Philadelphia Flyers‘ 9th year defenseman Andrew McDonald(47) is another veteran player that’s become victim of the salary cap and little room for error in the big league.
Acquired from New York Islanders at the 2014 trade deadline he was signed to a 6-year contract extension as the post-season started.
The 6’1″ 190 lbs. blue liner has always been reasonably accountable in the d-zone but recorded 20 assists in only two seasons and has never really has been able to put the puck in the net.
A former Isles‘ 6th round pick in the 2006 draft (#160 overall) he had two 40+ assist campaigns with Moncton Wildcats of the QMJHL but has never really come close to that mark as a pro.
With lots expected from him last year, he was far off the mark with 2 goals and 10 assists in 58 NHL games on a non-playoff team.
The 29-year old was on the parent club’s roster to start 2015/2016 but didn’t make it into the lineup.
He was placed on waivers and cleared to be reassigned to affiliate Lehigh Valley Phantoms.
It’s his first visit to the minors in 5 years since spending 21 games with Bridgeport Sound Tigers in 2009/2010.
Not changing up his game in any way, he’s actually doing very well. In 17 AHL games he has a goal and 8 assists with a +5 rating and is very involved in all situations.
With another 4 years at $5AAV on the books, it’s very likely that he gets bought out of his contract and will be free to explore whatever opportunities for his 10th year.
Arizona Coyotes‘ 9th year center Dustin Jeffrey(21) only failed to make an NHL appearance last season and has even earned at least a point in all but one year, and he only made a one game in his second year with first contract team and one he stuck with for 6 campaigns, Pittsburgh Penguins.
In his one game look so far he recorded an assist and was a +2 in a 4-3 overtime win.
The very decent sized, capable of handling his ground 6’2″ 205 lbs. forward had 19 shifts for 14:12 total ice, was 57% effective in the face off circle and even saw 3:17 of power play time.
He’s off to maybe his best ever start scoring 7 goals and 11 assists, good for 5th in the league with new AHL affiliate Springfield Falcons.
With the minutes the 27-year old put in with the parent club on his brief visit, he’ll likely be back up as soon as any of the regulars falls to injury (or slips up).
He was also signed to a one-year two-way deal on the opening day of 2015 free agency, so they wanted him.
Tampa Bay Lightning 7th round pick in the 2013 draft (#186 overall) 6th year Swiss-born right wing Joel Vermin(47) picks up his first NHL recall and looks to be staying for a spell.
After a quick start with farm team Syracuse Crunch (3 goals, 7 assists in 12 AHL games with a +2 plus/minus), he already looking to eclipse marks set in his rookie year in North America, where he connected for 12 tallies and 21 helpers.
In 2 games with the parent club he skated 15 shifts for 11:18 of total ice time with 1 assist (on the game-winning goal in his 2nd appearance), 1 shot on net, 2 hits, 1 giveaway, 2 minutes of power play time and a +1 rating. Both games were also victories.
The not exactly huge 5’11” 192 lbs. forward skated 5 seasons in his country’s top league for hometown team Bern racking up some decent numbers (31 goals, 50 assists in 177 games with a +32) and won the 2013 NLA Championship.
At 23-years old he signed a three-year entry level deal that makes him a restricted free agent at the end of the current campaign and looks to be in line for a nice extension to continue.
New York Islanders‘ 3rd round pick in the 2012 draft (#65 overall) 2nd year defenseman Adam Pelech(50) has been consistently putting in the hard work to get noticed since he arrived on the pro scene with affiliate Bridgeport Sound Tigers.
On the second worst team in the AHL last season he managed to record 11 assists and owned only a -3 rating, while landing at least one shot on net in each contest.
This season the unassumingly large 6’3″ 210 lbs. blue liner already has his first two goals and a pair of assists in 11 games with a team defense leading +9 plus/minus.
In his NHL debut he skated 17 shifts for 13:19 of ice time and left the 4-1 win with a +1, 1 shot, 2 hits, 1 breakup and :13 on the power play.
There’s no reason to believe he won’t be able to put up some offensive numbers, especially helpers like he did in four campaigns with Erie Otters of the OHL.
The recently just turned 21-year old was a healthy scratch for his second game but there’s very little doubt with the current news surrounding the Isles‘ defensive core he’ll work his way into the lineup and may even never look back.
St. Louis Blues kept center Jeremy Welsh(46) in the prospect system for the full run of his 1-year under contract but played a career high 75 AHL games scoring new bests, 20 goals, 21 assists, 41 points with 152 shots on net and a +8 rating.
Before heading into another unrestricted free agent status, he was re-upped for continued look.
A later cut from 2015 training camp, the still only 4th year player went back for a second stint with Chicago Wolves and got right to it.
In 11 games he already has 3 goals, 4 assists with a +3 and was recently recalled.
Playing his first NHL game in nearly a couple of years, he skated 15 shifts for 8:27 total ice time with 2 penalty minutes, 2 hits, 1 takeaway and :08 of power play time.
The 27-year was a healthy scratch for the team’s last outing but may find his way back into the lineup again before being reassigned.
Vancouver Canucks‘ wasted little time in the off-season re-upping for another year on a two-way contract with sizable 6’4″ 210 lbs. right wing Alexandre Grenier(28).
He had a 2nd good season with affiliate Utica Comets raising his totals slightly with a second consecutive campaign of 17 goals and new best 26 assists and 43 points with a +13 rating and monster 182 shots on net.
Going all the way to the Calder Cup Finals before bowing out, he added another 6 goals and 9 assists through 23 playoff contests with another solid +11 plus/minus.
He would impress with a strong training camp, getting reassigned just before the onset of the 2015/2016 season for his third run with the farm club and got it going quickly.
In 13 AHL games he’s already struck for a pair of tallies and 5 helpers.
It was enough to impress the parent club and he received his first NHL recall.
He had 15 shifts for 8:52 of ice time, 4 shots and 1 hit in a 4-1 loss.
Up for only a short cup of coffee this time, he was sent back down to continue working on his game. He should be able to make it happen.
Crazy to think 2015/2016 is Tampa Bay Lightning‘s 28-year old right wing Mike Blunden(46)‘s 10th pro season.
He’s played NHL games in every season, except one, 2008-2009.
That year he’d spend it in the minors with Chicago Blackhawks‘ affiliate Rockford IceHogs before being traded from draft team to Columbus Blue Jackets and was immediately sent to their farm club Syracuse Crunch with no recall.
The pretty sizable 6’4″ 217 lbs. forward worked his way into parent club’s lineup for 40 games in the next campaign and then two seasons later was on the roster 39 times skating for Montreal Canadiens in his first year under contract.
Signed as an unrestricted free agent by Tampa Bay Lightning in 2014/2015 and given an extension before his time was up for a second tour, he got into 2 big league games last season and only a month into the new session he’s already up for a visit.
He’s also back where he was 5 years prior with Syracuse Crunch, the Bolts‘ affiliate since 2012.
In a 1-0 loss to interstate rival Florida Panthers, he played 10 shifts for only 5:24 total ice but managed 1 shot, 4 hits and :04 of power play time.
It will definitely be interesting to see what he decides for his next career move.
Philadelphia Flyers‘ 4th round pick in the 2012 draft (#117 overall) 2nd year left wing Taylor Leier(58) realizes his first NHL recall and game.
He skated 12 shifts for 7:27 ice time with 1 shot, 1 break up and 1 take away, never looking out of place in a 3-2 win.
Although he wasn’t even a late training camp cut, he jumped out of the gate fast with farm team Lehigh Valley Phantoms. In 14 AHL games he has a 4 goals and 5 assists with a +1 rating.
In his rookie year, played entirely with the affiliate he had a fairly decent 13 goals and 18 assists for 31 points in 73 games.
He isn’t the most sizable guy on the ice at 5’11” 177 lbs. but it must have been a hunch to recall him this early when injury struck the big club.
The only 21-year old former captain of Portland Winterhawks and 2013 WHL Champion will likely stick for a bit if the puck keeps bouncing in their favor and he may even pot his first big league basket.
He’s in the 2nd season of a three-year entry level deal.
Although he had a new contract extension in hand, 4th year defenseman Austin Madaisky(2) was definitely not happy about spending another season in the minor league system for Columbus Blue Jackets.
Released from his contract, he signs a one-year deal to join Straubing Tigers of DEL for a complete change of scenery.
Often injured he may have fallen off the depth chart, never getting a shot at the NHL, despite showing a tremendous offensive upside and accountability in his own zone.
He may have realized that opportunity last season, if he hadn’t been shut down for a lengthy spell with a broken leg.
At still only 23-years old it’s very possible he returns to these shores after maybe a year or two of dynamite play away from home.
