Calvin De Haan Avoids Suspension, Earns Fine
Not only does the Department of Player Safety have a hearing with Ross Johnston of the New York Islanders today, but some more supplementary discipline was on their plate. Calvin de Haan of the Chicago Blackhawks has earned a $2,500 fine for a dangerous trip on Montreal Canadiens forward Cole Caufield.
The incident in question happened partway through the third period as Caufield tried to skate around the Blackhawks’ net. The trip, which appeared to be a clear slew-foot, went unpenalized by the on-ice officials. The league has been seeing a huge increase in these kinds of incidents this season, with Brad Marchand and Kevin Labanc both earning slew-footing suspensions and P.K. Subban earning multiple fines.
There are some who credit the crackdown on cross-checking as the reason why these trips have seemingly increased, though obviously, the league believes something like this is not worthy of a suspension. Caufield did not suffer a serious injury on the play. While it isn’t a suspension, the incident will still be considered in any future disciplinary decisions involving de Haan.
Taxi Squad Shuffle: 01/14/22
Three games are on the NHL schedule this evening, including a key Western Conference matchup between the Anaheim Ducks and Minnesota Wild. The Ducks have maintained their grip on second place in the Pacific, while the Wild have dropped down to fourth in recent weeks in a competitive Central. With their eyes set firmly on the postseason, both teams will be preparing for tonight’s matchup closely. As they and others make changes, we’ll keep track of all the minor league and taxi squad shuffling right here.
Atlantic Division
- The Ottawa Senators have sent Jacob Bernard-Docker back to the taxi squad, given it is an off day. The young defenseman could be back up tomorrow, but sending him down for the day will save the team a bit of money. The 21-year-old has played in four games so far this season, recording one point.
- The Montreal Canadiens have assigned Laurent Dauphin and Corey Schueneman to the taxi squad, as they have a few days off before their next game. Montreal will take on the Arizona Coyotes on Monday, a battle of the two worst teams in the league.
- The Florida Panthers have returned Aleksi Heponiemi and Owen Tippett to the AHL, raising some eyebrows about the latter’s future with the team. Tippett, 22, has 11 points in 33 games with the Panthers this season but will now have to continue his year in the minor leagues.
Metropolitan Division
- The Washington Capitals have recalled Hunter Shepard from the AHL to the taxi squad, giving them an extra practice goaltender. Shepard, 26, has spent more time in the ECHL than the AHL since turning pro, including nine games for the South Carolina Stingrays this season.
- The New Jersey Devils have sent Nolan Foote back to the AHL from the taxi squad, where he can continue his sophomore season. The 21-year-old has just ten points in 22 games for the Utica Comets.
Central Division
- Hunter Miska has been recalled to the Colorado Avalanche taxi squad, as the team prepares for action tonight against the Arizona Coyotes. Colorado will be heading to Arizona for the second half of the home-and-home tomorrow night.
- The Chicago Blackhawks have sent Josiah Slavin, Ian Mitchell, and Nicolas Beaudin back to the AHL, giving the Rockford IceHogs a boost before their games against the Cleveland Monsters today and tomorrow. Slavin, the younger brother of Jaccob Slavin, made his NHL debut this season and has played in ten games for the Blackhawks.
- The Winnipeg Jets have reassigned Arvid Holm, Simon Lundmark, Jeff Malott and Austin Poganski to the AHL, giving the Manitoba Moose a bit of a boost. Mikhail Berdin meanwhile has been added to the taxi squad.
Pacific Division
- The Los Angeles Kings have moved Jaret Anderson-Dolan, Samuel Fagemo, and Jacob Moverare to the taxi squad from the active roster while recalling Jacob Ingham and Austin Strand from the Ontario Reign. Fagemo, 21, made his NHL debut last night, recording one shot in just under 12 minutes of ice time.
- Nick Merkley has been sent to the AHL, ending his time with the San Jose Sharks for the time being. With Nick Bonino back, the Sharks didn’t really have room for Merkley on the roster and the taxi squad isn’t really important while the team is at home. Merkley has 16 points in 19 games so far this season with the San Jose Barracuda.
- The Anaheim Ducks have recalled Lukas Dostal from the taxi squad. He’ll serve as the backup goalie tonight against Minnesota with John Gibson not yet ready to return. Dostal won his NHL debut on Sunday against Detroit.
This page will be updated throughout the day
Pavel Buchnevich Enters COVID Protocol
The St. Louis Blues have lost another key player, as Pavel Buchnevich is now in the league’s COVID protocol. Buchnevich played more than 21 minutes last night against the Seattle Kraken. The team has recalled Dakota Joshua under emergency conditions to fill the roster spot, while Alexei Toropchenko and Calle Rosen have been assigned to the taxi squad.
Buchnevich, 26, actually scored the winner last night against the Kraken, his 14th goal of the season in just 34 games. A trade from the New York Rangers in the offseason has given him an even bigger offensive opportunity and the third-round pick has run with it, scoring 35 points already. That’s just 13 shy of his career-high, a number he set last season in just 54 games.
While he’ll miss tomorrow’s game against the Toronto Maple Leafs and Monday’s match against the Nashville Predators, Buchnevich could potentially exit the protocol before the Blues head out on the road next week. In the meantime, the team will need to find a different option on the top line and someone to replace Buchnevich on the powerplay and penalty kill.
Ross Johnston To Have Hearing With Department Of Player Safety
The Department of Player Safety has some more work to do. The league has announced that Ross Johnston of the New York Islanders will receive a hearing today for his illegal check to the head of New Jersey Devils forward A.J. Greer. The incident happened early in the first period of last night’s game and resulted in a two-minute minor penalty.
Greer did not seem to suffer a serious injury on the play and eventually returned, though the Devils’ coaching staff indicated to reporters after the game that he was still being evaluated by the medical staff. Johnston meanwhile earned another roughing penalty later in the game and will now face stiffer consequences for the first period hit.
The DoPS has handed out two suspensions so far in 2022 and will likely now have a third, given the usual outcome of hearings. Some may remember Johnston’s 15-game suspension in junior, but that will not be taken into account here. In his 95-game NHL career, Johnston has not yet been suspended.
PHR Live Chat Transcript: 01/13/22
Click here to read a transcript of this week’s live chat with PHR’s Gavin Lee.
2022 Team USA Olympic Roster
Though the official announcement is still an hour away, Frank Seravalli and Chris Peters of Daily Faceoff are reporting all 25 players that are expected to be named to Team USA for the upcoming 2022 Winter Olympics in Beijing, China. The group includes players from the NCAA, AHL, and several overseas leagues.
The roster will be:
G Drew Commesso
G Strauss Mann
G Pat Nagle
D Brian Cooper
D Brock Faber
D Drew Helleson
D Steven Kampfer
D Aaron Ness
D Nick Perbix
D Jake Sanderson
D David Warsofsky
F Nick Abruzzese
F Kenny Agostino
F Matty Beniers
F Brendan Brisson
F Noah Cates
F Sean Farrell
F Sam Hentges
F Matthew Knies
F Marc McLaughlin
F Ben Meyers
F Andy Miele
F Brian O’Neill
F Nick Shore
F Nathan Smith
This group has a huge college contingent and also includes several players who were robbed of an opportunity to compete for a World Junior medal this year when the tournament was canceled.
In all, 13 NHL prospects are included on the team, including Beniers, the first-ever draft pick in Seattle Kraken history. The Toronto Maple Leafs are the only club with two prospects, as Minnesota freshman Knies and Harvard sophomore Abruzzese both made the squad.
The tournament is set to kick-off for the U.S. on February 10 when they take on China, a nation that was given entry to the tournament because it is hosting the event.
New Jersey Devils Sign Kyle Shapiro To ATO
The New Jersey Devils were in trouble when they were forced to put both Akira Schmid and Mackenzie Blackwood in the COVID protocol. The only other healthy goaltender in the entire organization was Jon Gillies. While he’ll get the start tonight, his backup will be Kyle Shapiro, who has signed an amateur tryout contract.
Shapiro, 28, is an assistant coach with the NAHL’s New Jersey Titans and serves as a regular emergency backup for the Prudential Center. He played four seasons of Division III college hockey, three of them with the University of Southern Maine and one with New England College. If forced into action, it would be his first competitive game since the 2017-18 season.
It’s not all bad news for the Devils though. The team has also activated Nathan Bastian, Andreas Johnsson, Yegor Sharangovich, and Pavel Zacha from the COVID protocol. Colton White has also been recalled from the taxi squad. All five players are available to play tonight, giving the team a little bit of a boost as they take on the New York Islanders.
Chris Wideman Suspended One Game
The Department of Player Safety has issued the second suspension of 2022, banning Montreal Canadiens defenseman Chris Wideman for one game. The head-butting incident that earned Wideman a suspension came in the third period of last night’s game against Erik Haula of the Boston Bruins. As the accompanying video explains:
It is important to note that Wideman’s helmet makes clear, intentional, and direct contact with Haula’s face and head. This is not an occasion where two players accidentally or inadvertently collide in a scrum. Rather, this is an unacceptable and intentional head-butt delivered to an opponent’s face with some force.
Notably, Wideman has not been fined or suspended previously, leading to a bit of leniency on behalf of the DoPS. Haula also did not suffer a serious injury like some other suspendable plays, meaning a one-game ban was always the likely outcome for the Canadiens defenseman.
This incident will be included on Wideman’s record moving forward, however, meaning any further supplementary discipline could come with a higher penalty. For now, he’ll forfeit $3,750 and have to miss Montreal’s game against the Chicago Blackhawks this evening.
Mike Smith Out 1-2 Weeks With Injured Thumb Tendon
The Edmonton Oilers will be without their preferred starter for another little while, as head coach Dave Tippett announced today that Mike Smith will be out one to two weeks with a partially torn thumb tendon. Daniel Nugent-Bowman of The Athletic reports that the plan is to recall Stuart Skinner, but the team is awaiting COVID testing results.
Smith returned from injury in late December and has played three games, his last coming on January 5. That only took his total on the year to six, however, as he has continued to miss time throughout the year due to various setbacks. That has left Mikko Koskinen as the regular starter, but he has struggled to carry the load and currently has a .900 save percentage. Koskinen and Tippett minced words through the media earlier this month, frustrations that will have to be quashed for the time being while Smith is out.
The question now will become whether Skinner, a 23-year-old netminder with just one game of NHL experience prior to this season, could run with the job. In ten appearances this year he has a .916 save percentage, though five of those games have ended in a loss. He’s been excellent in his rare appearances for the Bakersfield Condors too, and perhaps is ready for a jump to the next level.
Edmonton though has high hopes for this season, despite their recent struggles. Evander Kane has been linked strongly to the team as a potential free agent signing, while general manager Ken Holland recently said that he believes the answer is going to come from internal growth. The team is set to resume their season on Saturday against the Ottawa Senators, playing for the first time in ten days. They are currently on a five-game losing streak and now sit sixth in the Pacific Division.
Smith meanwhile is signed through next season, despite turning 40 in March and now missing almost the entire first half of this year. The veteran netminder carries a cap hit of $2.2MM on a new two-year deal he signed last July, and will actually earn a larger salary ($2.5MM) in 2022-23 than he is owed this season.
Olympic Notes: Czechia, Johnson, Team USA
David Krejci may be gone from the NHL but he’s not off the international stage. The former Boston Bruins star was one of 24 players named to the preliminary Czechia roster for the upcoming Olympics. The final group will be named later this month, but Krejci certainly feels like a lock at this point. Among the other names that will be familiar to NHL fans are Tomas Kundratek, Jakub Jerabek, Vladimir Sobotka, Tomas Hyka and Michael Frolik.
One name unfortunately not included is Jaromir Jagr, the 49-year-old who first appeared on the Olympic stage in 1998, winning the gold with a Dominik Hasek-led squad. Jagr has 19 points in 29 games with Kladno, the team he owns at the highest level of Czech hockey. A member of the exclusive Triple Gold Club, Jagr also has two World Championship golds and won the Stanley Cup twice with the Pittsburgh Penguins.
- While it was obvious that Owen Power would be part of Team Canada after he starred for his country at last summer’s World Championship, another one of his college teammates appears to be coming with him. Rick Dhaliwal of CHEK TV tweets that Kent Johnson will also represent Canada at the Olympics next month. The Columbus Blue Jackets selected Johnson fifth overall in 2021 and the extremely skilled forward is currently leading the powerhouse University of Michigan program in scoring with 28 points in just 19 games. There will be quite a few Wolverines taking part in the tournament, just months before many of them are set to sign entry-level NHL contracts.
- ESPN will reveal the full U.S. squad later today on The Point, where several Michigan players will be officially named. The squad should have a large college hockey presence, making it a unique experience for many of these young players. In a year where many were robbed of an opportunity to compete for a World Junior medal, they could bring home an even rarer one from Beijing.