Vancouver, B.C. – Vancouver Canucks General Manager Jim Benning announced today that the club has acquired a third-round pick in the 2022 NHL Entry Draft from the Winnipeg Jets in exchange for defenceman Nate Schmidt.
“We are pleased to regain a third-round pick in next year’s draft as we look to continue strengthening our prospect pool,” said Benning. “We would like to thank Nate for his contributions to our club and we wish him and his family well.”
SAINT PAUL, Minn. – Minnesota Wild General Manager Bill Guerin today announced the National Hockey League (NHL) club has re-signed forward Kyle Rau to a one-year, two-way contract ($750,000/$300,000) for the 2021-22 season.
Rau, 28 (10/24/92), recorded two assists, 23 hits and 15 blocked shots in 14 games with Minnesota last season. He also appeared in one Stanley Cup Playoff game. The 5-foot-8, 175-pound native of Eden Prairie, Minn., recorded 43 points (14-29=43), six penalty minutes (PIM), four power-play goals (PPG), one game-winning goal (GWG) and 135 shots in 51 games with the Iowa Wild of the American Hockey League (AHL) in 2019-20. Rau ranked third on the team in assists, fourth in points, T-4th in PPG and fifth in goals and shots. He set a career-best, nine-game point streak from Nov. 16-Dec. 27 (2-14=16).
Rau owns seven points (2-5=7), 15 PIM, 69 hits and 23 blocked shots in 56 career NHL games in five seasons with Florida and Minnesota. He has also appeared in two Stanley Cup Playoff contests with the Wild. Rau owns 204 points (92-112=204), 102 PIM, 32 PPG, five shorthanded goals (SHG), eight GWG and 768 shots in 307 career AHL contests in six seasons with San Antonio, Portland, Springfield and Iowa. He was selected by Florida in the third round (91st overall) of the 2011 NHL Draft and made his NHL debut with the Panthers on Feb. 20, 2016 vs. Winnipeg. Rau signed as a free agent with Minnesota on July 1, 2017 and tallied an assist in his Wild debut on Jan. 20, 2018 vs. Tampa Bay. His brother, Chad, skated in nine games with Minnesota in 2011-12 to mark the first set of brothers to wear a Wild sweater.
He totaled 164 points (67-97=164) and 85 PIM in 160 games during four seasons at the University of Minnesota (2011-15). Rau collected 69 points (33-36=69) in 25 games during his senior season at Eden Prairie High School in 2010-11. He helped Eden Prairie win the Minnesota State High School League Hockey Championship and was named the 2011 Mr. Hockey Award Winner.
The Bengals today signed free agent WR Reece Horn.
Horn (6-3, 215), a first-year player out of the University of Indianapolis, originally was a college free agent signee of the Tennessee Titans in 2016. He later spent time playing professionally in Europe, as well as in the AAF (Memphis Express) and XFL (Tampa Bay Vipers). He also spent the 2019 offseason with the Miami Dolphins, but he has not yet seen regular-season game action in the NFL.
Houston sends Smith, Toro to Seattle in exchange for two relievers
HOUSTON, TX – The Houston Astros have acquired RHP Kendall Graveman and RHP Rafael Montero from the Seattle Mariners in exchange for RHP Joe Smith and IF Abraham Toro. The announcement was made by Astros General Manager James Click.
Graveman, 30, has gone 4-0 with 10 saves and a 0.82 ERA (3ER/33IP) in 30 games for the Mariners this season. He’s been one of the best relievers in the Majors in 2021, as he owns the lowest WHIP (0.70) among all Major League relievers and the lowest ERA, opponent batting average (.136) and opponent OPS (.424) among all AL relievers. A veteran of seven Major League seasons (2014-18, 2020-21), Graveman has pitched in 124 career MLB games with Toronto (2014), Oakland (2015-18) and Seattle (2020-21). He is set to become a free agent following the 2021 campaign.
Montero, 30, has gone 5-3 with seven saves and a 7.27 ERA (35ER/43.1IP) in 40 games for the Mariners in 2021. Montero has pitched better than his number indicate in 2021, as his FIP (4.13) is over three runs lower than his ERA, while his BABIP (.366) is the fourth-highest in the American League (min. 40 IP). A seven-year veteran (2014-17, 2019-21), Montero has spent time with New York-NL (2014-17), Texas (2019-20) and Seattle (2021) in his career. Montero, who was designated for assignment by Seattle on Friday, is under club control through the 2022 season.
Smith, 37, has gone 1-1 with a 7.48 ERA (18ER/21.2IP) in 27 games for the Astros this season. The 14-year Major League veteran has pitched his last three seasons in Houston (2018-19, 2021) and has made 809 career relief appearances since debuting in the Majors in 2007.
Toro, 24, has hit .211 (23×109) with six homers and 20 RBI in 35 games for the Astros this season. The switch-hitting infielder has spent parts of the last three seasons in Houston, appearing in 93 Major League games. He was originally acquired as a fifth-round pick in the 2015 MLB draft.
SAN JOSE – The San Jose Sharks (@SanJoseSharks) announced today that the club has acquired the rights to forward Nick Merkley (@merkdaddy4) from the New Jersey Devils in exchange for the rights to defenseman Christian Jaros.
“Nick is a competitive and skilled forward who was a first round draft selection in 2015,” said Sharks Assistant General Manager and San Jose Barracuda General Manager Joe Will. “He has shown good progression in his young career and adds versatility to our organization’s forward depth.”
Merkley, 24, appeared in 27 games with the Devils last season, posting ten points (two goals, eight assists) and seven penalty minutes. He set career highs in games played, goals, assists and points. Merkley also appeared in five games for the Binghamton Devils in the American Hockey League (AHL).
Over the course of his professional career, Merkley has appeared in 32 career NHL games, scoring 12 points (three goals, nine assists) with the Arizona Coyotes and New Jersey. In the AHL, he has appeared in 142 games, scoring 11 points (40 goals, 71 assists), and was named to the 2017-18 AHL All-Star game.
Prior to his professional career, he appeared in parts of five seasons with the Kelowna Rockets in the Western Hockey League (WHL) and recorded 259 career points (85 goals, 174 assists) in 245 games. During the 2014-15 season, he helped Kelowna to a WHL Championship, leading the league in postseason assists (22) and finished third in points (27). He was named to the WHL West Second All-Star Team and the CHL Memorial Cup All-Star team, after registering five points (two goals, three assists) in five games. He also helped Canada win a gold medal at the Hlinka Gretzky Cup. In the 2013-14 season, he was named WHL Rookie of the Year, finishing third in goals (25) and points (58).
The five-foot-eleven, 194-pound native of Calgary, Alberta was originally selected by Arizona in the 2015 NHL Draft (first round, 30th overall).
The Bengals today made the following player moves:
*Placed OT Hakeem Adeniji, P Drue Chrisman, DE Wyatt Hubert and DE Cam Sample on the Active/Non-Football Injury list.
*Placed WR Riley Lees and DT Renell Wren on the Active/Physically Unable to Perform list.
*Placed HB Pooka Williams on the Active/Non-Football Illness list.
Vancouver, B.C. – Vancouver Canucks General Manager Jim Benning announced today that the club has signed forward Conor Garland to a five-year contract worth an average annual value of $4.95 million.
“We’re pleased to have reached a long-term deal with Conor today,” said Benning. “He’s a skilled young player, who plays hard, produces offensively and will complement our top-six forward group.”
Garland, 25, recorded 39 points (12-27-39) and 26 penalty minutes in 49 games with Arizona last season, leading the team in assists (27) and ranking third in points (39). He tallied a career-high in goals (22) during the 2019.20 season, leading all Coyotes skaters in that category.
The 5’10”, 165-pound forward has played three NHL seasons with Arizona, collecting 96 points (47-49-96) in 164 career games played. In eight career postseason games, Garland has registered an additional two points (1-1-2).
A native of Scituate, Massachusetts, Garland represented Team USA at the 2021 IIHF World Championship, leading the team in goals (6), assists (7), and points (13) enroute to a bronze medal.
Garland was originally selected by Arizona in the fifth round, 123rd overall in the 2015 NHL Entry Draft.
SAINT PAUL, Minn. – Minnesota Wild General Manager Bill Guerin today announced the National Hockey League (NHL) club has re-signed defenseman Dakota Mermis to a two-year, two-way contract ($750,000/$300,000 in 2021-22 and $750,000/$325,000 in 2022-23).
Mermis, 27 (1/5/94), recorded 10 hits and four blocked shots in three games with Minnesota last season. The 6-foot, 194-pound native of Alton, Ill., tallied 19 points (3-16=19), two power-play goals (PPG), a plus-6 rating, 23 penalty minutes (PIM) and 79 shots on goal in 53 games with the Binghamton Devils in the American Hockey League (AHL) in 2019-20. He also collected four points (1-3=4), a plus-7 rating, four PIM, 17 shots on goal, 20 hits and 21 blocked shots in 10 games with the New Jersey Devils in 2019-20.
Mermis owns four points (1-3=4), four PIM, 35 hits and 31 blocked shots in 23 career NHL games with Arizona, New Jersey and Minnesota. He has notched 87 points (13-74=87), 250 PIM and 428 shots on goal in 304 career AHL games with Springfield, Tucson and Binghamton. Mermis registered 66 points (13-53=66), a plus-103 rating, 196 PIM, four shorthanded goals (SHG) and three game-winning goals (GWG) in three seasons in the Ontario Hockey League (OHL) with London and Oshawa (2012-15). He won the OHL Championship with the Knights in 2013 and with the Generals in 2015.
Mermis was originally signed as a free agent by Arizona on July 1, 2015. Minnesota signed him to a one-year, two-way contract on Oct. 9, 2020.
The Bengals today signed free agent OT Gunnar Vogel.
Vogel (6-6, 310), a rookie out of Northwestern University, originally was a college free agent signee of the Chicago Bears in May. He spent five seasons (2016-20) at Northwestern, with a redshirt year in ’16, and played in 25 games (18 starts).
Bengals WR Riley Lees, HB Pooka Williams and DT Renell Wren all passed physicals today and have been cleared to practice. All three players had been placed on the Active/Physically Unable to Perform list on July 25.
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