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New Jersey Devils Place Sami Vatanen On Waivers

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The New Jersey Devils placed Sami Vatanen on waivers Sunday, according to Sportsnet’s Elliotte Friedman, a move that the team hopes could be useful just before the trade deadline.

Vatanen is a name that has been brought up as a trade chip for the selling Devils and while New Jersey has struggled this year, Vatanen has been solid. The 29-year-old has two goals and five points in 29 games and has a plus/minus of +1 this season, something hard to do with a losing team. Another positive is that Vatanen has remained healthy all season, something he hasn’t been successful at doing the last few years.

The veteran defenseman carries a cap hit of $2MM this season, an amount that actually isn’t that easy to fit in for many teams around the league. The Devils may have a better chance in trading him should he clear though, given the acquiring team could then place him on their taxi squad, burying $1.075MM of the deal until they make room. On top of that, the Devils can offer to retain half of his salary, making his contract easy to swallow. Teams also wouldn’t have to worry about his salary for next year as he will be an unrestricted free agent this offseason.

Montreal Canadiens Place Victor Mete On Waivers

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The Montreal Canadiens have placed defenseman Victor Mete on waivers, according to Sportsnet’s Elliotte Friedman. With it being the last day to place players on waivers before the trade deadline, it could ignite suggestions that the team is ready to let the youngster go.  The 22-year-old defenseman has been involved in trade rumors most of the season.

While many interesting players have hit the wire and not claimed this season, it would seem hard to imagine that Mete will clear waivers considering he is making just $735K, is so young, can be controlled for three more seasons and has 185 NHL games under his belt. He is a perfect candidate to be claimed by weaker teams, looking to add a solid defensive defenseman as well as playoff teams looking to add cheap blueline help. One positive stat from Mete is his plus/minus which is a plus-30 throughout his career.

While offense has never been Mete’s strength and he actually did struggle scoring a goal for much of the early part of his career, Mete did score four goals and 11 points last season in 51 appearances, but has fallen out of favor this year in Montreal, only appearing in 14 games. While the general belief was that the Canadiens would trade the blueliner, the team would now have to hope that no team claims him, making him more valuable as a taxi squad player. However, there could be a number of teams willing to keep him on their roster for the rest of the year.

Ottawa Senators Sign Cody Goloubef To One-Year Deal

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The Ottawa Senators announced they have signed defenseman Cody Goloubef to a one-year, two-way pro-rated contract for the rest of the 2020-21 season. Goloubef had been playing under a professional tryout contract with the Belleville Senators this year, but has earned an NHL deal now. The deal is worth $700K.

Goloubef has moved around the league quite a bit over his career, but is not an unfamiliar name in Ottawa. The 31-year-old was acquired via trade from the Boston Bruins back in 2019 and played for the Senators for more than a year before he was claimed off waivers by the Detroit Red Wings in February of 2020. Most of his NHL experience comes years ago when he played for the Columbus Blue Jackets, but he did appear in 29 games for Ottawa.

With no NHL contract option available to him, he did return to the Senators and played with their AHL affiliate where he has appeared in 19 games with the organization with three goals and four points this year.

Goloubef could offer much-needed depth just before the trade deadline if the Senators choose to move out any of their defenseman, especially with names such as Erik Gudbranson as legitimate candidate to be moved. He will likely play a role as a depth defenseman with the organization and will spend most of his time between Belleville and the taxi squad, assuming he clears waivers.

Taxi Squad Shuffle: 04/11/21

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There has been plenty of roster movement between NHL teams and the taxi squad on a daily basis this season. Although some major names may be highlighted in separate articles, this is where you’ll find the majority of that shuffle news each day:

Central Division

  • With the Carolina Hurricanes off, they returned Jake Gardiner and Jake Bean to the taxi squad, per CapFriendly.  Spencer Smallman and Joey Keane were sent to the minors in corresponding moves.
  • The Columbus Blue Jackets have returned Kole Sherwood to the taxi squad, per CapFriendly.  Sherwood played in his first game of the season on Saturday, playing just under nine minutes.
  • The Detroit Red Wings announced that they’ve returned Frans Nielsen to the taxi squad.  They’ve made that move many times this season after the veteran cleared waivers though the 36-year-old has still played in 27 games this season.
  • The Nashville Predators announced the recall of Tanner Jeannot from the taxi squad.  The Preds also added to their long list of injuries, transferring Mathieu Olivier to injured reserve.
  • The Tampa Bay Lightning sent Ben Thomas back to the taxi squad, per CapFriendly.  The 24-year-old has played in four games this month, his first taste of NHL action.
  • The Vegas Golden Knights recalled Nicolas Hague from the taxi squad, per CapFriendly.  Nick Holden, who recently cleared waivers, was sent to the taxi squad to keep them cap compliant.

North Division

  • The Ottawa Senators announced they have assigned forwards Clark Bishop and Alex Formenton to the taxi squad. Both players played Saturday night with Formenton scoring a goal on four shots. Both will likely wait until the team plays again on Monday against Winnipeg.
  • CapFriendly reports that the Montreal Canadiens made a number of moves. The team has Otto Leskinen, Jake Evans and Cayden Primeau to the taxi squad, leaving the club with $2.825MM in LTIR relief. Montreal has also sent Brandon Baddock and Lukas Vejdemo to the Laval Rocket of the AHL while bringing Xavier Ouellet back to the taxi squad from Laval.
  • The Edmonton Oilers sent James Neal and Tyler Ennis to the taxi squad, per CapFriendly.  While they won’t bank any cap space from this, it does extend their waiver exemptions.
  • The Toronto Maple Leafs sent Martin Marincin back to the taxi squad, per CapFriendly.  Like Edmonton, Toronto doesn’t gain any cap space from this as they’re in LTIR but they extend Marincin’s waiver exemption.
  • The Winnipeg Jets returned Kristian Vesalainen to the taxi squad, per CapFriendly.  The 21-year-old has played in eight games this season, recording one assist.

East Division

  • The Philadelphia Flyers announced they have recalled forward Tanner Laczynski from the taxi squad. The 23-year-old is expected to make his season debut Sunday. Laczynski signed last season after a successful four-year career at Ohio State University and has been faring well at Lehigh Valley in the AHL with six goals and 10 points in 14 games there. The Flyers promoted both Laczynski and Wade Allison to the taxi squad late Saturday.
  • The Boston Bruins promoted Jack Ahcan from the taxi squad, per CapFriendly. The blueliner made his NHL debut last month against Buffalo.
  • The Buffalo Sabres recalled Arttu Ruotsalainen from the taxi squad before their game against Philadelphia today, per CapFriendly.  He made his NHL debut on Friday, playing nearly 16 minutes.
  • The New Jersey Devils brought up Marian Studenic from the taxi squad, per CapFriendly and will have the winger make his NHL debut tonight.  Nicholas Merkley was sent to the taxi squad in a corresponding move.
  • The New York Islanders are back in action which means that Oliver Wahlstrom is back up from the taxi squad, per CapFriendly. The winger has played in 32 games this season despite being sent to the taxi squad 25 times.
  • The New York Rangers have brought up Vitali Kravtsov, Kaapo Kakko, and Anthony Bitetto from the taxi squad, per CapFriendly.  With the vacancies on the taxi squad, Jonny Brodzinski was recalled from the minors to bring it back to the minimum four players.
  • The Pittsburgh Penguins returned Drew O’Connor to the taxi squad and Josh Currie to the minors, per a team release.  O’Connor has an assist in ten games this season while Currie has played just once.

West Division

This page will be updated throughout the day.

Trade Deadline Primer: Washington Capitals

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We are now just days away from the NHL Trade Deadline and a few moves have already been made with more to come. Where does each team stand and what moves should they be looking to make?  We continue our look around the league with the Washington Capitals.

Washington has been solid all year long and as their window for a second Stanley Cup is beginning to close, the team is expected to be active adding more veteran talent to their team to give Alex Ovechkin and company another shot. The real question is what the team has left in reserve to trade for any talent and how they might be able to squeeze anyone into their cap situation.

Record

26-11-4, tied for 1st in East Division

Deadline Status

Buyer (if they can create the cap space to do so)

Deadline Cap Space

$0MM in regular cap space, $375K in LTIR space, 0/3 retention slots used, 49/50 contracts used per CapFriendly.

Upcoming Draft Picks

2021: WAS 1st, WAS 2nd, WAS 4th, WAS 5th, VGK 5th, WAS 6th
2022: WAS 1st, WAS 2nd, WAS 3rd, WAS 4th, WAS 5th, WAS 6th, WAS 7th

Trade Chips

The team’s greatest assets are likely their draft picks. The team has both their first and second-round picks over the next two years and are only short a third and seventh-rounders in 2021. So, the team could conceivably move a top draft pick to bolster their roster for the stretch run. Of course, it should be noted that the team’s prospect system is pretty weak and could use all those picks. Washington has not moved a first-round pick since 2017 as they are acutely aware of a lack of young talent. So, it might be more conceivable the team would be more willing to move a second-round draft pick for slight upgrades. Of course, with little to no cap space, the team might have to move some picks to fit anyone into it.

The team’s one strength in their system is quite a bit of young defensemen as the Capitals have several blueliners sitting in wait for spots to open up in Washington, some with NHL experience already, including Jonas Siegenthaler, Martin Fehervary and Alexander Alexeyev, who recently returned to the organization after playing on loan in the KHL. The team would prefer to keep all three, but could one be made expendable?

Others to Watch For: D Paul Ladue; F Brett Leason; F Daniel Sprong

Team Needs

1) Veteran Goaltender – While the combination of Ilya Samsonov and Vitek Vanecek has been solid this season, the one issue that many have brought up is that the pair of young netminders have zero playoff experience. Samsonov was hurt during last year’s playoffs, while Vanecek is a rookie, so no is is sure how either goaltender will perform under the tremendous pressure of the playoffs. That leads many to suggest the team should add a veteran third goaltender, someone who can step in and hold their own during those tough times.

2) Forward Depth – While the Capitals have fared reasonably well with their forward group, the team could always use a veteran forward to add their bottom-six. The team could use some extra depth in case of injuries during their playoff run.

Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.

Avalanche Sign Nate Clurman To Entry-Level Deal

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April 5: Clurman has officially signed a two-year entry-level contract with the Avalanche. He will report to the Colorado Eagles of the AHL.

March 30: With the college season slowly coming to a conclusion, there are quite a few names ready to join the Colorado Avalanche shortly. That group could include players like Alex Newhook and Sampo Ranta. However, the first signing is expected to happen shortly as DNVR Sports AJ Haefele reports that Colorado is expected to sign Notre Dame defenseman Nate Clurman to an entry-level deal. No terms have been revealed.

Clurman spent three years at Notre Dame as a shutdown defenseman with excellent skating skills and served as team captain this past season. He even showed off a little offense, scoring four goals and seven points in 27 games, which may not seem like much, but considering he went scoreless for his first two college seasons, that’s a plus. Clurman was a key cog for the Fighting Irish, but their season ended prematurely as Notre Dame was forced to withdraw from the NCAA tournament due to COVID-19 protocols.

The six-foot-2, 200-pound blueliner was a sixth-round pick in 2016 and is expected to step into the AHL immediately with the Colorado Eagles after he officially signs his contract.

Nick Holden, Liam O’Brien Clear Waivers

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March 31: Though Gostisbehere will still claim the headlines, Holden and O’Brien also cleared waivers today. Both players can be assigned to the taxi squad or, in O’Brien’s case, kept in the AHL.

March 30: While Shayne Gostisbehere got all the waiver attention, two more players were put on waivers Tuesday. The Vegas Golden Knights placed veteran defenseman Nick Holden on waivers again, while the Colorado Avalanche sent Liam O’Brien through waivers after signing him to a one-year deal earlier this morning, according to Sportsnet’s Elliotte Friedman.

Holden already cleared waivers earlier this season, but a player must pass through waivers again if he has played 10 games in the NHL. For Holden, the veteran is at 13 games and with everyday salary meaning so much, the team must attempt to pass him through waivers once again. Whether he will be claimed is a different story as more teams are eager to add to their ailing blueline. However, Holden is making $1.7MM AAV not only for this year, but for next year as well and many teams may want to avoid that second year, considering he is already 33 years old. Holden has one assist in 13 games for the Golden Knights, averaging 15:44 of ice time.

As for O’Brien, the Avalanche signed him and were forced to put him on waivers to either assign him back to the Eagles or put him on the taxi squad.

Philadelphia Flyers’ Shayne Gostisbehere Clears Waivers

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March 31: Gostisbehere has cleared waivers and can now be assigned to the taxi squad or AHL.

March 30: The Philadelphia Flyers announced they have placed defenseman Shayne Gostisbehere on waivers. While the career of the blueliner has been derailed in recent years due to injuries and on-ice struggles, Gostisbehere is still young at 27 years and only a few years away from his 65-point season in 2017-18.

With many teams successfully attempting to ease cap concerns by placing large contracts on waivers, this might seem to be something similar with Philadelphia hoping that Gostisbehere’s $4.5MM contract might dissuade most teams from claiming the defenseman. While that still might be the case, there are plenty of teams in desperate need of defensive help and while many of those teams are capped out, it wouldn’t be hard to suggest that a change of scenery away from Philadelphia could alter the career of Gostisbehere.

In fact, Sam Carchidi of the Philadelphia Inquirer reports that Philadelphia is trying to free up some cap room to make a major trade, perhaps even hoping a team might claim Gostisbehere.

His big season in 2017-18 (13 goals & 65 points) had many believing at the time that Gostisbehere would develop into a superstar, cornerstone blueliner. Instead, he struggled after that, posting just nine goals and 37 points the following year with injuries affecting his game as well. He scored just five goals and 12 points last season in 42 games and while Gostisbehere has been slightly better this year with five goals and 11 points in 25 games, the defenseman has not been able to come close to the star that Philadelphia thought he would be.

Of course, with the Flyers struggling significantly, which includes almost losing to the hapless Sabres Monday, general manager Chuck Fletcher might also be looking to just shake up the team. Moving out a player like Gostisbehere could send a significant message to the team.

It wouldn’t be unreasonable to think that even non-playoff teams might be interested in Gostisbehere and could claim him. He is still just 27 years old and while he carries a $4.5MM AAV for the next two years, he is only actually drawing $3.25MM in salary. That could be attractive to teams like Ottawa, Buffalo, Detroit and the Los Angeles Kings who have the cap space to bring in Gostisbehere. Another possibility could be the Florida Panthers, who are in need of defensive help after the injury to Aaron Ekblad. In fact, Gostisbehere is from Pembroke Pines, Florida, not far from the Panthers’ home.

Any team interested in claiming him would have be required to have $1.525MM in projected cap space or $4.5MM in salary pool relief for clubs currently in LTIR, according to CapFriendly.

Golden Knights Sign Layton Ahac, Zack Hayes To Entry-Level Deals

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The Vegas Golden Knights announced they have signed two defensive prospects to entry-level contracts. The team signed Layton Ahac and Zack Hayes to three-year contracts, both which will begin for the 2021-22 season. No contract terms have been announced. Ahac has signed an AHL contract for the rest of the season, while Hayes is already playing for the Henderson Silver Knights.

The 20-year-old Ahac was the team’s third-round pick in 2019 (86th overall) and has spent the last two seasons with Ohio State University. The defenseman is considered a stay-at-home defenseman as he tallied three assists in his freshman year with the Buckeyes and then followed that up with one goal and nine assists in 27 games. His offense has improved as the blueliner hopes to develop into a solid two-way defensive player.

As for Hayes, the undrafted free agent signed a one-year deal during the offseason with Henderson and has impressed in 17 games, scoring a goal and four points, earning a NHL contract in the process.  The blueliner did score seven goals in his final season with the Prince Albert Raiders of the WHL, but was best known for his defensive prowess.

Adam Gaudette Tests Positive For COVID-19

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Vancouver Canucks forward Adam Gaudette will be added to the COVID-19 protocol list later today after the Canucks announced that the forward tested positive for COVID-19 Tuesday. Gaudette was practicing with the team when he received the news and left the ice immediately.

The Province’s Patrick Johnston reports that Gaudette will be re-tested. If it’s negative, he’ll be tested again on Wednesday. The result of that test will determine the next step for Gaudette. The 24-year-old has struggled this year after posting 12 goals and 33 points last season in 59 games. In 33 games this year, Gaudette has four goals and seven points.

What could be more interesting is how the NHL will handle Wednesday’s game against the Calgary Flames as there is always the possibility that more players could test positive before the game. Interestingly enough, teammate Jake Virtanen missed practice today due to illness, which doesn’t necessarily have anything to do with Gaudette’s positive test, but bears watching. The province of BC is dealing with a new wave of COVID-19 cases, which could have an effect on the game.

Travis Boyd was the only other person on the COVID-19 list after being claimed off waivers from the Toronto Maple Leafs. He has been serving his quarantine restrictions and now has been cleared and was skating with the team Tuesday.

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