Headlines

Go To MLB Trade Rumors
Go To Hoops Rumors

Coronavirus

Corey Crawford Confirms Positive COVID-19 Test

at CDT | by 2 Comments

Corey Crawford’s absence from the first twelve days of Chicago’s training camp came as a surprise and the team was only able to provide the ’unfit to play’ designation.  Crawford himself revealed the reason, telling reporters, including Scott Powers of The Athletic (Twitter link) that he tested positive for COVID-19.  As a result, he had to spend the last couple of weeks in self-quarantine.

The good news for the Blackhawks is that he was cleared to practice today for the first time.  Despite the short-term uncertainty surrounding when he’d be cleared to play, he was among the 31 players on Chicago’s eligible player list that was submitted on Friday, reports Sportsnet’s Mark Spector (Twitter link).  He’ll now have the next week to get prepared for their Qualifying Round series against Edmonton which begins next weekend.

The veteran will be leaned on heavily against the Oilers.  With Chicago trading Robin Lehner at the deadline, Malcolm Subban is now their backup so Crawford should get the chance to run with the starting job.  A pending unrestricted free agent, the 35-year-old will be hoping that his play through their return (however long the Blackhawks last) will help propel him to land another starting role, be it in Chicago or elsewhere in October.

Restart Notes: Rosters, Player Tracking, Edmonton Arena, Bubble

at CDT | by Leave a Comment

The NHL held a call with reporters today to go over some of the final elements of the NHL’s return which officially gets underway next weekend in Toronto and Edmonton.  Here are some of the important parts from that call (all links to Twitter).

  • Final rosters had to be submitted today by 4 PM CT, relays Terry Koshan of the Toronto Sun. A maximum of 31 players are allowed while teams can only bring 52 people into the bubble.  While teams are still a couple of days away from travelling there, the league needs the time to properly vet each roster.  Teams will have an opportunity to evaluate a couple of extra players in next week’s exhibition game, however.  Sportsnet’s Chris Johnston reports that teams will be able to dress an extra forward and defenseman for that contest, noting that a couple of GMs made that request when the exhibition schedule was cut to just the single game.
  • Player and puck tracking have seemingly been on the horizon for a couple of years now but it has been delayed. While it seemed like this would provide the perfect opportunity to test it out, it will not be in place through the first two playoff rounds, mentions Stephen Whyno of the Associated Press.  However, Deputy Commissioner Bill Daly didn’t rule out the possibility of it happening once the Conference Finals begin and play is limited to just one facility in Edmonton.
  • Speaking of Edmonton’s facility, it sustained some damage from a recent storm. However, as NHL.com’s Dan Rosen notes, NHL content and events chief Steve Mayer indicated the damage has been repaired and the equipment replaced so there are no lingering issues or concerns about hosting part of the NHL’s return.
  • One of the lingering questions has been what the punishment would be if a player leaves the bubble without approval. As Postmedia’s Derek Van Diest points out, those players will be sent home and won’t be allowed back in.  This isn’t expected to affect those who will be leaving for family matters, such as Washington’s Lars Eller.

Brett Kulak, Jayce Hawryluk Confirm Positive COVID-19 Tests

at CDT | by 1 Comment

While the NHL hasn’t been making announcements on which players have tested positive for COVID-19, a handful of players have acknowledged that they have had the virus.  Two more have done so recently in Canadiens defenseman Brett Kulak and Senators center Jayce Hawryluk.

Following practice today, Kulak confirmed to reporters, including Sportsnet’s Eric Engels (Twitter links) that he was dealing with symptoms for a little more than a week after initially testing negative just prior to the start of camp.  Two positive tests quickly followed and he was only recently cleared to rejoin the team.  The 26-year-old is in the mix for a spot on Montreal’s third pairing for their series against Pittsburgh but after missing so much of camp, he might be on the outside looking in for next weekend’s start.

Meanwhile, Hawryluk was among those that tested positive back in March when the pandemic was just beginning.  He discussed what happened with Thomas Drance of The Athletic (subscription required) and wonders if he played through their last game (one in which he scored) with the virus.  Of the five Senators to test positive, the pending restricted free agent is the only one to publicly confirm his positive test.

NHL Issues Update On COVID-19 Testing

at CDT | by Leave a Comment

Every Monday during the NHL’s return to play, the league plans on giving an update of the COVID-19 testing numbers. That update came this afternoon and was quite encouraging by all accounts. The league has announced that only two players tested positive during the first week of Phase 3 (training camp), despite administering 2,618 tests to more than 800 individuals.

That number was expected by many to go up as players came from all around the world to join their club’s training camp, especially given they are not yet in the “bubble” environment that will be used in Phase 4 (games). While this by no means indicates that the league is safe from the virus, it does lead to some hope that the protocols they have put in place are working.

The league will continue to meticulously screen and test their athletes and staff as the playoffs draw near, but we are now just a week away from teams reporting to their “bubble cities” and being isolated from the rest of society. Many analysts have expressed that getting the teams into those bubbles would be the biggest challenge, and if they got there the 24-team tournament would have a chance to be completed.

USA Hockey Cancels World Junior Summer Showcase

at CDT | by 5 Comments

After countless setbacks, USA Hockey has decided to cancel this year’s World Junior Summer Showcase. The event was scheduled to be held from July 24-31 in Plymouth, Michigan, and is normally comprised of the best junior-aged prospects from around the world. Unfortunately, due to the coronavirus outbreak, Canada, Finland, and Sweden had already pulled out of the tournament. USA Hockey was trying to stage it with only American-born junior players, but have now decided to cancel the entire event. U.S. National Junior Team GM John Vanbiesbrouck released a statement on the decision:

We’re disappointed on many fronts, but thought it was in the best interest of everyone involved to not hold the event. Regardless, we’re excited about the level of talent in our country and look forward to putting a team together that can compete for the gold medal. We’ll continue to look at all options to get our players and staff together ahead of selecting our team.

The 43-player roster that had been previously announced will now have to hope they are selected for the World Junior tournament without a first-hand impression. Recently, reports had surfaced that three of those players had tested positive for COVID-19. The release from USA Hockey does not indicate that was the reason for the cancelation.

Metropolitan Notes: Penguins, Patrick, Gostisbehere

at CDT | by 4 Comments

The Pittsburgh Penguins have decided to sideline nine players from training camp after they were potentially exposed to an individual that has tested positive for COVID-19. The players will now go through the NHL’s protocol to be deemed safe to return before taking part in training camp. The team did not release the names of the players who have been held out because of this exposure.

These kinds of restrictions will likely happen in several camps as teams prepare for the upcoming playoff tournament. Today the league announced that 43 players have now tested positive for COVID-19, including 30 that were taking part in Phase 2 activities. Players all around the league are being deemed “unfit to participate” in camp, though that does not necessarily indicate coronavirus-induced absences. In Washington for instance, Michal Kempny, Alexander Alexeyev, and Ilya Samsonov were all absent from Capitals practice, but the team did not provide any specifics as to why.

  • For the Philadelphia Flyers, one important player will be absent from the entire training camp and playoffs, but it isn’t due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Nolan Patrick was not listed on the team’s training camp roster after missing the entire season with a migraine disorder, and Flyers GM Cliff Fletcher told reporters including Sam Carchidi of the Philadelphia Inquirer that the focus for their young forward is getting healthy enough for 2020-21. Patrick, the second overall pick in 2017, has played 145 regular season games to this point in his career and has 61 points. The 21-year old will also be a restricted free agent this offseason.
  • One player that is at Philadelphia training camp is Shayne Gostisbehere, despite apparently undergoing knee surgery seven weeks ago. Gostisbehere revealed the surgery to reporters today, indicating that it was an arthroscopic procedure. That may sound familiar to Flyers fans, as the 27-year old defenseman had a similar procedure in January but while that surgery was on his left knee, this was his right. Gostisbehere’s production fell off a cliff this season as he scored just 12 points in 42 games after amassing 187 through his first four seasons in the NHL. As he hopes to be ready for the tournament, the team will have some tough decisions on who to ice on defense once they find out who they’re up against. The Flyers are one of four teams that will play a round-robin to determine seeding before matching up against one of the qualification round winners.

Prospect Notes: Summer Showcase, USHL, Blues

at CDT | by 1 Comment

Three players from the US National Team Development Program have tested positive for COVID-19 according to Katie Strang and Craig Custance of The Athletic (subscription required), throwing the viability of holding the World Junior Summer Showcase later this month into question. Though the other usual participating nations—Canada, Finland, and Sweden—had pulled out of the event already, USA Hockey was still planning on holding the event in Plymouth, Michigan starting July 24.

The report examines how that will be difficult given Michigan’s current health mandates. Last month, USA Hockey announced the 43-man roster for the event, which includes nine members from the previous World Junior team that finished in sixth place. Other high-profile prospects like Cole Caufield (MTL), Spencer Knight (FLA), Trevor Zegras (ANA), and Alex Turcotte (LAK) were all included on the roster.

  • The USHL will drive forward with plans to hold a full 2020-21 season, announcing today that is still their main focus. The league was forced to cancel the remainder of the 2019-20 season due to the coronavirus outbreak but like all junior leagues are trying to find a way back into competition this fall. While there were no dates or timelines in the release, the league’s board of directors will (digitally) meet weekly to work towards a “return to play for the 2020-21 season while ensuring the safety of everyone involved.”
  • How will Scott Perunovich fare in professional hockey? The Athletic’s Scott Wheeler (subscription required) took a look at the reigning Hobey Baker Award winner and several other St. Louis Blues prospects today, giving NHL comparisons for each one. In Wheeler’s words, Perunovich was the most difficult one to find a comparison for because “there aren’t a lot of 5-foot-10 defensemen in the NHL and none of them play quite like [him].”

COVID-19 Outbreak In Edmonton Hospital Doesn’t Alter NHL Plans

at CDT | by

All services have been closed to the public at Edmonton’s Misericordia Hospital after a COVID-19 outbreak left 20 patients and 15 staff members infected, per Nicole Bergot of the Edmonton Journal. Edmonton, of course, is prepared to be one of the NHL’s hub cities as play resumes on August 1.

The NHL and NHLPA have seemingly put together an amazing week of work to find common ground in the hopes of returning to play – and as of right now, this outbreak doesn’t change the NHL’s plans, per Jason Kay of the Hockey News. These playoffs – should they happen – will be unlike anything the NHL has orchestrated in recent years.

To briefly recap: the 5 through 12 seeds in each conference are preparing for head-to-head five-game series on neutral ice that will determine the final four playoff competitors in each conference. Though the stakes are as high or maybe higher than a traditional NHL playoff series, the scope and logistics are much different.

For starters, there’s the simple fact that after a long layoff, players are jumping right into an elimination round. They are trying to work themselves back into game shape in the most unique environment they’ve likely ever played. Facing potential separation from their families and the constant fear of contracting coronavirus, the “it’s only a game” idiom no longer holds true. On the other hand, assuming most players can “get back to it” without setbacks – a huge assumption – it’s the same game these players have played their entire lives.

Still, to jump right into a five-game elimination round (as opposed to the typical seven-game playoff) could set the stage for even more parity than in most years. Not only will teams have less room for error, but top seeds have lost the advantage of home ice. Broadly-speaking, this lowers their probability of surviving any given game from 55 percent to an even 50-50 split, per TSN’s Travis Yost.

The Edmonton Oilers are one of two squads who will get to play on their home ice. And while there won’t be any fans allowed in the stadium, the organization is still exploring ways to capture a modicum of home-ice advantage elsewhere in the city, writes Terry Jones of the Edmonton Sun. Given the risks of gathering any large crowds, it’s hard to imagine the Oilers pulling this off in any substantive way – especially after news of this most recent outbreak.

Still, coronavirus isn’t going away, and outbreaks of some variety are to be expected. If Edmonton gets a handle on this situation, it might provide the league with even more confidence in its viability as a hub city.

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.

Prospect Notes: Cozens, Harvard, Beniers, Kings

at CDT | by 1 Comment

The future is bright for the Wild, Flyers, Senators, and Kings, per The Athletic’s Scott Wheeler. Each of those four clubs tied for the lead with four prospects making Wheeler’s top-50 list, headlined by Dylan Cozens of the Sabres in the top spot. The same can’t be said for the Lightning, Blue Jackets, Jets, Blackhawks, and Bruins, all of whom failed to register a single prospect on the list. Wheeler qualifies the case for the Jets and Blue Jackets as each had a pair of prospects close to making the list, and the Blackhawks, who have recently graduated players like Adam Boqvist and Kirby Dach, while blueliner Ian Mitchell garnered consideration.

  • As if tracking NHL prospects isn’t artful enough, it’s going to get a whole lot more complicated as college athletics tries to find its way amid the coronavirus pandemic. Harvard released a statement today announcing all classes will be offered online and on-campus students will be capped at 40% of the student body. Athletics are going to be impacted, but it’s not yet clear what kind of season, if any, college hockey will have in 2020-2021. As ESPN’s Chris Peters points out, that’s going to affect the next couple of drafts, as Harvard alone had a number of potential draft prospects, including potential first-rounder Matt Beniers.
  • The Los Angeles Kings have a big decision looming after winning the number two overall pick in next year’s draft. Of course, they have plenty of time to study their options, writes Jack Harris of the Los Angeles Times. With an uncertain picture of next season, the draft presents the Kings with their largest dose of certainty. The top pick is going to be Alexis Lafreniere, leaving VP and GM Rob Blake with his pick of the rest. Harris provides a quote from Blake, who said: “You can narrow it down to three or four players where you’re really starting to zero in, instead of a group. But you’re going to review all the prep you did leading up to this one more time to have it fresh on your mind.” In addition, the Kings have three second-round picks and a pair each in the third and fourth round. Of course, though the Kings know when in the draft they’ll pick, they still don’t know when the draft will take place.
AJAX Loader
Load More Posts

Pro Hockey Rumors is not affiliated with National Hockey League, NHL or NHL.com

scroll to top