Five Key Stories: 1/3/22 – 1/9/22
The first full week of 2022 brought some notable surprises which are highlighted among the key stories of the week.
Klingberg Unhappy? Stars defenseman John Klingberg is one of the top blueliners that’s slated to become an unrestricted free agent in the summer. He was hoping for an extension but that clearly hasn’t happened yet and that isn’t sitting well with him. A report surfaced earlier in the week that he had requested a trade and while Klingberg tried to walk that back a little bit when speaking with reporters including Matthew DeFranks of the Dallas Morning News, he didn’t accomplish that too much. While he acknowledged he’d like to stay, he also admitted he doesn’t “feel like I’ve been appreciated”. The 29-year-old is set to command a max-term contract and if an extension doesn’t come over the next couple of months, his name is going to start to come up frequently in trade speculation.
Leaving Early: It’s rare that a college player leaves midseason to turn pro but desperate times called for desperate measures for Carolina, who signed goaltender Jack LaFontaine to a one-year, entry-level contract. The 24-year-old was the goalie of the year in the NCAA last season while being a Hobey Baker finalist while posting a 1.79 GAA along with a .934 SV%. The plan was for him to remain at Minnesota but with the team having several injuries among their goalies on NHL contracts, they’ve had to turn to him a little earlier than expected. LaFontaine immediately loses his NCAA eligibility and will not be able to return to the Golden Gophers once the injury situation for the Hurricanes stabilizes.
Kane Released: The Sharks have parted ways with winger Evander Kane, terminating his contract after he cleared unconditional waivers. In doing so, they are trying to rid themselves of the remaining salary and cap hit on his contract (roughly $23.5MM between now and 2024-25). The team is citing a breach of contract and failure to abide by AHL COVID protocol which is believed to revolve around a flight he took to Vancouver during his isolation period and an assertion that he didn’t return when he was supposed to. The NHLPA and his agent have already stated that they intend to grieve this decision so this story is far from over. In the meantime, Kane technically becomes an unrestricted free agent but if his grievance comes with an intent to restore his original contract in San Jose, it’s possible that he holds off on signing for the time being.
Another Deal Terminated: Kane’s contract wasn’t the only notable termination of the week. Following a breakdown over who was covering additional costs on Calgary’s arena project, the deal was terminated as a January 1st decision deadline came and went without an extension or an agreement reached. The Flames have played in their current arena since 1983 and a new facility for them has been high on the priority list for them for several years now. However, they’ll be going back to the drawing board now and will continue to play out of the Saddledome for the foreseeable future.
Crouse Receiving Interest: The more notable veterans in Arizona are the ones drawing attention – look no further than the reported asking price for Jakob Chychrun – but one player that’s more under the radar that is garnering interest is winger Lawson Crouse. The 24-year-old is on pace for a career year offensively and has two years of team control remaining after this one at an affordable $1.533MM cap hit. That has the Coyotes well-positioned to yield a strong return for Crouse if they decide that he’s not a part of their long-term plans.
Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.
East Notes: Canadiens, Gallant, McDonnell
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.
Salary Cap Deep Dive: Carolina Hurricanes
Navigating the salary cap is one of the more important tasks for any GM. Teams that can avoid total cap chaos by walking the tightrope of inking players to deals that match their value (or compensate for future value without breaking the bank) remain successful. Those that don’t see struggles and front office changes.
PHR will look at every NHL team and give a thorough look at their cap situation for the 2021-22 season and beyond. This will focus more on players who are regulars on the roster versus those who may find themselves shuttling between the AHL and NHL. All cap figures are courtesy of CapFriendly.
Carolina Hurricanes
Current Cap Hit: $83,873,123 (over the $81.5MM Upper Limit)
Entry-Level Contracts
F Seth Jarvis (three years, $894K)
F Martin Necas (one year, $863K)
Potential Bonuses:
Jarvis: $500K
Necas: $537.5K
Total: $1.0375MM
Jarvis was in a bit of a tough spot to start the season – he couldn’t be sent to the minors but he wasn’t seeing regular action with Carolina either. However, he has worked his way into more of a regular role with the team happily going past the nine-game plateau to burn the first year of his deal. It’s hard to forecast his next deal with him just starting out and from a bonus perspective, it’s unlikely he reaches any of his incentives.
Necas has seen his production tick back a little this year although with 19 points in 31 games, he’s still doing well. He’s the type of player that Carolina may want to try to sign to a deal that buys out a couple of years of UFA eligibility but the quieter platform year may actually make that tougher as it should make Necas be more agreeable to a bridge deal, allowing him to boost his value before locking in a long-term pact. He has three ‘A’ bonuses in his deal and is on pace to hit one of those right now although a few others are within reach as well.
One Year Remaining, Non-Entry-Level
D Ethan Bear ($2MM, RFA)
D Ian Cole ($2.9MM, UFA)
D Anthony DeAngelo ($1MM, RFA)
F Jesperi Kotkaniemi ($6.1MM, RFA)
F Steven Lorentz ($725K, RFA)
F Nino Niederreiter ($5.25MM, UFA)
D/F Brendan Smith ($800K, UFA)
F Derek Stepan ($1.35MM, UFA)
F Vincent Trocheck ($4.75MM, UFA)
Kotkaniemi’s offer sheet was one of the headlines of the offseason as it’s rare that one is tendered and rarer that it isn’t matched. However, it was enough of an overpayment for Montreal to accept the draft pick compensation instead. The key word is overpayment though. The 21-year-old hasn’t produced at a level that would warrant a $6.1MM qualifying offer and while there is a window to take a player to arbitration at a lower rate (85%), that’s still a particularly high salary. Accordingly, it stands to reason that Carolina will try to sign Kotkaniemi to a long-term deal in the coming weeks and months, one that may come in a little lower than his current price tag with an argument that it would be better than running the risk of a non-tender in the summer.
Niederreiter has shown flashes of being a top offensive player over the past few years but hasn’t been able to sustain it. This season, he has been on the third line at times and that’s not going to help his market value. A small decrease on his current AAV is a likelier outcome than a small raise at this point. That shouldn’t be the case for Trocheck who stands to be one of the top centers to hit the open market if he’s still unsigned by July. There is always a premium paid for those players and it wouldn’t be too surprising to see him at $6.5MM or more on a long-term deal. Stepan is still a capable fourth liner but won’t be able to use his prior reputation to boost his value and it’s unlikely he’ll wind up with more money on his next deal although he should be able to come close. Lorentz will get a small raise on his AAV by default but this is a spot Carolina will need to keep close to the minimum – a one-way deal is doable but it should still be around the $750K mark.
Cole has been a quality veteran shutdown defender for several years although he’s starting to slow down. He’ll have no problems finding another contract but after taking a pay cut last summer, he may need to do so again this coming summer. Bear has been decent with his new team but hasn’t been able to move into the top four like they’d have hoped. He’s owed a $2.4MM qualifying offer and he should get it but he’ll have a hard time making a case that he’s worth substantially more. Smith has carved out a niche as a depth defender that can play up front as well and that will keep him in the league for a few years but they will be seasons where he’s near the league minimum as he is now.
DeAngelo is going to be one of the more interesting RFA cases to watch for. As much as he had to sign for cheap on the open market in the summer, he’s two years removed from a 53-point campaign and is producing close to a point per game level this season. Those are numbers that will carry a lot of weight if he makes it to an arbitration hearing which is the probable outcome if Carolina tenders him a qualifying offer. Is that a risk they want to take knowing that there are several other core players that need to be re-signed or replaced? If not, they’ll have to make a big push to try to sign him before the tender deadline and with all of the off-ice factors to consider, there’s a very wide range of what he could sign for.
Two Years Remaining
G Frederik Andersen ($4.5MM, UFA)
F Jesper Fast ($2MM, UFA)
D Jake Gardiner ($4.05MM, UFA)
G Antti Raanta ($2MM, UFA)
F Jordan Staal ($6MM, UFA)
Staal has always been a quality two-way center and while he may not have always produced at a top-six level, he has done well living up to the price tag of this contract over time. Things haven’t gone too well this season, however, as he has slowed down and his production has tailed off. He won’t have any problems getting another contract two years from now but at that time, it’ll be more commensurate with third-line production which could result in his salary being nearly cut in half. Fast’s contract seemed cheap at the time and still is now for someone that’s a decent secondary scorer in the middle six. I’d predict that he could land a contract that’s higher than that two years from now but I’d have said that two years ago as well when he opted to take this deal.
Gardiner is out for the season with hip and back trouble and is on LTIR. At this point, it wouldn’t be surprising to see that be the case next year as well.
It took more than a decade for Andersen to play for the team that originally drafted him but he has been worth the wait as he has been one of the top goalies in the league so far this season. Carolina’s playing style is a goalie-friendly one but his level of play has been better than most starters at a lower cost. Two years of that could give him one more shot at a bigger payday somewhere. Raanta, though often injured, signed for less than what most top backups make which limits the risk involved in signing him. When he’s healthy, he’s a capable second-stringer but until he can stay in the lineup for an extended period of time, these are the types of contracts he’ll be limited to.
Three Years Remaining
F Sebastian Aho ($8.46MM, UFA)
F Jordan Martinook ($1.8MM, UFA)
F Teuvo Teravainen ($5.4MM, UFA)
D Brett Pesce ($4.025MM, UFA)
D Brady Skjei ($5.25MM, UFA)
Aho, as you may recall, had been the last player to receive an offer sheet before Kotkaniemi with Carolina ultimately matching. The deal has been a below-market one for a top center although the term of the contract allows Aho to reach the open market while still in the prime of his career. A jump past the $10MM mark appears to be a certainty if he continues at this level of play. Teravainen has turned into quite the prize for taking on Bryan Bickell’s contract back in 2016 (the Hurricanes dealt a pair of draft picks but neither were worth Teravainen) as he has worked his way into being a top-line winger who is making second line money on a team-friendly deal. He’s in line for another $2MM or so on his next contract. Martinook was once a third liner for Carolina but has dropped to the fourth line lately, making this deal a bit of an overpayment in terms of value. It wouldn’t be surprising to see him shopped at some point for someone a bit cheaper to get a bit of cap flexibility.
Skjei hasn’t been quite as impactful for Carolina compared to his time with the Rangers although he hadn’t exactly had the same role either. They’re deploying him as a steadying presence on the second pairing, a role that he’s a bit overpriced for but the fact he can move up when needed makes it a worthwhile luxury to have. Pesce, meanwhile, has blossomed from someone who was previously playing Skjei’s role into a top-pairing player while making considerably less than others in that spot on other teams. He’s looking at a nice raise three years from now whether it’s from Carolina or someone else.
San Jose Sharks Terminate Evander Kane’s Contract
Jan 9: Kane has cleared waivers according to Chris Johnston of TSN. His contract will be terminated, though the NHLPA intends on filing a grievance on his behalf.
Jan 8: The Sharks are parting ways with Evander Kane as the winger is on unconditional waivers for the purpose of terminating his contract. The team has released the following statement:
The San Jose Sharks have informed Evander Kane that he has been placed on unconditional waivers with intent to terminate his contract for breach of his NHL Standard Player Contract and for violation of the AHL COVID-19 protocols.
By taking this approach, the Sharks believe that they can get out of the rest of Kane’s contract without any further money owed or cap hit charged. But with $19MM in salary and signing bonuses owed over the next three seasons plus the remainder of a pro-rated $7MM salary this season, Kane will almost certainly be grieving this in the coming days once he goes unclaimed on Sunday. In fact, the NHLPA has already officially responded to the situation:
We are aware of the San Jose Sharks’ stated intent to terminate Evander Kane’s contract. The NHLPA intends to challenge any such action by filing a grievance.
The 30-year-old had been the subject of multiple investigations in recent months, stemming from gambling and abuse allegations which were ruled to be unsubstantiated. However, he received a 21-game suspension at the start of the season for using a fake vaccination card and after being cleared to return, was immediately waived and sent to AHL San Jose. Kane was actually quite productive with the Barracuda, notching eight points in five games before testing positive for COVID in late December. As Sportsnet’s Elliotte Friedman reports, the reason for the release stems from a flight that Kane took during his isolation period as well as his return date to the team.
Players being on unconditional waivers during the season isn’t anything new – it happens fairly routinely with players in the minors and teams agreeing to go their separate ways. It’s also used in the summer during buyout windows; there is no buyout window during the regular season. But for a team to unilaterally use it to try to get out of a deal is much less common. Tampa Bay did it with Jake Dotchin back in 2018 but he caught on elsewhere soon after and his grievance was settled ten months later.
The most notable time it was used was when the Kings did it with Mike Richards back in 2015 with the team saying he had committed a material breach of his contract, similar language to what San Jose used in their statement. That one was also grieved and the two sides eventually settled on a payout of $11MM between 2015 and 2032 with Richards remaining on the Kings’ books through that time at varying rates but well below the original $5.75MM AAV. On the surface, it would appear that the Sharks could be trying to go a similar route here with any possible settlement being amortized over a long enough period of time to make the cap situation much more desirable than it had would have been if they continued to keep him on the books. Worth noting, back in 2015, Friedman noted that the NHLPA received assurances that Richards’ situation wouldn’t be considered as a precedent which is something Kane and his camp will certainly be pointing out.
While they will proceed with the termination on Sunday, this situation is almost certainly far from fully being settled. In the meantime, Kane will technically become an unrestricted free agent upon his release. If he signs before the March 21st trade deadline, he will be eligible to play in the playoffs while if he doesn’t find a new team right away, he would be eligible to play in the Olympics next month.
Sportsnet’s Elliotte Friedman was the first to report Kane was on unconditional waivers.
Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.
2021 Year In Review: July
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 July, an extremely busy month on the NHL calendar last year.
Saying Goodbye: Ryan Suter and Zach Parise had been franchise fixtures since joining the Wild back in 2012 on identical 13-year, $98MM contracts. Given the front-loaded nature of the deals, it seemed unlikely that they’d be bought out but that was indeed the case as Minnesota will pay each player $6.67MM spread out over the next eight years to not play for them after they were bought out. However, the charged cap hit will be much, much higher as the combined dead cap money goes up to over $12MM in 2022-23 and over $14MM in 2023-24 and 2024-25. Suter had still been at a top-four level on the back end while Parise had struggled in 2020-21 but GM Bill Guerin decided a fresh start was needed; the consequences of that decision will be felt over the next few seasons.
Tragically, there was another goodbye in July as Blue Jackets goaltender Matiss Kivlenieks passed away at the age of 24 due to chest trauma due to a fireworks mortar blast at a holiday party in Columbus. Teammate Elvis Merzlikins also attended the party and revealed at the memorial service that Kivlenieks saved many lives including his own at the time. Merzlikins has paid tribute to his former teammate with a mask designed in his honor while his then-unborn son’s middle name is Matiss.
Two Straight: The Lightning entered last season as one of the perceived Stanley Cup contenders for good reason. Despite missing Nikita Kucherov for the entire season, they were still one of the top teams in the East and overcame a good challenge from the Islanders in the third round to make it to the Final for the second straight year. From there, they took out Montreal in five games to become repeat champions. Rookie Ross Colton had the Cup-winning goal in a 1-0 shutout in the final contest while Andrei Vasilevskiy was the Conn Smythe Trophy winner for the playoff MVP.
Free Agent Frenzy: There was plenty of activity in the opening day of free agency as usual with most of the top names coming off the board within the first few hours, further proving that removing the legal interview period did nothing to stop the discussions from happening. The biggest deal of the day came from a team that hasn’t been able to swim in the deep end of the UFA pool in quite some time as the Devils signed defenseman Dougie Hamilton to a seven-year, $63MM contract, giving them a top blueliner to build around as they continue to reshape their roster. A full rundown of the hundreds of millions spent in the early hours of the market opening up can be found here.
Records Are Meant To Be Broken: Miro Heiskanen was shaping up to be an interesting restricted free agent case but it never got that far. Instead, he and the Stars agreed to a max-term eight-year, $67.6MM contract, buying out four UFA years in the process. The 22-year-old has been a franchise cornerstone and one of the top blueliners in the league in Dallas, making it understandable that he received the highest AAV either for a defenseman coming off his entry-level contract.
However, that record didn’t last too long – only a week, in fact, as Colorado and Cale Makar worked out a six-year, $54MM contract, making his $9MM AAV the new benchmark for post-ELC rearguards. Makar has quickly become one of the most dynamic defensemen in the league and was the Norris Trophy runner-up last season. Unlike Heiskanen though, the Avalanche didn’t gain a lot of team control for their money as with his first playoff appearance being exempted from counting towards service time, the six-year term only bought them a single extra season of control.
Seattle Has A Team: All eyes were on Seattle before the free agent frenzy began as they got to select their inaugural team in expansion. While there were some prominent veterans made available – including Carey Price (Montreal), Vladimir Tarasenko (St. Louis), and Jakub Voracek (Philadelphia) – GM Ron Francis instead opted for a more modest roster, one that barely met the minimum spending threshold, allowing them to have some cap flexibility and spend in free agency. The early results haven’t been great as they’re near the bottom of the Western Conference but that’s usually the case for expansion teams with Vegas being a significant exception back in 2017-18.
The Eichel Saga Continues: Frustrated with the fact that Jack Eichel hadn’t been traded yet, his now-former agents released a statement saying that the “process is not working”. Buffalo had hoped a rehab approach would work for Eichel’s neck injury but that didn’t happen and the team still wasn’t relenting on his desired surgery. It’s likely the statement was intended to help move the trade process along but that didn’t exactly happen although it provided more insight into how much of a divide there was between the two sides.
Big Draft Day Trades: Trade activity around the draft typically hasn’t lived up to the hype in recent years but this last draft was an exception. First, the Canucks surprised many by taking a big swing, acquiring defenseman Oliver Ekman-Larsson (with 12% salary retention) and winger Conor Garland from Arizona for a package headlined by the ninth-overall pick (Dylan Guenther) and several salary dumps to make the money work. Garland has fit in quite well with his new squad so far while Ekman-Larsson hasn’t rebounded to being the top-pairing player he was in his prime. With five more years left on his deal, this swap carried some significant risk for now-former GM Jim Benning.
Meanwhile, while Seth Jones wouldn’t extend with Columbus, he would with Chicago so the Blackhawks acquired the blueliner from the Blue Jackets in exchange for Adam Boqvist and a pair of first-round picks (including the one that turned into Kent Johnson); there was also a swap of second-rounders in the deal. Adding to the high cost paid for Jones, Chicago quickly worked out an eight-year, $76MM contract extension, one that carries a full no-move clause and ensures he’ll be the focal point of their back end for the better part of a decade.
Long-Term Extensions: A trio of eight-year extensions were also handed out. Colorado narrowly avoided their captain Gabriel Landeskog hitting the open market as the two sides eventually reached a max-term contract that carries a cap hit of $7MM. Tampa Bay wasted little time working out a max-term deal with center Brayden Point as mere hours after the calendar flipped to the start of the 2021-22 year (when extensions could be made official), they inked Brayden Point that will carry a $9.5MM AAV from 2022-23 through 2029-30. Meanwhile, earlier in the month, Minnesota avoided having Joel Eriksson Ek go through arbitration, instead signing their top pivot to a deal that carries a $5.25MM price tag, a move that already looks like a team-friendly pact.
Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.
West Notes: Hayton, Gostisbehere, Wild, Sharks
Coyotes center Barrett Hayton is expected to undergo hand surgery that will keep him out for the next five to eight weeks, reports Craig Morgan of PHNX Sports (Twitter link). It has been a disappointing season for the 21-year-old who has been given a much bigger role than he had under Rick Tocchet but it hasn’t materialized in more production as he has just two goals and four assists in 26 games despite playing over 16 minutes a night. His entry-level deal expires this summer and being out for this long certainly won’t help him build any value for his next contract.
Elsewhere in the Western Conference:
- Still with Arizona, Shayne Gostisbehere is a player whose fortunes have changed for the better since being dealt to the desert. After Philadelphia had to part with a pair of draft picks to get the Coyotes to take on the rest of his contract, the 28-year-old has picked up 23 points in 32 games to sit second on the team in scoring. Despite that, GM Bill Armstrong indicated in an interview with Arizona Sports (audio link) that they’re not particularly anxious to move him even though they may be able to get some value for him. Gostisbehere is signed through 2022-23 with a $4.5MM AAV.
- The Wild may soon be getting some more bad news on the injury front as Michael Russo of The Athletic reports (Twitter link) that defenseman Jonas Brodin’s upper-body injury is believed to be serious enough to be a long-term issue. He was injured while blocking a shot against Boston on Thursday and leads all Minnesota players in ice time at 23:35 per game.
- Minnesota should get some good news soon when it comes to their ever-growing injury list, however, as Russo adds in a separate tweet that center Joel Eriksson Ek is ahead of schedule in his recovery from his upper-body injury and could return as soon as Friday. His IR placement earlier today was retroactive and he will still be eligible to play in that game.
- Meanwhile, as part of a long list of players not playing tonight, the Wild revealed (Twitter link) that defenseman Alex Goligoski has been placed in COVID protocol. He joins Brandon Duhaime and Jordan Greenway as those currently unavailable and if his placement was for a confirmed positive test, he’ll be out for at least the next five days.
- The Sharks announced (Twitter link) that they’ve added center Nick Bonino along with assistant coach John MacLean to the COVID protocol list. They join center Logan Couture and forward Lane Pederson as those that aren’t available for the time being.
Oilers Place Five Players In COVID Protocol
Edmonton will be without several players for their next game on Monday against Ottawa as the team announced that wingers Kailer Yamamoto and Brendan Perlini, defensemen Evan Bouchard and Slater Koekkoek, as well as taxi squad goaltender Ilya Konovalov have all entered COVID protocol. In addition, six members of their support staff have also been placed into protocol.
Yamamoto and Bouchard are the most notable among the new absences. Yamamoto has been starting to produce more in recent games, collecting six points in his last six games and has been a fixture in Edmonton’s top six for most of the season. As for Bouchard, his first full NHL season has been a good one as he has notched 19 points in 34 games to lead all Edmonton blueliners in scoring, just ahead of veterans Tyson Barrie and Darnell Nurse.
Assuming the placements are for confirmed positive tests, each player will miss at least the next five days. They join centers Connor McDavid and Derek Ryan, as well as Barrie, as those that are currently unavailable to COVID protocol.
They won’t be getting any help on the injury front either as Daniel Nugent-Bowman of The Athletic relays (Twitter link) that center Ryan Nugent-Hopkins is at least a week away from resuming on-ice activities due to his lower-body injury. He was placed on IR earlier this week with no definitive timetable for a return. Meanwhile, Nugent-Bowman adds that defenseman Kris Russell is still another week away from returning from his upper-body injury. The veteran has missed nearly a month so far.
Taxi Squad Shuffle: 01/08/22
Even with four games being postponed, it’s still a very busy day on the NHL schedule with 11 games on tap which means there should be plenty of roster movement around the league. We’ll keep track of all the taxi squad and other roster moves here.
Atlantic Division
Metropolitan Division
- The Rangers announced (Twitter link) that they’ve recalled wingers Anthony Greco and Lauri Pajuniemi to the taxi squad. Greco is second on AHL Hartford in points this season with 23 in 26 games while Pajuniemi has 15 points in 27 contests in his first season in North America.
- The Flyers announced (Twitter link) that they’ve activated winger Jackson Cates from COVID protocol and recalled him from the taxi squad while defenseman Nick Seeler was also removed from COVID protocol. In corresponding moves, winger Connor Bunnaman and defenseman Yegor Zamula were sent back to the taxi squad.
- With Jesper Bratt and Nathan Bastian entering COVID protocol, the Devils announced (Twitter link) that they’ve recalled forwards A.J. Greer, Nolan Foote, and Marian Studenic along with defenseman Colton White from the taxi squad. Bratt’s loss will be particularly noticeable as he leads New Jersey in goals (10), assists (22), and points (32) so far this season.
Central Division
- The Stars have recalled goaltender Adam Scheel to the taxi squad, per a team release. The 22-year-old has a 3.57 GAA along with a .886 SV% in nine games with AHL Texas this season.
- Colorado has recalled goaltender Hunter Miska and winger Mikhail Maltsev to the taxi squad, per the AHL’s transactions log. Miska has struggled in limited AHL action this season with a .797 SV% in four appearances while Maltsev has 17 points in 23 games in the minors plus six appearances with the Avalanche.
- The Wild announced (Twitter link) that they’ve recalled forwards Victor Rask and Kyle Rau along with defenseman Dakota Mermis from the taxi squad. To make room on the roster, Joel Eriksson Ek and Kirill Kaprizov were transferred to injured reserve but with the team off until Friday after their game tonight, both will be eligible to return at that time.
Pacific Division
- The Canucks announced (Twitter link) that they’ve recalled goaltender Spencer Martin, defenseman Ashton Sautner, and forwards Justin Bailey and Sheldon Rempal to the taxi squad. Vancouver didn’t have anyone on the taxi squad before now but with the team set to resume their road trip with five more games starting next week, the extra reinforcements were needed.
- The Kings announced (Twitter link) that they’ve recalled winger Austin Wagner from AHL Ontario. He played in 44 games with Los Angeles last season but has played exclusively with the Reign this year, collecting seven points and 52 penalty minutes in 19 games. In a corresponding move, winger Samuel Fagemo was sent from the taxi squad back to the minors. He has 11 points in 24 AHL contests this season.
- Calgary has made a pair of moves, announcing (Twitter link) that center Byron Froese has been sent from the taxi squad to AHL Stockton while center Adam Ruzicka has been recalled to the active roster from the taxi squad. Froese hasn’t played anywhere in more than a month while Ruzicka has a goal in five assists with the Flames this season.
This post will be updated throughout the day.
Penguins Place Bryan Rust And Brock McGinn In COVID Protocol
The Penguins are looking for their 11th straight victory today against Dallas but they will be without a pair of forwards for this one as the team announced (Twitter link) that wingers Bryan Rust and Brock McGinn have been placed in COVID protocol. Head coach Mike Sullivan clarified that McGinn tested positive yesterday while Rust tested positive this morning.
Rust has been on quite the hot streak lately, collecting seven goals and four assists in just three games since returning from a lower-body injury so the timing for this news is certainly far from ideal. McGinn, meanwhile, has been a decent secondary scorer in his first season with Pittsburgh, picking up nine goals in 33 games so far.
The two join forward Drew O’Connor as those currently unavailable to COVID protocol. As a result of the confirmed positive tests, they will miss at least five days past the date they tested positive which will keep McGinn out for at least the next two games and Rust for the next three. Pittsburgh does get one player back from COVID protocol today, however, as center Jeff Carter returns after missing the last three contests.
Coyotes Receiving Trade Interest In Lawson Crouse
While Coyotes winger Phil Kessel and defenseman Jakob Chychrun have been the players receiving most of the trade speculation lately, Daily Faceoff’s Frank Seravalli puts another name in the mix, reporting that several teams – including the Flyers – have shown interest in winger Lawson Crouse.
The 24-year-old is already in his sixth NHL season and up until this season, he had been more of a role player, providing plenty of energy and physicality but not much in the way of consistent production. That has changed this season as head coach Andre Tourigny has given Crouse a much bigger role – he’s averaging over 18 minutes a night which is more than five minutes higher than his career ATOI heading into the season – and he has made the most of it, potting eight goals and eight assists, numbers that have him at a 20-goal and 40-point pace.
While it’s unlikely that Crouse would have that type of role on a playoff contender, he’d still fit in nicely on a third line for a lot of teams. The postseason is when the physicality picks up and power forwards become even more important so Arizona could be well-positioned to maximize their return here.
Crouse is set to become a restricted free agent with salary arbitration rights this summer and has a qualifying offer that’s a bit higher than his current cap hit ($1.75MM versus a $1.533MM AAV) although teams shouldn’t have any concerns about tendering him. Even though it’s his sixth NHL season, he still is two years away from being eligible for unrestricted free agency since his sophomore campaign saw him play just 11 games which is below the threshold of 40 to accrue a season of service time.
With only a handful of teams currently well out of the playoff picture, it could be a seller’s market as a result leading up to the March 21st trade deadline. That’s great news for those selling teams like the Coyotes who, with Crouse, appear to now have another player generating a lot of interest.
Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.