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Minor Transactions: 1/25/2017

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PHR will recap the day’s minor roster transactions in this post. Please check back throughout the day for updates.

  • With Stefan Noesen now a member of the New Jersey Devils after being claimed on waivers, Anaheim Ducks head coach Randy Carlyle indicated to The Orange County Register’s Eric Stephens that the team will recall forward Kalle Kossila from San Diego of the AHL. Kossila was inked by Anaheim as an undrafted free agent after completing his senior season with St. Cloud State University. The 23-year-old Finn, who has yet to appear in an NHL regular season contest, has registered nine goals and 27 points in 33 AHL games this season.
  • The Pittsburgh Penguins have placed defenseman Steve Oleksy on waivers, according to Renaud Lavoie of TVA Sports. The 30-year-old blue liner has seen action in nine games this season with Pittsburgh, tallying a single assist. In 71 career NHL games, Oleksy has recorded three goals and 20 points. Counting Oleksy, the Penguins have seven healthy defenders on the roster. Waiving the four-year veteran could be an indication that Kris Letang, on IR since January 16th, could be nearing a return.
  • To make room on the roster for Noesen, the Devils have placed forward Beau Bennett on IR retroactive to January 20th, reports Andrew Gross of The Record. Bennett, in his first season with New Jersey after an offseason trade with Pittsburgh, has scored three goals and 10 points in 40 contests.
  • Winger Casey Bailey has been reassigned by the Ottawa Senators to Binghamton of the AHL, via the team’s official communications department Twitter account. Bailey has played in five contests this season, going scoreless while averaging just 7:13 of ice time per game. He has 10 goals and 15 points in 33 AHL games with the Baby Sens.
  • According to the AHL Manitoba Moose’s official Twitter account (H/T to Patrick Williams of NHL.com), defenseman Brian Strait has been recalled by the Winnipeg Jets. Strait has not yet seen NHL action this season but has appeared in 182 regular season games with the Jets and Pittsburgh over parts of six seasons.
  • Kevin Kurz of CSN Bay Area reports that the San Jose Sharks have reassigned Timo Meier and Kevin Labanc to the AHL. The scribe refers to the moves as a “paper transaction,” in that the team will bank a bit of cap space with the pair of forwards off the roster and inferring they will be recalled ahead of San Jose’s next game tomorrow night at home against Edmonton.

Snapshots: Panik, Greene, Wild, Miller, Selanne

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A little more than a year ago, Chicago and Toronto made a small trade of underperforming players that wound up yielding the Blackhawks a productive forward in Richard Panik, a move that is really paying dividends now, writes Chris Hine of the Chicago Tribune.

Panik has played several roles this season, spending time in the bottom six in a defensive role while logging plenty of minutes on their top line as a scorer well.  He has responded by matching his career high in goals with 11 and setting a new career best in points with 20.

The 25 year old has provided the Blackhawks with solid value on the salary cap as well as he is earning just $875K.  He is slated to become a restricted free agent this summer.

Meanwhile, the player Chicago gave up, Jeremy Morin, is now on Tampa Bay’s farm team.   The Leafs flipped him to San Jose last February and then the Sharks failed to tender him a qualifying offer back in June, making him an unrestricted free agent.  It may have been a minor move at the time but suffice it to say, the Blackhawks came out on top of that one.

Other news and notes from around the hockey world:

  • Although it was looking like Devils defenseman Andy Greene was nearing a return from an arm injury, it’s looking like he won’t be back until after the All-Star break, notes NJ Advance Media’s Chris Ryan. Greene had started to participate in full practices but has been scaled back to skating on his own over the past week.  Fellow blueliner John Moore (concussion) is also expected to be out until after the break.
  • The Minnesota Wild made a pair of roster moves today, assigning right Kurtis Gabriel to Iowa of the AHL while recalling Christoph Bertschy (Twitter links). Gabriel has played in 13 games with Minnesota this year while Bertschy has seen action in five games; both players have a single NHL assist this season.  Center Mikko Koivu missed Sunday’s game due to illness and is questionable to play tomorrow although he did make the trip to Dallas.
  • After sending him to the minors earlier today upon clearing, the Red Wings have recalled left winger Drew Miller, reports MLive’s Ansar Khan. The roster spot for him to return was created when Dylan Larkin was placed on injured reserve with an upper body injury.  Miller can remain on the Red Wings’ roster for 30 days or ten games played without having to go through waivers again.
  • Although former NHL winger Teemu Selanne served as an advisor for the Finnish entry into the World Cup of Hockey, he has no plans to move into a management or advisory role on an NHL team in the near future, he told NHL.com’s Lisa Dillman. He wouldn’t rule out getting back into the game at some point in one of those capacities although he does not have any plans to coach in the future.

Jets Notes: Pavelec, Laine, Perreault, Stanley

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Ondrej Pavelec’s return to the NHL has been a successful one so far as he has reeled off a pair of wins for the Jets since being recalled last week.  As Mike Sawatzky of the Winnipeg Free Press writes though, he’s not thinking ahead towards next season and if he could be more than just a short-term stopgap for Winnipeg:

“I’m not thinking about next year — at all.  I don’t know what’s gonna happen. I’m gonna be a free agent, I guess, for the first time. I have no idea what I’m gonna do. There’s no point, there’s no reason to think about next year. Whatever happens, happens.”

Pavelec is in the final year of a five year, $19.5MM contract and while it’s unlikely he’ll be able to command a new deal near that same $3.9MM AAV, he should be able to catch on as a backup somewhere.  Although the Jets have youngsters Connor Hellebuyck and Michael Hutchinson in the fold beyond this season, both have battled inconsistency which has led some to believe that a veteran number two would be a good idea for Winnipeg to play behind Hellebuyck.  The 29 year old Pavelec should get a chance in these final few months to make his case that he could be that veteran.

Other notes from Winnipeg:

  • The team is hoping high scoring rookie winger Patrik Laine will be available to play the Sharks on Tuesday, Sawatzky notes in a separate column. He has missed the last seven games after sustaining a concussion on January 7th against the Sabres.  Head coach Paul Maurice wouldn’t say for sure if Laine will return but said he is “very, very close”.
  • After a slow start that was compounded by a lower body injury that caused him to miss 14 games, left winger Mathieu Perreault is starting to round back into form, writes Ken Wiebe of the Winnipeg Sun. After recording just eight points in his first 25 games, he has picked up eight more in his last ten outings alongside Bryan Little and Blake Wheeler.  Perreault is a popular choice to be left unprotected in June’s expansion draft and accordingly, some have wondered if the team will try to trade him even though he signed a four year, $16.5MM extension back in July.  If he continues his current stretch over the next month, the Jets could have some options when it comes to moving him if they decided to go that route.  [Update: Perreault sustained an upper body injury tonight against Anaheim, the team reports via Twitter.]
  • 2016 first rounder (18th overall) Logan Stanley will miss the next four months after undergoing surgery to repair a torn meniscus in his right knee, the Windsor Spitfires (his junior team) announced. Not only will that end his regular season, it also should keep him out of the lineup through the playoffs and will leave his participation in the Memorial Cup in question as well.  The Spitfires get an automatic entry into the Canadian junior tournament as they are the hosting team.

5 Key Stories: 1/16/2017 – 1/22/2017

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As millions of American anxiously await to find out who will represent their respective conferences in Super Bowl LI, don’t forget to check in on all of the recent news and rumors involving the NFL on our sister site, Pro Football Rumors.

The action is starting to pick up in the NHL, though it’s still relatively quiet compared to what we expect next month. Here is a roundup of the five key stories from the week ending on 1/22/2017.

Islanders Dismiss Capuano – Sitting at the bottom of the Eastern Conference standings, the New York Islanders relieved head coach Jack Capuano of his duties this week and inserted AGM Doug Weight into the position on an interim basis. Capuano spent parts of seven campaigns behind the Islanders bench and guided the club to the second-round of the playoffs for the first time in more than two decades just last season.

Claude Julien’s Job in Jeopardy? – With rumors circulating as to the job security of longtime bench boss Claude Julien, the Boston Bruins called a press conference to address the situation. While nothing definitive came out of it, the belief is that Julien will maintain his position at least through the season, barring a major late-season collapse.

Clarke MacArthur Will Not Play This Season – Veteran winger Clarke MacArthur, who has yet to appear in a game this season after suffering a concussion during training camp, has not progressed enough in his recovery and a return has been ruled out by Ottawa team doctors. This will represent what is essentially a second consecutive lost season for MacArthur, who only suited up for four contests a year ago due to yet another concussion. It’s also quite possible this is the end of the line for the 10-year veteran.

Hawks Interested In Tatar, Nyquist – In search of a top-six winger to slot next to Jonathan Toews, the Chicago Blackhawks have reportedly expressed interest in Detroit forwards Gustav Nyquist and Tomas Tatar. The report contradicts the notion that the club would restrict its pursuit to rentals or players on ELC’s. The Hawks have a number of rather large commitments already on their books for 2017-18 but apparently they would still be willing to take on a player with control beyond the current campaign. Nyquist has two seasons left on his deal with an AAV of $4.75MM while Tatar will be a RFA this summer and likely in position for a raise on his $2.75MM cap charge.

Winnipeg Recalls Ondrej Pavelec – Desperate for consistently competent play between the pipes, the Winnipeg Jets recalled deposed started Ondrej Pavelec from the Manitoba Moose of the AHL. The Jets decided had waived the veteran net minder just prior to the beginning of the campaign and assigned him to the minors when he went unclaimed. Now the team is hopeful he can provide the Jets with quality play and bolster their pursuit of a playoff berth.

Snapshots: Stafford, Bruins, Coyotes

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News and notes from around the NHL this evening:

  • Winnipeg Jets forward Drew Stafford suffered a lower body injury in the second period of a mid-afternoon game against the St. Louis Blues. He did not return for the third period. Stafford is struggling this season, posting only 4G and 8A in 33 games so far. The veteran forward is playing just under 14 minutes a night which is three minutes less than he’s averaged over the past five years. Stafford becomes a free agent this summer, but he’ll have to turn things around if he wants to earn more than his current $4.35MM a year.
  • The Boston Bruins sent down forward Anton Blidh to the Providence Bruins today. The move follows Blidh’s healthy scratch last night. The Swedish forward has 1G and 1A in 19 games for the Bruins, and 6G and 4A in 21 games for Providence. This is Blidh’s second full season in North America, but its unclear whether he offers enough to stick with Boston for longer than a few games. Blidh may need more time in the NHL to acclimate to the North American game
  • Arizona Coyotes prospect Christian Fischer makes his NHL debut tonight, reports AZCentral’s Sarah McLellan. Fischer, Arizona’s 2nd round pick in 2015, is lighting up the AHL this season. He has 16G and 16A in 31 games for the Tucson Roadrunners, and his call-up was all but certain. Expect the Coyotes to be patient with Fischer. The team is out of playoff contention and will use this opportunity to see what they have in their prospects.

Central Notes: Darling, Subban, Tarasenko, Maurice

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The Chicago Blackhawks defeated the Boston Bruins 1-0 Friday night thanks to another stellar game from Scott Darling. Darling has been superb this season, and as it usually goes for the Blackhawks, is due a pay raise when his contract expires after this season. Mark Lazerus writes that even with all the success, Darling is quick to credit his teammates for any one of his performances while also counting Corey Crawford as “one of the best goalies in the world.” In Darling’s mind, Lazerus reports, there is no goalie controversy, no matter how strong Darling continues to play.

In other Central Division news:

  • The return of P.K. Subban will continue to be a  delicate process writes the Tennessean’s Adam Vingan. Subban was supposed to play less in last night’s game but ended up logging 23 minutes of ice time. Vingan also reports that just having Subban’s presence in the lineup proves to be an immediate boon for the Predators’ possession game. With the Preds winning five of their last six, Vingan adds that there’s no rush for Subban to return to pre-injury form.
  • Stuck on 20 goals for a half dozen games, Jeremy Rutherford reports that Blues bench boss Ken Hitchcock will move Vladimir Tarasenko in an effort to generate scoring. Tarasenko will move to a line with Patrik Berglund and Robby Fabbri since Berglund has notched 10 goals in his last 16 games. Rutherford adds that Berglund cannot recall ever being on the same line with Tarasenko in his five years with the Blues.
  • The Winnipeg Sun’s Paul Friesen doesn’t envy  Jets bench boss Paul Maurice in having to deal with all of the different personalities on the team. But he is “puzzled” by Maurice’s approach. Friesen compares Maurice’s handling of 20-year-old Nik Ehlers with that of 31-year-old Dustin Byfuglien, and just how different it is working with a veteran and a rookie. Friesen reports that while Maurice was quick to explain Ehler’s shortcomings, he’s unsure as to why a veteran like Byfuglien is immune to the same critiques. He just wonders how Maurice will get a more consistent effort out of both players.

Patrik Laine Returns To Ice, Still No Timetable For Return

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Some good news for Winnipeg Jets fans this morning: Patrik Laine skated this morning.

It was the first time Laine has skated since suffering a concussion earlier this month. Despite the good news, head coach Paul Maurice re-iterated that “there is no time-frame” for his star rookie’s return. When asked about how the young left winger looked, Maurice said Laine looked fantastic, but jokingly complained that “his shot is off.”

Laine was concussed in a head-on-head collision with Sabres defenseman Jake McCabe back on January 7. McCabe also took some damage in the hit. TSN analyst and former NHLer Shane Hnidy reported that Laine will be monitored daily to “determine progress going forward.”

Laine had been having a tremendous offensive season before being hurt; he had 21 goals and 37 points in 42 games. At the time of the concussion, Laine was tied for third in league goal scoring with Auston Matthews. While Matthews has passed Laine by one goal and one point, Laine’s offensive numbers have been very impressive. Laine and Matthews appear to be two of the frontrunners for the Calder Trophy, provided Laine is able to return soon and continue scoring at the same pace.

Snapshots: Sharks, Capuano, Pavelec

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News and notes from around the NHL this evening:

  • The San Jose Sharks have placed sophomore Joonas Donskoi on injured reserve, reports CSN’s Kevin Kurz. Donski will miss his third straight game with an upper body injury, but Kurz indicates that the injury is not serious. Donskoi is off to a slow start this season with only 6G and 8A in 41 games. According to the Mercury News’ Curtis Pashelka, the Finnish forward continues to skate with the team, but does not want to return to early lest he aggravates the injury. The Sharks recalled forwards Ryan Carpenter, Barclay Goodrow, and defenseman Tim Heed from the AHL San Jose Barracuda. The trio of recalls suggest another injury elsewhere in the lineup.
  • Sportsnet’s Elliotte Friedman thinks that recently-fired New York Islanders head coach’s demise stems partly from bad goaltending. He also states that the Isles did not want to wait until the end of the year because of an anticipated hot coaching market. The Vegas Golden Knights are also looking for a head coach, and the Isles hope they can get a jump on the competition. Finally, it allows the team to evaluate its talent under a different voice. Players can bloom or wilt under a certain coach, so the change will allows the Isles front office to see which players are worth keeping.
  • Winnipeg Jets goaltender Ondrej Pavelec will start Wednesday night against the Arizona Coyotes. Pavelec was relegated to the AHL after a poor start this season. While his numbers haven’t drastically improved, Winnipeg’s goaltending situation is dire and the team hopes Pavelec can right the ship. Pavelec earned a 2.78 GAA and a .917 SV% in 18 games for the Minnesota Moose—good for 28th and 13th in the league, respectively.

Jets Recall Ondrej Pavelec

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Having reached their limits in regards to their recent goaltending troubles, the Winnipeg Jets have decided to turn back the clock in net. The team announced today that they have recalled veteran goalie Ondrej Pavelec from the AHL’s Manitoba Moose, returning to the man who held the starter position for the organization for years prior to 2016-17. For now, the team will carry three goalies as it tries to right the ship this season, starting with getting better results from it’s keepers.

When the Jets placed Pavelec on waivers ahead of the start of the 2016-17 season and then subsequently sent him down to the AHL, it marked the end of an era for the team, or so we thought. Pavelec was a 2005 second-round pick of the Atlanta Thrashers, who worked his way up through the organization and made his NHL debut just two years later in 2007-08. By 2009-10, Pavelec was the Thrashers’ starter and remained as such through the move to Winnipeg. It was not until last season, when backup Michael Hutchinson was outplaying him and young Connor Hellebuyck began fighting for play time that Pavelec’s role began to decrease. The rise of Hutchinson had been apparent, as the young goalie had been very impressive in just a few starts in 2013-14 and then posted a .914 save percentage and 2.39 goals against average in 38 games as a rookie in 2014-15. Hellebuyck’s ascent was equally predictable, as he was one of the Jets’ top prospects coming out of UMass-Lowell and showed nothing but promise early on in his pro career. Making the decision to move on from Pavelec was even easier for Winnipeg when considering his body of work. Although the Czech keeper had been the top option in goal for six straight years heading into this season, his career has been far from high-quality. Only once, in 2014-15, has Pavelec finished with a save percentage above .915 and a goals against average above 2.70. Those are barely even replacement-level numbers for an NHL goalie. Then, in 2014-15, when Pavelec looked to be taking the the step toward stardom by posting a .920 SV% and 2.28 GAA and helping the Jets earn a playoff berth, he collapsed in the postseason, allowing 15 goals in a quick four-game sweep. Without a history of success, the team’s ties to it’s former starter were not all that strong to begin with.

The choice to go with Hellebuyck and Hutchison and send Pavelec packing this season was one that faced almost no scrutiny. The Jets top priority was (and still is) the development of their young goalies, particularly Hellebuyck, and an expensive veteran with poor numbers like Pavelec was simply not needed… until now. The play of the Jets’ current duo has been costing the team wins of late. Hellebuyck has a .907 SV% and 2.82 GAA in 34 games this season and has looked especially tired and sloppy recently, having been pulled in back-to-back starts, while Hutchison has done a complete turnaround from just two years ago, with an .894 SV% and 3.23 GAA in 20 games as one of the league’s worst goalies in 2016-17. Meanwhile in Manitoba, Pavelec has been putting up numbers that match his career output, which is to say he’s been just okay. In 18 games with the Moose, Pavelec has 8 wins, a .917 SV%, and a 2.78 GAA. However, it’s easy to believe that the 29-year-old, who is still collecting pay on the final year of his five-year, $19.5MM deal signed back in 2012, has not been putting in a full effort in the minors and could potentially improve in his return to the NHL. Winnipeg certainly hopes so, as they need the veteran to stop the bleeding and give their other options some rest. Despite being on a four-game losing streak and without a winning streak of more than two games all season long, the Jets are tied with the Dallas Stars for fifth in the Central Division and are still within reach of a playoff spot if they can turn their season around in the second half.

To make room for Pavelec on the roster, and rather than expose Hutchison to waivers, the Jets also announced that they have placed defenseman Ben Chiarot on waivers. Chiarot sustained an upper body injury last week and has yet to play since. The move opens up a roster space, at least while he recovers, so that the Jets can sort out how they want to balance having three goalies on the roster. The practice has not worked out well for teams like the Calgary Flames and New York Islanders in recent years, but Winnipeg hopes depth in net is the key to all of their problems.

Head Coaches Potentially On The Hot Seat

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As we pass the halfway point of the 2016-17 schedule, teams will soon have to make the sometimes difficult decision as to whether they are going to act as a buyer or seller ahead of the March 1st trade deadline. Additionally, teams that have underachieved their internal preseason expectations will take the time to look in the mirror and assess what they can do to improve their on-ice fortunes, both for the remainder of the current campaign and into the future. Sometimes that assessment leads to coaching changes.

Though just one bench boss has been relieved of his duties so far this season, several more could soon join Gerard Gallant on the unemployment line. In this post we’ll examine the situations of several coaches who would appear to be on the hot seat at this point in the 2016-17 season.

Jack Capuano (New York Islanders) – The Islanders have been one of the biggest disappointments this season, just one year after making it to the second-round of the playoffs for the first time in more than two decades. Currently residing in last place in the Metro Division and tied for the lowest points total in the East, the Islanders under Garth Snow have generally exercised patience with their head coach. In five full seasons behind the Islanders bench, Capuano has missed the postseason twice and has two first-round playoff defeats on his record. Other teams might have already pulled the plug on the coach. It’s not necessarily fair to assign all of the blame for the team’s underachievment this year on Capuano as Snow allowed two key players – Kyle Okposo and Frans Nielsen – to leave via free agency this past summer, and the players he inked to help replace them – Andrew Ladd and Jason Chimera – haven’t played well. Capuano has also had the unenviable task of trying to manage a three-headed monster in goal for much of the season until Jaroslav Halak was reassigned to Bridgeport after clearing waivers. With franchise player John Tavares nearing unrestricted free agency, the pressure to turn in a deep playoff run to help convince their captain to sign on long term has to be growing.

[Update: Capuano has been relieved of his coaching duties by the team.]

Dave Tippett (Arizona Coyotes) – It seems unlikely that just a year after being given more power and some influence over player personnel that the Coyotes would move on from their longtime head coach. Yet nonetheless, the struggles in Arizona will assuredly mean some changes are made and it’s always possible ownership in Arizona reverses course and moves on from Tippett. After all, it seems likely some improvement over their 78-point 2015-16 campaign was expected and with just 32 points to date, those improvements simply haven’t been there.

Paul Maurice (Winnipeg Jets) – The Jets certainly have talent in the form of Mark Scheifele, Dustin Byfuglien and Blake Wheeler – among others – but the team has been maddeningly inconsistent this year. Some observers believe the Jets have a tough time sticking to their system and structure and that doesn’t speak well of Maurice. But, the absence of a true number one goaltender is another one of the issues stifling the team’s success and that’s not the fault of the head coach. Maurice has also integrated a number of younger players into the linuep during his tenure in Manitoba, allowing management to get a better sense as to the real quality of their yong talent. Ownership in Winnipeg has a reputation of being patient when it comes to making decisions and will likely give the veteran coach another season to see what he can do.

Claude Julien (Boston Bruins) – The Bruins are currently in second place in the Atlantic and if they end up qualifying for the postseason, it’s likely the team refrains from making a change behind the bench. But three teams – Florida, Ottawa and Toronto – are just three points behind Boston in the standings and all have games-in-hand, meaning there is a real possibility the Bruins could miss the postseason tournament for the third consecutive season.

Vancouver bench boss Willie Desjardins, who has been thought to be on the hot seat for much of the season, would seem to be safe for the time being with the Canucks in the mix for a playoff berth.

 

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