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Luke Gazdic

New Jersey Devils Place Vernon Fiddler On IR

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After suffering a lower-body injury on Tuesday night against Pittsburgh, the New Jersey Devils have placed Vernon Fiddler on injured reserve. The team has recalled Luke Gazdic from Albany to replace him on the roster.

Earlier today it was reported that Fiddler will miss 3-4 weeks.  That would keep him out of at least 11 games for the Devils, who at 13-15-7 are already in trouble this season. The team is already 11 points behind the Philadelphia Flyers for the last wildcard spot, and find themselves last in the conference. For a team that traded for Taylor Hall and signed several free agents (including Fiddler) the season has been a massive disappointment.

The 36-year old Fiddler has been a solid contributor throughout his long career, scoring at least 20 points in eight of his ten full seasons. He’s taken a step back this year though, with only three points through 35 games. His presence is mostly felt on the penalty kill and in the faceoff dot, where he’s winning a career-high 55.3% of his draws.

Gazdic has played in four games for New Jersey this season and 140 in his NHL career. The hulking winger will add some toughness to the fourth line if he gets into the lineup. Since Hall will also miss Thursday’s game, he probably will.

Last Minute Reassignments: Bibeau, Froese, Gazdic, Helgeson (Updated)

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UPDATE: (3:30pm): Mike Russo of the Star Tribune tweeted earlier today that the Minnesota Wild have loaned Pat Cannone and Jordan Schroeder to Iowa of the AHL. As Russo points out, the Wild won’t play again until Tuesday thanks to the holiday break while Iowa is slated to host Rockford Monday night. Russo does say that unless Erik Haula or Zach Parise is healthy enough to return Tuesday, the Wild will have to recall a player or two, meaning Cannone and/or Schroeder could be back with Minnesota sooner rather than later. Cannone, who finally made his NHL debut at the age of 30 and after six professional campaigns, was held off the score sheet in three appearances with the Wild.

(1:15pm): While the NHL’s holiday roster freeze officially began at midnight of December 20th, a provision allows teams to reassign or loan waiver-exempt players originally recalled by the parent club after December 11th back to their minor league affiliates. The deadline for those roster transactions passed at 11:59pm on December 23rd (last night). With a majority of AHL teams in action the day after Christmas, a couple of NHL clubs took the opportunity to reassign players to their affiliates with the intent of getting them some game action during the Christmas break.

  • The New Jersey Devils announced via their official Twitter account that they have reassigned rugged forward Luke Gazdic and defenseman Seth Helgeson to Albany of the AHL. Gazdic has appeared in four games with New Jersey, failing to register a point while accumulating seven penalty minutes. In 13 contests for Albany, the 6-foot-4, 225-pound winger has two assists and 19 penalty minutes. Helgeson has seen action in just two games, also failing to record a point. (New Jersey Devils Roster)
  • Goaltender Antoine Bibeau, along with forwards Frederik Gauthier and Byron Froese were loaned by the Toronto Maple Leafs to the AHL Toronto Marlies ahead of last night’s deadline, as reported by Cap Friendly. Meanwhile Jhonas Enroth was recalled from the minors to fill the void as the Leafs backup netminder. Bibeau has appeared in just one game, his NHL debut, this season for Toronto and took the loss in a 3-1 defeat on December 11th against Colorado. Gauthier tallied his first career NHL goal and has added an assist in three games this season for the Leafs while Froese is scoreless in two outings. Enroth was inked by the Leafs this summer to serve as Frederik Andersen’s understudy but failed to win a game in four starts for Toronto and posted a GAA of nearly four. His last appearance for the Leafs came on November 30th in a loss at Calgary. Enroth has seen action in just one contest for the Marlies since his demotion to the AHL. (Toronto Maple Leafs roster)

Roster Moves: Conacher, Witkowski, Gazdic

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With just four games on the docket for tonight in the NHL, many teams are taking a long look at their rosters as they head into the Christmas break. We’ll keep you up to date on all the minor moves around the league today:

  • The Tampa Bay Lightning have brought Cory Conacher back to the NHL. The veteran forward has played just one game for the NHL club this season after signing with them this summer. In 2015-16, Conacher took his game to Switzerland where he scored 52 points in 48 games, but decided to return to the North American game to play for his old club. In 18 games at the AHL level, Conacher has proven he’s still a deadly offensive force at the lower level, putting up 15 points. As Erik Erlendsson of Lightning Insider points out, Conacher is likely up as insurance after Nikita Kucherov left practice yesterday with an undisclosed injury.
  • To make room, the team has sent Luke Witkowski back to Syracuse. The bruising defender has gotten into eight games with the NHL team this season, recording just one assist.
  • The New Jersey Devils have recalled forward Luke Gazdic, while sending Yohann Auvitu back to Albany of the AHL. Gazdic will join the team for practice today, but it’s unclear why the Devils need another forward.  While Auvitu had been healthy scratched of late, the team is now carrying only six defensemen but several extra forwards. Perhaps there is an injury that has gone unreported or the team simply wants a shakeup after losing three straight (and being outscored 14-3 in those games).
  • In Nashville, they’ve flip-flopped their backup goaltender again, as Juuse Saros has replaced Marek Mazanec on the Predators roster. Both have played a handful of games for the club this season, with Saros having much (and we mean much) more success. Mazanec will head to Milwaukee for the interim.
  • With the New York Rangers welcoming Rick Nash and Matt Puempel back to practice today, they have assigned Nicklas Jensen back to the Hartford Wolfpack of the AHL. Jensen got into four games with the team but was held pointless. The former first-round pick will look to continue his strong start at the lower level; he currently has 15 points in 21 games with Hartford this season.
  • After giving up three goals on sixteen shots in relief of Cam Ward last night, Michael Leighton has been sent down to the Charlotte Checkers to play in tonight’s matchup with the Manitoba Moose. Leighton, a veteran of 110 NHL contests has split his time between the two levels this season.

Luke Gazdic Clears Waivers, Assigned To Albany (AHL)

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New Jersey Devils left Luke Gazdic has cleared waivers, the team announced (via Twitter).  He has been assigned to their AHL affiliate in Albany.

Gazdic joined New Jersey back in the summer, signing a one year, two-way deal worth $700K in the NHL and $200K in the minors.  However, he broke his foot during the preseason and has been on injured reserve ever since.  Teams cannot waive injured players so it would appear that he is ready to return to action.

Injured players are eligible to have a two week conditioning stint in the minors without having to go through waivers.  However, in those cases, the player is on the active roster and continues to count in full against the salary cap.  By waiving him, the Devils get Gazdic off the roster and salary cap and will now be able to keep him in the minors as long as they deem necessary instead of being restricted to just two weeks.

The 27 year old enforcer has 136 career NHL games under his belt, recording just eight points (5-3-8) but also has 194 penalty minutes and 214 hits despite averaging just 6:21 of ice time per game.

[Related: Devils Depth Chart]

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