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Mattias Ekholm Added To COVID Protocol

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When the Nashville Predators take the ice against the Boston Bruins this afternoon they will be missing another one of their cornerstone players. The team has announced that defenseman Mattias Ekholm has been placed into the NHL’s COVID-19 Protocol. With forward Filip Forsberg also still on the COVID list, the Predators will be missing two impact players for the foreseeable future.

Ekholm is part of Nashville’s dominant top pair alongside Roman Josi, who each play over 23 minutes of ice time per night. While the second pair of Alexandre Carrier and Dante Fabbro have performed well this season, Ekholm’s absence will be felt, especially if he misses an extended stretch. The Predators have a busy week ahead, starting a stretch of five games in eight days on Saturday, with divisional match-ups against St. Louis and Winnipeg among them. While the Preds have the appearance of a division leader due to total points, their record is in fact fourth in the Central, sandwiched between the Blues and Jets. Ekholm’s stable play in big minutes and critical penalty kill role are not easily replaced, so the Predators will hope he can return to the lineup sooner rather than later.

Nashville did get one name back from the COVID Protocol though and that is forward Yakov Trenin. The physical winger has cleared the protocol’s requirement and is back in the lineup on Saturday. Trenin is fifth among Predators forwards with nine goals this season and in the top ten in points too, well on his way to a career year.

Roman Josi Activated From COVID Protocol

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The Nashville Predators have their captain back just in time. The team will take on the Chicago Blackhawks this afternoon in their first game of 2022 and Roman Josi has been activated from the COVID protocol in time to participate. Josi returns along with Colton Sissons, who has also been activated. Meanwhile, Michael McCarron has been recalled from the taxi squad and Mathieu Olivier takes his place.

Unfortunately, just a few minutes later, the team announced that Dante Fabbro has entered the protocol.

Nashville has lost the first two games following the holiday break, both played without Josi in the lineup. The 31-year-old defenseman is the most important skater on the Predators roster, playing in all situations and driving the offense almost single-handedly at times.

In 30 games, the 2020 Norris Trophy winner has ten goals and 29 points, good for the team lead (tied with Mikael Granlund). Josi averages almost 25 minutes a night, though it remains to be seen whether he’ll see that much ice time in his first game back.

Sissons too is an important player to have back in the lineup, given his role as one of the team’s regular centers. While not a huge offensive contributor, his 13 points in 29 games are still a good bit of secondary scoring.

With these two back, the Predators were almost completely out of the woods when it comes to their current COVID placements. Fabbro’s presence will obviously be missed, meaning they won’t be at full strength for a little while longer.

Predators Place Three In COVID Protocol, Activate Eight

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There was plenty of COVID-related activity for the Predators on Monday.  The team announced that defenseman Roman Josi, center Tommy Novak, and winger Colton Sissons have all been placed in COVID protocol.  However, they also got several players back from protocol in wingers Nick Cousins and Philip Tomasino, center Mikael Granlund and Ryan Johansen, and defensemen Mark Borowiecki and Ben Harpur.  Josi, Novak, and Sissons will be out for at least the next ten days as a result; today’s announcement from the CDC that cuts the quarantine period from ten days to five doesn’t automatically apply to the NHL.

Josi is easily the biggest loss of the three for the Predators as he’s their leading scorer with 29 points in 30 games while averaging just shy of 25 minutes per game.  Sissons isn’t a minor loss either as he’s logging nearly 16 minutes a night on the wing while chipping in with 13 points in 29 contests.

The returns of Granlund and Johansen should certainly help Nashville’s offense.  Granlund is averaging just shy of a point per game with 27 in 28 games, sitting second behind Josi in team scoring.  As for Johansen, he is having a nice bounce-back campaign with 24 points in 27 contests.

On top of these moves, the Predators assigned wingers Matt Luff and Michael McCarron to the taxi squad.  Both players had been up in recent weeks to cover for injuries and absences before hitting COVID protocol themselves but with more players returning than leaving today, there wasn’t room on the NHL roster for them to be placed back there.

Los Angeles Kings Activate Drew Doughty, Place Two In COVID Protocol

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Defenseman Drew Doughty has exited the NHL’s COVID protocol, but the Los Angeles Kings added right wing Dustin Brown and defenseman Olli Maatta to the list today, per a team tweet.

In a corresponding move, the team assigned center Alex Turcotte, their fifth-overall selection in the 2019 NHL Draft, to the taxi squad. Centers Quinton Byfield and Phillip Danault as well as goalie Cal Petersen remain in COVID protocol.

Doughty’s faced multiple injury and health concerns this season, but he’s been extremely productive for the Kings when in the lineup. He’s averaging 24:49 per game and has 13 points through 11 contests, and his return to the lineup will be hotly anticipated.

Brown has just four goals through 30 games and Maatta has struggled to stay in the lineup this year, but it’s still a hit to the Kings’ depth. They’ll likely miss the Kings’ next three games and are eligible to return on January 6 against the Nashville Predators.

2022 WJC Participants By NHL Team

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The 2022 World Junior Championships will get underway from Edmonton and Red Deer, Alberta on Sunday. As is the norm and to be expected from the top U-20 competition in the world, the World Junior tournament field is loaded with drafted NHL talent. While most nations don’t have the prospect depth to form a roster completely composed of NHL prospects and those that do have opted to include some younger, future draft picks, there are still a whopping 106 drafted players on WJC rosters. Nine of ten WJC have at least one current NHL prospect and six of those nine have at least ten draft picks. Those players come from 30 of the NHL’s 32 teams, with the Carolina Hurricanes leading the way with ten prospects. While enjoying the WJC action in the coming days, keep track of who may one day be playing at the highest level:

Anaheim Ducks (4):
F Mason McTavish, Canada
D Ian Moore, USA
F Sasha Pastujov, USA
D Olen Zellweger, Canada

Arizona Coyotes (1):
F Dylan Guenther, Canada

Boston Bruins (1):
F Fabian Lysell, Sweden

Buffalo Sabres (4):
F Jakub Konecny, Czechia
D Nikita Novikov, Russia
D Owen Power, Canada
F Isak Rosen, Sweden

Calgary Flames (1):
F Matt Coronato, USA

Carolina Hurricanes (10):
F Nikita Guslistov, Russia
D Aleski Heimosalmi, Finland
D Ville Koivunen, Finland
D Scott Morrow, USA
F Zion Nybeck, Sweden
D Joel Nystrom, Sweden
F Alexander Pashin, Russia
F Vasily Ponomarev, Russia
G Nikita Quapp, Germany
D Ronan Seeley, Canada

Chicago Blackhawks (4):
G Drew Commesso, USA
D Wyatt Kaiser, USA
D Michael Krutil, Czechia
F Landon Slaggert, USA

Colorado Avalanche (1):
F Oskar Olausson, Sweden

Columbus Blue Jackets (4):
F Kent Johnson, Canada
D Samuel Knazko, Slovakia
F Martin Rysavy, Czechia
D Stanislav Svozil, Czechia

Dallas Stars (4):
F Mavrik Bourque, Canada
F Daniel Ljungman, Sweden
F Logan Stankoven, Canada
F Albert Sjoberg, Sweden

Detroit Red Wings (8):
G Jan Bednar, Czechia
G Sebastian Cossa, Canada
D Simon Edvinsson, Sweden
F Carter Mazur, USA
F Theodor Niederbach, Sweden
F Redmond Savage, USA
D Donovan Sebrango, Canada
D Eemil Viro, Finland

Edmonton Oilers (2):
F Xavier Borgault, Canada
D Luca Munzenberger, Germany

Florida Panthers (5):
F Elliot Ekmark, Sweden
D Kasper Puutio, Finland
F Mackie Samoskevich, USA
F Ty Smilanic, USA
F Justin Sourdif, Canada

Los Angeles Kings (6):
F Martin Chromiak, Slovakia
D Brock Faber, USA
D Helge Grans, Sweden
F Samuel Helenius, Finland
D Kirill Kirsanov, Russia
F Kasper Simontaival, Finland

Minnesota Wild (6):
F Marat Khusnutdinov, Russia
D Carson Lambos, Canada
F Pavel Novak, Czechia
D Ryan O’Rourke, Canada
D Jack Peart, USA
G Jesper Wallstedt, Sweden

Montreal Canadiens (3):
D Kaiden Guhle, Canada
F Oliver Kapanen, Finland
F Jan Mysak, Czechia

Nashville Predators (4):
G Yaroslav Askarov, Russia
F Simon Knak, Switzerland*
D Anton Olsson, Sweden
F Fedor Svechkov, Russia

New Jersey Devils (4):
F Alexander Holtz, Sweden
D Luke Hughes, USA
G Jakub Malek, Czechia
D Shakir Mukhamadullin, Russia

New York Islanders (0)

New York Rangers (4):
F Brett Berard, USA
F William Cuylle, Canada
G Dylan Garand, Canada
F Kalle Vaisanen, Finland

Ottawa Senators (5):
F Ridly Greig, Canada
F Roby Jarventie, Finland
D Tyler Kleven, USA
G Leevi Merilainen, Finland
D Jake Sanderson, USA

Philadelphia Flyers (3):
D Emil Andrae, Sweden
F Elliot Desnoyers, Canada
D Brian Zanetti, Switzerland*

Pittsburgh Penguins (3):
G Joel Blomqvist, Finland
G Calle Clang, Sweden
F Kirill Tankov, Russia

St. Louis Blues (3):
F Tanner Dickinson, USA
D Leo Loof, Sweden
F Jake Neighbors, Canada

San Jose Sharks (1):
F William Eklund, Sweden

Seattle Kraken (2):
F Matthew Beniers, USA
D Ville Ottavainen, Finland

Tampa Bay Lightning (0)

Toronto Maple Leafs (3):
F Roni Hirvonen, Finland
F Matthew Knies, USA
D Topi Niemala, Finland

Vancouver Canucks (1):
F Dmitry Zlodeyev, Russia

Vegas Golden Knights (4):
F Jakub Brabenec, Czechia
D Lukas Cormier, Canada
F Jakub Demek, Slovakia
G Jesper Vikman, Sweden

Washington Capitals (1):
F Oskar Magnusson, Sweden

Winnipeg Jets (4):
F Nikita Chibrikov, Russia
F Chaz Lucius, USA
F Cole Perfetti, Canada
F Daniel Torgersson, Sweden

*Switzerland roster pending finalization on Sunday; team has been in COVID-19 quarantine since Thursday but will be ready to begin tournament and participate as schedule, the Swiss announced.

What Your Team Is Thankful For: Nashville Predators

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As the holiday season approaches, PHR will take a look at what teams are thankful for as the season passes the one-quarter mark. There also might be a few things your team would like down the road. We’ll examine what’s gone well in the early going and what could improve as the season rolls on for the Nashville Predators. 

What are the Predators thankful for?

A return to form for two veteran forwards.

The Nashville Predators have just four forwards that carry higher cap hits than Colton Sissons’ $2.86MM. If any of those four struggle, the offensive attack can become predictable and inconsistent. Filip Forsberg has been as reliable as any and Mikael Granlund has developed a never-stop work ethic, but the two at the very top of the salary chart had been brutal in recent years.

Matt Duchene and Ryan Johansen combined for just 13 goals last season. Duchene has already matched that total in 26 contests this time around. Both players are playing at an entirely new level and now have 49 points combined through the first part of the season. Without them, the team was still going to be a middle-of-the-pack group on the playoff bubble. With them playing like this, Nashville is sitting in second place in the Central Division. Duchene has missed a couple of games with an upper-body injury and Johansen is in the COVID protocol, so their continued success is still something to monitor.

Who are the Predators thankful for?

John Hynes.

It didn’t look like this at first, but Hynes has secured buy-in from his group and has the Predators playing better than most expected. The team is on a seven-game winning streak at the moment and would never be mistaken for a club that is easy to play against (Tanner Jeannot and Mark Borowiecki will see to that).

In fact, Hynes is likely in the mix for the Jack Adams award if this continues. His overall record in Nashville is now 66-44-4, but that winning percentage is only going up as he navigates the 2021-22 campaign.

What would the Predators be even more thankful for?

A real breakout from one of the high picks.

Philip Tomasino is only 20 years old, so it’s hard to expect more than he’s giving the team right now. But his nine points in 26 games isn’t exactly what fans were hoping for from the player that dominated the AHL as a teenager last season. The same could be said about Cody Glass, a sixth-overall pick brought in during the offseason. Glass has spent nearly the entire year in the minor leagues and while he’s played well, that’s not helping the Predators right now.

The one that could realistically breakout this season? Eeli Tolvanen, who still hasn’t been able to produce big offensive numbers despite his peripheral numbers suggesting he will eventually. Tolvanen has been eating up easier matchups and offensive deployment to rack up shots but has just five goals on the year. That 6.5 shooting percentage isn’t going to last forever though, especially not with a player that is known for his ability to beat goaltenders from distance.

There’s no guarantee that he will break out, but Tolvanen certainly has the talent and is creating enough opportunities that it could come at any time. If they get some improved secondary scoring from their 22-year-old Finn–while Duchene and Johansen continue to succeed–watch out.

What should be on the Predators’ Holiday Wish List?

An upgrade on the third pair.

The top two pairs in Nashville have been set for almost the entire season. Roman Josi skates beside Dante Fabbro, while Alexandre Carrier has turned into a reliable partner for Mattias Ekholm. But beyond that, it’s been a little shakier. Nashville has leaned heavily on their top-four for years, but the idea of Borowiecki, Matt Benning, or Philippe Myers moving up the lineup due to injury is certainly not one that inspires visions of a Stanley Cup.

Acquiring a defenseman who was in the top-four somewhere else and has proven he can do that on a regular basis would set the Predators up for a long postseason run. It doesn’t need to be a star or a top-pairing guy, but an upgrade on Benning would certainly be a positive addition.

Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images

Mark Borowiecki Placed In COVID Protocol

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Nashville’s list of players in COVID protocol continues to grow as the team announced (Twitter link) that defenseman Mark Borowiecki along with another member of their travelling party have been placed in COVID protocol.  The blueliner becomes the eighth active Predators player on the list of those unavailable to play while five other staff members – including their coaching staff – aren’t with the team at the moment either.  Despite that, they are not among the teams that have had games postponed yet with the Preds taking on Chicago tonight.

Nashville Predators Make Several Recalls, Add Nick Cousins To Protocol

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12:21 pm: Forward Nick Cousins has now entered COVID protocol, making it seven Nashville skaters on the list. Assistant coach Dan Hinote, who was expected to coach tonight, is also now on the list. Taylor will serve as head coach, while assistant general manager Scott Nichol will join him and Ford behind the bench.

10:11 am: The Nashville Predators are pushing forward and expected to take the ice against the Colorado Avalanche tonight despite having several players and coaches enter the COVID protocol yesterday. To ice a full roster, they’ve recalled Cody Glass, Rocco Grimaldi, Mathieu Olivier, and Cole Smith from the Milwaukee Admirals. The Admirals will also be loaning head coach Karl Taylor and assistant Scott Ford, who will be behind the Nashville bench tonight.

Yesterday, Mikael Granlund, Ryan Johansen, Matt Luff, Michael McCarron, Philip Tomasino, and Ben Harpur were all ruled out. The Predators will have to make do without them, inserting several minor league players into the lineup.

Still, the four they have recalled do have quite a bit of NHL experience. Glass, the sixth overall pick from 2017, has played 68 games to this point in his career and still has plenty of potential. He was sent to the minor leagues to get his confidence back up and play in more offensive situations–something that has paid off with 19 points in 21 AHL games.

Grimaldi meanwhile has been a regular for the Predators in each of the last few seasons, playing more than 200 games in his NHL career. The 5’6″ forward has scored eight goals in 14 games with Milwaukee and can obviously handle himself at the NHL level. Olivier and Smith have much less experience, but are certainly capable of filling in. They even might find themselves getting a little extra ice time given the absences upfront.

Predators, Red Wings Announce COVID Protocol Absences

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The sweeping outbreaks of COVID-19 continue, this time with the Nashville Predators and Detroit Red Wings. The Predators have announced that six players and six staff members have been placed in the COVID protocol. Mikael Granlund, Ryan Johansen, Matt Luff, Michael McCarron, Philip Tomasino, and Ben Harpur are now unavailable for the team, along with head coach John Hynes, assistants Dan Lambert and Todd Richards, and goaltending coach Ben Vanderklok.

For now, Nashville is still scheduled to take on the Colorado Avalanche tomorrow night. Frank Seravalli of Daily Faceoff tweets that the team is preparing to make the necessary recalls from the AHL (including coaches) to play.

Not to be outdone, the Red Wings have announced that Robby Fabbri and Michael Rasmussen have entered the protocol. Both players were in the lineup last night against the New York Islanders.

The Red Wings are scheduled to take on the Carolina Hurricanes tomorrow, a game that was in doubt after yesterday’s postponement. That doubt has been cleared up, at least for now, as the Hurricanes did not have any further positive tests today. Pierre LeBrun of The Athletic tweets that the plan is for Carolina to play short two skaters, given how tight they are to the cap ceiling.

The NHL appears ready to push through these outbreaks as best they can, hoping to not disrupt the schedule for the entire league.

Ryan Johansen Enters COVID Protocol

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The last thing that the Nashville Predators need right now is to be without Ryan Johansen. Despite an off-season shake-up that many thought would hurt the Predators’ playoff chances this season, the team currently sits fourth in the competitive Central Division and would be the first wild card team in the Western Conference if the postseason started today. Nashville is one a four-game winning streak and 10-5-0 over the past month. A big contributor to their success thus far has been Johansen, who has finally re-discovered his scoring touch after a pair of very disappointing seasons. The $8MM center has already surpassed his 2020-21 point total with 24 points in 27 games, putting him on pace for a career-best 73 points.

Unfortunately, COVID-19 does not discriminate by skill level or hot streak. The virus continues to wreak havoc on NHL rosters and Johansen is the latest victim. The Predators have announced the Johansen has been added to the league’s COVID Protocol and will not play tonight against the New York Rangers. As usual, no cause was given for Johansen’s placement and the hope is that he may be able to exit the protocol after just one game, especially with a tough slate of games approaching against the Calgary Flames, Colorado Avalanche, and Carolina Hurricanes over the next week. The absence of Johansen’s fellow resurgent scorer Matt Duchene with an upper-body injury makes Johansen’s unexpected unavailability even more concerning.

In Johansen’s place, the Predators have recalled Michael McCarron from the AHL’s Milwaukee Admirals. Though a first-round pick in 2013, McCarron is not a player capable of filling a scoring role in Johansen’s place. The 26-year-old has been held scoreless in six games so far this season, which is his same stat line from last season. McCarron has eight points, a -14 rating, and 10 minutes of average ice time in 81 career NHL games.

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