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Jaden Schwartz Out 4-6 Weeks After Hand Surgery

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The Seattle Kraken announced Thursday that forward Jaden Schwartz will have hand surgery and is expected to be out of the lineup for four to six weeks.

It’s a tough blow in a tough season for the expansion Kraken, who’ve dealt with big absences and poor results. They’re already without forward Brandon Tanev, who’s out for the rest of the season with a torn ACL.

Schwartz is one of Seattle’s top point producers, scoring six goals and 14 assists through 26 games. He’s second on the team in points only behind Jordan Eberle (22).

A four-to-six-week timeline puts Schwartz on track to return sometime in February. With Seattle already well out of the playoff picture, there’s no use in rushing Schwartz back. He’s signed through the 2025-26 season with a cap hit of $5.5MM.

Atlantic Notes: Kucherov, McAvoy, Hagg

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Tampa Bay Lightning forward Nikita Kucherov is coming off long-term injured reserve and is making his 2022 debut tonight against Calgary, according to head coach Jon Cooper. Kucherov hasn’t played since the third game of the 2021-22 season, and he’s been out with a lower-body injury ever since. He’ll likely slot back into his home on the top line alongside Ondrej Palat and Brayden Point. Save for Ross Colton, who’s currently in COVID protocol, the Lightning have a fully healthy forward group for the first time since October.

Elsewhere in the Atlantic Division:

  • Per ESPN’s Greg Wyshynski, Boston Bruins defenseman Charlie McAvoy is out for tonight’s game against Minnesota with a lower-body injury, although he notes it’s not a long-term ailment. It goes without saying that McAvoy is the rock for Boston’s blue line, scoring 20 points in 28 games and averaging 24:22 per game. In his place, 31-year-old John Moore likely slides into the lineup for just the fifth time this season.
  • The Buffalo Sabres have been without defenseman Robert Hagg since mid-December, but he could be close to returning. The Athletic’s John Vogl reports that he took part in practice with his teammates today, his first time doing so since suffering a lower-body injury on December 14. Acquired from Philadelphia this offseason, Hagg has five points in 25 games.

Dylan DeMelo, Jansen Harkins Enter COVID Protocol

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Per Winnipeg Jets head coach Dave Lowry, defenseman Dylan DeMelo and forward Jansen Harkins are entering the NHL’s COVID-19 protocol.

He also notes that forward Paul Stastny is a game-time decision for tonight’s game against Colorado.

DeMelo’s seen a reduction in his role this season after the Jets acquired some more bodies on the blue line this offseason. He’s got just four points in 32 games and is averaging just 15:38 per game, but he’s still one of Winnipeg’s most capable defensive bodies.

At even strength, DeMelo had been playing alongside Josh Morrissey, whose game has benefitted greatly from that this season.

Harkins has yet to really break out at the NHL level, but he’s at least become a full-time player this season. Through 32 games, he has three goals and three assists.

Arizona Coyotes Claim Riley Nash

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Jan. 6: Nash is now on the way to his third team this season. Friedman reports that the Arizona Coyotes claimed Nash on Thursday, adding to arguably the thinnest forward depth in the league.

Jan. 5: A veteran center is available once again, as the Tampa Bay Lightning have placed Riley Nash on waivers according to Elliotte Friedman of Sportsnet. Nash was claimed from the Winnipeg Jets last month and played 10 games for the Lightning while they dealt with various injuries and absences.

Now, with Nikita Kucherov nearing a return and Anthony Cirelli back from his COVID absence, the Lightning no longer require Nash at the NHL level. By placing him on waivers, they would be able to stash him on the taxi squad should no other team put in a claim. The Jets could also send him directly to the minors or taxi squad if they decide to claim Nash and are the only team to do so.

That’s certainly no guarantee though, as there are several teams around the league who could probably use an experienced option while they deal with massive COVID-related absences. The fact that Nash earns the league minimum of $750K also suggests someone else could put in a claim.

A veteran of more than 600 NHL games, it’s been a struggle offensively for the 32-year-old center over the last few years. After reaching a career-high of 15 goals and 41 points in 2017-18, he became basically a defense-only option in his next few stops. Since the start of the 2018-19 season with the Columbus Blue Jackets, Nash has registered 10 goals and 33 points in 204 games.

Senators Notes: White, Forsberg, Kuzmenko

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During general manager Pierre Dorion’s interview with TSN 1200 today, he gave a variety of updates related to the short- and long-term future of the team. One of those updates surrounded forward Colin White, who hasn’t played this season due to a shoulder injury suffered during the preseason. Dorion says that White still isn’t close to returning, and hopes for an early-March season debut as the best scenario. That jives with White’s original five-month timeline on the injury, but many hoped for an earlier return. The 24-year-old forward is under contract for three seasons following this one with a $4.75MM cap hit.

More from the Senators on this Thursday morning:

Blues Place Tarasenko, Perunovich, Walman In COVID Protocol

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After icing a nearly fully healthy team last night against Pittsburgh for what felt like the first time in forever, the St. Louis Blues got hit with bad news today. The team released a statement Thursday saying they’ve placed forward Vladimir Tarasenko and defensemen Scott Perunovich and Jake Walman in the NHL’s COVID-19 protocol.

These are large absences for this team, especially Tarasenko. He’s been a somewhat unexpectedly huge contributor to the lineup after requesting a trade this past offseason, potting 14 goals and 20 assists in 34 games, seemingly fully recovered from years of shoulder issues.

Perunovich and Walman have been valuable depth pieces on defense, especially Perunovich. The young 23-year-old has impressed during his first NHL stint, scoring six assists in 18 games and averaging 15:33 per game. The 45th overall pick in 2018 will have to wait a little longer to score his first NHL goal, however.

Walman, through 18 games, has a goal and two assists in 12:06 of ice time per game.

Taxi Squad Shuffle: 01/06/22

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It’s a busy Thursday with 11 games on tap tonight. With that, you can bet that many teams will be shuffling their rosters and lining things up to be ready for when the puck drops. You can keep track of all of those roster moves right here.

Atlantic Division

Metropolitan Division

  • The Philadelphia Flyers recalled forward Connor Bunnaman and defenseman Yegor Zamula from the AHL’s Lehigh Valley Phantoms, assigning them to the taxi squad as COVID-related absences are hitting their team hard at the moment. Bunnaman is pointless in four games this season, while Zamula could look to make his season debut if he’s elevated to the active roster.
  • Goaltender Hunter Shepard is on his way up to the Washington Capitals’ taxi squad from the AHL’s Hershey Bears, according to a team release. The 26-year-old netminder does not require waivers and has split this season between the AHL and ECHL.

Central Division

Pacific Division

This page will be updated throughout the day.

NHL Postpones Three Games Due To Capacity Restrictions

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The NHL announced Wednesday that they’ve postponed three games due to current capacity restrictions in Canada. The following games were postponed:

New Jersey Devils vs. Montreal Canadiens (originally scheduled for January 15)
New Jersey Devils vs. Toronto Maple Leafs (originally scheduled for January 17)
Chicago Blackhawks vs. Edmonton Oilers (originally scheduled for January 18)

The postponements leave a sizable gap in the schedule in terms of home games for all three Canadian teams affected. Montreal’s next home game is now scheduled for January 27 against Anaheim. They have seven road games scheduled prior to that point.

Toronto is actually playing host to the Oilers tonight, but it’ll be their last time hosting for a few weeks now. Their next home game is also against Anaheim on January 26, the day prior to Montreal’s game. Edmonton has a home game scheduled for January 10 against the Ottawa Senators, seemingly left unaffected as it’s two Canadian teams facing off against each other.

Ryan Murray Activated From Long-Term Injured Reserve

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According to CapFriendly, the Colorado Avalanche activated defenseman Ryan Murray from long-term injured reserve today, moving him to the active roster.

Murray has been out of the Avalanche lineup since November 27, when he was sidelined with a lower-body injury. In 17 games this season prior to the injury, he had four assists, averaging 14:52 per game.

It’s Murray’s first season in Colorado, signing a one-year, $2MM contract in the offseason to join the team after a solid season in 2020-21 with New Jersey.

It seems like Murray’s never played a fully healthy season, but he’s getting a shot to return to the lineup now. With the recent return of Bowen Byram to the lineup, Colorado finally has full health on defense after a rash of injuries this year.

Spencer Knight Enters COVID Protocol

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Florida Panthers goalie Spencer Knight entered the NHL’s COVID-19 protocol on Wednesday, as per a team announcement. The team confirmed he’ll be unavailable for Thursday’s game against the Dallas Stars.

It’s been an unexpectedly rough year for the rookie netminder after he took the World Juniors (and the NHL, briefly) by storm with a string of impressive performances. Florida’s 13th overall selection in 2019 has just a .896 save percentage through 14 games, though, and he’s spent some time on the taxi squad and with the AHL’s Charlotte Checkers to continue to develop his game.

Luckily, the Panthers have a better insurance policy in the net than they did at the start of the season. After losing Sam Montembeault on waivers to Montreal prior to the start of the year, the team only had three goalies under contract. That changed when they claimed Jonas Johansson off waivers from Colorado last month, allowing them to give Knight some time off.

Johansson will need to come into action now with Knight on protocol, though. He hasn’t fared any better in 2021-22, posting a .885 save percentage through nine games. The team’s won four straight games after the holiday break, though, giving themselves a comfortable 12-point cushion in terms of a playoff spot in the Eastern Conference.

If all goes well for Knight and he can exit protocol in five days, he could look to return on January 11 against Vancouver. He would miss tomorrow’s game against Dallas and Saturday’s game against Carolina.

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