Canadiens goaltender Carey Price is expected to soon meet with the surgeon who performed his knee surgery over the summer to determine the next step in his rehab, notes Sportsnet’s Eric Engels. The veteran has yet to play this season after spending time in the NHL/NHLPA Player Assistance Program and had resumed on-ice drills until about three weeks ago. There remains no timetable for his return for now but that should change soon following that meeting.
Meanwhile, wingers Josh Anderson, Mike Hoffman, Joel Armia, and center Christian Dvorak have all been classified as day-to-day as they work their way back from respective injuries. Anderson, in particular, appears to be ahead of schedule as he was initially expected to be out until early February. With Montreal having 15 players currently in COVID protocol, any returns would be a boost as they get set to resume their season on Wednesday in Boston.
Elsewhere in the East:
- The Rangers announced (Twitter link) that head coach Gerard Gallant has been placed in COVID protocol. Assistant coach Kris Knoblauch will take over as New York’s acting bench boss. It’s the second year in a row that Knoblauch has filled in for this reason as he also was thrust into that role in 2020-21 when he filled in for David Quinn for six games with the team winning four of those contests. Gallant shouldn’t be out that long as he could return after as little as five days.
- With the OHL trade deadline now just a day away, another NHL-drafted player is on the move as Lightning prospect Declan McDonnell has been moved to the Barrie Colts. The 19-year-old was the final pick of the 2020 draft (217th overall) but has collected 24 points in 28 games this season. Tampa Bay has until June 1st to sign McDonnell or they will lose his rights.
It didn’t take this long to put Steve Austin back together