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Training Camp Cuts And Waiver Wire Placements: 10/10/16

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Keeping track of all the training camp cuts and waiver placements today before tomorrow’s NHL 23-man roster deadline.

Anaheim Ducks
F Michael Sgarbossa (waivers -> San Diego Gulls, AHL)

Arizona Coyotes
D Zbynek Michalek (waivers -> Tuscon Roadrunners, AHL)
 D Klas Dahlbeck (waivers -> Tuscon Roadrunners, AHL)

Boston Bruins
RW Tyler Randell (waivers -> Providence Bruins, AHL)
RW Seth Griffith (waivers -> Providence Bruins, AHL)
C Tim Schaller (waivers -> Providence Bruins, AHL)
D Christian Ehrhoff (released from PTO)

Buffalo Sabres
D Justin Falk (waivers -> Rochester Americans, AHL)

Calgary Flames
F Brandon Bollig (waivers -> Stockton Heat, AHL)
F Chris Higgins (released from PTO)

Chicago Blackhawks
F Alexandre Fortin (returned to Rouyn-Noranda Huskies, QMJHL)
F Brandon Mashinter (waivers -> Rockford Ice Hogs, AHL)
F Mark McNeill (waivers -> Rockford Ice Hogs, AHL)
G Ivan Nalimov (returned to Vladivostok Admiral, KHL)

Colorado Avalanche
D Duncan Siemens (assigned to San Antonio Rampage, AHL)
F Gabriel Bourque (waivers -> San Antonio Rampage, AHL)
F Michael Sislo (waivers -> San Antonio Rampage, AHL)

Columbus Blue Jackets
C Gregory Campbell (waivers -> Cleveland Monsters, AHL)

Dallas Stars
D Mattias Backman (waivers -> Texas Stars, AHL)

Detroit Red Wings
F Teemu Pulkkinen (waivers -> Grand Rapids Griffins, AHL)
F Ben Street (waivers -> Grand Rapids Griffins, AHL)

Edmonton Oilers
F Anton Lander (waivers -> Bakersfield Condors, AHL)

Florida Panthers
F Paul Thompson (waivers -> Springfield Thunderbirds, AHL)

Los Angeles Kings
D Rob Scuderi (waivers -> Ontario Reign, AHL)
C Michael Latta (waivers -> Ontario Reign, AHL)

Minnesota Wild
G Alex Stalock (waivers -> Iowa Wild, AHL)

Montreal Canadiens
F Michael McCarron (assigned to St. John’s Ice Caps, AHL)
G Mike Condon (waivers -> St. John’s Ice Caps, AHL)

New York Islanders
F P.A. Parenteau (waivers -> Bridgeport Sound Tigers, AHL)

New Jersey Devils
G Scott Wedgewood (waivers -> Albany Devils, AHL)

Ottawa Senators
F Fredrik Claesson (waivers -> Binghamton Senators, AHL)

Tampa Bay Lightning
RW Erik Condra (waivers -> Syracuse Crunch, AHL)
LW Cory Conacher (waivers -> Syracuse Crunch, AHL)
RW Joel Vermin (waivers -> Syracuse Crunch, AHL)

Washington Capitals
D Aaron Ness (waivers -> Hershey Bears, AHL)
F Zach Sill (waivers -> Hershey Bears, AHL)

Winnipeg Jets
F Andrew Copp (assigned to Manitoba Moose, AHL)
F Marko Dano (assigned to Manitoba Moose, AHL)
F Chase De Leo (assigned to Manitoba Moose, AHL)
F Anthony Peluso (waivers -> Manitoba Moose, AHL)
F Nic Petan (assigned to Manitoba Moose, AHL)
D Julian Melchiori (waivers -> Manitoba Moose, AHL)
D Brian Strait (waivers -> Manitoba Moose, AHL)
G Ondrej Pavelec (waivers -> Manitoba Moose, AHL)

Week In Review: 10/3/16 – 10/9/16

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It’s officially the last week of the offseason with the first games of the new regular season slated for Wednesday. Obviously roster pare downs dominated the headlines this week but there were a few other transactions of note as well as a handful of injuries that might prompt teams to see what’s available on the open market. Without further ado, here is the roundup of this week’s top hockey stories.

Key Free Agent Signings:

  • Kris Russell – Edmonton (one year, $3.1MM): It’s probably not the lucrative deal Russell was looking for at the outset of free agency but the veteran shot-blocker finally did secure a contract for 2016-17. Perhaps with a solid performance for the Oil, Russell will be in better position to pursue a multi-year pact next summer.
  • Tobias Rieder – Arizona (two years, $4.45MM): It looks like the Coyotes got the player at the price they wanted. It had been reported that Rieder was looking for $5MM over two years while the club was offering $4.4MM. Clearly the 23-year-old forward gave more than he got, presumably because he wanted to get back on the ice.
  • Jakub Nakladal – Carolina (one year, $600K): It will be interesting to see how the 28-year-old Nakladal fits with the Hurricanes current crop of talented blue liners. Not including Nakladal, Carolina has seven NHL-caliber defensemen on the roster, only one of whom is older than 24.

Added on Waivers:

  • Martin Frk – Carolina: Carolina wasn’t the only team that put a claim in on Frk but the Hurricanes were awarded the young Czech RW. He potted 27 goals for Detroit’s AHL affiliate in Grand Rapids in 2015-16 and it was mildly surprising to see the Wings risk losing him by placing him on waivers but clearly they felt the roster spot was best committed elsewhere.

Trades: 

Injury Report:

  • Jonathan Huberdeau is expected to miss 3 – 4 months with what is being called a lower-body-injury. It will be interesting to see if Panthers management looks outside the organization in an attempt to fill the void as Huberdeau was the team’s top scorer on the LW. The team does have around $10MM in cap space if they did choose to go that route.
  • Nick Bjugstad will be out for four weeks due to a broken hand. The Panthers third-line pivot tallied 34 points in 67 games last season.
  • Michael Del Zotto is set to miss the next 4 – 5 weeks with the dreaded lower-body-injury.
  • Again with the lower-body-injury, the Flyers will also be without C Scott Laughton for three to our weeks.
  • Devils defenseman Jon Merrill is out four weeks with a broken index finger.
  • Penalty-killing specialist Matt Hendricks will miss significant time, once more due to a lower-body-injury. Oilers head coach Todd McLellan indicated it would be “weeks” before Hendricks would be able to return.

Retirements:

  • Defenseman Barret Jackman called it quits after a solid, 14-year NHL career. Jackman was originally chosen in the first-round by St. Louis back in 1999 and played all but one season with the Blues before finishing up in Nashville. He wraps up his career with 186 points more than 1,100 penalty minutes in 876 regular season contests.
  • Dan Boyle announced his retirement following 17 seasons in the NHL. Boyle, one of the league’s top offensive blue liners throughout much of his career, recorded at least 39 points eight out of nine seasons from 2002-03 through 2011-12. He would score more than 600 regular season points in nearly 1,100 NHL games. Boyle was a member of the 2003-04 Stanley Cup champion Tampa Lightning and also spent time with Florida and San Jose before wrapping up his career playing two seasons with the New York Rangers.

 

 

Friedman’s Latest: RFAs, Yakupov, Datsyuk

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Sportsnet’s Elliotte Friedman published his weekly 30 Thoughts column today and devoted a significant portion to the big name RFAs who remain unsigned. His first note was on Nikita Kucherov, whose agent – Scott Greenspun – Friedman believes has met with at least one club on the subject of an offer sheet. Due to Tampa’s precarious cap situation, both in the short and long term, the Lightning would be vulnerable to an offer sheet, particularly this close to the start of the regular season when all teams must be in cap compliance. The Lightning have roughly $5.5MM in available cap space but Kucherov may well be able to land significantly more than that from another club. GMs tend to steer clear of offer sheets for fear of angering their colleagues but Kucherov’s talent and track record might eventually prove too tempting for one manager to resist.

The full column is always worth the read but here are a few more key points from Friedman:

  • With regards to Johnny Gaudreau, Friedman believes there has been progress made since the two sides met earlier this week. He also notes that negotiations could again reach a stalemate if and when the two sides have moved far enough. The key, Friedman says, is how many unrestricted free agent years the Flames will be buying out, suggesting the longer the term, the higher the AAV. Gaudreau has five years remaining before reaching free agency meaning a max, eight-year term would buy out three free agent seasons.
  • There may be as many as six teams with serious interest in trading for Winnipeg Jets RFA defenseman Jacob Trouba. The scribe lists Buffalo, N.Y. Rangers, Detroit, Colorado, Boston and Arizona as the clubs looking at making a deal for the talented young blue liner. Of course given Winnipeg’s believed asking price – a left defenseman of similar ability and age – it’s difficult to fathom any of the aforementioned clubs being a match. Evidently that thought has also occurred to the Jets and that has prompted interested suitors to try to engage a third team to help meet Winnipeg’s demands. One obvious team that could facilitate a trade would be Anaheim as Friedman notes. The Ducks still have Hampus Lindholm to come to terms with and recently sent both Brandon Montour and Shea Theodore – two of the team’s top blue line prospects – to San Diego in the AHL. They certainly have the depth to meet Winnipeg’s needs.
  • Apparently the Jets also asked Trouba’s camp to provide the numbers it would take to convince the 22-year-old to re-up in Winnipeg but they were told as long as the situation on the right side of the team’s defense remained the same that re-signing “wasn’t going to happen.”
  • Friedman wonders whether the St. Louis Blues will employ the newly acquired Nail Yakupov as a power play specialist and if so, would they play him with two right-shooting forwards. He notes that Yakupov’s man-advantage shooting percentage with Edmonton was 14.8% when on the ice with at least two right-handed forwards and just 7.1% otherwise. The problem with the theory is that the Blues list just three forwards who fire the puck from the starboard side and of those, just David Perron is likely to see much power play time. St. Louis does have four right-handed blue liners so the coaching staff could get creative if they have in fact given any thought to Friedman’s suggestion.
  • When the Arizona Coyotes agreed to take on the final year of Pavel Datsyuk’s contract from Detroit, it was thought their primary motivation was moving up in the 2016 draft four slots to secure the rights to talented young blue liner Jakob Chychrun. Secondarily, Datsyuk’s $7.5MM cap charge would help the team exceed the cap floor. However, Friedman reports that first-year GM John Chayka had something else entirely in mind. With Datsyuk already committed to signing in the KHL, Chayka tried to convince St. Petersburg to allow the Coyotes to speak with two of their players, Yevgeni Dadonov (perhaps misidentified in Friedman’s post as Evgeny Davydov) and Vadim Shipachyov, in exchange for releasing Datsyuk’s rights. Obviously it didn’t work out for Chayka but it shows his willingness to look at outside-the-box for ways to upgrade his roster.

Training Camp Cuts: 10/9/16

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With the opening roster deadline now barely 48 hours away, teams will be making their final cuts in the near future.  Here are today’s cuts:

Arizona Coyotes (via Bob McKenzie):
RW Stefan Fournier (on waivers for purposes of AHL assignment)
G Justin Peters (on waivers for purposes of AHL assignment)

Calgary Flames (via team Twitter):
LW Lauri Korpikoski (released from PTO)

(Per The Fan960’s Pat Steinberg, head coach Glen Gulutzan noted that Korpikoski was released to pursue an opportunity with another team.)

Chicago Blackhawks (via team release):
D Dillon Fournier (assigned to Rockford, AHL)
D Ville Pokka (assigned to Rockford, AHL)
D Viktor Svedberg (assigned to Rockford, AHL)

Dallas Stars (via team Twitter):
RW Justin Fontaine (released from PTO)
D Julius Honka (assigned to Texas, AHL)
C Gemel Smith (assigned to Texas, AHL)

Read more

Pacific Division Notes: Rodin, Gryba, Bennett, Coyotes Prospects

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In need of additional scoring punch up front, the Vancouver Canucks were hopeful Swedish winger Anton Rodin would earn a big league job and contribute some secondary scoring to the lineup. He has impressed during camp but now it looks as if his NHL debut will be postponed as the 25-year-old winger is experiencing soreness and swelling in his surgically repaired knee. Rodin suffered a severed tendon last year while playing in the Swedish Elite League and as Iain MacIntyre of the Province writes, it’s believed that Rodin has simply aggravated the knee by playing too much hockey in a relatively short period of time this preseason.

GM Jim Benning indicated Rodin will be held out of the lineup for up to a week to allow for rest and rehab.

“The injury got aggravated and so he’s going to have to take a step back. We’re going to give him a few days or week off here to get the swelling down, and from there just rehab so he’s a 100 per cent for us. We’re going to need him at 100 per cent.”

MacIntyre notes that Rodin is averaging a point-per-game through five preseason contests and has demonstrated an ability to protect the puck and to play in traffic against bigger opponents during exhibition games. The 2009 second-round pick has some experience in North America, skating in 111 games with Chicago in the AHL, scoring 14 goals and 41 points. He returned to Sweden in time for the 2014-15 season and would go on to win the Swedish League’s MVP in 2015-16.

Fortunately for Vancouver, the injury doesn’t appear serious and it looks as if Rodin will only be out a short time. It could threaten his availability to play in the season opener and as such, his absence could come into play as the Canucks look to finalize their roster.

Elsewhere in the Pacific Division:

  • After signing Kris Russell to a one-year contract, the Edmonton Oilers have given fellow blue liner Eric Gryba permission to speak with other clubs in an attempt to land a job, tweets Jason Gregor of the Edmonton Journal. This would seem to suggest Gryba, who is in camp with the Oilers on a PTO, will not make the Edmonton roster. If Gryba fails to find a spot in another organization, Gregor believes he could continue to skate with the team, though of course he would be doing so without a contract. Gryba spent the first three years of his NHL career with Ottawa before a 2015 trade sent the defenseman to Edmonton. He appeared in 53 games in 2015-16 with the Oilers and tallied one goal and six points.
  • It’s looking more and more likely the Arizona Coyotes will break camp with a few rookies among their ranks, writes Sarah McLellan of AZ Central. Dylan Strome was expected to make the team and fill a scoring line pivot role and has done nothing in camp to change that line of thinking. Recently he’s been skating with Lawson Crouse and Anthony Duclair on the team’s second line. Speaking of Crouse, the Coyotes value his grit and toughness though it’s still likely he doesn’t start the season with Arizona. Laurent Dauphin could force his way into a 4th line role and has evidently earned the trust of his teammates with his hard work. McLellan also notes the team is still giving looks to forwards Christian Dvorak and Christian Fischer along with blue liners Jakob Chychrun and Anthony DeAngelo. Whatever happens it seems quite possible that several rookies will be suiting up for the Coyotes in 2016-17.
  • Calgary Flames center Sam Bennett appears poised for a breakout campaign as a sophomore in the NHL, writes Wes Gilbertson of the Calgary Herald. Bennett, who scored 18 goals and 36 points in 77 games as a rookie, is already well on his way to earning the trust of new head coach Glen Gulutzan due to his responsible two-way play this preseason. The 20-year-old pivot has also made an impression on veteran winger Troy Brouwer, with whom he has skated with this preseason: “He’s a good player. He sees the ice well and he reads the game well, which is a tough thing and a unique thing to have, especially at 20 years old. I think he’s the type of player, under this coach, who is going to have a lot of responsibility and it’s really going to elevate his game.” Gilbertson notes that with Johnny Gaudreau still unsigned and not playing, Calgary has struggled putting the puck in the net scoring just nine times in seven games. If Gaudreau is out for any extended period of the regular season, Bennett could help fill the scoring void created by his absence.

Training Camp Cuts: 10/8/16

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Opening night is just a few days away and teams are quickly finalizing their rosters in advance of the regular season. With announcement likely coming throughout the day in a steady stream, we’ll track all of the day’s cuts here.

Anaheim Ducks (via Renaud Lavoie of TVA Sports)
G Dustin Tokarski (Placed on waivers for purpose of assignment to San Diego, AHL)

Arizona Coyotes (via Craig Morgan)
D Anthony DeAngelo (Assigned to Tuscon, AHL)
C Christian Fischer (Assigned to Tuscon, AHL)
RW Stefan Fournier (Assigned to Tuscon, AHL)
D Dakota Mermis (Assigned to Tuscon, AHL)
G Justin Peters (Assigned to Tuscon, AHL)

Buffalo Sabres (via team release)
G Linus Ullmark (Assigned to Rochester, AHL)

Calgary Flames (via team release)
RW Garnet Hathaway (Assigned to Stockton, AHL)
G David Rittich (Assigned to Stockton, AHL)
C Hunter Shinkaruk (Assigned to Stockton, AHL)
D Tyler Wotherspoon (Assigned to Stockton, AHL)

Carolina Hurricanes (via team release)
C Patrick Brown (Assigned to Charlotte, AHL)
LW Brock McGinn (Assigned to Charlotte, AHL)
C Derek Ryan (Placed on waivers for purpose of assignment to Charlotte, AHL)

Colorado Avalanche (via Renaud Lavoie of TVA Sports)
D Duncan Siemens (Placed on waivers for purpose of assignment to San Antonio, AHL)

Detroit Red Wings (via Renaud Lavoie of TVA Sports)
D Brian Lashoff (Placed on waivers for purpose of assignment to Grand Rapids, AHL)
C Eric Tangradi (Placed on waivers for purpose of assignment to Grand Rapids, AHL)
RW Martin Frk (Placed on waivers for purpose of assignment to Grand Rapids, AHL)
D Nick Jensen (Placed on waivers for purpose of assignment to Grand Rapids, AHL)
RW Mitch Callahan (Placed on waivers for purpose of assignment to Grand Rapids, AHL)

St. Louis Blues (via Renaud Lavoie of TVA Sports and team release)
C Landon Ferraro (Placed on waivers for purpose of assignment to Chicago, AHL)
D Petteri Lindbohm (Assigned to Chicago, AHL)

Washington Capitals (via team release)
C Paul Carey (Placed on waivers for purpose of assignment to Hersehy, AHL)
RW Stanislav Galiev (Placed on waivers for purpose of assignment to Hershey, AHL)
C/LW Brad Malone (Placed on waivers for purpose of assignment to Hershey, AHL)
RW Christian Thomas (Placed on waivers for purpose of assignment to Hershey, AHL)

 

 

‘Yotes Notes: Rieder, Dvorak, Smith

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One of the more interesting training camps this fall has been that of the Arizona Coyotes, with their glut of young players trying to make it, and ongoing speculation about Tobias Rieder’s situation.  On Monday, the German forward inked a new deal with the team, ending his holdout. Today, as Sarah McLellan reports, he has still yet to travel to Coyotes camp due to a visa issue.  While head coach Dave Tippett hopes that he’ll join the team tomorrow, there is no guarantee either way.

Rieder signed a two-year, $4.45MM deal, a deserved raise after scoring 14 goals and 37 points last season. An excellent checker, Rieder provides a two-way game with enough secondary scoring to make him a very valuable player for any team, especially one that will have so many young faces up front this season.

  • Also from McLellan, Tippett tells her that Christian Dvorak and Jamie McGinn will both miss tonight’s game with minor injuries. They’re both hoping to practice tomorrow, but won’t know until the morning. Dvorak is expected to make the leap from the OHL straight to the NHL club this season after posting 121 points in 59 games last season for the London Knights. He added 35 more in 18 playoff games and would have had a shot for the player of the year award, had it not gone to his linemate (and Toronto Maple Leafs prospect), Mitch Marner.
  • McLellan also penned a piece about Mike Smith, mentioning that he worked hard this summer to build up his strength and change his mental approach to games. The goaltender will have to be sharp this season if Arizona has any dreams of the playoffs, as the 34-year old is still their best option between the pipes. The former Vezina trophy finalist got into just 32 games last season, but is feeling healthy this camp. He’ll start for the Coyotes tonight against the Sharks in their final preseason game.

Coyotes Sign Jalen Smereck To An Entry-Level Contract

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The Arizona Coyotes have signed undrafted defenseman Jalen Smereck to a three year, entry-level deal, according to a team release.  Financial terms of the contract were not disclosed.  He had been with the team on an amateur tryout agreement earlier in rookie camp and training camp but was cut in late September.

The 19 year old spent last season with the Oshawa of the Ontario Hockey League, scoring five goals and 20 assists in 63 regular season games while adding five points in five postseason contests.  This year, he is suiting up for the Flint Firebirds, who acquired his rights back in June.  He has four assists in two games with the team so far this season and will remain there despite being signed.

Smereck joins an Arizona prospect group that is fairly deep on the back end, including 2016 first round pick Jakob Chychrun who has a good chance of making their opening roster and offseason acquisition Anthony DeAngelo, who had 43 points in his rookie AHL campaign in 2015-16.

As Smereck is junior aged, he won’t count against Arizona’s 50 contract limit unless he plays in more than nine NHL games this season.  The team currently has 47 committed contracts according to Cap Friendly for this season.

Pacific Division Notes: Raymond, Etem, Coyotes

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Mason Raymond is out to prove that lightning does indeed strike twice as he works to earn a roster spot with the Anaheim Ducks. Shortly after the final year of his contract was bought out by the Calgary Flames, Raymond inked a one-year, two-way deal with Anaheim that guarantees the nine-year vet $675K while on an NHL roster and $225K if he’s suiting up in the AHL. It’s fair to say Raymond has reached a proverbial crossroads in his career, though as the Orange County Register’s Eric Stepens writes, the former Canuck, Leaf and Flame has history to fall back on as he attempts to make the Ducks roster.

Just three seasons ago Raymond was in a similar boat. Unsigned well into the summer of 2013, Raymond would eventually accept a PTO from Toronto and made the Leafs roster out of training camp. Playing for head coach Randy Carlyle, now behind the bench in Anaheim, Raymond saw action in all 82 games for the second time in his career and responded with a 45-point campaign. His 19 goals that year represented the second-highest single-season total of his career. He would parley that strong performance into a three-year deal with Calgary prior to the start of the 2014-15 season.

Raymond is hoping for a similar outcome in Anaheim and for his former Leafs bench boss. For his part, Carlyle believes Raymond can still contribute to an NHL team.

“He’s a talented player and he can score. He doesn’t need a lot of chances to score goals. I always used to use the analogy where some guys need 10 chances to score a goal. With Mason Raymond – when looking at him and watching his number of chances, he gets three or four and he scores a goal. That’s what his history has been, for me.”

Raymond’s chances of making the team went up after the Ducks released both David Booth and David Jones from their PTO’s. Sean Bergenheim, also in camp on a PTO, is still fighting for a job but the Ducks would have room for both players should they choose to go that route. If he can crack the roster, Raymond would add plenty of speed and some offensive potential in a bottom-six role.

Elsewhere in the NHL’s Pacific Division:

  • The Arizona Coyotes find themselves in rarefied air these days as the club can fairly be called a “cap team.” Most seasons, the Coyotes payroll ranks among the lowest in the league but this year they have the third highest projected salary cap hit according to Cap Friendly. Of course a significant chunk of space is taken up by the contracts of Chris Pronger, Pavel Datsyuk and Dave Bolland; players not even expected to suit up for Arizona this season barring an unexpected development. As Greg Wyshynski of Yahoo Sports writes, Coyotes GM John Chayka has an interesting perspective on the club’s sudden willingness to spend. He feels that Arizona’s commitment to spend to the cap ceiling this year is “good practice” as the team builds his roster into one capable of contention and the prices of players currently on ELCs begin to rise.  “As we grow this thing, there’s a day when we foresee ourselves being a cap team. It’s good practice.” 
  • Former first-round pick Emerson Etem may well be in jeopardy of losing his job in Vancouver opines The Province’s Ben Kuzma. Kuzma believes the top nine spots are locked up and that young forward Brendan Gaunce has done enough to make the team while Jake Virtanen should be on the roster come opening night. He goes on to note that Mikael Granlund has been better than Etem in the preseason and also suggests young Joseph LaBate has played well enough to garner consideration for one of the final roster spots up front. If Etem does in fact fail to make the team it would represent a low point in what has already been a disappointing career. Etem was selected by Anaheim with the 29th overall selection in the 2010 entry draft and would see action in 112 games with the Ducks before he was shipped off to the New York Rangers last summer as part of the package used to acquire Carl Hagelin. He failed to make an impact on Manhattan in 19 games and was shipped off mid-season to Vancouver in exchange for Nicklas Jensen. Etem would go on to net seven goals and 12 points in 39 games with the Canucks but now it looks as if his days in British Columbia may be numbered. The Canucks would have to expose the four-year veteran to waivers prior to sending him down to the AHL. It’s conceivable another club could take a flier on Etem’s talent should he hit the waiver wire.

 

Tobias Rieder Agrees To Terms With Arizona

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One down, six to go.

The Arizona Coyotes and restricted free agent Tobias Rieder have agreed on a two-year, $4.45MM contract, according to Elliotte Friedman. The contract will pay Rieder $2MM this season and $2.45MM in 2017-18.

Rieder scored 14 goals and 37 points in 82 games last season. He’s developed nicely for a fourth round pick, growing into a dependable two-way top-nine forward with upside.

We reported earlier today that Friedman believed Rieder was close to publicly asking for a trade after several months of tough negotiations. Rieder’s agent had also recently stated he believed a trade would be in both sides’s best interest.

The Coyotes acquired Rieder from the Edmonton Oilers back in 2013 for fellow 2011-fourth round pick Kale Kessy. The Oilers did not qualify Kessy this summer; he’ll suit up for the ECHL’s Tulsa Oilers this season.

There are now six high-profile RFAs remaining on the market: Hampus Lindholm and Rickard Rakell in Anaheim, Rasmus Ristolainen in Buffalo, Johnny Gaudreau in Calgary, Nikita Kucherov in Tampa Bay, and Jacob Trouba in Winnipeg.

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