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Veteran Forward David Moss Announces Retirement

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Former Calgary Flame and Arizona Coyote forward David Moss has officially announced his retirement from professional hockey today. Moss made the announcement via his personal Twitter account.

In 501 NHL regular season games, the 6-foot-4, 210-pound Moss tallied 78 goals and 100 assists, while adding 157 penalty minutes. His best NHL season came in 2008-09 in Calgary, with Moss netting 20 goals and 39 points in 81 contests.

Moss last saw action in the NHL during the 2014-15 campaign with Arizona, finishing with four goals and 12 points in 60 contests and recording a career-low plus-minus rating of -18. Last year Moss appeared in 19 games with Biel HC of the Swiss hockey league, scoring 16 points.

Originally a seventh-round selection of Calgary in 2001, Moss would spend four years playing NCAA hockey for the University of Michigan prior to beginning his pro career. In 162 games with the Wolverines, Moss scored 36 goals and 94 points.

Mike Smith Leaves Game With Left Leg Injury

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9:09pm: Vest tweets that Smith will not return to the game due to a lower body injury and will be evaluated in the morning.

8:58 pm: According to Darren Dreger, Arizona Coyotes goalie Mike Smith was helped off the ice during their game against the Ottawa Senators. Dave Vest, the Senior Director of News Content for the Arizona Coyotes, tweets that Smith got “twisted up” in the crease making a save, and grabbed his left leg.

Dreger also indicated that he was unable to put weight on it as he left the ice.

Daren Millard tweets that this should certainly have the Coyotes inquiring about Winnipeg’s available goaltenders.

Coyotes Send Zbynek Michalek To AHL

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After clearing waivers just before the season started, the Arizona Coyotes have now sent Zbynek Michalek to their AHL affiliate Tucson Roadrunners, according to Chris Johnston of Sportsnet.

Michalek, a former stalwart of the Coyotes’ blueline has seen his play deteriorate greatly in recent seasons, perhaps due to the multiple concussion or concussion-like injuries he’s suffered on the ice. While the 33-year old isn’t the shutdown defender he once was, this move is clearly one to save cap space for a team who suddenly finds themselves right up against it.

John Chayka, the league’s youngest GM, has openly spoken about how valuable cap space is as an asset in the new NHL, and has used it often to acquire talent.  Pavel Datsyuk, Dave Bolland, and Chris Pronger are all examples of the team using their space (but not neccessarily actual money) to gain prospects or draft picks to fuel their rebuild.

With Michalek earning $3.2MM this season, it will save the Coyotes close to a million dollars in cap space to bury him in the minors for the entire year. While the player might not like it, these are the realities of a cap-driven league.

Snapshots: Prince, Campbell, Hanzal

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News and notes from around the NHL this morning:

  • The New York Islanders have placed Shane Prince on IR retroactive to last night. Prince suffered a lower body injury last night in the Isles game against the Washington Capitals. Prince has registered zero points and -3 plus/minus this season in two games. Last season Prince split his time between the Ottawa Senators and the Islanders, scoring 6G and 11A in 62 games, and an additional 3G and 1A in 11 playoff games. Prince’s injury opens up a center spot to recently cut prospects.
  • The Columbus Blue Jackets have suspended forward Gregory Campbell after he refused to report to the Lake Erie Monsters, Columbus’s AHL affiliate. Campbell—through his agent Pat Morris—says that he is not going to play in the AHL and take a spot away from a younger player. Columbus tried to trade Campbell before waiving him, but apparently did not garner any legitimate offers. Campbell will continue to skate on his own, but one would have to think whether he is considering retirement.
  • Arizona Coyotes’ Martin Hanzal will most likely shut down contract talks for the season and instead focus on hockey, reports Sarah McLellan of AZ Central Sports. Hanzal is in the final year of a five-year deal worth $3.1MM a year. The Czech forward says that he wants to stay in Arizona, and is happy to talk to the team once the season ends. Shutting down negotiations once the season started was the plan along, says Hanzal.

The Dylan Strome Situation

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Dylan Strome is one of five rookies who made the 2016-17 Arizona Coyotes roster, joining D Jakob Chychrun, F Christian Dvorak, F Laurent Dauphin and F Lawson Crouse. Strome, the third overall pick in 2015, is expected to one day fill the longstanding vacancy the Coyotes have had for an elite, #1 center. But after being announced as a scratch for tonight’s season-opener, questions are already being raised as to whether Strome is or even will be that guy, as Craig Morgan of Today’s Slapshot writes.

Of course it’s just one game in what likely promises to be a long career for Strome, but it has to be somewhat disconcerting a highly-regarded rookie is already sitting in the press box this early on. To his credit, Strome is looking at the bright side of the situation:

“It’s obviously a little disappointing but you’ve got to look at the positives. I’m here in the NHL, living my dream at 19. Not a lot of people get this opportunity so I’m just going to wait for my chance and just run with it when I get it.”

For his part, head coach Dave Tippett “promised” Strome would get an opportunity and as Morgan notes, the coach even implied the 19-year-old rookie could rotate in and out with Dvorak in a platoon scenario. It seems odd that the Coyotes would subject two of their top prospects to this type of arrangement considering they have other options. Dvorak could have been sent to Tucson of the AHL to gain more professional experience. Strome is eligible to be returned to Erie of the OHL for a final season of junior but according to Morgan the Coyotes would prefer to introduce the youngster to their system and have him work with their staff to further his development. After netting 240 points in his last 124 OHL games, it would seem apparent that another year of junior wouldn’t do Strome much good.

This situation probably will qualify as nothing more than a blip on the radar in the career of Strome. But it has to register as somewhat surprising that he will have to wait a little longer before making his NHL debut.

Trade Suitors For Jacob Trouba

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TSN’s Bob McKenzie debuted ‘The Bobcast’ yesterday, weighing in on a variety of topics around the league.  Among those was Winnipeg defenseman Jacob Trouba and who has shown interest in him so far.  McKenzie highlighted the Avalanche, Bruins, Coyotes, Rangers, and Red Wings as teams that have significant interest.  Let’s take a closer look at where Trouba would fit in on those teams and if they have the young left-shooting blueliner that the Jets reportedly are coveting in return.

Arizona: The Coyotes already have a very deep blueline but GM John Chayka hasn’t hesitated to add to their defensive depth since taking over in the offseason.  Trouba would conceivably fit in as their top pairing defender alongside Oliver Ekman-Larsson which would give them a pretty dynamic duo as their anchors for years to come.

With Ekman-Larsson and newcomer Alex Goligoski both signed long-term, they’re not going anywhere and those are Arizona’s top two left shot defensemen.  Behind them currently are first rounder Jakob Chychrun, Kevin Connauton (injured), and Jarred Tinordi (suspended).  The latter two wouldn’t come close to securing a player like Trouba but the Jets are a draft-and-develop type of team and could have interest in Chychrun as a long-term piece, even if he isn’t ready to step into a top four role right away.

Boston: With Zdeno Chara starting to show his age and several blueliners that are better suited as bottom pairing options than top four players, there is a definite need for an impact defenseman and Trouba would arguably slot in as their number one option of the short and long-term.  In the short-term, he could play alongside Chara, giving the 39 year old a mobile partner that could help take some of the pressure off of him.

Aside from Torey Krug, the Bruins don’t have the young left shooting defender that the Jets have been looking for.  Boston just committed to Krug on a long-term deal this summer and with a cap hit of $5.25MM, he may be too pricey to fit into Winnipeg’s budget moving forward.  That said, a power play pairing of Krug along with Dustin Byfuglien could be among the best in the league in a hurry.

Colorado: While the Avalanche haven’t been known for their defensive prowess in recent years, the current right side of their back end is a strength, anchored by Erik Johnson and Tyson Barrie who are signed through 2023 and 2020 respectively.  On the surface, this would appear to present Trouba with the same issue he faces in Winnipeg (wanting to play top four on his natural side) unless one of Johnson or Barrie were willing to move to their off-side.

Colorado also doesn’t have a young impact NHL-ready left shot defender readily available either.  Their lefties on the blueline currently consist of a veteran (Francois Beauchemin) and a couple of recent castaways from other teams (Fedor Tyutin and Eric Gelinas).  Nikita Zadorov and Chris Bigras are two prospects who have some upside that could interest Winnipeg but neither would be ready to play a key role right away.

Detroit: The Red Wings have never really replaced Nicklas Lidstrom since his retirement in 2012 and have been rumored to have interest in pretty much any top four blueliner that has been available since then.  Mike Green is Detroit’s top right-shot option so Trouba, a Michigan native, would definitely be able to step into a big role immediately.  Continued knee problems for Niklas Kronwall, even though he’s a lefty, may very well be another factor in their interest.

Detroit doesn’t really have a young, impact left-shooting rearguard to move, however.  Kronwall and Danny DeKeyser (who is signed through 2022) are their top options while Brendan Smith, who’s next in line, is a pending UFA.  Xavier Ouellet has long been viewed as a youngster with NHL potential but he isn’t advanced enough in his development to be a key piece involved in any deal for Trouba.

New York: Their top right handed defensemen are veterans Kevin Klein and Dan Girardi while they are lacking in quality prospects as well which makes them a team that could very much use Trouba.  However, they’re already spending over $22MM on their back end and adding another expected sizable salary in Trouba would put them amongst the top spenders in the league at that position and likely force them to move one of their better forwards to make room.

Like many of the other teams that McKenzie singled out, the Rangers don’t really have the young left hander on the blueline to part with.  Brady Skjei is a former first rounder with some upside but has all of 13 NHL games under his belt and isn’t ready to play a key role in the NHL just yet.  New York does, however, have some young forwards that could potentially move if Winnipeg GM Kevin Cheveldayoff wants to expand his options.

On top of the above squads, McKenzie highlighted several other teams that have shown interest between the offseason and today, the Kings, Lightning, Maple Leafs, Panthers, and Penguins.

Trouba has until December 1st to sign a contract or else he would be deemed ineligible for the remainder of the season.  At this time, that seems to be the firm deadline towards getting something done unless Trouba decides to rescind his trade request and re-sign with Winnipeg which doesn’t seem to be a likely option at this point in time.

Successful Waiver Wire Pickups

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As teams frantically worked to trim their rosters to the league-mandated, 23-man limit this week, several interesting players were exposed to waivers, eligible to be picked up by new teams for nothing more than assuming the remaining term of the player’s contract. Occasionally the claiming team lands a talented young player who simply didn’t have an opportunity to crack the lineup of his former employer due to the presence of experienced veterans. Other times it doesn’t work out, but it’s still a worthwhile gamble for clubs that may not have better options already on their roster.

In the last few days, Emerson Etem (Vancouver to Anaheim), P.A. Parenteau (New York Islanders to New Jersey), Teemu Pulkkinen (Detroit to Minnesota) and Martin Frk (Detroit to Carolina) changed clubs via waivers. All, with the exception of Parenteau, are younger players still looking to establish themselves as regular NHL contributors. Obviously, their new teams are hoping their faith in these players will be rewarded. Here are a few examples of younger players who have changed teams via waivers and have gone on to carve solid NHL careers for themselves.

Chris Kunitz – Originally signed in 2003 as an undrafted free agent by Anaheim, Kunitz would appear in 21 games with the Mighty Ducks, as they were known then, during the 2003-04 campaign. Following the lockout which wiped out the entire 2004-05 schedule and just before the 2005-06 season began, Kunitz was picked up by the then Atlanta Thrashers on waivers. He would last just two weeks in Atlanta, seeing action in two games before being placed on waivers again and being claimed by Anaheim.

Kunitz would go on to tally 192 points in 313 regular season games over parts of the next four seasons with the Might Ducks/Ducks as he firmly established himself as a quality middle-six winger. He was later dealt to Pittsburgh where he really blossomed as a top-six scorer. Kunitz has potted 20+plus goals in four of his seven full seasons with the Penguins and has netted 359 points in 498 games during that time.

I once had occasion to speak with a high-ranking member of the Ducks front office who told me that of all the acquisitions he personally had a hand in, both the original signing of Kunitz and bringing him back via waivers qualified as two of his proudest achievements.

Kyle Quincey – Quincey was Detroit’s fourth-round selection in the 2003 draft and would suit up for 13 contests over parts of three seasons. He would be placed on waivers in October of 2008 and was claimed by the L.A. Kings. In his first season in Southern California, Quincey scored 38 points which is still the 11-year veteran’s career best total. In 495 career NHL games, Quincey has tallied 30 goals and 140 points, while averaging better than 20 minutes of ice time.

David Schlemko – While not a household name and maybe not young by today’s standards, Schlemko has proven himself to be at least a quality third-pair defender since the start of the 2015-16 season. An undrafted free agent signing by the Arizona/Phoenix franchise back in 2007, Schlemko would spend parts of seven seasons with the Coyotes before being placed on waivers during the 2014-15 season. The Stars would grab Schlemko and he would spend five games in Dallas before hitting the waiver wire again, with the Calgary Flames winning the claim. He would finish without a point in 19 games with Calgary and became an unrestricted free agent following the season, ultimately joining the Devils on a one-year deal. Schlemko would finish with career-highs in games played, goals, assists and points with the Devils and would parlay that steady play into a four-year deal with San Jose this past summer.

Andrej Nestrasil – Nestrasil was chosen by Detroit in the third-round of the 2009 draft and spent most of his time in the organization playing in the minors with Grand Rapids in the AHL and Toledo in the ECHL. His best minor league campaign came in 2013-14 with Grand Rapids, scoring 36 points in 70 games. He debuted in the NHL with Detroit during the 2014-15 campaign but was placed on waivers after appearing in 13 games and claimed by Carolina. Finally given a regular role, Nestrasil has responded for the Hurricanes, totaling 41 points in 96 games for Carolina. He’s also been an excellent puck possession driver, recording a 55.0% Corsi For % since joining the Hurricanes.

Of course with the possible exception of Kunitz, none of the above mentioned players can be considered stars, either today or at any point in their respective careers. But they’ve each developed into quality NHL players who can fill a regular role and that has value in today’s NHL. Any of the teams who claimed a player this week would be happy if their new acquisition developed into a quality regular.

 

Snapshots: Rieder, Bartkowski, Gaudreau, Pederson, Waivers

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Despite signing his two year, $4.45MM bridge deal more than a week ago, Coyotes winger Tobias Rieder was only able to join the team to practice on Wednesday, reports AZCentral’s Sarah McLellan.  The reason for the delay was that Rieder needed to a new his work visa, a process that took longer to complete than anticipated.

Although he joined the team so late, head coach Dave Tippett expects Rieder to be in the lineup on Saturday night for their season opener.  The team isn’t worried about there being much rust either as Rieder played in six games for Team Europe at the recent World Cup of Hockey (recording one assist).  He’s expected to start the season alongside rookie center Dylan Strome and third year winger Anthony Duclair.

Elsewhere around the league:

  • The Boston Bruins have inked UFA defenseman Matt Bartkowski to a minor league PTO, Providence GM John Ferguson Jr. told Mark Divver of the Providence Journal (Twitter link). Bartkowski was in training camp with Ottawa this preseason but failed to secure a contract.  He spent last year with Vancouver but before that, he played 131 games over five seasons with the Bruins.
  • Calgary left winger Johnny Gaudreau has a five team trade-allowed list in the final year of his contract. Among the five teams he would accept a trade to is the Philadelphia Flyers.  As Jonathan Tannenwald of the Philadelphia Inquirer notes, Gaudreau has already expressed an interest in joining the Flyers at some point in his career though it remains to be seen if Calgary would even entertain the idea of trading him there at some point in this contract.
  • The Coyotes announced that they have signed undrafted center Lane Pederson to a three year entry level contract. Financial terms of the deal were not disclosed.  Pederson attended Arizona’s rookie camp and is off to a strong start this season with Swift Current of the WHL, picking up nine points in his first seven games.
  • Anaheim has placed center Joseph Cramarossa on waivers, reports TVA Sports’ Renaud Lavoie (Twitter link). The 23 year old made the team out of training camp but a roster spot needed to be freed up to accommodate the acquisition of Emerson Etem off the waiver wire.  Cramarossa had 11 goals and six assists in 61 games with Anaheim’s AHL affiliate in San Diego last season.
  • Edmonton defenseman Eric Gryba cleared waivers today but will remain with the team as they have placed fellow blueliner Brandon Davidson on IR, notes Jim Matheson of the Edmonton Journal (Twitter link).  The Oilers inked Gryba to a one year, two-way deal worth $950K at the NHL level on Wednesday.

Four Rookies Make Coyotes Final Roster

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Bob McKenzie tweeted earlier that Dylan Strome, Lawson Crouse and Jakob Chychrun have all made the Coyotes final 23-man roster. They will be joined by 21-year-old center Laurent Dauphin, who appears poised to fill the fourth-line pivot job for the Coyotes.

Strome was drafted by the Coyotes third overall in 2015 and will likely fill a top-six center slot for Arizona. He’s combined to score 240 points the last two seasons with the Erie Otters of the OHL, serving as the team’s captain in 2015-16.

Crouse was acquired by Arizona from Florida in the offseason as incentive for the club to assume the balance of Dave Bolland’s contract. If he stays with the Coyotes for at least 10 games this season, the 2018 conditional draft choice the Coyotes are set to send to Florida will become a second. If he doesn’t burn a year of his ELC, the pick will be a third-rounder.

Chychrun was chosen 16th overall in 2016 with the pick acquired from Detroit in exchange for taking on the final year of Pavel Datsyuk’s deal. The 18-year-old will likely take the spot of Kevin Connauton, who is day-to-day with a lower-body injury. It’s possible Chychrun’s stay in Arizona will come to an end once Connauton is healthy enough to return.

GM John Chayka made a lot of moves in the summer to help mold his roster into one capable of challenging for a playoff spot. At least to start, it looks like the Coyotes will be counting on a handful of rookies to make significant contributions to that pursuit.

Grossman, Flames Agree To One-Year Deal

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Bob McKenzie reports that defenseman Nicklas Grossman has made the Flames roster and has signed a one-year contract worth $575K. It’s a one-way deal for Grossman, who is expected to be the team’s 7th defenseman.

Grossman, 31, spent last season with the Arizona Coyotes and tallied seven points in 58 games.

More to come.

 

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