Justin Dowling, Colton Sceviour Clear Waivers
March 9: Both players have cleared waivers and can now be assigned to the taxi squad or minor leagues.
March 8: Two more players are available to the league today, as Chris Johnston of Sportsnet reports that Justin Dowling (DAL) and Colton Sceviour (PIT) have been placed on waivers.
Dowling, 30, only returned from a conditioning stint in the AHL a week ago and has barely seen any ice time in the two games since. Averaging nearly 13 minutes in his first nine appearances, he received fewer than nine in losses to Tampa Bay and Columbus last week. He wasn’t in the lineup at all for the last two, so his arrival on waivers shouldn’t come as much of a surprise.
The undrafted forward has only 60 regular season NHL games under his belt, instead spending most of his professional career at the minor league level. In 2018-19 he scored 53 points in 62 games with the Texas Stars, which ended up landing him a good stretch of play at the highest level. Still, his upside is extremely limited, meaning it is unlikely that someone claims him at this point in the year.
Sceviour meanwhile will likely clear for a different reason entirely. The 31-year-old forward has logged nearly 500 games in the NHL but provides very little offense and carries a cap hit of $1.2MM. In 16 games this season, his first with Pittsburgh after coming over in the Mike Matheson–Patric Hornqvist deal, Sceviour has scored just two goals and failed to record a single assist. For a team pushed right up against the cap like the Penguins, his salary is prohibitive, meaning he could easily find himself buried on the taxi squad if he clears.
It’s that salary that could protect him from claim too, given how few teams want to add money at this point. Sceviour is an unrestricted free agent at the end of the year, so perhaps a rebuilding team could claim him in order to try and flip later, but given how few skaters have been claimed this season it still seems unlikely. The fact that he was on the COVID Protocol Related Absences list yesterday only complicates the matter, though it is unclear how long he will be unavailable.
COVID Protocol Related Absences: 03/08/21
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. Updated with late submissions from the Oilers, Panthers, Canadiens, and Sharks, the list is currently at just two:
San Jose – Tomas Hertl, Marcus Sorensen
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: Dennis Gilbert, Colorado Avalanche; Colton Sceviour, Pittsburgh Penguins
Two more removals leave the list bare and encouraging, especially as the league allows more and more fans into buildings all across the U.S. After some early season outbreaks, it appears as though the tightened protocols are working. All that remains between the NHL and a COVID clean slate is a pair of Sharks.
*denotes new addition
Poll: Do You Like The Draft Lottery?
The NHL is making changes to the draft lottery again. Reports emerged today that several tweaks to the process are being put forward to the league’s board of governors for a vote, with some coming into effect for 2021 and some for 2022. But is it changes the league needs, or to do away with the lottery entirely?
Pierre LeBrun of The Athletic wrote a piece on the potential changes last month and noted how frequently over the last few seasons teams have moved up a considerable number of picks. He notes that the “final straw” for some was Detroit failing to receive even a top-three pick after finishing dead last in the NHL with a historically-bad record. 17-49-5 was good for the fourth selection, a brutal punishment for a team that is really just starting a true rebuild. The idea that the Red Wings “aren’t tanking” may rub people the wrong way, since it’s obvious their management wasn’t trying to make the playoffs last season, but many believe there’s no way the team should have been pushed that far down.
While the proposed changes would help somewhat—holding the lottery for only two picks instead of three means the Red Wings would have been guaranteed a top-three selection—the question still remains: should the league do away with the lottery entirely?
Should the worst team in the league be rewarded with the top pick every year? Should there be simple restrictions like no first-overall two years in a row? What other ideas are there for how to tweak the lottery to make it better? Cast a vote below but then make sure to share your thoughts in the comments.
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NHL Proposing Changes To Draft Lottery
2:45pm: Those issues were quickly resolved. Friedman reports that most of the changes will not take place until the 2022 draft and previous lottery victories will not be included. The 2021 lottery will indeed go down to two picks instead of three, should the changes be approved.
2:05pm: The NHL appears to be changing the draft lottery once again. Chris Johnston of Sportsnet reports that in a memo circulated to clubs today, the league has proposed several changes. Teams would now be limited to no more than two lottery wins in a five-year period, would only be allowed to jump ten spots with a win, and only two picks (instead of three) will be determined with a lottery win. The changes are still subject to approval from the league’s board of governors.
Elliotte Friedman of Sportsnet adds that news of these changes coming out is another sign that the draft will not be pushed back, though the official announcement has not been made on that. There was ample support from teams for the event to be moved so that there is more time to scout the 2021 draft class, but it would be very complicated to do so and needed to be bargained with the NHLPA.
The lottery changes—which certainly will make things more complicated if instituted—seem designed to prevent teams that barely miss the playoffs from winning the top spot, while also punishing a team that tears it all down to stay at the bottom of the league for several years. That five-year period will be a very important thing to remember for clubs in a rebuild and could block them from even having a chance at some of the best incoming players.
Discussion over the lottery goes back a while, but in October it was reported that the Detroit Red Wings were leading the charge on changes. Detroit themselves are in a rebuild phase and dead last in the league in 2019-20, but failed to receive a top-three pick when the New York Rangers, Los Angeles Kings and Ottawa Senators won the lottery spots. That would mean if these rules are immediately put into action (and retroactively considered), the Red Wings would still be eligible for picks. The New Jersey Devils, however, who are near the bottom of the standings once again, would not be eligible to win a lottery pick if their previous wins were taken into account. The Devils won the first overall pick in both 2017 (Nico Hischier) and 2019 (Jack Hughes), so they may be ineligible this time around.
There are no specifics released yet on whether the new rules would use previous outcomes or if they would start new in 2021, but it’s clear that changes of some sort will come in the future.
Snapshots: Three Stars, Vegas, Simmonds, Pettersson
The NHL has released the Three Stars for last week, with Mark Stone leading the way after a few incredible performances. The Vegas Golden Knights captain scored ten points in four games including a five-assist outing against the Minnesota Wild. The two-way forward is off to the best start of his career with 27 points in his first 21 games and has the Golden Knights in first place with a 16-4-1 record.
Thatcher Demko of the Vancouver Canucks and Martin Necas of the Carolina Hurricanes take home the second and third stars after outstanding weeks of their own. Demko has really started to lay claim to the Vancouver crease with four strong performances in a row, including a .969 save percentage in his three appearances last week. The Canucks won all three games, not something the team has been able to say often this year. Necas meanwhile has broken out this season for the Hurricanes, recording 18 points in 21 games and looking like a potential top-line player for the team in the coming years. The 22-year-old has been strong at both ends of the rink and is working on a four-game point streak (2 G, 5 A).
- Though Stone won the top honors, he may not play tonight for the Golden Knights. Justin Emerson of the Las Vegas Sun reports that Stone, Alex Pietrangelo, and Brayden McNabb are all game-time decisions for the matchup against the Wild tonight. The Golden Knights have four games between now and Saturday as they squeeze in matchups, including an important back-to-back against the St. Louis Blues.
- The Toronto Maple Leafs presented a nice surprise this morning when Wayne Simmonds took the ice for the first time before practice. The 32-year-old broke his wrist on February 6 and was given a six-week recovery timeline. Toronto’s bottom-six has been playing well of late but there is no doubt they’d love to have Simmonds back in the fold, given how well he had been playing in the early going. The veteran forward had five goals in his first 12 games.
- The Vancouver Canucks will be without Elias Pettersson again tonight as they look for their third consecutive win. After beating the Maple Leafs twice, Vancouver will try to slow down the Montreal Canadiens without their top forward. Pettersson was just starting to find his rhythm when he suffered this latest injury and has 21 points in 26 games this season.
Taxi Squad Shuffle: 03/08/21
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:
West Division
- The Minnesota Wild have moved Matt Bartkowski down to the AHL, after spending the last few weeks on the taxi squad without playing. Bartkowski has actually played just a single game at any level this season.
- The AHL’s Ontario Reign have lost a trio of their top players in one fell swoop. Top prospect forwards Akil Thomas and Samuel Fagemo have been promoted to the taxi squad while goaltender Troy Grosenick has been recalled directly to the Los Angeles Kings. Another top prospect, Rasmus Kupari, has also joined the Kings from the taxi squad. L.A. has reassigned defenseman Daniel Brickley from the taxi squad to Ontario.
Central Division
- The Columbus Blue Jackets have activated Elvis Merzlikins off injured reserve, meaning it’s back to the taxi squad for Veini Vehvilainen. The team has barely had Merzlikins at all this season, getting just nine appearances so far out of the 26-year-old.
- The Tampa Bay Lightning have recalled Taylor Raddysh and Spencer Martin from the AHL, adding them to the taxi squad. Gemel Smith and Christopher Gibson have been sent down in their place. Raddysh, who was a second-round pick in 2016, still hasn’t played an NHL game but is a strong contributor at the minor league level.
- The Chicago Blackhawks have recalled Collin Delia from his conditioning stint, while also recalling Nicolas Beaudin, Reese Johnson, and Brandon Pirri to the taxi squad. Matt Tomkins is on his way to the AHL to make room. Chicago
- Joel Kiviranta and Joel L’Esperance have been moved to the taxi squad by the Dallas Stars. The 24-year-old Kiviranta has four points in 11 games this season after his breakout postseason performance in last year’s bubble, where he had five goals in 14 games.
- The Florida Panthers have reversed a recent move, recalling Riley Stillman from the taxi squad while replacing him with rookie Girgori Denisenko. Also headed down to the taxi squad is veteran defenseman Kevin Connauton.
East Division
- The Pittsburgh Penguins have recalled Maxime Lagace and Frederick Gaudreau from the AHL to the taxi squad, sending Emil Larmi and Josh Currie the other way. The Penguins had a big win yesterday against the Rangers and today waived Colton Sceviour.
North Division
This page will be updated throughout the day
NWHL Suspends Remainder Of Season
March 8: There’s a reason why the league never used the word canceled. The NWHL will complete its 2021 season later this month at Warrior Ice Arena in Brighton, Massachusetts. On March 26-27, four teams will compete for the Isobel Cup championship, with the games broadcast on NBCSN. No fans will be in attendance. The Toronto Six take on the Boston Pride in the first semi-final, while the Minnesota Whitecaps will take on the Connecticut Whale in the second.
Feb 3: The NWHL had already seen two teams remove themselves from competition at their Lake Placid bubble and now, thanks to more positive COVID-19 test results, the entire league has decided to suspend the remainder of the 2021 season. There had been several outbreaks that left really no choice but to shut things down, an unfortunate result just before the playoffs were going to be aired on NBC Sports in the coming days.
The Toronto Six, Buffalo Beauts, Boston Pride, and Minnesota Whitecaps were scheduled to play in the semi-final round on Thursday, while the winners would play the Isobel Cup final on Friday.
As Marisa Ingemi of NBC writes, there had been additional players brought into the “bubble” over the last few days, sparking some controversy over how secure the health protocols actually were. Two teams, the Connecticut Whale and Metropolitan Riveters, who shared a hotel (along with the Whitecaps), had already pulled themselves from the competition.
Greg Wyshynski of ESPN tweets that internally, the NWHL hopes that the streaming numbers and “unprecedented mainstream interest” can still result in some positives being drawn from the tournament, but notes it is now a “critical time” as the league changes staff.
The PWHPA on the other hand, another professional women’s hockey organization that has at times been rivals with the NWHL, announced some encouraging news today instead. The New York Rangers and Madison Square Garden will host the Dream Gap Tour on February 28, claiming the first time that professional women’s hockey will be played in the arena.
Tom Wilson Suspended Seven Games
Sunday: TSN’s Pierre LeBrun reports that Wilson has elected to serve his seven-game suspension and will not appeal it.
Saturday: The Department of Player Safety has come down hard on Washington Capitals forward Tom Wilson, suspending him seven games for his hit on Boston Bruins defenseman Brandon Carlo. As the accompanying video explains:
On this play, the combination of Carlo’s battle with [Jakub] Vrana, his head being low as he looks for the puck, and Wilson’s angle of approach, combine to leave Carlo in a position where he is defenseless. Through no fault of his own, he is in a position where he is unable to brace for contact, anticipate the hit, or protect himself in any way from Wilson, who is approaching from outside his field of vision.
The league admits that hits like the one Wilson threw happen frequently, but still believes the totality of the situation—including substantial contact with the head—elevates it to supplementary discipline. The NHL also obviously took into account Wilson’s history with the Department of Player Safety. In the video, they explain:
This is a player with a substantial disciplinary record taking advantage of an opponent who is in a defenseless position, and doing so with significant force.
Wilson has been suspended four times and fined twice in the past, leading to the seven-game ban. Carlo also suffered an injury on the play, which is also taken into account in these situations.
Obviously, in a shortened schedule, suspensions have even more impact on a team. Wilson will miss an eighth of the entire schedule with this new penalty and forfeits more than $300K in salary.
Buffalo Sabres “Wide Open” For Business
The Buffalo Sabres have not had a good season. The trade smoke began to pour out of the windows KeyBank Center almost immediately, with many fans focused on Jack Eichel and if he would eventually demand out. The young star hasn’t even sniffed the playoffs since entering the league, but according to Sabres GM Kevyn Adams has not requested a trade at this point.
Even if it’s not Eichel on the move, the Sabres appear to be preparing for a busy few months. Elliotte Friedman reported on Saturday Headlines that Buffalo is “wide open” for business and that they are listening on everyone. The insider specifically mentioned Sam Reinhart, but noted that nothing is off the table:
…they are listening on all options. I think there is a number of things that people think they may do or may not do. I’ve heard there have been a lot of questions asked about Sam Reinhart. I’ve heard there have been questions asked about Eric Staal in addition to some of the other names that you would expect. Nashville is out there, Detroit is out there, but Buffalo is the team that is definitely out there and again, the word is they are listening to any possibilities.
Four different Sabres players were listed on The Athletic’s recent Trade Deadline Big Board: Eichel, Brandon Montour, Casey Mittelstadt and Taylor Hall. Of that group, only Hall has any trade protection in his contract. The former Hart Trophy winner signed a one-year deal with Buffalo this offseason that included a full no-movement clause so that he could control his destination. Though he was excited about the idea of playing beside Eichel, Hall has just two goals and 13 points so far this season and was blanked again today in the team’s latest loss.
Hall, Staal and Montour represent the best of the pending unrestricted free agents on the squad, though perhaps lesser names like Tobias Rieder could also be of some interest at the deadline. It might not be just the conventional sell off for a team like Buffalo though, who need to somehow find a way to completely flip the culture and get some excitement back into the rink.
Just over a month remains before the 2021 trade deadline, but it doesn’t really matter at this point. The Sabres are now 6-13-3 and look completely outmatched in the East Division. The playoffs aren’t a realistic outcome and the earlier they trade an expiring asset, the more they might get back.
Trade Deadline Primer: Arizona Coyotes
Although we’re not even two months into the season, the trade deadline is just over a month away. Where does each team stand and what moves should they be looking to make? We begin our look around the league with the Arizona Coyotes.
Despite the Arizona front office creating headlines for all the wrong reasons, the Coyotes have been competitive all season long. A recent slide has put them four points out of a playoff spot in the West, but there have been enough bright spots to make many believe they can contend for the postseason once again this year. The next few weeks will be crucial in deciding their deadline stance.
Record
10-10-3, 6th in West Division
Deadline Status
Likely sellers
Deadline Cap Space
$7,546,715 in full-season cap space, 0/3 retention slots used, 46/50 contracts used per CapFriendly.
Upcoming Draft Picks
2021: ARI 2nd, CBJ 2nd, ARI 4th, PIT 4th, ARI 5th, ARI 6th
2022: ARI 1st, ARI 2nd, ARI 3rd, ARI 4th, ARI 5th, ARI 6th, ARI 7th
Trade Chips
If the Coyotes decide to sell, they’ll have a huge number of veteran players available for contenders around the league. Even if they find themselves in the playoff mix, Alex Goligoski may be approaching the end of his time in the desert. The Coyotes are already listening to offers on the 35-year-old defenseman, knowing they can cash in before he hits unrestricted free agency in the summer. Goligoski has been a rock for Arizona since the 2016-17 season, recording at least 27 points in each of the last four years. He has just a single assist this year though, a dramatic decline after losing his powerplay spot.
It’s not just Goligoski on the blueline though. Niklas Hjalmarsson, Jason Demers, Jordan Oesterle, and Ilya Lyubushkin are all on expiring deals and set to hit the open market after the season is over. Though it seems unlikely that all of them will be gone, the Coyotes do have pieces to sell if they decide to.
Perhaps the most interesting chip though is Clayton Keller, who was recently listed at No. 6 on The Athletic’s Trade Deadline Big Board. The 2016 seventh-overall pick has never become the dominant offensive force that many expected, failing to even crack 20 goals or 50 points since his rookie season. If the Coyotes decide to rebuild the draft pipeline and shed salary, trading Keller could be the easiest to pull off. His eight-year $57.2MM contract is just starting and the no-trade clause doesn’t kick in until 2024-25. Even though he may be available, it does seem more like an offseason trade than a deadline one.
Others to watch for: G Darcy Kuemper, G Antti Raanta, F Derick Brassard, F Lawson Crouse
Team Needs
1) Draft picks – The Coyotes had to wait and watch other teams make 110 selections in the 2020 draft before they got involved, and when they did they picked controversial prospect Mitchell Miller, who they have since renounced the rights to. That means their 2020 draft class consists of Carson Bantle (142nd overall), Filip Barklund (173rd), Elliot Ekefjard (192nd), and Ben McCartney (204). It’s entirely possible that the team never gets a single NHL game out of that group, meaning it was a lost year entirely. They already don’t have a first-round pick for the 2021 draft, meaning they’ll need to refill the system in one way or another at some point.
2) Young(ish) defense – Even if they move some of those expiring contracts, it doesn’t mean the Coyotes are completely giving up. There may be an appetite to add some defensemen in the 22-26 range that can step into the vacant spots and help the team right away. Names like Brandon Montour that need a fresh start or even someone like Jake Bean who is blocked in a deeper system could certainly be attractive to a team like Arizona, though how they would afford them (asset-wise) isn’t really clear.
Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images