Headlines

Go To MLB Trade Rumors
Go To Hoops Rumors

Wild Rumors

NHL Postpones Four Minnesota Wild Games

at CDT | by 5 Comments

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:

Read more

Snapshots: Three Stars, Bjugstad, Beijing

at CDT | by 6 Comments

It was a western Canada sweep of the NHL’s Three Stars for this week, as young Vancouver Canucks goaltender Thatcher Demko took home the league’s top honors while Edmonton Oilers superstar teammates Connor McDavid and Leon Draisaitl earned the second and third stars, respectively. Demko, who the Canucks are hoping can establish himself as their starter of the future this season, certainly played the part this week. He won all three of his starts, allowing just three goals total – one per game – on 103 shots. A 1.00 GAA and .971 save percentage are more than worthy enough of first star status. Meanwhile, McDavid and Draisaitl put up monstrous numbers that have somehow become commonplace for both. The duo combined for seven goals and 24 points in just four games. Somehow the Oilers won just two of their four contests.

  • Nick Bjugstad’s wallet is now $5,000 lighter. The NHL Department of Player Safety announced that the Minnesota Wild center has received the maximum fine allowable for cross checking. The incident in question occurred on Sunday against the Colorado Avalanche. Defenseman Ryan Graves was the victim, taking a high cross check early in the second period. While the intent of the check was questionable at best, as Bjugstad battled Graves in front of the net, there is no denying that he delivered the check to Graves’ head area. That was all it took for the big pivot to earn a maximum fine.
  • When the NHL returns to the Winter Olympics next year, they will do so on a more familiar ice surface. TSN’s Pierre LeBrun relays word from IIHF President Rene Fasel that the ice surface that will be used in Beijing will be North American in size. The IIHF has previously discussed using these smaller rink dimensions in competition after exclusively using the international dimensions in the past and the 2022 Winter Olympics will be the debut of this change. This does not imply that all future Olympic competitions will be played on a North American surface, but it does open the door for IIHF competition to be played on varying rink sizes, possibly as decided by the hosts.

Mathew Dumba Placed On Injured Reserve

at CDT | by Leave a Comment

The long list of absentees continues to grow for Minnesota as defenseman Mathew Dumba has been placed on injured reserve with a lower-body injury, notes Sarah McLellan of the Minneapolis Star-Tribune.  That means he will be out for at least the next four games including tonight’s matchup against Colorado.  Head coach Dean Evason indicated that there’s no timetable for his return while acknowledging it doesn’t look good.

Dumba’s absence is a tough blow to the Wild’s back end as he has been a key part of their top four for several years now.  After a quiet 2019-20 season offensively, he is off to a better start this year with three goals through his first nine games; the rest of Minnesota’s defenders have just one combined.

Meanwhile, Evason is hopeful that Marcus Johansson’s undisclosed injury won’t keep him out for long although he isn’t in the lineup tonight.  Goaltender Alex Stalock and winger Mats Zuccarello are also injured with the latter being transferred to LTIR to accommodate today’s taxi squad recalls of wingers Gerald Mayhew and Kyle Rau plus defenseman Luke Johnson.  Will Bitten and Mason Shaw were added to the taxi squad in corresponding moves, per CapFriendly.

Marco Rossi Will Not Play This Season

at CDT | by 3 Comments

Jan 31: Rossi reported late Saturday that sources have confirmed to him that Rossi will not play this season.

Jan 30: The Minnesota Wild have released a statement on Rossi, explaining that he has “returned to Austria to rest with his family due to complications from COVID.” Though Russo reported a six-week timeline, the team says there is “no timetable for his return to Minnesota.”

Anything else would be speculation at this point, but it’s clear that Rossi won’t be back anytime soon.

Jan 29: Though it is still not exactly clear what is wrong, Marco Rossi won’t be playing for the Minnesota Wild anytime soon. The ninth-overall pick has returned to Austria according to Michael Russo of The Athletic and is expected to return in six weeks. Previously, Rossi was listed as out indefinitely with an upper-body injury, but no other specifics have been officially confirmed. The young forward had been living in Minnesota, taking up residence in Thomas Vanek’s house before this return to Austria.

Rossi, 19, played in the World Junior Championship this year, captaining the Austrian squad in four games. Prior to that, he had been assigned to Zurich in the Swiss league but managed to play in just a single game before testing positive for COVID-19. He only experienced mild symptoms and was cleared in November, but the league had been paused because of an outbreak at that point, so he did not play another game.

There was hope that Rossi could be one of the few players from the 2020 draft to jump directly to the NHL, given how polished his all-around game was at the OHL level last season. The young center recorded 39 goals and 120 points in 56 games for the Ottawa 67’s, leading all players in scoring. Instead, he now won’t even be playing in junior or the AHL as he continues to deal with whatever is ailing him. Even when he does eventually return, Rossi would have to obviously deal with any quarantine protocol is in place at the time before rejoining his Minnesota teammates.

Wild Hopeful Cam Talbot Will Be Available Saturday

at CDT | by 4 Comments

The report earlier this week that the Blues are engaging in trade discussions around defenseman Vince Dunn came as a surprise to some but a slow start and eventual cap challenges once Vladimir Tarasenko is cleared to return is certainly among the reasons his name is out there.  In a reader chat, Tom Timmermann of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch posits another idea in that there is potentially a wide divide between what the team feels he’s worth versus what Dunn believes he’s worth.  Timmermann draws some parallels to former Blue Joel Edmundson who went year-to-year on his deal as the two sides were just too far apart to find common ground on a long-term agreement.  If that is indeed the case, moving Dunn now with three years of team control left after this one would make more sense than what happened with Edmundson who was moved to Carolina last year as salary ballast in the Justin Faulk trade.

More from the West Division:

  • The injuries continue to pile up for the Avalanche as Peter Baugh of The Athletic relays (Twitter link) that center Pierre-Edouard Bellemare is expected to miss an extended amount of time, joining winger Matt Calvert and goalie Pavel Francouz in that particular category. Bellemare sustained a lower-body injury in Thursday’s game against San Jose.  Meanwhile, defenseman Devon Toews, who also briefly left yesterday’s contest, is also banged up with head coach Jared Bednar indicating that he’s unsure regarding the blueliner’s status.
  • Sharks winger Rudolfs Balcers has been cleared to play and will head to the minors for a conditioning stint, reports CapFriendly (Twitter links). The 23-year-old was claimed off waivers back on January 12th and received a non-roster designation the next day that lasted through today.  Balcers will be able to skate with AHL San Jose for up to two weeks before he must be recalled.
  • Minnesota is hoping to have goalie Cam Talbot available for their next game against Colorado on Saturday, notes Sarah McLellan of the Minneapolis Star-Tribune. He has missed the last three games due to a lower-body injury with Kaapo Kahkonen making all three starts in his absence.  The team has sent Andrew Hammond back to the taxi squad while Dereck Baribeau has gone from the taxi squad to the minors, reports CapFriendly (Twitter links), suggesting that Talbot is indeed ready to return.

Kevin Fiala To Have Hearing With Department Of Player Safety

at CDT | by 3 Comments

The Department of Player Safety has announced it will hold a hearing today with Minnesota Wild forward Kevin Fiala to determine supplemental discipline for his hit on Los Angeles Kings defenseman Matt Roy. Fiala drove Roy hard into the boards from behind, receiving a five-minute major and game misconduct for the play.

The Kings had to help Roy off the ice and he did not return. An injury will be taken into account when the hearing occurs, which is very likely to result in a suspension of some sort. Fiala does not have any history of suspension.

Minnesota will have to find a short-term replacement for their star winger, who had already scored in the game. Fiala is coming off an outstanding 2019-20 season where he scored 54 points in 64 games, but has been snakebitten to start the year. Despite generating 30 shots on net, he has just three goals and no assists.

Taxi Squad Shuffle: 1/24/21

at CDT | by Leave a Comment

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

  • The Dallas Stars announced they have recalled forward Tanner Kero from their taxi squad after placing forward Joel Kiviranta on injured reserve. The 28-year-old Kero hasn’t made an NHL appearance since the 2017-18 season, but could get onto the ice depending on the injury status of Jamie Benn, who is a game-time decision. Kiviranta, who was listed as day-to-day Saturday after getting injured in practice, will have to sit out at least three games.
  • The Detroit Red Wings announced they have recalled forwards Givani Smith and Taro Hirose from the taxi squad. Smith has been up and down between the NHL and taxi squad, while Hirose was recalled three days ago to the taxi squad from the AHL. Both are expected to make their season debuts on Sunday. Detroit also have re-assigned forward Riley Barber to the taxi squad. UPDATE: The Red Wings have reversed course, announcing they have sent Hirose and Smith back to the taxi squad after their game with Chicago ended.
  • The Philadelphia Flyers announced they have loaned defenseman Derrick Pouliot from the taxi squad to the Lehigh Valley Phantoms in the AHL. The team also announced some salary cap moves, sending forward Connor Bunnaman and Samuel Morin to their taxi squad.
  • The Buffalo Sabres announced they have swapped young players as the team has sent forward Dylan Cozens to the taxi squad and recalled Casey Mittelstadt, who is expected to make his season debut Sunday. Cozens scored his first career NHL goal Friday, but head coach Ralph Krueger made it clear before the season that he intends to ease his young players into the lineup. The team has also activated forward Kyle Okposo from injured reserve. He has missed the team’s first five games with a lower-body injury.
  • Las Vegas Review Journal’s David Schoen reports that the Vegas Golden Knights have activated defenseman Nicolas Hague off the taxi squad and moved center Cody Glass to the taxi squad, a similar move from two games ago as the team continues to balance their salary cap with rotating between five and six defensemen.
  • The Washington Post’s Samantha Pell reports that with two forwards (Alex Ovechkin and Evgeny Kuznetsov), a defenseman (Dmitry Orlov) and a goaltender (Ilya Samsonov) out due to COVID-19 restrictions, the team was able to recall two players, including forwards Brian Pinho and Connor McMichael (as well as goaltender Craig Anderson), via the emergency recall exception rule and not count against their cap. McMichael is the most interesting of the two as the 2019 first-round pick will make his NHL debut Sunday.
  • The New Jersey Devils announced they have assigned forward Jesper Boqvist to the taxi squad and they have recalled forward Nicholas Merkley, who is expected to make his season debut Sunday. Boqvist has appeared in four games for New Jersey, failing to register a point. Merkley, acquired from Arizona in the Taylor Hall trade last season, had a goal and an assist in four games last year with the Devils.
  • The Columbus Blue Jackets already placed Brandon Dubinsky on LTIR earlier today, but the team also made a few other moves to get under the salary cap, according to The Athletic’s Aaron Portzline. The scribe writes that both Alexandre Texier and Liam Foudy have been assigned to the taxi squad, but as paper moves to maximize their LTIR pool. The team has also recalled Emil Bemstrom and Stefan Matteau from the taxi squad.
  • The New York Rangers announced they have recalled forward Colin Blackwell from their taxi squad and is likely to make his Rangers’ debut. The 27-year-old signed with the Rangers as a free agent after posting three goals and 10 points in 27 games for the Nashville Predators last season.
  • The Calgary Flames made their standard game-day transaction, recalling Derek Ryan and Oliver Kylington from the taxi squad. Ryan has appeared in three games with no points, while Kylington has yet to make an appearance for Calgary this year.
  • The Minnesota Wild announced they have recalled goaltender Andrew Hammond from their taxi squad with the status of Cam Talbot being day-to-day. In order to keep three goaltenders on the roster, the team has assigned netminder Hunter Jones from Iowa of the AHL to the taxi squad. Hammond has not made an appearance yet for the Wild.
  • With the Bruins off, CapFriendly reports that Boston has shuffled forwards Jack Studnicka and Trent Frederic plus defenseman Urho Vaakanainen to their taxi squad, continuing their near-daily movement.  Steven Kampfer was reassigned to AHL Providence from the taxi squad to create room for Vaakanainen’s placement.
  • Avalanche defenseman Conor Timmins was in the lineup for their game today against Anaheim, meaning that he has been recalled from the taxi squad.  The 22-year-old has played in four games so far with Colorado this season, logging a little under 13 minutes per game.
  • Pierre Engvall and Jason Spezza were both in the lineup for the Maple Leafs against Calgary today, meaning they were promoted from the taxi squad.  To get back into cap compliance, Travis Boyd was sent to the taxi squad.
  • After scoring in his Canadiens debut on Saturday, Montreal has returned Corey Perry to the taxi squad, per CapFriendly.  The veteran will likely be recalled in time for their next game against Calgary on Thursday.
  • The Ottawa Senators have returned winger Micheal Haley to their taxi squad, per CapFriendly.  He was recalled for Saturday’s game against Winnipeg and played 7:39 while getting into a fight.

Evason: No Timeline For Mats Zuccarello's Return

at CDT | by Leave a Comment

Although Wild winger Mats Zuccarello has been skating on his own for a while as he works his way back from arm surgery back in November, head coach Dean Evason told Dane Mizutani of the Pioneer Press that he’s unsure when the veteran will be able to return.  The 33-year-old had a quiet first season with Minnesota by his standards but still managed to pick up 15 goals and 22 assists.  His eventual return will be a welcome addition for a team that is typically in the middle of the pack offensively but considering he has yet to take part in a practice with the team yet, he is likely out for at least another week.

COVID Protocol Related Absences: 01/20/21

at CDT | by Leave a Comment

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. Other than the Montreal Canadiens, listed as TBA, and the Dallas Stars, the other 29 teams are covered on today’s list:

Carolina – Warren Foegele, Jordan Martinook, Jaccob Slavin, Jordan Staal, Teuvo Teravainen
Columbus – Mikko Koivu
Detroit – Adam Erne, Robby Fabbri
Florida – Juho Lammikko
Minnesota Wild – Alex Stalock
Nashville – Mikael Granlund
New Jersey – Jesper Bratt*
NY Islanders – Josh Bailey*
Philadelphia – Shayne Gostisbehere
Tampa Bay –  Curtis McElhinney
Washington Capitals – Evgeny Kuznetsov*, Dmitry Orlov*, Alex Ovechkin*, Ilya Samsonov*
Winnipeg – Anton Forsberg, Tucker Poolman

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

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

Players removed today: Eric Comrie, New Jersey Devils; Blake Coleman, Tampa Bay Lightning.

As for the missing teams, the Canadiens are on the road in Vancouver and have until 5:00pm local time to report, but are not expected to have any players in the protocol. As has been the case so far this season, the league declined to identify anyone from Dallas and will hold off on doing so until they are able to play in their first game, now scheduled for January 22. They had a significant outbreak early in camp as 17 of the 27 players that tested positive in training camp were from the Stars.

*denotes new addition

Minnesota Wild Acquire Ian Cole

at CDT | by 3 Comments

The Minnesota Wild and Colorado Avalanche have swapped a pair of veteran defensemen. The Wild have acquired Ian Cole in exchange for Greg Pateryn, with CapFriendly also reporting that the Avalanche have retained $800K of Cole’s cap hit.

Cole, 31, carries a $4.25MM cap hit in the final season of a three-year, $12.75MM contract he signed with Colorado in 2018. He is scheduled to become an unrestricted free agent at the end of the year and had recently seen his role on the Avalanche greatly reduced. Though he has experience on both sides of the ice, the left-handed defenseman was made somewhat redundant now after the team acquired Devon Toews from the New York Islanders in the offseason. Add in the smooth development of top prospect Bowen Byram who is pushing for a full-time role on the NHL roster, and you can see why the Avalanche had floated Cole’s name in recent weeks.

In Pateryn, 30, the Avalanche bring in a right-handed option that could be a better fit for the team in a depth role. Though he made his debut in 2012-13, Pateryn has still played just 270 games in the NHL and has never averaged more than 20 minutes a night. His cap hit is also quite a bit lower than Cole’s at just $2.25MM this season, though the retention does reduce the savings. In Colorado, it’s hard to see Pateryn even getting much more opportunity than the 12:36 he averaged through Minnesota’s first three games.

For the Wild though, upgrading from Pateryn to Cole could be a real difference-maker. Minnesota’s top four defensemen have all averaged more than 23 minutes a night through the early part of the season, with very little trust being placed in Pateryn and Carson Soucy. The two-time Stanley Cup winner Cole can take some of the pressure off those stars, while perhaps rejuvenating his own career. It was just last season that Cole recorded 26 points in 65 games for the Avalanche, nothing to sneeze at for a player without any powerplay time. His all-around ability will be a nice addition in Minnesota for a team racing for a playoff spot.

That new opportunity may also be exactly what Cole was looking for with free agency looming. Even though the Colorado prospect pipeline had pushed him down the depth chart, he seems likely to enter the offseason as a sought-after target at age-32. Adding to the 89 career playoff games he has suited up for would only improve his stock. That is of course if Wild GM Bill Guerin even lets him go that far; the two have a history from their days together in Pittsburgh and the Minnesota executive has shown a willingness to spend heavily on his defense.

Perhaps the biggest winner here though is Byram, who likely will be given a chance to jump into Colorado’s lineup on at least a part-time basis. The fourth-overall pick in 2019, the 19-year-old looked dominant during the World Junior Championship a few weeks ago and should quickly make the transition to the NHL. Though returning to junior would still technically be an option if and when the WHL starts up, there seems little more that Byram can learn from his time there after scoring 149 points in his last 139 games for the Vancouver Giants.

Michael Russo of The Athletic was first to report the deal.

Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images

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

scroll to top