Arizona Coyotes Place Dysin Mayo In COVID Protocol
Arizona Coyotes defenseman Dysin Mayo entered the NHL’s COVID-19 protocol today, the team announced.
Mayo becomes the third Coyote in COVID protocol. He joins forwards Ryan Dzingel and Antoine Roussel.
If Mayo is only subject to a five-day quarantine, he would only miss Arizona’s next two games. He could be eligible to return on January 28th, a home game against the Boston Bruins.
An unexpected regular in the Coyotes lineup this season, Mayo has five points in 34 games. He’s impressed defensively, however, earning the right to 20:49 of ice time per game and only a -2 rating on a porous Coyotes team.
The 25-year-old was the team’s 133rd overall selection back in 2014.
Blackhawks Notes: Khaira, Stillman, Connolly
Per the Daily Herald’s John Dietz, the Chicago Blackhawks moved forward Jujhar Khaira to injured reserve today. He has a lower back injury, and the move is retroactive to January 17. Khaira can come off injured reserve as soon as the 27th, meaning the soonest he can return is January 28th at home against Colorado. He has just three goals in 27 games during his first season with Chicago.
More from the Blackhawks today, all per Dietz:
- Defenseman Riley Stillman was also moved to injured reserve today, dealing with a shoulder injury he sustained last night against Minnesota. The soonest he can return is February 1st, meaning he’ll miss at least the team’s next five games. In his absence, Caleb Jones should see playing time with more consistency. Stillman has a respectable 10 points in 28 games.
- The team also assigned forward Brett Connolly to the active roster, bringing him up from the taxi squad. He should play in his fifth game of the season tonight, drawing in on the fourth line alongside Sam Lafferty and Ryan Carpenter. Connolly was suspended earlier in the season for interfering with Dallas forward Tanner Kero.
NHL Player Safety Fines Cal Foote For Cross-Checking
The NHL Department of Player Safety announced today that they’ve fined Tampa Bay Lightning defenseman Cal Foote $2,125 for cross-checking Anaheim Ducks forward Buddy Robinson. This is the maximum allowable amount per the Collective Bargaining Agreement.
Foote delivered the cross-check to Robinson with 18.4 seconds remaining in last night’s game against the Ducks. The Lightning lost that game 5-1.
This is the first fine Foote’s received from NHL Player Safety in his NHL career.
The 23-year-old defenseman has just three assists in 28 games this year, but in recent days he’s gotten a look on the team’s top pairing with Victor Hedman. The potential is still there for the 14th overall pick in 2017.
Carey Price Suffers Setback, Restarts Injury Rehab
Montreal Canadiens VP of hockey communications Chantal Machabee issued an update to reporters today, saying that goalie Carey Price suffered a setback and is “essentially starting from scratch in his rehab for his knee,” remaining out indefinitely.
Price underwent knee surgery in late July after the conclusion of the team’s ill-fated Stanley Cup Final run. He was originally supposed to be ready for the 2021-22 season, but also took a personal leave of absence from the team prior to the start of the season. He had begun to skate with the team intermittently after returning in November, but they never issued any timeline for a return.
It’s not a promising sign for Price’s future after previous injury troubles in his career. The 34-year-old netminder is signed through 2025-26 with a cap hit of $10.5MM.
The lack of Price in the picture gave the starting role to Jake Allen, who’s been just okay. It’s hard to fault him and his .901 save percentage with the state of the team in front of him, however, as they’ve scored just 76 goals through 36 games.
A bigger issue than Allen’s play has been the lack of a reliable backup, however. With Price unavailable, the team claimed Sam Montembeault off waivers from the Florida Panthers prior to the season. He’s struggled to be a reliable NHL goalie, posting just a 1-6-3 record and .895 save percentage.
Islanders Head Coach Barry Trotz Returns To Game Action
New York Islanders head coach Barry Trotz is back behind the bench for game action tonight after a personal leave of absence from the team for the death of his mother and clearing COVID protocol, reports Newsday’s Andrew Gross.
The team placed Trotz in COVID protocol on January 11, not getting a chance to coach the team after returning from his leave of absence. The last Islanders game Trotz coached was against Buffalo on December 30th, taking his leave of absence the next day.
However, due to a rash of postponements, Trotz has been absent only for the last three of the team’s games. Assistant coach Lane Lambert took over head coaching duties in the process.
With Trotz back at the helm, the Islanders continue a long road back toward a potential playoff spot. By standings points, the team is third-last in the Eastern Conference and 18 points behind Boston for the last wild card spot. However, they have as many as 10 games in hand on some teams, ample room to make up some difference. The eighth-place points percentage in the conference is Washington’s .654, though, and New York’s .467 mark still lags far behind.
Anaheim Ducks Interviewing Internal GM Candidates
Pierre LeBrun of TSN and The Athletic reported today that the Anaheim Ducks have started the process of interviewing internal options to fill the general manager position, currently filled by assistant GM Jeff Solomon. LeBrun named Solomon, Dave Nonis, and Martin Madden as the candidates they’ve interviewed.
The position opened up last November when Bob Murray, their GM of 12 years, resigned from the club to enter a treatment program for alcohol abuse.
The 64-year-old Solomon is actually in his first year with the Ducks organization. He was named assistant general manager and VP of hockey operations this past summer after a 14-year career with Los Angeles’ hockey operations department.
Nonis is the only one of the named candidates who have general manager experience in the NHL. He was the GM of the Vancouver Canucks from 2004 to 2008 and the GM of the Toronto Maple Leafs from 2012 to 2015. He’s worked in the NHL since 1998 and has been with Anaheim ever since departing Toronto in 2015.
Madden was also mentioned as a prospective candidate for Montreal’s GM vacancy, but those rumors have since cooled. The Québec City native was Anaheim’s director of amateur scouting from 2008 to 2020 before transitioning to his role as assistant general manager.
LeBrun mentions that Anaheim hasn’t yet begun the process of interviewing external candidates, but that should begin soon. He also notes that they haven’t yet reached out to the Tampa Bay Lightning for permission to interview their assistant general manager, Mathieu Darche, who’s one of the hotter candidates on the managerial market.
Snapshots: Rust, Byron, Sharks
Pittsburgh Penguins forward Bryan Rust practiced with the team today after missing their last four games while in COVID protocol, per team reporter Michelle Crechiolo. The Penguins face off against Vegas tomorrow night, but head coach Mike Sullivan said today that he’s unsure whether or not he’ll insert Rust into the lineup. Rust’s yet again been lethal when in the lineup, although he’s been limited to just 15 games this season. He has nine goals and 11 points, on pace for his second career season above a point-per-game pace.
More from around the league:
- Montreal Canadiens head coach Dominique Ducharme issued a further update today on injured winger Paul Byron, stating that he’s probable to join the team at some point during the upcoming week. Byron’s been absent the entire 2021-22 season after having offseason hip injury, and he was expected to miss about five months. He’s now missed about five-and-a-half, so it’s a good sign that he won’t be out much longer. The 32-year-old winger has 26 points in 75 games over the past two seasons and will provide valuable leadership presence to a struggling Canadiens team.
- The San Jose Sharks could be getting a pair of players back into the fold. Head coach Bob Boughner said today that goalie James Reimer — who’d been out with a lower-body injury for over a week — and forward Alexander Barabanov, who was on COVID protocol, could be back in the team’s lineup for their Monday night game against Los Angeles. Both Reimer and Barabanov have been valuable parts of an impressive Sharks team this season. Reimer’s posted strong numbers in a tandem with Adin Hill, and Barabanov has 20 points through 32 games.
Adrian Kempe Enters COVID Protocol
Los Angeles Kings forward and Pacific Division All-Star Adrian Kempe entered the NHL’s COVID-19 protocol today, as tweeted by the Kings communications department. In a corresponding move, they’ve brought up forward Martin Frk from the AHL’s Ontario Reign, assigning him to the taxi squad.
Frk himself had recently cleared COVID protocol, entering the list on January 10th.
Kempe is the team’s leader in goals with 17, although he has just seven assists for 24 points in 38 games. The goal-scoring factor is evidently the main reason for his selection to the All-Star team, the first in his career. He’s been playing in the top-six on the wing, most recently alongside Anze Kopitar on the team’s top line.
The Kings have no other healthy forwards on the active roster to insert into the lineup, however, one of Frk, Samuel Fagemo, or Jaret Anderson-Dolan could come up from the taxi squad to fill his spot.
Seattle’s Chris Driedger Enters COVID Protocol
Seattle Kraken goaltender Chris Driedger entered the NHL’s COVID-19 protocol today according to a tweet from the Seattle Kraken public relations team, continuing what’s been a rocky season in net for Seattle.
The Kraken had no players in COVID protocol prior to Driedger’s placement. In response, per the ECHL’s transactions page, the Kraken recalled goalie Antoine Bibeau from the Allen Americans.
Driedger is the less porous of Seattle’s two main goaltenders this season, and he’d had a save percentage above .900 in three of his past four decisions. On the year, Driedger has a 3-6-0 record through nine starts, a .896 save percentage, and 3.18 goals-against average. The save percentage and goals-against average marks are career-worsts for Driedger in seasons where he’s played more than one NHL game.
The 27-year-old goalie’s first season with the Kraken hasn’t been smooth. He’s been limited to just 11 games played overall, sitting out of the lineup three separate times with a lower-body injury. Driedger signed a three-year, $10.5MM contract this offseason with trade protection to join the team as an unrestricted free agent, counting as their selection from the Florida Panthers in the 2021 NHL Expansion Draft.
If only a five-day quarantine is required for Driedger, he’ll miss the team’s next three games, paving the way for a return to the lineup against Florida on January 22nd.
Rangers Place Alexis Lafreniere In COVID Protocol
Per NHL.com’s Dan Rosen, New York Rangers forward Alexis Lafreniere is now in the NHL’s COVID-19 protocol. Forward Lauri Pajuniemi is now on the active roster, being recalled from the taxi squad today.
Lafreniere continues to struggle to work his way out of a depth role on this Rangers team, but he has 11 points through 37 games this season. Anthony Greco will draw into the lineup for his first game of the season.
Assuming Lafreniere is only subject to the five-day quarantine, he’ll only miss two games and be ready for the January 19 game against Toronto.
He’s the fourth Ranger to enter COVID protocol right now. Forwards Julien Gauthier, Barclay Goodrow, and Ryan Reaves were put on the list earlier in the week.