’s Keane’s legitimate shutdown ability that intrigued most scouts. While he’s not the biggest or strongest, the Illinois native is a force in his own end with his exceptional reads, and will only strengthen what is already a dominant London blue line. The opportunity he’ll get to compete in the OHL playoffs will only help his development as he tries to jump to the professional ranks down the road.

  • While the Department of Player Safety is looking more closely at a David Backes hit, they’ve already handed out punishment for a different incident last night. Dustin Byfuglien has been fined $2,500 for slashing Johnny Gaudreau in last night’s Winnipeg-Calgary game. When Gaudreau beat Byfuglien at the Calgary blue line and had a clear path for an empty-net goal to seal the win, the Jets defenseman spun and delivered a forceful slash. While he won’t serve any suspension for it, the incident will be taken into account in any future supplementary discipline. Gaudreau practiced today for Calgary.
  • It seems the Boston Bruins can’t possibly have everyone healthy at the same time. After activating Zdeno Chara, Kevan Miller and Jake Debrusk yesterday, the team has placed Charlie McAvoy on injured reserve today in order to get under the 23-man roster limit. McAvoy’s injury is only expected to keep him out a few days, but will definitely keep him out of tomorrow’s game against the Buffalo Sabres. Whether he’ll be ready for Tuesday’s Winter Classic at Notre Dame is still undetermined.

Central Notes: Grubauer, Perlini, Brossoit

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The Colorado Avalanche went out of its way to bring in goaltender Philipp Grubauer via trade during the offseason to be their heir apparent in goal, but with Semyon Varlamov playing well throughout this season, Grubauer hasn’t had much of a chance to claim that role. However, that might be changing.

With the team having lost five of their last seven games and Varlamov struggling, the team got a brilliant performance from Grubauer on Tuesday as he saved 35 shots in a 2-1 win over the Montreal Canadiens. After that performance, The Athletic’s Ryan S. Clark (subscription required) wonders if this is the turning point where Grubauer takes over as the team’s No. 1 goaltender. With Varlamov slated to hit unrestricted free agency this summer, the team needs for Grubauer to take that next step and that looks to be the case. In the last six starts (not including Friday’s 2-1 loss to Chicago), the 27-year-old is 5-0-1 with a 2.29 GAA and a .936 save percentage.

“(Grubauer) gives us a chance. He gives us a real good chance,” head coach Jared Bednar said. “He keeps it at 1-0 and guys are saying the right things on the bench. … I just felt like he looked really solid in the net. Like he was in control tonight. I haven’t felt that way about our goaltending for the last little bit and that’s what we need.

  • The Athletic’s Scott Powers (subscription required) writes that when winger Brendan Perlini was traded from the Arizona Coyotes to Chicago Blackhawks, he had high hopes that a change of scenery would jumpstart his career as he has struggled to put up points. However, while the Blackhawks liked what they have seen from center Dylan Strome, Perlini quickly found himself on the team’s fourth line and even found himself a healthy scratch early on. “To be honest, you never like to sit, but it’s good because I can watch the game and say, OK, here’s certain spots where maybe I can get the puck or things like that or realize watching I can settle down there, there’s a lot more time than I actually think. Like I said, you never like watching, but you can take good things from it. I think I’ve done that and just try to build off it and learn every day.” Perlini since then has looked much more comfortable and has picked up a couple of goals in the past four games. The hope is he continues to make adjustments in Chicago’s lineup.
  • Ken Wiebe of the Winnipeg Sun writes that with the impressive play shown by Winnipeg Jets’ goaltender Laurent Brossoit can be attributed back to last year when the back-up lost his job in Edmonton to Al Montoya and he found himself in the AHL for the remainder of the season. That experience made him work harder to get back to the NHL. “Now I’m more aware of who I am as a goalie and as a professional, if that makes any sense,” said Brossoit. “It was unfortunate I had to go through those growing pains during my biggest opportunity with that club. I wouldn’t say that I performed at the level I normally do.” Brossoit was offered to return to Edmonton, but instead opted to start fresh in Winnipeg.

Snapshots: Three Stars, Rinne, Dumba

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The NHL released their Three Stars of the Week earlier today, and to absolutely no one’s surprise Alex Ovechkin received the top honors. Ovechkin recorded back-to-back hat tricks last week and seven goals total in his three games, giving him 29 on the season. That puts him on a pace for a career-high, something unthinkable for the 33-year old winger. Ovechkin now has 636 career tallies, and should challenge some of the all-time leaders in the category before he’s finished.

While Ovechkin is racking up his usual accolades, two young centers are trying to carve out their own legacies in the NHL. Mark Scheifele and Jack Eichel were second and third stars respectively, after outstanding weeks. Scheifele especially was a dominant offensive presence, recording 11 points in just four games for the Winnipeg Jets including two overtime winners.

  • Pekka Rinne was expecting retirement after the 2018-19 season. That’s what the goaltender told Alex Prewitt in his latest profile for Sports Illustrated. The Nashville Predators goaltender believed that he would sail off into the sunset after his current seven-year $49MM deal expired at the end of this year, but that all changed when he inked a new two-year extension in November. Rinne is still playing at an incredible level, and going into tonight led the league with a .929 save percentage and 1.96 goals against average. That puts him in prime position to challenge for the Vezina Trophy once again, an award he took home last season after previously finishing as a finalist three times.
  • Mathew Dumba is off to an exceptional start for the Minnesota Wild, with 12 goals and 22 points in just 32 games. The right-handed defenseman also doesn’t shy away from the physical side of the game, as seen this weekend when he took on Matthew Tkachuk of the Calgary Flames in a round of fisticuffs. Unfortunately, Dumba will now be out for at least a week with an upper-body injury. Head coach Bruce Boudreau wouldn’t give much more information on the subject, but did note that it’s not necessarily the worst timing for the team given the holiday break that they’ll enjoy next week.

Kristian Vesalainen Declines Invitation To The World Juniors

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Most young players view the opportunity to play at the World Juniors as an exciting one.  However, that doesn’t seem to be the case for Jets prospect Kristian Vesalainen.  Jussi Ahokas, the head coach of Team Finland, acknowledged to Yle Urheilu, a Finnish newspaper, that the 19-year-old declined their invitation to suit up in this year’s tournament which gets underway on December 26th.  Instead, the winger has opted to remain with Jokerit of the KHL.

Vesalainen has participated in this event in each of the last two years.  He had a quiet showing in his draft-eligible year, picking up just a single goal and an assist but 17-year-olds don’t often have a significant impact in this tournament.  However, he was more productive last year, picking up six points in five games to tie Eeli Tolvanen (a Nashville first rounder) for the team lead in scoring.

2018-19 has been a bit of a strange season for Vesalainen.  He made Winnipeg’s roster out of training camp but played a very limited role, logging less than seven minutes of ice time per game.  He was loaned to their AHL affiliate in Manitoba where he fared better, picking up eight points in as many contests.  Just before he was eligible to activate his European Assignment Clause, the Jets recalled him in mid-November but at the same time, Jokerit (a Finnish team) acquired his KHL rights from SKA St. Petersburg.  After spending a couple of days with Winnipeg, the team had a change of heart, re-assigning him to the AHL where he quickly triggered his assignment clause.  It appears that playing for three different teams already is enough for Vesalainen and he will remain with Jokerit instead of taking one final run at a Gold Medal at the World Juniors.

Minor Transactions: 12/14/18

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The Tampa Bay Lightning showed the NHL just how dangerous they can be now that Andrei Vasilevskiy is back on the ice, as the goaltender was peppered by the Toronto Maple Leafs but found a way to keep nearly every puck out of the net. The Lightning now have an eight-point lead on the second place Maple Leafs, and are easily pacing the NHL. They’ll be off as 16 teams battle tonight, and we’ll be right here keeping track of all the minor moves made throughout the day.

  • Sami Niku has been sent back to the AHL by the Winnipeg Jets, as Joe Morrow closes in on his return. The 22-year old Niku played in five games for the Jets but wasn’t able to lock down a full-time role just yet. After taking home Defenseman of the Year honors in the AHL last season, there’s no doubt that Niku will be back in the NHL at some point.
  • With Mike Smith suffering a minor injury, the Calgary Flames have recalled goaltender Jon Gillies from the AHL. Smith is listed as day-to-day, meaning David Rittich will get the lion’s share of the work for the next little while. Gillies meanwhile has not played well for the Stockton Heat this season, something that can’t inspire a ton of confidence in Flames fans moving forward. The team has sent Ryan Lomberg to the AHL to make room for Gillies.
  • After the Detroit Red Wings recalled Filip Hronek to help fill in for Mike Green, they also sent Brian Lashoff back to the AHL. Lashoff has been up and down all season, and will likely continue to serve as Detroit’s insurance policy this year.
  • Stefan Noesen has been placed on injured reserve by the New Jersey Devils and replaced on the roster by John Quenneville. The 22-year old Quenneville has not been able to produce enough to justify the first-round pick that New Jersey used on him, but is off to a great start in the minor leagues this season. Perhaps the talented forward has finally turned a corner and can be a full-time contributor to the Devils down the stretch.
  • Denis Gurianov is getting another chance with the Dallas Stars, after continuing his red hot season in the AHL. Gurianov, the 12th-overall pick from 2015, has played just three NHL games so far and put together a relatively uninspiring professional career. That has all changed this year as he is currently ranks fourth in the AHL in scoring with 28 points in 23 games. Healthy scratched at times during the Texas Stars Calder Cup run last spring, he now looks like the powerful offensive presence Dallas believed they had selected.

Central Notes: Klingberg, Koivu, Morrissey, Kayumov

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While many people may not have noticed as much with the impressive play of rookie Miro Heiskanen, the Dallas Stars have been missing their top defenseman John Klingberg for an entire month after suffering a hand injury. The team’s top defenseman, however, is closing on a return and is expected to be back somewhere around Christmas, according to NHL.com’s Mark Stepneski.

“The latest we would think would be Dec. 27, the game after Christmas,” Stars coach Jim Montgomery said earlier this week. “But he might be right before Christmas.”

Klingberg has already missed 13 games and is not expected to join the team for their upcoming four-game road trip starting on Sunday. However, the 26-year-old hopes to begin practicing with the team when they return from that road trip. While his hand has been improving, he still has trouble of doing specific things with his hand, which includes tying his skates. However, he has gotten clearance to do more with his hand.

“It’s been tough because I haven’t been able to lift anything with this hand,” Klingberg said. “I saw the hand doctor [Thursday], and they said they you are good to go and try as much as you can and no sharp pains. So, I am going to grab a stick next week and when the guys come back home we will see where I am.”

  • Sarah MacLellan of the StarTribune writes that with Minnesota Wild Mikko Koivu returning to Minnesota to get his lower-body injury looked at, the team hopes that other players might step up with more minutes available. Koivu led all forwards this season in ATOI with 18:32. That could mean more minutes for guys like Charlie Coyle and Nino Niederreiter as well as youngsters Joel Eriksson Ek and Jordan Greenway. “Mikko’s obviously a huge part of our team,” goalie Devan Dubnyk said. “He’s irreplaceable, but that’s a good opportunity for people to fill some different roles and get some more ice time. When we’re winning, we’re winning because we’re deep and everyone’s chipping in. That doesn’t change when somebody goes down.”
  • While sitting out for the last week, Winnipeg Jets’ Josh Morrissey has been doing nothing but studying film in his off time, according to Ken Wiebe of the Winnipeg Sun. Morrissey has watched more than a dozen NHL games, including some of his own to see what’s missing from his game, while keeping an eye on future opponents. In the meantime, the defenseman has passed all of his tests, while recovering from a lower-body injury, and hopes to return to the Winnipeg lineup on Sunday.
  • While the Chicago Blackhawks have liked what they see on the ice from 2016 second-round prospect Artur Kayumov so far in his early career, the 20-year-old picked up some negative publicity recently as the KHL announced that Kayumov has been suspended for 13 games after a hit to the head to Jokerit’s Jesper Jensen as well as punching a referee in the process. Kayumov, playing currently for Yaroslavl Lokomotiv, has 11 points and 55 penalty minutes this season.

 

Minor Transactions: 12/08/18

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With ten games on deck today spanning nine hours from first to last puck drop, there is plenty of NHL hockey to watch. The Flyers and Sabres get the action started with an early afternoon matinee, followed by the Golden Knights and Kings with their own early game on the west coast, and then eight contests later tonight, highlighted by Maple Leafs-Bruins, Lightning-Avalanche, Capitals-Blue Jackets, and Predators-Flames. In preparation, expect a flurry of moves today as teams align their rosters for Saturday’s games and beyond:

  • The Arizona Coyotes have recalled forward Michael Bunting from the AHL’s Tuscon Roadrunners, the team announced. Bunting is off to a strong start in the minors this season, currently tied for second on the Roadrunners in scoring with 18 points through 20 games. Bunting led the club in goal scoring last season and finished third in points and his continued success begs for a look at the NHL level. This is not Bunting’s first recall, yet he has not actually seen any game action with Arizona just yet. That could change this week as the ’Yotes look to fend off tough competition in the San Jose Sharks, Boston Bruins, and Buffalo Sabres.
  • As expected, the Calgary Flames have called up forward Alan Quine, per a team release, making it his first recall of the season and first with the club. Quine signed with the Flames this summer, expecting to compete for a regular role, but has instead been relegated to a full-time job with the AHL’s Stockton Heat. He’s certainly made the most of that situation, recording 19 points in 15 games, among the top per-game producers in the AHL. With Mikael Backlund joining Michael Frolik on the shelf for Calgary, Quine should slot in nicely as a capable two-way forward. A strong performance could make it difficult for the team to send him back down to the minors at first opportunity. The Calgary Flames also announced they have recalled defenseman Rinat Valiev from the Stockton Heat of the AHL. He likely was brought up as an emergency option for the team with back-to-back games approaching on Saturday vs. Nashville and Sunday in Edmonton. The 23-year-old is already on his third NHL team after the Flames picked him up right before the season from Montreal in exchange for Brett Kulak. Valiev has three assists in 20 games for Stockton this season.
  • The Winnipeg Jets have returned defenseman Cameron Schilling to Manitoba of the AHL, reports Ken Wiebe of the Winnipeg Sun.  He suited up in four games while on recall, his first NHL action since the 2014-15 season.  With Dustin Byfuglien and Dmitry Kulikov both returning on Friday, Schilling was no longer needed to serve as injury depth and will return to the Moose where he has six assists in 15 games so far this season.
  • The New York Rangers announced that they have recalled center Cole Schneider from Hartford of the AHL.  He is tied for second on the Wolf Pack in scoring with eight goals and nine assists in 25 games so far this season.  If he gets into a game with New York, it will be his first NHL action in more than two years.
  • The Carolina Hurricanes have returned winger Saku Maenalanen and goaltender Alex Nedeljkovic to AHL Charlotte, per a team release.  Maenalanen made his NHL debut last night, logging just 6:49 of ice time.  He has 11 points in 23 games so far with the Checkers.  As for Nedeljkovic, he was recalled to serve as the backup last night with Curtis McElhinney dealing with a minor injury and will now go back to Charlotte where he will likely split playing time with Scott Darling.

 

Dustin Byfuglien And Dmitry Kulikov Nearing Returns

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  • The Jets could have a key defenseman back in their lineup on Friday. Postmedia’s Ken Wiebe notes that there’s a good chance Dustin Byfuglien will return after missing the last four games with a concussion.  That would be a big boost to their back end as he leads all Winnipeg blueliners in scoring (17 points) while leading the team in playing time per game (24:24).  Meanwhile, fellow rearguard Dmitry Kulikov could also return from his upper-body injury that he sustained early last month.  His initial timeline for recovery was mid-December so he certainly appears to be ahead of schedule.

Minor Transactions: 12/06/18

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After a quiet Wednesday night in the NHL the league scheduler is back in action with 11 games on tap for tonight. That includes some prime divisional matchups in the Eastern Conference and a big game between the Minnesota Wild and Calgary Flames. While we wait for the action to get started this evening, we’ll keep track of all the minor roster moves made ahead of time.

  • The Detroit Red Wings have recalled Brian Lashoff in time for their game tonight against the Toronto Maple Leafs. With Danny DeKeyser’s recent hand injury, the team was left with just six healthy defensemen for the game. It’s unlikely that Lashoff is inserted into the lineup, but will serve as insurance in case anyone is injured over the next few hours.
  • Meanwhile, the Columbus Blue Jackets have recalled their own defenseman, as Gabriel Carlsson is on his way back to the NHL. Carlsson has played just a single game for the Blue Jackets this season, but is a huge part of their future blue line plans after being selected in the first round in 2015. His long reach and defensive ability should come in handy if the team puts him into the lineup right away.
  • In a somewhat surprising move, the Dallas Stars have sent Roope Hintz to the AHL. If the move is anything more than a paper transaction to save some cap space during a day between games, it makes the loss of Gemel Smith on waivers even more questionable. The Stars were already carrying just 22 players after the loss of Smith, meaning they could activate Martin Hanzal from long-term injured reserve.
  • Nelson Nogier made his season debut for the Winnipeg Jets this week, but is already on his way back to the minor leagues. The Jets made the move earlier today, expecting one of their regular defensemen to be ready when they get back on the ice. Nogier will surely get another chance, but for now will have to continue his development in the AHL.
  • Matt Beleskey is on his way back to the Rangers who announced that they have recalled him from Hartford of the AHL.  His stint in the minors was short-lived as he was sent down back on Sunday.  The veteran has played just once with New York this season but has been productive in the minors with nine points in 14 games.

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