F Jan Kovar signs PTO with @AHLBruins. On ice for today's practice
— Mark Divver (@MarkDivver) October 18, 2018
Well then. Agent Allan Walsh tweets that Kovar will “PLAY games” (his emphasis) and go from there. Mark says Kovar isn’t likely for this weekend’s home-and-home, Friday here, Saturday up in Providence. Ah well.
Kovar would’ve been a seventh veteran here. Instead, the seventh veteran is Stephen Gionta (who came back from Anaheim yesterday, didn’t have time to both get his equipment and make his flight, so practiced today in a cobbled-together set of gear, borrowing a pair of skates from Tanner Fritz). Brent Thompson said again what he has said from the start: one day at a time with the veterans issue. For the moment, it appeared as if Gionta and Ben Holmstrom are the two who’ll be out. Chris Bourque practiced as a regular, with Travis St. Denis and Steve Bernier.
Those switches on defense appear to have stuck, which at first glance suggests Yannick Rathgeb gets in for the first time. Thompson said they’ll discuss the lineup as a staff and with Chris Lamoriello.
Gionta will wear 13, as he wore in his short stint here in 2016-17.
Mike Ianniello caught that Jeremy Smith has a new Islanders-themed helmet. It arrived yesterday.
David Quenneville story from Worcester. The Railers play their home opener Saturday, their only game this weekend.
Elsewhere, Matt Finn is up with Grand Rapids to start the season. Wednesday night, he scored his first AHL goal since the night the Sound Tigers clinched their last playoff spot, April 15, 2016, in Portland, arguably the second-biggest goal for this team in at least the past six seasons. (His tied it late; Bracken Kearns’ won it later.)
Danick Martel (conditioning) and Cory Conacher to Syracuse.
Reiging AHL Player of the Week Victor Olofsson lit up somebody else.
Tulsa released Enfield’s Robbie Baillargeon yesterday.
Eric Wellwood, whose playing career ended in that gruesome skate-cut injury in front of the penalty box here five years ago, appears to have a fine coaching career going: He’s the new coach of Flint (OHL).
And some rather large local newspaper news.
*-Thanks… Art.” (2F04)