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Archives for May 2021

COVID Protocol Related Absences: 05/04/21

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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. Here is today’s list:

Calgary – Josh Leivo
Colorado – Devan Dubnyk
Detroit – Evgeny Svechnikov
Washington – Evgeny Kuznetsov*

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: Jonas Siegenthaler, New Jersey Devils

Kuznetsov (and teammate Ilya Samsonov) did not play last night for the Capitals due to disciplinary reasons and now finds himself in the COVID protocol. That means he could miss tomorrow’s rematch against the Rangers, though it is not clear how long he will be kept out at this point. He missed several weeks on the list earlier this year. As Stephen Whyno of the Associated Press points out, players on the taxi squad, which currently includes Samsonov, do not have to be listed on the public COVID protocol list, even if they are unavailable to the team.

*denotes new addition

Buffalo Sabres Sign Stefanos Lekkas

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The Buffalo Sabres announced today that Ukko-Pekka Luukkonen, Carter Hutton and Dustin Tokarski will all be unavailable for the last three games of the season, meaning it’s Michael Houser’s net the rest of the way. He needs a backup of course, which is why the team signed Stefanos Lekkas to a one-year contract today.

Lekkas served as the backup for Houser last night on a professional tryout after the Sabres received an exception from the league, but he’ll now get an NHL deal for at least a few days. That’s quite a story for the 25-year-old, who joined the Rochester Americans on a PTO in March and played more at the ECHL level than the AHL this season.

While he still may not actually get into an NHL game, he will become a restricted free agent this summer and can always say he signed a big-league deal. Lekkas, who went undrafted, played four seasons at the University of Vermont and had an .863 save percentage in seven appearances for the Rochester Americans.

Alexander Burmistrov Re-Signs In KHL

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The number of players that spent time with the Atlanta Thrashers organization continues to decline, as Ron Hainsey joined the NHLPA last month, ending his playing career. That number could have potentially increased by one in free agency, but Alexander Burmistrov has decided to re-sign with Ak Bars Kazan in the KHL for the next two years.

Burmistrov, 29, was the last first-round pick the Thrashers made, selected eighth overall in 2010. He made the jump directly to the NHL, playing 74 games in Atlanta’s last season before making the move to Winnipeg. Unfortunately, his time with the organization didn’t go as smoothly as they hoped, and he was back in the KHL by 2013. After coming back for parts of three seasons, he returned to Russia again in 2017.

For Kazan this season, Burmistrov scored six goals and 17 points in 44 games. He was still young enough that a return to North America could have been possible (under certain conditions), but when Burmistrov left in 2017 he was clear that he just “wanted to go home.” He retired from the league then, and there doesn’t seem to be any desire to return to the NHL.

St. Louis Blues Extend Steven Santini

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The St. Louis Blues have decided that Steven Santini should stay in the organization, signing the defenseman to a two-year extension. The contract is of the two-way variety, meaning Santini will earn less at the AHL level.  Santini was scheduled to become an arbitration-eligible restricted free agent at the end of the season but is now under contract through the 2022-23 campaign. PuckPedia has the full contract details, which include a $750K average annual value at the NHL level.

One thing to note in any contract signed these days is how it will affect the upcoming expansion draft, but Santini doesn’t figure to make much of an impact there. The 26-year-old defenseman will likely not be protected, but also does not fill the exposure requirements for the Blues—he doesn’t have the required games played over the last two seasons to serve as the one signed defenseman the team must expose.

Instead, this contract extension is just making sure a valuable depth piece remains in the organization. Santini found his way to St. Louis after the Nashville Predators bought out his contract last October, signing a one-year two-way deal with the Blues a few days later. He cleared waivers at the beginning of the season, meaning he could play in the minor leagues or serve as an extra body on the taxi squad. This season, he has played just five games at the AHL level and one for the Blues, but obviously showed enough in practice to earn himself a nice new deal.

Unless he manages to secure himself a roster spot at training camp, Santini will need to clear waivers again next season in order to reach the minor leagues.

Milan Lucic Agrees To Waive NMC For Expansion Draft

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The Calgary Flames have an extra protection slot for the upcoming expansion draft. Eric Francis of Sportsnet reports that Milan Lucic has officially agreed to waive his no-movement clause, meaning the Flames will not be forced to protect him from the Seattle Kraken. Lucic told Sportsnet that he wants to stay in Calgary but “didn’t want to handcuff” GM Brad Treliving.

We recently examined the issue Calgary was facing if Lucic did not agree to waive his clause, but that won’t be an issue now that the power forward will be exposed. It is incredibly unlikely that the Kraken will select Lucic given his contract, which still carries two years at a $6MM cap hit. As much as he has rebounded somewhat this season, recording nine goals and 20 points in 50 games, Lucic still doesn’t represent the kind of performance that Seattle would need for that kind of cap commitment. As Francis explains, before he was even acquired from the Edmonton Oilers in 2019, Lucic told Treliving that he would be willing to waive for expansion draft purposes.

Importantly, he will also now fill one of the exposure requirements for the Flames. Each team must expose at least two forwards that are both under contract in 2021-22 and fill a games played requirement. Currently, only Matthew Tkachuk, Johnny Gaudreau, Sean Monahan, Mikael Backlund, Elias Lindholm, Andrew Mangiapane, and Lucic meet those requirements, meaning another player will likely be extended in the coming weeks. The first six on that list are all likely to be protected–as long as they’re still on the Flames roster come draft day.

Injury Notes: Rangers, Kukan, Pacioretty

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The New York Rangers will be without several key players for their last few games of the season, as Artemi Panarin, Jacob Trouba, and Ryan Lindgren were all ruled out today. Head coach David Quinn confirmed that the lower-body injury that will end Panarin’s season early was suffered on last night’s Tom Wilson incident, but didn’t give any specifics on what the ailment was.

It’s been an up-and-down season for the Rangers, who were one of the youngest teams in the league and look poised to take another step forward in 2021-22. They won’t be making the playoffs, but can certainly be pleased with the development of several young players and know that in any other division their 26-21-6 record (with a +25 goal differential) would be right in the mix.

  • The Columbus Blue Jackets are another team out of the playoff race, so many of their players are likely being targeted as potential options for the upcoming IIHF World Championship. According to a report out of Switzerland, the tournament isn’t an option for Dean Kukan, who will need surgery instead. The Swiss-born Kukan played over 15 minutes last night for Columbus and it is not clear if the report means that he will get surgery after the season, or that he suffered an injury recently and will have to miss the last few games. The Blue Jackets have three matches left and will finish their regular season schedule on Saturday. (UPDATE: Brian Hedger of the Columbus Dispatch spoke to Kukan’s agent, who denied that his client needs surgery.)
  • Max Pacioretty was forced from the action over the weekend for the Vegas Golden Knights and missed last night’s game, but head coach Peter DeBoer doesn’t believe it will be a long-term injury according to Jesse Granger of The Athletic. Pacioretty is listed as day-to-day. It’s been another excellent season for the 32-year-old forward, who has rediscovered his game in Vegas and has 51 points in 48 appearances this season. The Golden Knights have five games remaining and currently sit just two points ahead in the race for the West Division crown.

Taxi Squad Shuffle: 05/04/21

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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

  • The Colorado Avalanche have recalled Hunter Miska to the taxi squad, giving them an extra practice goaltender as they prepare for action tomorrow night. Devan Dubnyk was added to the COVID protocol list yesterday, meaning he is currently unavailable for the team.  Kyle Burroughs was also sent back to the taxi squad, per CapFriendly.
  • The Los Angeles Kings have brought up Matt Villalta from the taxi squad, per CapFriendly.  This is his sixth stint on the taxi squad this year although he hasn’t had a look with Los Angeles yet and instead has played in 15 games with AHL Ontario.
  • After having him up on an emergency basis, the Minnesota Wild have sent Kyle Rau back to the taxi squad, per CapFriendly.  Rau has two assists in 13 games this season while averaging a little over nine minutes per game.
  • The San Jose Sharks have sent Alexander Barabanov, Alexander True, and Greg Pateryn to the taxi squad, per CapFriendly.  Jacob Middleton was sent from the taxi squad back to the minors in a corresponding move.
  • The Vegas Golden Knights have sent Peyton Krebs back to the taxi squad while sending Carl Dahlstrom to the minors, per CapFriendly.  Krebs had an assist in his NHL debut last night while on an emergency recall and could be brought back up for their next game against Minnesota tomorrow.

North Division

  • The Ottawa Senators have moved Filip Gustavsson to the taxi squad once again, while Kevin Mandolese is on his way back to the AHL. The Senators have just four games left in their season but after a strong surge, could potentially avoid finishing last in the North.
  • Alex Belzile has been moved to the Montreal Canadiens taxi squad, coming up from the minor leagues. The minor league veteran has still never played an NHL game during the regular season, despite suiting up for six postseason matches last summer.
  • The Edmonton Oilers have recalled Evan Bouchard and Kyle Turris from the taxi squad while sending James Neal down, per CapFriendly.  Turris and Neal have both cleared waivers and have been shuffled back and forth this season while Bouchard has four points in 12 games.

Central Division

  • The Columbus Blue Jackets have returned Matiss Kivlenieks to the taxi squad.  He has been up on an emergency basis with Joonas Korpisalo out for the season and could be recalled once again for their next game against Nashville on Wednesday.
  • The Chicago Blackhawks have recalled Mackenzie Entwistle from the taxi squad, per CapFriendly.  The 21-year-old made his NHL debut back in March and could get a longer look down the stretch.
  • The Florida Panthers have sent Philippe Desrosiers back to the taxi squad, per CapFriendly.  He dressed for his first career NHL contest on Monday and has a save percentage of .916 in 29 games with AHL Springfield this season.

East Division

  • The Boston Bruins have recalled Jeremy Swayman from the taxi squad, per CapFriendly. The designation is on an emergency basis with Tuukka Rask not dressing tonight.  Swayman has impressed in his first taste of NHL action, recording a save percentage of .942 with a 1.62 GAA in eight games.
  • The Buffalo Sabres have brought up Brett Murray to the taxi squad from AHL Rochester, per the AHL’s transactions log. The 22-year-old leads the Amerks in scoring this season with nine goals and ten assists in 23 games.
  • The New Jersey Devils have brought up Marian Studenic from AHL Binghamton to the NHL roster as well as recalling Matt Tennyson from the taxi squad on an emergency basis, per CapFriendly.  A.J. Greer was sent to the taxi squad in a corresponding move.
  • The Pittsburgh Penguins have recalled Maxime Lagace from AHL Wilkes-Barre/Scranton.  The 28-year-old has played in nine minor league games this season and is taking the place of Casey DeSmith who is dealing with a lower-body injury.

This page will be updated throughout the day.

Tom Wilson Receives Fine For Roughing

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The Department of Player Safety has issued a $5,000 fine, the maximum allowable under the CBA, to Washington Capitals forward Tom Wilson for roughing New York Rangers’ Pavel Buchnevich last night. The incident of course included much more than just the interaction between Wilson and Buchnevich. The Capitals forward earned two minor roughing penalties and a ten-minute misconduct during the game, but unless there is more supplementary discipline to come, appears to have avoided suspension.

The part of the interaction that caused most of the outrage, slamming Artemi Panarin into the ice, was not addressed by the league at all. Emily Kaplan of ESPN tweets that the DoPS saw everything after the punch on Buchnevich as “two guys wrestling, which happens every night.”

Of course, Wilson’s actions are usually scrutinized more than the average player, and for good reason. He has been suspended several times in his career, including earlier this season when he received seven games for his hit on Brandon Carlo. In the explanation of that event, the league deemed it as:

…a player with a substantial disciplinary record taking advantage of an opponent who is in a defenseless position, and doing so with significant force.

The two teams will play again tomorrow night.

Poll: Who Finishes 30th In The NHL Standings?

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Although they surely didn’t mean to, the Buffalo Sabres took some of the fun out of the stretch run this season by eliminating “tanking” storylines. Barring a stunning finish to their season (vs. NYI, at PIT, at PIT), the Sabres and their 33 points to date will finish as the wire-to-wire worst team in the NHL this season and will have the top odds in the NHL Draft Lottery.

Fortunately, that doesn’t mean there isn’t still some intrigue to the end of the season for the league’s bottom-dwellers. The race for 30th-place, the second-best lottery odds, is more important this year than most. The team finishing 29th and up this season will not have the lottery odds that typically correspond to their finish in the league standings. This is because the Seattle Kraken, the NHL’s new expansion team, will lay claim to the third-best odds. Changes to the draft lottery structure also means that the team finishing in 30th place can pick no later than fourth overall, but the team finishing in 29th place could fall as far as sixth overall this year.

Who do you think will finish 30th this year and secure those valuable second-best lottery odds? Better yet, which team has the incentive to actually “tank” their final few games in hopes of landing just behind the Sabres?

Anaheim Ducks (39 points)

Schedule: at STL, at STL, at MIN, at MIN

The Ducks are the only team in the NHL still statistically capable of finishing in last place. However, that would require the Sabres taking at least five of their final six points while the Ducks take two or less of their final eight (with the tie-breakers falling in Anaheim’s favor as well). With that said, the Ducks do have the best case for 30th right now. Their final four games are all on the road against West Division contenders. Two points back of the New Jersey Devils, who have a slightly lighter schedule, and even more so behind the other “tanking” contenders, Anaheim’s sights are set on that second-to-last finish. The one thing that could stop their pursuit: the Ducks are heating up at the wrong time; their 4-6-0 stretch in their last ten games is the best mark among the bottom five records in the NHL.

New Jersey Devils (41 points)

Schedule: vs. BOS, at NYI, at NYI, at PHI

Lottery winners in two of the past four drafts, the Devils have a taste for top picks and surely want to add to their collection of top prospects. New Jersey is “chasing” Anaheim, who has the same number of games remaining but have two points and an all-road schedule exclusively against playoff teams. However, the Devils have three playoff teams left on the docket as well and are unlikely to pick up any extra points in extra time with an 0-5 record in overtime and the shootout this season. Even losing out doesn’t guarantee the Devils 30th place, nor does a tie with Anaheim in the final standings given New Jersey’s regulation wins edge. Stranger things have happened though and both the Devils and Ducks have plenty of hockey still to play.

Columbus Blue Jackets (44 points)

Schedule: vs. NSH, vs. DET, vs. DET

The Blue Jackets have one fewer game left than the Ducks and Devils, which could benefit them. However, they also sit five and three points ahead respectively and the odds of picking up zero additional points with two games left against fellow bottom-feeder Detroit seems unlikely. What the Blue Jackets do have that the others don’t though is motivation. The Columbus pipeline is below average and vastly pales in comparison to Anaheim, New Jersey, and Detroit. The team could desperately use an elite prospect and may be willing to lose their final games in order to improve their odds of doing so.

Detroit Red Wings (45 points)

Schedule: at CLB, at CLB

Detroit has just two games left and they are both against a fellow un-contender. The Red Wings may have a one point lead on Columbus, but most would still bet on the Blue Jackets and it would not be a surprise to see Detroit finish the season as they stand now. However, that still means that Anaheim would need seven of eight points and New Jersey would need at least four of eight points in order to finish 30th. After the Red Wings got a raw deal in the lottery last season, maybe the hockey gods will look out for them. That might be the only way they finish second-to-last and occur a top-four pick again this season.

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Ilya Samsonov, Evgeny Kuznetsov Benched For Disciplinary Reasons

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It isn’t unheard of for NHL teams to bench players due to internal disciplinary reasons and this isn’t even the first publicized case of the season, but when the Washington Capitals took the ice on Monday night without two of their biggest names, people took notice. The Washington Post’s Samantha Pell was the first to report that starting goaltender Ilya Samsonov and top-six forward Evgeny Kuznetsov would not be in the lineup against the New York Rangers due to a disciplinary decision made by the coaching staff. As it turns out, the pair were late to a team function – a mistake of minutes that cost them an entire game.

This isn’t the first time that Samsonov and Kuznetsov have been at the center of an issue in Washington this season either. The duo were among the group that broke COVID protocol earlier this season, costing the team a $100K fine. It could be that this earlier incidence of rule-breaking came into play with the roster decision tonight, with the team choosing not to go easy on the pair.

The decision to bench Samsonov and Kuznetsov was surely not an easy one as well. While the Capitals have clinched a playoff berth already, the team has lost ground in the East Division standings of late. Washington has slipped behind the Pittsburgh Penguins by two points for the division lead, albeit with a game in hand, but perhaps more concerning are the Boston Bruins just three points behind with a game on the Caps. Washington is also facing the most competitive of the North’s non-playoff teams in the Rangers. Without Samsonov, who has only allowed two goals per game in his last five starts, and Kuznetsov’s .71 points per game, the Capitals were risking missing out on precious points on Monday night in order to reach the two key players a lesson in accountability.

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