A common theme between the Texas Stars and the San Antonio Rampage has been quality additions to the roster. Recently the parent Colorado Avalanche have dispatched first round picks Mikko Rantanen and Nikita Zadorov (through Buffalo) to the Rampage as marquee additions.
Texas also picked up defenseman Patrick Nemeth (conditioning assignment) and Devin Shore (second in goals and sixth in the AHL in points) when he was recalled by Dallas on November 1. Goaltender Jack Campbell, the 10th overall pick in the 2010 draft, is scheduled to make his season debut during Texas’ Veteran’s Day tilt against Rampage.
The additions in Austin may not stop there as Curtis MacKenzie and Patrick Eaves have both returned to the ice in Dallas after rehabilitating injuries. The pair could come off the injured reserve list in the near future. (UPDATE: The Dallas Stars re-assigned Radek Faska to Texas on Sunday. With Campbell on the roster the Stars organization moved Maxime Lagace to the Idaho Steelheads (ECHL). 
Down One
The AHL handed down a three-game suspension to San Antonio forward Patrick Bordeleau after reviewing a boarding incident from Saturday night’s game in Cedar Park. In reality it was a two-for-one deal for Bordeleau.
Bordeleau began the sequence when he knocked Texas defenseman Mattias Backman into the boards. Play continued and Bordeleau finished by sending Jason Dickinson flying. While Dickinson remains in the lineup the same cannot be said for Backman who reportedly suffered a “minor” concussion.
Two of the games the San Antonio winger is slated to miss will come against the Stars.
Joe confirms it; but a closer look shows contract issues
If you read my last dispatch you would have read my thoughts on Rampage netminder Calvin Pickard. Recently Colorado Executive Vice President, General Manager and Alternate Governor Joe Sakic confirmed what I already knew—the player is ready for the next level.
“He’s (Pickard) going to be here (Denver) next year for sure,” Sakic told the Denver Post’s Mike Chambers.
Perhaps if Semyon Varlamov can’t get untracked it might be sooner rather than later. While backup Reto Berra has been sensational in goal; Varlamov has struggled with a sub .900 save percentage. Berra, who posted a 25-save shutout against Philadelphia on Tuesday evening, leads all qualifying NHL goaltenders in goals against average.
With a $5.9 million hit against the cap through 2018-19 the Avalanche are highly invested in allowing Varlamov to return to form. It had better happen soon though because the standings are beginning to get away from Colorado. It would seem the club only has about a month to budget for a resolution before they have to try Berra as the regular.
Speaking of Berra, he has a cap hit of $1.45 million for next season while Pickard is a restricted free agent after this season. Something will have to give.
UPDATE: Due to an injury to Varlamov the Avalanche recalled Pickard on Wednesday. Pickard reported to the club in Boston. In turn San Antonio recalled Spencer Martin from the Fort Wayne Komets. Martin was selected in the third round by the Avalanche in 2013 and is a top prospect in his own right.
Martin made his AHL debut on Sunday and steered aside 46 of 47 in San Antonio’s 3-1 victory over Texas.
It isn’t a terrible surprise Varlamov would suffer a groin injury as he missed time with the same injury three times last year.
Martin was unable to make it to Cedar Park in time for the game so the Rampage signed Richard Plester as an emergency backstop. Plester appeared in two games for the then-WCHL Bakersfield Condors in the 1999-2000 season.
Komets Rising?
San Antonio’s recall of Garrett Meurs from ECHL Fort Wayne Komets is good for Meurs and a good lead in for me to discuss the minor pro landscape from 2016-17 on. When the NHL expands it will lead to two additional AHL franchises. It would seem to me of existing markets Fort Wayne (IN), Toledo (OH), Houston (TX) and Manchester (NH) would be prime candidates for new AHL franchises.
Due to reported issues in Houston, where it is said the NBA franchise isn’t interested in pro hockey, http://www.houstonpress.com/news/the-houston-aeros-are-no-more-rip-6714750 that would leave the three current ECHL clubs in the mix for new teams.
I would assume if Quebec were to be granted a franchise they would look to place their AHL club in Canada (exchange rate factors, pride) but for the second club (Las Vegas) why not Fort Wayne? Or Manchester? Or Toledo?
One of the factors a team must consider is if their fan base can handle the extra expense of an AHL game compared to an ECHL contest. If ownership believes they can operate at the higher level, they should apply to do so.
Carolina Woes
Recently I attended some games in Raleigh, NC. On the ice there are some flashes the club could turn things around and it could not be soon enough. When the club was competitive in 2011-12 the team averaged 16,042 per night and filled PNC Arena to 85.9% of capacity. But the team has gone nowhere recently and in 2014-15 the club played to 67.4% of capacity. It is even worse this year with the team drawing 61.1%.
The club has a bona-fide All-Star defenseman in Justin Faulk and having Noah Hanifin slide to them in the draft last year will help in the long run. Between those two players and 2104 seventh pick overall Haydn Fleury this team could have an all-league defensive corps in two to three years. Add-in highly regarded coach Bill Peters (selected to be an assistant with Team Canada in 2016) and this club has a chance.
There is some hope for this club. They hold two first round draft picks next year and they will see over $28M in salary come off the books next year (although they are still, in my opinion) going to be overpaying Jordan Staal and Jeff Skinner for years going forward.
What they do with the draft picks and how the Eric Staal situation is dispositioned will go a long ways towards the franchise’s future. In regards to E. Staal I don’t envy Ron Francis. The elder Staal hasn’t played well in years and he looked disinterested in the games I watched.
That being said, I am not in the dressing room and I haven’t heard of dissatisfaction with the player’s attitude; so I may be off-base. But if I were an opposing general manager I would not rent Staal and his $8+M cap hit.
According to Hockey’s Cap there are 12 clubs who currently have less than $1M in cap space (not counting long-term injured players). Simply stated, what contending club has room to take on the salary?
What Francis does have is room to retain Staal’s salary. The return for the player will likely be in direct proportion to how much of the salary the Hurricanes will retain. Then the question is, are NHL pro scouts seeing the same thing I see. A player who demands large ice time with diminishing returns.
You must be logged in to post a comment.