While there has been talk that some teams would be willing to let their players participate in the 2018 Olympics even if the NHL doesn’t shut down their schedule, the league plans to sit down and put together a league-wide policy regarding participation, Deputy Commissioner Bill Daly told Bruce Garrioch of the Ottawa Sun.
This comes on the heels of Senators owner Eugene Melnyk announcing that he wouldn’t allow Erik Karlsson to go if the NHL doesn’t stop their season late last week. On the flip side, Capitals owner Ted Leonsis has consistently said he wouldn’t stand in the way if his top players wanted to go. However, it appears the decision ultimately won’t be left to the individual teams. There remains no timetable for an official announcement on whether or not NHL players will be able to participate.
Elsewhere around the hockey world:
- The Coyotes announced the recalls of defenseman Zbynek Michalek and center Laurent Dauphin from Springfield of the AHL. Michalek cleared waivers at the beginning of the season and has been there ever since, playing in 43 games with the Roadrunners. As for Dauphin, he has been back and forth several times this year; he has two goals and an assist in 24 NHL games while adding 14 goals and eight helpers in 31 AHL contests. Sarah McLellan of the Arizona Republic notes (Twitter link) that Michalek’s recall is a regular one while Dauphin’s is on an emergency basis. That means that Arizona is down to one regular recall between now and the end of the season.
- The Maple Leafs are hoping to have defenseman Connor Carrick back in their lineup tomorrow against Boston, reports Lance Hornby of the Toronto Sun. Carrick has been out for nearly a month with an upper body injury and will meet with team doctors tomorrow to get the final determination on whether or not he is ready to return to the lineup. The 22 year old is in his first full NHL season, collecting seven points in 55 games while averaging 16:31 per game in ice time in primarily a third pairing role.
- The recent mumps outbreak across the league may not be over just yet as the Flames announced on their team Twitter page that winger Micheal Ferland is being held out of tonight’s game against Los Angeles and is under observation for the mumps. Earlier this year, several players from the Canucks and Wild missed time with the disease. Ferland sits fifth in goals on Calgary with 14 in 67 games this season.
What would happen if Karlsson went anyways? The owner can’t legally force him to stay, right? Like maybe the contract would be voided but that works in Karlsson’s favor if he gets to the open market so how does that work? I get that it won’t happen, but hypothetically speaking.
The Russian players are going to go no matter what the NHL says. They value playing for their country above everything. That could create an ugly situation for the league. You could have players like Ovechkin, Malkin, Kuznetsov & Bobrovsky leaving their teams in the middle of the season. That isn’t going to look good for anyone involved.