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Josh Norris Suffers A Setback With Lingering Shoulder Injury

at CDT | by 7 Comments

Ottawa Senators head coach D.J. Smith shared that forward Joshua Norris has suffered a setback with his shoulder injury. Norris had previously returned to practice in full, after working up from a no-contact jersey to taking full contact, but it seems he wasn’t ready just yet. No further details have been provided on the nature or timeline of Norris’ injury, bringing up questions about his availability for Ottawa’s season opener on October 11.

Norris’ shoulder injury is turning into a bit of a saga. The 24-year-old forward originally suffered the injury last October and worked to rehab with the hopes of a midseason return. And he was successful, appearing in the Senators lineup again in January. But after just three games back, Norris reaggravated his shoulder injury and was ultimately removed from the lineup for the remainder of the 2022-23 season.

Norris opened this year’s training camp wearing a no-contact jersey after “tweaking” his shoulder injury at the start of the year, but Senators general manager Pierre Dorion was optimistic about his outlook for the start of the year. And while Norris worked his way to full contact, continuing to hear about this long-running shoulder injury is disconcerting.

[SOURCE LINK]

Training Camp Cuts: 10/02/23

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AHL training camps are beginning to kick into gear as NHL teams make some of their final training camp cuts. As always, we’ll keep track of those roster moves here.

Anaheim Ducks (via team release)

D Trevor Carrick (to San Diego, AHL)
D Drew Helleson (to San Diego, AHL)
D Tyson Hinds (to San Diego, AHL)
F Jaxsen Wiebe (to San Diego, AHL)

Arizona Coyotes (via team release)

F Josh Doan (to Tucson, AHL)
F Curtis Douglas (to Tucson, AHL)
F Conor Geekie (to Wenatchee, WHL)
F Milos Kelemen (to Tucson, AHL)
D Michael Kesselring (to Tucson, AHL)
D Patrik Koch (to Tucson, AHL)
D Vladislav Kolyachonok (to Tucson, AHL)
F Ben McCartney (to Tucson, AHL)
D Montana Onyebuchi (to Tucson, AHL)
F Austin Poganski (released from PTO to Tucson, AHL)
F Aku Räty (to Tucson, AHL)
F Nathan Smith (to Tucson, AHL)

Boston Bruins (via team release)

F John Farinacci (to Providence, AHL)
G Kyle Keyser (to Providence, AHL) pending waiver clearance

Chicago Blackhawks (via The Athletic’s Mark Lazerus)

G Drew Commesso (to Rockford, AHL)
D Louis Crevier (to Rockford, AHL)
D Ethan Del Mastro (to Rockford, AHL)
F Dave Gust (to Rockford, AHL)
F Mike Hardman (to Rockford, AHL)
F Gavin Hayes (to Flint, OHL)
F Paul Ludwinski (to Kingston, OHL)
F Ryder Rolston (to Rockford, AHL)
D Filip Roos (to Rockford, AHL)
F Brett Seney (to Rockford, AHL)

Colorado Avalanche (via Twitter)

G Arvid Holm (to Colorado, AHL)
F Ivan Ivan (to Colorado, AHL)

Dallas Stars (via team release)

F Francesco Arcuri (to Texas, AHL)
F Ben Berard (released from ATO to Texas, AHL)
G Christopher Gibson (released from PTO)
D Artem Grushnikov (to Texas, AHL)
D Michael Karow (released from PTO to Texas, AHL)
D Christian Kyrou (to Texas, AHL)
F Kyle McDonald (to Texas, AHL)
F Keaton Mastrodonato (released from ATO to Texas, AHL)
F Curtis McKenzie (released from PTO to Texas, AHL)
D Jacob Murray (released from PTO)
G Matt Murray (to Texas, AHL)
F Scott Reedy (to Texas, AHL)
F Matthew Seminoff (to Texas, AHL)
F Antonio Stranges (to Texas, AHL)
G Bryan Thomson (released from ATO to Texas, AHL)
D Gavin White (to Texas, AHL)
D Benjamin Zloty (released from ATO to Texas, AHL)

Florida Panthers (via team release)

F Liam Arnsby (to North Bay, OHL)
D Mike Benning (to Charlotte, AHL)
F Riley Bezeau (to Charlotte, AHL)
D Santtu Kinnunen (to Charlotte, AHL)
F Ryan McAllister (to Charlotte, AHL)
D Evan Nause (to Charlotte, AHL)
D Calle Sjalin (to Charlotte, AHL)
D Zachary Uens (to Charlotte, AHL)
G Ludovic Waeber (to Charlotte, AHL)
F Jake Wise (to Charlotte, AHL)

Montreal Canadiens (via team release)

F Lias Andersson (to Laval, AHL)
F Philippe Maillet (to Laval, AHL)

New Jersey Devils (via team release)

F Kyle Criscuolo (to Utica, AHL) pending waiver clearance
D Michael Vukojevic (to Utica, AHL)

New York Rangers (via team release)

G Louis Domingue (to Hartford, AHL)
D Mac Hollowell (to Hartford, AHL)

Ottawa Senators (via team release)

G Kevin Mandolese (to Belleville,  AHL)
D Tyler Kleven (to Belleville,  AHL)
D Nikolas Matinpalo (to Belleville,  AHL)
F Zack Ostapchuk (to Belleville,  AHL)
F Cole Reinhardt (to Belleville,  AHL)

Philadelphia Flyers (via team release)

D Louis Belpedio (to Lehigh Valley, AHL) pending waiver clearance
F Adam Brooks (to Lehigh Valley, AHL) pending waiver clearance
F Matt Brown (released from PTO to Lehigh Valley, AHL)
F Brendan Furry (released from PTO to Lehigh Valley, AHL)
F Rhett Gardner (to Lehigh Valley, AHL) pending waiver clearance
F Olle Lycksell (to Lehigh Valley, AHL)
D Matteo Mann (to Saint John, QMJHL)
F Cooper Marody (to Lehigh Valley, AHL) pending waiver clearance
D Victor Mete (to Lehigh Valley, AHL) pending waiver clearance

St. Louis Blues (via Matthew DeFranks of The St. Louis Post-Dispatch)

F William Bitten (to Springfield, AHL)
D Wyatt Kalynuk (to Springfield, AHL)
F Hugh McGing (to Springfield, AHL)
F Matthew Peca (to Springfield, AHL)

Toronto Maple Leafs (via team release)

F Nicholas Abruzzese (to Toronto, AHL)
F Joseph Blandisi (released from PTO to Toronto, AHL)
G Luke Cavallin (released from PTO to Toronto, AHL)
D Nolan Dillingham (released from ATO to Toronto, AHL)
F Max Ellis (to Toronto, AHL)
D Matt Hellickson (released from PTO to Toronto, AHL)
G Dennis Hildeby (to Toronto, AHL)
F Roni Hirvonen (to Toronto, AHL)
F Braeden Kressler (to Toronto, AHL)
F Robert Mastrosimone (released from PTO to Toronto, AHL)
D Topi Niemelä (to Toronto, AHL)
F Dmitri Ovchinnikov (to Toronto, AHL)
F Jay O’Brien (released from PTO to Toronto, AHL)
G Vyacheslav Peksa (to Toronto, AHL)
D Matteo Pietroniro (released from PTO to Toronto, AHL)
D Marshall Rifai (to Toronto, AHL)
F Logan Shaw (released from PTO to Toronto, AHL)
F Neil Shea (released from PTO to Toronto, AHL)
F Tate Singleton (released from PTO to Toronto, AHL)
F Josiah Slavin (released from PTO to Toronto, AHL)
F Alex Steeves (to Toronto, AHL)
F Keenan Suthers (released from PTO to Toronto, AHL)
F Ryan Tverberg (to Toronto, AHL)
D Jonny Tychonick (released from PTO to Toronto, AHL)
D William Villeneuve (to Toronto, AHL)
F Ty Voit (to Toronto, AHL)
F Tyler Weiss (released from PTO to Toronto, AHL)

Washington Capitals (via team release)

D Chase Priskie (to Hershey, AHL)
F Riley Sutter (to Hershey, AHL)

Winnipeg Jets (via Twitter)

F Colby Barlow (to Owen Sound, OHL)
F Wyatt Bongiovanni (to Manitoba, AHL)
F Chaz Lucius (to Manitoba, AHL)
F Kristian Reichel (to Manitoba, AHL)
D Elias Salomonsson (to Manitoba, AHL)
F Danny Zhilkin (to Manitoba, AHL)

This page will be updated throughout the day

The Latest On Shane Pinto

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Scott Powers of The Athletic tweeted tonight that Chicago Blackhawks forward Samuel Savoie had successful surgery today on his right femur and is expected to fully recover. The 19-year-old prospect was injured yesterday after colliding with defenseman Alex Goligoski in a game against the Minnesota Wild and had to be stretchered off the ice. He was unable to travel with the Blackhawks and reportedly had surgery in Minnesota this morning.

Savoie has been ruled out of action indefinitely and appears to have a long recovery ahead of him after suffering a very scary injury. The 2022 third-round pick was expected to return to the QMJHL to be a big piece of the Gatineau Olympiques this season, but his season might have ended before it even began. Savoie had 26 goals and 33 assists in 60 games last year for the Olympiques and was expected to take a big step forward offensively this season.

In other evening notes:

  • Peter Baugh of The Athletic tweeted that forward Peter Holland has elected to continue his PTO with the Colorado Avalanche and report to their AHL affiliate the Colorado Eagles. Holland will join the AHL camp as he continues his quest to get back to the NHL for the first time since 2017-18 when he dressed in 23 games for the New York Rangers. Holland was always a long shot to make the Avalanche as he did not play professional hockey last season. Despite the setback, one must admire his determination to make it back to the NHL.
  • Bruce Garrioch of Postmedia writes about the latest in the Ottawa Senators negotiations with restricted free agent center Shane Pinto. Garrioch believes that the two sides will need to find common ground as Pinto is looking for $2.5MM per year on a two-year bridge contract, while the Senators are looking for a Morgan Frost type contract at $2.1MM per season. Garrioch adds that his belief is that Pinto wants to remain a member of the Senators and that the team wants to keep him long-term. Pinto had 20 goals and 15 assists last season in 82 games and is seen by many as the long-term solution for the Senators in the third-line center role. His presence will be key for the Senators as their bottom-six forward group is very underwhelming without Pinto centering the third line.

Anaheim Ducks Claim Lassi Thomson From Ottawa Senators

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The Anaheim Ducks have claimed defenseman Lassi Thomson off of waivers from the Ottawa Senators, according to Sportsnet’s Elliotte Friedman.

Through this claim, the Ducks are rolling the dice the 19th overall pick from the 2019 draft. Drafted out of the Kelowna Rockets, a well-respected producer of NHL defenseman, Thomson spent a season playing pro hockey in Liiga with Ilves Tampere, before splitting 2020-21 between Ilves and the AHL’s Belleville Senators.

Thomson scored 26 points in 44 AHL games in 2021-22 and got 16 NHL games under his belt, scoring five points.

Thomson had a solid AHL season last year with 33 points in 56 games, but didn’t get quite as extensive of a look in Ottawa as the team turned to other defensive prospects such as Tyler Kleven and Jacob Bernard-Docker. A solid skater, Thomson has proven to be an impactful AHL defenseman who hasn’t quite made his mark in the NHL.

With this claim, Thomson will presumably get a chance in the NHL with the Ducks and first-year head coach Greg Cronin. Based on how Cronin has talked about defensemen in the past, this waiver claim is actually entirely unsurprising.

Cronin has said he is “really focused on” defensemen who can use their mobility as their main defensive tool, rather than say physicality. He has spoken about prioritizing athleticism, speed, and even aggressiveness with his blueliners, something he put into practice as head coach with the Colorado Eagles.

Thomson fits that ideal mold, as he’s an athletic blueliner whose skating is widely regarded as his best tool. While that’s no guarantee of an NHL breakout, it does explain why the Ducks felt comfortable using their front-of-the-line waiver claim on Thomson.

He does have some competition on the right side of Anaheim’s defense to compete with, especially long-term due to the presence of top prospects like Tristan Luneau. But by claiming him the Ducks have said they believe Thomson has something to offer at the NHL level, and now it’s up to Thomson to prove them right.

Photos courtesy of USA Today Sports Images

Latest On Shane Pinto’s Contract Talks

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With the Senators not being able to afford even a two-year bridge deal for Shane Pinto, some had wondered if they might try a lower-cost one-year offer for the unsigned middleman.  Sportsnet’s Elliotte Friedman reports that Ottawa did attempt to go that route this week and it was not received well by Pinto’s camp with the offer coming in the $1MM range.

Even that offer would be difficult for them to afford as they currently have a little over $120K in cap space, per CapFriendly with a projected 21-player roster.  That doesn’t leave them much in the way of wiggle room to re-sign Pinto or to try to sign veteran Josh Bailey who is in camp on a PTO agreement.

Pinto doesn’t have much in the way of leverage here as he is ineligible to sign an offer sheet as he doesn’t have enough service time for one having not met the games played criteria in each of his first two seasons.  That basically means his options are to hold out until he gets a contract he wants or ask for a trade, an option that he doesn’t have any interest in pursuing at this time, Friedman reports.

The 22-year-old’s first full NHL season was a strong one as he netted 20 goals along with 15 assists while averaging just shy of 16 minutes a night.  He also won a little over 52% of his faceoffs.  That has the Sens rightly viewing Pinto as an important part of their future.

On the surface, there are three mid-tier contracts that would appear to be candidates to be dealt to open up cap space.  Winger Mathieu Joseph has been the one most speculated about but with three years left on his deal at $2.95MM and the fact he’s coming off a season that saw him score just three goals in 56 games, the price for teams to take on the contract would be high.

Meanwhile, winger Dominik Kubalik is in the final year of his contract with a $2.5MM cap charge that might be easier to offload.  He’s also coming off a career season that saw him put up 20 goals and 25 assists with Detroit so there could be some positive trade value although subtracting him from their offense would certainly hurt.

The other contract in that range is defenseman Erik Brannstrom who is on a $2MM deal and will be arbitration-eligible again next summer.  When he was first acquired, he was viewed as an important part of their then-rebuild and while he has become a regular player, he hasn’t had the impact they were hoping for.  He’s likely earmarked for the third pairing which could make him expendable.  But with Pinto’s likely contract to come in the $2.5MM range, moving Brannstrom alone wouldn’t create enough cap space to re-sign Pinto.

With the regular season starting in ten days, pressure is starting to pick up on GM Pierre Dorion to find a solution to this situation.  But with only a few teams having cap space, finding a suitable trade to open up cap flexibility to get Pinto signed is going to be easier said than done.  For now, the waiting game continues.

Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.

Waivers: 9/30/23

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With the start of the NHL season now just ten days away, daily waiver activity will be continuing league-wide.  Here is a listing of the players that are on the wire today per various team announcements and TSN’s Chris Johnston (Twitter link).

Buffalo Sabres

G Devin Cooley
F Justin Richards
G Dustin Tokarski

Edmonton Oilers

F Drake Caggiula
F Greg McKegg

Montreal Canadiens

D Nicolas Beaudin
F Lucas Condotta
D Brady Keeper
F Mitchell Stephens

Nashville Predators

F Anthony Angello
D Kevin Gravel
G Troy Grosenick
D Jordan Gross

New York Rangers

F Jake Leschyshyn

Ottawa Senators

F Josh Currie
D Dillon Heatherington
F Garrett Pilon
D Lassi Thomson

While Ottawa’s players were announced as being waived on Friday, it was after the 1 PM CT cut-off which means their waiver clock starts today.

Vegas Golden Knights

F Byron Froese
D/F Mason Geertsen
D Dysin Mayo
F Gage Quinney
F Sheldon Rempal
F Jonas Rondbjerg

Most of the forwards on this list have cleared waivers in the past with Condotta being the lone exception as this is his first time eligible for waivers.  He spent most of last season in the minors but scored in his lone NHL appearance.  Quinney and Rempal were productive in the minors last season, averaging just shy of a point per game while Caggiula had over 50 points as well.

Among the defensemen, Thomson could be one to keep an eye on for a potential claim.  The 23-year-old was the 19th overall pick in 2019 and is still on his entry-level contract.  He hasn’t had much success at the NHL level so far but as a young right-shot defender, a rebuilding team or two might be inclined to take a flyer on him.

Mayo logged nearly 21 minutes a night on the back end for Arizona back in 2021-22 but cleared waivers last season and was eventually traded to Vegas in exchange for Shea Weber’s LTIR-eligible contract.  He has two years left on a one-way deal worth $950K per season which could scare teams off.  Beaudin is a former first-rounder himself back in 2018 (27th overall) but has just 22 NHL games under his belt, none of which came last season between Montreal and Chicago.

Grosenick and Tokarski are no strangers to the waiver wire.  Tokarski has cleared all five times while Grosenick has cleared six out of eight times he has been waived over the years.  This will be Cooley’s first time on waivers but while he had a decent season in Nashville’s system last season (posting a .909 SV% with AHL Milwaukee), it would be surprising to see him picked up.

Each player will be available to teams until 1 PM CT on Sunday.

Training Camp Cuts: 09/29/23

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It’s another day in the NHL preseason, meaning it’s another day of cuts and reassignments. Yesterday was a busy one for player movement across North American hockey’s various preseasons, and today could be no different. We’ll track those transactions here.

Boston Bruins (via team release)

D Jackson Edward (to London, OHL)
D Ryan Mast (to Providence, AHL)

Buffalo Sabres (via team release)

F Christopher Brown (released from PTO, to Rochester, AHL)
F Filip Cederqvist (to Rochester, AHL)
F Riley Fiddler-Schultz (released from PTO, to Rochester, AHL)
D Brandon Fortunato (released from PTO, to Rochester, AHL)
F Damien Giroux (released from PTO, to Rochester, AHL)
G Michael Houser (released from PTO, to Rochester, AHL)
D Chris Jandric (released from PTO, to Rochester, AHL)
F Mason Jobst (released from PTO, to Rochester, AHL)
F Aleksandr Kisakov (to Rochester, AHL)
F Tyson Kozak (to Rochester, AHL)
F Dominick Mersch (released from PTO, to Rochester, AHL)
F Michael Mersch (released from PTO, to Rochester, AHL)
D Zach Metsa (released from PTO, to Rochester, AHL)
F Olivier Nadeau (to Rochester, AHL)
F Viktor Neuchev (to Rochester, AHL)
D Nikita Novikov (to Rochester, AHL)
D Ethan Prow (released from PTO, to Rochester, AHL)
D Nicolas Savoie (released from PTO, to Rochester, AHL)
F Graham Slaggert (released from PTO, to Rochester, AHL)
F Brendan Warren (released from PTO, to Rochester, AHL)
F Linus Weissbach (to Rochester, AHL)

Calgary Flames (via team release)

F Parker Bell (to Calgary, AHL)
D Mikael Diotte (released from ATO)
D Jarrod Gourley (to Calgary, AHL)
D Etienne Morin (to Moncton, QMJHL)
F Brett Sutter (to Calgary, AHL)
F William Stromgren (to Calgary, AHL)

Chicago Blackhawks (via NBC Sports Chicago’s Charlie Roumeliotis)

D Josh Healey (released from PTO, to Rockford, AHL)
F Jalen Luypen (to Rockford, AHL)
D Ross MacDougall (released from PTO, to Rockford, AHL)
D Josh Maniscalco (released from PTO, to Rockford, AHL)
D Andrew Perrott (released from PTO, to Rockford, AHL)

Colorado Avalanche (via team release)

F Henry Bowlby (to Colorado, AHL)
F Tanner Kero (to Colorado, AHL)
F Matthew Stienburg (to Colorado, AHL)

Columbus Blue Jackets (via team release)

F Roman Ahcan (to Cleveland, AHL)
F Tyler Angle (to Cleveland, AHL)
D Ole-Julian Bjorgvik-Holm (to Cleveland, AHL)
F Cameron Butler (to Cleveland, AHL)
D Cole Clayton (to Cleveland, AHL)
F Luca Del Bel Belluz (to Cleveland, AHL)
G Eric Dop (released from PTO, to Cleveland, AHL)
F Jake Gaudet (to Cleveland, AHL)
D Samuel Knazko (to Cleveland, AHL)
D Nicolas Meloche (released from PTO)
F Mikael Pyyhtia (to Cleveland, AHL)
F Martin Rysavy (released from PTO, to Cleveland, AHL)
D Thomas Schemitsch (released from PTO)
F Owen Sillinger (to Cleveland, AHL)

Los Angeles Kings (via team release)

F Kaleb Lawrence (to Owen Sound, OHL)
F Nathan Burke (released from tryout)
F Sean Tschigerl (released from tryout)
F Ty Thorpe (released from tryout)
D Max Coyle (released from tryout)

Minnesota Wild (per team release)

F Kale Kessy (released from PTO, to Iowa, AHL)
D Simon Johansson (to Iowa, AHL)
D Kyle Masters (to Iowa, AHL)
F Greg Meireles (released from PTO, to Iowa, AHL)
F Pavel Novak (to Iowa, AHL)
D David Spacek (to Iowa, AHL)

Nashville Predators (via team release)

D Tanner Molendyk (to Saskatoon, WHL)

New Jersey Devils (via team release)

G Tyler Brennan (to Utica, AHL)
F Filip Engaras (to Utica, AHL)
D Colin Felix (to Utica, AHL)
F Josh Filmon (to Swift Current, WHL)
F T.J. Friedmann (to Utica, AHL)
F Joseph Gambardella (to Utica, AHL)
F Timur Ibragimov (to Utica, AHL)
D Will MacKinnon (to Utica, AHL)
F Xavier Parent (to Utica, AHL)
D Robbie Russo (to Utica, AHL)
F Ryan Schmelzer (to Utica, AHL)
D Topias Vilen (to Utica, AHL)

New York Islanders (via team release)

D Isaiah George (to London, OHL)
F Justin Gill (to Baie-Comeau, QMJHL)
G Tristan Lennox (to Bridgeport, AHL)
D Zsombor Garat (to Bridgeport, AHL)
F Blade Jenkins (to Bridgeport, AHL)
D Artem Kulakov (to Bridgeport, AHL)
G Brent Moran (to Bridgeport, AHL)
F Dmytro Timashov (to Bridgeport, AHL)
F Sam Asselin (to Bridgeport, AHL)
F Cole Bardreau (to Bridgeport, AHL)
F Tanner Fritz (to Bridgeport, AHL)
F Jeff Kubiak (to Bridgeport, AHL)
F Seth Helgeson (to Bridgeport, AHL)
F Ashton Calder (to Bridgeport, AHL)
F Joseph Cipollone (to Bridgeport, AHL)
F Riley Piercey (to Bridgeport, AHL)
F Jake Pivonka (to Bridgeport, AHL)
D Trevor Cosgrove (to Bridgeport, AHL)
D Christian Krygier (to Bridgeport, AHL)
D Vincent Sevigny (to Bridgeport, AHL)
G Henrik Tikkanen (to Bridgeport, AHL)

New York Rangers (via team release)

D Nikolas Brouillard (to Hartford, AHL)
D Adam Clendening (released from PTO)
F Karl Henriksson (to Hartford, AHL)
D Blake Hillman (released from PTO, to Hartford, AHL)
F Ryder Korzcak (to Hartford, AHL)
F Bobby Trivigno (to Hartford, AHL)

Ottawa Senators (via team release)

F Angus Crookshank (to Belleville, AHL)
F Philippe Daoust (to Belleville, AHL)
F Tarun Fizer (released from PTO, to Belleville, AHL)
D Ryan MacKinnon (released from PTO, to Belleville, AHL)
F Graham McPhee (released from PTO, to Belleville, AHL)
G Leevi Merilainen (to Belleville, AHL)
F Brennan Saulnier (released from PTO, to Belleville, AHL)
D Donovan Sebrango (to Belleville, AHL)
G Mark Sinclair (released from PTO, to Belleville, AHL)
D Djibril Touré (to Belleville, AHL)

Philadelphia Flyers (via team release)

F Alexis Gendron (to Lehigh Valley, AHL)
D Adam Karashik (released from PTO, to Lehigh Valley, AHL)
G Nolan Maier (released from PTO, to Lehigh Valley, AHL)
D Mason Millman (to Lehigh Valley, AHL)
D Ethan Samson (to Lehigh Valley, AHL)
F Zayde Wisdom (to Lehigh Valley, AHL)
D Will Zmolek (to Lehigh Valley, AHL)

Pittsburgh Penguins (via team release)

F Jonathan Gruden (to Wilkes-Barre/Scranton, AHL)
F Rem Pitlick (to Wilkes-Barre/Scranton, AHL)
D Ty Smith (to Wilkes-Barre/Scranton, AHL)
D Taylor Fedun (to Wilkes-Barre/Scranton, AHL)
D Xavier Ouellet (to Wilkes-Barre/Scranton, AHL)

Seattle Kraken (via team release)

G Jack LaFontaine (to Coachella Valley, AHL)
F Jacob Melanson (to Coachella Valley, AHL)
F Logan Morrison (to Coachella Valley, AHL)
F Ville Ottavainen (to Coachella Valley, AHL)
F Tucker Robertson (to Coachella Valley, AHL)
F Ryan Winterton (to Coachella Valley, AHL)

St. Louis Blues (via team release)

F Mikhail Abramov (to Springfield, AHL)
D Jeremie Biakabutuka (to Springfield, AHL)
F Drew Callin (to Springfield, AHL)
G Will Cranley (to Springfield, AHL)
F Tanner Dickinson (to Springfield, AHL)
D Joseph Duszak (to Springfield, AHL)
D Marc-Andre Gaudet (to Springfield, AHL)
F Andre Heim (to Springfield, AHL)
F Mitch Hoelscher (to Springfield, AHL)
D Austin Osmanski (to Springfield, AHL)
F Nick Ritchie (released from PTO)
D Hunter Skinner (to Springfield, AHL)
D Andy Welinski (released from PTO)
G Vadim Zherenko (to Springfield, AHL)

Vegas Golden Knights (per CapFriendly)

F Jakub Brabenec (to Henderson, AHL)
D Daniil Chayka (to Henderson, AHL)
D Lukas Cormier (to Henderson, AHL)
D Christoffer Sedoff (to Henderson, AHL)
G Jesper Vikman (to Henderson, AHL)

Washington Capitals (per team release)

F Andrew Cristall (to Kelowna, WHL)

This page may be updated throughout the day. 

Most Recent Talks With Pinto Were Held On Thursday, Cuts Likely To Come Saturday

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Speaking at Steve Staios’ introductory press conference today (video link), Senators GM Pierre Dorion indicated that the most recent discussions with unsigned center Shane Pinto occurred yesterday so at least there is no stalemate in discussions yet.  Ottawa’s situation is well-known at this point; they need to free up cap space before they can re-sign the 22-year-old who is expected to receive a two-year bridge deal around the $2.5MM range when everything is finalized.  Mathieu Joseph is the speculative cap casualty although the asking price from other teams is high to take on the remaining three years of his deal.  Dominik Kubalik, who came over as part of the return for Alex DeBrincat, might be a bit easier to move as an expiring deal.  Both wingers are off to good starts to their preseasons with two goals and an assist each in their first two outings.

  • Still with the Senators, the team is expected to make a significant number of cuts this week, Postmedia’s Bruce Garrioch reports.  At the moment, Ottawa is carrying 51 players on its training camp roster but they are expected to trim that to between 32 and 36 before they head to Eastern Canada for a pair of games on Sunday and Monday.  Meanwhile, Garrioch adds that captain Brady Tkachuk skated today after taking a stick to the eye on Wednesday and could suit up in one of those upcoming contests.

Ottawa Senators Appoint Steve Staios As President of Hockey Operations

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The Ottawa Senators have made a big move at the top of their hockey operations department, naming former NHLer Steve Staios to be their new President of Hockey Operations.

According to the team announcement, Staios will report directly to new owner Michael Andlauer, and “will preside over the Senators’ hockey department.” A statement on the hire was given by Andlauer, which reads:

I am so excited that Steve is joining me in Ottawa to lead our hockey operations. I have worked with Steve for many years and know first-hand that he will strengthen our team with his hockey acumen, attention to detail, commitment to excellence and enthusiasm for the game and its players. In hockey you can never accumulate too much talent. Having Steve and Pierre leading our hockey department gives us a formidable team.

This move isn’t one that comes as a complete surprise, in large part due to the deep existing ties between Andlauer and Staios. Before he became a special assistant to the GM for the Edmonton Oilers, Staios served as President and General Manager for the Hamilton Bulldogs (Andaluer’s OHL franchise) starting in 2015-16.

Staios’ NHL experience extends beyond his year in Edmonton, as he also worked in player development for the Toronto Maple Leafs and does bring 1,001 NHL games of experience from his playing days.

What this addition means for the Senators is that it’s a first look at how an Andlauer-managed hockey operations department could differ from how the Senators’ hockey operations have been organized for many years. For years, GM Pierre Dorion has been at the top of Senators hockey operations, the unequivocal leader of that department.

Now, there’s another voice of importance there, and one that reports directly to ownership rather than Dorion. While it’s unclear whether this change will materialize into any concrete hockey operations decisions in the near future, this is a hire with significant long-term implications for the Senators franchise.

Injury Notes: Norris, Perfetti, Matheson

at CDT | by 2 Comments

Bruce Garrioch of Postmedia is reporting that Ottawa Senators center Josh Norris is practicing once again in a normal contact jersey today. The 24-year-old shed his yellow non-contact jersey for yesterday’s practice after he tweaked something two weeks ago at the start of training camp. Norris has missed 90 games over the past two seasons with a shoulder injury and has continued to deal with the ailment despite several surgical and rehabilitation efforts.

Last season, Norris injured the shoulder while taking a faceoff against the Arizona Coyotes in October, he attempted to do rehab and came back to play in January, but then re-injured his shoulder after three games. He finished the year with two goals and a single assist in just eight games in what was a very disappointing first year of an eight-year $63.6MM contract.

In other injury notes:

  • Sportsnet is reporting that Cole Perfetti left the Winnipeg Jets preseason game last night against the Calgary Flames after taking a dangerous hit from Martin Pospisil. Perfetti didn’t return to the game and was absent from practice this morning when it began. However, according to Winnipeg Sun reporter Scott Billeck, Perfetti did practice in a smaller group of just five players. Ken Wiebe of the Winnipeg Free Press is reporting that Perfetti is day-to-day at the moment.
  • Renaud Lavoie of TVA Sports is reporting that Montreal Canadiens defenseman Mike Matheson didn’t practice today with the team. The 29-year-old was a late scratch last night for the Canadiens preseason game against the Ottawa Senators in what was said to be precautionary. Matheson dealt with several injuries last season, which makes any scratch worrisome at this point. Eric Engels of Sportsnet reported last night that Matheson is dealing with a lower body injury that is unrelated to the groin and abdominal injuries he dealt with last season and would’ve played through the injury had the game been a regular season matchup.

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