NHL/NHLPA Pause Cross-Border Travel, Issue Updates On Season And Olympics
The NHL and NHLPA released a joint statement today that the league will postpone any games that require cross-border travel through the holiday break. The 12 postponed games are as follows:
Canadiens @ Islanders (12/20), Ducks @ Oilers (12/20), Blues @ Senators (12/21), Canucks @ Sharks (12/21), Canadiens @ Rangers (12/22), Jets @ Stars (12/22), Oilers @ Kings (12/22), Blues @ Maple Leafs (12/23), Hurricanes @ Senators (12/23), Canadiens @ Devils (12/23), Ducks @ Canucks (12/23), Oilers @ Sharks (12/23)
Adding on these 12 games, there are now 39 games that the league has postponed this year. As instances pop up of players stuck on the wrong side of the border and potentially unable to get home for the holidays, the pause comes now to prevent any future situations like this from occurring.
However, the NHL and NHLPA in today’s statement remained with their stance today against placing a pause on the entire regular-season schedule. The league will continue to monitor COVID outbreaks on teams on a case-by-case basis, stating that they “will be monitoring not only the number and pattern of positive COVID results but also the depth of Club line-ups so as to ensure both the health and safety of the Players and the integrity of League competition.”
The two parties also gave an update on the potential of Olympic participation, stating they’ll reach a final determination within the coming days. They’re “actively discussing the matter” and commit to remaining flexible. The NHL has until January 10, 2022, to opt out of the Olympics without incurring a financial penalty. Sportsnet’s Elliotte Friedman speculates that an “Olympics without NHL players seems to be a reality,” but doesn’t expect a formal announcement for a few days.
Devils Place P.K. Subban In COVID Protocol, MacKenzie Blackwood Injured
The bad news just keeps on coming for the Devils. The team made a pair of announcements, revealing that goaltender Mackenzie Blackwood is dealing with a neck injury and will not be accompanying the team to Detroit for their game tonight while defenseman P.K. Subban has been placed in COVID protocol.
The Devils haven’t had a lot of good luck on the injury front when it comes to their goaltending. When they were healthy, they wound up losing Scott Wedgewood on waivers to Arizona last month. Earlier this month, Jonathan Bernier suffered a hip injury, one that could be a longer-term issue. First-year pros Nico Daws and Akira Schmid have both seen action (Schmid’s coming this week) and New Jersey recently acquired Jon Gillies from the Blues, a player that had just signed an NHL contract days earlier. Now, Blackwood’s absence – one that carries a day-to-day designation – means that Schmid and Gillies will serve as their tandem for the time being.
As for Subban, he is now the fifth Devil to enter COVID protocol, joining blueliners Ryan Graves and Christian Jaros plus forwards Nico Hischier and Jesper Boqvist. Subban had been held out of their game against Vegas on Thursday for precautionary measures but that won’t count as time spent in protocol; he will still need to miss at least ten days unless follow-up testing reveals a false positive.
New Jersey Devils Acquire Jon Gillies
The St. Louis Blues are set to get Jordan Binnington back after he was removed from COVID protocol, meaning they no longer needed the services of recently-signed netminder Jon Gillies. They’ve traded Gillies to the New Jersey Devils in exchange for future considerations, giving him a chance at a roster spot that wasn’t going to be available in St. Louis.
It’s been a pretty good stretch for Gillies, who went from signing a professional tryout with the Lehigh Valley Phantoms on November 23 to signing an NHL deal on December 8, posting a 36-save performance for the Blues in an emergency start and then finding himself shipped to the Devils where he will likely remain in the NHL.
The Devils currently have 21-year-old Akira Schmid up under emergency conditions as Jonathan Bernier deals with an injury; Schmid can now be sent back down to continue his development as soon as Gillies arrives. The 27-year-old netminder has just 13 games of NHL experience under his belt, but plenty of minor league time. Should the Devils decide to send Gillies to the minor leagues at some point, he’ll need to clear waivers.
For the Blues, they now have their normal starter back in the fold and Charlie Lindgren to handle any backup duties. Gillies was redundant, meaning clearing the contract slot is actually a big win for the team, even if they didn’t receive an actual asset in return.
Christian Jaros Enters COVID Protocol
The New Jersey Devils recalled two players today from the minor leagues, and now we know why. Not only are Ryan Graves and Nico Hischier in the COVID protocol, but Christian Jaros has joined them. Yegor Sharangovich has also been held out of practice as a precaution, despite testing negative so far according to team reporter Amanda Stein. Marian Studenic and Kevin Bahl were the recalls, as the team deals with this new outbreak.
New Jersey has now watched the Calgary Flames enter a team shutdown, after six of their players (plus one member of the training staff) enter the protocol in a period of 24 hours. That is not what has happened yet to the Devils, meaning they are still scheduled to take on the Philadelphia Flyers tomorrow night, but it is a situation that will be closely monitored by the league.
It’s not an easy time to lose several players, given the Devils are 2-6-2 in their last ten and falling further down the Metropolitan standings. The team was expected to be competitive this season, even if their overall ceiling is likely not that of a Stanley Cup contender just yet. Now sitting at 10-11-5 on the year and with several key players out, they’ll have to work even harder to keep up with the surging Pittsburgh Penguins and consistent Columbus Blue Jackets, who now sit eight and four points ahead of them respectively.
Jaros, 25, has played in three games for the Devils this season and just one since being activated from injured reserve last week. The depth defenseman is obviously not an integral piece of the puzzle in New Jersey, but was the first in line to take over for Graves when he was ruled out. Now it will be Bahl, who could line up beside P.K. Subban in the team’s next game, according to Stein.
Nico Hischier, Ryan Graves Placed In COVID-19 Protocol
The New Jersey Devils announced that Nico Hischier and Ryan Graves were placed in the NHL’s COVID-19 protocol today, and they’re unavailable for tonight’s game against the New York Islanders.
It’s a huge loss for this Devils team against a slumping, albeit still sound Islanders team. It’s always tough to lose your captain, even more so when you throw a first-pairing defenseman out of the mix as well just minutes before puck drop.
Hischier is New Jersey’s top center and has continued his sound two-way game into this season, scoring 16 points through 25 games while averaging 19:17 per game. Commonly playing between Pavel Zacha and Jesper Bratt, his line is enjoying offensive success.
Graves has been entrusted with tough minutes in his first year as a Devil, forming the top pair alongside free-agent acquisition Dougie Hamilton. Graves isn’t being counted on for offense but still has a respectable 10 points through 25 games.
If not false positives, Hischier and Graves could miss at least seven days while in protocol.
Jonathan Bernier Placed On IR; Akira Schmid Recalled
The New Jersey Devils have placed Jonathan Bernier on injured reserve with a lower-body injury, meaning Akira Schmid is on his way up to the big leagues. Bernier last played on December 3 against the Winnipeg Jets, allowing six goals on 32 shots. Overall this season he hasn’t been very busy, appearing in just ten games and posting a .902 save percentage.
Alexander Holtz To Play For Sweden At WJC
The New Jersey Devils have decided that the World Junior Championship is the best place for Alexander Holtz after all, announcing that they will allow him to play for Sweden at the upcoming tournament. Holtz had been playing in the AHL for most of this season, getting his feet wet in the NHL for six games as well.
Sweden released their roster in recent days, but had been keeping a spot open for Holtz if the Devils decided to release him for the tournament. The 19-year-old forward will actually be participating for the third time, as he’s been one of the most dangerous young forwards in Sweden for years. This season in the AHL, Holtz has ten points in ten games and he even added two assists in the six matches with the Devils. A bronze medallist at the 2020 event, he’ll join a Swedish team that has their eyes set on the podium once again.
Even if a player has proved they can handle professional hockey, the World Juniors is often considered one of the best places for development. Holtz and the other youngsters at the tournament will be put in games against those that they will face for the next decade, and for the Devils’ prospect in particular, be given a huge amount of responsibility. He very likely will be on the top line and the top powerplay unit, though this time he won’t have his old running mate Lucas Raymond, who is starring in the NHL and was not named to the team.
Snapshots: Three Stars, Toffoli, Jaros
The NHL has released their Three Stars for last week, with Jonathan Huberdeau of the Florida Panthers taking home the top spot. Huberdeau put up nine points in three games and helped the Panthers to the top spot in the entire NHL. Sometimes overlooked when hockey fans consider the top offensive players in the league, Huberdeau is now working on his fourth consecutive season scoring at a better than point-per-game rate.
Second and third place went to Victor Hedman and Jake Guentzel respectively, after their own outstanding performances. The Tampa Bay Lightning star had eight points in four games, jumping him up to top spot among all defensemen in the league. His 26 points in 24 games puts him in the running for the Norris Trophy once again, an award he has been a finalist for (or won), five years in a row. Guentzel, another player who may not get his due credit when discussing the top offensive players in the league, had five goals and six points in three games last week. The Pittsburgh Penguins forward is tied for 21st in the league with 24 points, including 13 goals in 23 games.
- The Montreal Canadiens will be without Tyler Toffoli for the next few weeks. The team announced Toffoli’s absence “could be quite long” as he deals with an upper-body injury. The Canadiens are dealing with several key injuries as they try to turn over the organization from the recently-fired Marc Bergevin to the newly-hired Jeff Gorton.
- The New Jersey Devils have activated Christian Jaros from injured reserve, a month after he went on the shelf with a hand injury. Jaros has played just two games this season for the Devils and will likely go back to just a depth role for the team. The 25-year-old defenseman has 85 games of NHL experience and was acquired from the San Jose Sharks last summer.
Minor Transactions: 12/05/21
Notable in-season roster moves are not limited only to NHL trades, claims, recalls, and reassignments. Transactions in the minors, European leagues, and junior and college ranks often include familiar names or impact current NHL prospects. Keep up with all of these moves here:
- New Jersey Devils prospect Jaromir Pytlik is on his way to play with none other than Jaromir Jagr. The young Czech forward has had a disappointing season in Finland, loaned by the Liiga’s KalPa to the second-tier Metsis. Pytlik has opted to move on from that situation and return home, signing a contract for the remainder of the season with Rytiri Kladno. Kladno, of course, is most famous for player-owner Jagr and also features a number of other former NHLers. Pytlik, a big, well-rounded center selected by the Devils in the fourth round in 2020, will now have the opportunity to take a big step in his development by learning from one of the best to ever play the game.
- Former Boston Bruins prospect Cedric Pare has signed his first AHL contract, as the Belleville Senators have announced a one-year deal with the young center. Pare had been with the team on loan from the ECHL, but earned an official promotion with four points in 13 games. Pare, 22, was an underwhelming prospect for the Bruins, who ultimately opted not to offer him an entry-level contract. However, Pare then rose to relevance as the center for eventual top overall pick Alexis Lafreniere for the QMJHL’s Rimouski Oceanic in 2019-20. After the big, two-way center excelled in the ECHL last season as well, he looks to have the makings of a capable pro.
- Another former QMJHL star is getting a shot at the AHL, though for now on a loan basis. The ECHL’s Trois-Rivieres Lions have announced that leading scorer Peter Abbandonato has been recalled by the AHL’s Laval Rocket. Abbandonato recorded 111 points for the Rouyn-Noranda Huskies in his final junior season in 2018-19 and, though not immediately considered a future NHLer, at least looked to be an intriguing pro. He recorded 27 points in 55 games with the AHL’s Syracuse Crunch over the past two years, but could not find an AHL deal this summer. Back home in Quebec though, he will get his shot in Laval after notching 11 goals and 23 points in 17 games with the Lions.
This page will be updated throughout the day.
No Supplemental Discipline For P.K. Subban, Marcus Foligno
Despite considerable media attention paid to both situations, New Jersey Devils defenseman P.K. Subban and Minnesota Wild forward Marcus Foligno will not receive any discipline from recent altercations. The NHL Department of Player Safety has reviewed each scenario and determined that neither rises to the level of a suspension or fine.
In the case of Foligno, this appears to be a perfectly appropriate decision. The incident in question occurred on Saturday night as the Wild took on the Toronto Maple Leafs. Just as Foligno had jumped off for a change, a scrum ensued right in front of the Minnesota bench. Foligno got back on the ice to engage with the Leafs’ Wayne Simmonds. Typically, leaving the bench in this scenario would be a an automatic ten-game suspension, one of the NHL’s most harsh penalties. However, as The Athletic’s Michael Russo reports, the league did not consider this to be a case of Foligno leaving the bench, as no one had yet replaced him on the ice. Kirill Kaprizov was supposed to sub in for Foligno, but given the budding altercation in front of him smartly stayed put, which allowed Foligno, who was still straddling the boards, to legally get back on the ice. The Wild just narrowly avoided losing one of their veteran leaders for an extended period of time.
As for Subban, the lack of retribution from the league continues to be a strange phenomenon. Subban appeared to slew foot the Winnipeg Jets’ Nikolaj Ehlers on Friday night, though it was not called on the ice. The general understanding in this scenario is that the incident does not meet the league’s textbook definition of “slew foot”. Call what you will, but this shockingly marks his fourth dangerous trip this season. Yet, the veteran defenseman had not received any punishment and Daily Faceoff’s Frank Seravalli reports that this will continue with this latest incident. It remains a mystery how Subban continues to get off scot-free with obvious slew foots, especially when the Boston Bruins’ Brad Marchand recently received a three-game suspension for a slew foot that received no attention from the officials nor the visiting Vancouver Canucks. Seravalli states that extra attention is being paid by the league to both Subban and slew foots, yet it made no difference yet again.