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Training Camp Cuts: 09.27.16

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As the season inches closer and closer, teams have started trimming their training camp rosters already. With exhibition games and intra-squad matches taking place this week, the fat has been rendered so to speak.  Here are some cuts from today:

Philadelphia Flyers (per Dave Isaac):

G Carter Hart (to Everett, WHL)
LW Carsen Twarynski (to Calgary, WHL)
C Connor Bunnaman (to Kitchener, OHL)
LW Samuel Dove-McFalls (to Saint John, QMJHL)
C Pascal Laberge (to Victoriaville, QMJHL)
C Anthony Salinitri (to Sarnia, OHL)
D Brennan Menell (to Vancouver, WHL)
D Garrett McFadden (to Guelph, OHL)

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World Cup Notes: Gaborik, Getzlaf, Babcock

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After Marian Gaborik was given a timeline of eight weeks to rehab his leg injury, sustained in Team Europe’s semi-final victory, head coach Ralph Krueger has replaced him with Mikkel Boedker in the lineup. While Boedker can be an effective player and has speed to burn, Krueger admits to Helene Elliott of the LA Times that it’ll be a step down from one of their leaders:

We’re losing some leadership and smarts on the puck that were exemplary.

Gaborik obviously is one of the most important players on Europe, with 933 games and 773 points under his belt in the NHL. The three-time forty-goal man put up his worst season last year while fighting injury, only scoring 12 goals in 54 games. The 34-year old will not be ready for the start of the season, making it even harder to bounce back after the career-worst campaign.

  • Team Canada hit the ice this morning before the first game of the finals versus Team Europe, and every player was present including Ryan Getzlaf, who according to Pierre LeBrun missed practice yesterday. The Ducks forward was given a “maintenance day” in preparation for the three-game series, as he’s battling a few small nagging injuries. Now 31, the big center doesn’t bounce back as easily as he did when he was young, but has still played in 77 games in each of the last three seasons. While he’s a big part of Team Canada, the Ducks are hoping he comes back fully healthy, as a bounce-back year from him and Corey Perry is integral for a successful season.
  • While the talk swirls about the NHL not heading to the Olympics in 2018, especially now that the World Cup has been a success, one influential voice sounds unconvinced. When asked about the difference between the two events, Team Canada head coach Mike Babcock said “The World Cup is great, but it’s not the Olympics. Let’s not get confused.” As Chris Johnston of Sportsnet reports, the Maple Leafs coach would like to see the event spread across two cities so that only night games were played, while having only countries compete.  These changes would make it more like the Olympics, and would seem to be a future plan for the NHL’s tournament. If the league doesn’t go in 2018 (which it doesn’t look likely to), the World Cup will have to become the preeminent international event. Having Team North America and Team Europe prevents it from ever fully replacing the Olympics, despite their success as individual story lines.

Camp Notes: Gagner, Flyers, Sergachev

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Sam Gagner has had a roller-coaster career. After looking like a young all-star in his early Edmonton Oilers career, he just hasn’t been able to put all his talents together for a full season.  Heading into this season with his fourth NHL club, he’s trying to show the Columbus Blue Jackets that he can be relied upon as a top-six contributor.

As Rob Mixer writes on NHL.com, he’s already starting to turn heads in Ohio. Skating alongside Brandon Saad at times, the 27-year old center has proven his ability both 5-on-5 and on the powerplay early in camp. Whether he plays with Saad during the season or not, Gagne is just happy to be a part of the squad:

At the end of the day, it’s not really my decision as far as where I play or who I play with. I’m happy to play with whoever and wherever they decide to slot me.

  • The Flyers have made a round of cuts, according to Dave Isaac of the Courier-Post, and one of them is 2016 second-round pick Carter Hart. Even though the Everett Silvertips starter is only 18, many believe he is polished enough to make an NHL impact within the next few years. While many goalies don’t hit their prime until their late-twenties, perhaps it will come slightly earlier for Hart, who already logged a hefty workload last season. In 63 regular season games, Hart carried a 2.18 GAA and .918 sv%.
  • After sustaining an injury earlier this summer, Mikhail Sergachev has been cleared to return to practice this afternoon. While some had speculated it was a concussion, Brian Wilde of CTV tells us that Sergachev has actually been skating by himself all week, likely removing that possibility. Wilde believes it was a shoulder injury, which would be a much better scenario for the recent draftee. Sergachev was Montreal’s first round pick, ninth overall in the past draft and won the OHL’s Defenseman of the year in his rookie season.

Calgary Begins Negotiations With Brian Elliott

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After a season-long debacle in net last year, the Calgary Flames have re-built their goaltending situation by bringing in Chad Johnson and Brian Elliott to work between the pipes. Now, they’ve already started work on a long-term solution to the problem with the latter of the two.

According to Andy Strickland of Fox Sports, the team has begun extension negotiations with Elliott on a new deal. The 31-year old has just one season remaining on his current contract, and would become an unrestricted free agent next summer.

After beginning his career in Ottawa, the former ninth-round pick found great success in St. Louis, where he started 164 games with a 2.01 GAA and .925 sv%. Twice he was in the top 10 in Vezina trophy voting, and was a huge part in the Blues recent regular season success.

While the Blues have moved on and locked up Jake Allen long-term, the Flames will try and have Elliott backstop their squad for at least the next few years.  With his success, he should be able to negotiate a substantial raise from the $2.5MM he’ll earn this year.

The Flames have ten other players who will become free agents (of some sort) next summer, making it a turning point for a franchise if they so wish. They also have Johnny Gaudreau to re-sign even now, as the 2016-17 season creeps ever closer.

Vladimir Sobotka Likely Remaining In KHL

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After a long fight over Vladimir Sobotka and where he’ll spend his playing days this season, it appears that he’s made a decision. Avangard Omsk has released that the St. Louis Blues forward will report to their camp on Wednesday, and play this season in the KHL.

Both St. Louis and Omsk had previously claimed that they had valid contracts with the 29-year old, making this release at least a touch suspect. We’ve been burned before by reports out of Russia, even from the teams themselves.

For what it’s worth, Aivis Kalnins also hears that Sobotka will be remaining in the KHL, although it’s unclear whether he’s just going off the same release.

If all of this becomes a reality, the Blues will once again miss out on bringing back the former fourth-round pick who has developed into a legitimate offensive weapon. Sobotka put up 33 points in his final NHL season, and has had two successful campaigns in Russia, putting up 38 and 34 points in much shorter seasons.

The Blues will need to find some secondary scoring somewhere else this season, after also losing David Backes to free agency this summer. Omsk, on the other hand, will use Sobotka in a similar scoring role and on the powerplay.

Snapshots: Benn, Kings, Broll

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News and notes from around the NHL:

  • Jamie Benn is expected to miss the first few Dallas Stars preseason games as he eases back into game shape. Benn underwent surgery this summer to repair core muscles and missed the World Cup of Hockey as he recuperated. Despite the surgery, however, Benn does not plan on missing any regular season games.
  • The Los Angeles Kings made some cuts Monday morning at training camp, sending six players packing. According to LA Kings Insider Jon Rosen, the Kings first sent forward Miles Koules and goalie Jonah Imoo down to the AHL Ontario Reign’s camp. They then released four players back to their respective Junior teams: defenseman Kale Clague to the Brandon Wheat Kings (WHL), defenseman Jacob Moverare to the Mississauga Steelheads (OHL), and both forward Matt Schmalz and defenseman Jacob Friend to the Owen Sound Attack (OHL). Kyle Clague left camp with a lower-body injury and will miss the first few weeks of Brandon’s season. Matt Schmalz returns to the OHL as an over-ager, and may make the move to the AHL as the season progresses.
  • Former Toronto Maple Leafs player David Broll signed with the ECHL’s Brampton Beast. The Beast are the Montreal Canadiens’ ECHL Affiliate. Broll played for the Syracuse Crunch last season and scored 2G and 6A in 60 games. In his only NHL experience, Broll scored 1A in 5 games with the Maple Leafs in 2013-14.

Jacob Trouba Not Happy With Winnipeg’s Defense Jam

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Jacob Trouba’s agent Kurt Overhardt spoke to TSN 1290 Winnipeg’s Hustler and Lawless today to expand on his client’s trade request. Among the clarifications offered the by the agent, the most significant was that Trouba does not feel that he can progress as a right-handed shot in the Jets’ lineup.

Overhardt told the radio hosts that his client was dissatisfied with the current roster situation and cited the fact that Trouba does not want to play on the left side just to garner adequate playing time. The agent states that Trouba cannot realize his potential in this system because he cannot play his natural position. The Jets have two significant right-handed defenseman in Dustin Byfuglien and Tyler Myers, and Trouba thinks that those two are stifling his playing time on the right side.

More telling, however, is that the agent referenced a move to bring in a skilled defenseman last year that created the problem. That move is most likely the Evander Kane trade with Buffalo that brought back Tyler Myers. Trouba was likely asked to change sides to accomodate Myers, and that may have hampered his production. Overhardt then alluded that Trouba’s exit interviews last season exacerbated the situation—most likely by refusing to move Myers to the left side.

Some defenseman can play both sides, but most have a definite preference. Trouba’s production noticeably suffered since Myers’s arrival. The defenseman scored only 6P in 24 games in 2014-15 after Myers arrived on March 12, and then scored 8 less points in 16 more games than in his rookie season. It is possible that Trouba is just not developing as anticipated, but the player thinks the club and its roster situation is hampering his production, and that is why he is asking for a trade.

Theo Peckham Signs With ECHL Rapid City Rush

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Former Edmonton Oilers defenseman Theo Peckham signed an ECHL deal with the Rapid City Rush. Rapid City is the ECHL affiliate for the Arizona Coyotes and AHL Tuscon Roadrunners. Peckham last played in the NHL in 2012-13 for the Edmonton Oilers.

Peckham started out as the 75th selection in the 2006 NHL Entry Draft, but could not hold a roster position in Edmonton. He bounced between the NHL club and its AHL affiliate the Springfield Falcons before finally playing a full season in Edmonton in 2010-11. There he scored 3G and 10A in 71 games, and racked up an impressive 198 PIM.

Since then, the hard-nosed defenseman has played in the AHL, ECHL, Slovakia, and Denmark before returning to the ECHL Wichita Thunder last season. The season did not go as expected as Peckham did not register a point in 16 games.

Snapshots: Schwartz, Ottawa Affiliates, Burns, Rangers

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Although he returned to the lineup for the playoffs last season, St. Louis forward Jaden Schwartz was far from 100% healthy when he came back, he told Jeremy Rutherford of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch.  With a full offseason to heal up, Schwartz feels he has much more mobility in his previously injured ankle now:

“It was pretty locked up, so you’ve got to get a lot of soft-tissue work and get a little bit more movement and strength and there’s things that you do for that to try to get it back as close as you can to what it was before. It helps skating and all around it feels better.”

Schwartz played in just 33 regular season games last season, scoring eight goals and 14 assists.  Despite playing at less than 100%, he fared a bit better in the playoffs, recording four goals and 10 helpers in 20 contests while logging nearly a minute per game more than his regular season average.

With the departure of David Backes and the continued uncertainty surrounding Vladimir Sobotka, head coach Ken Hitchcock noted that the Blues are likely to test out Schwartz at center (along with youngster Robby Fabbri) during the preseason.

Other news from around the hockey world:

  • The Ottawa Senators will be moving their AHL affiliate to Belleville, Ontario for the 2017-18 season. At a press conference today, owner Eugene Melnyk confirmed that the Sens have purchased the ownership for their farm team in Binghamton, NY and have signed an eight year agreement.  Bruce Garrioch of the Ottawa Sun notes that the move still requires approval from the AHL’s Board of Governors but that there shouldn’t be any issues there.  This will mark the second pending move by a Canadian team already for next season as the Montreal Canadiens announced earlier this summer that their farm team will move to Laval to begin play in 2017-18.
  • While the San Jose Sharks and Brent Burns’ agent (Ron Salcer) are in discussions regarding a contract extension, TSN’s Bob McKenzie reports that talks are not close to being at an advanced stage at this time and that there is no indication that they are nearing a deal. Burns is currently pegged to be the top unrestricted free agent next offseason if the two sides can’t lock down an extension.  Last week, we took a closer look at what it might cost to keep Burns in San Jose on a long-term deal.
  • Rangers GM Jeff Gorton considered making significant changes to their roster this offseason, writes Justin Tasch of the New York Daily News. Instead, he opted to make only one notable trade involving the core, dealing away Derick Brassard to the Senators in exchange for Mika Zibanejad.  Gorton noted that the team has had a fair amount of playoff success in recent years and believes that some in the organization have more faith with the current team than those outside the team do.

Lightning Re-Sign Nikita Nesterov

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The Tampa Bay Lightning announced that they have re-signed restricted free agent defenseman Nikita Nesterov to a one year, $725K contract.  The deal actually represents a small pay cut for Nesterov, who made just under $800K last year although he was previously on a two-way deal while this is a one-way pact.

Last season, Nesterov played in 57 games with Tampa Bay, recording three goals and six assists while averaging 14:53 of ice time per game.  He also got into nine postseason contests, picking up a single assist but saw his ice time drop nearly three minutes down to 11:59 per night.

[Related: Lightning Depth Chart]

Nesterov was the Lightning’s fifth round pick (148th overall) back in 2011.  In 84 career NHL games, all with the Bolts, he has five goals and 11 assists.

The 23 year old was named to Team Russia at the World Cup of Hockey and got into Russia’s semi-final game against Canada, recording a single shot on goal in 6:47 of ice time as their seventh defenseman.

With the signing, the Lightning have just over $5.5MM in remaining cap space according to Cap Friendly.  Of course, the team still needs to re-sign fellow RFA and leading scorer Nikita Kucherov, who remains one of 11 remaining restricted free agents.

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