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Archives for February 2021

Minor Transactions: 02/08/21

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The AHL (at least most of its teams) has now joined the NHL in a new season, but there are still plenty of moves being made in the minors as teams solidify their lineups for the new campaign. Of course, many of those who were not successful in securing a contract in the NHL or AHL continue to find work overseas, while other are returning to juniors. Keep up with all of the minor moves made today right here:

  • A pair of veterans have been successful with AHL tryouts in Pennsylvania. Tim Schaller has earned a spot with the Wilkes-Barre Scranton Penguins, per a league release, while Chris Mueller will be back in the AHL for a 13th consecutive season as the Lehigh Valley Phantoms announced a one-year deal. Schaller, 30, had been an NHL regular for several years before last season, when his lack of production for the Vancouver Canucks finally caught up with him and he was traded to the Los Angeles Kings and subsequently demoted. Schaller has been an effective fourth liner in the past and will look to earn his way back to the NHL with a strong season in the minors. Mueller, 34, is likely beyond an NHL comeback at this point, having not played in the league since 2014-15, but the decorated AHLer is only a couple seasons away from cracking the league’s top 20 in all-time games played.
  • An intriguing prospect has signed on with the AHL’s Toronto Marlies. Pavel Gogolev, fresh off of a 96-point season in the OHL last year, has returned to Ontario to join the Marlies, according to the AHL’s transactions log. He had been playing with Vasby IK of Sweden’s Allsvenskan to begin the year, but the club confirms that his contract has been terminated. Gogolev, 20, was passed over yet again in the most recent NHL Draft despite finishing sixth overall in OHL scoring last season. Perhaps this was due to his advanced age relative to other draft-eligible prospects or the lack of development in his defensive ability, but there is no doubting that Gogolev has impressive offensive skill and has shown repeatedly that he is committed to North American hockey and pursuing an NHL career. He will take another step closer to that goal this season with AHL Toronto.
  • Blake Pietila is looking to stick around the North American game and has signed a PTO with the Hershey Bears, the team announced. The former New Jersey Devils prospect signed with the Anaheim Ducks for the 2019-20 season, but played exclusively in the AHL despite having set a new career high in NHL appearances the season prior. The hard-working forward is looking for another opportunity to show he can still be an NHL asset and hopes to not only crack the Hershey roster, but carve out a top role as well. Pietila has recorded 142 points in 266 career AHL games, proving himself to be an impact player in the minors.
  • Despite appearing in training camp for the San Jose Barracuda, Sharks prospect Vladislav Kotkov will wait another season to turn pro. The Sharks have reassigned Kotkov to the QMHL’s Saint John Sea Dogs for one final junior campaign, the team announced. The Sea Dogs are certainly happy about the decision; Kotkov was acquired this summer for a pair of draft picks which would have been squandered if he had never suited up for the team. The overage import forward is a big, powerful offensive presence who is sure to make a major impact for Saint John before inevitably doing so for the Barracuda and possibly the Sharks down the road as well.
  • Former NHL journeyman Andrew Ebbett made a career as a hired gun, playing for six different teams over eight seasons but still managing to suit up for 32 games each year on average. However, when his luck in North America ran out in 2015, he made the unlikely discovery of the first long-term home of his career with SC Bern of the Swiss NLA. Ebbett has spent the last five seasons with Bern, the past four of which as a captain and a top-five scoring forward. However, it is time for Ebbett to move on yet again. At 38, he is not ready to call it a career just yet, but has said goodbye to Bern and signed with EHC Munich of the German DEL. Having recently lost other names familiar to NHL fans in Derek Roy and Kalle Kossila, the Red Bulls were excited to land the veteran Ebbett as a replacement for the remainder of the year.

COVID Protocol Related Absences: 02/08/21

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Each day, the NHL will publicly release the list of players that are unavailable to their respective teams due to being in COVID-19 protocol. While Edmonton and Pittsburgh are still listed as TBA, the rest of the league is in:

Buffalo – Dylan Cozens, Rasmus Dahlin, Taylor Hall, Curtis Lazar, Jake McCabe, Casey Mittelstadt, Brandon Montour, Tobias Rieder, Rasmus Ristolainen
Chicago – Ryan Carpenter, Lucas Wallmark
Colorado –  Samuel Girard, Tyson Jost, Gabriel Landeskog
Edmonton – TBA
Los Angeles – Andreas Athanasiou, Blake Lizotte
Minnesota –  Nick Bjugstad, Nick Bonino, Ian Cole, Joel Eriksson Ek, Marcus Foligno, Brad Hunt, Marcus Johansson, Jared Spurgeon, Nico Sturm, Victor Rask*, Carson Soucy*
New Jersey – Nathan Bastian, Jesper Bratt, Eric Comrie, Nikita Gusev, Jack Hughes, Andreas Johnsson, Dmitry Kulikov, Janne Kuokkanen, Michael McLeod, Kyle Palmieri, Damon Severson, Yegor Sharangovich, Ty Smith, Matt Tennyson, Pavel Zacha, Travis Zajac,  Connor Carrick*, Nico Hischier*, Sami Vatanen*
Philadelphia – Travis Sanheim
Pittsburgh – TBA
Vegas – Alex Pietrangelo
Washington – Jakub Vrana

As a reminder, inclusion on this list does not mean that a player has tested positive for Coronavirus or even that they have been confirmed as a close contact to another positive person. Included in the NHL’s list of possible reasons for someone being on the list is are the following:

(1) an initial positive test which remains unconfirmed until confirmatory testing is completed pursuant to the Positive Test Protocol; (2) mandated isolation for symptomatic individuals pursuant to the Positive Test Protocol; (3) required quarantine as a high-risk close contact in accordance with the Positive Test Protocol; (4) isolation based on a confirmed positive test result and/or; (5) quarantine for travel or other reasons as outlined in the COVID-19 Protocol

Players removed today: Evgeny Kuznetsov, Washington Capitals; Ilya Samsonov, Washington Capitals; Adam Boqvist, Chicago Blackhawks

Dahlin was technically added late last night, joining the rest of the Sabres on the list. More games for Buffalo, New Jersey, and Minnesota were postponed today.

After being removed only yesterday, Vatanen re-appears on the Devils list today. Carrick is also there after previously appearing due to him leaving the league’s protocols to attend the birth of his child. The Devils are now up to 19 players, the largest number by any team this season.

*denotes new addition

Vancouver Canucks Shopping Jake Virtanen

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The Vancouver Canucks have been a huge disappointment this season after their Cinderella run in the postseason bubble. The 2019-20 version of the Canucks won a qualifying round over the Minnesota Wild, the first round over the St. Louis Blues, and then took the Vegas Golden Knights to seven games. One game away from the Western Conference Finals seems a lifetime ago for the Canucks of 2021, who have lost four straight and find themselves plummeting down the North Division standings. The Canucks have played more than anyone else through the first few weeks of the season, but allowing 60 goals in 15 games just isn’t going to cut it.

On Saturday, Chris Johnston of Sportsnet reported that there was a possibility of a shakeup by giving Jake Virtanen a change of scenery, suggesting that a move could “shock” the group a little bit while providing a new opportunity to a player that finds himself in and out of the lineup. Today, Iain MacIntyre of Sportsnet confirms that by reporting that Virtanen is once again on the trade block, noting that it is not the first time they have shopped the young forward.

Virtanen, 24, has played in 11 of the team’s 15 games this season but has just one goal and no assists. After scoring 18 goals last season, he was a virtual no-show offensively in the bubble, leading to eyebrow-raising comments from GM Jim Benning who “expected more” from the power forward. Many believed Virtanen would be dealt the following offseason, but he ended up signing a new two-year contract in late-October. He now carries a $2.55MM cap hit, but the back-loading of the deal could make it a little less appealing to potential suitors.

Like so many other players, Virtanen is a frustrating ball of talent and inconsistency. The 6’1″, 226-lbs forward has all the measurables to be an elite power forward in the league, mixing size, strength, and incredible speed when he’s at his best. But that best has shown up far too infrequently through his first few years in the league, resulting in just 51 goals and 96 points in 290 regular season games. His three points in 16 postseason games last summer only added to the frustration, given his ability should have been perfectly suited to playoff hockey.

Still, rushing into a trade with Virtanen’s value at an all-time low certainly doesn’t seem appealing. Perhaps the Canucks do need a shakeup, but it’s hard to imagine getting anything more than a mid-round pick for him right now. That is of course if they can find a buyer at all, given the quarantine complications that trades face this season.

The Canucks face the Toronto Maple Leafs for a third consecutive game this evening.

Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images

NHL Postpones Seven More Games

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With the COVID situations in Buffalo, New Jersey, and Minnesota still not contained, the NHL has postponed several more games. Two additional Sabres games (February 11, 13 vs WSH), three additional Devils games (February 11, 13 vs PHI; 15 vs BOS), and two additional Wild games (February 11 vs STL; 13 vs LAK) have been postponed. The decision on when each team will resume practicing and playing is still to come in the next few days.

The Sabres added Rasmus Dahlin to the COVID Protocol Related Absences list late last night, giving them nine players (plus their head coach) ruled out. John Vogl of The Athletic also reports that two linesmen that worked games between the Devils and Sabres at the end of last month have also entered the league’s protocol. In all, Vogl notes, 24 of the players who skated in those two games—January 30 and 31—have ended up on the CPRA list.

In Minnesota, GM Bill Guerin told Michael Russo of The Athletic that several other players are expected to hit the CPRA list in the coming days as the virus continues “creeping its way through the team.” One of the Minnesota players told Russo that “he feels like he has been hit by a bus and his symptoms have run the gamut.”

As of yesterday, the Devils had 16 players in the COVID protocol. They have not played since that January 31 game against the Sabres and will now be off through at least next Monday. The team’s nine games played is tied for the fewest in the league.

The full table of postponements continues to grow at an alarming rate:

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COVID Notes: Dahlin, Wild, Kuznetsov

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The Buffalo Sabres will have another big name on the COVID Protocol Related Absences list when it comes out later today as they have already announced that Rasmus Dahlin has been added. The team now has nine players in the protocol, plus head coach Ralph Krueger.

Technically, Dahlin was actually added to the list last night. It originally had just Casey Mittelstadt joining the other seven players previously listed—Taylor Hall, Jake McCabe, Brandon Montour, Tobias Rieder, Rasmus Ristolainen, Dylan Cozens, and Curtis Lazar—but Dahlin was an update given later. Like with any other player, being on the list does not necessarily mean you have tested positive for COVID-19. The Sabres are currently scheduled to resume play on February 11.

  • The Minnesota Wild will also likely have some names added today, or at least in the near future. GM Bill Guerin implied that to Michael Russo of The Athletic, who did a very interesting examination of the outbreak with the Wild and the related league protocols. The Wild are also off until February 11, though that game against the St. Louis Blues seems very much in jeopardy should the team add several names today. Minnesota currently has nine players on the CPRA list.
  • Evgeny Kuznetsov and Ilya Samsonov of the Washington Capitals spoke to reporters today following their own bouts with COVID-19 and provided a bit different experiences. When asked if he was scared at any point while experiencing symptoms, Kuznetsov told Samantha Pell of the Washington Post “no, I’m from Russia.” Samsonov meanwhile told Pell through an interpreter that there were a few days where he had trouble breathing and walking. Both players were on the ice today at practice.

Ryan Johansen Heading To Injured Reserve

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The Nashville Predators were without Ryan Johansen when they took on the Florida Panthers Friday, but at the time he was listed as just day-to-day with an upper-body injury. Now it appears that his absence will stretch out a bit, as head coach John Hynes told reporters including Adam Vingan of The Athletic today. Johansen will be out “week-to-week” and is going onto injured reserve for the Predators.

A pessimistic Predators fan might tell you that they’ve been without Johansen all season, as the 28-year-old center certainly hasn’t been playing up to his full capabilities. He has four assists in ten games, all of them on the powerplay, and has yet to find the back of the net himself. In fact, Johansen has only generated 16 shots on goal during those ten games, despite averaging more than 18 minutes a night before his game on Friday was cut short.

While it has been a long time since he was a real goal-scoring threat—Johansen scored a career-high 33 times in 2013-14, but has averaged just 14 per season over the last five years—his lack of even-strength offense this season has been a huge reason why the Predators now sit at 5-6 on the season, ahead of only the Detroit Red Wings in the Central Divison.

Losing him for weeks though certainly won’t turn his season around. Johansen’s role will now have to be filled internally, and though the Predators have some interesting candidates to receive increase ice time, their depth will be tested without one of their highest-paid players in the lineup.

Scott Sabourin Clears Waivers

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Feb 8: After signing an NHL contract yesterday, Sabourin has cleared waivers and can join Toronto’s taxi squad.

Feb 7: The Toronto Maple Leafs have placed forward Scott Sabourin on waiver, according to TVA’s Renaud Lavoie. That likely means the Maple Leafs have signed Sabourin to an NHL deal (although they have not announced that), considering he is currently signed to an AHL deal and wouldn’t require waivers. The move is likely a result of the injury to Wayne Simmonds, who is expected to miss four to six weeks due to a hand injury.

Sabourin, 28, made his entrance into the NHL last season when he won a spot on the Ottawa Senators’ fourth line as an enforcer and even had some run-ins with Maple Leafs forward Auston Matthews. However, a horrible collision in early November with then-Bruins forward David Backes knocked the forward out for more than a month due to a concussion. He did eventually return to the lineup in December, finishing the season with two goals, six points and 33 penalty minutes in 35 games.

The forward then signed an AHL deal with the Toronto Marlies during the offseason. Assuming he clears, he will likely be assigned to the team’s taxi squad to bolster the team’s forward depth as the team is now missing Simmonds, Joe Thornton (rib) and Nicholas Robertson (knee).

Toronto’s Wayne Simmonds Could Miss Up To Six Weeks

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Feb 8: Bad news indeed. Head coach Sheldon Keefe confirmed to reporters including Kristen Shilton of TSN today that Simmonds broke his wrist and will be out for six weeks. The team will not have a replacement for him in the lineup tonight, going with seven defensemen instead. Rasmus Sandin will make his season debut.

Feb 7: Bad news for the Toronto Maple Leafs. The team, which has been rolling of late, with quite a bit of contribution from free agent signee Wayne Simmonds, look like they will be without their veteran forward for quite some time. Sportsnet’s Elliotte Friedman reports that he’s hearing that the 32-year-old is expected to miss up to six weeks after leaving during the third period of Saturday’s game after being hit in the hand with a shot.

Simmonds has been integral to the team’s success so far this season as the team is currently sitting in first place in the North Division with a 9-2-1 record. Simmonds, who has struggled the last few years to produce offensively and is playing on his fifth team in less than three years, seems to have found his game now that he’s returned home. The forward has already tallied five goals in the team’s first 12 games, including a pair of goals Saturday in the team’s 5-1 win over Vancouver.

The Maple Leafs, who spent the offseason bolstering their depth, will need to use much of that as the Toronto is already without veteran Joe Thornton (rib injury) and rookie Nicholas Robertson (knee).

Taxi Squad Shuffle: 02/08/21

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There has been plenty of roster movement between NHL teams and the taxi squad on a daily basis this season. Although some major names may be highlighted in separate articles, this is where you’ll find the majority of that shuffle news each day.

West Division

North Division

  • The Montreal Canadiens have sent Cale Fleury and Ryan Poehling to the AHL’s Laval Rocket, though a schedule for the minor league team has still not been announced. The two young players will get a chance to actually play once the Rocket start up, something neither of them could say so far this season with Montreal. Fleury, 22, played in 41 games last season but has been pushed down the depth chart by some offseason additions, while Poehling, 22, played 27 last season but scored just two points. The team has also flipped Jesperi Kotkaniemi and Nick Suzuki between the taxi squad and roster, the rotation that they promised to continue with their young players.
  • The Calgary Flames have recalled Brett Ritchie from the minor leagues, though it’s not clear if he will be on the taxi squad or NHL roster. Though he’s currently not listed on the roster, the Flames already had six players on their taxi squad meaning there wouldn’t be room. Ritchie could perhaps be getting a chance on the fourth line after signing a one-year deal last month.
  • Before their game tonight, the Vancouver Canucks have recalled Olli Juolevi, moving Tyler Motte to injured reserve. The young Juolevi is expected to be back in the lineup after watching his team get carved up by the Maple Leafs the last two games, meaning he has another opportunity to establish himself in the NHL.

Central Division

  • The Detroit Red Wings have sent Givani Smith and Mathias Brome to the taxi squad, as they bask in their 4-1 defeat of the Panthers last night. Smith was the star of the show, recording a “Gordie Howe hat trick” by scoring in the second period, assisting on Robby Fabbri’s third-period tally, and fighting Aaron Ekblad after laying a huge (controversial) hit on MacKenzie Weegar. Smith has been an impressive performer for the Red Wings this season and should be back in the lineup tomorrow.
  • Speaking of the Panthers, they have moved Mason Marchment off the active roster to the taxi squad. Marchment, 25, played just under eight minutes last night in his season debut, registering three hits.
  • The Dallas Stars have reassigned Landon Bow and Tanner Kero to the taxi squad. Bow was really only up because Anton Khudobin was serving some team-imposed discipline, but he will now return to his role as the taxi squad goaltender. Kero meanwhile has moved up and down nearly every day, but will soon have to clear waivers again. He has played in seven games this season; once he plays ten, he will no longer be eligible to go to the taxi squad without clearing.

East Division

This page will be updated throughout the day.

Five Key Stories: 2/1/21 – 2/7/21

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It was a bit of a quieter week around the NHL with most of the major news coming on the injury and scheduling front.  Those are highlighted in the top stories of the week.

McNabb To LTIR: The Golden Knights will be without an important piece on their back end as Brayden McNabb has been placed on LTIR, meaning he will miss at least 10 games or 21 days due to his lower-body injury.  He joins Alex Pietrangelo (CPRA list) as blueliners that are unavailable for Vegas.  The team had been forced to dress just five defenders for several games this season as a result of their cap situation so while they’ll certainly miss McNabb’s contribution, his placement at least frees up enough short-term cap space for them to be able to dress a normal lineup.

New Title For Drury: For the past few years, Chris Drury has come up as a target for any team looking for a new GM although most of those interview requests were rebuffed by the Rangers.  While the Penguins did get permission, Drury abruptly withdrew his name from consideration just before it was announced that he had been ‘promoted’ to associate GM.  That’s not a particularly common job title around the league and Drury’s role hasn’t really changed but the change likely gives him a pay raise and extra job security.  It seems like only a matter of time before Drury gets his opportunity to run an NHL franchise but for now, he’s sticking around with the Rangers.

MacKinnon Injury: Colorado will be without their top scorer for a little while as Nathan MacKinnon has been listed as week-to-week with a lower-body injury.  It’s yet another blow to an Avalanche squad that has been hit extremely hard by the injury bug thus far as five other regulars are also on a similar timeline to return though of those, only Pavel Francouz is currently on LTIR.  Their cap situation made it so that they’ve had to play short a player once already this season.  But losing MacKinnon – their top scorer – is an even bigger blow; he’s off to another strong start with 14 points in 10 games which is his best point-per-game mark of his career.  The Avs got a bit of a reprieve when some of their games were postponed and they were hardly the only team in that situation.

Schedule Changes: With several teams have multiple players on the COVID Protocol Related Absences list, there were quite a few changes made in the schedule beyond Colorado’s postponements.  The Sabres and Wild both saw their season paused.  With Colorado and Minnesota both off, the league then rescheduled a pair of games between the Blues and Coyotes to allow them to keep playing.  But the biggest changes came on Saturday when 27 East Division games were rescheduled with all eight teams seeing games moved around.  Considering we’re not quite at the one-quarter mark of the season yet, it’s safe to say that the schedule makers will still have quite a bit of work ahead of them.

Surgery For Mrazek: The Hurricanes will be without their starting goaltender for a while as Petr Mrazek underwent successful surgery on his right thumb.  There is no timetable for his return.  The 28-year-old was off to a stellar start to his season with a 0.99 GAA and a .955 SV%, numbers that place him in the league lead in both categories.  It’s a big blow for Carolina who will now turn to James Reimer and Alex Nedeljkovic to hold down the fort in his absence.

Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.

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