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East Notes: Crosby, Ristolainen, Bruins

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Tonight is a milestone game for Penguins center Sidney Crosby as he plays in his 1,000th career NHL contest, all in a Pittsburgh uniform.  However, with the team struggling, some have speculated as to whether or not the 33-year-old would be better off or happier with a trade.  Speaking with reporters including NHL.com’s Wes Crosby, the captain tried to downplay that, reiterating his desire to stay with the that drafted him first overall in 2005:

Nothing’s changed. [The rumors are] definitely kind of a new subject that I’ve had to deal with and hear about a little bit. But I love playing here. This is where I’d love to play for the rest of my career. So I can’t really control what’s said or rumors or things like that, but that’s just kind of how I approach it.

Crosby is off to a bit of a slower start by his standards having averaged over a point per game in all of his first 15 NHL seasons but still sits second in scoring on the Penguins this season with six goals and seven assists in 15 games.

Elsewhere in the East Division:

  • While Sabres defenseman Rasmus Ristolainen is off the CPRA list, he’s not expected to join the team on their current road trip and remains out indefinitely, Lance Lysowski and Mike Harrington of The Buffalo News report. The 26-year-old had a particularly rough case of the virus and head coach Ralph Krueger indicated that it will be a “long process” for the blueliner to return to the lineup.  Ristolainen was off to a strong start to his year with six points in ten games while logging over 23 minutes per night but it appears that he will be out for a while yet.
  • The Bruins will be without center David Krejci and defenseman Kevan Miller for their outdoor game at Lake Tahoe tomorrow, notes Joe McDonald of the Worcester Telegram and Gazette (Twitter link). Krejci is dealing with a lower-body injury sustained on Thursday versus New Jersey while Miller’s absence is believed to be more for rest as he works his way back from missing all of last year.  Jack Studnicka and Urho Vaakanainen were both recalled to Boston’s taxi squad yesterday.

COVID Protocol Related Absences: 02/15/21

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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. While the league is still waiting for a report from the Edmonton Oilers, here are today’s results for the other 30 teams:

Buffalo – Dylan Cozens, Curtis Lazar, Jake McCabe, Casey Mittelstadt, Brandon Montour, Rasmus Ristolainen
Colorado –  Samuel Girard, Tyson Jost, Gabriel Landeskog, Hunter Miska*
Edmonton – TBA
Los Angeles – Andreas Athanasiou
Minnesota –  Jonas Brodin, Brad Hunt, Victor Rask, Carson Soucy, Cam Talbot
New Jersey – Nikita Gusev, Nico Hischier, Dmitry Kulikov, Travis Zajac
NY Rangers – Filip Chytil
Ottawa – Ryan Dzingel
Philadelphia – Justin Braun, Morgan Frost, 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: John Hayden, Arizona Coyotes; Tobias Rieder, Buffalo Sabres; Nick Bonino, Ian Cole, Nico Sturm, Minnesota Wild; Nathan Bastian, New Jersey Devils

Many of today’s CPRA removals were revealed long before the list was published this afternoon. Hayden was in the lineup for Coyotes for their matinee match-up with the Blues, while Bastian joined the Devils in their return to practice this morning and Rieder did the same with the Sabres. Interestingly, McCabe and Montour were also participants in Buffalo practice today, likely indicating that they will come off the list tomorrow. New Jersey’s Gusev and Kulikov skated separately with coaches after practice today, possibly implying that they too will be off the list soon.

After being late to report yesterday, the Colorado Avalanche are responsible for the only CPRA addition today in young goaltender Miska. Otherwise, this is another positive day as the NHL’s COVID numbers continue to trend strongly in the right direction. With the difficult situations in Buffalo, Minnesota, and New Jersey looking like they will soon be resolved, some progress in Philadelphia is seemingly the only thing stopping the league moving on from their recent rash of postponements and lengthy CRPA lists.

 

Olli Jokinen Hired As Head Coach Of Liiga’s Jukurit

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Who needs coaching experience when you have 17 seasons of NHL playing experience on your resume? Jukurit of the Liiga, the top pro level in Finland, has announced that former NHL star Olli Jokinen has been hired as the club’s head coach beginning next season, inking two-year deal with a third option year. Jokinen, who retired from the NHL in 2015, is the founder and head coach of the South Florida Hockey Academy youth program, but has not coached at the professional or junior level.

Jokinen, 42, had enough talent as a player, as well as the respect of his teammates, coaches, and competitors, to warrant this major career move. The 1997 No. 3 overall pick began played his developmental hockey at home in Finland, but jumped to North America to join the Los Angeles Kings right after he was drafted. Thus began an 18-year pro career that included 1,231 NHL games (eight 82-game seasons) with ten different organizations, resulting in 750 career points, an All-Star nod, and many other accolades. Of all of his NHL stops, Jokinen spent the most time with the Florida Panthers, suiting up for the team for seven seasons, including four as captain. Jokinen was also a mainstay on Finland’s international entries, winning a World Junior gold medal and a number of other Olympic and World Championship medals.

Jokinen returned to his adopted home of Florida after retirement and has been working on the other side of the game, coaching top U-16 players at the AAA level in Coral Springs. His own nephew, Sami Jokinen, is a recent graduate of the program and is playing junior hockey for KalPa in Finland. Perhaps he will play for his uncle again in the future as Jokinen now take a major step forward in his coaching career with Jukurit. The team’s history is fitting for Jokinen, as they too are relatively new to the Liiga. A former Mestis powerhouse, Jukurit moved to the Liiga in 2016-17. It has been a difficult transition, as they have missed the playoffs in each of their first four seasons and appear likely to do so again this year. The club is currently in 13th (out of 15) and nine points out of even a play-in postseason berth despite having played several more games. Jukurit has not finished above 13th in the final standings since their first Liiga season.

Fortunately, the addition of Jokinen is not only just for his coaching potential. The veteran NHLer will also be the new face of the franchise when it comes to recruiting free agents and prospects. With upwards of 16 players on expiring contracts or loans unlikely to be back next season, the Jukurit roster should look very different next season and with Jokinen’s help could be much-improved. With Jokinen leading the team and NHL prospects Axel Rindell (TOR) and Henri Nikkanen (WPG) as centerpieces, Jukurit hopes to turn the page on their franchise history and become Liiga contenders.

 

COVID Protocol Related Absences: 02/14/21

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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. The league is still awaiting updated lists from the Sabres and Avalanche, but the following are the complete results from the other 29 teams:

Arizona – John Hayden
Buffalo – Dylan Cozens, Curtis Lazar, Jake McCabe, Casey Mittelstadt, Brandon Montour, Tobias Rieder, Rasmus Ristolainen
Colorado –  Samuel Girard, Tyson Jost, Gabriel Landeskog
Los Angeles – Andreas Athanasiou
Minnesota –  Nick Bonino, Jonas Brodin, Ian Cole, Brad Hunt, Victor Rask, Carson Soucy, Nico Sturm, Cam Talbot
New Jersey – Nathan Bastian, Nikita Gusev, Nico Hischier, Dmitry Kulikov, Travis Zajac
NY Rangers – Filip Chytil
Ottawa – Ryan Dzingel*
Philadelphia – Justin Braun, Morgan Frost, Claude Giroux, Scott Laughton, Oskar Lindblom, Jakub Voracek, Travis Konecny*
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: Rasmus Dahlin, Buffalo Sabres; Calvin Pickard, Detroit Red Wings; Blake Lizotte, Los Angeles Kings; Jesper Bratt, Connor Carrick, Eric Comrie, Jack Hughes, Damon Severson, Ty Smith, Matt Tennyson, Sami Vatanen, New Jersey Devils; Travis Sanheim, Philadelphia Flyers; Steven Stamkos, Tampa Bay Lightning

It’s another strong net positive day for the CPRA. The only true addition to the list comes in the form of Flyers forward Konecny. The other addition, Dzingel, has entered the required quarantine period for any player crossing into Canada after he was dealt to Ottawa by Carolina on Saturday, but by all accounts has not qualified for any other reason. Meanwhile, the Red Wings and Lightning wipe the slate clean while the Devils take a major step forward with eight players coming off the list. Joining Dahlin back at Sabres practice today was also head coach Ralph Krueger, a welcome sight after his own bout with Coronavirus.

While the situations in Buffalo and Colorado remain undetermined at this point, the Devils appear to be on the mend and Minnesota Wild head coach Dean Evason stated that he expects some of his players to begin coming off the list soon as well. If the situation in Philadelphia can be sorted out – especially with their Lake Tahoe game coming up next weekend – the NHL could be looking at a refreshingly short CPRA by this time next week.

 

Snapshots: Canucks, Laine, McCann

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The Vancouver Canucks are shopping around a few of their underperforming forwards, and Elliotte Friedman of Sportsnet writes in his latest 31 Thoughts column that the Nashville Predators are one of the teams interested in Adam Gaudette. The 24-year-old forward seemed to have a breakthrough season last year for the Canucks, scoring 33 points in 59 games, but was virtually invisible in the postseason and has just two points in 12 games this season. Gaudette is on a one-year, $950K contract this season and will be an arbitration-eligible RFA in the summer.

On the other name that is swirling around, Jake Virtanen, Friedman seems less certain but does note that the Boston Bruins were checking him out at one point. The San Jose Sharks “poked around” in the offseason, which makes sense given it appeared at one point as though Virtanen would not be back with the Canucks this year. The 24-year-old Virtanen still has just one point through 12 games.

  • The recent benching of Patrik Laine was because he “verbally disrespected” a member of the coaching staff, according to both Aaron Portzline of The Athletic and Brian Hedger of the Columbus Post-Dispatch. The young forward and Blue Jackets head coach John Tortorella told reporters today that the incident was behind them, and Laine is expected to be back on the top line with Jack Roslovic and Cam Atkinson when the team plays tomorrow. Despite all that has happened this season, Laine still has five goals and six points through five games, a testament to just how impressive his offensive ability can be. His is still a very interesting situation to watch unfold, however, after playing just 11 minutes on Monday night.
  • The Pittsburgh Penguins will be without Jared McCann a little longer than originally anticipated, as head coach Mike Sullivan told reporters today that the young forward will be out “week-to-week” while he deals with a lower-body injury. McCann played just four minutes in the team’s last game before exiting and has five points on the season.

Michael Peca Hired By Washington Capitals

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The Washington Capitals have added a fresh face to the organization, hiring Michael Peca as a player development coach. Peca is expected to work primarily with the players on Washington’s taxi squad this season.

If you remember the Buffalo Sabres team that made it to the Stanley Cup Final in 1999 (only to lose to the toe of Brett Hull), you remember Peca. A whirlwind of offensive talent, defensive responsibility and devastating open-ice hits, Peca made the most of his relatively small frame.

In 864 career games he recorded 465 points, including a career-high 60 with the New York Islanders in 2001-02. He won his second Selke Trophy that season while playing under Peter Laviolette, who happens to be the Capitals head coach. If Peca can instill any of that defensive responsibility—he finished in the top-five of Selke voting for seven straight seasons—in the Capitals depth players, he’ll be a valuable coaching asset.

Zack Kassian Placed On Long-Term Injured Reserve

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On Monday, Edmonton Oilers head coach Dave Tippett told reporters including Ryan Rishaug of TSN it was an “understatement” that the team wanted to see Zack Kassian get “a bit more engaged” in games this season. The physical forward had just two minor penalties heading into last night’s game but quickly proved to his coach and teammates that he was still willing to drop the mitts. Kassian fought Erik Gudbranson less than two minutes into the game and the team would go on to win 3-1, but Kassian wouldn’t see the ice again.

Leaving after the fight, Kassian played just 33 seconds and this morning Tippett said he would not play in the rematch tonight. The coach described his absence as week-to-week, though he is still undergoing further evaluation. Meanwhile, CapFriendly reports that Kassian has been placed on long-term injured reserve today thanks to some cap gymnastics the Oilers needed to perform, meaning he’ll miss at least ten games.

Kassian did have 29 hits in 12 games before last night, but had scored just a single goal and registered just three points. That isn’t good enough for a player who received another early chance to line up next to Connor McDavid and his ice time had been slashed heavily in recent games because of it. That means his absence won’t be too noticeable, but it does just test the Oilers’ depth even further. The team has recalled Devin Shore from the taxi squad in the meantime.

Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images

Ryan Johansen Heading To Injured Reserve

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The Nashville Predators were without Ryan Johansen when they took on the Florida Panthers Friday, but at the time he was listed as just day-to-day with an upper-body injury. Now it appears that his absence will stretch out a bit, as head coach John Hynes told reporters including Adam Vingan of The Athletic today. Johansen will be out “week-to-week” and is going onto injured reserve for the Predators.

A pessimistic Predators fan might tell you that they’ve been without Johansen all season, as the 28-year-old center certainly hasn’t been playing up to his full capabilities. He has four assists in ten games, all of them on the powerplay, and has yet to find the back of the net himself. In fact, Johansen has only generated 16 shots on goal during those ten games, despite averaging more than 18 minutes a night before his game on Friday was cut short.

While it has been a long time since he was a real goal-scoring threat—Johansen scored a career-high 33 times in 2013-14, but has averaged just 14 per season over the last five years—his lack of even-strength offense this season has been a huge reason why the Predators now sit at 5-6 on the season, ahead of only the Detroit Red Wings in the Central Divison.

Losing him for weeks though certainly won’t turn his season around. Johansen’s role will now have to be filled internally, and though the Predators have some interesting candidates to receive increase ice time, their depth will be tested without one of their highest-paid players in the lineup.

COVID Protocol Related Absences: 02/06/21

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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. Here is the CPRA list for Saturday:

Buffalo – Taylor Hall, Rasmus Ristolainen, Brandon Montour, Tobias Rieder, Jake McCabe, Dylan Cozens*, Curtis Lazar*
Chicago – Adam Boqvist, Ryan Carpenter, Lucas Wallmark
Colorado – Tyson Jost, Gabriel Landeskog
Dallas – Andrej Sekera
Los Angeles – Andreas Athanasiou, Blake Lizotte
Minnesota – Marcus Foligno, Nick Bjugstad, Nick Bonino, Joel Eriksson Ek, Marcus Johansson, Jared Spurgeon, Nico Sturm, Ian Cole*
New Jersey – 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, Dmitry Kulikov
Vegas – Alex Pietrangelo
Washington – Evgeny Kuznetsov, Ilya Samsonov, Jakub Vrana*

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: Connor Carrick, New Jersey Devils; Pierre-Luc Dubois, Winnipeg Jets

It should come as little surprise that the Buffalo Sabres and Minnesota Wild, two teams that have had games postponed due to COVID outbreaks, have new additions to the CPRA list. The Sabres are up to seven players, as well as head coach Ralph Krueger, in the protocol. Minnesota has eight players on the list now, including Cole who was added late last night, presumably following a positive test.

The surprise addition to list is Vrana for the Capitals. Washington has had the one incidence of COVID Protocol violation, one that cost them $100K and landed four players on the list, but otherwise had been unaffected. Yet, Vrana is now out of action with no word yet on the cause.

If there is any good news in regards to the Coronavirus in the NHL today, it is that all Vegas Golden Knights coaches were finally back at practice today after the entire staff had previously landed in the protocol. The New Jersey Devils also add one more player to their thin active list as Carrick, who had merely left the team for the birth of his child, has timed out of the protocol.

*denotes new addition

Anton Khudobin To Be Benched For Disciplinary Reasons

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When the defending Western Conference champion Dallas Stars take on the Chicago Blackhawks on Sunday, it won’t be playoff hero Anton Khudobin starting in net. Or dressing as the backup either, for that matter. Instead, the beloved veteran will sit in the press box, benched by head coach Rick Bowness for disciplinary issues. While Bowness would not disclose the specific reasoning behind Khudobin’s punishment beyond calling it an “internal issue”, per The Dallas Morning News’ Matthew DeFranks, he did provide a short synopsis of his thoughts on the topic:

You deal with things by communicating and making your feelings known, what is and what isn’t acceptable. I have very few rules, but you damn well better follow them.

The experienced coach clearly is not happy with Khudobin’s actions, as his words express. As a result, highly-touted rookie Jake Oettinger will get his third career start tomorrow with experienced AHLer Landon Bow serving as backup. Both players were in attendance at practice on Saturday; Khudobin was not. The veteran netminder showed up at the end of practice and skated without his teammates. It remains unclear whether Khudobin’s absence was a cause or effect of these ongoing “internal issues”.

When asked whether Khudobin’s benching would last beyond Sunday, Bowness remained non-committal. “We’ll deal with it one day at a time” was all that he would say at this time. With starter Ben Bishop on Long-Term Injured Reserve as he rehabs a knee injury and not expected back until March, Khudobin will obviously return to the Dallas crease at some point and there is no indication at this point that his current issues are anything that would force a trade or any other major move. However, with an off-season approaching in which Khudobin will be exposed in the 2021 NHL Expansion Draft, this could only add fuel to the fire that Khudobin’s time with the Stars could be coming to an end this season. If Bishop returns and appears healthy and Oettinger seems ready to become an NHL backup sooner rather than later, bad blood between Khudobin and Bowness could see the Stars hoping that the Seattle Kraken select the talented veteran keeper. Just a few months ago, that statement would have been unthinkable as the well-liked Khudobin led Dallas to postseason glory. However, something has clearly changed.

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