Ice Chips: Rangers sign D Clendening to PTO
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New York Rangers
The Rangers have signed defenceman Adam Clendening to a professional tryout, the team announced on Friday. The Niagara Falls, New York, native played 68 games in the AHL last season, split between the Hartford Wolf Pack and Rockford IceHogs, recording four goals and 29 assists. He played 31 games with the Rangers in the 2016-17 season.
The 20-year-old has registered four goals and 20 assists in 90 career NHL games with the Columbus Blue Jackets, Arizona Coyotes, Rangers, Edmonton Oilers, Pittsburgh Penguins, Vancouver Canucks, and Chicago Blackhawks.
Blake Wheeler opened New York Rangers camp skating as the second-line right winger, alongside Artemi Panarin and Filip Chytil, according to the New York Post's Larry Brooks.
"It doesn't feel weird. It feels like I've been here a long time - feel like a lot longer than just a month. I feel at home," Wheeler said after practice.
The former Winnipeg Jet's captain signed a one-year, $800,000 contract with the Rangers this offseason after the final year of his five-year, $41.25 million contract was bought out by the Jets.
Wheeler, 37, registered 16 goals and 39 assists in 72 games last season. In 1,118 games with the Jets, Boston Bruins and Atlanta Thrashers, Wheeler has totalled 312 goals and 922 points.
The Plymouth, Minn., native was originally selected fifth overall by the Arizona Coyotes in the 2004 NHL Draft.
Toronto Maple Leafs
Leafs coach Sheldon Keefe said defenceman Simon Benoit (back spasms) skated Friday but that he would not join any of the main groups at practice. Benoit signed a one-year, $775,000 contract with the Leafs in the offseason.
The Leafs practiced with the following line groups on Friday: The group used the same combinations on Thursday, the only change is Ilya Samsonov as the starter in place of Joseph Woll, according to Sports Illustrated's David Alter.
Group 1:
Bertuzzi-Matthews-Marner
Knies-Tavares-Lafferty
Cliffford-Minten-Ellis/Blandisi
Hirvonen-Gambrel-Steeves
McCabe-Klingberg
Giordano-Liljegren
Villeneuve-Lajoie
Rifai-Miller
Woll
Petruzzelli
Hildeby
Group 2:
Domi-Nylander-Jarnkrok
Abruzzese-Holmberg-Robertson
Gregor-Kampf-Reaves
Tverberg-Cowan-Shaw/Slavin
Rielly-Brodie
Kokkinen-Niemela
Lagesson-Timmins
Chadwick-Dillingham
Samsonov
Jones
Montreal Canadiens
The Canadiens practiced with the following lines at Friday's scrimmage:
Group A:
Heineman - Suzuki - Caufield
Simoneau - Maillet - Ylönen
Davidson - Condotta - Voyer
Smilanic
Allen
Miller
Justin Barron, Brady Keeper, Christopher Ortiz, William Trudeau and Arber Xhekaj were on defence for Team A.
Group C:
Harvey-Pinard - Beck - Gallagher
Farrell - Kidney - Pearson
Guindon - Mysak - Parker-Jones
Xhekaj
Mann
Spunar
Kaiden Guhle Johnathan Kovacevic, Mattias Norlinder, David Reinbacher and Miguel Tourigny were the Team C defencemen.
Washington Capitals
Former Montreal Canadiens defenceman Joel Edmundson opened Washington Capitals camp on the second pairing alongside Trevor van Riemsdyk.
Milano-Kuznetsov-Wilson
McMichael-Strome-Oshie
Snively-Lapierre-Aube -ubel
Frank-Sutter-Cristall/Trineyev
Fehervary-Jensen
Edmundson-van Riemsdyk
Johansen-Iorio
McDonald-Leivermann
Lindgren
Shepard
New Jersey Devils
'Group A' lines for New Jersey at practice, according to Devils lead reporter Amanda Stein.
Bratt - Hughes - Toffoli
Nosek - McLeod - Lazar
Willman - Engaras - Thompson
Gamberdella
Bahl - Miller
Smith - Footw
Vukajevic
Brennan
Poulter
Brodeur