Snapshots: Muzzin, Blais, Three Stars
The Toronto Maple Leafs will be without Jake Muzzin for the next little while after the veteran defenseman suffered a broken bone in his last game. According to Kristen Shilton of TSN, Muzzin won’t play tonight for Toronto and will be wearing a full-face shield when he does eventually return. The Maple Leafs will also be without Zach Hyman and Joe Thornton this evening as both wingers are listed as day-to-day.
In Muzzin’s place, Travis Dermott will be elevated to the second pair, an interesting assignment given how little the young defenseman has actually played this season. Despite suiting up in 15 games, Dermott has averaged just over 11 minutes a night, seeing no powerplay or penalty kill time. With rumors swirling about the Maple Leafs’ apparent interest in acquiring another top-six winger, Dermott’s name has come up in trade speculation. The 24-year-old will be an arbitration-eligible restricted free agent this summer and has an opportunity now to really show what he is capable of.
- The St. Louis Blues will have Sammy Blais available to them tonight after he was previously placed on the COVID Protocol list. Blues head coach Craig Berube confirmed that it was a false positive that led to Blais’ placement there and he will be eligible to return this evening. The 24-year-old forward is expected to play on the second line alongside Brayden Schenn and Mike Hoffman. That’s quite the step up for Blais, who has just ten goals and 23 points in his 91-game NHL career. Jaden Schwartz and Colton Parayko will not dress as they continue to deal with injury.
- Hard to find a more dynamic trio than Auston Matthews, Connor McDavid, and David Pastrnak. Those are your NHL Three Stars of the week, with Matthews taking the top spot following his seven-goal output. The Maple Leafs forward leads the entire league in goals with 18 through his first 18 games this season, six ahead of McDavid and Brock Boeser who are tied for second. Pastrnak meanwhile has nine in his first nine games after starting the year on injured reserve, including a hat trick in last night’s Lake Tahoe game.
Artemi Panarin To Take Leave Of Absence
The New York Rangers will be without their highest-paid player indefinitely after Artemi Panarin announced he will take a leave of absence today. The move comes following a report originating from former KHL coach Andrei Nazarov, alleging that Panarin beat up an 18-year-old girl in 2011. Panarin was playing for Chekhov Vityaz in the KHL at the time, which was coached by Nazarov, a former NHL winger who has led several different teams in the KHL. Some, including Larry Brooks of the New York Post, have suggested that the report was politically motivated as retribution for Panarin’s previous public support of opposition leader Alexi Navalny.
The Rangers released a statement in support of Panarin:
Artemi vehemently and unequivocally denies any and all allegations in this fabricated story. This is clearly an intimidation taxtic being used against him for being outspoken on recent political events. Artemi is obviously shaken and concerned and will take some time away from the team. The Rangers fully support Artemi and will work with him to identify the source of these unfounded allegations.
The loss of Panarin will be a huge one for the Rangers, who rely on him to drive the offense every night. The 29-year-old winger has 18 points through his first 14 games this season, logging more than 20 minutes a night. Given it is not clear how long he will be out, the Rangers must find a new way to generate goals and a new player to fill Panarin’s role on the powerplay.
The Rangers have won two straight and find themselves inching back into the East Division playoff picture.
Taxi Squad Shuffle: 02/22/21
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 Arizona Coyotes have assigned Barrett Hayton and Kyle Capobianco to the AHL, recalling Hudson Fasching and Michael Chaput to take their places on the active roster and taxi squad, respectively.
- The Los Angeles Kings have activated Sean Walker from injured reserve, meaning it is taxi squad time for Austin Strand. Walker hasn’t played since January but recorded 24 points in 70 games for the Kings last season.
North Division
- The Ottawa Senators have recalled Artem Anisimov from the taxi squad, sending Micheal Haley down in his place. Anisimov cleared waivers earlier this month and has been bouncing back and forth ever since, last playing on Feb 17. The veteran forward has no goals and just a single point in seven games this season. Later on, the Senators also moved Braydon Coburn to the taxi squad, sending Logan Shaw to the minor leagues in the process.
- The Montreal Canadiens have moved Paul Byron and Jake Evans to the taxi squad, part of their daily rotation to save money and cap space. The Canadiens are back in action tomorrow night where they will look for some revenge against the Senators.
- With Jacob Markstrom sidelined, the Calgary Flames were required to elevate Artyom Zagidulin from the taxi squad to the active roster. Zagidulin, still looking for his NHL debut, will dress as the backup. Joining him on the roster is defenseman Oliver Kylington who also draws into the lineup, marking the end of a lengthy stretch of scratches dating back to last season.
Central Division
- The Nashville Predators have recalled Sean Malone from the taxi squad, moving Ben Harpur there instead. Nashville makes a move basically every day as they navigate the cap and use the taxi squad for daily savings.
- The Florida Panthers have added Riley Stillman to the taxi squad, recalling the young defenseman from the AHL. Stillman, 22, has just 36 games of NHL experience under his belt but is off to a roaring start with the Syracuse Crunch.
East Division
- The Philadelphia Flyers have loaned David Kase, Derrick Pouliot, Felix Sandstrom, and Matthew Strome back to the AHL, suggesting that some players are coming off the COVID Protocol list. Of course, this could also just be because the Flyers don’t play until Wednesday.
- The Pittsburgh Penguins have sent Kevin Czuczman to the AHL and Alex D’Orio to the ECHL, moving Yannick Weber to the taxi squad in the meantime. The team is getting healthier on the back end and suddenly find themselves pushing towards the top of the East once again.
- Casey Mittelstadt is back with the Buffalo Sabres. The team has announced that the under-performing top prospect has been promoted from the taxi squad to the active roster alongside veteran defenseman Brandon Davidson. Davidson will look to help a blue line that is reeling from the loss of Jake McCabe.
This page will be updated throughout the day.
Few Untouchables On Nashville Predators Roster
When Mattias Ekholm‘s name hit the rumor mill earlier this month, eyebrows around the league raised a little bit. The top-four defenseman would be an asset for basically any contender in the league and teams were hoping he would hit the market at some point this season. Well, it sounds like it’s not just Ekholm that’s available in Nashville.
From Elliotte Friedman on Hockey Night In Canada’s Headlines segment this evening (via Adam Vingan of The Athletic on Twitter):
Word is maybe only three untouchables — Roman Josi, Ryan Ellis and Pekka Rinne, who’s towards the end of his career. I think other than that, the Predators are willing to listen on just about anybody. That includes Filip Forsberg. That also includes, I found really interesting, Dante Fabbro.
Fabbro, who is still just 22, is on the final year of his entry-level contract and will be a restricted free agent in the summer. The young defenseman was the 17th overall pick in 2016 and played in 64 games last season for the Predators, scoring 11 points and averaging just over 19 minutes a night. It’s hard to imagine the team would be giving up on him already, but perhaps they see him as a moveable piece if it leads to a fix elsewhere on the roster.
It had already been reported that Mikael Granlund and Erik Haula, who are each on one-year deals and pending unrestricted free agents, are likely to be moved if Nashville starts selling. But Forsberg too should draw plenty of interest if he’s actually available. The 26-year-old has one more year on his contract after this season and carries a manageable $6MM cap hit. Even in a tough year for the team he’s been the one offensive piece the Predators can rely on, scoring 14 points in his first 16 games (he is scoreless in tonight’s match as of this writing).
There’s also Viktor Arvidsson, who has been an offensive leader in the past, and the two expensive centers in Matt Duchene and Ryan Johansen. For contenders looking to add, it’s not a short list of talent to pick from in Nashville, even if they haven’t put it all together recently.
Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images
COVID Protocol Related Absences: 02/20/21
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. Here are today’s results:
Minnesota – Andrew Hammond
NY Rangers – Filip Chytil, Kaapo Kakko*
Ottawa – Ryan Dzingel
Philadelphia – Justin Braun, Claude Giroux, Travis Konecny, Scott Laughton, Oskar Lindblom, Jakub Voracek
St. Louis – Sammy Blais*
Vegas – Tomas Nosek
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: Nico Hischier, New Jersey Devils
The Rangers took down Washington this afternoon even without Kakko, who was added to the list and unable to play. The 20-year-old forward was on the list earlier this season but didn’t have to miss much action. He has three points in 14 games.
*denotes new addition
Matt Tennyson Clears Waivers
Saturday: Tennyson has cleared waivers, Johnston reports. New Jersey quickly moved him to the taxi squad, while assigning Nicholas Merkley to the AHL.
Friday: Off the COVID Protocol and onto the wire, Matt Tennyson has been placed on waivers by the New Jersey Devils according to Chris Johnston of Sportsnet. The team also put Eric Comrie and Connor Carrick there in recent days, losing the former back to his old team. Tennyson already did clear earlier in the season, but needed to go through the process again if the Devils wanted to assign him to the taxi squad or minor leagues.
With Sami Vatanen, Dmitry Kulikov, and Will Butcher all assuming their spots on the active roster, it was always going to be a tough squeeze for Tennyson. The 30-year-old served as a filler through ten games this season but was regularly caved in possession-wise, just as he has been for most of his career. Undrafted, Tennyson used his three years at Western Michigan University to build up his profile before hitting the professional ranks. He’s turned in quite a nice little career, spending 154 games in an NHL lineup.
Still, it seems unlikely that he will be claimed (if for no other reason than waiver claims are extremely rare these days.) More likely is he clears tomorrow and returns to the practice squad, where he can continue to serve as injury insurance for the Devils. Even there he might not be the first up, as Carrick cleared and could be used whenever the team needs a body.
COVID Protocol Related Absences: 02/19/21
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. Here are today’s results:
Minnesota – Andrew Hammond
New Jersey – Nico Hischier
NY Rangers – Filip Chytil
Ottawa – Ryan Dzingel
Philadelphia – Justin Braun, Claude Giroux, Travis Konecny, Scott Laughton, Oskar Lindblom, Jakub Voracek
Vegas – Tomas Nosek
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: Samuel Girard, Colorado Avalanche; Hunter Miska, Colorado Avalanche
No new additions today and the total is down to 11 after the Avalanche have cleared the board. The league continues to trend in the right direction, though has to remain vigilant throughout the season.
Snapshots: Rescheduling, Avalanche, Wild, Thompson
In a season that has been disrupted by several COVID-19 outbreaks and historically-bad weather in Texas, the NHL schedule maker has been forced to constantly snip and edit things to fit in all 56 games. Today, the league announced that tomorrow’s game between the Chicago Blackhawks and Carolina Hurricanes will be postponed to another date, with the Hurricanes taking on Tampa Bay Saturday night instead. The Lightning and Hurricanes were already set to start a three-game series on Monday, meaning they’ll now face each other in four consecutive games. The Blackhawks-Hurricanes game? It doesn’t have a date yet.
Some more updates from around the league:
- The Colorado Avalanche have almost everyone available for tomorrow’s outdoor game at Lake Tahoe, including captain Gabriel Landeskog and defenseman Samuel Girard, who were recently on the COVID Protocol Related Absences list. That doesn’t necessarily mean Girard, who was still on the list as of yesterday, will play but he is eligible to. According to Dan Rosen of NHL.com, Cale Makar is still a game-time decision as he continues to deal with an upper-body injury.
- The Minnesota Wild also welcomed back several familiar faces to practice today, now that the team is down to just Andrew Hammond on the COVID Protocol list. Michael Russo of The Athletic reports that Dakota Mermis, Luke Johnson and Kyle Rau have all been sent to the taxi squad to make room for the returning players, though Calen Addison will currently stay on the active roster.
- Nate Thompson has been activated from injured reserve by the Winnipeg Jets and he is expected to be in the lineup tonight when the team faces off against the Vancouver Canucks. Thompson has played just four games for the Jets this season after signing a one-year, $750K deal in October. The veteran forward is expected to take the spot of Kristian Vesalainen, who is still looking for his first NHL goal.
Ivan Barbashev Out At Least Six Weeks
The St. Louis Blues will be without Ivan Barbashev for at least six weeks after he suffered a left ankle injury in last night’s game. The team says he will be re-evaluated at that time, meaning it could be even longer. In a corresponding move, the Blues have recalled Nathan Walker from the AHL and moved Barbashev to injured reserve.
The 25-year-old forward had six points in 17 games on the season and was being used more and more by head coach Craig Berube of late. Versatile and talented, he’ll be a tough player to replace even for the West-leading Blues. Six weeks means he’ll miss close to 20 games, more than a third of the shortened season.
Not only does that remove a piece of the Blues lineup as they try to secure their position, but for Barbashev, it means this injury could cost him real dollars too. The young forward is scheduled to become a restricted free agent at the end of the year and still hasn’t experienced much of an offensive breakout. With just 83 points in 249 games so far in his career, his arbitration case won’t be very strong. That’s a silver lining for the Blues, but they would obviously want him in the lineup instead of rehabbing an injured ankle.
Latest On Ryan Getzlaf’s Future
The Anaheim Ducks lost again last night, adding just a single mark to the goals for column that they have struggled so much to fill this season. The team has just 33 goals in 17 games, the fewest on a per-game basis in the league and a historically low rate. They do have some offensive weapons pushing for a call-up but some wonder if the team should be selling off some expiring or aging assets to rebuild for the future. When you scroll over the Ducks’ CapFriendly page looking for potential trade chips, one name might stick out above all the rest: Ryan Getzlaf.
The 35-year-old center is on the last season of the eight-year, $66MM contract he signed in 2013 and is scheduled to become an unrestricted free agent in the summer. That could potentially make him an attractive piece on the market, especially since he isn’t actually earning the $8.5MM cap hit that his contract carries. Getzlaf is owed just $6MM for the 2020-21 season, and half of that was in a signing bonus. That means he would come at a considerable discount for a cash-strapped contender, though obviously, the cap structure would need to work.
Hold that thought. Getzlaf also has a full no-movement clause in his contract and Frank Seravalli of TSN reported last night on Insider Trading that the Ducks have no plans to ask him to waive it at this time. The only way the veteran forward would be on the move is if he asked for a trade to go chase a Stanley Cup. That chase, which is so alluring to many of the league’s greatest players as they get to the twilight of their career, may not be so for Getzlaf, who already won a championship in 2007 with the Ducks.
There’s also the fact that he’s not the same Hart Trophy-level star that he once was, meaning the return wouldn’t likely be a big one. Getzlaf has just six points through 15 games, including zero even-strength goals. His ice time is down and he’s now just playing a support and leadership role as the team transitions to the next wave of talent.
As of now, it doesn’t appear as though he’ll be on the block. But Seravalli points out that could change if he “raises his hand” and tells the Ducks he wants to chase another ring.
Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images