Several NHL teams made some last-second roster moves just
before the NHL season faced off on October 4th. Here's an update on
the biggest transactions. The Columbus Blue Jackets and 23-year-old restricted
free-agent forward Josh Anderson finally came to an agreement on a new contract
on October 2nd. Anderson signed his name to a new three-year deal
which is reportedly worth a total of $5.5 million. Anderson said he didn't want
to miss any game action at the start of the season as he wants to continue to
develop as a player. The 6-foot-3-inch, 221 lb Anderson played 78 games last
season and racked up 29 points on 17 goals and 12 assists by basically playing
as a bottom-six forward.
The Pittsburgh Penguins decided to give up on defenceman
Derrick Pouliot as they shipped him off to the Vancouver Canucks in exchange
for fellow blueliner Andrey Pedan and a fourth-round draft pick. Pouliot was
taken in the 2012 draft by Pittsburgh with the eighth-overall pick, but never
fulfilled his potential to be a top-four defenceman during his three-year stint
with the Penguins. The trade was a bit of a surprise considering Pouliot inked
a new one-year deal with Pittsburgh in the offseason. The 23-year-old has
played in just 67 regular-season games with two goals and 12 assists to his
name. However, he has 20 goals and 70 points in 114 AHL contests. The
24-year-old, 6-foot-5-inch Pedan has appeared in 13 NHL games with no points,
but has 29 points in 84 AHL outings.
The NHL waiver wires were active as the Colorado Avalanche
claimed Swedish defenceman Patrik Nemeth from the Dallas Stars and the Vegas
Golden Knight took goaltender Malcolm Subban from the Boston Bruins. The
25-year-old Nemeth was taken 41st overall in the 2010 draft by
Dallas and has 14 assists in 108 regular-season NHL contests. The 23-year-old
Subban was chosen 24th in the 2012 draft by Boston He's 0-2 in the
NHL with a goals-against average of 5.81 in 62 minutes of play along with a
save percentage of 72.7. Subban has also played in 127 AHL games with a GAA of
2.40 and a 91.8 save percentage with a record of 56-45-14. He's also gone 3-5
in 11 playoff games with a 2.21 GAA and 91.9 save percentage
Several veteran players who attended training camp on
professional tryout contracts hit the jackpot as they earned a spot on the
roster. These include forwards Scottie Upshall of the St. Louis Blues, Jimmy
Hayes, of the New Jersey Devils, David Booth of the Detroit Red Wings and
Tanner Glass of the Calgary Flames. It also appears defenceman Cody Franson has
also made the Chicago Blackhawks and forward Alex Chiasson will stick around with the Washington
Capitals. However, other players who were on tryouts weren't as lucky, such as
Teddy Purcell (Boston), Cody Goloubef (Buffalo), P. A. Parenteau (Detroit),
Brandon Pirri (Florida), Brooks Laich (Los Angeles), Ryan Malone (Minnesota), Eric Gelinas (Montreal), Jay McClement (Pittsburgh) and
Roman Polak (Toronto).
Both Marian Hossa of the Chicago Blackhawks and Joffrey
Lupul of the Toronto Maple Leafs have been place on their club's long-term
injured reserve list after being checked out by independent doctors. The
forwards were given second physicals after Lupul claimed through social media
that he was healthy enough to play and the Leafs were abusing the system. Hossa
will miss the 2017/18 campaign due to a severe skin condition and his
$5.25-million salary won't go against the cap. As for Lupul, he has now failed
his physical for the second straight season and his $5.25-million salary also
won't go against the Leafs' cap.
In addition, there was also
a big-name signing as 20-year-old forward Jack Eichel signed an eight-year
contract extension with Buffalo worth $10 million a year. Eichel has scored 48
goals and 65 assists for 113 points for the Sabres in 142 games. He was drafted
second-overall in the 2015 draft by Buffalo, with Edmonton superstar Connor
McDavid going first. McDavid recently signed his own eight-year deal,
which was worth $100 million. Labels: Ian Palmer