Minor Transactions: 12/18/21
It was another day of a string of unfortunate events in the NHL, with the unofficial number of players on COVID protocol reaching over 100. There were some other items of note from the other side of the pond, however, as two players who recently had their contracts mutually terminated have officially found their new homes overseas.
- Andreas Borgman, who was with the Dallas Stars on a two-way deal until it was terminated earlier this week, won’t be back in the NHL anytime soon. The former Star, Maple Leaf, and Lightning defender signed a deal with Frolunda HC of the SHL through the 2025-26 campaign. Considering Borgman will be 30 at the end of the deal, an NHL return is unlikely for the undrafted Swedish defender. He had three goals and 10 assists for 13 points in 55 career NHL games.
- After being drafted in 2019 by the Montreal Canadiens, Arsen Khisamutdinov is heading back to the KHL with Dinamo Riga. Khisamutdinov’s deal was terminated last week after notching just one point in 15 AHL games last year and getting assigned to the ECHL this year. Khisamutdinov had three points in 31 games during his last KHL stop with Neftekhimik Nizhnekamsk.
Filip Zadina Placed In COVID Protocol
The Detroit Red Wings placed forward Filip Zadina in COVID-19 protocol prior to their game Saturday against New Jersey, per a team tweet.
In his absence, the team will dress 11 forwards and seven defensemen.
Zadina has just four goals and six assists in 30 games this year but is shooting at an uncharacteristically low 5.6% rate. The 22-year-old forward is still developing and is expected to be a big part of this Detroit team in the future as they regain relevancy.
With Zadina out, Detroit now has six players on the COVID list — forwards Carter Rowney, Givani Smith, Michael Rasmussen, and Robby Fabbri, as well as netminder Alex Nedeljkovic.
The team was already stretched thin at the forward position with Taro Hirose and Riley Barber making their season debuts tonight.
Canadiens Add Lehkonen To Protocol, Place Armia, Perreault On Injured Reserve
The Montreal Canadiens made a slew of roster moves today, adding Artturi Lehkonen to the NHL’s COVID-19 Protocol and placing Joel Armia and Mathieu Perreault on injured reserve, per a team tweet.
Armia is out with an undisclosed injury after being a game-time decision on Thursday. He’s been in and out of the lineup this month with an undisclosed ailment and has just five points in 29 games this year. He signed a four-year extension worth $3.4MM with the team this past offseason.
Perreault was classified as day-to-day with a lower-body injury on Thursday. He has three goals (a hat-trick) and an assist in 14 games this year, battling an eye injury early in the season.
Both Armia and Perreault are ineligible to play until after the holiday break.
Lehkonen is the only Canadien officially on COVID protocol. Through all 31 games this year, he had four goals and seven assists.
Montreal will likely have to make some recalls, as these transactions leave them with just 10 active forwards on the roster.
Toronto Maple Leafs Place Five In COVID Protocol
The Toronto Maple Leafs tweeted today that defensemen T.J. Brodie and Travis Dermott, goalie Jack Campbell, head coach Sheldon Keefe, and assistant coach Spencer Carbery entered the league’s COVID-19 protocol.
The team now has nine players on the list. Captain John Tavares, as well as Alexander Kerfoot, Wayne Simmonds, and Jason Spezza, were added earlier in the week.
After seeing a back-to-back set of games against Vancouver and Seattle postponed this weekend, the team was originally scheduled to return to play on Thursday, December 23 against St. Louis. Understandably, that’s now in jeopardy as their list of COVID cases expands.
Matters are made worse in the organization due to a COVID outbreak on their AHL team. The Toronto Marlies have over 10 cases and are officially considered an outbreak, severely limiting any possible recalls.
If their game against St. Louis is postponed, Toronto will return to action on December 27 against Columbus.
Boston Bruins Place Taylor Hall, Curtis Lazar In COVID Protocol
The Boston Bruins announced today via a team release that forwards Taylor Hall and Curtis Lazar entered the NHL’s COVID-19 protocol.
The news comes a few hours after the league announced that the Bruins and Nashville Predators will be shut down through the holiday break. Boston is already dealing with a long list of COVID absences that includes Patrice Bergeron, Brad Marchand, Craig Smith, and Jeremy Swayman, as well as three other players and two staff members.
Boston’s next game is scheduled for Monday, December 27, against the Pittsburgh Penguins, who are 7-2-1 in their past ten games and winners of six straight.
Hall hasn’t exactly struggled in his first full year in a Bruins uniform, but he hasn’t performed up to the level he showcased in a 16-game stint last season after Boston acquired him at the trade deadline from the Buffalo Sabres. He has 14 points through 26 games, the same amount he had in just 16 with Boston last year.
Lazar was also acquired in that trade with Buffalo, and he’s reprising his role in the bottom-six forward group. He missed some time at the beginning of the season but had been playing consistently when healthy. He has two goals and three assists for five points through 20 games while averaging a reasonable 12:05 per game.
If both Hall and Lazar are confirmed positives, and there are no further postponements, their status for the game against Pittsburgh remains in doubt.
Arizona Coyotes Place Crouse, Beagle, Galchenyuk In COVID Protocol
Dec 17: Alex Galchenyuk has also been placed in the COVID protocol, taking another forward out of the mix for the Coyotes.
Dec 16: The Arizona Coyotes announced today that forwards Lawson Crouse and Jay Beagle have entered the NHL’s COVID-19 protocol.
Beagle was already out of the lineup with a lower-body injury and has just one goal in 21 games this season. It’s a big blow to the team to lose Crouse as well, who’s been one of the team’s more productive players with 11 points in 28 games. He’s one of just five Coyotes with more than 10 points in 2021-22.
They join Johan Larsson, Dmitrij Jaskin, and Jakob Chychrun as players unavailable for the team, although Crouse and Beagle are the only ones in COVID protocol.
The team’s next game is on the road against Anaheim on Friday, but it’s worth noting Crouse played just last night against the Rangers.
Andre Burakovsky, J.T. Compher Enter COVID Protocol
A day of additions to the league’s COVID protocol list continues. Per The Denver Post’s Mike Chambers, Colorado Avalanche forwards Andre Burakovsky and J.T. Compher entered the NHL’s COVID protocol today.
They join defenseman Devon Toews on the list. He was added two days ago.
Due to salary cap restraints, the Avalanche will play a skater short tonight (11 forwards, 6 defensemen) against the Nashville Predators, who are dealing with a COVID outbreak of their own.
Both Burakovsky and Compher are giant parts of Colorado’s scoring depth this season. They’re both scoring at rates higher than 0.70 points per game, with Compher netting 11 points in 15 games and Burakovsy netting 21 in 25.
With Kurtis MacDermid moving up to play forward for tonight’s game, their defense will be stretched thin. Jordan Gross will be making his Avalanche debut, and young Justin Barron will play in just his second career NHL game.
Bell Centre Won’t Have Fans For Thursday’s Canadiens Game
As originally reported by RDS’s Patrick Friolet, there won’t be any fans in attendance for tonight’s Montreal Canadiens game at the Bell Centre versus the Philadelphia Flyers at the request of Quebec public health officials.
This is the first game this season for which attendance will be limited. The news comes just a day after the government of Ontario announced they’ll impose a 50% capacity limit at major events, affecting the Toronto Maple Leafs and Ottawa Senators.
It’s unclear as to how long the moratorium on fans attending Canadiens games will last. At this time, it only applies to Thursday night’s game. A release from the team states that they’ll provide an update on the status of their Saturday game against Boston tomorrow.
The announcement came just two hours before puck drop, with the Canadiens sending out an email to ticket holders.
The release states that the team has secured an assurance that beginning in January, they’ll be permitted to have at least partial attendance back at the Bell Centre. Tonight’s and Saturday’s games are their last home games of 2021.
Drew Doughty Placed In COVID Protocol
A seemingly never-ending stream of COVID-19 news this week continues, as the Los Angeles Kings announced today that defenseman Drew Doughty entered the league’s COVID-19 protocol. Additionally, the team placed Andreas Athanasiou on injured reserve retroactive to December 14.
It’s been a tough season health-wise for Doughty, but when he’s been in the lineup, he’s having one of his best seasons in recent memory. Limited to only 11 games this season after a knee injury early in the year, Doughty had 13 points in 11 games, the best scoring pace of his career. He now joins Mikey Anderson, Alexander Edler, and Sean Walker as the unavailable defensemen for the Kings.
The Kings are scheduled to play Florida tonight, who’s facing COVID issues as well.
Athanasiou is out with a lower-body injury, continuing what’s been a successful but injury-riddled campaign for him as well. When in the lineup, he’s been a productive depth piece for the team with six points in 11 games. He’ll miss at least the next five days due to the retroactive nature of the injured reserve placement.
Colorado Avalanche Sign Cal Burke To NHL Deal
The Colorado Avalanche added a contract today, converting Cal Burke‘s AHL deal into a one-year, two-way NHL deal. Financial terms are currently undisclosed.
Burke, a Notre Dame graduate, signed with the AHL’s Colorado Eagles in 2020-21 after going undrafted through his collegiate career. He had a slow start to his professional career with just two goals and nine points in 33 games, but he’s taken a huge step forward this season with 14 points in 19 games.
The 24-year-old Massachusetts native still has to compete with a lot of forward depth in the Avalanche organization before getting an NHL shot, though. There are five forwards with the Eagles who have gotten into NHL action with Colorado this season.
It’s most likely that Burke stays in the AHL this season barring any unforeseen circumstance, but the contract puts him into restricted free agent status with Colorado at the end of the season.