Canucks Place Tyler Myers In COVID Protocol, Expected To Convert Ashton Sautner To NHL Deal
The Canucks have lost another defenseman as they announced (Twitter link) that Tyler Myers has been placed in COVID protocol. Taking his place on the roster will be Ashton Sautner as Rick Dhaliwal of CHEK and The Athletic reports (Twitter link) that Vancouver will be converting his AHL contract to an NHL one and will have him in the lineup against Toronto. PuckPedia reports (via Twitter) that the deal will pay him $750K in the NHL and $220K in the minors.
Myers becomes the fifth Vancouver rearguard in COVID protocol joining Luke Schenn, Juho Lammikko, Brad Hunt, and Tucker Poolman; winger Tyler Motte and assistant coach Jason King are also in there. Myers has logged heavy minutes for the Canucks this season and especially as of late as he played 29:26 in Tuesday’s game versus Columbus. The 31-year-old is still looking for his first goal of the season while he has nine assists in 31 games.
As for Sautner, he’s no stranger to the Vancouver organization having played in 23 games with them between 2017-18 and 2019-20 and has been with their farm team since then. This season, he has played in 18 games with AHL Abbotsford, picking up an assist along with 10 penalty minutes. The Canucks only have three blueliners on NHL contracts not currently up with the big club including the currently-injured Jack Rathbone which has resulted in them deciding to convert Sautner’s deal. He’ll need to pass through waivers to get back to the minors but that shouldn’t be an issue when the team is healthy enough to send him down.
Nikita Zaitsev To Miss A Month
The Senators have been hit quite hard with the injury bug this season and they’ve now lost another veteran. NHL.com’s Adam Kimelman relays (Twitter link) that defenseman Nikita Zaitsev will miss the next four weeks due to a heel injury. The injury was sustained in Thursday’s game against Tampa and he was seen on crutches following the game.
The 30-year-old has had a more limited role than he has been accustomed to this season. After logging more than 22 minutes a night in four of his first five seasons (including both years with Ottawa), Zaitsev is down to a career-low 18:32 per night. As a result, his offensive production has tapered off as well as he has just a goal and an assist in 22 contests so far this season although he’s once again averaging close to two hits and blocks per game.
Zaitsev’s absence should provide an opportunity for the recently-recalled Jacob Bernard-Docker to get into the lineup. When the team waived Michael Del Zotto earlier this month, part of the logic was to create a roster spot for Bernard-Docker to rejoin the big club but he has been a healthy scratch since being brought up on December 9th. As he’s one of now only six healthy blueliners on the active roster, that should change.
Meanwhile, Zaitsev joins fellow blueliners Josh Brown and Erik Brannstrom plus centers Colin White and Shane Pinto on injured reserve. Of that group, Brannstrom appears to be the closest to returning with the Senators hoping he’ll be able to resume skating after the holiday break. Brannstrom has been out for a little more than a month with a broken hand.
Devils Place P.K. Subban In COVID Protocol, MacKenzie Blackwood Injured
The bad news just keeps on coming for the Devils. The team made a pair of announcements, revealing that goaltender Mackenzie Blackwood is dealing with a neck injury and will not be accompanying the team to Detroit for their game tonight while defenseman P.K. Subban has been placed in COVID protocol.
The Devils haven’t had a lot of good luck on the injury front when it comes to their goaltending. When they were healthy, they wound up losing Scott Wedgewood on waivers to Arizona last month. Earlier this month, Jonathan Bernier suffered a hip injury, one that could be a longer-term issue. First-year pros Nico Daws and Akira Schmid have both seen action (Schmid’s coming this week) and New Jersey recently acquired Jon Gillies from the Blues, a player that had just signed an NHL contract days earlier. Now, Blackwood’s absence – one that carries a day-to-day designation – means that Schmid and Gillies will serve as their tandem for the time being.
As for Subban, he is now the fifth Devil to enter COVID protocol, joining blueliners Ryan Graves and Christian Jaros plus forwards Nico Hischier and Jesper Boqvist. Subban had been held out of their game against Vegas on Thursday for precautionary measures but that won’t count as time spent in protocol; he will still need to miss at least ten days unless follow-up testing reveals a false positive.
Red Wings Place Three Players And Two Coaches In COVID Protocol
With the recent increase in COVID cases around the league, the last few days have had plenty of news about players and staff members entering COVID protocol and it appears today will continue that trend. The Red Wings announced (Twitter link) that goalie Alex Nedeljkovic, winger Carter Rowney and Givani Smith, head coach Jeff Blashill, and assistant coach Alex Tanguay have all been placed in protocol and will be unavailable for tonight’s game against New Jersey.
Detroit has been hit relatively hard by COVID-related absences this season as Tyler Bertuzzi, Marc Staal, and Danny DeKeyser have all missed time recently while Robby Fabbri and Michael Rasmussen are currently in protocol as well. The Red Wings have recalled winger Riley Barber and goaltender Calvin Pickard from Grand Rapids of the AHL in corresponding moves to be able to dress a full lineup against the Devils.
As for their coaching situation, the team announced in a follow-up tweet that assistant coach Doug Houda will be joined by a pair of coaches from AHL Grand Rapids – head coach Ben Simon and assistant coach Todd Krygier. As is the case with all other COVID protocol placements, each individual will need to miss at least ten days if follow-up testing confirms that they have indeed tested positive.
Maple Leafs Place Wayne Simmonds And Jason Spezza In COVID Protocol
The Maple Leafs will be without two more veterans for their game in Vancouver tonight as the team announced (Twitter link) that winger Wayne Simmonds and center Jason Spezza have been placed in COVID protocol. They join center John Tavares and forward Alexander Kerfoot who were also placed there on Friday.
Simmonds has had a limited role this season but has been a bit more productive, notching four goals and six assists in 29 games despite averaging over 10 minutes a game. Meanwhile, Spezza has put up similar numbers, collecting seven goals and four helpers in 26 contests. He was set to make his return after the final two games of his suspension were overturned yesterday but now that will be on hold. If subsequent testing also results in positive tests, the veterans will be out for at least 10 days.
Taking their place on the roster are forward Alex Steeves and defenseman Carl Dahlstrom who were both recalled from AHL Toronto. Steeves got into three games with the Maple Leafs earlier this month after a strong start with the Marlies that has him averaging a point per game while Dahlstrom had been up with them briefly earlier this week before being sent back down on Tuesday. With Mitch Marner currently on LTIR, Toronto has the short-term cap space to carry a full roster, a luxury that won’t be available to them when everyone is healthy.
Central Notes: Borowiecki, Lankinen, Spurgeon, Jets
Nashville’s list of players in COVID protocol continues to grow as the team announced (Twitter link) that defenseman Mark Borowiecki along with another member of their travelling party have been placed in COVID protocol. The blueliner becomes the eighth active Predators player on the list of those unavailable to play while five other staff members – including their coaching staff – aren’t with the team at the moment either. Despite that, they are not among the teams that have had games postponed yet with the Preds taking on Chicago tonight.
More from the Central Division:
- Although the Blackhawks have just one goaltender under contract for next season (prospect Arvid Soderblom), the team has not yet engaged in extension discussions with either Kevin Lankinen or Marc-Andre Fleury, reports Scott Powers of The Athletic (subscription link). While Fleury is understandable – there’s no word on whether or not he’d be open to the idea and that needs to be determined before starting talks – the fact that they haven’t discussed anything with Lankinen’s camp is a bit surprising. His numbers are down a bit from last season but with his limited NHL experience (just 47 career games), he’s someone that should be cheaper than several veteran backups to keep around. With several key players needing new deals for next season, securing at least one goalie should be fairly high on interim GM Kyle Davidson’s list over the coming weeks.
- Wild defenseman Jared Spurgeon re-aggravated his lower-body injury and had already been ruled out of Saturday’s game against Florida before it was postponed earlier today, relays Sarah McLellan of the Minneapolis Star-Tribune. Speaking after the game, head coach Dean Evason had a rather grim comment about his captain’s health, simply saying “It’s not good” which suggests Spurgeon could be out a little longer than just a game or two.
- The Jets are the latest team to have to cut their capacity, announcing (Twitter link) that their capacity will be cut to 50% for four of their upcoming games beginning on Tuesday. Vancouver, Toronto, Ottawa, and Montreal have all had their capacity cut in recent days in accordance with provincial health guidelines.
Oilers Place Duncan Keith In COVID Protocol
It turns out that Ryan Nugent-Hopkins isn’t the only notable Oilers player to enter COVID protocol today as the team announced that defenseman Duncan Keith has also been placed there. That triggered a series of moves with Kris Russell being transferred to LTIR retroactive to December 9th, Markus Niemelainen was moved to injured reserve, and Cooper Marody and Seth Griffith were recalled from Bakersfield of the AHL.
Keith is in his first season with Edmonton and it has been a relatively quiet one. He had just come back from an upper-body injury that caused him to miss seven games and he has been fairly quiet offensively with just five points in 20 games although he is still logging a little over 20 minutes a night in a top-four role.
Between his placement in protocol and Niemelainen (who has averaged 14 minutes a game in his first seven NHL contests) moving to IR, they’re down to just five defensemen on the active roster which makes it a bit puzzling that two forwards were brought up. However, both Griffith and Marody have been productive with the Condors this season as they sit first and second respectively in team scoring. Edmonton has had secondary scoring issues pretty much all season long and it appears those two will get a chance to try to contribute.
To make that happen from a cap perspective, Russell had to be shifted to LTIR, giving Edmonton the cap space to afford to bring two players up from the minors instead of just one. He had been listed as questionable to play in Tuesday’s game but now will miss 10 games and 24 days, pushing his return into January at the earliest. Given that designation from earlier this week though, he could be ready to return as soon as that time is up.
Ducks Activate Max Comtois Off IR
The Ducks will be welcoming back an important part of their forward group tonight as Elliott Teaford of the Orange County Register notes (Twitter link) that winger Max Comtois has been activated off injured reserve. He had missed the previous 16 games after breaking a bone in his hand.
2021-22 has been a surprising season for the 22-year-old and not in a good way. After leading Anaheim in scoring last season with 33 points in 56 games, his production had gone in the complete opposite direction prior to the injury. This year, he has just a single assist in 13 contests despite still logging over 13 minutes a game while his shots and shot attempts are down considerably. With Anaheim off to a surprising 17-9-5 start to sit atop the Pacific Division heading into tonight’s game against Arizona, Comtois will have to be more productive if he wants to maintain his spot in the lineup.
Meanwhile, the Ducks will also welcome back John Gibson to the lineup after missing the last two games due to a lower-body injury. He’ll get the start and give Anthony Stolarz – who is on a nice run as of late with a .951 SV% in his last six games – the night off. Lukas Dostal was sent back to AHL San Diego in a corresponding move.
West Notes: Wheeler, Canucks, Athanasiou, Borgstrom
While the Jets will be without their captain Blake Wheeler for a while, head coach Paul Maurice recently provided a positive update to reporters including Postmedia’s Scott Billeck, indicating that the winger won’t need to undergo surgery:
This is a rehab situation. He’s going to get, I don’t even know if it’s a second opinion, enough people have looked at it, they all agree, they all have a very good handle on what it is. They’ll let the swelling come down for three or four days.
Wheeler had been off to a tough start to his season in the goal department having only scored his first of the year on Friday, the game he was injured in. However, he had chipped in with a team-leading 16 assists in 21 games. While Winnipeg will get some short-term cap relief by transferring Wheeler to LTIR which would allow them to at least carry a full 23-player roster, the fact that the 35-year-old will return this season will prevent the Jets from going outside the organization to add a more prominent veteran to take his place.
More from the West:
- The Canucks have made another addition to their front office, announcing the hiring of Derek Clancey as an assistant GM. Clancey had been serving as a pro scout for Calgary until today. New team president Jim Rutherford has plenty of familiarity with the 52-year-old having worked with him in Pittsburgh from 2014 through to his resignation last season. Clancey will be responsible for both the professional and amateur scouting departments. Postmedia’s Patrick Johnston adds that two more assistant GMs could be added as Rutherford rebuilds Vancouver’s front office.
- The Kings will be without winger Andreas Athanasiou for the next three games as he has been ruled out for the rest of their road trip, relays Zach Dooley of LA Kings Insider. It has been a tough year for the 27-year-old as injuries and a positive COVID test have limited him to just 11 games so far. This time, it’s a lower-body injury for Athanasiou, who has been relatively productive when he has played with six points this season.
- The Blackhawks announced that they’ve placed center Henrik Borgstrom on injured reserve with a non-COVID illness. The placement is retroactive to December 10th which means he could return as soon as Friday against Nashville. The 24-year-old has had a quiet year since returning from overseas, notching just two goals and an assist in 17 games so far this season.
What Your Team Is Thankful For: Edmonton Oilers
As the holiday season approaches, PHR will take a look at what teams are thankful for as the season passes the one-quarter 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 Edmonton Oilers.
What are the Oilers thankful for?
Being in a win-now situation.
While that doesn’t hold up the greatest at the moment with them currently being on a six-game losing streak, this is a team that’s built to try to contend now. Not a couple of years from now but right away. GM Ken Holland brought in several veterans over the summer and paid big money to ensure Ryan Nugent-Hopkins isn’t going anywhere anytime soon either. There will come a time where the cap consequences of those moves will be problematic but in the short term, Edmonton is going for it which is usually fun for both the players and the fans.
Who are the Oilers thankful for?
Connor McDavid and Leon Draisaitl.
Really, it’s hard to pick just one here. One leads the NHL in scoring with 45 points and the other, well, also leads the league in scoring with 45 points. There is no other duo as dominant as McDavid and Draisaitl are around the league. Both can dominate their own lines and when they’re put together, they’re even more potent. Both are franchise players in their own right and when many teams don’t have any, they have two.
To that end, Edmonton is also quite thankful that both are signed long term. McDavid has the richest deal in the league at $12.5MM but many would argue that’s below market value and he’s signed through 2025-26. Meanwhile, Draisaitl is definitely on a below-market contract; his $8.5MM AAV doesn’t crack the top-30 league-wide. He’s locked up through 2024-25 meaning the Oilers will have their superstar pairing intact for at least three years after this one.
What would the Oilers be even more thankful for?
More secondary scoring. Zach Hyman has certainly helped in that regard as he already has 11 in his first season with the team. It goes downhill after that, however, as only one other player on the team has more than five tallies. Nugent-Hopkins, who admittedly is more of a playmaker than scorer, only has three goals, their defense has just ten combined (including only one from Darnell Nurse whose big extension kicks in next season), and their bottom six have pretty much all vastly underachieved. This is how a team that has the two top offensive players in the league is barely in the top ten in goals scored. If even one or two players can pick up the pace, Edmonton would become a lot more dangerous in a hurry.
What should be on the Oilers’ Holiday Wish List?
After reading the last paragraph, secondary scoring might seem like it should be atop their list but there are other areas of concern. Mikko Koskinen has done better than expected this season but he and the currently injured Mike Smith are a tandem that would appear to be on the weaker end heading into the playoffs. Adding another capable veteran – even if it’s one that just raises the floor of their goaltending group – would certainly help.
So, too, would bringing in another defenseman. Injuries to Duncan Keith and Slater Koekkoek have thinned them out and their younger prospects aren’t quite ready for full-time NHL duty. Another veteran to serve as injury insurance and bridge the gap to the youngsters would be beneficial while a top-four addition would be a critical addition.
However, wishing for this is a lot easier than actually getting it done. Edmonton is well into LTIR and by the time they get their players back, cap space will be at a premium. They won’t be able to bank any space as they will still be in LTIR thanks to Oscar Klefbom, Josh Archibald, and Alex Stalock so it’s going to be pretty close to a money in, money out situation. Accordingly, it’s far from a guarantee that they’ll be able to add anything on their list.
Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.