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Draft Pick Fall Out From Qualifying Round Results

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It was a dark day in the NHL on Friday as five teams were eliminated from playoff contention and, barring a miraculous last-minute comeback by the Toronto Maple Leafs, it could have been six-for-six. While the focus on these pivotal games yesterday was on those teams advancing and those team going home, there were also numerous draft picks impacted:

  • In addition to yesterday’s winners, it was also a big day for the New Jersey Devils. In a year in which the draft class is lauded for its depth, particularly in impact forwards, the Devils are now the proud owners of three first-round picks. New Jersey acquired Arizona’s first-rounder in the Taylor Hall trade and Vancouver’s first-rounder from Tampa Bay in the Blake Coleman However, both picks were lottery protected. Now that the Coyotes and Canucks have advanced, they will not take part in Monday’s second draft lottery to determine the No. 1 pick and as a result their picks have officially been sent to the Devils.
  • The Ottawa Senators will also have three picks in the first round of the 2020 Draft. Already owners of their own pick and San Jose’s, the Senators officially acquired the New York Islanders’ pick yesterday. The Isles had sent a lottery-protected first-rounder to Ottawa in the Jean-Gabriel Pageau trade, but with New York moving one they will not be in the running for a lottery pick. There is also a conditional 2020 second-round pick involved in that deal which will transfer to the Senators if the Islanders win the Stanley Cup. That dream for now remains alive for New York.
  • The clock is ticking on the Pittsburgh Penguins. The first-round pick that the team sent to the Minnesota Wild in the Jason Zucker trade contained a condition that the Penguins could keep the pick if it landed in the top 15. Now that the team has been surprisingly knocked out of the postseason, their first-rounder will fall in that range. They now have seven days to decided whether or not to retain the pick and send their 2021 first-round pick instead or to simply trade their 2020 selection. Obviously, the team will wait for the results of Monday night’s lottery, but regardless it seems likely that the Penguins will keep the pick and bet on themselves to make the playoffs next season.
  • One first-round pick that still remains undecided is the pick that will transfer to the New York Rangers as part of the Brady Skjei When the Carolina Hurricanes acquired Skjei, they promised the Rangers the later of their two first-rounders, their own and the Toronto Maple Leafs’, acquired alongside Patrick Marleau. However, the Toronto pick has conditions of its own; if the Leafs pick lands in the top 10, they will retain the selection and transfer their 2021 first-rounder instead. The only way for this to occur would be for Toronto to both lose Game Five against the Columbus Blue Jackets on Sunday and then win the No. 1 overall pick in Monday’s draft lottery. If the Maple Leafs lose both the game and the lottery, their pick will be No. 13 and by default will be earlier than Carolina’s, meaning the Hurricanes’ own pick will go to the Rangers. Should Toronto win on Sunday, it will remain to be seen how far each team goes in the playoffs and which pick will head to New York.

Injury Notes: Stamkos, Voracek, Blue Jackets

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The continued unavailability of Tampa Bay Lightning superstar Steven Stamkos continues to be one of the biggest background stories of the NHL re-start and it isn’t going away. Head coach Jon Cooper told TSN that Stamkos will not be available for the team’s game against the Philadelphia Flyers today, which decides the No. 1 seed and home ice in the Eastern Conference. However, he went one step further by stating that Stamkos is out “indefinitely”, which calls into question whether there is any timeline for Stamkos’ return. The scoring center has been skating and per Cooper is “working his tail off” but it might not be enough for him to be ready for the start of the first round. The Athletic’s Joe Smith details the struggles that some players have returning from core injuries, particularly core surgery, so Stamkos’ delayed recovery is not a total surprise even five months removed. However, Smith writes that the concern is not that Stamkos has far exceeded the six-to-eight week timeline from back in March, but that the player and team both seem to have no idea of when he might be ready to return. Especially after having months off to recover, the fact that Stamkos is not ready could mean that he might not make it back for this postseason period.

  • The Bolts’ opponent tonight, the Philadelphia Flyers, will also be missing one of their top forwards for the crucial seeding game. With a chance to go from fourth to first in the conference seeding, the Flyers will have to do so without Jakub Voracek. Head coach Alain Vigneault told NBC Sports Philadelphia that Voracek simply “is not available” for Saturday’s match-up and did not share any further details. Without any pre-existing injury and the agreement between the NHL and NHLPA not to disclose any medical information during these playoffs, this is the most that might be out there about Voracek. The star forward played a standard amount of ice time in the Flyers’ last game and did not appear to suffer an injury, but for one reason or another will not be in the lineup. Fortunately for the Flyers, the team’s depth up front is impressive, allowing promising rookie Joel Farabee to replace Voracek on the first line while veteran James van Riemsdyk returns to the lineup in his stead.
  • The Columbus Blue Jackets hoped to shut the door on their qualifying round series with the Toronto Maple Leafs on Friday, but a last-minute three-goal collapse led to an overtime loss and a Game Five date on Sunday. It is not a coincidence that young standout defenseman Zach Werenski was not on the ice for any of the Leafs’ four goals against last night, as he missed the final nine minutes of regulation and all of overtime. Werenski appeared to suffer the injury while being tripped in the offensive zone, but then was seen having his neck examined and massaged on the Blue Jacket bench. Neither head coach John Tortorella nor GM Jarmo Kekalainen have had any update on Werenski’s condition or his availability for Sunday. The Athletic’s Alison Lukan points out that Ryan Murray, who is a constant injury risk, missed Game Four and the combination of both defensemen being out for Game Five would be a major hit to Columbus’ strongest position.

Goaltending Notes: Halak, Korpisalo, Holtby

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The Boston Bruins will be without their top option in goal tonight when they take on the Philadelphia Flyers in the round-robin. Tuukka Rask has been ruled unfit to play by head coach Bruce Cassidy, meaning Jaroslav Halak will be in net for the Bruins.

Perhaps more than any other team in the playoffs, the Bruins have prepared for a situation like this all season. Halak is much more than a backup for Boston, playing in 31 games during the shortened regular season and posting a .919 save percentage. That’s a number most teams would be happy to get from their starter, but it still is a step down from Rask’s .929. One of the advantages of being a top seed in each conference is this round-robin structure, which will allow the team to get healthy without the risk of elimination for the first week.

  • One team not in quite as strong a situation is the Columbus Blue Jackets, who start a best-of-five series against the Toronto Maple Leafs later today. The Blue Jackets have two young excellent goaltenders of their own, but head coach John Tortorella has decided to go with Joonas Korpisalo in game one. While Elvis Merzlikins may have received more press this season due to it being his first in North America, it was easy to forget that Korpisalo was actually named to the All-Star game before suffering an injury. He posted a .911 save percentage on the season but has a strong history against the Maple Leafs and much more experience at the NHL level.
  • It may not come as much of a surprise, but Braden Holtby will be in net when the Washington Capitals start their own round-robin tomorrow afternoon. Holtby will start over Vitek Vanacek according to Samantha Pell of the Washington Post when the Capitals take on the Tampa Bay Lightning. Once Ilya Samsonov was ruled out due to injury the obvious choice was Holtby given his experience, but it is also important to remember that he was far from his dominant self this season. In fact, Holtby posted an .897 save percentage on the season, putting him 52nd among NHL goaltenders who appeared in at least 20 games.

Snapshots: Martinook, Toews, Tortorella, Khudobin

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The Carolina Hurricanes really don’t like the NHL’s Return to Play plan. After Jordan Martinook and the ‘Canes were one of just two teams to vote against the initial postseason format last month, Sportsnet’s Elliotte Friedman reports that Martinook was also one of the two NHLPA representatives who voted against ratifying the Return to Play plan and CBA extension. Martinook has previously stated that he and his teammates felt that the expanded playoff structure was a disadvantage to teams who were safely in the postseason picture, but not within the top four in their conference. It is a fair opinion for Carolina to have; the team has the second-best record of qualifying round contenders and almost certainly would have made the playoffs. Their reward for those regular season efforts? A five-game series match-up with a New York Rangers team that was playing their best hockey down the stretch and has been a tough match-up for the Hurricanes all season. As a result, Martinook tried not once but twice to change the league’s plan, but to no avail. They will face the Rangers in just over a week’s time with a playoff berth on the line.

The other “no” vote against the Return to Play plan was reported to belong to Chicago Blackhawks representative Jonathan Toews. However, Toews has come out today and refuted that report. There is no doubt that Toews asked hard questions about health and safety protocols and gameplay logistics and made the case for why his peers should consider voting against the plan, but he tells Ben Pope of the Chicago Sun Times that at the end of the day he voted “yes”. In fact, he said that he always planned to vote yes but wanted to make sure that there was a thorough conversation before a decision was made. There is no word on who the mystery second “no” vote came from, but it was not the Blackhawks captain.

  • Columbus Blue Jackets head coach John Tortorella might be re-thinking his teams approval of the expanded postseason plan. While a standard 16-team format would have excluded his team, which was in ninth in the Eastern Conference at the time of the league’s pause, their preparation for the knockout round is not going according to plan. Tortorella told NHL.com’s Craig Merz outright that he does not like what he has seen from his best players. “My concern is some of the people that we are going to need to make a difference for us to win a series, I don’t think they’re ready right now,” the Jack Adams finalist stated. “I don’t think they’re doing the things they need to do right now to get ready for that series… This isn’t getting ready for the regular season and then trying to find your game in 15 games during the regular season. This is a sprint… I don’t want us to fall into this trap of wading in. We need to be ready to go.”
  • Anton Khudobin and the Dallas Stars have some extra time to get ready for the postseason as they are one of the four top seeds in the West and will have four round robin games ahead of them before the real competition begins. Although Khudobin may only see action in the round robin and not in the Stars’ postseason series, as starter Ben Bishop will get the nod unless his play warrants a change, Khudobin’s value to Dallas cannot be understated. One of the best backups in the NHL, Khudobin recorded a .930 save percentage and 2.22 GAA in 30 games this season. While these numbers are outstanding, even better than Bishop’s, it doesn’t appear that Khudobin is looking to move on from Dallas to a greater role. He tells Matthew DeFranks of The Dallas Morning News that his preference is to remain with the Stars for a while longer. However, the impending UFA admits that he will let his agent work out the details and find the best opportunity. Khudobin is certainly comfortable and thriving in Texas, but the Stars’ limited cap space and the presences of Bishop and top prospect Jake Oettinger may mean that his current team cannot offer him top dollar. On the other hand, a potentially strong goalie market and Khudobin’s age, not to mention a flat salary cap, may mean that there won’t be the demand on the open market that Khudobin’s performance would normally command. This seems to be the case with another elite backup, Boston’s Jaroslav Halak, who recently signed a one-year extension for less guaranteed money despite another stellar season as the Bruins’ backup after replacing Khudobin himself. Perhaps Khudobin will have to settle for the same fate, especially if he wants to remain in Dallas.

NHL Releases Qualifying Round, Round Robin Schedules

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July 20: The NHL has announced some minor changes to the schedule for the round robin. The Boston Bruins-Washington Capitals game that was scheduled for August 8 will now be played on August 9. The Philadelphia Flyers-Tampa Bay Lightning game that was originally scheduled for August 9, will now be played on August 8.

July 14: After revealing the schedule earlier today for the exhibition games occurring after the conclusion of training camp, the NHL has followed up with the schedules for the games that actually matter. The league has announced the full schedule for the best-of-five qualifying round match-ups, four each per conference between the teams seeded No. 5 to No. 12, as well as the six round robin games per conference between the teams seeded No. 1 to No. 4. As a reminder, the qualifying round will serve as a knockout round to trim the list of postseason teams to 16 for a standard playoff format while the round robin games will serve as a means to seed the top team in each conference. Teams will re-seed following the conclusion of the qualifying round and each subsequent round.

The full schedule is as follows (all times ET):

Saturday, Aug. 1

EASTERN CONFERENCE

Best-of-5 series

New York Rangers vs. Carolina Hurricanes, Game 1, 12 p.m.
Florida Panthers vs. New York Islanders, Game 1, 4 p.m.
Montreal Canadiens vs. Pittsburgh Penguins, Game 1, 8 p.m.

WESTERN CONFERENCE

Best-of-5 series

Chicago Blackhawks vs. Edmonton Oilers, Game 1, 3 p.m.
Winnipeg Jets vs. Calgary Flames, Game 1, 10:30 p.m.

Sunday, Aug. 2

EASTERN CONFERENCE

Round-robin

Philadelphia Flyers vs. Boston Bruins, 3 p.m.

Best-of-5 series

Columbus Blue Jackets vs. Toronto Maple Leafs, Game 1, 8 p.m.

WESTERN CONFERENCE

Best-of-5 series

Arizona Coyotes vs, Nashville Predators, Game 1, 2 p.m.
Minnesota Wild vs. Vancouver Canucks, Game 1, 10:30 p.m.

Round-robin

St. Louis Blues vs. Colorado Avalanche, 6:30 p.m.

Monday, Aug. 3

EASTERN CONFERENCE

Best-of-5 series

New York Rangers vs. Carolina Hurricanes, Game 2, 12 p.m.
Montreal Canadiens vs. Pittsburgh Penguins, Game 2, 8 p.m.

Round-robin

Washington Capitals vs. Tampa Bay Lightning, 4 p.m.

WESTERN CONFERENCE

Best-of-5 series

Winnipeg Jets vs. Calgary Flames, Game 2, 2:30 p.m.
Chicago Blackhawks vs. Edmonton Oilers, Game 2, 10:30 p.m.

Round-robin

Dallas Stars vs. Vegas Golden Knights, 6:30 p.m.

Tuesday, Aug. 4

EASTERN CONFERENCE

Best-of-5 series

Florida Panthers vs. New York Islanders, Game 2, 12 p.m.
Columbus Blue Jackets vs. Toronto Maple Leafs, Game 2, 4 p.m.
Carolina Hurricanes vs. New York Rangers, Game 3, 8 p.m.

WESTERN CONFERENCE

Best-of-5 series

Arizona Coyotes vs. Nashville Predators, Game 2, 2:30 p.m.
Calgary Flames vs. Winnipeg Jets, Game 3, 6:45 p.m.
Minnesota Wild vs. Vancouver Canucks, Game 2, 10:45 p.m.

Wednesday, Aug. 5

EASTERN CONFERENCE

Best-of-5 series

New York Islanders vs. Florida Panthers, Game 3, 12 p.m.
Pittsburgh Penguins vs. Montreal Canadiens, Game 3, 8 p.m.

Round-robin

Tampa Bay Lightning vs. Boston Bruins, 4 p.m.

WESTERN CONFERENCE

Best-of-5 series

Nashville Predators vs. Arizona Coyotes, Game 3, 2:30 p.m.
Edmonton Oilers vs. Chicago Blackhawks, Game 3, 10:30 p.m.

Round-robin

Colorado Avalanche vs. Dallas Stars, 6:30 p.m.

Thursday, Aug. 6

EASTERN CONFERENCE

Best-of-5 series

Toronto Maple Leafs vs. Columbus Blue Jackets, Game 3, TBD
Carolina Hurricanes vs. New York Rangers, Game 4*, TBD

Round-robin

Washington Capitals vs. Philadelphia Flyers, TBD

WESTERN CONFERENCE

Best-of-5 series

Vancouver Canucks vs. Minnesota Wild, Game 3, TBD
Calgary Flames vs. Winnipeg Jets, Game 4*, TBD

Round-robin

Vegas Golden Knights vs. St. Louis Blues, TBD

Friday, Aug. 7

EASTERN CONFERENCE

Best-of-5 series

New York Islanders vs. Florida Panthers, Game 4*, TBD
Pittsburgh Penguins vs. Montreal Canadiens, Game 4*, TBD
Toronto Maple Leafs vs. Columbus Blue Jackets, Game 4*, TBD

WESTERN CONFERENCE

Best-of-5 series

Nashville Predators vs. Arizona Coyotes, Game 4*, TBD
Vancouver Canucks vs. Minnesota Wild, Game 4*, TBD
Edmonton Oilers vs. Chicago Blackhawks, Game 4*, TBD

Saturday, Aug. 8

EASTERN CONFERENCE

Best-of-5 series

New York Rangers vs. Carolina Hurricanes, Game 5*, TBD
Montreal Canadiens vs. Pittsburgh Penguins, Game 5*, TBD

Round-robin

Boston Bruins vs. Washington Capitals, TBD

WESTERN CONFERENCE

Best-of-5 series

Winnipeg Jets vs. Calgary Flames, Game 5*, TBD
Chicago Blackhawks vs. Edmonton Oilers, Game 5*, TBD

Round-robin

Vegas Golden Knights vs. Colorado Avalanche, TBD

Sunday, Aug. 9

EASTERN CONFERENCE

Best-of-5 series

Florida Panthers vs. New York Islanders, Game 5*, TBD
Columbus Blue Jackets vs. Toronto Maple Leafs, Game 5*, TBD

Round-robin

Philadelphia Flyers vs. Tampa Bay Lightning, TBD

WESTERN CONFERENCE

Best-of-5 series

Minnesota Wild vs. Vancouver Canucks, Game 5*, TBD
Arizona Coyotes vs. Nashville Predators, Game 5*, TBD

Round-robin

Dallas Stars vs. St. Louis Blues, TBD

With round robin games scheduled through August 9, the first round will not begin until August 10 at the earliest. However, given that exhibition games don’t even begin until July 28, the NHL is about to cram a lot of hockey into a span of just a dozen days.

Metropolitan Notes: Crosby, Anderson, Buchnevich, Voracek

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The Pittsburgh Penguins have been dealing with quite a few absences so far in training camp, but the team were without a big name as star Sidney Crosby missed practice Sunday after leaving the ice during the second period of Saturday’s team scrimmage. Penguins head coach Mike Sullivan declined after the scrimmage to comment on Crosby’s status due to the NHL’s new rules on withholding a player’s medical information during the coronavirus. However, TribLive’s Seth Rorabaugh writes that a team source said Crosby was being held out for precautionary measures due to an undisclosed ailment.

The team is already without a number of players for various reasons, including Patric Hornqvist, Anthony Angello, Adam Johnson, Sam Militec, Samuel Poulin, Phil Varone, Pierre-Olivier Joseph, Juuso Riikola and Alex D’Orio.

  • The Columbus Blue Jackets announced that they have placed forward Josh Anderson on the team’s 34-man roster. The 26-year-old Anderson, who had 27 goals in the 2018-19 season, has been recovering from a shoulder injury in December and subsequent surgery in March, but with the delay in the season, could potentially return at some point during the playoffs if Columbus can stay in the playoffs for a bit. The Athletic’s Aaron Portzline writes that Anderson is expected to be left behind when the team travels to Toronto for the tournament, but Anderson could join them at some point.
  • The New York Rangers were without forward Pavel Buchnevich for Sunday’s scrimmage after he left practice on Saturday, according to The Athletic’s Rick Carpiniello. No word on the reason for the absence as the team is not allowed to disclose injury information. Rookie Kaapo Kakko took Buchnevich’s place alongside Chris Kreider and Mika Zibanejad.
  • Philadelphia Inquirer’s Ed Barkowitz writes that the Philadelphia Flyers got a boost Sunday when forward Jakub Voracek returned to practice after being held out. The 30-year-old forward sat out of practice Saturday. However, Voracek, returned to his usual spot on the first line during practice alongside Claude Giroux and Sean Couturier. The winger led the team in assists this season with 44. NHL.com’s Bill Meltzer reports that Voracek admitted that he was held out due to a inconclusive test report, which later came back negative.

Mikhail Grigorenko Signs With Columbus Blue Jackets

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With all of the news over the last few months, it may have been easy to forget that the Columbus Blue Jackets tried and failed to sign a former top prospect back in April. Mikhail Grigorenko signed a one-year contract with the team, but thanks to the filing window closing the deal was rejected by the league. According to his agent Dan Milstein of Gold Star Hockey, Grigorenko has now officially signed that one-year deal. The contract is for the 2020-21 season and will be worth the original $1.2MM according to Chris Johnston of Sportsnet.

Originally selected 12th overall by the Buffalo Sabres in 2012, Grigorenko was supposed to be a do-it-all power forward in the NHL. After dominating the QMJHL as a rookie he quickly made his NHL debut with the Sabres before eventually finding his way back to junior. By the end of the 2014-15 season, however, he had just 14 points in 68 NHL games and was included in a deal that saw him shipped to the Colorado Avalanche. Two relatively unproductive seasons later, Grigorenko was heading back to Russia to join CSKA Moscow where he has played the last three years.

Those years in the KHL have been good to Grigorenko, who has tallied 115 points in 147 regular season games. Even better perhaps was his performance in the 2019 playoffs, scoring 13 goals and 21 points in 20 games en route to a Gagarin Cup championship. He was also part of the Russian Olympic team (the Olympic Athletes from Russia) who took home gold in 2018.

What’s so notable about these accomplishments for Grigorenko, is that even though he has played parts of five seasons in the NHL and three in the KHL, he only turned 26 a few months ago. It’s easy to wonder whether his game has progressed to the point where he can be a positive impact player in the NHL, and for just $1.2MM the Blue Jackets intend to find out.

Snapshots: Anderson, Kaprizov, Pelech, Cizikas, Petan

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The Columbus Blue Jackets have 33 players on their training camp roster, which will force them to cut two players. However, one roster spot may already be claimed by a player not even on the training camp roster in Josh Anderson. The forward has been out with a left shoulder injury since December and had surgery on March 2. While he was deemed to be out for the season in March, that could change if Columbus can make a playoff run, according to The Athletic’s Aaron Portzline (subscription required).

Anderson was given a four to six-month recovery period after his surgery. It’s already been four months and six months should hit in early September, so there is a chance the 26-year-old could be fully healthy any time before then. The team could use the winger’s grit. He scored 27 goals and recorded 214 hits in 2018-19, but struggled before his injury posting just one goal in 26 games along with 68 hits. Regardless, he could be a valuable addition to a team hoping to pull off more upsets like it did a year ago.

  • The Minnesota Wild are expected to burn the first year of Russian prospect Kirill Kaprizov’s entry-level contract, according to The Athletic’s Michael Russo. Teams have a 53-hour window, starting tomorrow, to sign their prospects to a 2019-20 deal, which would burn that first year. Russo writes that general manager Bill Guerin indicated the team is willing to agree to that if they can get the 23-year-old to sign on the dotted line. Kaprizov, considered to be one of the top players playing outside the NHL, would not be allowed to play in this year’s playoffs. However, Guerin said that he would want to bring him over and get him acclimated and he would be allowed to practice with the team during Phases 3 & 4.. Kaprizov scored 33 goals in 57 games with CSKA Moscow of the KHL this year. The Athletic’s Arthur Staple followed Russo’s report up with the same sentiments for New York Islanders goaltender Ilya Sorokin.
  • The New York Islanders and head coach Barry Trotz are expecting to get back two injured players for the 24-team tournament. NHL.com’s Sasha Kandrach writes that defenseman Adam Pelech and center Casey Cizikas are both expected to be healthy for training camp. “I don’t get to see them a whole lot if at all,” Trotz said. “But I did get a peek or two of them when heading to our meeting site — they seem like they’re in really good shape. With Adam’s injury and the length of time, he might be in the best shape. He’s had to rehab right through the summer and had to be on the ice. Same with Casey in getting back.” Pelech has been recovering from surgery to his Achilles Tendon since Jan. 2, while Cizikas has been out since Feb. 12 after suffering a leg laceration. Pelech averaged heavy minutes on New York’s blueline with 21:01 of ATOI, while Cizikas has been the center for their fourth-line checking line.
  • Not long after the Toronto Maple Leafs didn’t include forward Nic Petan on its training camp roster, general manager Kyle Dubas announced that Petan is now fit to play and is expected to be placed on the roster with forward Mac Hollowell being removed, according to NHL.com’s Mike Zeisberger. Petan was left off the intitial roster that the Maple Leafs released and should be a solid depth option for Toronto after the 25-year-old appeared in 16 games for the Maple Leafs.

Several NHL Teams Release Training Camp Rosters

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With training camps expected to open tomorrow for the upcoming 24-team tournament, teams have been given until Monday at 6 p.m. CT to get their rosters handed into the league. Several teams have released their lists early. The rosters will be updated throughout the day as other teams post their selections. Training camp rosters are limited to 30 players plus an unlimited number of goalies.

Arizona Coyotes (via team tweet):
Forwards: Brayden Burke, Michael Chaput, Lawson Crouse, Christian Dvorak, Hudson Fasching, Christian Fischer, Conor Garland, Michael Grabner, Taylor Hall, Barrett Hayton, Vinnie Hinostroza, Clayton Keller, Phil Kessel, Brad Richardson, Nick Schmaltz, Carl Soderberg, Derek Stepan.
Defensemen: Kyle Capobianco, Jakob Chychrun, Jason Demers, Oliver Ekman-Larsson, Alex Goligoski, Jordan Gross, Niklas Hjalmarsson, Ilya Lyubushkin, Aaron Ness, Jordan Oesterle, Victor Soderstrom.
Goalies: Adin Hill, Darcy Kuemper, Ivan Prosvetov, Antti Raanta.

Boston Bruins (via team tweet):
Forwards: Patrice Bergeron, Anders Bjork, Anton Blidh, Paul Carey, Charlie Coyle, Jake Debrusk, Trent Frederic, Ondrej Kase, David Krejci, Sean Kuraly, Karson Kuhlman, Par Lindholm, Brad Marchand, Joakim Nordstrom, David Pastrnak, Nick Ritchie, Zachary Senyshyn, Jack Studnicka, Chris Wagner.
Defensemen: Brandon Carlo, Zdeno Chara, Connor Clifton, Matt Grzelcyk, Torey Krug, Jeremy Lauzon, Charlie McAvoy, John Moore, Urho Vaakanainen, Jakub Zboril.
Goalies: Jaroslav Halak, Maxime Lagace, Tuukka Rask, Dan Vladar.

Calgary Flames (via team release):
Forwards: Mikael Backlund, Sam Bennett, Austin Czarnik, Dillon Dube, Byron Froese, Johnny Gaudreau, Glenn Gawdin, Mark Jankowski, Elias Lindholm, Milan Lucic, Andrew Mangiapane, Sean Monahan, Matthew Phillips, Alan Quine, Tobias Rieder, Zac Rinaldo, Buddy Robinson, Adam Ruzicka, Derek Ryan, Matthew Tkachuk.
Defensemen: Rasmus Andersson, T.J. Brodie, Derek Forbort, Mark Giordano, Erik Gustafsson, Noah Hanifin, Oliver Kylington, Connor Mackey, Michael Stone, Juuso Valimaki, Alexander Yelesin.
Goalies: Jon Gillies, David Rittich, Cam Talbot, Artyom Zagidulin.

Carolina Hurricanes (via team tweet):
Forwards: Sebastian Aho, Ryan Dzingel, Warren Foegele, Morgan Geekie, Steven Lorentz, Jordan Martinook, Max McCormick, Brock McGinn, Martin Necas, Nino Niederreiter, Jordan Staal, Ryan Suzuki, Andrei Svechnikov, Teuvo Teravainen, Vincent Trocheck, Justin Williams.
Defensemen: Jake Bean, Joel Edmundson, Haydn Fleury, Jake Gardiner, Dougie Hamilton, Brady Skjei, Jaccob Slavin, Trevor van Riemsdyk, Sami Vatanen.
Goalies: Anton Forsberg, Petr Mrazek, Alex Nedeljkovic, James Reimer.
Injured: Brett Pesce.

Columbus Blue Jackets (via team release):
Forwards: Cam Atkinson, Emil Bemstrom, Oliver Bjorkstrand, Pierre-Luc Dubois, Nick Foligno, Liam Foudy, Nathan Gerbe, Boone Jenner, Ryan MacInnis, Stefan Matteau, Riley Nash, Gustav Nyquist, Eric Robinson, Kole Sherwood, Devin Shore, Kevin Stenlund, Alexandre Texier, Alexander Wennberg.
Defensemen: Gabriel Carlsson, Adam Clendening, Vladislav Gavrikov, Scott Harrington, Seth Jones, Dean Kukan, Ryan Murray, Markus Nutivaara, Andrew Peeke, David Savard, Zach Werenski.
Goalies: Matiss Kivlenieks, Joonas Korpisalo, Elvis Merzlikins, Veini Vehvilainen.

Dallas Stars (via team release):
Forwards: Jamie Benn, Nicholas Caamano, Andrew Cogliano, Blake Comeau, Ty Dellandrea, Jason Dickinson, Justin Dowling, Radek Faksa, Rhett Gardner, Denis Gurianov, Roope Hintz, Mattias Janmark, Joel Kiviranta, Joel L’Esperance, Joe Pavelski, Corey Perry, Alexander Radulov, Jason Robertson, Tyler Seguin.
Defensemen: Gavin Bayreuther, Taylor Fedun, Joel Hanley, Thomas Harley, Dillon Heatherington, Miro Heiskanen, Stephen Johns, John Klingberg, Esa Lindell, Jamie Oleksiak, Andrej Sekera.
Goalies: Ben Bishop, Landon Bow, Anton Khudobin, Jake Oettinger, Colton Point.

Edmonton Oilers (via team release):
Forwards: Josh Archibald, Andreas Athanasiou, Tyler Benson, Alex Chiasson, Leon Draisaitl, Gaetan Haas, Tyler Ennis, Zack Kassian, Jujhar Khaira, Cooper Marody, Connor McDavid, Ryan McLeod, James Neal, Ryan Nugent-Hopkins, Joakim Nygard, Patrick Russell, Riley Sheahan, Kailer Yamamoto.
Defensemen: Ethan Bear, Matt Benning, Evan Bouchard, Philip Broberg, Caleb Jones, Oscar Klefbom, William Lagesson, Adam Larsson, Darnell Nurse, Kris Russell.
Goalies: Mikko Koskinen, Olivier Rodrigue, Stuart Skinner, Mike Smith, Dylan Wells.

Minnesota Wild (via team release):
Forwards: Sam Anas, J.T. Brown, Ryan Donato, Joel Eriksson Ek, Kevin Fiala, Marcus Foligno, Alex Galchenyuk, Jordan Greenway, Ryan Hartman, Luke Johnson, Mikko Koivu, Luke Kunin, Gerald Mayhew, Zach Parise, Victor Rask, Kyle Rau, Eric Staal, Nico Sturm, Mats Zuccarello.
Defensemen: Calen Addison, Matt Bartkowski, Louis Belpedio, Jonas Brodin, Matt Dumba, Brad Hunt, Brennan Menell, Carson Soucy, Jared Spurgeon, Ryan Suter.
Goalies: Devan Dubnyk, Kaapo Kahkonen, Mat Robson, Alex Stalock. Injured: Greg Pateryn.

Pittsburgh Penguins (via team release):
Forwards: Anthony Angello, Zach Aston-Reese, Teddy Blueger, Sidney Crosby, Jake Guentzel, Patric Hornqvist, Adam Johnson, Sam Lafferty, Evgeni Malkin, Patrick Marleau, Jared McCann, Sam Miletic, Samuel Poulin, Evan Rodrigues, Bryan Rust, Conor Sheary, Brandon Tanev, Phil Varone, Jason Zucker.
Defensemen: Kevin Czuczman, Brian Dumoulin, Jack Johnson, Pierre-Olivier Joseph, Kris Letang, John Marino, Marcus Pettersson, Juuso Riikola, Chad Ruhwedel, Justin Schultz.
Goalies: Casey DeSmith, Alex D’Orio, Tristan Jarry, Emil Larmi, Matt Murray.

Tampa Bay Lightning (via team release):
Forwards: Alex Barre-Boulet, Anthony Cirelli, Blake Coleman, Barclay Goodrow, Yanni Gourde, Tyler Johnson, Alex Killorn, Nikita Kucherov, Pat Maroon, Ondrej Palat, Cedric Paquette, Brayden Point, Steven Stamkos, Mitchell Stephens, Carter Verhaeghe, Alexander Volkov, Mathieu Joseph, Gemel Smith, Luke Witkowski.
Defensemen: Zach Bogosian, Erik Cernak, Braydon Coburn, Cal Foote, Victor Hedman, Ryan McDonagh, Jan Rutta, Luke Schenn, Mikhail Sergachev, Kevin Shattenkirk.
Goalies: Spencer Martin, Curtis McElhinney, Andrei Vasilevskiy, Scott Wedgewood.

Toronto Maple Leafs (via team tweet):
Forwards: Kenny Agostino, Adam Brooks, Kyle Clifford, Pierre Engvall, Tyler Gaudet, Frederik Gauthier, Zach Hyman, Kasperi Kapanen, Alexander Kerfoot, Egor Korshkov, Denis Malgin, Mitch Marner, Auston Matthews, Ilya Mikheyev, William Nylander, Nic Petan, Nicholas Robertson, Jason Spezza, John Tavares.
Defensemen: Tyson Barrie, Cody Ceci, Travis Dermott, Justin Holl, Teemu Kivihalme, Timothy Liljegren, Martin Marincin, Jake Muzzin, Morgan Rielly, Calle Rosen, Rasmus Sandin.
Goalies: Frederik Andersen, Jack Campbell, Kasimir Kaskisuo, Joseph Woll.

Vancouver Canucks (via team release):
Forwards: Justin Bailey, Jay Beagle, Brock Boeser, Loui Eriksson, Micheal Ferland, Adam Gaudette, Tyler Graovac, Bo Horvat, Kole Lind, Zack MacEwen, J.T. Miller, Tyler Motte, Tanner Pearson, Elias Pettersson, Antoine Roussel, Brandon Sutter, Tyler Toffoli, Jake Virtanen.
Defensemen: Jordie Benn, Guillaume Brisebois, Jalen Chatfield, Alexander Edler, Oscar Fantenberg, Quinn Hughes, Olli Juolevi, Tyler Myers, Brogan Rafferty, Ashton Sautner, Troy Stecher, Chris Tanev.
Goalies: Thatcher Demko, Micheal DiPietro; Louis Domingue, Jacob Markstrom.

Vegas Golden Knights (via team release):
Forwards: Patrick Brown, William Carrier, Nick Cousins, Reid Duke, William Karlsson, Keegan Kolesar, Peyton Krebs, Jonathan Marchessault, Tomas Nosek, Gage Quinney, Max Pacioretty, Ryan Reaves, Nicolas Roy, Reilly Smith, Paul Stastny, Chandler Stephenson, Mark Stone, Alex Tuch.
Defensemen: Jake Bischoff, Dylan Coghlan, Deryk Engelland, Nicolas Hague, Nick Holden, Alec Martinez, Brayden McNabb, Jonathon Merrill, Nate Schmidt, Jimmy Schuldt, Shea Theodore, Zach Whitecloud.
Goalies: Oscar Dansk, Marc-Andre Fleury, Robin Lehner.

 

NHL Players Grappling With Monday’s Opt-Out Deadline

at CDT | by 6 Comments

NHL players will have three extra days to decide whether or not to play in the 24-team playoff that begins on August 1, per Adrian Dater of Colorado Hockey Now. Anyone opting out will have to do so before Monday night.

But don’t expect a whole host of skaters to sit this one out, writes The Athletic’s Scott Burnside. Families being allowed into hub cities starting with the conference championships have allayed some concerns, but there are still players with pregnant wives and pre-existing conditions who must think twice before putting themselves at risk.

One general manager, speaking anonymously, posited that there was a good chunk of NHL players who do not prefer to return to play under these conditions, per Burnside. This is a refrain we’ve heard numerous times in recent weeks, but always anonymously. That fact alone speaks to the complicated cultural hurdles facing the NHL. The option of opting out is always couched in this idea that NHL’s culture of toughness won’t allow for abstainers.

The Columbus Blue Jackets, for one, don’t expect anyone to opt-out, but that doesn’t mean it’s an automatic call, writes The Athletic’s Aaron Portzline. Portzline spells out the dilemma facing Nick Foligno to give a sense of the types of decisions players are dealing with: “He’s the Blue Jackets’ captain, so he has an enormous responsibility within the dressing room. But he’s also the father of a child with a pre-existing condition. His daughter, Milana, was born with a congenital heart defect and has had multiple surgeries. That makes her more vulnerable to the COVID-19 virus.”

The league itself does not require players to cite any specific reason for opting out. Given the culture of the NHL, however, it seems that any player who makes that choice will be scrutinized. And yet, that’s not the same as being stigmatized – and that’s an important distinction. There’s a lot of understanding in the league right now, and given the absolute dangers of COVID-19, players and coaches alike realize that the decision to play – or not to play – is deeply personal.

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