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Oscar Dansk

Pacific Notes: Nugent-Hopkins, Gaborik, Subban, Engelland

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With the Matt Duchene trade in the books for a week now, The Hockey News’ Lyle Richardson writes that the Edmonton Oilers are one of three teams to watch over the next couple of months when it comes to making a big move. Citing the league’s need for playmaking centers, the scribe suggests the team could try and move center Ryan Nugent-Hopkins and his large contract ($6MM AAV through the 2020-21 season) and try to get a much-needed wing.

Richardson cites Edmonton as well as the Columbus Blue Jackets and the Buffalo Sabres as the three teams most likely to make the next big trade in the league. In fact, he suggested the Oilers attempt to move Nugent-Hopkins to Columbus, who were the losers in getting either Duchene or Kyle Turris via trade. However, could the Blue Jackets fit Nugent-Hopkins under their salary cap without Edmonton retaining some of that salary? The suggestion was the Oilers would either require Cam Atkinson or Josh Anderson in return to make that deal work.

Nugent-Hopkins has been playing well this year as he’s put up six goals and six assists this season. Known as a defensive forward, the former No. 1 overall pick could be a key asset for Columbus or any other team needing a center.

  • Los Angeles Times’ Curtis Zupke writes that veteran forward Marian Gaborik got his first full practice under his belt Saturday after having knee surgery back in April. The 35-year-old is not expected to be activated soon as the Kings are taking a cautious approach with the injury-prone winger, who has had knee and foot issues over the last two years, which has seen him play 110 games in the past two-plus seasons. “I felt pretty good,” he said. “Things have been getting into flow. Obviously I’ve missed a lot of time so [I need to] get used to everything — my legs, just the whole body as a hockey player, to get back into things, and to just keep going and ramping things up, and get my timing back. It’s pretty much the whole package I have to get back.”
  • Vegas Golden Knights’ goaltender Malcolm Subban was spotted skating at City National Arena today, tweeted SinBin. Subban, who went down with a lower-body injury, was deemed out for four weeks on Oct. 22, so it looks like he might be on target for a return within the next couple of weeks. The team has been forced to use their fourth-string goaltender, Maxime Lagace, for the past two weeks as the team has been decimated by injuries to Marc-Andre Fleury, Subban and Oscar Dansk.
  • Sticking with the Golden Knights, The Canadian Press’ Darren Haynes points out that Vegas defenseman Deryk Engelland has more points (2-7-9) than quite a few defensemen, including San Jose Brent Burns, Nashville’s Roman Josi and Calgary Mark Giordano. Engelland, who played for the old Las Vegas Wranglers of the ECHL earlier in his career and made Las Vegas his home from that point on, has never put up more than 17 points in a season. Always known as a defensive player, the 35-year-old has been reborn in Las Vegas, who is just eight points away from a career-year.

Dylan Ferguson Officially Recalled On Emergency Basis

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Amazingly, the Vegas Golden Knights lost another goaltender last night. Oscar Dansk has been moved to injured reserve and the team has recalled Dylan Ferguson from the Kamloops Blazers on an emergency basis. Ferguson was only drafted a few months ago by the Dallas Stars, but dealt to Vegas in a trade for Marc Methot. He signed his entry-level contract in late September, but was sent back to the WHL to continue his development. That development will get a jump start, as he’ll now backup Maxime Lagace in the Vegas net.

While a team is normally not allowed to recall players from their junior clubs after assigning them there, there are extenuating circumstances that allow it. Since the Golden Knights organization literally has no other goaltender under an NHL contract, this certainly qualifies as an emergency situation. The team currently has three goaltenders—Marc-Andre Fleury, Malcolm Subban and now Dansk—on injured reserve, meaning that Ferguson and Lagace are it for the time being.

It’s never a good time to get down to the fifth goaltender on your depth chart, but now may be the worst. The Golden Knights have just started a six-game road trip to the east coast, which concludes with a back-to-back situation in Toronto and Montreal next week. Dansk has to spend at least seven days on injured reserve and was quickly ruled out of the rest of the trip, meaning there is a legitimate chance that Ferguson gets into a game before returning to junior. Luckily (if you can call it that), the team has just one game in the week following the final game of the road trip.

Snapshots: Streit, Sharks, Three Stars

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Mark Streit has decided to call it quits after he couldn’t make it in the NHL this season. The 39-year old defenseman has retired from professional hockey according to the Swiss Ice Hockey Federation. Streit was signed by the Montreal Canadiens this summer, but was eventually waived and came to a mutual termination of the deal.

It’s interesting that Streit’s news was announced by the national program, as many assumed he would suit up for the Swiss Olympic team in the upcoming Pyeongchang Games.  If it is the last we see of Streit, it’s the end of a fantastic career that includes 786 games, a Stanley Cup and the honor of being the first Swiss-born captain in the NHL.

Morning Notes: Niemi, Subban, McIntyre, O’Gara

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While the Pittsburgh Penguins tackled one area of need yesterday evening when they traded winger Scott Wilson and their 2018 third-round pick to Detroit for center Riley Sheahan and a 2018 fifth-round pick, Penguins brass might not be able to take a break as a new weakness was exposed last night in their 7-1 loss Saturday to the Tampa Bay Lightning — goaltending.

The team went with backup Antti Niemi, who they signed after he was bought out by the Dallas Stars in June. It was his third appearance for Pittsburgh and he now has allowed 16 goals (only seven of those came last night) and has a 7.49 GAA and a .797 save percentage. The team may be forced to look for a new backup goaltender, according to Adam Gretz of NBC Sports.

The difference between Niemi’s starts and that of starter Matt Murray are night and day. Niemi’s only other start was a 10-1 loss, hence his high goals against. The team plays much better when Murray is in goal as the team is 5-0-1 and the Penguins have outscored their opponents 24-17 in those games. Gretz does suggest it can’t all be Niemi’s fault. Both of his starts came on the second night of back-to-back games when players were more tired and the team they played were rested.

However, despite those excuses, some blame has to fall on Niemi, who has legitimately struggled. The team isn’t used to having issues at that position as they have had the past luxury of having Marc-Andre Fleury as a backup. Now, they might have to look elsewhere if they want that aspect of their team to improve. The scribe suggests they will give Niemi more time to adjust, but also suggests the team has 2013 second-round pick Tristan Jarry sitting in Wilkes-Barre/Scranton of the AHL. He has struggled a bit too, although it’s a bit early, as he has a 3.96 GAA and a .883 save percentage in three games there.

  • John Shannon of Sportsnet tweets that Vegas Golden Knights’ backup goaltender Malcolm Subban, who had to leave Saturday night’s game due to an apparent leg injury, will have an MRI today to determine the severity of the injury. According to Shannon, a team source said the Subban will be “probably out weeks.” Subban, who has started the last three games after their starter, Fleury, went on IR last week with concussion-related issues, has a 2.06 GAA and a .936 save percentage in his three starts. Oscar Dansk filled in for Subban in the third and immediately allowed the game-tying goal to St. Louis’ Alex Pietrangelo, but then settled down and made 10 consecutive saves after that to claim the overtime victory, the Golden Knights’ sixth win of the season. Dansk had just been called up on Thursday to replace emergency backup Maxime Lagace, who was sent to the AHL Chicago Wolves to get playing time.
  • The Boston Bruins have assigned goaltender Zane McIntyre and defenseman Rob O’Gara to Providence of the AHL, the team announced. Both were recent call-ups to fill in for injured players and now, with the Bruins not playing until Thursday, the team sent them down. McIntyre was called up after Tuukka Rask reportedly was injured during practice Thursday. The 25-year-old did not get into a game with Boston. He has performed well in Providence, having accrued a 2.35 GAA and a .914 save percentage in three games. O’Gara was recalled yesterday and filled in for injured defenseman Kevan Miller. NBC Sports Joe Haggerty tweeted that O’Gara played a solid games for Boston. O’Gara had an assist in three games with Providence before his call up. CapFriendly tweets that with the two demotions, the team is $863,333 under the ACSL (the new upper limit), which allows them to accrue valuable cap space against that amount.

Training Camp Cuts: 09/26/17

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There were some impressive performances last night in the hockey world, as Auston Matthews scored a preseason hat trick while the New Jersey Devils split squad dropped eight on the Ottawa Senators. Late last night the Vegas Golden Knights released some more cuts, which is what we’ll start with here. Make sure you keep refreshing throughout the day to find out the latest names sent packing.

Arizona Coyotes

F Ryan MacInnis – Tucson (AHL)
F Nick Merkley – Tucson (AHL)
D Kyle Wood – Tucson (AHL)
D Kevin Ekman-Larsson – Tucson (AHL)
D Andrew Campbell – Tucson (AHL)*

Boston Bruins

F Ryan Fitzgerald – Providence (AHL)
D Jeremy Lauzon – Providence (AHL)

Calgary Flames

F Brett Pollock – Stockton (AHL)
F Morgan Klimchuk – Stockton (AHL)
F Ryan Lomberg – Stockton (AHL)
F Spencer Foo – Stockton (AHL)
G David Rittich – Stockton (AHL)
F Dillon Dube – Kelowna (WHL)
D Juuso Valimaki – Tri-City (WHL)
F Emile Poirier – Stockton (AHL)*
D Hunter Shinkaruk – Stockton (AHL)*
D Tyler Wotherspoon – Stockton (AHL)*

Colorado Avalanche

F Reid Petryk – San Antonio (AHL)
F Dominic Toninato – San Antonio (AHL)
D Conor Timmins – Sault Ste. Marie (OHL)

Columbus Blue Jackets

F Paul Bittner – Cleveland (AHL)
F Jordan Maletta – Cleveland (AHL)
D Ryan Collins – Cleveland (AHL)
D Jacob Graves – Cleveland (AHL)
D Blake Siebenaler – Cleveland (AHL)
D Doyle Somberby – Cleveland (AHL)
G Matiss Kivlenieks – Cleveland (AHL)
F Alex Broadhurst – Cleveland (AHL)*
D Andre Benoit – Cleveland (AHL)*
D Cameron Gaunce – Cleveland (AHL)*
F Carter Camper – Released from tryout
F Brett Gallant – Released from tryout
F Miles Koules – Released from tryout
F Bobby MacIntyre – Released from tryout
D Scott Savage – Released from tryout
G Ivan Kulbakov – Released from tryout
G Brad Thiessen – Released from tryout

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Oscar Dansk Looking For Career Revival In Vegas

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23 years old is still very young for a goaltender. Yet, that didn’t stop many people from writing off Oscar Dansk over the last few years and that was when he was even younger. The path that has led Dansk to a new NHL opportunity with the expansion Vegas Golden Knights has not be straight, nor has it been easy. However, with rave review after rave review coming out of Knights camp, it appears that Dansk may be back on track.

Dansk was originally drafted by the Columbus Blue Jackets with the first pick in the second round (#31) of the 2012 NHL draft, out of the Swedish club Brynas. With some prodding from the Jackets, Dansk then came overseas to play junior hockey with the OHL’s Erie Otters. Dansk’s first season of major junior action was a disaster; a 4.11 GAA and .888 save percentage immediately made people rethink Columbus’ decision to take him so early. Yet, Dansk bounced back in his second season in Erie. Thus, when Dansk struggled mightily in his first pro season in 2014-15 – a 3.50+ GAA and sub-.890 save percentage in both the AHL and ECHL – it would have been safe to assume that the next year he would rebound. However, the Blue Jackets had selected Joonas Korpisalo one round after Dansk in 2012 and had slowly been bringing along 2011 seventh-rounder Anton Forsberg as well and that duo had outperformed Dansk. Add in veteran Brad Thiessen, and the AHL’s Lake Erie Monsters had more than enough depth in net (and it would eventually lead them to a Calder Cup title in 2015-16). Rather than permanently put Dansk in the ECHL, Columbus agreed to loan him back to Sweden to play for Rogle BK. Dansk performed well in his first season back home, but the Jackets still chose to loan him out again last season. Following a more pedestrian campaign in 2016-17, Dansk did not receive a qualifying offer from Columbus and his NHL future seemed very much in doubt.

Enter the Vegas Golden Knights, the NHL’s newest team and an organization that needed to fill out the majority of an AHL roster almost entirely with free agent additions. Dansk got a second chance to make a name for himself in North America, inking a one-year with Vegas in early July. Dansk’s first objective is to win the starting job for the AHL’s Chicago Wolves, the new affiliate of the Knights. His competition is former Dallas Stars’ prospect Maxime Lagace, who has had his own fair share of struggles early on in his career. Given the applause that Dansk has already seen in camp, that seems like a safe bet. Once Dansk is established as the next goalie in line in 2017-18, he need only wait for an opportunity to show Vegas what he has to offer. With veteran Marc-Andre Fleury coming off back-to-back seasons in which he shared the net in Pittsburgh and having suffered a concussion in each of those campaigns as well, it is possible that taking over a starter’s workload again could prove to be a tougher task than one might have considered. If Fleury misses time this season, which is surely a possibility, the Knights are set with promising young backup Calvin Pickard. And if Pickard needs a rest? Then Dansk is the man, and s career that went from a high likelihood of NHL success to a high likelihood that he may never even see NHL action will suddenly be back to where it began when he was drafted early back in 2012.

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