CarterHud

              The Cincinnati Reds have placed RHP Bronson Arroyo (shoulder) and SS Zack Cozart (quadriceps) on the 10-day DL.

               Arroyo, 40, missed the last 2 1/2 years with injuries including Tommy John surgery. He\’s struggled in his return, with a horrid 7.35 ERA and just 45 strikeouts in 71 innings. After his last start, he admitted that he might be retiring soon. He has a career ERA of 4.28 with 1571 strikeouts in 2435.2 innings for the Reds, Arizona Diamondbacks, Boston Red Sox and Pittsburgh Pirates.

                Cozart, 31, has a .320 batting average with nine homers, 33 RBIs and two steals in 255 Plate Appearances this year. He has a career .252 batting average, 67 home runs, 250 RBIs and 20 stolen bases in 2776 Plate Appearances, all for the Reds.

                To replace Arroyo and Cozart, the Reds recalled OF Jesse Winker from Louisville (AAA) and RHP Ariel Hernandez from Pensacola (AA).

                 Winker, 23, made his MLB debut this season, doing one for two (.500) with a two run double. He\’s hitting .317 with two homers, 36 RBIs and one steal in 263 Plate Appearances for Louisville this season. He has a .298 batting average with 10 homers, 310 RBIs and 21 stolen bases in 2354 Plate Appearances in his minor league career.

                 Hernandez, 25, also made his MLB debut in 2017, striking out five batters and not allowing a run in 2.2 innings. He has a 2.18 ERA with 39 strikeouts in 33 innings for Pensacola. He has a minor league career ERA of 3.64 with 266 strikeouts in 237.2 innings.

            Vegas Golden Knights GM George McPhee now has a couple of days to figure out who the inaugural Knights will be. At 10:30 A.M. ET on Sunday, the lists for protected players from each and every NHL team was released. Teams could protect either seven forwards, three defenseman and one goaltender, or eight skaters and one goalie. Most teams did the 7-3-1 combination, some teams did 4-4-1, and the New York Islanders were the only team to do 3-5-1. For the full lists, click here.

             Some teams made some surprising moves, leaving Vegas with some quality players to choose from. The Golden Knights have three very good goalies to possibly choose in Marc-Andre Fleury (PIT), Antti Raanta (NYR) and Petr Mrazek (DET).

             On defense, some top four defenseman are available waiting for Vegas to take them. The Minnesota Wild will lose a good defenseman in Matthew Dumba or Marco Scandella, but it looks like Dumba is on the move. Marc Methot (OTT) and Calvin de Haan (NYI) are two defenseman the Knights should take. The Florida Panthers have two good wingers unprotected and they\’ll probably lose one (below), but Jason Demers was also left unprotected. Brendan Dillon (SJS), Jason Garrison or Slater Koekkoek (both TBL) and Luca Sbisa (VAN) could also end up in the fabulous Las Vegas.

            For forwards, some elite players were left unprotected. Big name wingers like James Neal (NSH) and Bobby Ryan (OTT) aren\’t on the protected list. Like I mentioned before, the Panthers might lose a key winger in Jonathan Marchessault or Reilly Smith. Twenty goal scorers Brock Nelson and Mikkel Boedker could get the call that they are going to Vegas.

           Also, a team can \”bribe\” (as I like to put it) the Golden Knights to take one of the lesser players to almost protect the unprotected. For instance, a team can say to Vegas \”we\’ll give you our first round pick if you don\’t take what\’s-his-face or if you take so-and-so\”. It\’s allowed, even though it sounds fake. That\’s why Vegas might end up worse in 2017-18 than they should be. Las Vegas is known for gambling, and all 30 teams are betting the Golden Knights won\’t take their good players that are unprotected.

          The New Jersey Devils have acquired defenseman Mirco Mueller and a 5th round draft pick (143rd overall) from the San Jose Sharks in exchange for a second round pick (49th overall) and a 4th round pick (123rd overall).

           Mueller was drafted 18th overall in 2013, but has never played in the NHL full-time. Due to many AHL visits, Mueller played in just four games in 2016-17, scoring two points (a goal and an assist). He\’s just 22, and has played in 54 career NHL games, scoring six points (two goals and four assists), all for the Sharks. Also, the Sharks were expected to lose him to the Vegas Golden Knights in the expansion draft. Getting picks for him is good.

            After trading Adam Larsson for Taylor Hall last offseason, the Devils have been looking for a defenseman. Out of all of their defenseman, Damon Severson is the only with a very bright future. Now that Mueller\’s aboard, the Devils have two of them.

            \”We want to thank Mirco for his years of service to the Sharks and the Barracuda* organization. We wish him the best,\” Sharks GM Doug Wilson said of Mueller.

             *The San Jose Barracuda is the AHL affiliate for the Sharks.

           
               The Calgary Flames have acquired goaltender Mike Smith from the Arizona Coyotes in exchange for goalie Chad Johnson, defenseman Brandon Hickey and a conditional 2018 3rd rounder.

                The Flames have been looking for a starting goalie, and were looking to acquire Marc-Andre Fleury from the Pittsburgh Penguins. Smith is 35, but was an all-star this year, with a .914 SV% and a GAA of 2.92. He\’s shown he can be a reliable goalie, with a career SV% of .913 and a 2.70 GAA for the Coyotes (Arizona and Phoenix), Tampa Bay Lightning and Dallas Stars. Johnson is a UFA, so the Coyotes just got his rights. Hickey is still in college, but might make the NHL one day.

                 The Coyotes have been looking to sell Smith and his $4.5 cap hit (which the Coyotes will retain a fourth of, at $1.4 million, reported Sarah McLellan of azcentral sports), and the Flames were a perfect fit. The Coyotes might want to sign Johnson to a cheap deal, just for a year.

                  Johnson, 31, had a 2.59 GAA and a SV% of .910 in 36 games this season. He has a career SV% of .915 with a 2.44 GAA in 137 games in his career for the Flames, New York Islanders, New York Rangers, Buffalo Sabres, Boston Bruins, and actually the Coyotes (he played with Phoenix in 2012-13).

                  They get a prospect in Hickey who scored 15 points (four goals and 11 assists) in 35 games for Boston University at age 21. He has some upside, so we\’ll see what happens.

                   The 3rd rounder is solid, and can become a second rounder if the Flames make the playoffs for the second consecutive season.

        For the second day in a row, the Montreal Canadiens have shipped off a defenseman. First, they acquired LW Jonathan Drouin for defenseman Mikhail Sergachev. Today, they have dealt Nathan Beaulieu to the Buffalo Sabres in exchange for a 3rd round draft pick (68th overall) in this year\’s draft.

       Beaulieu did score career highs in goals (four) assists (24 assists) and of course points (28) in a career high games of 74. But, he never has reached the potential he had when he was drafted 17th overall in 2011. They get some value out of him in a 3rd rounder.

       Beaulieu, 24, has scored exactly 60 points (seven goals and 53 assists) in 225 games over five seasons, all with the Canadiens. In 2016-17, Beaulieu blocked 100 shots in a season, blocking 102.

        For the Sabres, they now have double the amount of defenseman they need (they have 12, but you need 6), but Dmitry Kulikov is a UFA, and some of them (Brady Austin, Taylor Fedun, Brendan Guhle) will start next year in the minors. Josh Gorges probably won\’t play often, so there\’s six defenseman in Beaulieu, Rasmus Ristolainen, Cody Franson, Justin Falk, Jake McCabe, and those other three can be called up. A third rounder might not become anything good, so they didn\’t give up a high risk.