Over the past few weeks, the number of players sent to the minors, juniors, and waived from their respective clubs is staggering. While the vast majority of players not making their team’s rosters come as no surprise, there are quite a few names out there that rose an eyebrow or two, and are fully worth mentioning.
To start off with, the Edmonton Oilers have waived veteran defenseman Sheldon Souray and veteran goaltender Martin Gerber on September 30th.
Souray’s demotion comes as no surprise as GM Steve Tambellini has been trying to deal him since mid-term last season to no avail. Souray’s injury woes, cap hit of $5.4 million, and attitude are the main reasons behind his demotion. The 11 year NHL veteran defenseman has cleared waivers, and instead of being assigned to Oklahoma (Edmonton’s new AHL affiliate), he has been loaned to Washington’s affiliate, Hershey. "The decision has been coming for some time," Oilers general manager Steve Tambellini said. "I don't want to get back to this mode, but it was an ask that had been there from the player for a long time, close to a year and a half. He wanted to leave, and I understand that, and we've done our best to find something that works for now."
"Obviously Sheldon wants to play in the National Hockey League and I'm sure he'll get back there."
Edmonton still owns his rights, but will not be able to trade him until they pull him back up through re-entry waivers. The would allow any club to claim him for half of his cost for each of the two years remaining on his contract which would be split with Edmonton for that remaining term.
Martin Gerber, 36, was signed to a one-year contract in August after playing 30 games in the KHL for Mytischi. He too cleared waivers, but was assigned to Edmonton’s affiliate in Oklahoma City.
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Sheldon is not the only big money NHL defenseman to be waived as the Rangers finally attempted to rid themselves of Wade Redden’s giant $6.5 million contract which has four years remaining by waiving him. After clearing waivers, Redden has reported to Hartford of the AHL after 13 years in the National Hockey League. His performance since his free-agent signing has never matched his play in Ottawa, nor has it come close to matching his steep pay rate. His play slipped to a career low of two goals and 12 assists in 2009-10.
"I told him at the end of last year that if he didn't have a great camp this was going to happen," GM Glen Sather said of Redden, a two-time All-Star.
Also, newly signed forwards Tim Kennedy and veteran Todd White cleared waivers for the club last week.
“It just gives us some options in case somebody becomes available in the next day or two that we think we can use,” said Sather. “We’ve thought about this for quite a while. It just leaves us with some options.”
Kennedy, 24, scored 10 goals for 26 points in his 78 regular season games with the Sabers last year and followed it up with 1 goal and 3 points in 6 playoff appearances. Kennedy has shown promise through his first full season, and isn’t likely to be stuck in the minors long-term.
Ian White, 35, has played 12 NHL seasons and will play in the minors for the first time since 2000-01. He spent his last three years with the Atlanta Thrashers recording 43 goals and 136 points in 221 games as a Thrasher. His goals and points totals last year were his lowest since 2003-04 where he scored 9 goals for 29 points for the Ottawa Senators.
Both of these players as well are subject to re-entry waivers should the Rangers call them up, which makes Kennedy the most likely of the two to be picked up by another team at half of his $550,000 contract.
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Highly touted young star Nazem Kadri had an incredible pre-season debut last year for the Maple Leafs, but has struggled this year in the pre-season, and was sent down to the Toronto Marlies of the AHL. He comes off of his last year in the OHL for the London Knights, which was his most productive of all. In 2009-10 Kadri tallied 35 goals and 58 assists for 93 points, with a +26 rating and 105 penatly minutes in 56 games."There are very few guys (at his age) that are ready to step in and make a contribution like we need him to make," Maple Leafs general manager Brian Burke told reporters Monday. "He's got to play on our top six (forwards) if he's going to stay here. And he's got to respect the American Hockey League, it's a hell of a league.
"I told him I gave (star Anaheim Ducks forward) Ryan Getzlaf the same speech five years ago."Burke said the 2009 7th overall draft pick has shown great maturity through the process, and handled the media in a very professional manor. The 20 year-old may not have made the cut for the moment, but there isn’t much question as to the fact that he will be up at some point. Burke’s intentions are to let him develop and become stronger as he has been projected as a top-six player.
Also out of Toronto were some surprising names with the likes of Christian Hanson (24), Luca Caputi (22), and Jay Rosehill (25). Hanson split his time between the NHL and AHL last season, recording 2 goals and 7 points in 31 NHL games while notching 12 goals and 31 points in 38 games for the Marlies. Power forward Luca Caputi played 23 games last year split between Pittsburgh and Toronto, notching 2 goals for 8 points. All three of these players are big bodied power forwards with an upside of their own. I’m surprised at least one of them didn’t stick, but I’m sure we’ll see them in and out of the lineup throughout the year.
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The Buffalo Sabers also returned a highly touted prospect in Zack Kassian. Kassian was selected in last year’s NHL Entry Draft 13th overall. The 19 year-old forward posted just one assist while playing in four pre-season games for Buffalo, and his return is for none other than his development. The power forward is projected to be a top-six forward that can compliment a skilled player like Vanek or Pomminville.
The Sabers also released veteran forward Mark Parrish from training camp, as Parrish still seeks a job in the NHL.
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The Phoenix Coyotes are keeping it veteran in the desert as they have assigned prospects Mikkel Boedker (20), Viktor Tikhonov (22), and Maxim Goncharov (21) to San Antonio along with NHL forward Andrew Ebbett (27) who appeared for three different teams during the course of last season, and will look to improve his game along with these youngsters in the AHL.
The Coyotes would also release Kyle Wellwood from training camp, who has now signed in the KHL. After his release, veteran defenseman Shane Hnidy was also cut loose from camp, which suggests prospect Oliver Ekman-Larsson may get his shot as soon as this season. Hnidy has spent 9 seasons in the NHL, and is a great defensive defenseman that should get a shot somewhere.
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Jonathan Cheechoo was also released from the Dallas Stars' training camp, and has been signed to a tryout contract with the Worcester Sharks. Worcester happens to be the AHL affiliate of the San Jose Sharks, where Cheechoo played the best throughout his 7 years in the NHL. In 2005-06 Chechoo led the league in goals with 56, and scored 93 points. Just four years later Cheechoo seems washed up, producing next to nothing in terms of points, and has been resigned to sign an AHL contract.
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The Tampa Bay Lightning made a couple of surprising cuts from their tryout camp. Paul Szczechura, Chris Durno, and Eric Perrin were just a few of the many cuts from the Lightning.
Paul Szczechura was the most surprising after he showed an ability to open ice for the skill players in a checking/power forward type of role. He tallied 5 goals for 7 points in 52 games with a -15 rating last year, and was re-signed to a one-year contract in July. Durno also showed some checking line assets last year for the Avalanche, but as new head coach Guy Boucher and new GM Steve Yzerman figure this team out, I’m sure we’ll see them both up in the NHL at some point.
Eric Perrin played for the Lightning in 2006-07 scoring 13 goals and 36 points. His next two years were spent with the Atlanta Thrashers, but last year signed with Omsk of the KHL. His attempt to make it back into the NHL at the age of 34 came up short as he was cut from training camp, and has now signed for JYP Jyvaskyla of the Finnish League.
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The Philadelphia Flyers also released a veteran forward from training camp in Bill Guerin. The surprise move leaves Guerin, 39, still looking for an NHL job that he is likely to get. Guerin is the best available free-agent forward in terms of production and proven winning ability. He has played 18 years in the NHL, most recently with the Pittsburgh Penguins where he notched 21 goals for 45 points, and 4 goals for 9 points in 11 playoff games. Guerin has two Stanley Cups to his name, and 856 points in 1,263 NHL games. My previous article goes into a bit more detail on Guerin’s abilities; Guerin to Tryout with Philadelphia.
Following the release of Guerin, the Flyers waived goaltender Johan Backlund after a lackluster pre-season performance. Backlund played all of two periods last year before sustaining a hip/groin injury in the first game of the AHL season that required surgery. Backlund, 29, is looking to rebound this year as he has been re-assigned to Aidrondack of the AHL.
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Another big surprise cut from San Jose's training camp was veteran defenseman Andreas Lilja. His axe has caused more troubles for the 9 year veteran than meets the eye. Lilja's visa expires October 10th, and unless he finds a job by then he will be forced to leave the country. The major problem there lies in the fact that Lilja has his children enrolled in a Detroit area school. Second to that, Lilja is a solid NHL defenseman, and is driven and motivated to stay."Andreas had a very competitive camp and played well for us but we also have several young defenseman who played well," said Sharks Head Coach Todd McLellan said in a press release. "They have put in their time in the organization and we feel that they have earned and deserve an opportunity to compete for a spot on this team."
Lilja reportedly turned down a one-year contract with his former team, the Detroit Red Wings, which he won a Cup with in 2008. Unfortunately for him, that spot has been filled now with Ruslan Salei.
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The Detroit Red Wings made some cuts of their own, waiving Mattias Ritola, veteran Kirk Maltby, and defenseman Derek Meech.
Ritola has been claimed by the Tampa Bay Lightning by ex-Red Wing Steve Yzerman who is at the helm now in Tampa.
Derek Meech and 13 and a half year, four-time Stanley Cup champion of Detroit, Kirk Maltby, have cleared waivers and will report to Grand Rapids of the AHL. Maltby will take a leadership role with Detroit’s youth, while Meech will be working as hard as he can to get himself back into the NHL. For more on these moves, read my previous article: Tampa Claims Ritola as Detroit Waive Three.
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The Anaheim Ducks waived a pair of defensemen last week in Danny Syvret and Brett Festerling. Festerling still holds hope for the organization to a degree, but Syvret has had a tough time sticking with a club over his four years in the National Hockey League. The moves are clear signs that 2009 first round draft pick Cam Fowler will be debuting for the Ducks this season.
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In terms of young defensemen making their NHL debut this coming season, the Panthers have been down a tough road in their attempt to sign 2010 3rd overall draft pick Erik Gudbranson to an entry-level contract. The deal has yet to come to fruition, relegating Florida to return the young star to his junior club in Kingston.
“Sometimes you just can't get a deal done,'' assistant general manager Mike Santos said Tuesday afternoon. “They worked at it and we worked at it. It's not over for us. We still have his rights for two more years. I'm confident we'll have him signed down the road.''
The Panthers, along with the entire NHL, were hopeful to see the young stud at least through 9 regular season games, but his debut will have to wait until an agreement can be reached between the player and the club. For more details on this read my previous article; Anything But 'Gud' For the Panthers.
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Ex-Flyer becomes ex-Canuck in a hurry. Defenseman Ryan Parent was traded from Philadelphia to Vancouver, then instantly waived the 23 year-old. In today’s final roster, however, Parent is back on the team. The Canucks are super tight on the budget, and the juggling and re-juggling of players surely isn’t over. Parent’s future for this season is unknown, but his frustration and confusion level is probably just as high as ours.
These are just some of the many happenings over the course of the past few weeks. For a list of all transactions, visit ESPN/NHL Transactions to catch up on all teams’ transactions ahead of the season opener today.
- Kendall Grubbs
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