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Travis Konecny, Travis Sanheim Added To COVID Protocol

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The Philadelphia Flyers’ nightmare season never ends. Today, the team has placed Travis Konecny and Travis Sanheim in the COVID protocol, making them unavailable to the team for tomorrow’s game against the Pittsburgh Penguins. The team has also loaned Felix Sandstrom and Kirill Ustimenko back to the AHL, clearing room for additional taxi squad recalls if necessary.

Konecny and Sanheim join Ivan Provorov, Nick Seeler, Claude Giroux, and Jackson Cates in the protocol, while several other key players remain out with injuries. Importantly, both new COVID additions played yesterday, logging 19 and 24 minutes respectively against the Anaheim Ducks. That wasn’t enough to help the Flyers win, however, as they continue to struggle through this disappointing season.

Now 13-14-6 on the year, Philadelphia will have to try to navigate the next little while without nearly their entire core. If Konecny and Sanheim tested positive, they will miss at least two games. Already the club had turned to young players like Cam York and Morgan Frost to carry some of the load, but now even more depth will be needed from the minor leagues.

Victor Rask, Zane McIntyre Clear Waivers

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Jan 5: Both players have cleared waivers, according to Michael Russo of The Athletic. Rask is expected to be assigned to the taxi squad, where the Wild will receive $1.125MM in cap relief. McIntyre will be assigned to the Iowa Wild.

Jan 4: Per Sportsnet’s Elliotte Friedman, the Minnesota Wild placed forward Victor Rask and goalie Zane McIntyre on waivers today.

While McIntyre wasn’t in the Wild organization prior to today, the waiver placement means that he signed an NHL contract with the Wild today. He was previously with the AHL’s Tucson Roadrunners on an AHL contract, appearing in three games and posting a .904 save percentage to go with a 2-1-0 record.

McIntyre has spent time on NHL rosters over the past few years but hasn’t gotten into a game since he played eight with the Boston Bruins in 2016-17. Those are the only eight NHL games he has under his belt, but he’s been a capable enough AHL man over the years and that’s the role he’ll play in Minnesota.

Rask’s waiver placement is partially salary-motivated, as the 28-year-old forward is in the last year of a contract that carries a $4MM cap hit. If he clears waivers, the Wild can save roughly $1MM on that hit while he’s in the minors.

He has four goals and six assists in 21 games this season, occasionally serving as a healthy scratch.

Pittsburgh Penguins Acquire Alex Nylander

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The Pittsburgh Penguins will be the next team that tries to get an NHL player out of Alex Nylander. They’ve acquired him from the Chicago Blackhawks in exchange for Sam Lafferty.

The one-for-one deal will see Nylander leave the Blackhawks organization after just 65 regular season games. Selected eighth overall in 2016, he arrived in Chicago after a trade from the Buffalo Sabres in 2019, played the entire 2019-20 season before suffering a major knee injury that kept him out all of last year. Through 23 games in the minor leagues this season, he has eight goals and 12 points.

A dynamic forward in Sweden and the OHL, Nylander managed just 19 games with the Sabres before being shipped out of town for Henri Jokiharju. His work ethic has been questioned at times (rightly or wrongly), while his consistency has always been an issue. Even in the minor leagues there have been times where he disappears, and so much time off due to the knee recovery has not helped. There is still upside in the 23-year-old, something that the Penguins will obviously try to coax out, but it’s beginning to seem like Nylander has missed his opportunity to be an impact player at the NHL level.

That seems to be Chicago’s take, as Lafferty represents a depth option without much upside. The 26-year-old forward has 94 games under his belt at the NHL level, with six goals and 21 points to show for it. None of those six goals have come since the start of the 2020-21 campaign, with him seeing far less ice time in Pittsburgh over the last two seasons. In fact, he’s played just ten games this year despite Pittsburgh dealing with many injuries and averages fewer than nine minutes even when he gets into the lineup.

Nylander will be a restricted free agent at the end of the season and remain in Pittsburgh’s control as long as the team issues him a qualifying offer. That’s no guarantee, though the threat of arbitration is still a year away due to his lost season.

Connor McDavid, Two Other Oilers Enter COVID Protocol

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Though there was some hope that Connor McDavid’s positive COVID-19 test would not be confirmed today, Edmonton Oilers head coach Dave Tippett announced that the superstar center has now entered the protocol and will be unavailable for the team tonight when they take on the Toronto Maple Leafs. Even worse, Tippett announced that Derek Ryan and Tyson Barrie have also entered the protocol. Zack Kassian has been activated, while. Ilya Konovalov has been moved to the taxi squad.

Losing McDavid at any point of the season is bad news, but especially so for the reeling Oilers right now. The team has lost four in a row, eight of their last ten, and are in danger of slipping even further down the Pacific Division standings. At 18-13-2 on the year, they are in fourth place but just a few points ahead of the Los Angeles Kings, San Jose Sharks, and surging Vancouver Canucks.

With losing often comes controversy, and the question of a coaching change has been brought up by the media in recent days. That was the focus on social media again this morning after Mikko Koskinen’s response to being criticized by Tippett. The coach was asked directly about the situation between him and his goaltender, explaining to reporters including Ryan Rishaug of TSN that his comments were taken out of context. Mike Smith will start in goal tonight for the undermanned Oilers.

Not only is McDavid missing though, but also Ryan and Ryan Nugent-Hopkins, meaning the team will be very short on capable centers this evening. Leon Draisaitl will be asked to carry an even heavier load, while Ryan McLeod likely becomes the team’s default second-line option. Nugent-Hopkins was moved to injured reserve today.

Luckily, the team only has tonight and one more game currently scheduled before January 18, meaning McDavid and the others shouldn’t miss much actual action.

Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images

Sharks, Bruins Announce More COVID Absences

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Jan 5: Tomas Nosek has joined the other Bruins in the protocol, along with one additional staff member.

Jan 4: The San Jose Sharks and Boston Bruins have each announced more COVID-related absences. The Sharks have placed Logan Couture and Lane Pederson in the COVID protocol, recalling Adin Hill and Scott Reedy in the process. Alexei Melnichuk has been reassigned to the San Jose Barracuda.

Couture, the Sharks captain, was not one of the players who entered the protocol earlier this season, though he also was missing for one of the games they played shorthanded due to a non-COVID illness. He’ll now be sidelined for the next little while, likely missing at least this evening’s game as well as two others in the coming days.

With Hill out, Couture and Pederson will join only Mario Ferraro in the protocol at this time. Head coach Bob Boughner confirmed to reporters including Curtis Pashelka of Mercury News that Couture is positive but has not yet experienced any symptoms. With the league’s new policy, that means he could potentially exit the protocol in five days, should he be able to provide a negative test.

The Bruins meanwhile have placed Jake DeBrusk and three staff members in the protocol, where they will join Karson Kuhlman. DeBrusk has had quite the eventful season so far, with his trade request going public only for the Bruins to put him back in the lineup due to other absences. In the two games the team has played since the holiday break, DeBrusk has taken a regular shift in both, even playing more than 16 minutes on Sunday against the Detroit Red Wings.

Now, as he finds himself in isolation, he’ll be forced to miss at least tonight’s game and likely at least two others in the next few days.

Taxi Squad Shuffle: 01/05/22

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Just two games on the NHL schedule this evening after a full slate last night. The Toronto Maple Leafs and Edmonton Oilers will do battle in an all-Canadian matchup, while the St. Louis Blues travel to Pittsburgh to battle the Penguins. As those teams and others prepare, we’ll keep track of all the minor league and taxi squad shuffling:

Atlantic Division

  • Ahead of their game, the Maple Leafs have sent Kyle Clifford to the taxi squad, a good sign that Auston Matthews will be ready to go. Matthews took the morning skate after initially receiving a positive COVID result on a rapid test earlier this week. After testing negative yesterday, his presence at the skate suggests that he has been cleared to return to action.
  • The Tampa Bay Lightning have returned Darren Raddysh to the AHL, after making his NHL debut a few days ago. Raddysh played in two games for the Lightning and failed to record a point.
  • The Detroit Red Wings have recalled Riley Barber, Luke Witkowski, and Kaden Fulcher from the AHL to the taxi squad, giving them some extra bodies as they head west. Detroit will take on the three California teams before returning home later this month.
  • The Ottawa Senators have reassigned Max Guenette and Lassi Thomson to the AHL, while moving Logan Shaw to the taxi squad. Thomson, 21, has played in 12 games for the Senators this season and has three points.

Metropolitan Division

  • The Columbus Blue Jackets have sent Cam Johnson from the taxi squad back to the minor leagues, though it’s still kind of a promotion for the netminder. Johnson had been playing in the ECHL when he got the call to the NHL taxi squad and will only be going back to the AHL’s Cleveland Monsters for the time being. Meanwhile, the club has recalled Jake Christiansen and Liam Foudy from the AHL to the taxi squad.
  • The Washington Capitals have recalled Michael Sgarbossa to the taxi squad once again, after sending him down just yesterday. The veteran minor leaguer has 14 points in 15 games this season for the Hershey Bears.

Central Division

  • The Chicago Blackhawks have recalled Nicolas Beaudin to the taxi squad while assigning Brett Connolly there from the active roster. Kurtis Gabriel and Alec Regula are headed back to the Rockford IceHogs, where they can take part in this weekend’s back-to-back matches.
  • Matt Luff might not get a chance to play his former team tomorrow night, as the Nashville Predators have moved him back down to the taxi squad. Luff has played four games for the Predators this season after spending several years as a member of the Los Angeles Kings organization.
  • After he cleared waivers, Zane McIntyre has been loaned back to the Iowa Wild. The Minnesota Wild meanwhile have recalled Andrew Hammond from the taxi squad under emergency conditions and moved Hunter Jones up to the taxi squad from the AHL.
  • The Colorado Avalanche reassigned forwards Callahan Burke, Mikhail Maltsev, and goalie Hunter Miska to the AHL’s Colorado Eagles from the taxi squad today. Maltsev’s the only one of them that has NHL games under their belt this season.

Pacific Division

  • The San Jose Sharks have recalled prospect Adam Raska, a 20-year-old forward that has impressed in his first year of North American pro hockey. A seventh-round pick in 2020, Raska has six points in 21 AHL games but plays a physical, bang-and-crash style that made him a preseason fan favorite.
  • The Anaheim Ducks have recalled Jacob Larsson, while sending Benoit-Olivier Groulx, Bryce Kindopp, Danny O’Regan, and Greg Pateryn to the AHL from the taxi squad. Lukas Dostal will come up from the AHL to the taxi squad for the time being.

This page will be updated throughout the day

Ottawa Senators Remove Three From COVID Protocol

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Jan 5: Ennis, Norris, and Paul have all cleared the protocol and can rejoin their teammates at practice. With the team now off until January 8, the Senators will hopefully be mostly out of the woods.

Jan 3: The Ottawa Senators have added three more players to the COVID protocol, as Thomas Chabot, Zach Sanford, and Chris Tierney are now unavailable. With the extra roster spots, they have recalled Michael Del Zotto from the AHL and added Scott Sabourin to the taxi squad.

The Senators now have nine players in the protocol, though Anton Forsberg is expected to clear tomorrow. Joshua Norris, Tyler Ennis, Dillon Heatherington, Jacob Bernard-Docker, and Nick Paul are all on the sidelines, along with assistant coach Bob Jones and three members of the support staff.

Nearly every member of the Senators roster has now spent time on the COVID list at one point or another this season. Ottawa is set to play next on January 6 against the Seattle Kraken, but will be seriously shorthanded.

West Notes: Oilers, Chychrun, Kesler

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The Oilers have struggled considerably over the last several weeks, having lost 10 of their last 12 games which has led to some speculation as to whether or not head coach Dave Tippett is on the hot seat.  In the latest TSN Insider Trading segment (video link), TSN’s Darren Dreger reports that there are no plans for a coaching change in Edmonton unless things get considerably worse.  Speculatively, that would mean a continuation of their current struggles to the point where they fall well outside the playoff picture.  For the time being, they currently hold the final Wild Card spot in the West.

Dreger adds that the Oilers are looking to add a goaltender in the midst of Mike Smith’s injuries and Mikko Koskinen’s struggles as well as an upgrade at the third line center position.  However, they’re in a situation where they need to match money to make a deal happen which will complicate things.

More from the Western Conference:

  • Also from Dreger in that segment, the Coyotes are believed to be seeking an ‘Eichel-like’ return if they’re going to move defenseman Jakob Chychrun, an asking price that has scared at least some potential suitors away. The former Buffalo center yielded a first-round pick, a high-end prospect, a top-six winger, and a second-rounder and with the 23-year-old signed for just $4.6MM through 2024-25, he’s someone that many more teams will be able to afford which will allow Arizona to keep the price justifiably high.
  • The Golden Knights are considering the possibility of acquiring the rights to Ryan Kesler from the Ducks, notes David Pagnotta of The Fourth Period.  Kesler, who hasn’t played since 2019, carries a $6.875MM cap hit that is LTIR-eligible.  In theory, if Vegas moved out enough salary to bring Kesler in and remain in cap compliance with their current cap situation, he could then be added to their LTIR pool, enabling them to eventually activate Jack Eichel.  There’s precedent for teams acquiring injured players to boost their LTIR pool – Toronto (David Clarkson) and Tampa Bay (Brent Seabrook) – are recent examples and with Max Pacioretty and Alec Martinez both expected to return before the end of the regular season, Vegas may need to get creative to make the cap work when their players are healthy.

What Your Team Is Thankful For: Pittsburgh Penguins

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In the spirit of the holiday season, PHR will take a look at what teams are thankful for as the season approaches the midway mark. There also might be a few things your team would like down the road. We’ll examine what’s gone well in the early going and what could improve as the season rolls on for the Pittsburgh Penguins.

What are the Penguins thankful for?

A return to form from Tristan Jarry.

Two years ago, he had a breakout season, earning himself an All-Star appearance and the confidence of the team as they opted to move Matt Murray, allowing Jarry to take on the number one role.  But last season was a significant step back for him, making goaltending one of the big question marks for Pittsburgh heading into 2021-22.  But to his credit, Jarry has bounced back quite nicely, posting a 1.92 GAA along with a .932 SV% in 24 starts so far this season, good for third in the league in both categories making the Penguins one of the top teams from a goals allowed standpoint.  Doing so is particularly impressive considering the rash of injuries they’ve dealt with throughout the season.  In the span of a few months, Jarry’s play has moved him from being a question mark to a big strength for them.

Who are the Penguins thankful for?

While there’s a good case to be made for Jake Guentzel, it’s hard not to take Sidney Crosby here.  He continues to be an elite center in the league even as he slows down a little compared to his performance in his prime.  He continues to log heavy minutes – perhaps more than they’d ideally like to play him with Evgeni Malkin missing the entire season so far – and he’s over the point per game mark for the 17th straight season.  He remains the face of the franchise and even as he gets older, he can still produce at a high level.  The captain has been a significant bargain on the salary cap with an $8.7MM AAV since 2008 and he’ll remain at that cost – a more than reasonable one for a top pivot – for three more years after this one.

What would the Penguins be even more thankful for?

Beyond a return to health for Malkin and their other injured players, getting Jason Zucker back to being a productive winger is something they’d be quite thankful for.  Notwithstanding the fact they paid a fairly high price to get him back in 2020, they’re paying a fairly high price on the cap to have him as well at $5.5MM through the end of next season.  For a team that doesn’t have a lot of flexibility, the stat line of four goals and seven assists in 30 games so far this year really stings.  Zucker returning to form would go a long way towards deepening Pittsburgh’s lineup and restoring some trade value for the summer when he becomes a candidate to be moved.

What should be on the Penguins’ Wish list?

Money is going to be tight for Pittsburgh, especially when Malkin is activated off LTIR.  Accordingly, it’s hard to envision GM Ron Hextall being able to add a notable piece.  Instead, some low-cost depth upgrades are likely all they’re going to be able to afford.  A veteran defender as an insurance policy would help as would an offensive upgrade in their bottom six.

Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.

2021 Year In Review: May

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2021 was certainly another eventful year, both on and off the rink.  Over the coming days, PHR will take a look back at the top stories from around the game on a month-by-month basis.  Next up is a look at May.

Plenty Of Drama In New York: There was plenty of news around the Rangers in May.  First, following the Department of Player Safety declining to suspend Tom Wilson for an incident involving Pavel Buchnevich, they took the unprecedented step of calling for George Parros’ dismissal, one that resulted in nothing but a $250K fine.  The next day, GM Jeff Gorton and president John Davidson were both suddenly fired with Chris Drury taking over as their new GM, Davidson quickly resurfaced in Columbus.  One week after those dismissals, Drury decided to make a change behind the bench as head coach David Quinn was relieved of his duties.  All of that came in less than a week and a half.

Disgruntled Stars: Then-Sabres center Jack Eichel voiced his frustration with the organization over their unwillingness to let him have his desired artificial disk replacement surgery on his neck.  He had been out since early March and this situation certainly took a while before it eventually was resolved.  Meanwhile, defenseman Seth Jones informed the Blue Jackets he wasn’t interested in discussing a contract extension and was intent on testing unrestricted free agency.  That was a tough blow for Columbus who has had to deal with an exodus of star players in recent years and eventually resulted in him joining that group.

More Coaching Changes: The end of the regular season usually brings about a few coaching changes and this pandemic-shortened campaign was no exception.  Joining Quinn as those leaving head coaching roles were John Tortorella who parted ways with Columbus.  He is the winningest coach in franchise history with the team posting a 227-166-54 record during his six seasons with the Blue Jackets and sits 12th all-time in games coached in the NHL.  Meanwhile, Arizona also opted for a change, deciding to not renew Rick Tocchet’s contract.  The Coyotes didn’t have a lot of success under Tocchet, posting a 125-131-34 record over four seasons with their only playoff appearance coming in the expanded 2020 postseason.

Eight For Kadri: Nazem Kadri has had a fairly lengthy suspension history in both the regular season and playoffs with the latter playing a role in his eventual trade to Colorado.  He added to his postseason suspension totals after he received an eight-game ban for a hit on Blues defenseman Justin Faulk. Colorado got out of that first-round series with a sweep before falling to Vegas in six games, meaning that Kadri didn’t get back into the lineup at all.  His history is going to loom large as he approaches unrestricted free agency in July although the fact that he’s off to a career-best start could help offset that somewhat.

Coaches Staying: May didn’t only feature coaches leaving but a pair stuck around as well.  First, the Red Wings decided to keep Jeff Blashill in the fold, inking him to a contract extension (the term of the deal was not disclosed).  Blashill has been at the helm in Detroit since 2015, making him the second-longest-tenured coach in the NHL behind only Tampa Bay’s Jon Cooper.  Meanwhile, three days later, the Canucks were able to agree to terms on a two-year extension with Travis Green to remain behind their bench.  The deal represented a short-term vote of confidence while not being long enough to dissuade them from making a change if it was deemed necessary (and as it turns out, it was).

Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.

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