Snapshots: Devils, Lyubushkin, Koivu

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.