Snapshots: Hertl, Allen, Byron
The San Jose Sharks’ unexpected rise back to relevancy this season has answered a lot of questions, but the Tomas Hertl situation still hangs over the team’s heads. On TSN’s Insider Trading program today, Pierre LeBrun says he expects the Sharks to “circle back” with Hertl and give him an extension offer. The pending unrestricted free agent has 31 points in 37 games this season. The team’s lone 20-goal scorer so far is in the final year of a four-year, $22.5MM contract. In the case that Hertl doesn’t agree to an extension prior to the trade deadline, though, LeBrun notes the trade front is still an option. Hertl has a modified no-trade clause that allows him to submit a list of three teams to which he’ll accept a trade. LeBrun believes the New York Rangers would be an option, a team that would obviously be heavily interested in some added forward depth.
Some other notes, this time out of Montreal:
- After leaving last night’s loss against Boston, Canadiens goalie Jake Allen will be out of the lineup for at least a week, per coach Dominique Ducharme. It’s been a really tough season for Allen, who’s faced injuries and COVID that have limited him to 24 games. He’s Montreal’s undisputed starter, still posting a save percentage above .900 on the worst team in the league. The team has a compressed schedule in the near future, meaning Allen could miss three or four games before he’s ready to dress again.
- Montreal could be getting a name back from injury soon, though, as forward Paul Byron, who hasn’t played all year due to offseason hip surgery, could be cleared from COVID protocol by the weekend and could join the team on the road. Byron had six points in 22 games last year during Montreal’s playoff run. He’s one of the bigger voices in the room for the Habs, and his leadership presence will be greatly appreciated during this tough season.
Kirby Dach, Dylan Strome Enter COVID Protocol
5:38 pm: The placements are now official, according to The Athletic’s Mark Lazerus.
5:27 pm: NBC Sports Chicago’s Charlie Roumeliotis reports that Chicago Blackhawks forwards Kirby Dach and Dylan Strome entered the NHL’s COVID-19 protocol today, meaning they’re unavailable for tonight’s contest against Montreal.
Dach is a humongous loss for this Blackhawks team. The 20-year-old center is averaging 19:34 per game, a great indicator of the trust placed in him by the team’s coaching staff. He has six goals and eight assists for 14 points through 36 games.
Strome was a healthy scratch at many points during the beginning of the season, but he’s found himself in the lineup more often under new head coach Derek King. Through 26 games, he has three goals and seven assists for 10 points.
In their absences, forward Sam Lafferty could draw in and make his Blackhawks debut. The team acquired Lafferty over a week ago (January 5) from the Pittsburgh Penguins in exchange for forward Alexander Nylander.
If Strome and Dach are subject to just a five-day quarantine, they could return on January 21 against Minnesota.
Boston Bruins Place Three In COVID Protocol
Jan 13: Matt Grzelcyk has now entered the protocol, along with another staff member. The Bruins recalled Tyler Lewington and Jack Ahcan today; the former would be making his Bruins debut should he enter the lineup as expected.
Jan 10: The Boston Bruins placed defensemen Connor Clifton, Derek Forbort, and a team staff member into the NHL’s COVID-19 protocol within an hour of puck drop of their game against the Washington Capitals tonight, per a team tweet.
In their absences, it’s likely that Urho Vaakanainen and John Moore will make up the bottom pair for tonight’s game. Warmups have already begun and the Bruins have no other defensemen on the active roster to fill in.
Forbort, who’s in his first season as a Bruin, has seven points through 31 games this year and has bounced around the team’s defensive pairings. He offers little offensively, but he’s had really good defensive impacts since joining Boston. His ability and versatility will certainly be missed while he’s in protocol.
Clifton has played in just 22 games, scoring two points, but he’s also been rather reliable defensively when in the lineup. Vaakanainen and Moore will need to play a responsible game in his and Forbort’s absences.
If all goes well, Clifton and Forbort could return January 18th against Carolina, the team’s first game after the conclusion of what could be five-day quarantines for them.
2022 NHL All-Star Game Rosters To Be Revealed Tomorrow
The four divisional rosters for the 2022 NHL All-Star Game will be revealed Thursday exclusively on ESPN’s SportsCenter program, the TV network tweeted today. The reveal program will be hosted by Steve Levy, along with analysts and former NHLers Chris Chelios and Mark Messier.
Each division’s roster features nine skaters and two goaltenders, and the tournament continues to be played in a 3-on-3 format. The coaches for the four divisions have already been named — Andrew Brunette (Atlantic), Rod Brind’Amour (Metropolitan), Jared Bednar (Central), and Peter DeBoer (Pacific).
All but one player from each division will be revealed during the roster announcement. Fans have the opportunity to vote for the last player on each squad, known as the Last Men In voting campaign. Details for that will also be revealed during the show.
The All-Star weekend takes place February 4 and February 5.
USA Hockey Notes: Sanderson, Beniers, Brisson
Ahead of USA Hockey’s roster unveiling tomorrow of the 25-man contingent that will head to Beijing for the 2022 Winter Olympics, a few names of players named to the team are leaking today. Per the Grand Forks Herald’s Brad Elliott Schlossman, one of those players is University of North Dakota defenseman (and Ottawa Senators prospect) Jake Sanderson. Sanderson, the fifth overall pick in 2020, has 22 points through 17 games as an assistant captain at UND. He’ll undoubtedly be a huge part of Team USA’s blueline in Beijing.
More Olympic notes for USA Hockey:
- Seattle Kraken prospect Matty Beniers will also be on the final roster, The Athletic’s Scott Wheeler reports. The 6’1″, 174-lb center is enjoying a great sophomore season at the University of Michigan with 26 points in 22 games. He’ll also likely be one of the team’s big go-to players without NHL talent on the team.
- A second University of Michigan player will be going, per Wheeler — Vegas Golden Knights pick Brendan Brisson. The team’s 29th overall pick in 2020 has 27 points in 23 games there this year, and while he might not play as prominent a role as Beniers on the team, he’s a great two-way center who should be a great energy player for Team USA.
Philadelphia Flyers Activate Three From COVID Protocol
The Philadelphia Flyers got a huge boost ahead of tomorrow’s game against Boston, as Philly Hockey Now’s Sam Carchidi reports that defensemen Ivan Provorov, Justin Braun, and forward Travis Konecny came off the NHL’s COVID-19 protocol today.
While Philadelphia is happy to get three important players back into the lineup, it’s especially crucial for Thursday’s game. It’s the second night of a back-to-back series for the Bruins, but goalie Tuukka Rask is expected to make his season debut and take advantage of the home-ice momentum.
Provorov leads all Flyers in ice time per game (24:25) and leads Flyers defensemen in points (13), returning to stabilize a blue-line that’s suffered all season. Braun’s return also shouldn’t be overlooked – he’s likely the best defensive defenseman the Flyers have. He’ll likely return on a pairing with young Cam York.
Konecny is one of the forwards that the Flyers would like to see some more production out of. After being one of the team’s best point producers over the past few years, he has just five goals and 14 assists in 33 games. He’s hoping for a hot streak after his return.
Barclay Goodrow Enters COVID Protocol
The New York Rangers announced Monday night that forward Barclay Goodrow entered the NHL’s COVID-19 protocol. The team called up forward Anthony Greco from the taxi squad to take his spot on the roster.
Goodrow seems to be flourishing with the Rangers. He’s got seven goals and 10 assists through 36 games, on pace to shatter his career-high of 24 points.
As injuries and COVID cases piled up for the Rangers, Goodrow had slid into a top-six role alongside Artemi Panarin and Ryan Strome. Now, another body will need to fill that spot in, possibly Greco.
If Goodrow is subject to a five-day quarantine, he could return on January 19th against the Toronto Maple Leafs.
Snapshots: Malkin, Canucks, Robertson
Pittsburgh Penguins head coach Mike Sullivan spoke to reporters today, saying that injured center Evgeni Malkin is taking line rushes in his normal second-line center spot and is taking scrimmages on the top power play. He’ll officially be listed as a game-time decision for tomorrow’s game against Anaheim. If Malkin is healthy enough to go, it’ll be his first NHL game since May 26, 2021, his first in six and a half months. Malkin was expected to be out indefinitely after undergoing knee surgery in June 2021. Now, after missing Pittsburgh’s first 34 games of the season, he’s hopefully fully healthy and ready to go for the stretch run.
Other notes from around the league:
- Three Vancouver Canucks forwards who were previously in COVID protocol – Elias Pettersson, Brock Boeser, and Jason Dickinson – are likely to return when the Canucks kick off a road trip on Tuesday against Florida, per NHL.com’s Kevin Woodley. All three exited protocol today and practiced with the team. It will be Vancouver’s first game since New Years Day, a 5-2 win against Seattle.
- Top Toronto Maple Leafs prospect Nick Robertson is recovering from a leg injury that’s sidelined him since mid-October 2021, and their AHL head coach, Greg Moore, says Robertson is skating with the Toronto Marlies again and could play in a “couple of weeks.” It’s great news for Robertson, who’s been taken out of the lineup by long-term injuries each of the past two seasons. He has 19 points in 29 games between the NHL and AHL since the beginning of 2020-21.
NHL Fines Rick Bowness $25,000
The National Hockey League fined Dallas Stars coach Rick Bowness $25,000 for his actions behind the bench at the conclusion of yesterday’s game against the St. Louis Blues, as tweeted today from the NHL public relations account.
Officials assessed Dallas two back-to-back penalties in the last 90 seconds of the game, which led to the Blues scoring twice en route to a 2-1 victory. Cameras showed Bowness slamming a stick against the glass behind the Stars bench and seemingly yelling an expletive in the direction of the officials.
$25,000 is becoming the standard amount for outbursts from head coaches. Carolina Hurricanes bench boss Rod Brind’Amour can attest to that, having been fined that amount multiple times over the past few years.
Per the press release from the NHL, the fine money goes to the NHL Foundation.
Vegas Golden Knights Assign Adam Brooks To AHL On Conditioning Loan
Per CapFriendly, the Vegas Golden Knights assigned forward Adam Brooks to the AHL’s Henderson Silver Knights on a conditioning loan today.
Brooks has played just seven games since Vegas claimed him off waivers from the Montreal Canadiens on November 17. In those seven games, he has two goals, adding onto his one assist in four games with the Canadiens prior to the claim.
Vegas is Brooks’ third team in a very short span of time. He was a waiver-wire addition to the Canadiens as well, who claimed him from the Toronto Maple Leafs prior to the start of the season.
It should be Brooks’ first AHL action since 2020-21, where he had 13 points in 17 games with the Toronto Marlies. He’s a very capable producer at the minor-league level, and in the short term, he should provide a boost to the Vegas farm team.