The Blues have placed center Oskar Sundqvist in COVID protocol, per a team release. It has been a tough year for the 27-year-old who missed 14 games at the beginning of the season due to a knee injury and Sundqvist has struggled to produce when he is in the lineup, collecting just a goal and three assists in 16 games. St. Louis had been carrying an extra forward on their active roster so they won’t necessarily have to bring anyone up from AHL Springfield to cover for Sundqvist’s absence which will last for at least the next ten days.
Other COVID news from around the hockey world:
- The Flames announced (Twitter link) that they did not have any positive tests among their players or staff yesterday. That’s certainly notable considering that they have 19 players and 13 staff in COVID protocol at the moment and this is the first day since Sunday that they didn’t have a single positive test among their group. Calgary has had their games postponed through the holiday break although it wouldn’t be surprising if another game or two get postponed after it to allow some of their players to have a chance at being ready to return after serving their quarantine period.
- The NHL and NHLPA jointly announced a return of the enhanced COVID protocols through at least January 7th. Among the highlights are daily testing, a reduction of in-person meetings, and dining restrictions. The full document can be found here.
- As a result of the recent increase in positive tests, Hockey Canada announced that the first four days of World Junior pre-tournament games have been cancelled. Originally, each country was supposed to play in at least two exhibition contests but that won’t happen now. There remains a possibility for pre-tournament contests to be held on December 23rd and 24th.