Submit Your Questions For The #PHRMailbag
It’s been over a month since we last ran a mailbag and countless shocking news stories have come out since then. COVID postponements, the resignation of Jim Rutherford, and Tony DeAngelo‘s time coming to an end with the New York Rangers are just some of the latest headlines, but there’s lots more to talk about as we start February.
With that in mind, it’s time to run another edition of the PHR mailbag, where our Brian La Rose answers all your burning questions. If you missed it last time, the December mailbag was broken into two pieces. The first focused on the World Juniors, preseason expectations, and upcoming trade candidates. The second dealt with some realignment questions and predictions on where the future will take several young prospects like Rasmus Sandin, Filip Zadina, and Eeli Tolvanen.
You can submit a question by using #PHRMailbag on Twitter or by leaving a comment down below. We’ll try to get to everything when the mailbag runs this weekend.
More On The Pittsburgh GM Search
The Pittsburgh Penguins have begun conducting interviews to fill their vacant general manager position, with Kevin Weekes of NHL Network and interim GM Patrik Allvin reportedly among the first few. Chris Drury, who had been considered a top candidate withdrew his name from consideration, wanting to remain with the New York Rangers instead. The Penguins were also denied access to New Jersey Devils GM Tom Fitzgerald.
Today, more reports have emerged to clarify the remaining candidates. Darren Dreger of TSN tweets that Ron Hextall will have a virtual interview with the Penguins brass today, after the team received permission from the Los Angeles Kings to speak with him. Hextall currently works as an advisor for the Kings, but was previously the GM of the Philadelphia Flyers. The Penguins did not however receive permission from the Seattle Kraken to speak with Jason Botterill, according to Bob McKenzie of TSN. Botterill, who previously served as an assistant GM in Pittsburgh, recently took an AGM position with the expansion franchise after losing his job as GM of the Buffalo Sabres.
There are many other candidates expected to be involved, but things are expected to progress quickly. The Penguins are hoping to have a GM in place in the coming weeks, though that is obviously made more difficult by the fact that the season is in progress and the travel requirements/protocols to have anyone interview in person.
Taxi Squad Shuffle: 02/04/21
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.
North Division
- After Braydon Coburn cleared waivers, the Ottawa Senators flipped him down to the taxi squad and brought up Erik Brannstrom. The 21-year-old Brannstrom played 31 games for the Senators last season and is expected to make his debut tonight against the Montreal Canadiens.
- The Vancouver Canucks have sent Loui Eriksson to the taxi squad while activating Justin Bailey. It is cheaper for the team to keep Bailey on the taxi squad whenever the team isn’t playing, given his two-way deal earns less money when off the active roster. Eriksson hasn’t played yet this season but continues to be the team’s highest-paid forward.
West Division
- The Los Angeles Kings have made several moves again today, recalling Tobias Bjornfot and Boko Imama from the minor leagues to the taxi squad. Arthur Kaliyev has been sent back to the AHL, despite scoring in his NHL debut two nights ago. The Kings are traveling to Vegas to take on the Golden Knights twice in the next three days.
- The Arizona Coyotes have recalled Michael Chaput from the taxi squad, moving Jordan Gross down in the process. With Ilya Lyubushkin back in the lineup, Gross can resume his role as the extra defenseman. Chaput meanwhile hasn’t played yet this season and actually only saw NHL action on two occasions during 2019-20. The 28-year-old did have 16 goals and 29 points in 47 AHL games last year but has never been able to bring that kind of offensive production up a level.
Central Division
- The Columbus Blue Jackets have placed Elvis Merzlikins on injured reserve while bringing up Matiss Kivlenieks from the taxi squad. Cam Johnson has been recalled from the AHL to the taxi squad to fill in as the third goaltender while the team deals with a minor injury to Merzlikins. The Blue Jackets have listed the goaltender as day-to-day with an upper-body injury.
- Jason Robertson is back with the Dallas Stars, recalled from the taxi squad today. The 21-year-old forward has played in two games so far this season but is still looking for that elusive first NHL goal. He’ll be back in the lineup tonight when the Stars take on the Columbus Blue Jackets.
East Division
- The Washington Capitals have sent Pheonix Copley back to the minor leagues, though that doesn’t necessarily mean Ilya Samsonov is coming off the COVID Protocol list right away. The team still has three goaltenders with the NHL team as Zach Fucale sits on the taxi squad. The Hershey Bears start their season tomorrow and will likely have Copley in net.
- The New York Rangers have recalled Libor Hajek from the taxi squad, giving the young defenseman another chance now that they have moved on from Tony DeAngelo. Hajek, 23, played 28 games for the Rangers last season but wasn’t all that successful and has yet to suit up for a game this season. Selected 37th overall in 2016, he has just 33 NHL games under his belt thus far.
This page will be updated throughout the day.
COVID Notes: Protocol Changes, Fletcher, AHL
As noted this morning by Elliotte Friedman of Sportsnet, the NHL is instituting some changes to the in-arena COVID protocols. James Mirtle of The Athletic examines the changes, which include the removal of the glass behind the benches. In the memo, the league explains the change:
To allow for air flow to more easily move away from the benches where Players and Coahces are in close proximity to on another during games, Clubs/Arenas shall remove the partitions of shielding that are behind the home and visiting team benches.
In Mirtle’s piece, he explains that some team personnel are “on edge” about whether the season can be completed. Yesterday, the league had 40 players on the COVID Protocol Related Absence list and three teams–Buffalo, New Jersey, and Minnesota–with their facilities currently shutdown and games postponed due to an outbreak. The only division safe from disruption so far has been the North, which has not yet seen a game postponed this season.
- It’s not just players and coaches that have to deal with the reality of COVID-19. Pierre LeBrun of The Athletic reports that Philadelphia Flyers GM Chuck Fletcher tested positive for the virus last month and had to isolate in a hotel. The front office executive is now out of isolation and recovered. The league’s COVID Protocol Related Absences list is only for players and does not include staff—like Fletcher or Buffalo head coach Ralph Krueger—that have tested positive or required isolation for close contact.
- The AHL is trying to start their season tomorrow, meaning they’ll have to deal with their own COVID struggles. That started today when two games were postponed already. Due to league protocols, the Cleveland Monsters are unable to travel to Rockford to face the IceHogs on Friday and Saturday. The Chicago Wolves will play Rockford on Saturday instead. While the league has officially listed those games as “postponed” on the schedule, it is not at all clear if they will actually be rescheduled for some point down the line.
Braydon Coburn Clears Waivers
Feb 4: Coburn has cleared waivers. Almost immediately, the Senators moved him to the taxi squad and recalled Brannstrom.
Feb 3: The Ottawa Senators have placed Braydon Coburn on waivers today, according to Chris Johnston of Sportsnet. The veteran defenseman carries a cap hit of $1.7MM this season and was part of the cap-clearing package acquired from the Tampa Bay Lightning this offseason.
Coburn, 35, is only a few months away from winning the Stanley Cup with the Lightning, though he certainly wasn’t a huge part of their postseason run. He suited up just three times during the playoffs and ended up traded along with Cedric Paquette and a draft pick as part of Tampa’s attempt to get cap compliant. In eight games this season with the Senators (which include seven losses), he has one point and has averaged just over 17 minutes a night.
In a corresponding move, it appears as though Erik Brannstrom may be getting his next NHL opportunity. The Senators have recalled the young defenseman to the taxi squad while sending Jonathan Aspirot back to the minor leagues. Should Coburn clear tomorrow, he could be swapped with Brannstrom and end up on the taxi squad as a depth piece.
That’s likely where he should be as the Senators try to develop their young core, but it certainly isn’t what he was hoping for. Coburn was a very well-liked teammate in Tampa Bay, even wearing an “A” as an alternate captain at times. Where his career goes from here isn’t clear, though he will be an unrestricted free agent at the end of the season.
Ralph Krueger Tests Positive For COVID-19
Not only are several Buffalo Sabres players in the COVID Protocol, but now their head coach is as well. Ralph Krueger has tested positive for COVID-19. The Sabres already saw their games postponed through February 8.
Krueger, 61, joins Taylor Hall, Rasmus Ristolainen, Brandon Montour, and Tobias Rieder in the protocol, though it’s clear there may be other names added in the coming days. Over the weekend, the Sabres played two games against the New Jersey Devils, who have since seen the biggest outbreak of the season and currently have 17 players on the COVID Protocol Related Absences list. According to reporting from John Vogl of The Athletic, the Sabres wanted more information about the Devils’ health before playing the Sunday game and did not receive it.
Notably, as several Buffalo writers have expressed, the Sabres also had assistant coach Don Granato on the bench over the weekend. In 2019, Granato had a near-death experience with pneumonia, experiencing respiratory failure in the hospital and needing the help of a ventilator. To be clear, there is nothing to suggest that Granato has tested positive and hopefully, it will stay that way.
Perhaps in response to this specific situation, the league has made four changes to the in-arena protocols according to Elliotte Friedman of Sportsnet. The biggest is that the glass behind the benches has been removed. The league has also asked for portable air cleaners put behind the bench, more locker room space and is limiting when players and coaches can arrive at the arena even further.
There is no way to conclusively confirm that there was team-to-team transmission in those weekend games, but it does seem the most likely answer here. The Devils are also currently shut down while they try to limit the spread of their outbreak.
NHL Postpones Four Minnesota Wild Games
As a result of the Minnesota Wild having five more players placed on the COVID Protocol Related Absences list today, joining Marcus Foligno who has been there since Sunday, the NHL announced the postponements of their games through February 9th. That means their next four games at a minimum will need to be rescheduled for later in the year. 18 games had been postponed previous to this one, affecting the schedules of Dallas, Florida, Tampa Bay, Carolina, Nashville, St. Louis, Vegas, San Jose, Buffalo, NY Islanders, NY Rangers, New Jersey, Pittsburgh, and Boston. Only the North Division is untouched so far.
The Wild will shut down their training facilities indefinitely and the schedule will continue to be revised as testing comes in. After tomorrow’s game against the Avalanche, the team was scheduled to host the Arizona Coyotes for a back-to-back this weekend, before welcoming in the St. Louis Blues on Tuesday and Thursday next week.
The postponement/rescheduling table now looks like this:
COVID Protocol Related Absences: 02/03/21
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. The list for today:
Buffalo – Taylor Hall, Rasmus Ristolainen, Brandon Montour*, Tobias Rieder*
Chicago – Adam Boqvist, Ryan Carpenter, Lucas Wallmark
Colorado – Tyson Jost*
Dallas – Andrej Sekera
Detroit –Filip Zadina
Los Angeles – Andreas Athanasiou, Blake Lizotte
Minnesota – Marcus Foligno, Nick Bjugstad*, Nick Bonino*, Joel Eriksson Ek*, Marcus Johansson*, Jared Spurgeon*
New Jersey – Connor Carrick, Aaron Dell, Kyle Palmieri, Sami Vatanen, Travis Zajac, Andreas Johnsson, Janne Kuokkanen, Michael McLeod, Pavel Zacha, Jack Hughes, Damon Severson, Ty Smith, Matt Tennyson, Jesper Bratt, Nathan Bastian*, Nikita Gusev*, Yegor Sharangovich*
Pittsburgh – John Marino*
Vegas – Alex Pietrangelo
Washington – Evgeny Kuznetsov, Ilya Samsonov
Winnipeg – Pierre-Luc Dubois
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: Sam Gagner, Detroit Red Wings; Jonathon Merrill, Detroit Red Wings; Kaapo Kakko, New York Rangers
The big news is the addition of five players from Minnesota and one from Colorado, who played each other last night (and twice before that). Tomorrow’s game between the two clubs is expected to be postponed, but it is not clear yet how many matches will be affected.
The Devils are up to 17 players on the list as they deal with the biggest outbreak of the regular season, while the Sabres–who played the Devils on the weekend–are now up to four. Both teams currently have all activities suspended and games postponed.
Marino’s placement for the Penguins comes at a brutal stretch while they’re without almost all of their top options on defense, though again it is not clear if he has tested positive or how long he will be kept away from the team.
*denotes new addition
Latest On Pittsburgh GM Search
Feb 3: Though Drury was a top candidate and the team asked for permission, he will not be getting an interview. Bob McKenzie of TSN reports that Drury has informed the Penguins he is not interested in leaving New York City or the Rangers at this time. That’s a pretty high profile snub, but Drury and the Rangers have been very loyal to each other over the last several years and it shouldn’t come as a total shock that he wants to stay with the organization at this time.
Feb 2: The Pittsburgh Penguins have started the interview process for their next general manager after Jim Rutherford‘s sudden resignation last week, but the candidate list is still a long one according to Elliotte Friedman of Sportsnet. The insider reports that the New Jersey Devils are not going to let Tom Fitzgerald—who is currently their GM but only signed to that position through this season—interview, but Frank Seravalli of TSN tweets that the New York Rangers and Boston Bruins have granted permission to interview Chris Drury and John Ferguson Jr., respectively.
Drury, the assistant general manager of the Rangers, has been on the GM track for several years and is a top candidate for basically every job that opens. An NCAA champion, Stanley Cup winner, and two-time Olympic silver medalist as a player, Drury made a quick climb through the executive ranks and was named GM of Team USA at the 2019 World Championship. He’ll be a GM somewhere, though up until now the Rangers had been keeping him away from other opportunities.
Ferguson Jr. is another story, though his inclusion shouldn’t be scoffed at just because of his previous failures. The veteran front office member took over as GM of the Toronto Maple Leafs in 2003 and found little success, but has been climbing back up the ranks and building his reputation since his firing in 2008. He has worked as Boston director of player personnel since 2014 and as GM of the Providence Bruins since 2016, with his name often coming up in connection with openings around the league.
Friedman offers up another couple of names that hadn’t been mentioned before: Joe Nieuwendyk and Jason Karmanos. The former was the GM of the Dallas Stars between 2009-2013 but has been behind the scenes in recent years. The latter is kind of a shocking inclusion, given he was fired from his role as AGM with the Penguins in October.
Even though the list of candidates is long, the Penguins are expected to try and hurry along with a decision in order to have a GM in place as soon as possible. Currently, the team is being run by interim GM Patrik Allvin, with help from owner Mario Lemieux.
TSN’s Frank Seravalli has confirmed another NHL executive on the Penguins’ shortlist later in the evening: Colorado Avalanche Assistant GM Chris MacFarland. The Avs have given Pittsburgh permission to interview MacFarland, who joins Drury and Ferguson as confirmed candidates. Seravalli adds that this process could move quicker than some may have expected. He notes that the Penguins have received interest in the vacancy from upwards of 20 legitimate names and hope to have their list of six or seven candidates whittled down by the end of the week. He goes so far as to say that the team hopes to have hired their new GM within the next two weeks.
Petr Mrazek Undergoes Thumb Surgery
The Carolina Hurricanes will be without their starting goaltender for the next while after Petr Mrazek underwent surgery on his right thumb. His exact recovery timeline is still to be determined.
Mrazek, who turns 29 later this month, was off to an outstanding start this season with a league-leading .955 save percentage and 0.99 goals-against average in his first four games. While numbers like that would be almost impossible to maintain, he was the obvious choice to take on the majority of work in Carolina, especially after the strong performance he put on in last summer’s playoffs. Mrazek has always been a streaky netminder, but with unrestricted free agency coming up again after this season, playing well was more important than ever.
Now he’ll hand the net over to James Reimer, who has been a much more consistent, if still underwhelming option throughout his career. His .915 save percentage this season sits almost exactly where his career numbers lie, while he too played well in last year’s postseason. Having a goaltender with 367 career starts as a backup plan is better than nothing, though obviously, the team would rather have a healthy Mrazek competing for the net.
For now, Alex Nedeljkovic will serve as the backup, though he has still not seen the ice this season and the Hurricanes have always appeared hesitant to really give him some runway at the NHL level. The 2019 AHL Goaltender of the Year has just six NHL appearances and cleared waivers earlier this season when exposed to the rest of the league. Nedeljkovic doesn’t have the prototypical size for an NHL netminder, standing just 6’0″, but has stopped the puck at every level so far. Given he is a potential Group VI unrestricted free agent this summer as well, this chance could be a showcase for his future.