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Petr Mrazek Undergoes Thumb Surgery

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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.

Injury Notes: Mrazek, Letang, Thornton

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The Carolina Hurricanes are going to be without starting goaltender Petr Mrazek for longer than initially thought. Head coach Rod Brind’Amour said today that the injury suffered against the Dallas Stars on Saturday is “more serious” than they originally believed and Mrazek may even require surgery. That’s terrible news for a goaltender who was leading the league with a .955 save percentage and 0.99 goals-against average through his first four appearances. Mrazek had already recorded two shutouts on the year and looked to be playing at an entirely different level in the early going.

For the Hurricanes, it means James Reimer will take most of the load, while minor league netminder Alex Nedeljkovic will get a chance to serve as the primary backup. The 25-year-old Nedeljkovic was placed on waivers earlier this season but the Hurricanes managed to hold onto him. He has just six appearances at the NHL level but won the AHL Goaltender of the Year award in 2019, leading the Charlotte Checkers to a Calder Cup.

  • The Pittsburgh Penguins won’t have Kris Letang in the lineup tonight as the star defenseman continues to be evaluated for an injury he suffered on Saturday night. The Penguins have lost almost all of their defensive depth to injury this season, but at least one silver lining continues to grow. Pierre-Olivier Joseph has been a shining light for the team in the early going and logged nearly 26 minutes against the New York Rangers on Saturday in just his fifth NHL game. He’ll be asked to carry a heavy load if Letang is out long-term, given the lack of offensive upside many of the other options possess.
  • Joe Thornton and Nicholas Robertson were both on the ice for the Toronto Maple Leafs today as they continue to work their way back from injury. Head coach Sheldon Keefe told reporters including Kristen Shilton of TSN that nothing has changed in the recovery timelines originally given, which were a minimum of four weeks. The Maple Leafs have a few days off before resuming the grind of the condensed season on Thursday in the first of three straight games against the Vancouver Canucks.

Carolina Hurricanes Recall Several Players

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The Carolina Hurricanes are back in action tonight against the Tampa Bay Lightning, but as of yesterday several players still remained on the COVID Protocol Related Absences list. With that in mind, the team has made a large number of transactions, starting with the recall of Morgan Geekie, Steven Lorentz, Max McCormick, and Jake Bean from the taxi squad. The team has also recalled Sheldon Rempal directly from the AHL to the active NHL roster, while adding Drew Shore and Joey Keane to the taxi squad.

The Hurricanes were forced to postpone several games after Jordan Staal, Warren Foegele, Jordan Martinook, Jaccob Slavin, Teuvo Teravainen, and Jesper Fast all found themselves on the CPRA list. Of that group, only Staal had been removed as of yesterday.

Among the recalls, all but Lorentz have already played in the NHL, with Geekie even playing two games this season. The 24-year-old Lorentz broke out last season with the Charlotte Checkers of the AHL, scoring 23 goals and 46 points in 61 games. Selected 186th overall in 2015, the 6’4″ forward has worked his way up through the minor league system, first spending time in the ECHL with the Florida Everblades. If he makes his NHL debut this evening, it will be quite the climb for the former Peterborough Petes player.

The team is expected to have Lorentz skate beside Staal and Ryan Dzingel on the third line, while McCormick, Geekie and Rempal make up the fourth unit. Bean, who was one of the best offensive defensemen in the entire AHL last season, will finally get another chance at the NHL level. The 13th overall pick in 2016, Bean has been stuck behind a deep NHL defensive group and has just two games to his name with the Hurricanes.

Jeremy Bracco Clears Unconditional Waivers

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Jan 27: Bracco has cleared waivers and had his contract terminated, according to CapFriendly.

Jan 26: After clearing waivers earlier this month, Jeremy Bracco finds himself there again. The Carolina Hurricanes’ forward has been loaned to KalPa in Finland for the rest of the season, while also being placed on unconditional waivers according to Elliotte Friedman of Sportsnet. Should a contract termination follow, the young forward would be an unrestricted free agent once again.

Bracco, 23, has dominated the AHL at times, including a 79-point season in 2018-19 that seemed destined to earn him a call-up with the Toronto Maple Leafs. When an NHL debut never came and the Maple Leafs decided not to issue him a qualifying offer, Bracco was a free agent looking for work. He ended up signing quickly with the Hurricanes, inking a one-year, two-way deal in mid-October.

Now, with the prospect of another AHL season on the horizon, he’ll face a new challenge overseas instead. The talented playmaker still has tremendous offensive upside, but desperately needs to fill out the other parts of his game if he’s to ever live up to his second-round billing.

NHL Postpones Another Carolina Hurricanes Game

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The NHL has decided to postpone another Carolina Hurricanes game, moving tomorrow’s game against the Tampa Bay Lightning to next month. The Hurricanes are still dealing with an outbreak of COVID-19 and have now had four games postponed. The league also announced the rescheduling of seven games, including those already missed between the Hurricanes and Florida Panthers. As a result, the Panthers, who also had games rescheduled at the beginning of the season thanks to an outbreak on the Dallas Stars, now have 54 games scheduled in the next 102 days.

The changes are as follows:

Game #52, Carolina at Nashville, originally scheduled for Jan. 19, is now scheduled for Tuesday, March 2 at 8 p.m. ET

Game #62, Florida at Carolina, originally scheduled for Jan. 21, is now scheduled for Wednesday, Feb. 17 at 5 p.m. ET

Game #76, Florida at Carolina, originally scheduled for Jan. 23, is now scheduled for Sunday, March 7 at 5 p.m.  ET

Game #97, Tampa Bay at Carolina, originally scheduled for Jan. 26, is now scheduled for Monday, Feb. 22 at 7 p.m. ET

Game #255, Columbus at Carolina, originally scheduled for Feb. 16, is now scheduled for Monday, Feb. 15 at 7 p.m. ET

Game #256, Florida at Tampa Bay, originally scheduled for Feb. 16, is now scheduled for Monday, Feb. 15 at 7 p.m. ET

Game #296, Carolina at Tampa Bay, originally scheduled for Feb. 22, is now scheduled for Wednesday, Feb. 24 at 5 p.m. ET

More Carolina Hurricanes Games Postponed

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12:00pm: The league has officially postponed the Hurricanes’ next two games. They have also released the following statement:

As an appropriate precaution, the team’s training facilities have been closed, effective immediately, and will remain closed for Players until further notice. The League is in the process of reviewing and revising the Hurricanes’ regular season schedule. The Hurricanes organization has, and will continue to follow, all recommended guidelines aimed at protecting the health and safety of its Players, staff and community at large as set by the NHL, local, state and national agencies.

9:55am: The Carolina Hurricanes did not play last night due to several key players testing positive for COVID-19, the second half of a two-game series with the Nashville Predators postponed indefinitely. Now, Luke DeCock of the Raleigh News & Observer reports that the team’s next two games will also be postponed. Though the league has not announced it officially, Pierre LeBrun of The Athletic has also heard this possibility, meaning the Florida Panthers won’t be coming in for games tomorrow and Saturday.

The Panthers of course already saw their schedule changed when the Dallas Stars had a training camp outbreak, leading to the postponement of several early-season games. Florida has only played twice and now will likely have to wait until next Tuesday, Jan 26 to continue their 56-game campaign.

Jordan Staal, who tested positive last week, was joined by Warren Foegele, Jordan Martinook, Jaccob Slavin, and Teuvo Teravainen on yesterday’s COVID Protocol Related Absences list. Staal remains in Detroit isolating where his test was taken, while the other four have been left in Nashville for the time being.

Whether the Hurricanes will be able to resume their season in time for the Tampa Bay series next week is not clear at this point.

COVID Protocol Related Absences: 01/19/21

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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. Though a few of the west coast teams are still TBA, here is today’s list:

Carolina – Warren Foegele*, Jordan Martinook*, Jaccob Slavin*, Jordan Staal, Teuvo Teravainen*
Columbus – Mikko Koivu
Detroit – Adam Erne, Robby Fabbri
Florida – Juho Lammikko
Minnesota – Alex Stalock
Nashville – Mikael Granlund
New Jersey – Eric Comrie
Philadelphia – Shayne Gostisbehere
Tampa Bay – Blake Coleman, Curtis McElhinney
Winnipeg – Anton Forsberg, Tucker Poolman

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

The big news for today is the four new Carolina Hurricanes players, which have been confirmed as positive test results by several reporters including Frank Seravalli of TSN. The Hurricanes will not play today’s scheduled game, but it is not immediately clear how long these players will be out. Staal was already on the list and has missed the last two games.

Among the players that were removed today are Markus Nutivaara and Jordie Benn.

As has been the case so far this season, the league declined to identify anyone from Dallas and will hold off on doing so until they are able to play in their first game, now scheduled for January 22. They had a significant outbreak early in camp as 17 of the 27 players that tested positive in training camp were from the Stars.

*denotes new addition

Snapshots: Hurricanes, Babcock, Avalanche

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Not only have the Carolina Hurricanes had three forwards test positive for COVID-19 today, but Sara Civian of The Athletic also confirms that the reason Jordan Staal was placed on the COVID Protocol Related Absences list was because of a positive test result last week. Staal, who played the Red Wings the night before his positive result, has missed the last two games and is still in Detroit according to Civian. The three new players are likely to isolate in Nashville, while the rest of the team—those who have tested negative—fly back to Raleigh.

Though the Dallas Stars have still not begun their season thanks to an outbreak in training camp, this is the first incident of games being postponed day-of. It almost certainly won’t be the last.

  • Mike Babcock has broken his media silence, as he prepares to work with the NBC broadcast team this weekend. In an exclusive interview with Pierre LeBrun of The Athletic, Babcock talks about the much-publicized incidents with Toronto Maple Leafs forward Mitch Marner and Detroit Red Wings forward Johan Franzen. The veteran coach also explains that it is very unlikely that he would be back in the NHL this season and notes that it is “someone else’s turn” behind the bench for Canada at the Olympics, scheduled for next year in Beijing.
  • If you noticed some late-night roster movement by the Colorado Avalanche and wondered why they would need a goalie on an emergency recall, it was answered today when the team announced that Pavel Francouz is out with a lower-body injury. He’s joined on the sideline by Andre Burakovsky who is dealing with an upper-body ailment, with both players listed as day-to-day. The Avalanche will go with seven defensemen tonight and Hunter Miska will serve as the backup to Philipp Grubauer in net.

Carolina-Nashville Game Postponed

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The Dallas Stars are still waiting to start their season thanks to a COVID-19 outbreak in training camp and now another game will be postponed thanks to the protocols. Pierre LeBrun of The Athletic reports that the Carolina-Nashville game scheduled for this evening will be postponed because of a coronavirus situation with the Hurricanes. The league has released a short statement explaining the decision:

The National Hockey League today announced that Game #52, Carolina Hurricanes at Nashville Predators, scheduled for tonight, has been postponed. The rescheduled date of Game #52 will be announced when available.

The decision was made out of an abundance of caution to ensure the health and safety of players, coaches and game day personnel and in consultation with medical experts.

Jordan Staal has been on the COVID Protocol Related Absences list for the last two games, though it’s not clear if that is related to this latest situation. Sara Civian of The Athletic tweets that Hurricanes GM Don Waddell told her three players have tested positive for COVID-19, but that one is a false positive.

Important to note that the Florida Panthers, who already had two games postponed at the beginning of the season thanks to the Stars outbreak, were supposed to visit Carolina to take on the Hurricanes twice starting Thursday. It’s not clear if those games are in danger at this point. The Tampa Bay Lightning, the other team affected by the Stars situation, were supposed to be in Carolina next Tuesday for the first of two games.

The Hurricanes played last night against the Predators in Nashville.

Taxi Squad Shuffle: 01/16/21

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It appears as though there will be daily movement this season between the active roster and taxi squad, and although some major names may be highlighted in separate articles, this is where you’ll find the majority of shuffle news each day.

  • The Canadiens announced (Twitter link) that they’ve recalled center Jake Evans from the taxi squad in advance of their game tonight against Edmonton. The 24-year-old served as their fourth-line pivot in their opener against Toronto and should be in that role against the Oilers as well.
  • Morgan Geekie has been summoned from Carolina’s taxi squad, per a team release. The recall is on an emergency basis and may pertain to Jordan Staal’s placement on the COVID-protocol list on Friday.  Geekie played in two games with the Hurricanes last season, recording three goals and one assist.
  • The Avalanche announced (Twitter link) that they have assigned defenseman Conor Timmins to the taxi squad. Meanwhile, blueliner Bowen Byram was recalled from AHL Colorado.  To make room on the taxi squad, forwards Shane Bowers and Logan O’Connor were assigned to the Eagles.  Timmins has played in both games so far this season, logging a little over 15 minutes per night.
  • The Maple Leafs have recalled winger Nicholas Robertson from their taxi squad and sent Alexander Barabanov down, the team announced. Robertson played in four games against Columbus in the Qualifying Round last summer but tonight marks his first regular season NHL contest.  Barabanov, meanwhile, has played in both games for Toronto so far but logged just 4:19 on Friday night against Ottawa.
  • The Kings have made a series of roster moves, notes Jack A. Harris of the Los Angeles Times (Twitter link). With Cal Petersen, Sean Walker, and Kurtis MacDermid all being activated to the roster from the COVID protocol list, defenseman Mark Alt and Tobias Bjornfot along with goalie Jacob Ingham were sent to the taxi squad.  To make room on that group, Los Angeles also assigned defenseman Austin Strand and goalie Matthew Villalta to Ontario (AHL).
  • Nashville has recalled forward Mathieu Olivier from the taxi squad, adding some physicality up front. The big forward made his NHL debut last season and saw eight games of action with the Predators while also setting new AHL career highs with the Milwaukee Admirals in his second pro season. The Mississippi native could be a frequent fourth line option for Nashville this season given his size, engery, and propensity for checking.
  • Derek Ryan and Oliver Kylington have been activated to the roster of the Calgary Flames, the team announced. Two of the bigger names to hit the waiver wire during training camp, Ryan and Kylington both cleared and were assigned to the taxi squad. However, it didn’t take long for the pair to get back in action for Calgary.

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