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Archives for January 2021

NHL Postpones Another Carolina Hurricanes Game

January 25, 2021 at 9:52 am CDT | by Gavin Lee 1 Comment

The NHL has decided to postpone another Carolina Hurricanes game, moving tomorrow’s game against the Tampa Bay Lightning to next month. The Hurricanes are still dealing with an outbreak of COVID-19 and have now had four games postponed. The league also announced the rescheduling of seven games, including those already missed between the Hurricanes and Florida Panthers. As a result, the Panthers, who also had games rescheduled at the beginning of the season thanks to an outbreak on the Dallas Stars, now have 54 games scheduled in the next 102 days.

The changes are as follows:

Game #52, Carolina at Nashville, originally scheduled for Jan. 19, is now scheduled for Tuesday, March 2 at 8 p.m. ET

Game #62, Florida at Carolina, originally scheduled for Jan. 21, is now scheduled for Wednesday, Feb. 17 at 5 p.m. ET

Game #76, Florida at Carolina, originally scheduled for Jan. 23, is now scheduled for Sunday, March 7 at 5 p.m.  ET

Game #97, Tampa Bay at Carolina, originally scheduled for Jan. 26, is now scheduled for Monday, Feb. 22 at 7 p.m. ET

Game #255, Columbus at Carolina, originally scheduled for Feb. 16, is now scheduled for Monday, Feb. 15 at 7 p.m. ET

Game #256, Florida at Tampa Bay, originally scheduled for Feb. 16, is now scheduled for Monday, Feb. 15 at 7 p.m. ET

Game #296, Carolina at Tampa Bay, originally scheduled for Feb. 22, is now scheduled for Wednesday, Feb. 24 at 5 p.m. ET

Carolina Hurricanes| Florida Panthers| Schedule| Tampa Bay Lightning

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Five Key Stories: 1/18/21 – 1/24/21

January 24, 2021 at 8:59 pm CDT | by Brian La Rose Leave a Comment

In a season where it appears as if trades will be occurring less frequently than normal, it was a pair of deals that grabbed the headlines in the NHL over the past seven days and they are highlighted among the key stories of the week.

Change Of Venue: The 2021 World Hockey Championships were slated to be held in Latvia and Belarus but the search is on for a new partner for Latvia after the IIHF announced that they were pulling the portion from Belarus due to the ongoing political unrest.  As of now, the plan remains to hold the tournament as scheduled beginning on May 21st but they will either need to find another city to serve as co-host, see if Riga can host the entire event, or look for a new host entirely with Latvia getting another opportunity in the near future.  With the tournament less than four months away, it’s a decision that will need to be made sooner than later.

Capitals Hit By COVID: While there have been teams with multiple players on the COVID Protocol list, there hadn’t been any fines for players’ conduct until the league levied a $100K fine to Washington to four of their players not adhering to protocols.  Goalie Ilya Samsonov, defenseman Dmitry Orlov, center Evgeny Kuznetsov, and winger Alex Ovechkin were all in the same hotel room without a mask and Samsonov wound up testing positive for the virus.  As a result, all four have placed on the COVID Protocol list, making them ineligible for at least four games.  Two of those have been played already with the other two coming next week.

Blockbuster: Patrik Laine, Jack Roslovic, and Pierre-Luc Dubois had all made it clear that they would welcome a change of scenery and they all got their wish as they were traded for each other, as Laine and Roslovic went to Columbus for Dubois and a 2022 third-round pick.  Winnipeg also retained 26% of Laine’s contract (which expires after this season) and Roslovic received a two-year, $3.8MM contract.  Winnipeg has been seeking a second impact center that isn’t just a rental acquisition and gets that in Dubois while Laine, who went one spot before Dubois in the 2016 draft, gives the Blue Jackets one of the elite scoring wingers in the league while Roslovic should fit in their middle six.  The trade deadline is still more than two months away but there’s a good chance this winds up as the biggest swap of the season.

Ekman-Larsson Out: The Coyotes will be without their top defenseman for a while as Oliver Ekman-Larsson’s lower-body injury, which was originally listed as a day-to-day issue, will now cause him to miss the next three-to-four weeks.  The 29-year-old has logged at least 23 minutes per game over each of the last eight seasons, leaving a big hole to be filled.  On top of that, they had been dealing with work visa issues for Ilya Lyubushkin so the Russian, who played 51 games for Arizona last season, has yet to be available for them as well.

Avs/Wild Swap: There was another trade in the NHL with Minnesota acquiring blueliner Ian Cole from Colorado in exchange for Greg Pateryn; the Avalanche also paid down $800K of Cole’s $4.25MM price tag.  On paper, it’s a big upgrade for the Wild as they add an upgrade to their third pairing at the expense of someone whose role had been limited.  Meanwhile, Colorado still preserves some cap room and also opened up a spot on the left side of their blueline for top prospect Bowen Byram who has gotten into his first two career NHL games since the swap.

Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.

Uncategorized Week In Review

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Poll: Grading The Jets-Blue Jackets Trade

January 24, 2021 at 7:57 pm CDT | by Brian La Rose 13 Comments

For a season that wasn’t supposed to have a lot of notable trade activity, there was certainly a big trade made on Saturday with the Jets acquiring center Pierre-Luc Dubois and a 2022 third-round pick from the Blue Jackets in exchange for wingers Patrik Laine and Jack Roslovic with the latter soon agreeing to a two-year, $3.8MM bridge deal.

It’s a swap of two star players that were looking for a change of scenery.  The deal allows both teams to acquire a top talent in return but given their disenchantment where they were, it’s also fair to wonder if this will be the ideal fit for everyone involved.  Both Laine and Dubois have a new home but are they in a more preferable spot than they were before?

For Winnipeg, adding Dubois should put to an end to GM Kevin Cheveldayoff’s attempts to add another impact center, a process that started with the acquisition of Paul Stastny in 2018, was continued a year later with Kevin Hayes before ultimately re-acquiring Stastny this offseason.  With Bryan Little’s playing future in serious jeopardy and Stastny’s contract up, they needed a longer-term solution.  Dubois can be that player although he’ll move from a top-line role down to the second line with Mark Scheifele ahead of him on the depth chart.

Meanwhile, Columbus gets one of the top goal-scorers in the league in Laine and a young roster player in Roslovic, one who was drafted as a center and will presumably get an opportunity to play down the middle.  However, they lose a year of team control moving from Dubois to Laine, who is owed a $7.5MM qualifying offer this summer while being eligible for salary arbitration.  While Winnipeg retained on his salary in the deal to get his price tag nearly identical to Dubois, that certainly won’t be the case for long.

How do you feel both teams made out in this blockbuster?  Vote in the polls below to award your grades.

(Poll links for the Jets and Blue Jackets for app users.)

Columbus Blue Jackets| Polls| Winnipeg Jets Jack Roslovic| Patrik Laine| Pierre-Luc Dubois

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Snapshots: Devils, Lyubushkin, Koivu

January 24, 2021 at 6:55 pm CDT | by Brian La Rose Leave a Comment

New Jersey has yet to have top center Nico Hischier in the lineup this season but it appears as if he is getting closer to suiting up.  Marc Ciampa of the Devils’ team site relays several updates from head coach Lindy Ruff who indicated that Hischier has started to skate on his own as he works his way back from a leg injury.  While there’s no timetable for his return still, the fact he’s now back on the ice for workouts is certainly a big step in his rehab.

Meanwhile, winger Jesper Bratt is in town and is going through his mandatory quarantine period which means he should be available to begin skating with the team in the next few days.  As for goaltender Aaron Dell, he has not yet received his work visa and thus has not been able to travel to New Jersey to start his quarantine period so the Devils will be waiting a while for their new backup to become available.

Elsewhere around the league:

  • The Coyotes have been without defenseman Ilya Lyubushkin all season as he has been waiting to get an immigration issue resolved. The good news is the issue has been cleared up as Craig Morgan of AZ Coyotes Insider reports (Twitter link) that the blueliner is scheduled to land in Arizona today.  The bad news is that he’ll still need to go through a quarantine period before he can even begin to skate with Arizona so while this is a big hurdle that has been cleared, it’ll still be a little while before he’ll be able to play.  The 26-year-old suited up in 51 games with the Coyotes last season as their sixth defender.
  • While the Blue Jackets lost a center with yesterday’s trade of Pierre-Luc Dubois to Winnipeg, they will be getting one back for their next game as Aaron Portzline of The Athletic relays (Twitter link) that Mikko Koivu will be able to suit up on Tuesday against Florida. The veteran has yet to suit up with his new team this season as he has been on the COVID Protocol List.  While he isn’t a top-line option like he was in his prime with Minnesota, he’ll give them some extra depth down the middle at a time where their options are limited.

Columbus Blue Jackets| New Jersey Devils| Snapshots| Utah Mammoth Aaron Dell| Jesper Bratt| Mikko Koivu| Nico Hischier

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What Your Team Is Thankful For: Philadelphia Flyers

January 24, 2021 at 5:56 pm CDT | by Holger Stolzenberg 2 Comments

We’ve now made it past the holiday season but there is still plenty to be thankful. Like the last few years, PHR will take a look at what teams are thankful for but this year comes with a bit of a change. Normally teams would have an idea of where their season was heading, coming up on the one-quarter mark with mountains of statistics to analyze. Instead, in this unprecedented year, things are just getting underway. We’ll still take a look at what each group is excited about and what they could hope for with the calendar having now flipped to 2021.

What are the Flyers most thankful for?

A group of young impact players changing the look of the team.

It’s taken a few years, but the team is suddenly loaded with young talent that is contributing in a major way for the team. Just a few years ago, the team brought in players like Travis Konecny, Ivan Provorov, Travis Sanheim and  goaltender Carter Hart to name a few. Those players have established themselves as elite players on a playoff team that is hoping to now take that next step. Other younger players have more recently stepped in as well, including Joel Farabee, Morgan Frost, Philippe Myers, etc. The hope is the next wave can also take the next step.

Who are the Flyers most thankful for?

Their veteran forwards.

The team may have quite a few young players they can count on for support, but the team continues to be held together by their veteran depth. The team still has their top three long-time forwards, Sean Courturier (the 2020 Selke winner), Jacob Voracek and Claude Giroux, but have also gotten great contributions from Kevin Hayes, who has looked outstanding in his one-plus year with the team, even posting eight points in six games with the team so far this year. Even James van Riemsdyk has posted solid numbers this season, giving the offense a solid core presence.

What would the Flyers be even more thankful for?

Rebound seasons for Oskar Lindblom and Nolan Patrick.

The Flyers lost a pair of impressive young players for the season last year. Lindblom was diagnosed with Ewing’s Sarcoma, a form of cancer and spent the season receiving treatment. He was cleared of the cancer late in the year and even made the trip with the team into the playoff bubble, although he didn’t play. Regardless, now healthy, the team hopes that Lindblom can pick up where he left off, which was producing at a high level. So far, he has spent quite a bit of time on the first line.

Patrick, on the other hand, missed the entire 2019-20 season due to concussion issues with plenty of questions on whether he would be back when the season started. However, Patrick is back, centering the third line and looking sharp, perhaps sharper than he has ever played before, giving hope to the Flyers future.

What should be on the Flyers’ wish list?

Improved defense.

The loss of Matt Niskanen has had quite an impact. The veteran blue liner announced his retirement during the offseason, something the team hadn’t planned on. The Flyers did go out and re-sign veteran Justin Braun, but the team has put a lot of pressure on their young defense this year and it has showed so far. The team could really use a veteran, perhaps at the trade deadline, to bolster their defense if they want to make any type of run in a shortened season and in a challenging division this year.

Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.

Philadelphia Flyers| Thankful Series 2020-21 Pro Hockey Rumors Originals

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Salary Cap Deep Dive: Montreal Canadiens

January 24, 2021 at 4:59 pm CDT | by Holger Stolzenberg Leave a Comment

Navigating the salary cap is one of the more important tasks for any GM.  Teams that can avert total cap chaos by walking the tightrope of inking players to deals that match their value (or compensate for future value without breaking the bank) remain successful.  Those that don’t see struggles and front office changes.

PHR will look at every NHL team and give a thorough look at their cap situation for the 2020-21 season.  This will focus more on players who are regulars on the roster versus those who may find themselves shuttling between the AHL and NHL.  All cap figures are courtesy of CapFriendly.

Montreal Canadiens

Current Cap Hit: $81,454,506 (under the $81.5MM Upper Limit)

Entry-Level Contracts

F Jesperi Kotkaniemi (one year, $925K)
F Ryan Poehling (one year, $925K)
D Alexander Romanov (two years, $894K)
F Nick Suzuki (two years, $863K)
F Cale Fleury (one year, $772K)

Potential Bonuses
Kotkaniemi: $2.5MM
Poehling $850K
Suzuki: $425K
Romanov: $213K
Fleury: $20K

What makes the Canadiens team so strong is the impressive play down the middle from two top young players in Suzuki and Kotkaniemi who are both expected to play big roles this season. The 21-year-old Suzuki had an impressive rookie season, scoring 13 goals and 41 points and more importantly four goals in 10 playoff games last year. He has picked up where he left off, posting six points in six games early this season. Kotkaniemi did struggle last year in his sophomore campaign, but looked more impressive in the playoffs with four goals in 10 games. He has three points in six games so far this year, but both look to have bright futures in Montreal.

The team also looks to have drafted a gem in Romanov, who was a second-round pick in 2018. The 20-year-old looks like an impact player already after just six games on the ice and looks to play a big part in the future of Montreal’s defense. Poehling and Fleury are still trying to establish themselves in Montreal’s lineup, but should have a role down the road.

One Year Remaining, Non-Entry-Level

F Tomas Tatar ($4.8MM, UFA)
F Phillip Danault ($3.08MM, UFA)
F Joel Armia ($2.6MM, UFA)
F Artturi Lehkonen ($2.4MM, RFA)
F Jordan Weal ($1.4MM, UFA)
F Corey Perry ($750K, UFA)
F Michael Frolik ($750K, UFA)
D Victor Mete ($735K, RFA)

The team will have to make a decision on Tatar, who has scored 50 goals in two-plus seasons since being acquired from Vegas in the Max Pacioretty deal (Suzuki was also part of that deal too). The 30-year-old will see his contract expire and the Canadiens will have to decide on whether they want to extend him for a few more seasons or let him go. However, after posting a 22-goal, 61-point season last year, the team may not want to allow him to leave.

Montreal will also have to make similar decisions on several other forwards, including Danault and Armia. All three have been quite useful to the team over the years, but must prove their worth this season. Despite being a valuable middle-six center, the team hasn’t begun discussing any extension with the 27-year-old center, especially with the emergence of both Suzuki and Kotkaniemi. Armia could be primed for a big year despite struggling with injuries the last few seasons.

Lehkonen and Mete will both be restricted free agents next year and should receive extensions.

Two Years Remaining

D Ben Chiarot ($3.5MM, UFA)
D Brett Kulak ($1.85MM, UFA)
F Jake Evans ($750K, RFA)

Many people seemed surprised when Montreal grabbed Chiarot off of the free-agent market after the 2018-19 season and handed him a three-year, $10.5MM deal. The blueliner had been a third-pairing piece in Winnipeg, but has blossomed into a solid top-four defenseman, who is averaging more than 20 minutes per game. Evans has slowly forced his way into the lineup as a solid bottom-six player, who can provide some physicality and a little offense and should become a regular for the team over the next few years.

Three Years Remaining

F Jonathan Drouin ($5.5MM, UFA)
F Paul Byron ($3.4MM, UFA)
G Jake Allen ($2.88MM, UFA)

Drouin was brought in three years ago to be the team’s leading scorer and maybe even the face of the franchise. Despite being one of the top young forwards in the game, his numbers haven’t translated very well as he’s never duplicated the 21-goal season he had in Tampa Bay back in 2016-17. Of course, injuries have been one of the biggest culprits, but Drouin is only 25 and can still be an impact player. So far, he has six points in his first six games, so the team has to hope that the long-term deal they gave him might still pay off down the road.

Byron has been one of the biggest disappointments as injuries have played a major role in his availability over the last two seasons. The 31-year-old has missed 79 games over the previous two seasons and a player who looked to be a solid 20-goal scorer when he signed his four-year, $13.6MM deal back in 2018, has scored 19 goals since signing that contract and still has two more years after this year at a $3.4MM AAV. Allen is another interesting player, who looks to be the perfect complimentary backup netminder as the Canadiens have to start thinking about spreading out the goaltending workload.

Read more

Four Or More Years Remaining

G Carey Price ($10.5MM through 2025-26)
D Shea Weber ($7.86MM through 2025-26)
F Josh Anderson ($5.5MM through 2026-27)
D Jeff Petry ($5.5MM in 2020-21; $6.25MM from 2021-22 through 2024-25)
F Tyler Toffoli ($4.25MM through 2023-24)
F Brendan Gallagher ($3.75MM in 2020-21; $6.5MM from 2021-22 through 2026-27)
D Joel Edmundson ($3.5MM through 2023-24)

Many people knew that the eight-year, $84MM deal that Price signed back in 2017 (and didn’t start until the 2018-19 season) might prove to be challenging for the team. Price has been solid, but hasn’t been the dominant goaltender that he was several years ago. The problem now is that there are six years remaining on that deal, which could be a problem as Price gets older. Already 33 years old, he will be 38 years old in the final year of his contract. The team has to hope that he will keep being solid for a number of years to come. Price’s contract will end the same year that Weber’s contract lasts. Weber signed a ridiculous 14-year, $110MM contract back in 2012 with the Nashville Predators. Even at age 35, Weber still remains the team’s top defenseman and has aged amazingly well so far, although injuries have been an issue from time to time. Can Weber still be productive this year and five more years after that? That’s a different question.

Montreal has also invested quite a bit in their team. The Canadiens locked up Anderson to a seven-year deal this offseason after acquiring him from Columbus for Max Domi. Anderson scored just one goal in 26 games last year due to injury, but will be counted on to be an impact forward over the long haul. Gallagher and Petry have also been extended with both players getting a significant boost to their salary, starting next year when both will make more than $6MM per season for the long-term future. Both have been impact players and should continue to be so.

Toffoli, signed to a four-year deal this offseason, should also provide top-six offense as his game has improved over the last couple of years, while Edmundson will be counted on to play a big role in Montreal over the next few years.

Buyouts

D Karl Alzner ($3.96MM in 2020-21; $1.96MM in 2021-22 and $833K in 2022-23 and 2023-24)

Retained Salary Transactions

None

Still To Sign

None

Best Value: Gallagher
Worst Value: Byron

Looking Ahead

The Canadiens have put their money in on a core of players who they will need to continue playing at a high level. What the team has going for it is a number of impressive youngsters who have stepped in and contributed quickly to fill those gaps left by the veterans and there is still plenty of talent in Montreal’s farm system to potentially keep the team going for many years to come. Contract-wise, however, the team should always be right up against the cap with Weber and Price’s contract weighing on them for six more years.

Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.

Montreal Canadiens| Salary Cap Deep Dive 2020 Pro Hockey Rumors Originals

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NHL Considering Prospect Showcase Before 2021 Draft

January 24, 2021 at 4:04 pm CDT | by Holger Stolzenberg Leave a Comment

With many junior leagues shut down throughout the world and playing time being limited for up-and-coming draft prospects due to the pandemic, there is talk of making some changes to the upcoming draft format.

According to Sportsnet’s Chris Johnston, there is talk that the NHL may be considering having a prospect showcase tournament in which 2021 draft prospects from around the world could play in several games in order to showcase their skills.

“They’re looking for ideas for what you do with all these draft-eligible players, many of whom haven’t played at all this season anywhere that NHL teams can see,” Johnston said Saturday during Hockey Night in Canada’s Headlines segment. “One thing that has been discussed is a tournament, a series of games, what have you, at some point in the spring, in which those players could play. Obviously you could invite scouts or have them watch from a safe distance through video, but it might be a way to get some eyeballs on these guys, because it’s been a tough year on those teenagers, too.”

The NHL draft, which currently is scheduled for July 23 & 24, is also likely to be pushed back. Last year’s draft was pushed back to October and something similar is possible this year, according to Sportsnet’s Elliotte Friedman.

“I think there are teams out there that would be interested in seeing the draft moved back to December or January instead of this July,” Friedman said during Saturday’s segment. “And I think there’s also a couple of teams … [discussing] the possibility of doing two drafts next June — a late ’02 and an ’03 draft on one day, and then maybe a few days later, an ’03 and an ’04 draft. I don’t know what the decision is going to be, but these are some of the ideas that are coming back to the league.”

Of course, nothing has been decided and any changes would have to be approved by the NHLPA as well.

NHL| Prospects

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North Notes: Benning, Dubois, Puljujarvi

January 24, 2021 at 2:32 pm CDT | by Holger Stolzenberg Leave a Comment

The Vancouver Canucks disappointing 2-5 start to begin the season isn’t a good sign, especially in a shortened season. The team’s record is bad, but the team hasn’t looked good in the process. While Canucks’ fans have always had a poor relationship with general manager Jim Benning over the last seven years, things have gotten worse, according to The Athletic’s Harman Dayal and Thomas Drance (subscription required).

Benning has found himself on the hot seat with criticism coming from Hockey Night in Canada’s Brian Burke, who described Benning as being under “tremendous pressure.” Despite the team’s early struggles to the season, much blame has been placed at Benning’s feet, which includes the team’s choice to not retain any of their three top free agents last offseason: Jacob Markstrom, Chris Tanev and Tyler Toffoli, as well as the fact that the team’s salary cap is critical, especially considering the bloated contract of Loui Eriksson (two years at $6MM AAV).

  • While nothing specific was said about the matter, new Winnipeg Jets center Pierre-Luc Dubois, during a press conference with reporters, was asked whether he would consider signing with the Jets long-term. “It already feels good to be here,” Dubois said as part of a long answer which also included lots of praise for Winnipeg and the organization, via The Athletic’s Murat Ates. Dubois said that his father, who works for the AHL’s Manitoba Moose, has been a big ambassador for the city. Dubois has two years to make a decision after signing a two-year, $10MM deal just before the season started.
  • With little production coming from the Edmonton Oilers’ first line, the team has moved first-line regular Zack Kassian to the third line and promoted Jesse Puljujarvi to the first line in hopes of shaking up the team’s offense, according to David Staples of the Edmonton Journal. The 22-year-old hasn’t done much on the third line with just an assist in six games, but the scribe writes that he hasn’t fit well next to center Kyle Turris, who is struggling offensively, suggesting a move next to McDavid makes sense.

Edmonton Oilers| Jim Benning| Vancouver Canucks| Winnipeg Jets Jesse Puljujarvi| Pierre-Luc Dubois| Zack Kassian

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Blue Jackets Place Brandon Dubinsky On LTIR

January 24, 2021 at 12:55 pm CDT | by Holger Stolzenberg Leave a Comment

It might seem like a strange time to do it, but the Columbus Blue Jackets announced they have placed veteran forward Brandon Dubinsky on long-term injured reserve.

The team, who hadn’t needed to place the forward on LTIR up until now, were forced into the roster move as the contract of Jack Roslovic, who the team acquired along with Patrik Laine Saturday in the Pierre-Luc Dubois trade, took effect today, meaning the team would have been over the salary cap by just over $100K if they didn’t move Dubinsky to LTIR.

Dubinsky hasn’t played since the 2019 playoffs as he’s been hampered with a chronic wrist injury and likely will never play again. He missed the entire 2019-20 season. The 34-year-old is in the final year of a six year, $35.1MM contract with a $5.85MM AAV. The veteran signed the extension after a 16-goal, 50-point season with 234 hits back in the 2013-14 season. The deal looked good for the first year or two, but the forward’s offense saw a decline after that, posting just six goals in his third and fourth years with just six goals each and spending most of his time in the bottom-six.

Columbus Blue Jackets| Injury Brandon Dubinsky| Jack Roslovic| Salary Cap

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Taxi Squad Shuffle: 1/24/21

January 24, 2021 at 11:28 am CDT | by Holger Stolzenberg Leave a Comment

It appears as though there will be daily movement this season between the active roster and taxi squad. Although some major names may be highlighted in separate articles, this is where you’ll find the majority of shuffle news each day.

  • The Dallas Stars announced they have recalled forward Tanner Kero from their taxi squad after placing forward Joel Kiviranta on injured reserve. The 28-year-old Kero hasn’t made an NHL appearance since the 2017-18 season, but could get onto the ice depending on the injury status of Jamie Benn, who is a game-time decision. Kiviranta, who was listed as day-to-day Saturday after getting injured in practice, will have to sit out at least three games.
  • The Detroit Red Wings announced they have recalled forwards Givani Smith and Taro Hirose from the taxi squad. Smith has been up and down between the NHL and taxi squad, while Hirose was recalled three days ago to the taxi squad from the AHL. Both are expected to make their season debuts on Sunday. Detroit also have re-assigned forward Riley Barber to the taxi squad. UPDATE: The Red Wings have reversed course, announcing they have sent Hirose and Smith back to the taxi squad after their game with Chicago ended.
  • The Philadelphia Flyers announced they have loaned defenseman Derrick Pouliot from the taxi squad to the Lehigh Valley Phantoms in the AHL. The team also announced some salary cap moves, sending forward Connor Bunnaman and Samuel Morin to their taxi squad.
  • The Buffalo Sabres announced they have swapped young players as the team has sent forward Dylan Cozens to the taxi squad and recalled Casey Mittelstadt, who is expected to make his season debut Sunday. Cozens scored his first career NHL goal Friday, but head coach Ralph Krueger made it clear before the season that he intends to ease his young players into the lineup. The team has also activated forward Kyle Okposo from injured reserve. He has missed the team’s first five games with a lower-body injury.
  • Las Vegas Review Journal’s David Schoen reports that the Vegas Golden Knights have activated defenseman Nicolas Hague off the taxi squad and moved center Cody Glass to the taxi squad, a similar move from two games ago as the team continues to balance their salary cap with rotating between five and six defensemen.
  • The Washington Post’s Samantha Pell reports that with two forwards (Alex Ovechkin and Evgeny Kuznetsov), a defenseman (Dmitry Orlov) and a goaltender (Ilya Samsonov) out due to COVID-19 restrictions, the team was able to recall two players, including forwards Brian Pinho and Connor McMichael (as well as goaltender Craig Anderson), via the emergency recall exception rule and not count against their cap. McMichael is the most interesting of the two as the 2019 first-round pick will make his NHL debut Sunday.
  • The New Jersey Devils announced they have assigned forward Jesper Boqvist to the taxi squad and they have recalled forward Nicholas Merkley, who is expected to make his season debut Sunday. Boqvist has appeared in four games for New Jersey, failing to register a point. Merkley, acquired from Arizona in the Taylor Hall trade last season, had a goal and an assist in four games last year with the Devils.
  • The Columbus Blue Jackets already placed Brandon Dubinsky on LTIR earlier today, but the team also made a few other moves to get under the salary cap, according to The Athletic’s Aaron Portzline. The scribe writes that both Alexandre Texier and Liam Foudy have been assigned to the taxi squad, but as paper moves to maximize their LTIR pool. The team has also recalled Emil Bemstrom and Stefan Matteau from the taxi squad.
  • The New York Rangers announced they have recalled forward Colin Blackwell from their taxi squad and is likely to make his Rangers’ debut. The 27-year-old signed with the Rangers as a free agent after posting three goals and 10 points in 27 games for the Nashville Predators last season.
  • The Calgary Flames made their standard game-day transaction, recalling Derek Ryan and Oliver Kylington from the taxi squad. Ryan has appeared in three games with no points, while Kylington has yet to make an appearance for Calgary this year.
  • The Minnesota Wild announced they have recalled goaltender Andrew Hammond from their taxi squad with the status of Cam Talbot being day-to-day. In order to keep three goaltenders on the roster, the team has assigned netminder Hunter Jones from Iowa of the AHL to the taxi squad. Hammond has not made an appearance yet for the Wild.
  • With the Bruins off, CapFriendly reports that Boston has shuffled forwards Jack Studnicka and Trent Frederic plus defenseman Urho Vaakanainen to their taxi squad, continuing their near-daily movement.  Steven Kampfer was reassigned to AHL Providence from the taxi squad to create room for Vaakanainen’s placement.
  • Avalanche defenseman Conor Timmins was in the lineup for their game today against Anaheim, meaning that he has been recalled from the taxi squad.  The 22-year-old has played in four games so far with Colorado this season, logging a little under 13 minutes per game.
  • Pierre Engvall and Jason Spezza were both in the lineup for the Maple Leafs against Calgary today, meaning they were promoted from the taxi squad.  To get back into cap compliance, Travis Boyd was sent to the taxi squad.
  • After scoring in his Canadiens debut on Saturday, Montreal has returned Corey Perry to the taxi squad, per CapFriendly.  The veteran will likely be recalled in time for their next game against Calgary on Thursday.
  • The Ottawa Senators have returned winger Micheal Haley to their taxi squad, per CapFriendly.  He was recalled for Saturday’s game against Winnipeg and played 7:39 while getting into a fight.

Boston Bruins| Buffalo Sabres| Calgary Flames| Colorado Avalanche| Columbus Blue Jackets| Dallas Stars| Detroit Red Wings| Loan| Minnesota Wild| Montreal Canadiens| Nashville Predators| New Jersey Devils| New York Rangers| Ottawa Senators| Philadelphia Flyers| Ralph Krueger| Toronto Maple Leafs| Vegas Golden Knights| Washington Capitals Alex Ovechkin| Alexandre Texier| Andrew Hammond| Brandon Dubinsky| Brian Pinho| Cam Talbot| Casey Mittelstadt| Cody Glass| Connor McMichael| Conor Timmins| Corey Perry| Craig Anderson| Derek Ryan| Derrick Pouliot| Dmitry Orlov| Dylan Cozens| Emil Bemstrom| Evgeny Kuznetsov| Ilya Samsonov| Jamie Benn| Jason Spezza| Jesper Boqvist| Kyle Okposo| Liam Foudy| Micheal Haley| Nic Hague| Nick Merkley| Oliver Kylington| Pierre Engvall| Salary Cap| Stefan Matteau| Taxi Squad

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