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Winnipeg Jets Claim Anton Forsberg

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Anton Forsberg is on his third team in a week, claimed off waivers by the Winnipeg Jets. Forsberg never did leave Edmonton when the Carolina Hurricanes claimed him from the Oilers, meaning he will be able to travel to Winnipeg and not have to face a border quarantine. He will, however, need to stay on the Jets active roster for the time being and cannot be assigned to the taxi squad or minor leagues until he clears waivers.

Of course, carrying a third goaltender on the active roster really isn’t an issue for the Jets at the moment, given they’re already into long-term injured reserve space. The team will have to move one of the players from their roster onto the taxi squad, but that shouldn’t be an issue given Kristian Vesalainen and Logan Stanley, two waiver-exempt players, were both scratched last night. (UPDATE: Vesalainen and Stanley have both been sent to the taxi squad.)

Forsberg meanwhile becomes the Jets third-string option after Winnipeg lost Eric Comrie to the New Jersey Devils. The veteran netminder still doesn’t figure to play a ton this season but adds some depth to a position the Jets can ill afford to be weak at. Connor Hellebuyck carries the load, but if he were to ever go down to injury or illness, Laurent Brossoit is the only other Jets netminder signed to an NHL deal in North America.

Anton Forsberg Placed On Waivers

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The Carolina Hurricanes have indeed placed Anton Forsberg back on waivers according to Pierre LeBrun of The Athletic, just two days after claiming him from the Edmonton Oilers. In the meantime, the team was able to slip Alex Nedeljkovic through waivers, meaning they still had some depth at the goaltending position. They’ll try to do the same here with Forsberg, though Edmonton or another team could now claim him. Importantly, Chris Johnston of Sportsnet reports that Forsberg is still in Edmonton and wouldn’t need a 14-day quarantine if claimed by a different Canadian team.

If Edmonton is the only team to put in a claim, they would be able to move Forsberg directly to their taxi squad.

The Hurricanes started shopping Forsberg yesterday, hoping to complete a quick flip once Nedeljkovic got through waivers. With that in mind, clearing waivers may actually increase the veteran goaltender’s trade value. Should Forsberg clear, he would be able to be traded and then sent immediately to a taxi squad or minor league affiliate, adding depth to an organization. The need isn’t there for the Hurricanes anymore, but perhaps they can turn him into a late-round pick for nothing more than a waiver claim.

Leo Komarov, Alex Nedeljkovic Clear Waivers

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Jan 13: Both Komarov and Nedeljkovic have cleared waivers and can be assigned to the taxi squad or minor leagues.

Jan 12: The big waiver day was yesterday, with teams putting dozens of players on the wire at the same time to prepare for the upcoming season, But the New York Islanders weren’t done there, as Elliotte Friedman of Sportsnet reports that Leo Komarov has been placed on waivers today. After claiming Anton Forsberg from the Edmonton Oilers, the Carolina Hurricanes have also placed Alex Nedeljkovic on waivers.

Komarov, 33, has fallen off a cliff offensively since his early days with the Toronto Maple Leafs but is still a coach’s favorite given his in-your-face playstyle and defensive responsibility. To see him on waivers with the Islanders is something of a surprise, but certainly not much of a risk given his contract that carries a $3MM cap hit through the 2021-22 season. The Islanders are dancing a tight rope with regards to the salary cap and will gain some additional flexibility should Komarov clear. He’ll then be able to be moved at will to the taxi squad, periodically burying part of his cap hit.

Still, it seems likely that the veteran forward will get into the lineup at some point as the Islanders navigate the condensed schedule. A veteran of 457 regular season games, he played in 17 postseason contests with New York last year, scoring three points.

Nedeljkovic’s placement perhaps is even more surprising, given he was seen as the “goaltender of the future” for the Hurricanes relatively recently. The 25-year-old won the AHL Goaltender of the Year award for the 2018-19 season when he and the Charlotte Checkers took home the Calder Cup but did see something of a regression last season when he posted just a .906 save percentage in 29 minor league appearances.

Still, risking him to the rest of the league is certainly not ideal, especially if it was because of their claim of Forsberg today. While he has much more NHL experience, it still seemed as though Nedeljkovic had more upside. That is exactly the kind of reasoning a team may use to claim the young goaltender, though they would then need to carry him on the NHL squad until they can slip him through waivers themselves.

Ottawa Senators, Carolina Hurricanes Complete Minor Trade

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The Ottawa Senators and Carolina Hurricanes are tweaking their depth charts with the season just around the corner, swapping Max Lajoie and Clark Bishop in a minor deal. Bishop cleared waivers a few days ago and Lajoie just yesterday, meaning both can report directly to the taxi squad or minor league affiliate of their new organization (though, because of quarantine restrictions that may take some time). In fact, Ottawa includes in the release that Bishop will be assigned to Belleville.

Lajoie, 23, was a fifth-round pick of the Senators back in 2016 but surprised everyone when he made the NHL roster out of camp just two years later. He would play 56 games for the team in the 2018-19 season, recording seven goals and 15 points while averaging nearly 19 minutes a night. The Senators would finish last in the entire league that year and Lajoie would find himself pushed down the depth chart again in 2019-20. He ended up playing just six NHL games last season, spending most of the year with Belleville instead.

In Carolina, he’ll have an even tougher group to crack if he wants to get back to the NHL. The young defenseman is likely ticketed for the Chicago Wolves where he will continue his development and try to make the best of the final year on his entry-level contract.

Bishop meanwhile comes to Ottawa as another forward option after playing 25 NHL games over the past two seasons. The depth center can be some injury insurance in Belleville but doesn’t offer a ton of offensive upside. Selected in the fifth round by the Hurricanes in 2014, Bishop has just 18 goals and 59 points in 201 regular season AHL games but did help capture the Calder Cup in 2019 with the Charlotte Checkers.

Several Players Claimed Off Waivers

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With the sheer number of players on waivers yesterday, you could bet at least a couple would be claimed by teams in need of added depth. Elliotte Friedman of Sportsnet reports that the Carolina Hurricanes have claimed Anton Forsberg (EDM), the San Jose Sharks have claimed Rudolfs Balcers (OTT), the New Jersey Devils have claimed Eric Comrie (WPG) and the Nashville Predators have claimed Luca Sbisa (WPG). The rest of the 100+ players have all cleared.

Forsberg, 28, returns to the organization he played for last season, an interesting move given the Hurricanes did not re-sign him in the offseason. The veteran goaltender has spent time with the Columbus Blue Jackets and Chicago Blackhawks as well but has been limited to minor league duty for most of the past two years. In 2019-20 he played three games for the Hurricanes, posting an .897 save percentage. In the minor leagues, he had a .905. Forsberg will likely serve as the team’s third goaltender this season but would have to clear waivers in order to go to the taxi squad. Perhaps the team believes they can slip him through in a few days after carrying three goaltenders for the first part of the season.

The Oilers now must find another option for their own taxi squad, though Dylan Wells or Stuart Skinner could fill that role for the time being. Both goaltenders are waiver-exempt, though they were destined to fill the net in the minor leagues this season. The Hurricanes did put Alex Nedeljkovic on waivers today, though with the complicated salary cap dance the Oilers are performing they may not be able to fit him in on the NHL roster at this point.

Balcers, 23, is also rejoining a familiar organization, heading back to the team that drafted him in 2015. The young Latvian forward was part of the Erik Karlsson deal in 2018 and has played 51 games for the Senators over the last two seasons. His name was a surprising one on waivers yesterday, given how well he has played in the minor leagues so far in his short career. Balcers has 115 points in 143 career AHL games, including 56 goals. For a team still just barely turning the corner on a rebuild, it’s hard to watch a young prospect disappear for nothing.

Where he fits into the San Jose lineup isn’t clear at all, but Balcers is worth a claim if you believe that he can still become a regular in the NHL. The Sharks need young talent as badly as anyone.

Comrie becomes the answer in New Jersey, where the Devils suddenly lost Corey Crawford to retirement and needed some depth at the goaltending position. Whether he can actually help them at the NHL level is still to be determined, given the 25-year-old goaltender has just an .868 save percentage in eight career games. Comrie has been an excellent option for the Manitoba Moose however, including posting a .918 save percentage last season after returning to the Jets organization (he was claimed by Arizona, traded to Detroit, and then claimed back by the Jets all in the span of a few months during the 2019-20 season).

Sbisa is an interesting one, given his long history at the NHL level. The 30-year-old defenseman has played in 548 games over a long career, including 44 last season with the Jets. As we wrote last month, the Predators were in dire need of another depth defenseman if only to provide some injury insurance this season and they’ve now found just the player. Sbisa can come in and out for them whenever needed but costs very little with an $800K contract. Still, Jarred Tinordi may end up the casualty here, though it seems likely he would clear waivers if necessary.

Training Camp Cuts: 01/12/21

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It’s the last day before NHL hockey returns, so teams will have to finalize their rosters and get ready for action. Though most of the heavy lifting was done yesterday, there will still be some cuts made today. We’ll keep track of them right here. This page will be updated throughout the day as more releases come in.

Buffalo Sabres (via team release):

F Andrew Oglevie (to Rochester, AHL)
F Arttu Ruotsalainen (to Rochester, AHL)
D Jacob Bryson (to Rochester, AHL)
D Mattias Samuelsson (to Rochester, AHL)

Carolina Hurricanes (via team release):

F Jeremy Bracco (to Chicago, AHL)
F David Cotton (to Chicago, AHL)
F Jason Cotton (to Chicago, AHL)
F Seth Jarvis (to Chicago, AHL)
F Stelio Mattheos (to Chicago, AHL)
F Jamieson Rees (to Chicago, AHL)
F Sheldon Rempal (to Chicago, AHL)
F Drew Shore (to Chicago, AHL)
F Spencer Smallman (to Chicago, AHL)
F Ryan Suzuki (to Chicago, AHL)
D Joey Keane (to Chicago, AHL)
D Maxime Lajoie (to Chicago, AHL)
G Antoine Bibeau (to Chicago, AHL)

Chicago Blackhawks (via team release):

F John Quenneville (to Rockford, AHL)
D Anton Lindholm (to Rockford, AHL)
D Nick Seeler (to Rockford, AHL)
G Matt Tomkins (to Rockford, AHL)

Detroit Red Wings (via team release):

F Riley Barber (to Grand Rapids, AHL)
F Kyle Criscuolo (to Grand Rapids, AHL)
F Turner Elson (to Grand Rapids, AHL)
F Taro Hirose (to Grand Rapids, AHL)
F Chase Pearson (to Grand Rapids, AHL)
F Evgeny Svechnikov (to Grand Rapids, AHL)
F Dominic Turgeon (to Grand Rapids, AHL)
D Joe Hicketts (to Grand Rapids, AHL)
D Brian Lashoff (to Grand Rapids, AHL)
D Dylan McIlrath (to Grand Rapids, AHL)
G Kaden Fulcher (to Grand Rapids, AHL)
G Pat Nagle (released)

Montreal Canadiens (via team release):

F Brandon Baddock (to Laval, AHL)
F Alex Belzile (to Laval, AHL)
F Joseph Blandisi (to Laval, AHL)
F Laurent Dauphin (to Laval, AHL)
F Jacob Lucchini (to Laval, AHL)
F Joel Teasdale (to Laval, AHL)
F Lukas Vejdemo (to Laval, AHL)
F Jordan Weal (to Laval, AHL)
D Otto Leskinen (to Laval, AHL)
D Gustav Olofsson (to Laval, AHL)
D Xavier Ouellet (to Laval, AHL)
G Vasili Demchenko (to Laval, AHL)
G Michael McNiven (to Laval, AHL)
G Cayden Primeau (to Laval, AHL)
F Kevin Lynch (to Laval, AHL)

 

Philadelphia Flyers (via team release):

F Pascal Laberge (to Lehigh Valley, AHL)
F Zayde Wisdom (to Lehigh Valley, AHL)
F Linus Sandin (to Lehigh Valley, AHL)
F Tyson Foerster (to Lehigh Valley, AHL)
F Matthew Strome (to Lehigh Valley, AHL)
D Tyler Wotherspoon (to Lehigh Valley, AHL)
D Mason Millman (to Lehigh Valley, AHL)
D Chris Bigras (to Lehigh Valley, AHL)
D Derrick Pouliot (to Lehigh Valley, AHL)
D Egor Zamula (to Lehigh Valley, AHL)
D Wyatte Wylie (to Lehigh Valley, AHL)
G Felix Sandstrom (to Lehigh Valley, AHL)
F Max Willman (to Lehigh Valley, AHL)
G Roddy Ross (to Lehigh Valley, AHL)

San Jose Sharks (via team release):

F Kurtis Gabriel (to San Jose, AHL)
F Antti Suomela (to San Jose, AHL)
D Trevor Carrick (to San Jose, AHL)
D Nick DeSimone (to San Jose, AHL)
D Fredrik Claesson (to San Jose, AHL)

St. Louis Blues (via team release):

F Sam Anas (to Utica, AHL)
F Dakota Joshua (to Utica, AHL)
F Tanner Kaspick (to Utica, AHL)
F Hugh McGing (to Utica, AHL)
F Curtis McKenzie (to Utica, AHL)
F Jake Neighbours (to Utica, AHL)
F Evan Polei (to Utica, AHL)
F Nolan Stevens (to Utica, AHL)
F Nathan Walker (to Utica, AHL)
D Scott Perunovich (to Utica, AHL)
D Mitch Reinke (to Utica, AHL)
D Steven Santini (to Utica, AHL)
D Tyler Tucker (to Utica, AHL)
D Jake Walman (to Utica, AHL)
G Evan Fitzpatrick (to Utica, AHL)
G Jon Gillies (to Utica, AHL)
F Matthias Laferriere (to Blainville-Boisbriand, QMJHL)

Vancouver Canucks (via team release):

F Jonah Gadjovich (to Utica, AHL)
F Lukas Jasek (to Utica, AHL)
F Kole Lind (to Utica, AHL)
F Will Lockwood (to Utica, AHL)
D Josh Teves (to Utica, AHL)
D Jett Woo (to Utica, AHL)
G Jake Kielly (to Utica, AHL)

Washington Capitals (via team release):

F Shane Gersich (to Hershey, AHL)
F Michael Sgarbossa (to Hershey, AHL)
F Phillippe Maillet (to Hershey, AHL)
D Lucas Johansen (to Hershey, AHL)
D Paul Ladue (to Hershey, AHL)
D Cameron Schilling (to Hershey, AHL)

Panthers Claim Gustav Forsling Off Waivers

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The Panthers have added some depth on the back end as Sportsnet’s Elliotte Friedman reports (Twitter link) that they have claimed defenseman Gustav Forsling off waivers from Carolina.

The 24-year-old actually cleared waivers last season and spent the entirety of the 2019-20 season in the minors with AHL Charlotte.  Forsling, never known for his offensive prowess, had a decent campaign in terms of point production, putting up eight goals and 18 assists in 56 games with the Checkers before the pandemic shut down the rest of the season.

While he was in the minors all of last year, Forsling does have 122 career games of NHL experience, all with Chicago from 2016-17 through 2018-19 with most of those coming under Joel Quenneville, now the head coach of the Panthers.  He averaged more than 17 minutes per game and it’s quite possible that he’ll be able to hold his own in a third-pairing role with Florida.  Having said that, Forsling likely slots in as the seventh or eighth defender on the depth chart so he may need to wait for some injuries to arise to get his chance with his new team.

Large Group Of Players Placed On Waivers

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With just a few days before the start of the regular season, a huge number of players have been placed on waivers. The full list includes:

Anaheim Ducks: 

Anthony Stolarz
Andy Welinski
Christian Djoos
Andrew Poturalski
Chase De Leo
Vinni Lettieri
Sam Carrick
Andrew Agozzino
David Backes

Carolina Hurricanes:

Antoine Bibeau
Steven Lorentz
Spencer Smallman
Jeremy Bracco
Gustav Forsling
Drew Shore
Max McCormick

Colorado Avalanche:

Jacob MacDonald
Dan Renouf
Kyle Burroughs
Mike Vecchione
T.J. Tynan
Miikka Salomaki
Jayson Megna
Sheldon Dries

Toronto Maple Leafs:

Nic Petan

These massive waiver placements are no different than the normal training camp cuts that would occur in late-September in a normal year. Should they clear, these players will be eligible to report to the taxi squad or AHL. There are a few names that stand out from the crowd though.

Backes, a veteran of 950 NHL games, still carries a $6MM cap hit on the final season of the five-year, $30MM contract he signed with the Boston Bruins in 2016. As Pierre LeBrun of The Athletic reports, this is not a move by the Ducks to try and rid themselves of Backes, but create some additional flexibility. At any rate, his contract basically makes him waiver-proof as no other team would want to take it on at this point in the season.

Bracco, a former top prospect that scored 79 points in 75 games for the Toronto Marlies of the AHL as recently as 2018-19, has seen his development stall and finds himself on the outside looking in for the Hurricanes once again. Djoos, once an up-and-coming defenseman in the Washington Capitals system, is now 26 and available to the whole league, should they want to take a chance.

Carolina Hurricanes Announce Front Office Promotions

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The Carolina Hurricanes have promoted a few promotions to key members of their front office, announcing that Eric Tulsky and Darren Yorke will now serve as assistant general managers. Aaron Schwartz has been hired as a director of hockey operations. Hurricanes GM Don Waddell released a statement on the moves:

Eric and Darren have earned this opportunity through their hard work and creativity in assisting player decisions and evaluation. Aaron has a great deal of experience in hockey and we are excited to add his knowledge and relationships to our organization. We are confident in Eric, Darren and Aaron’s abilities, and they will play a vital role in bringing a championship to Raleigh.

Tulsky, one of the leading minds in hockey analytics, has been with the team since 2014 and is behind many of the data-driven decisions the team has made over the last several years. He will now be involved in all hockey-related matters, manage the team’s pro scouting and continue to oversee the hockey information department. Yorke meanwhile has been with the team even longer, originally hired as a video scout in 2009. He will oversee the amateur scouting and player development and continue to run the team’s draft.

Schwartz, who comes with a varied resume that includes time with the Montreal Canadiens and Washington Capitals, will be tasked with assisting in negotiations and salary cap compliance.

The Hurricanes begin play in one week, heading to face the Detroit Red Wings for two games.

Nashville Predators, Carolina Hurricanes To Share AHL Affiliate

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When news broke that three AHL teams would be pulling out of the 2020-21 season, it left a question of what the NHL affiliates would do with their minor league players and prospects. An early report had the St. Louis Blues sending players to the Utica Cometa, while just yesterday it was announced that the Florida Panthers will be sharing the Syracuse Crunch with the Tampa Bay Lightning. Now, a similar agreement has been formed between the Nashville Predators, who are normally affiliated with the opting-out Milwaukee Admirals, and the Carolina Hurricanes who will share the Chicago Wolves.

Admirals GM Scott Nichol explained the confidence the organization has that their prospects will still have a strong developmental season:

We want to thank the Carolina Hurricanes and Chicago Wolves organizations for the opportunity to partner with them for this coming season. With our players skating for Chicago in the AHL and others competing in European leagues and with the ECHL’s Florida Everblades, we are confident about where our prospects will continue their development during this unprecedented season. We look forward to resuming our relationship with the Admirals in the 2021-22 campaign.

The Wolves and the rest of the AHL are set to begin in early February if all goes according to plan. They’ll have quite the squad this year after picking from two NHL organizations, an easy explanation of why the independently-owned franchise would be interested in a situation like this. It’s not ideal for the Hurricanes or the Predators, but sacrifices have to be made in this unique season.

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