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NHL Postpones Four Minnesota Wild Games

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As a result of the Minnesota Wild having five more players placed on the COVID Protocol Related Absences list today, joining Marcus Foligno who has been there since Sunday, the NHL announced the postponements of their games through February 9th.  That means their next four games at a minimum will need to be rescheduled for later in the year. 18 games had been postponed previous to this one, affecting the schedules of Dallas, Florida, Tampa Bay, Carolina, Nashville, St. Louis, Vegas, San Jose, Buffalo, NY Islanders, NY Rangers, New Jersey, Pittsburgh, and Boston. Only the North Division is untouched so far.

The Wild will shut down their training facilities indefinitely and the schedule will continue to be revised as testing comes in. After tomorrow’s game against the Avalanche, the team was scheduled to host the Arizona Coyotes for a back-to-back this weekend, before welcoming in the St. Louis Blues on Tuesday and Thursday next week.

The postponement/rescheduling table now looks like this:

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COVID Protocol Related Absences: 02/03/21

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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 list for today:

Buffalo – Taylor Hall, Rasmus Ristolainen, Brandon Montour*, Tobias Rieder*
Chicago – Adam Boqvist, Ryan Carpenter, Lucas Wallmark
Colorado – Tyson Jost*
Dallas – Andrej Sekera
Detroit –Filip Zadina
Los Angeles – Andreas Athanasiou, Blake Lizotte
Minnesota – Marcus Foligno, Nick Bjugstad*, Nick Bonino*, Joel Eriksson Ek*, Marcus Johansson*, Jared Spurgeon*
New Jersey – Connor Carrick, Aaron Dell, Kyle Palmieri, Sami Vatanen, Travis Zajac, Andreas Johnsson, Janne Kuokkanen, Michael McLeod, Pavel Zacha, Jack Hughes, Damon Severson, Ty Smith, Matt Tennyson, Jesper Bratt, Nathan Bastian*, Nikita Gusev*, Yegor Sharangovich*
Pittsburgh – John Marino*
Vegas – Alex Pietrangelo
Washington – Evgeny Kuznetsov, Ilya Samsonov
Winnipeg – Pierre-Luc Dubois

As a reminder, inclusion on this list does not mean that a player has tested positive for Coronavirus or even that they have been confirmed as a close contact to another positive person. Included in the NHL’s list of possible reasons for someone being on the list is are the following:

(1) an initial positive test which remains unconfirmed until confirmatory testing is completed pursuant to the Positive Test Protocol; (2) mandated isolation for symptomatic individuals pursuant to the Positive Test Protocol; (3) required quarantine as a high-risk close contact in accordance with the Positive Test Protocol; (4) isolation based on a confirmed positive test result and/or; (5) quarantine for travel or other reasons as outlined in the COVID-19 Protocol

Players removed today: Sam Gagner, Detroit Red Wings; Jonathon Merrill, Detroit Red Wings; Kaapo Kakko, New York Rangers

The big news is the addition of five players from Minnesota and one from Colorado, who played each other last night (and twice before that). Tomorrow’s game between the two clubs is expected to be postponed, but it is not clear yet how many matches will be affected.

The Devils are up to 17 players on the list as they deal with the biggest outbreak of the regular season, while the Sabres–who played the Devils on the weekend–are now up to four. Both teams currently have all activities suspended and games postponed.

Marino’s placement for the Penguins comes at a brutal stretch while they’re without almost all of their top options on defense, though again it is not clear if he has tested positive or how long he will be kept away from the team.

*denotes new addition

Snapshots: Weekes, Ontario, Vegas

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There’s another interesting name to throw on the pile of candidates for the Pittsburgh Penguins’ GM job, as Frank Seravalli of TSN reports that NHL Network analyst Kevin Weekes will be among the first to interview for the role. The former NHL goaltender has no experience in the front office but did play more than a decade in the league and has been a strong broadcaster since his retirement.

Patrik Allvin, the interim GM, will also be among the first few interviews according to Seravalli. Just yesterday it was reported that both Chris Drury and John Ferguson Jr. had received permission from their respective teams to speak with the Penguins, while many other candidates have been mentioned since Jim Rutherford’s unexpected resignation.

  • The AHL released a schedule for the season that is set to start on Friday, but no games were listed for the North Division, made up of the Canadian-based teams. That’s because of some resistance from the Ontario provincial government, but Chris Johnston of Sportsnet reports that there has been some progress between the two sides. The Toronto Marlies and Belleville Senators, the two teams based in Ontario, will likely have to start the season on a road trip to make things work according to Johnston, but could be “up and running in the next week or two.”
  • The Vegas Golden Knights are set to resume their schedule on Friday against the Los Angeles Kings after positive COVID tests shut things down, and were on the ice today preparing. Among those absent from practice were defenseman Alex Pietrangelo and head coach Pete DeBoer, along with assistants Ryan Craig and Ryan McGill. There is still a little bit of time before the game for Pietrangelo to come off the COVID Protocol Related Absences list, but for now, it appears as though they will prepare without their big free agent acquisition. Kaedan Korczak, one of the team’s top defensive prospects, was recalled to the taxi squad today.

COVID Protocol Related Absences: 02/02/21

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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 Anaheim Ducks are still listed as TBA, but the rest of the list is in:

Anaheim – TBA
Buffalo – Taylor Hall*, Rasmus Ristolainen* 
Chicago – Adam Boqvist, Ryan Carpenter; Lucas Wallmark
Dallas – Andrej Sekera
Detroit – Sam Gagner, Jonathon Merrill, Filip Zadina
Los Angeles – Andreas Athanasiou, Blake Lizotte
Minnesota – Marcus Foligno
New Jersey – Connor Carrick, Aaron Dell, Kyle Palmieri, Sami Vatanen, Travis Zajac, Andreas Johnsson, Janne Kuokkanen, Michael McLeod, Pavel Zacha, Jack Hughes*, Damon Severson*, Ty Smith*, Matt Tennyson*, Jesper Bratt*
NY Rangers – Kaapo Kakko
Vegas – Alex Pietrangelo
Washington – Evgeny Kuznetsov, Ilya Samsonov
Winnipeg – Pierre-Luc Dubois

As a reminder, inclusion on this list does not mean that a player has tested positive for Coronavirus or even that they have been confirmed as a close contact to another positive person. Included in the NHL’s list of possible reasons for someone being on the list is are the following:

(1) an initial positive test which remains unconfirmed until confirmatory testing is completed pursuant to the Positive Test Protocol; (2) mandated isolation for symptomatic individuals pursuant to the Positive Test Protocol; (3) required quarantine as a high-risk close contact in accordance with the Positive Test Protocol; (4) isolation based on a confirmed positive test result and/or; (5) quarantine for travel or other reasons as outlined in the COVID-19 Protocol

Players removed today: Jesper Fast, Carolina Hurricanes; Nicolas Beaudin, Chicago Blackhawks; Alex DeBrincat, Chicago Blackhawks; Adam Erne, Detroit Red Wings; Robby Fabbri, Detroit Red Wings

The huge news today is the exploding outbreak in New Jersey, where now 14 players are listed in the COVID Protocol. The Sabres, who played the Devils on Sunday (and Saturday) before they were shut down, also now have two players listed and have shutdown their own operation for the rest of the week.

*denotes new addition

Buffalo Sabres Games Postponed Through February 8

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The NHL has not only postponed tonight’s Buffalo Sabres game, but all of their games through February 8. That includes another game against the New York Islanders on Thursday and two against the Boston Bruins (Saturday and Monday). The decision was made after two players—Rasmus Ristolainen and Taylor Hall—entered the league’s COVID Protocols.

The Sabres training facilities have been closed, effective immediately and will remain so until further notice. The schedule is still being reviewed as the situation progresses.

Buffalo was reportedly “furious” with a lack of information when they played the New Jersey Devils over the weekend, including hitting the ice against several players that entered the league’s COVID Protocol Related Absences the next day. John Vogl of The Athletic writes that the Sabres requested more information on the health of the Devils from the NHL, but that request was denied. Kyle Palmieri played on Saturday before hitting the CPRA list on Sunday, while Andreas Johnsson, Janne Kuokkanen, Michael McLeod and Pavel Zacha played in both games before being listed on Monday.

They’ll now miss at least four games that will need to be fit into the schedule down the road.

NHL Postpones Sabres-Islanders

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The NHL has postponed another game, this time between the Buffalo Sabres and New York Islanders tonight. The release explains as follows:

The National Hockey League announced that tonight’s Buffalo Sabres vs. NY Islanders game is being postponed due to the League’s COVID Protocol.  Due to weather conditions yesterday, the Sabres altered their travel schedule so as to fly today to New York.  So that required COVID contact tracing and testing protocols can be completed appropriately, the decision has been made to re-schedule the game for a future date.

The Sabres recently played the New Jersey Devils, who have experienced a COVID outbreak and had ten players on yesterday’s COVID Protocol Related Absences list. John Vogl of The Athletic tweets that a source has told him “Buffalo is furious” and that the Sabres asked the league for more information when Travis Zajac and Kyle Palmieri were added to the list but did not receive it.

This will be the 15th game postponed so far this season and fourth in the East Division just over the past two days. The Devils will be shut down for at least a week while they try to contain the spread. The Sabres are scheduled to play the Islanders again on Thurdsay, before heading to Boston for a Saturday night game against the Bruins.

COVID Protocol Related Absences: 02/01/21

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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 today’s group:

Carolina – Jesper Fast
Chicago – Nicholas Beaudin, Adam Boqvist, Ryan Carpenter; Alex DeBrincat, Lucas Wallmark
Dallas – Andrej Sekera
Detroit – Adam Erne, Robby Fabbri, Sam Gagner, Jonathon Merrill, Filip Zadina
Los Angeles – Andreas Athanasiou, Blake Lizotte
Minnesota – Marcus Foligno
New Jersey – Mackenzie Blackwood, Connor Carrick, Aaron Dell, Kyle Palmieri, Sami Vatanen, Travis Zajac, Andreas Johnsson*, Janne Kuokkanen*, Michael McLeod*, Pavel Zacha*
NY Rangers – Kaapo Kakko*
Vegas – Alex Pietrangelo
Washington – Evgeny Kuznetsov, Ilya Samsonov
Winnipeg – Pierre-Luc Dubois

As a reminder, inclusion on this list does not mean that a player has tested positive for Coronavirus or even that they have been confirmed as a close contact to another positive person. Included in the NHL’s list of possible reasons for someone being on the list is are the following:

(1) an initial positive test which remains unconfirmed until confirmatory testing is completed pursuant to the Positive Test Protocol; (2) mandated isolation for symptomatic individuals pursuant to the Positive Test Protocol; (3) required quarantine as a high-risk close contact in accordance with the Positive Test Protocol; (4) isolation based on a confirmed positive test result and/or; (5) quarantine for travel or other reasons as outlined in the COVID-19 Protocol

Players removed today: Patrik Laine, Columbus Blue Jackets

The big news is the huge outbreak in New Jersey, where three games have been postponed because of the ten players on the CPRA list. The Devils will not play for the next week, though obviously test results could extend that even further. Several of these players took part in yesterday’s game against the Buffalo Sabres, but thankfully no Sabres players were included here today. It’s important to remember that at least some of the Devils listed are because of travel protocols (Vatanen, Dell), or, in the case of Carrick because he left the team for the birth of a child.

Laine meanwhile hit the ice today for the first time since his trade to the Blue Jackets after serving his 48-hour quarantine. He’s expected to be in the lineup tomorrow night to make his Columbus debut.

Kakko too was added today for the Rangers, who recalled Jonny Brodzinski from the AHL earlier today. The young forward has two goals in eight games and will now miss some time as he moves through the protocol. The Rangers play this evening against the Penguins and Thursday against the Capitals.

*denotes new addition

NHL Postpones Several New Jersey Devils Games

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More NHL games have been postponed, this time because of a COVID outbreak among the New Jersey Devils. At least the team’s next three games, including two against the Pittsburgh Penguins and one against the New York Rangers, have been postponed due to the COVID protocol. The Devils have ten players on the COVID Protocol Related Absences list today.

This makes 14 games that have been officially postponed during the first few weeks of the 2020-21 season. All of those contests were outside of the East Division, meaning this is the first disruption to the schedule for the Devils, Penguins, and Rangers.

The team’s training facilities have been closed to all players on the active roster effective immediately and will remain so until further notice. The league is continuing to review the Devils’ schedule. There could be further postponements beyond February 6, but at this point, only the next three games have been pushed.

Postponed Vegas Golden Knights Games Rescheduled

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Feb 1: The league has announced schedule changes following the three postponements. The following has been rescheduled:

  • Game #122, St. Louis at Vegas, originally scheduled for Jan. 28, is now scheduled for Monday, March 22 at 10 p.m. ET
  • Game #149, Vegas at San Jose, originally scheduled for Feb. 1, is now scheduled for Saturday, Feb. 13 at 4 p.m. ET
  • Game #162, Vegas at San Jose, originally scheduled for Feb. 3, is now scheduled for Thursday, Feb. 25 at 10:30 p.m. ET
  • Game #241, Anaheim at San Jose, originally scheduled for Feb.13, is now scheduled for Tuesday, April 6 at 10:30 p.m.  ET
  • Game #325, Vegas at Anaheim, originally scheduled for Feb. 26, is now scheduled for Friday, April 23 at 10 p.m. ET
  • Game #326, St. Louis at San Jose, originally scheduled for Feb. 26, is now scheduled for Monday, March 8 at 10:30 p.m. ET

Jan 29: The NHL has postponed two more Vegas Golden Knights games, despite no other players from the team appearing on the COVID Protocol Related Absences list. Games against the San Jose Sharks scheduled for Monday and Wednesday have both been postponed and will be played later in the schedule.

In the release, the league specifies that three members of the Golden Knights coaching staff and one player (presumably Alex Pietrangelo, who is on the CPRA list) are isolating currently. The teams training facilities will remain closed until further notice.

The Golden Knights are currently scheduled to welcome in the Los Angeles Kings next on February 5, though it is not clear if the situation will have resolved by then. The league has not announced when the two games against the Sharks will be played, but that is now three postponed matches the Golden Knights must fit somewhere into their remaining schedule.

Perhaps the team’s four-day break in April, which follows a series against the Sharks will be the easiest place to fit the games in, though these postponements mean there will be very little rest for Vegas down the stretch.

COVID Protocol Related Absences: 01/31/21

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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 today’s group:

Carolina – Jesper Fast
Chicago – Nicholas Beaudin; Adam Boqvist; Ryan Carpenter; Alex DeBrincat; Lucas Wallmark
Columbus – Patrik Laine
Dallas – Andrej Sekera*
Detroit – Adam Erne; Robby Fabbri; Sam Gagner; Jonathon Merrill; Filip Zadina
Los Angeles – TBA
Minnesota – Marcus Foligno*
New Jersey – Mackenzie Blackwood; Connor Carrick; Aaron Dell; Kyle Palmieri*; Sami Vatanen*; Travis Zajac
Vegas – Alex Pietrangelo
Washington – Evgeny Kuznetsov; Ilya Samsonov
Winnipeg – Pierre-Luc Dubois

As a reminder, inclusion on this list does not mean that a player has tested positive for Coronavirus or even that they have been confirmed as a close contact to another positive person. Included in the NHL’s list of possible reasons for someone being on the list is are the following:

(1) an initial positive test which remains unconfirmed until confirmatory testing is completed pursuant to the Positive Test Protocol; (2) mandated isolation for symptomatic individuals pursuant to the Positive Test Protocol; (3) required quarantine as a high-risk close contact in accordance with the Positive Test Protocol; (4) isolation based on a confirmed positive test result and/or; (5) quarantine for travel or other reasons as outlined in the COVID-19 Protocol

No word yet on the status of Andreas Athanasiou and Blake Lizotte who were both on the list Saturday, but the list now says TBA, suggesting the two could be activated soon.

*denotes new addition

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