U18 World Championship, Frozen Four Canceled
The fallout from the coronavirus outbreak continues, this time to the amateur ranks. The IIHF U18 World Championship and the NCAA Frozen Four have both been cancelled for this year. The U18 event was set to be held later this month in Plymouth and Ann Arbor, Michigan while the Frozen Four tournament is part of a wider swath of cancelations from the NCAA. The OHL Cup, the top midget hockey tournament and the prime location for junior hockey teams to scout upcoming talent, has also been canceled.
While not unexpected, these moves will once again have an indirect effect on the NHL as teams can no longer scout the next wave of prospects. The Frozen Four especially is a chance for undrafted collegiate talent to showcase their skills, while the U18 event is always attended by scouts from every NHL organization.
One event still technically on the calendar is the IIHF Men’s World Championship, which is normally attended by NHL players that have been eliminated from the postseason. That tournament is set to start in eight weeks, but could obviously face the same fate.
NHL Standings By Points Percentage
One of the biggest questions now that the NHL has decided to temporarily suspend the season is what will happen in the playoffs. The league did not explain what the plan was at this point because there is no clear timeline on when the season will resume (if at all), but many have speculated about how they would decide which teams qualify should there not be time to play any more regular season games.
The prevailing thought if the season is forced to go right into the playoffs, would be that points percentage—rather than points in the standings—is how the seeding is determined. That’s because teams have not played the same number of games to this point, with the Carolina Hurricanes and New York Islanders bringing up the rear with 68 games played, three fewer than those who have completed the most.
In that case, some interesting changes would happen to the standings. The Atlantic Division standings would stay the same, with the Boston Bruins, Tampa Bay Lightning and Toronto Maple Leafs still leading in points percentage. The Metropolitan would be where it would come into play however, as the Islanders currently have a better percentage than the Blue Jackets, despite trailing them by one point in the standings. The Blue Jackets just so happen to hold the final wild card spot in the Eastern Conference.
Over in the Western Conference there is a similar situation. The Nashville Predators are just barely ahead of the Winnipeg Jets in percentage, despite being two points behind them in the standings. The Vancouver Canucks are also just ahead of the Calgary Flames, meaning both divisions would have a swap.
Of course, none of this is certain to play out at this point. The NHL may resume the regular season and play out the dozen or so games left for each team, or may not be able to return to normal at all this year. There are also other options like a play-in tournament that some have suggested. For now, we’ll just have to wait and see what comes about in the next weeks and months. The full standings by points percentage is as follows:
Atlantic Division
x-Boston Bruins: .714, 44-14-12
x-Tampa Bay Lightning: .657, 43-21-6
x-Toronto Maple Leafs: .579, 36-25-9
Florida Panthers: .565, 35-26-8
Montreal Canadiens: .500, 31-31-9
Buffalo Sabres: .493, 30-31-8
Ottawa Senators: .437, 25-34-12
Detroit Red Wings: .275, 17-49-5
Metropolitan Division
x-Washington Capitals: .652, 41-20-8
x-Philadelphia Flyers: .645, 41-21-7
x-Pittsburgh Penguins: .623, 40-23-6
w1-Carolina Hurricanes: .596, 38-25-5
w2-New York Islanders: .588, 35-23-10
Columbus Blue Jackets: .579, 33-22-15
New York Rangers: .564, 37-28-5
New Jersey Devils: .493, 28-29-12
Central Division
x-St. Louis Blues: .662, 42-19-10
x-Colorado Avalanche: .657, 42-20-8
x-Dallas Stars: .594, 37-24-8
w1-Nashville Predators: .565, 35-26-8
Winnipeg Jets: .563, 37-28-6
Minnesota Wild: .558, 35-27-7
Chicago Blackhawks: .514, 32-30-8
Pacific Division
x-Vegas Golden Knights: .606, 39-24-8
x-Edmonton Oilers: .585, 37-25-9
x-Vancouver Canucks: .565, 36-27-6
w2-Calgary Flames: .564, 36-27-7
Arizona Coyotes: .529, 33-29-8
Anaheim Ducks: .472, 29-33-9
Los Angeles Kings: .457, 29-35-6
San Jose Sharks: .450, 29-36-5
x = Divisional Playoff Spot
w = Wildcard Playoff Spot
NHL Temporarily Suspends 2019-20 Season
After a call with their board of governors, the NHL has temporarily suspended the 2019-20 season. In a press release, the league explained their decision:
In light of ongoing developments resulting from the coronavirus, and after consulting with medical experts and convening a conference call of the Board of Governors, the National Hockey League is announcing today that it will pause the 2019‑20 season beginning with tonight’s games.
The NHL has been attempting to follow the mandates of health experts and local authorities, while preparing for any possible developments without taking premature or unnecessary measures. However, following last night’s news that an NBA player has tested positive for coronavirus – and given that our leagues share so many facilities and locker rooms and it now seems likely that some member of the NHL community would test positive at some point – it is no longer appropriate to try to continue to play games at this time.
We will continue to monitor all the appropriate medical advice, and we will encourage our players and other members of the NHL community to take all reasonable precautions – including by self-quarantine, where appropriate. Our goal is to resume play as soon as it is appropriate and prudent, so that we will be able to complete the season and award the Stanley Cup. Until then, we thank NHL fans for your patience and hope you stay healthy.
Last night, the NBA took a similar step after Utah Jazz player Rudy Gobert tested positive for coronavirus (COVID-19). The Jazz and several other NBA teams that had recently played them were instructed to self-quarantine, but there are also concerns that it could spread to the NHL given that teams in several cities use the same arenas for both basketball and hockey. Since then another Jazz player, Donovan Mitchell, has also tested positive.
This morning, the league issued a directive to all teams to cancel practices and media availability until a decision was made. That came after the Columbus Blue Jackets and San Jose Sharks had both already announced they would hold home games without spectators. Major League Soccer also suspended their season for 30 days, along with several other college cancellations.
It is important to note that the league has not cancelled, but suspended the season. That means it does plan on resuming at some point, though it is not clear if they will play out the rest of the regular season, move straight into playoffs or some other combination of the two. In fact, with no real understanding of how the next weeks and months will play out, there is no guarantee that the 2019-20 season even does resume.
There is plenty of uncertainty in the entire sporting world, but the NHL obviously felt it could not proceed due to the public health risk. The AHL is expected to follow the NHL’s lead and suspend the minor league season, meaning no high level professional hockey will take place in North America for the time being.
The NHLPA released a statement agreeing with the decision, noting that it is the “appropriate course of action.”
Brendan Lemieux To Have Hearing With Department Of Player Safety
While the NHL decides whether the season will even continue, life goes on at the Department of Player Safety. They have announced that New York Rangers forward Brendan Lemieux will have a hearing tomorrow to determine supplementary discipline for his hit on Colorado Avalanche forward Joonas Donskoi. Lemieux collided with Donskoi after the Avalanche player took a shot on net, appearing to impact his head in the process.
Obviously it’s not clear how a suspension would play out given the uncertainty around the rest of the season, but if handed out Lemieux would have to serve it at some point. Even with their loss last night the Rangers are still within striking distance of a playoff spot, should more regular season games be played.
Lemieux was given a minor penalty for interference on the play and has been suspended for an illegal check to the head in the past.
NHL Cancels Practices, Will Issue Update On Season Status
The NHL has issued a directive for teams to cancel all practices, morning skates and media availability today while they continue to work through their response to the coronavirus (COVID-19) outbreak. The league’s board of governors is scheduled to have a conference call at noon according to Darren Dreger of TSN, after which there will likely be an announcement.
Last night, the NBA suspended their season indefinitely after Utah Jazz player Rudy Gobert tested positive for coronavirus (COVID-19). The Jazz and several other NBA teams that had recently played them were instructed to self-quarantine, but there are also concerns that it could spread to the NHL given that teams in several cities use the same arenas for both basketball and hockey. Since then another Jazz player, Donovan Mitchell, has also tested positive.
The AHL and ECHL have also not made an announcement yet, but are expected to follow the NHL’s lead.
Brett Cyrgalis of the New York Post has tweeted that teams around the league have been told the season will be suspended, while Pierre LeBrun of The Athletic has heard that on-ice officials have been told to book flights home.
Columbus Blue Jackets Will Play In Empty Arena
The Columbus Blue Jackets have announced that they will play tomorrow night’s home game against the Pittsburgh Penguins with restricted attendance. The game will be closed to the public, with admission limited to club personnel, credentialed media, broadcast partners, NHL officials and essential arena staff.
This will be the first NHL game played without fans in the stands, though the San Jose Sharks are facing a similar decision when they return off their current road trip.
The rest of the Blue Jackets’ home games are also scheduled to be played with restricted attendance. Columbus has five games remaining during the regular season, but are also in a race for the playoffs.
Today, the World Health Organization classified the COVID-19 outbreak as a global pandemic, causing several sporting organizations to cancel or restrict attendance at upcoming events. The NCAA Men’s and Women’s basketball tournaments have been closed to fans, and this is likely not the final NHL team to close their doors.
Frank Seravalli of TSN wrote today how the outbreak could affect the NHL’s financials, including examining the impact it could have on next year’s salary cap. The cap is based on a projection of hockey-related revenue, something that would obviously decrease without ticket sales. At this point it is entirely too early to say what exactly could happen to the league, especially if playoff games are affected this season.
Jesperi Kotkaniemi Out For Rest Of Season
It certainly hasn’t the sophomore campaign that Jesperi Kotkaniemi or the Montreal Canadiens were hoping for. Now, after struggling to maintain any sort of production in the NHL and spending time in the minor leagues, Kotkaniemi will miss the remainder of the season thanks to a splenic injury. Eric Engels of Sportsnet reports that the young forward will not require surgery, but no recovery timeline has been determined.
There’s no way to describe Kotkaniemi’s 2019-20 season other than disappointing, especially given the flashes of brilliance he showed as a rookie. In 36 games with the Canadiens he scored just eight points, never seeing more than 16 minutes of ice time in a single game. While he has been a point-per-game player at the AHL level, that includes just a single goal in 13 games.
It’s obviously not the end of the world for the 19-year old forward, but when players selected after him in the 2018 draft are already in starring roles—namely Brady Tkachuk and Quinn Hughes, selected at fourth and seventh respectively—it’s a bit frustrating to see the Montreal youngster struggling.
Now that his season is over, Kotkaniemi will have several months to work on his game and come back ready to take a full-time spot in the Canadiens’ lineup. He still has one year remaining on his entry-level contract and a lot to accomplish if he wants a big extension like some of his draft contemporaries will be getting.
Fredrik Handemark Drawing NHL Interest
With European leagues finishing up (or being cancelled) over the next few weeks, plenty of interest will be shown in some of the top performers. In his latest 31 Thoughts column for Sportsnet, Elliotte Friedman writes that both the Detroit Red Wings and San Jose Sharks have shown interest in Fredrik Handemark out of the SHL.
Handemark has spent the last five seasons with Malmo, breaking out offensively in 2016-17 when he recorded 32 points in 47 games. He has been a consistent scorer for them ever since, and set a career-high in both goals (14) and points (38) this season.
Not only has Handemark produced offensively, but also represents a big body—6’4″ 209-lbs—that can play the center position. That’s the kind of player that always draws NHL attention, though it’s hard to know exactly how his game would translate to North America.
Hearing that the Red Wings and Sharks are “eyeing” Handemark shouldn’t come as much of a surprise, given their seasons so far. Both teams are near the bottom of the standings, with the Red Wings orchestrating a perfect tank season. Detroit is already eliminated from the postseason and will be looking forward to the draft lottery next month.
Nathan MacKinnon To Miss 1-2 Weeks With Lower-Body Injury
While it obviously isn’t the worst news they could have received, the Colorado Avalanche will still be shaking their fists in frustration today. Head coach Jared Bednar told reporters including Ryan S. Clark of The Athletic that Nathan MacKinnon will be out for one to two weeks with a lower-body injury.
The team is already without several other forwards including Mikko Rantanen and Nazem Kadri, weakening their depth up front considerably. One positive is that Cale Makar is expected to return for the Avalanche tonight, though MacKinnon’s absence will still obviously be felt.
Not only does it hurt Colorado’s chances of catching the St. Louis Blues for first place in the Central Division, but this also may rob MacKinnon of his first 100-point season. The explosive forward has recorded 97 and 99 points the last two years and sits at 93 in just 69 games so far this year. Two weeks could mean missing eight of the team’s final 13 games though, making it tough to crack the elusive threshold.
It could also potentially impact any Hart Trophy votes that may have been coming MacKinnon’s way, though Leon Draisaitl‘s 110 points may have already done irreparable damage to that campaign.
Nate Thompson Out With Knee Sprain
The Philadelphia Flyers were starting to show what they’re capable of, but now will have to battle through injury. After losing Philippe Myers recently, the team has now announced that trade deadline acquisition Nate Thompson will miss a minimum of two weeks with a knee sprain. Connor Bunnaman has been recalled in his place, while Mark Friedman was also recalled earlier today.
Thompson, 35, was brought over from the Montreal Canadiens at the deadline to give the Flyers a little more depth in their bottom-six and some versatility. Able to play both center and the wing while never being afraid to engage physically, Thompson had fit right in and was getting just over 12 minutes a night.
Those 12 minutes will have to go to someone else now that he’s out, and his absence certainly doesn’t come at the most opportune time. While a two-week vacation may not be the end of the world in the middle of the regular season, the Flyers only have 13 games remaining in the season and need all hands on deck if they are to catch the Washington Capitals.
Two weeks likely means Thompson will miss at least the next seven games.