COVID Protocol Related Absences: 04/18/21
Each day, the NHL will publicly release the list of players that are unavailable to their respective teams due to being in COVID-19 Protocol. Here is the list for today:
Colorado – Bowen Byram, Philipp Grubauer, Joonas Donskoi
Edmonton – Dmitry Kulikov
Montreal – Jon Merrill, Erik Gustafsson
Philadelphia – Jackson Cates
Toronto – Nick Foligno, Riley Nash, Ben Hutton
As a reminder, inclusion on this list does not mean that a player has tested positive for Coronavirus or even that they have been confirmed as a close contact to another positive person. Included in the NHL’s list of possible reasons for someone being on the list is are the following:
(1) an initial positive test which remains unconfirmed until confirmatory testing is completed pursuant to the Positive Test Protocol; (2) mandated isolation for symptomatic individuals pursuant to the Positive Test Protocol; (3) required quarantine as a high-risk close contact in accordance with the Positive Test Protocol; (4) isolation based on a confirmed positive test result and/or; (5) quarantine for travel or other reasons as outlined in the COVID-19 Protocol
Players removed today: Matt Roy, Los Angeles Kings, Nate Schmidt and Jake Virtanen, Vancouver Canucks
It was a good day for the list today with no new additions and three players coming off, including the last two for Vancouver as the Canucks get back in action today although neither are obviously in the lineup. As for Roy, he had been on the list for two full weeks and will now be cleared to rejoin Los Angeles for the stretch run. Of the remaining ten players on the list, all but Colorado’s three are for quarantining after joining a new team which means this list is in the best shape it has been in for quite some time.
*denotes new addition
East Notes: Eichel, Beecher, Boston Injuries, Hart
While Sabres center Jack Eichel continues to rehab his neck injury and wait for a decision on whether or not to have surgery, TSN’s Darren Dreger reported in a recent appearance on WGR 550 (audio link) that Eichel’s preference is to simply have the procedure, one that carries a six-week recovery time. That would give him plenty of time to rehab and be ready for training camp in the fall.
Where he goes for that camp is going to be one of the storylines to watch for this summer. Eichel has been in trade speculation for a while now but a trade in-season would have been tough to do for salary cap purposes. Dreger reports that the Kings are one of the teams that have been interested in the 24-year-old. They would be an interesting fit as they have young center prospects (including Quinton Byfield, Alex Turcotte, and Gabriel Vilardi) that would need to be part of the deal plus the cap space to afford his $10MM price tag. Of course, should the Sabres make him available, there will be plenty of other suitors as well.
More from the East Division:
- The Bruins aren’t expected to try to turn John Beecher pro this summer, suggests Mark Divver of the New England Hockey Journal (Twitter link). His sophomore campaign at Michigan came to an early end due to shoulder surgery and he was limited to just 16 games, recording four goals and four assists. Accordingly, it makes sense for Boston to want him to stay in college for another year although Divver indicated that if Beecher wants to turn pro, they will oblige that request.
- Still with Boston, the Bruins were happy to have Tuukka Rask back in the lineup on Thursday for their match-up against the New York Islanders. However, that appears to be the only addition from the infirmary that they’ll get, as Matt Grzelcyk (upper body), Brandon Carlo (upper body), and Kevan Miller (undisclosed) aren’t expected to return for the team’s next game on Sunday, according to The Boston Globe’s Matt Porter.
- Flyers goaltender Carter Hart was a late scratch from this afternoon’s contest against Washington with the team tweeting that he has a lower-body injury. Hart has been better this month after a disastrous March, posting a .910 SV% in five games before this setback. There’s no word yet on how long he’ll miss.
Latest On Tampa Bay’s LTIR Situation
Since before the start of the season when they acquired the rights to injured players Marian Gaborik and Anders Nilsson from Ottawa, the Lightning have been tap-dancing around their LTIR cap ceiling in order to stay cap-compliant. That took another turn earlier this week when it was quietly revealed that center Steven Stamkos was transferred to LTIR retroactive to April 9th due to a lower-body injury.
With that placement, some have wondered if that could pave the way for winger Nikita Kucherov to return earlier than expected from his hip injury. The veteran has been skating for several weeks now – albeit in a non-contact capacity – and while he was ruled out for the entire regular season before the year even started, he is expected to be ready for the playoffs.
However, as Bryan Burns of the Lightning’s team site notes, that’s not likely to be the case. The team currently lacks the salary cap room to activate Kucherov even with Stamkos on LTIR although that could be alleviated with forwards Alex Barre-Boulet and Ross Colton being sent down. They also expect defenseman Jan Rutta to return and will need to free up room for that move to be made and will need to send those waiver-exempt players down to accommodate it.
Plus, as head coach Jon Cooper notes, they aren’t yet ruling Stamkos out from returning this season and the injury is unrelated to the core muscle trouble that kept him out of the bubble last summer aside from three shifts (of which he scored on one of them). He’s already out until at least May 3rd due to LTIR requirements that say a player must miss 10 games and 24 days which means there will only be four games left in the season by the time he’s able to come back so at best, he’ll have limited game action before the playoffs.
The fact that they didn’t make the retroactive placement for Stamkos before the trade deadline is telling that they expect him back; Burns notes on Twitter that their hope is that he’ll be able to be back on the ice within the next week and a half. Had they believed he was out for the rest of the regular season, they could have taken on David Savard’s contract without needing the extra salary cap retention that Detroit provided. While it appeared that an avenue had been created for Kucherov to return, that’s not likely to be the case. Instead, Tampa Bay will be continuing to deftly navigate their cap situation right down to the end of the regular season.
Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.
Central Notes: Teravainen, Red Wings, Reichel
Hurricanes winger Teuvo Teravainen practiced with the team for the first time as he works his way back from a concussion that has sidelined him for all but one game over the past two months, reports Chip Alexander of the Raleigh News & Observer. The 26-year-old is a big part of Carolina’s offense and would certainly be a huge addition for the stretch run for their battle for first in the Central Division. Head coach Rod Brind’Amour indicated that the final call on when the winger returns will be Teravainen’s and considering this was only his first practice back, he’s likely still at least a few days away.
Elsewhere in the Central:
- The Red Wings have ruled out wingers Robby Fabbri and Evgeny Svechnikov for tonight’s game against Chicago, notes MLive’s Ansar Khan (Twitter link). Fabbri has missed more than two weeks with an upper-body injury but has resumed skating while Svechnikov was injured in Thursday’s morning skate and is listed as day-to-day.
- Still with Detroit, prospect Joe Veleno should be recovered from the concussion that caused him to miss the final three weeks of his SHL season by the time his quarantine period is done, mentions Ted Kulfan of The Detroit News. The 21-year-old was a first-rounder of the Red Wings back in 2019 and played in 46 games with Malmo this season, recording 20 points while spending time both at center and on the wing. While he’s reporting to AHL Grand Rapids for the time being, head coach Jeff Blashill suggested that Veleno could see some NHL action down the stretch as well.
- The Blackhawks are hoping to bring 2020 first-round pick Lukas Reichel to North America next season, relays Ben Pope of the Chicago Sun-Times. The forward had a strong season with Berlin in the DEL with 27 points in 37 regular season games with their playoffs getting underway this coming week. As Pope notes, Chicago is stockpiling a surplus of forwards which gives them lots of depth and perhaps some chips to try to move this summer.
Blue Jackets Sign Carson Meyer
The Blue Jackets have put pen to paper with one of their former prospects, announcing the signing of Carson Meyer to a one-year, entry-level deal for the 2021-22 season. Financial terms of the contract were not disclosed.
The 23-year-old was a sixth-round pick (179th overall) of Columbus back in 2017 but didn’t sign with them when his NCAA career came to an end last year, making him an unrestricted free agent in August. Meyer split his college career between Miami University of Ohio and Ohio State, spending two seasons with each school and was much better with the latter than the former, notching 53 points with Ohio State after putting up 36 over his first two years.
However, Meyer wound up signing a minor-league deal with the Blue Jackets in October after testing the market, effectively keeping him in the organization. He has done well in limited action with AHL Cleveland this season, potting five goals along with seven assists in just 13 games which was good enough to earn him an NHL contract after all. Given his limited professional action, Meyer is likely ticketed to go back to the Monsters next season but will now have the opportunity to be recalled if he plays at a similar level.
Kyle Okposo Out For The Season
It has been a tough season for the Sabres, particularly veteran winger Kyle Okposo. His season has now come to a premature end with the team announcing that Okposo has undergone surgery to repair a broken bone in his cheek and will miss the remainder of the season as a result. The injury was sustained on Thursday after a dump-in attempt hit him in the cheek.
The 33-year-old has steadily seen his offensive output drop since joining Buffalo as an unrestricted free agent back in 2016, a trend that continued this season. Okposo posted just two goals and 11 assists in 35 games, career lows in any of his thirteen full-time NHL seasons which is hardly the type of return they are expecting for someone carrying a $6MM AAV. That deal still has two years remaining on it and a front-loaded, signing bonus-heavy structure that makes buying it out cap prohibitive.
Even so, it’s an avenue that GM Kevyn Adams may be wise to consider this summer. Per CapFriendly, it would yield a $5MM cap charge in 2021-22 which only frees up $1MM on the cap but it’s possible that those savings could still allow them to bring in a better player for next season. From there, the penalty wouldn’t be as steep with a $3MM charge in 2022-23 before dropping to $1MM for 2023-24 and 2024-25.
Meanwhile, Steven Fogarty was recalled from the taxi squad to take Okposo’s spot on the active roster. The 27-year-old is in his first season with Buffalo and has a goal and two assists in eight games so far. In a corresponding move, goaltender Ukko-Pekka Luukkonen was promoted to the taxi squad.
Taxi Squad Shuffle: 04/17/21
There has been plenty of roster movement between NHL teams and the taxi squad on a daily basis this season. Although some major names may be highlighted in separate articles, this is where you’ll find the majority of that shuffle news each day:
Central Division
- The Detroit Red Wings have swapped taxi squad goalies, recalling Kevin Boyle from AHL Grand Rapids while assigning Kaden Fulcher to the Griffins, per a team release. Boyle last saw NHL action with Anaheim in 2018-19 and has just nine AHL games played this season while Fulcher has one career NHL appearance but hasn’t played at all this year while suiting up just twice in the ECHL last season. The team later tweeted that veteran Frans Nielsen was also recalled from the taxi squad and added that top prospect Joe Veleno, just recently brought over after his season ended in Sweden, will replace Nielsen on the taxi squad after being recalled from the AHL.
- The Florida Panthers have loaned Aleksi Heponiemi, Lucas Carlsson, and Brady Keeper to AHL Syracuse, per the AHL’s transactions log. Scott Wilson and Cole Schwindt have been recalled in corresponding moves. Carlsson was part of the five-player trade that saw Brett Connolly go to Chicago last week.
- Matt Duchene has been activated from the injured reserve and is set to re-join the Nashville Predators’ lineup tonight. Joining him on the active roster will be forward Tanner Jeannot, who was reassigned to the taxi squad yesterday but is back up today.
- The Dallas Stars have shuffled forwards just about every day this season. Today, the move is Nick Caamano being recalled from the taxi squad.
East Division
- The Philadelphia Flyers announced the recall of Carsen Twarynski from the taxi squad. The winger has been up with Philadelphia six other times this season but has played in just four games with the Flyers plus two more in the minors. He’ll take the place of Tanner Laczynski who is out with a lower-body injury.
North Division
- The Montreal Canadiens announced that they have returned Michael McNiven to AHL Laval. The move suggests that Carey Price is now ready to play after missing nearly two weeks with a lower-body issue.
- The Calgary Flames have sent Dominik Simon, Alex Petrovic, and Adam Ruzicka to AHL Stockton, per the AHL’s transactions log. The Heat, who are based in Calgary this season, play this afternoon and after that, those players will likely be recalled. Justin Kirkland was recalled to Calgary’s taxi squad to bring it back to the minimum four players.
- Joakim Nygard is on his way back up to the NHL roster, as the Edmonton Oilers announced that he has been recalled from the taxi squad. Nygard has only played in six games with the Oilers this season after suiting up for 33 in his rookie year.
West Division
- The Anaheim Ducks have sent Jacob Perreault and Olle Eriksson Ek back to San Diego, per the AHL’s transactions log. Hunter Drew and Maxim Golod were recalled in corresponding moves. The Gulls are in action today and the moves allow Perreault and Eriksson Ek to get a game in before likely being recalled again.
- The San Jose Sharks have sent Alexander Barabanov to the minors, per the AHL’s transaction log. He was acquired from Toronto back at the trade deadline but hasn’t suited up with his new organization yet.
This page will be updated throughout the day.
North Notes: Pettersson, DiPietro, Pinto, Koekkoek
Earlier this week, the Canucks were hopeful that Elias Pettersson would be able to return to their lineup when they returned to the ice and it was only pending a sign off from a specialist to give him the green light. That won’t be happening. Instead, GM Jim Benning told reporters, including NHL.com’s Kevin Woodley, that the visit to the specialist has yielded a longer recovery timeline including the possibility that Pettersson doesn’t come back this season after all. It has been a tough year for the 22-year-old who had a big slump early in the season and now could wind up missing more than half the year with this wrist injury. He’s set to become a restricted free agent this summer.
More from the North Division:
- Also from Woodley’s column, goaltender Michael DiPietro is expected to be on Vancouver’s roster when they play against Toronto on Sunday. While Benning wouldn’t identify which goalie isn’t ready to return, he suggested that DiPietro, who hasn’t played a game at any level in more than 13 months, could see some action which implies that whichever netminder out of Braden Holtby or Thatcher Demko doesn’t dress then could be out for a little while. The 21-year-old has two career appearances with the Canucks, allowing eight goals on 31 shots.
- Top Senators prospect Shane Pinto will make his NHL debut this afternoon against Montreal, notes Postmedia’s Bruce Garrioch. The 20-year-old turned pro after a strong season with North Dakota where he posted 15 goals and 17 assists in 28 games, opting to forego his final two years of college eligibility.
- Oilers defenseman Slater Koekkoek is still several weeks away from returning to the lineup, the team announced (Twitter link). The 27-year-old has been out for nearly two months with a broken collarbone but is expected to start skating with the team in the coming days. Koekkoek is currently on LTIR but at the moment, they have enough space remaining to activate him when he’s ready.
Poll: Grading The Red Wings-Capitals Trade
While trade deadline day itself was largely quiet with most of the big moves being made the night before, one of the final moves on Monday was a significant one with the Capitals acquiring winger Anthony Mantha from the Red Wings for wingers Jakub Vrana and Richard Panik, a 2021 first-round pick, and a 2022 second-round pick.
The move came as somewhat of a surprise considering Detroit wasn’t in a position to sell high on Mantha, who had been a healthy scratch recently. Meanwhile, the same could be said for Vrana while Panik had recently cleared waivers. On the surface, none of these players seemed like potential change of scenery candidates and yet combined for the biggest deal of the deadline.
From Washington’s standpoint, while Mantha is the bigger name, the numbers between him and Vrana are relatively similar in recent years. Going back to 2018-19, Mantha has averaged 0.70 points per game and Vrana 0.65 despite Mantha logging nearly four minutes more per game in ice time. Mantha has battled multiple injuries over that span and has played in 38 fewer games. So why do they do the deal? Finances would seem to have a lot to do with it.
Vrana is a restricted free agent this summer and is in line for a raise on his $3.35MM AAV; it’s not entirely implausible to think he could look at Mantha’s $5.7MM price tag through 2023-24 as the ballpark range for a target. At that price, he’d be more difficult for the Capitals to move and they’d have had a hard time fitting him in with Panik’s $2.75MM for two more years on the books as well. Now they have Mantha in that spot for three years at a fixed price tag with an underperforming contract gone as well.
As for Detroit, their motivation is a bit clearer. They get a similarly productive player in Vrana who they hope can be more productive with more ice time. With plenty of cap space, they can easily afford the raise he’ll get this offseason and it’s worth noting that the 25-year-old does have arbitration eligibility. It also allowed them to absorb Panik’s deal without any concerns and the veteran should be able to contribute as well. Getting those two assets plus first- and second-round picks gives them the potential for comparable production now and future pieces of the puzzle down the road.
How do you feel both teams made out in this swap? Vote in the polls below to award your grades.
Grade The Trade For The Red Wings
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A 79% (1,425)
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B 16% (296)
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C 3% (61)
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D 1% (16)
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F 1% (11)
Total votes: 1,809
Grade The Trade For The Capitals
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C 35% (619)
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B 31% (544)
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D 16% (280)
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A 11% (201)
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F 6% (109)
Total votes: 1,753
Snapshots: Dzingel, Lindholm, Pettersson, Stars
While some had expected Senators winger Ryan Dzingel to be on the move by yesterday’s trade deadline, he ultimately stuck around in Ottawa. Postmedia’s Bruce Garrioch reports that there wasn’t much interest in the 29-year-old despite having six goals in 17 games since being acquired. Now, Garrioch notes, GM Pierre Dorion’s plan is to discuss a new deal with Dzingel in the offseason. He’s currently carrying a $3.375MM AAV and with how the market for wingers went last year, it’s quite unlikely that the veteran will be able to get that amount on his next deal, with Ottawa or someone else.
More from around the NHL:
- While the initial plan for Ducks defenseman Hampus Lindholm was that he’d miss six weeks and be back in the middle of April, that no longer is the case. GM Bob Murray told Elliott Teaford of the Orange County Register that the blueliner probably is going to be out for the rest of the season. He’s expected to be re-evaluated next week and while there is a chance that he could be fully recovered with a week left in the season, Murray said they wouldn’t ask him to play in that scenario.
- Canucks center Elias Pettersson may be ready to return as Vancouver resumes their schedule this week, relays Sportsnet’s Iain MacIntyre. He had been placed on LTIR due to a wrist injury before their COVID-19 outbreak and will now see a specialist on Wednesday with the hopes of getting the final clearance to suit up.
- Dallas is hoping to have both Tyler Seguin and Ben Bishop back in their lineup in two weeks, notes Mike Heika of the Stars’ team website. Both veterans have missed the entire season so far due to hip and knee injuries respectively and are likely to skate with the taxi squad soon. While they’re six points out of the last playoff spot in the West Division, getting those two back for the end of the stretch run would be a big boost to their chances.