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. Here is the list for today:
Boston – Jaroslav Halak
Colorado – Bowen Byram
Florida – Brandon Montour
Los Angeles – Matt Roy
Montreal – Jon Merrill*
New York Islanders – Braydon Coburn
Toronto – Nick Foligno, Riley Nash, William Nylander, Ben Hutton*
Vancouver – Travis Boyd, Jalen Chatfield, Thatcher Demko, Alexander Edler, Jayce Hawryluk, Nils Hoglander, Braden Holtby, Bo Horvat, Zack MacEwen, Marc Michaelis, Tyler Motte, Tyler Myers, Antoine Roussel, Nate Schmidt, Brandon Sutter, Jake Virtanen
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: Jay Beagle, Vancouver Canucks; Quinn Hughes, Vancouver Canucks
The number of names included on the list today was always expected to increase thanks to the trade deadline yesterday, as players travel all over the continent to their new homes. We will likely see several more added in the next few days, but that doesn’t necessarily mean they will be held out more than a few days.
The important thing is that players continue to be removed from the Canucks’ list as the team approaches a return to the ice. Beagle was only added over the weekend, but Hughes was one of the first names to be added, appearing for the first time on April 2. Hopefully, the trend continues and the Canucks have a clean board later this week.
*denotes new addition