Headlines

Go To MLB Trade Rumors
Go To Hoops Rumors

Archives for 2021

Metropolitan Notes: Flyers, Shesterkin, Nemeth, Hurricanes

at CDT | by 1 Comment

The Flyers announced that they’ve placed Max Willman and a staff member in COVID protocol.  The 26-year-old has been a feel-good story for Philadelphia this season as he made his NHL debut this season and has chipped in with two goals and an assist in a dozen games.  Willman was originally drafted by Buffalo back in 2014 but didn’t sign.  He becomes the second Flyer currently in COVID protocol joining center Morgan Frost.

Meanwhile, goaltender Carter Hart will be unavailable for tonight’s game against Ottawa due to an undetermined illness.  The team announced (Twitter link) that Felix Sandstrom has been recalled from AHL Lehigh Valley to serve as Martin Jones’ backup.  They will get some help on the injury front, however, as winger Joel Farabee will return to the lineup after missing the last seven games due to a shoulder injury.  The 21-year-old has seven goals in 21 games so far this season.

More from the Metropolitan:

  • Rangers goaltender Igor Shesterkin is ready to return from his lower-body injury as the team announced (Twitter link) that he has been activated off injured reserve with Keith Kinkaid being returned to AHL Hartford in a corresponding move.  The 25-year-old missed just over two weeks with the injury and had been off to a strong start to his season with a 2.05 GAA and a .937 SV% in 18 games.  Kinkaid, meanwhile, picked up the victory on Wednesday against Arizona.
  • From that same announcement, Rangers blueliner Patrik Nemeth has been placed in COVID protocol.  The 30-year-old had played in all 30 of New York’s games to this point, recording two assists along with 57 blocked shots while logging just over 17 minutes per game.  He’ll miss the next ten days.
  • Carolina won’t be getting any help on the injury front for a little while as Walt Ruff of the Hurricanes’ team site relays (Twitter link) that winger Jordan Martinook and defenseman Jalen Chatfield aren’t close to returning from their respective lower-body injuries. Martinook has been out for a little more than two weeks and head coach Rod Brind’Amour acknowledged that the 29-year-old could start skating soon but still will need a fair bit of time before he’s able to come back.  Meanwhile, Chatfield’s injury was more recent, sustained back on Sunday against his former team in Vancouver.

NHL Postpones Predators And Bruins Games Through Holiday Break, Postpones Three Other Games

at CDT | by 16 Comments

As expected, there have been more postponements around the league as a result of the sharp increase in players testing positive for COVID-19.  The league announced that the Bruins and Predators have had their games postponed through the holiday break while three other contests this weekend have been postponed including tonight’s Canucks-Maple Leafs contest.  A full summary of the postponed games by team from today’s announcement is as follows:

Arizona: Dec. 19 at Vancouver
Boston: Dec. 19 at Ottawa, Dec. 21 vs Carolina, Dec. 23 vs Colorado
Nashville: Dec. 19 at Carolina, Dec. 21 vs Winnipeg
Seattle: Dec. 19 vs Toronto
Toronto: Dec. 18 at Vancouver, Dec. 19 at Seattle
Vancouver: Dec. 18 vs Toronto, Dec. 19 vs Arizona

These postponements come on the heels of Calgary, Colorado, and Florida all having their games postponed yesterday through the holiday break plus tonight’s Boston-Montreal contest.  No games have been rescheduled at this time.

The NHL has a window to withdraw their participation from the upcoming Olympics as a result of the outbreak that has hit the league now and with five teams currently out of action plus the Senators and Islanders having missed games earlier this season due to COVID, it will be interesting to see if they’re able to reschedule all of those games without needing to use the three-week break for the Olympics.  The NHL can withdraw without financial penalty if the decision is made January 10th or earlier.

Kings Place Cal Petersen In COVID Protocol

at CDT | by 2 Comments

The Kings announced (Twitter link) a trio of roster moves on Saturday, headlined by the placement of goaltender Cal Petersen in COVID protocol.  To replace him on the roster, Jacob Ingham was recalled from ECHL Greenville while defenseman Jordan Spence was sent back to AHL Ontario.

Petersen has gotten off to a fairly quiet start to his season, posting a 3.10 GAA along with a save percentage of just .893, numbers that are considerably worse than last season when his performance earned him a three-year, $15MM extension back in September that gets underway next season.  As a result, he has been ceding starts to Jonathan Quick as of late with the veteran off to a stellar start to his campaign.  It should be Quick’s net to run with through the holiday break at a minimum as a result of this news with Petersen set to miss at least ten days.

Ingham hasn’t been able to duplicate the success he had at the end of his OHL career in the pros and has spent the bulk of the season at the ECHL level for the second year in a row.  His numbers with the Swamp Rabbits haven’t been the best either – a GAA of 3.28 with a .894 SV% in nine starts.  However, promoting him allows the Kings to keep their AHL goaltending intact for the time being.

As for Spence, he was just recalled on Friday and heads back to the minors before even being on the roster for a single game.  The 20-year-old is in his first professional year and has eight assists in 18 games with the Reign so far this season.

Fredrik Claesson Clears Waivers

at CDT | by 2 Comments

Saturday: Claesson has cleared waivers, Friedman reports.

Friday: The Tampa Bay Lightning have placed Fredrik Claesson on waivers according to Elliotte Friedman of Sportsnet. The veteran defenseman cleared waivers earlier this season but has spent enough time on the NHL roster that he needed to again before being assigned to the AHL.

Claesson, 29, has really never been much more than an injury replacement at the NHL level, but seems to find his way into a handful of games each season. He’s suited up four times for Tampa Bay this year after splitting last season between the Lightning and San Jose Sharks. In his career, he has 165 NHL games and 28 points.

It seems unlikely he’ll be claimed this time around, though teams are desperate for roster players given some of the COVID situations. The fact that he makes just $750K against the cap is important for that kind of situation, and could lead to a desperation grab.

AHL Shuffle: 12/18/21

at CDT | by Leave a Comment

Saturday was originally set to be a busy day on the NHL schedule with ten games on the docket but COVID-related postponements have dropped that to six for the time being with more postponements appearing to be coming.  Nevertheless, there still will be some roster activity around the league which we’ll keep track of here.

Atlantic Division

Metropolitan Division

  • With the Panthers now off until after the holiday break, they’ve assigned defensemen Chase Priskie and Matt Kiersted plus forwards Cole Schwindt, Grigori Denisenko, and Aleksi Heponiemi to AHL Charlotte, per an announcement from the Checkers. The move allows Florida to get out of LTIR and bank some cap space while allowing their prospects to play before the AHL has their pause.
  • The Capitals announced that they’ve sent goaltender Zach Fucale back to Hershey of the AHL.  He had been recalled on Friday but was not in uniform for their game against Winnipeg.  Fucale made his NHL debut last month, posting a 21-save shutout versus Detroit and has a 2.80 GAA with a .889 SV% in eight games with the Bears this season.

Central Division

  • The Blackhawks have recalled defenseman Ian Mitchell from AHL Rockford, relays Scott Powers of The Athletic (Twitter link). After being a regular for the bulk of last season, the 22-year-old has been limited to just six games with Chicago so far and has instead spent most of the year with the IceHogs where he has 12 points in 19 games.
  • The Nashville Predators, per a team tweet, re-assigned forwards Rocco Grimaldi, Mathieu Olivier, Kole Sherwood, and Cole Smith to the Milwaukee Admirals. As the team is shut down through the holiday break, this gives them some salary cap flexibility and could allow those four to get into game action.

Pacific Division

  • Per a news release, the Anaheim Ducks re-assigned defenseman Jacob Larsson and forward Buddy Robinson to the San Diego Gulls. Larsson hasn’t gotten into an NHL game yet this year, but has seven assists in 19 games with San Diego. Robinson has two points in six games with the big club.

This post will be updated throughout the day.

Canucks Place Tyler Myers In COVID Protocol, Expected To Convert Ashton Sautner To NHL Deal

at CDT | by 1 Comment

The Canucks have lost another defenseman as they announced (Twitter link) that Tyler Myers has been placed in COVID protocol.  Taking his place on the roster will be Ashton Sautner as Rick Dhaliwal of CHEK and The Athletic reports (Twitter link) that Vancouver will be converting his AHL contract to an NHL one and will have him in the lineup against Toronto.  PuckPedia reports (via Twitter) that the deal will pay him $750K in the NHL and $220K in the minors.

Myers becomes the fifth Vancouver rearguard in COVID protocol joining Luke Schenn, Juho Lammikko, Brad Hunt, and Tucker Poolman; winger Tyler Motte and assistant coach Jason King are also in there.  Myers has logged heavy minutes for the Canucks this season and especially as of late as he played 29:26 in Tuesday’s game versus Columbus.  The 31-year-old is still looking for his first goal of the season while he has nine assists in 31 games.

As for Sautner, he’s no stranger to the Vancouver organization having played in 23 games with them between 2017-18 and 2019-20 and has been with their farm team since then.  This season, he has played in 18 games with AHL Abbotsford, picking up an assist along with 10 penalty minutes.  The Canucks only have three blueliners on NHL contracts not currently up with the big club including the currently-injured Jack Rathbone which has resulted in them deciding to convert Sautner’s deal.  He’ll need to pass through waivers to get back to the minors but that shouldn’t be an issue when the team is healthy enough to send him down.

Nikita Zaitsev To Miss A Month

at CDT | by 1 Comment

The Senators have been hit quite hard with the injury bug this season and they’ve now lost another veteran.  NHL.com’s Adam Kimelman relays (Twitter link) that defenseman Nikita Zaitsev will miss the next four weeks due to a heel injury.  The injury was sustained in Thursday’s game against Tampa and he was seen on crutches following the game.

The 30-year-old has had a more limited role than he has been accustomed to this season.  After logging more than 22 minutes a night in four of his first five seasons (including both years with Ottawa), Zaitsev is down to a career-low 18:32 per night.  As a result, his offensive production has tapered off as well as he has just a goal and an assist in 22 contests so far this season although he’s once again averaging close to two hits and blocks per game.

Zaitsev’s absence should provide an opportunity for the recently-recalled Jacob Bernard-Docker to get into the lineup.  When the team waived Michael Del Zotto earlier this month, part of the logic was to create a roster spot for Bernard-Docker to rejoin the big club but he has been a healthy scratch since being brought up on December 9th.  As he’s one of now only six healthy blueliners on the active roster, that should change.

Meanwhile, Zaitsev joins fellow blueliners Josh Brown and Erik Brannstrom plus centers Colin White and Shane Pinto on injured reserve.  Of that group, Brannstrom appears to be the closest to returning with the Senators hoping he’ll be able to resume skating after the holiday break.  Brannstrom has been out for a little more than a month with a broken hand.

Devils Place P.K. Subban In COVID Protocol, MacKenzie Blackwood Injured

at CDT | by Leave a Comment

The bad news just keeps on coming for the Devils.  The team made a pair of announcements, revealing that goaltender Mackenzie Blackwood is dealing with a neck injury and will not be accompanying the team to Detroit for their game tonight while defenseman P.K. Subban has been placed in COVID protocol.

The Devils haven’t had a lot of good luck on the injury front when it comes to their goaltending.  When they were healthy, they wound up losing Scott Wedgewood on waivers to Arizona last month.  Earlier this month, Jonathan Bernier suffered a hip injury, one that could be a longer-term issue.  First-year pros Nico Daws and Akira Schmid have both seen action (Schmid’s coming this week) and New Jersey recently acquired Jon Gillies from the Blues, a player that had just signed an NHL contract days earlier.  Now, Blackwood’s absence – one that carries a day-to-day designation – means that Schmid and Gillies will serve as their tandem for the time being.

As for Subban, he is now the fifth Devil to enter COVID protocol, joining blueliners Ryan Graves and Christian Jaros plus forwards Nico Hischier and Jesper Boqvist.  Subban had been held out of their game against Vegas on Thursday for precautionary measures but that won’t count as time spent in protocol; he will still need to miss at least ten days unless follow-up testing reveals a false positive.

Red Wings Place Three Players And Two Coaches In COVID Protocol

at CDT | by 1 Comment

With the recent increase in COVID cases around the league, the last few days have had plenty of news about players and staff members entering COVID protocol and it appears today will continue that trend.  The Red Wings announced (Twitter link) that goalie Alex Nedeljkovic, winger Carter Rowney and Givani Smith, head coach Jeff Blashill, and assistant coach Alex Tanguay have all been placed in protocol and will be unavailable for tonight’s game against New Jersey.

Detroit has been hit relatively hard by COVID-related absences this season as Tyler Bertuzzi, Marc Staal, and Danny DeKeyser have all missed time recently while Robby Fabbri and Michael Rasmussen are currently in protocol as well.  The Red Wings have recalled winger Riley Barber and goaltender Calvin Pickard from Grand Rapids of the AHL in corresponding moves to be able to dress a full lineup against the Devils.

As for their coaching situation, the team announced in a follow-up tweet that assistant coach Doug Houda will be joined by a pair of coaches from AHL Grand Rapids – head coach Ben Simon and assistant coach Todd Krygier.  As is the case with all other COVID protocol placements, each individual will need to miss at least ten days if follow-up testing confirms that they have indeed tested positive.

Maple Leafs Place Wayne Simmonds And Jason Spezza In COVID Protocol

at CDT | by 1 Comment

The Maple Leafs will be without two more veterans for their game in Vancouver tonight as the team announced (Twitter link) that winger Wayne Simmonds and center Jason Spezza have been placed in COVID protocol.  They join center John Tavares and forward Alexander Kerfoot who were also placed there on Friday.

Simmonds has had a limited role this season but has been a bit more productive, notching four goals and six assists in 29 games despite averaging over 10 minutes a game.  Meanwhile, Spezza has put up similar numbers, collecting seven goals and four helpers in 26 contests.  He was set to make his return after the final two games of his suspension were overturned yesterday but now that will be on hold.  If subsequent testing also results in positive tests, the veterans will be out for at least 10 days.

Taking their place on the roster are forward Alex Steeves and defenseman Carl Dahlstrom who were both recalled from AHL Toronto.  Steeves got into three games with the Maple Leafs earlier this month after a strong start with the Marlies that has him averaging a point per game while Dahlstrom had been up with them briefly earlier this week before being sent back down on Tuesday.  With Mitch Marner currently on LTIR, Toronto has the short-term cap space to carry a full roster, a luxury that won’t be available to them when everyone is healthy.

Pro Hockey Rumors is not affiliated with National Hockey League, NHL or NHL.com

Do not Sell or Share My Personal Information

scroll to top