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Jaccob Slavin Placed In COVID Protocol

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Perhaps it’s a good thing that their game against the Philadelphia Flyers tonight was canceled. The Carolina Hurricanes have announced that Jaccob Slavin is now in the COVID protocol, meaning he would have missed the game anyway. Slavin is the only Hurricanes player on the protocol at the moment, as though Brendan Smith hasn’t played since the middle of December, he returned to practice before the new year.

If there’s one player you wouldn’t want to take out of the Hurricanes lineup it’s probably Slavin, who has truly been a do-it-all star for the team this season. The 27-year-old defenseman has 18 points in 33 games, is averaging nearly 24 minutes a night, and leads all NHL players in short-handed ice time. In fact, his 129:13 is nearly 12 minutes ahead of the second-place Ryan McDonagh’s 117:55, showing just how important he is to the Hurricanes’ penalty-killing effort.

With tonight’s game postponed, the Hurricanes will next take the ice on Thursday for a match with the Columbus Blue Jackets. If Slavin has tested positive, he’ll miss that game and Saturday’s match against the Vancouver Canucks at a minimum. He could potentially return for next week’s game against Boston, but that is still dependant on him testing out of the protocol in the meantime.

Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images

Islanders, Blackhawks Announce More COVID Placements

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The New York Islanders will not have Barry Trotz behind the bench when the team takes on the New Jersey Devils on Thursday, as the head coach has been placed in the COVID protocol. Unfortunately, it doesn’t end there as Ryan Pulock has also found his way to the protocol today despite being injured.

Pulock hasn’t played since the middle of November as he deals with a lower-body injury, but now won’t even be able to get on the ice to rehab for the next little while. The loss of the 27-year-old defenseman has been one of the biggest problems for the Islanders this season. After receiving Norris Trophy votes and Olympic consideration, Pulock has played in just 12 games so far.

The COVID announcements don’t end there. The Chicago Blackhawks have placed Jake McCabe and head athletic trainer Mike Gapski in the protocol, according to Mark Lazerus of The Athletic. Jakub Galvas has been recalled from the taxi squad to take McCabe’s place and could be making his NHL debut should he get into the lineup tonight against the Columbus Blue Jackets.

Galvas, 22, is in his first year of North American hockey after several years in Czechia and Finland. Through 20 games with the Rockford IceHogs, the fifth-round pick has six points but has shown enough to earn this recall to the NHL squad. While perhaps not a full-time solution at this point, filling in for a few days while McCabe goes through his isolation period shouldn’t be an issue.

Flyers Notes: Cancelation, Giroux, Brown, Hextall

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The late-night cancelation of today’s Philadelphia Flyers-Carolina Hurricanes game is raising eyebrows all across the league, especially after the Flyers took the ice today for practice. The team seemingly has enough players to continue their season, even if several key ones would be missing tonight’s game. In an email to Sam Carchidi of Philly Hockey Now, deputy commissioner Bill Daly wrote that the decision to postpone was “based on totality of circumstances” and that the league stands by it.

A bit later, the Flyers announced that Rasmus Ristolainen has been added to the COVID protocol. Perhaps his test is what predicated the postponement, as the league has always tried to contain spreading outbreaks.

More from Flyers practice:

  • Claude Giroux has exited the COVID protocol and rejoined practice today, skating for the first time since isolating a week ago. The Flyers captain is still leading the club in scoring with 29 points in 32 games despite the recent time off and is putting up a strong case for a new contract in the offseason. While his days in Philadelphia seem numbered if only because of the lack of team success the group has had, Giroux is proving to be a top offensive player in the league. An unrestricted free agent at the end of the year, he’ll turn 34 tomorrow.
  • The Flyers will be without Patrick Brown for the next month after he suffered an MCL sprain in Saturday’s game. The 29-year-old center has four points in 20 games this season but was a necessary option with so many others out with injury. Brown, who was claimed on waivers at the beginning of the season, is in the first season of a two-year deal that pays him the league minimum of $750K.
  • On the latest edition of the Cam and Strick Podcast, Flyers’ legend Bobby Clarke discusses Ron Hextall’s time as the Philadelphia general manager and specifically confirms that the team’s scouts wanted to select Cale Makar over Nolan Patrick with the second overall pick in 2017. Makar ended up going fourth to the Colorado Avalanche after the Dallas Stars took Miro Heiskanen third overall.

Taxi Squad Shuffle: 01/11/22

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Despite the Carolina Hurricanes and Philadelphia Flyers game getting canceled late last night, there’s still a full slate of matches on the books for tonight. Seven games including the red-hot Colorado Avalanche taking on the Nashville Predators, Evgeni Malkin potentially making his return, and the Bruce Boudreau-led Vancouver Canucks trying to continue their climb up the Pacific Division standings. As those teams and others prepare for action, we’ll keep track of all the minor league and taxi squad shuffling.

Atlantic Division

  • The Buffalo Sabres have reassigned Brett Murray to the taxi squad, giving them another body as they deal with COVID absences. Alex Tuch and Kyle Okposo are out of the protocol and on the ice, but are not expected to play tonight according to John Vogl of The Athletic.
  • The Boston Bruins have returned Troy Grosenick and Steven Fogarty to the AHL, while also ending Tuukka Rask’s PTO with the Providence Bruins. That suggests that an NHL deal could be coming down the pipe for Rask, who has yet to actually play a game this season.
  • The Tampa Bay Lightning have sent Remi Elie to the Syracuse Crunch, sending him back down after just one game with the big club. The 26-year-old winger has nine points in 13 games with Syracuse this season.

Metropolitan Division

  • The New York Rangers have recalled Tyler Wall to the taxi squad, giving them an extra netminder for the time being. Wall, 23, has split this season between the AHL and ECHL, posting a .900 save percentage in eight games with the Jacksonville Icemen. Later in the day, they sent Wall, Tarmo Reunanen, and Nils Lundkvist back to the AHL while recalling Braden Schneider. If Schneider gets into a game, he’ll be making his NHL debut after just 26 career games in the minor leagues.
  • After his third career start didn’t go quite as well as the first two, Zach Fucale has been sent back to the AHL by the Washington Capitals. The club will go back to Vitek Vanecek and Ilya Samsonov, but now at least know that Fucale can handle himself at the NHL level.
  • The Pittsburgh Penguins have officially activated Evgeni Malkin from injured reserve, but needed a few additional players for tonight’s game as they deal with COVID-related absences. Louis Domingue, Anthony Angello and Radim Zohorna have all been recalled to the main roster.

Central Division

  • Mikhail Berdin has been sent back to the Manitoba Moose from the Winnipeg Jets taxi squad, where he can play tomorrow night. The Moose are one of the best teams in the AHL this season but it’s not necessarily because of Berdin, who has just an .896 save percentage in 16 appearances. Now that he’s out of COVID protocol, the Jets have also sent Arvid Holm to the AHL.
  • The Arizona Coyotes have made several recalls to fill in for their COVID placements, bringing up Victor Soderstrom, Vladislav Kolyachonok and Ivan Prosvetov to the taxi squad. Soderstrom, 20, is one of the top defensive prospects in the world and has played in nine games for the Coyotes this season. Selected 11th overall, he has 12 points in 17 games at the minor league level.
  • The St. Louis Blues have recalled both Nathan Walker and Calle Rosen to the taxi squad, with more changes likely coming before game time on Thursday. The Blues are dealing with several COVID-related absences and will need to make adjustments, though this time around the league has rules that help out in emergency recall situations.
  • The Nashville Predators have recalled Cole Smith and Matt Luff to the active roster, the former coming directly from the AHL. Smith, 26, is only in his second season of professional hockey but has 17 points in 27 games for the Milwaukee Admirals and has played in two games for the Predators.

Pacific Division

  • The Los Angeles Kings have moved Samuel Fagemo and Jacob Moverare to the taxi squad once again, a near-daily transaction for the club. Moverare finally made his NHL debut but Fagemo still hasn’t, despite being recalled several times. The 21-year-old forward does have ten goals and 14 points in 26 games for the Ontario Reign this season.
  • The Edmonton Oilers have loaned Markus Niemelainen to the AHL, though the big defenseman showed well in his NHL opportunity and could be back before long. The 23-year-old Niemelainen has played in seven games this season, and though he is still looking for his first NHL point, it’s the 6’5″ presence that was so impressive.

This page will be updated throughout the day

Columbus Blue Jackets Suspend Gregory Hofmann

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Jan 11: EV Zug has announced that once “NHL transfer formalities” are completed, Hofmann will resume his contract there. That would suggest he will be placed on unconditional waivers today.

Jan 10: The Columbus Blue Jackets have decided that a suspension is their only option. Gregory Hofmann has been suspended indefinitely by the team, with general manager Jarmo Kekalainen offering the following explanation:

Gregory was given permission by the club to step away for personal reasons and informed us today that because of those reasons he has decided not to return. Obviously, we are disappointed, but we have no other recourse than to suspend him.

By suspending him without pay, Hofmann’s cap hit will not count toward the Blue Jackets’ total.

The 29-year-old forward signed a one-year, $900K contract with Columbus this offseason after a long career in Switzerland, and had played in 24 games so far this season. Though he had scored just two goals and seven points, his play had been impressive enough to earn more ice time of late, including nearly 20 minutes in his second to last game.

Given a leave of absence in late December, Hofmann’s reason at the time had to do with the birth of his first child. Aaron Portzline of The Athletic tweets that as recently as yesterday, Kekalainen had expected Hofmann to be back soon.

By suspending him instead of terminating his contract, the Blue Jackets will retain Hofmann’s rights through the end of the season. The Swiss league technically does not have a transfer agreement with the NHL and therefore could theoretically sign him, but they usually respect North American contracts (and related suspensions). Hofmann will be an unrestricted free agent at the end of the season.

Barclay Goodrow Enters COVID Protocol

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The New York Rangers announced Monday night that forward Barclay Goodrow entered the NHL’s COVID-19 protocol. The team called up forward Anthony Greco from the taxi squad to take his spot on the roster.

Goodrow seems to be flourishing with the Rangers. He’s got seven goals and 10 assists through 36 games, on pace to shatter his career-high of 24 points.

As injuries and COVID cases piled up for the Rangers, Goodrow had slid into a top-six role alongside Artemi Panarin and Ryan Strome. Now, another body will need to fill that spot in, possibly Greco.

If Goodrow is subject to a five-day quarantine, he could return on January 19th against the Toronto Maple Leafs.

Snapshots: Malkin, Canucks, Robertson

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Pittsburgh Penguins head coach Mike Sullivan spoke to reporters today, saying that injured center Evgeni Malkin is taking line rushes in his normal second-line center spot and is taking scrimmages on the top power play. He’ll officially be listed as a game-time decision for tomorrow’s game against Anaheim. If Malkin is healthy enough to go, it’ll be his first NHL game since May 26, 2021, his first in six and a half months. Malkin was expected to be out indefinitely after undergoing knee surgery in June 2021. Now, after missing Pittsburgh’s first 34 games of the season, he’s hopefully fully healthy and ready to go for the stretch run.

Other notes from around the league:

  • Three Vancouver Canucks forwards who were previously in COVID protocol – Elias Pettersson, Brock Boeser, and Jason Dickinson – are likely to return when the Canucks kick off a road trip on Tuesday against Florida, per NHL.com’s Kevin Woodley. All three exited protocol today and practiced with the team. It will be Vancouver’s first game since New Years Day, a 5-2 win against Seattle.
  • Top Toronto Maple Leafs prospect Nick Robertson is recovering from a leg injury that’s sidelined him since mid-October 2021, and their AHL head coach, Greg Moore, says Robertson is skating with the Toronto Marlies again and could play in a “couple of weeks.” It’s great news for Robertson, who’s been taken out of the lineup by long-term injuries each of the past two seasons. He has 19 points in 29 games between the NHL and AHL since the beginning of 2020-21.

NHL Fines Rick Bowness $25,000

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The National Hockey League fined Dallas Stars coach Rick Bowness $25,000 for his actions behind the bench at the conclusion of yesterday’s game against the St. Louis Blues, as tweeted today from the NHL public relations account.

Officials assessed Dallas two back-to-back penalties in the last 90 seconds of the game, which led to the Blues scoring twice en route to a 2-1 victory. Cameras showed Bowness slamming a stick against the glass behind the Stars bench and seemingly yelling an expletive in the direction of the officials.

$25,000 is becoming the standard amount for outbursts from head coaches. Carolina Hurricanes bench boss Rod Brind’Amour can attest to that, having been fined that amount multiple times over the past few years.

Per the press release from the NHL, the fine money goes to the NHL Foundation.

Ottawa Senators Sign Tyler Boucher

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Jan 10: Boucher has been officially loaned to the 67’s, meaning he’ll be in junior for the rest of the season.

Dec 28: Tyler Boucher’s college career will last just 17 games, as the Ottawa Senators have signed the top prospect to an entry-level contract. Now ineligible to return to Boston University, Boucher is expected to be loaned to the Ottawa 67’s of the OHL, the CHL team that selected him in 2019. Senators general manager Pierre Dorion had this to say:

We’re pleased to have Tyler under contract. He’s a power forward who plays a heavy, physical game. He’s driven, is strong with the puck, has a big shot and goes hard to the net. His good hands in tight areas will be of particular benefit to him going forward. We expect him to be an important part of this team’s future.

Boucher, 18, was selected 10th overall in this year’s draft, picked just before Columbus Blue Jackets forward Cole Sillinger. A member of the U.S. National Team Development Program for the past several years, he played 17 games at Boston University this season and recorded just three points. Boucher had been invited to the U.S. Summer Showcase in June, but didn’t manage to earn a spot on this year’s World Junior team. He’ll be eligible again next year and should have a better chance after playing at the OHL level, where his offensive game should find more room to operate.

The son of longtime NHL goaltender Brian Boucher, he should have lots of support as he makes the switch to OHL hockey. Brian Boucher also played in the CHL, taking his talents to the WHL to play for the Tri-City Americans. His son will now try to make a similar transition before making the leap to the NHL down the road, and the Senators will be there to guide him the whole way.

Another one of the team’s high draft picks, Boucher was nevertheless selected a little higher than many expected. Ranked 25th among North American skaters by NHL Central Scouting and 29th by TSN’s Bob McKenzie, most thought he’d come off the board right around the end of the first round. Instead, the Senators obviously saw a player that could support some of their other high-end talent with his physical brand of hockey, something that didn’t diminish even in a more limited role at BU. At the CHL level he should be able to use that power and strength to find some more space.

Dmitry Orlov, Carl Hagelin Placed In COVID Protocol

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3:40pm: The Capitals have announced that Carl Hagelin has also entered the protocol and will be unavailable this evening.

10:08am: The Washington Capitals were going to be close to full strength, but Dmitry Orlov will not be available when they take on the Boston Bruins tonight. The veteran defenseman has entered the COVID protocol and missed the team’s morning skate, one that was attended by both T.J. Oshie and Nicklas Backstrom, back from a stint on injured reserve.

Orlov, 30, has been his usual reliable self this season, playing 21 minutes a night for the Capitals and chipping in offensively. Through 36 games he has 17 points, good enough to tie him for fifth on the team in scoring. Losing him, even if it is just for this one game, will leave a hole on the Washington blueline. Luckily, the team doesn’t play again until Saturday, allowing the potential of Orlov getting through the protocol in the minimum five days and missing just one game.

While that may not be very realistic, the team will at least have two other veterans back as Oshie and Backstrom return from their non-COVID illnesses. The team also had Ilya Samsonov on the ice at practice, but appear to be going with Zach Fucale for tonight’s match, according to Tom Gulitti of NHL.com. Through three appearances, Fucale has allowed just a single goal while he has been in the net–and watched Carl Hagelin put it into the empty Washington cage on a delayed penalty.

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