Line Change
White and McLaren skated long today, so looks like they are scratches.
White will be a healthy scratch and likely will only remain a seventh defender with the Sharks. He carries no fantasy hockey value.
San Jose Sharks News
Call up / Send down
Marc-Edouard Vlasic skated with Dan Boyle
Vlasic is expected to man the top defensive pairing with Murray out of the lineup. Pickles has two goals and 12 points through 23 games with an impressive plus-13 rating.
Line Change
Logan Couture was back with Ryane Clowe and Marty Havlat at practice on Wednesday
Couture moves back onto the second line, where he first started the season. The Calder Trophy finalist is enjoying an excellent sophomore season with seven goals and 15 points through 21 games.
Line Change
That leaves Joe Thornton centering Joe Pavelski and Logan Couture on what probably ends up being the top line, though it’s hard to say at this point which will get the most minutes.
Couture moves up a line to play alongside Thornton and Pavelski. The sophomore scored four goals and seven points over his first 11 games with the Sharks.
Line Change
There’s probably going to be tighter checking on myself and Clowe as well. Obviously with the big line out there you don’t want to take away your best defenders off them, but teams will have video of me and my tendencies and how I play so I’ll have to find different ways to produce and play well.
Couture scored 32 goals and 56 points over 79 games last season while centering the second line. With Martin Havlat on his wing, look for Couture to add some assists to his repertoire.
Call up / Send down
Assigned to Manchester of the American Hockey League were forwards Andy Andreoff, Ray Kaunisto, Brandon Kozun and Linden Vey, defensemen Nicolas Deslauriers, David Kolomatis and Patrick Mullen and goalie Martin Jones. Tyler Toffoli was re-assigned to his junior team.
No immediate fantasy value in the CHL.
Line Change
Toffoli isn’t expected to make the Kings’ roster out of camp — he has one more season of junior eligibility, and skating and conditioning still need some improvement — but Toffoli did well for himself in the Kings’ 3-2 victory over the Coyotes last night, according to Terry Murray…
Toffoli should be returned to Juniors shortly. The right wing dominated the OHL last season, posting 57 goals and 108 points with the Ottawa 67s. Keep an eye out for him in a few years.
Vlasic, who came down with a cold/flu just before the start of training camp and missed the first three days, said his initil initial full practice went great.
Vlasic should be fine in a few days and paired with Brent Burns. The former QMJHL standout could see his best offensive season while paired with the team's new offensive weapon. Three years ago, Vlasic experienced a career year while paired with Rob Blake, more terrorizing but comparable defender.
Whenever Vlasic gets back, he can expect to be matched with Brent Burns on the blue line. The two did talk last weekend, Vlasic said, but that was before word got out on the pairings.
Vlasic should be fine in a few days and paired with Brent Burns. The former QMJHL standout could see his best offensive season while paired with the team's new offensive weapon. Three years ago, Vlasic experienced a career year while paired with Rob Blake, another elite weapon.
San Jose has locked up another big part of the team’s future by giving young center Logan Couture a two-year contract extension. No word on dollar figures. Couture, 22, who is due to make about $1.25 million this season, would have been a restricted free agent after this year.
Sharks have signed D Colin White to a one-year, $1-million contract. White will actually be earning $3 million this season, with New Jersey paying two-thirds of that under the buyout that went through yesterday and turned the 6-foot-3, 215-pound White into an unrestricted free agent.
Devils defenseman Colin White and forward Trent Hunter cleared waivers and are unrestricted free agents.
The Devils have placed defenseman Colin White and right wing Trent Hunter on waivers.
No doubt at all Thornton will be in the lineup, but questions remain as to how effective he will be despite the Sharks’ captain’s insistence that there are no limitations as to what he can do about taking a shoulder-to-shoulder hit from Vancouver forward Raffi Torres midway through the third period of Sunday’s 4-2 loss to the Cancucks. If Thornton is taking key faceoffs tonight, for example, at least one of those questions will be answered.
Todd McLellan says, yes, Joe Thornton will play in Game 5. Here’s how it played out this morning:
"We’ll likely go with the same lines." - Todd McLellan.
Lines updated.
The Kings have signed forward prospects Tyler Toffoli and Jordan Weal to standard three-year, entry-level contracts. Both players are currently with the AHL’s Manchester Monarchs under amateur-tryout agreements, so this does not change their short-term status.