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Archives for October 2016

Gregory Campbell Will Not Report To The AHL

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Columbus center Gregory Campbell has decided not to report to Cleveland of the AHL after clearing waivers, his agent Pat Morris told Aaron Portzline of the Columbus Dispatch.  Morris noted that he will continue to skate on his own but does not want to take away a position from a prospect in the minors.

As a result, the Blue Jackets are likely to suspend Campbell which means he will not collect his $1.3MM salary.  He’s in the second and final year of a two year contract that carries a cap hit of $1.5MM.

When asked, Morris also stated that Campbell has not requested a trade but that it is probably the best-case scenario for both sides:

“They’re going in a different direction in Columbus; I don’t think he’s wanted there.  They want to help Gregory out (with a trade), but he hasn’t made any demands. “He’s not kicking and screaming and demanding a trade, but I’ll keep calling teams, like I have been. And if somebody who plays like Gregory Campbell gets hurt, then Gregory Campbell will be ready if they need somebody like him in the organization.”

Last season, Campbell played in all 82 games for the Blue Jackets but recorded just three goals and eight assists, his lowest point total since 2006-07.  His faceoff percentage also took a notable dip from 54.2% down to 47.5% which isn’t ideal for a fourth line checking center.  William Karlsson is taking Campbell’s spot on the fourth line to start the season.

[Related: Blue Jackets Depth Chart]

In his career, the 32 year old has played in 803 career games with Florida, Boston, and Columbus, scoring 71 goals while adding 116 assists and 696 penalty minutes.

While Campbell will now wait at home to see what options become available, Morris added that he is not considering playing in Europe at this time, something that would either require a loan from the team or a contract termination.

Rangers Sign And Waive Justin Fontaine

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The New York Rangers have placed right winger Justin Fontaine on waivers, Sportsnet’s Elliotte Friedman reports (Twitter link).  Accordingly, it would appear that the Rangers have signed him to a contract, although that has yet to be announced by the team.

Fontaine has spent the last three seasons with Minnesota.  Last year, he had five goals and 11 assists in 60 games but is only two years removed from a 31 point campaign.  In his career, he has played in 197 games, all with the Wild, scoring 27 goals while adding 41 assists.

Despite that, the 28 year old has bounced around this offseason.  He secured a tryout with Florida in early September but was released.  He then caught on with Dallas on another PTO but was cut again several days later.  Now it appears he has landed a contract but will have to start in the AHL, assuming he makes it through waivers which seems like a reasonable expectation.

At first glance, it would appear that Fontaine is taking the spot originally earmarked for Nathan Gerbe as veteran depth.  The Rangers signed Gerbe back in July but after clearing waivers, he declined to report to the AHL and instead had his contract terminated.  He has since signed with Geneve-Servette of the Swiss NLA.

[Related: Rangers Depth Chart]

The Nine Biggest Hockey Days Of The Season

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Today is a huge day for NHL action. At least from a games-played perspective that is. While ten-game, eleven-game, and twelve-game days are frequent throughout the league calendar, October 15th marks the first of a rare group of days this season where nearly every NHL team is in action.

Beginning at 7:00pm ET, there are 13 games on the schedule tonight. 26 of the the 30 teams in the league take the ice, including several making their season debuts, with only Buffalo, Carolina, Edmonton, and Los Angeles having the day off. Fans will have to wait almost a month to get another chance to see this many teams in action at once. The next 13-game days come on Saturday, Novmber 5th, when the Avalanche and Wild get the day started with a matinee game, and Tuesday, November 15th, the first of many big Tuesdays.

December features no such hockey-heavy days, but the NHL has cleverly scheduled big days as bookends to All-Star weekend in late January. Thursday, January 26th features 13 games, including Eastern Conference rivalry match-ups in Pittsburgh-Boston and Tampa Bay-Florida. Then, after All-Star festivities are over, the league returns with the ultra-rare 14-game day on Tuesday, January 31st, which is littered with great games.

Not long after that, there are 13-game days on back-to-back Saturdays, February 4th and February 11th, each highlighted by a handful of strong matinee match-ups. March is without any big hockey days, but they return in April as the regular season enters it’s stretch run. Tuesday, April 4th features 13 games, and many of them are divisional face-offs that could have important postseason implications. Finally, the league wraps up the year with 14 games on the second-to-last day of the season as Saturday, April 8th will be the regular season finale for many and potentially crucial points will be at stake as the playoff picture solidifies.  28 teams will surely be desperate for a win on the final Saturday of the season.

So mark your calendars hockey fans: the 2016-17 season has begun and today is the first of nine days this year when you should tune in if you want to maximize your NHL exposure this season.

2017 Unrestricted Free Agents

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Starting Wednesday, these guys all began playing for a pay-day. Some may re-sign mid-season, some may be dealt away as rentals, and some might cash in on July 1st, but they’re all looking forward to that next paycheck. These players will be talked about all year long, so may as well start early. Our own Mike Furlano took a look at the Top Ten UFA’s last month (denoted with *), and since then two have already re-signed. The group of impending free agents will surely shorten as the year goes on, but here is the current list of 2017 Unrestricted Free Agents:

Anaheim Ducks
G Jonathan Bernier 
LW Ryan Garbutt
C Nate Thompson
D Korbinian Holzer
LW Mason Raymond
D Nate Guenin
G Dustin Tokarski
G Matt Hackett
D Jeff Schultz

Arizona Coyotes
D Michael Stone
RW Shane Doan
D Zbynek Michalek
C Martin Hanzal
RW Radim Vrbata
C Ryan White
D Jamie McBain
C Chris Mueller
G Justin Peters

Boston Bruins
D John-Michael Liles
C Dominic Moore
LW Zac Rinaldo
D Alex Grant
D Tommy Cross

Buffalo Sabres
D Dmitry Kulikov
RW Brian Gionta
D Cody Franson
C Cody McCormick
G Anders Nilsson
C Cal O’Reilly
D Justin Falk
C Derek Grant
D Taylor Fedun

Read more

Jonathan Quick Could Be Out 3-4 Months

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Per a tweet from Sportsnet’s Daren Millard, Los Angeles Kings goalie Jonathan Quick will be out for the next 3-4 months due to a severe groin injury. This is significantly worse news for the Kings as only earlier in the day, general manager Dean Lombardi wouldn’t speculate on the injury. Lombardi indicated that it was in the same area as his last major injury–one that kept him out for two months. Millard added in his tweet that the injury could require surgery. Nick Kypreos adds that Quick will be looking at every option before deciding on “rehab options.”

After placing him on injured reserve, Quick was initially seen as being week to week. Clearly, it’s much worse.  Quick was hurt on what appeared to be a routine save in the first period during the Kings 2-1 loss to San Jose Wednesday night.

The focus now turns onto who the Kings will rely on without their #1 option available. Adam Gretz of NBC Sports writes that the Peter Budaj/Jeff Zatkoff duo will have to do for now as the Kings have little wiggle room within the salary cap to find a #1 goalie elsewhere. Kypreos also said the Kings will most likely search internally for a solution before “looking elsewhere.”

Snapshots: Malkin, Athanasiou, Subban

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Penguins writer Sam Kasan reports that with Sidney Crosby out for indefinitely, the Penguins are looking at Evgeni Malkin as the man to lead the team in his absence. A mainstay in Pittsburgh since being drafted second overall in 2004, teammate Chris Kunitz comments that having Malkin is a huge plus that most teams in the NHL don’t have:

“Most teams don’t have that luxury. ’Geno’ is an important guy for us. He’s going to get more offensive zone time for himself with ’Sid’ being out and showed (Thursday) that he can change a game at any time.”

Kasan writes that Malkin already put the team on his back after having a breakaway goal, assist, and a shootout goal in the Pens’ 3-2 victory over Washington. Malkin admits that it’s not easy being with Crosby, but adds that he feels his confidence is back after having a sub-par performance in the World Cup of Hockey.

In other news from around the league:

  • Ansar Khan tweeted earlier that the Red Wings are already shuffling lines in the wake of a 6-4 loss at the hands of Stanley Cup favorite Tampa Bay Thursday night. The Red Wings jumped out to a quick 2-0 lead and held a 3-1 lead before the Lightning reeled off four straight goals. The Detroit penalty kill had a busy night while the line of Steve Ott, Drew Miller, and Luke Glendening had a statistically brutal evening. Khan reported that Andreas Athanasiou was slotted into a line with Henrik Zetterberg and Frans Nielsen, while Ott was working into the fourth line. Khan later tweeted that those would indeed be the lines for Saturday’s contest against Florida, meaning that Ott would be the odd man out. This could be an early indicator that head coach Jeff Blashill will truly mix and match in order to find a spark, and will be quick to yank players from the lineup swiftly, whether they’re veterans or rookies. Last season, Athanasiou had 14 points (9-5) in 37 games and did so averaging just over nine minutes on the ice.
  • PK Subban notched his first goal as a Nashville Predator with a blistering slap shot in the first period of Nashville’s contest against the Chicago Blackhawks. Subban, who was traded for Shea Weber on June 29, ripped a shot from just inside the blue line to even the score at one. Known for his enthusiasm, and philanthropy during his time in Montreal, Nashville has fallen in love with its new star and the success expected on the ice should only increase his legend in the Music City.

Atlantic Notes: Bishop, Shaw, Smith

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The Tampa Bay Lightning plan to scale back goaltender Ben Bishop’s starts this year to around 50, head coach Jon Cooper told Joe Smith of the Tampa Bay Times.  That would allow backup goalie Andrei Vasilevskiy around 30 starts which would represent a new career high.

While an obvious benefit to this is keeping Bishop rested for what they expect will be a lengthy postseason run, it’s also safe to look beyond that and note the contract situations for next season.  The team handed the 22 year old Russian a three year extension this past summer, one that will pay him an average of $3.5MM per season.  Bishop, meanwhile, is eligible for unrestricted free agency in July.

Given Tampa Bay’s looming cap constraints – they have nearly $60MM committed for next season already with players like Tyler Johnson, Ondrej Palat, and Jonathan Drouin as restricted free agents – it’s likely that they will won’t be able to bring Bishop back so it would make sense that they will give Vasilevskiy a bigger role this season in the hopes of easing him into the top job for next season.

Elsewhere in the Atlantic:

  • Canadiens right winger Andrew Shaw will not be suspended for his slew foot on Buffalo’s Johan Larsson, he told reporters including TSN 690’s Dan Robertson. He did note that Senior VP of Player Safety Stephane Quintal has requested a meeting, however.  Shaw was suspended for three preseason games back in late September for an illegal hit on Washington prospect Connor Hobbs.
  • The Ottawa Senators have yet to engage in meaningful discussions on a potential contract extension for center Zack Smith, writes TSN’s Ian Mendes. Smith noted that there were preliminary talks early in the summer but nothing really since then.  The 28 year old is coming off a career year, scoring 25 goals in 81 games last season but led the league with a 20.7% shooting percentage.  His previous career high was 14 from the 2011-12 campaign.  Smith is in the final year of his contract with a cap hit just under $1.9MM and a salary of $2.35MM.  He will be an unrestricted free agent in July.

Roster Moves: Rantanen, Price, Harrington, Cramarossa

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The Colorado Avalanche have sent prized prospect right winger Mikko Rantanen to San Antonio of the AHL, reports Terry Frei of the Denver Post.  Rantanen suffered an ankle injury in a rookie game back in mid-September and the demotion will essentially work as a rehab stint.  Head coach Jared Bednar commented on the decision to start him with the Rampage:

“He’s missed a lot of meetings where it comes to our structure of our game and what we want to accomplish. He knows lots of it, but he’s also missed lots of it. They’re playing the same system as us down there, so he’ll get a chance to do that and go through game situations, be an impact player for them. Then we’ll re-evaluate and see how he’s feeling after he’s been down there for some games.”

The Avalanche were hoping that Rantanen would be able to start the season in a top six role after leading San Antonio in scoring with 24 goals and 36 assists in just 52 games despite being one of the youngest players in the league.  With this move, it appears that it will be a few more weeks at least before he gets that chance.

Other roster moves on Friday:

  • The Montreal Canadiens placed goaltender Carey Price on injured reserve retroactive to Monday, TVA Sports’ Renaud Lavoie reports (Twitter link). Price missed the season opener with the flu and remains at home with no timetable for his return.  The move is primarily procedural as the team was utilizing an emergency recall to have prospect Charlie Lindgren serve as the backup goalie in Buffalo.  That can only last 48 hours so for him to remain on the roster, Price needed to be moved to injured reserve.
  • The Columbus Blue Jackets have loaned defenseman Scott Harrington to Cleveland (AHL) on an injury conditioning stint, the AHL team announced. The Jackets acquired the 23 year old from Toronto this offseason in exchange for former first round pick Kerby Rychel.  Harrington will be allowed to spend up to two weeks in the minors on the loan but if Columbus wants to keep him there longer, they must place him on waivers.  If that happens and Harrington is claimed, Toronto would then send a 2017 fifth round pick to the Blue Jackets as part of the original trade agreement.
  • After clearing waivers, Anaheim assigned center Joseph Cramarossa to the San Diego Gulls, the AHL team announced (Twitter link). Cramarossa had 11 goals and six assists in 61 games with Anaheim’s AHL affiliate in San Diego last season.

Pacific Notes: Quick Update, Brouwer, Despres, Sharks

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Los Angeles GM Dean Lombardi provided a brief update on Jonathan Quick’s injury situation on Friday.  At this time, Quick and the team are still consulting with doctors with regards to the best way to proceed, reports Jon Rosen of LA Kings Insider.  Lombardi is hoping a decision in that area is made sooner than later and at that time, the team will know more about how long he’ll be out instead of the current week-to-week designation.

A few years ago, Quick suffered a groin strain that caused him to miss two months of action.  While Lombardi didn’t specify that this is another groin issue, he did indicate that the injury is in the “same area”.

In the meantime, Jeff Zatkoff will take over as the interim starter and will get the nod tonight in their home opener against Philadelphia.  Veteran Peter Budaj will serve as the backup.

More news and notes from the Pacific Division:

  • While he has been with Calgary for all of one game since joining the team in July, Flames right winger Troy Brouwer has been a vocal presence both on and off the ice, notes Wes Gilbertson of the Calgary Sun. Accordingly, the team has named him one of their alternate captains, making him just one of four players to wear a letter after changing teams in the offseason.  Brouwer had a strong debut with Calgary, picking up a goal while playing just over 16 minutes.
  • Anaheim defenseman Simon Despres may be dealing with another concussion, notes Eric Stephens of the OC Register via Twitter.  Speaking with reporters regarding the Rickard Rakell contract, GM Bob Murray noted the plan is to have Despres meet specialists and that something is wrong that they need to get to the bottom of.  He added that this latest problem was not the result of a hit or a fall.
  • The San Jose Sharks have assigned top prospect Timo Meier to the AHL’s San Jose Barracuda, the team announced. He has been dealing with mononucleosis and is still likely a little while away from returning to game action.  Last season, he had 34 goals and 53 assists in 52 games in the QMJHL.  The Sharks recalled right winger Dan Carpenter from their farm team.  Carpenter led the Barracuda in scoring last season with 55 points in 66 games and got into one game with the big club.

Winnipeg Notes: Trouba, Morrissey, Pavelec

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With the regular season now underway and youngster Josh Morrissey showing well in the opener and the preseason, Paul Wiecek of the Winnipeg Free Press suggests that RFA holdout Jacob Trouba may already be starting to lose some of his negotiating leverage.

Trouba is one of two remaining restricted free agents (the other being from Anaheim defenseman Hampus Lindholm).  While Lindholm and his representation are negotiating over money and term, Trouba’s hold out stems from a trade request due to Winnipeg’s desire to play him on his off-side.

While the firm deadline date to have a deal in place is a little over six weeks away (he must be signed by December 1st; if not, he would be ineligible for the rest of the year), Wiecek believes that Morrisey’s efforts early on in the spot that would have been Trouba’s lessen any sort of possible pressure on General Manager Kevin Cheveldayoff to get a deal done sooner rather than later.

In his tenure as Winnipeg’s GM, Cheveldayoff has been very patient and deliberate.  While Trouba and his representatives (and maybe some other teams) were hoping that he would act quickly, it’s expected that the asking price will remain high on Trouba and that Cheveldayoff will only move him if he gets the exact deal he’s looking for.  Last week, it was reported that the asking price included a young left-handed rearguard but if Morrissey continues to impress, that requirement could change which would then open up some other options for the Jets to potentially consider.

Elsewhere in Winnipeg, who received some bad news earlier today with Bryan Little being out for the longer-term:

  • Recently-demoted goaltender Ondrej Pavelec wasn’t surprised to find himself the odd man out this year, Free Press columnist Jason Bell writes. The 29 year old suited up in just one preseason contest while Michael Hutchinson played in three games and opening night starter Connor Hellebuyck in two.  Pavelec acknowledges that he’s unsure what his role will be in the AHL as the Jets have a quality prospect in Eric Comrie down there and will likely want him to get as much playing time as possible.  With a cap hit of $3.9MM and a salary of $4.75MM, the Jets will have a hard time finding a taker for Pavelec unless they’re willing to retain on his salary/cap hit in any sort of trade.

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