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NHL Postpones Seven More Games

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With the COVID situations in Buffalo, New Jersey, and Minnesota still not contained, the NHL has postponed several more games. Two additional Sabres games (February 11, 13 vs WSH), three additional Devils games (February 11, 13 vs PHI; 15 vs BOS), and two additional Wild games (February 11 vs STL; 13 vs LAK) have been postponed. The decision on when each team will resume practicing and playing is still to come in the next few days.

The Sabres added Rasmus Dahlin to the COVID Protocol Related Absences list late last night, giving them nine players (plus their head coach) ruled out. John Vogl of The Athletic also reports that two linesmen that worked games between the Devils and Sabres at the end of last month have also entered the league’s protocol. In all, Vogl notes, 24 of the players who skated in those two games—January 30 and 31—have ended up on the CPRA list.

In Minnesota, GM Bill Guerin told Michael Russo of The Athletic that several other players are expected to hit the CPRA list in the coming days as the virus continues “creeping its way through the team.” One of the Minnesota players told Russo that “he feels like he has been hit by a bus and his symptoms have run the gamut.”

As of yesterday, the Devils had 16 players in the COVID protocol. They have not played since that January 31 game against the Sabres and will now be off through at least next Monday. The team’s nine games played is tied for the fewest in the league.

The full table of postponements continues to grow at an alarming rate:

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COVID Protocol Related Absences: 02/07/21

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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 the CPRA list for Sunday:

Anaheim – TBA
Buffalo – Taylor Hall, Rasmus Ristolainen, Brandon Montour, Tobias Rieder, Jake McCabe, Dylan Cozens, Curtis Lazar, Casey Mittelstadt*
Chicago – Adam Boqvist, Ryan Carpenter, Lucas Wallmark
Colorado – Tyson Jost, Gabriel Landeskog, Samuel Girard*
Dallas – TBA
Florida – TBA
Los Angeles – Andreas Athanasiou, Blake Lizotte
Minnesota – Marcus Foligno, Nick Bjugstad, Nick Bonino, Joel Eriksson Ek, Marcus Johansson, Jared Spurgeon, Nico Sturm, Ian Cole, Brad Hunt*
New Jersey – Kyle Palmieri, 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, Dmitry Kulikov, Eric Comrie*
Philadelphia – Travis Sanheim*
Vegas – Alex Pietrangelo
Washington – Evgeny Kuznetsov, Ilya Samsonov, Jakub Vrana

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: Sami Vatanen, New Jersey Devils

Sanheim was put into COVID protocol earlier in the day for COVID-19 and while that doesn’t necessarily mean he tested positive, he at least could have been seriously exposed. However, the NHL announced that they conducted rapid testing for all Flyers players, coaches and staff before their afternoon game with the Washington Capitals. All tests came back negative and the game was still played.

*denotes new addition

COVID Protocol Related Absences: 02/05/21

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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 have yet to report their results for today. For all 30 other teams, here is the CPRA list for Friday:

Anaheim – TBA
Buffalo – Taylor Hall, Rasmus Ristolainen, Brandon Montour, Tobias Rieder, Jake McCabe
Chicago – Adam Boqvist, Ryan Carpenter, Lucas Wallmark
Colorado – Tyson Jost, Gabriel Landeskog
Dallas – Andrej Sekera
Los Angeles – Andreas Athanasiou, Blake Lizotte
Minnesota – Marcus Foligno, Nick Bjugstad, Nick Bonino, Joel Eriksson Ek, Marcus Johansson, Jared Spurgeon, Nico Sturm
New Jersey – Connor Carrick, 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, Dmitry Kulikov*
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: John Marino, Pittsburgh Penguins

The good news: there was no net gain to the CPRA list today. One player was added and one player was removed. For the injury plagued Pittsburgh Penguins blue line, getting Marino back is a major relief. It also removes the Penguins entirely from the COVID doghouse for the time being.

The bad news: a troubling situation in New Jersey gets only worse, as Kulikov joins the long list of players in the protocol. The Devils have seen a number of their coming games postponed and that could easily continue given the sheer number of players still out of action.

*denotes new addition

Mirco Mueller Signs In SHL

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One of the last notable unsigned NHL free agents has found a new home for this season. Defenseman Mirco Mueller, most recently of the New Jersey Devils, has moved on from pursuing an NHL contract to sign in Sweden. The SHL’s Leksands IF has announced a contract with Mueller for the remainder of the 2020-21 season.

Mueller, 25, was arguably the best unsigned blue liner left on the open market prior to this signing. Among current free agents, Mueller trailed only veteran Ron Hainsey in games played, time on ice per game, and points. That wasn’t even a career-best season either, as Mueller posted personal highs across the board in 2018-19 with 11 points, 75 hits, and over 18 minutes per night in 53 games with the Devils.

While Mueller’s defensive efforts over the years deserve some scrutiny, he had been a good semi-regular defenseman for quite a few years with New Jersey and the San Jose Sharks. Still growing into his game, the young defender seemed like a player that an NHL team would have been willing to take a shot on. Instead, he should step into a major role for Leksands for the rest of the year. The team, which is in the middle of the pack in the SHL this year, boasts some talented former NHL forwards scoring at an impressive clip, such as Carter Camper, Carter Ashton, and Peter Cehlarik. However, they have not received much production from the blue line, an area where Mueller will be of major assistance. Given his age, NHL experience, a potential production in the SHL over the rest of the season, Mueller could be back in North America before too long.

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.

East Notes: Drury, Palmieri, Blackwell, Eller

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While earlier reports have suggested that the Pittsburgh Penguins have focused on two candidates for their open general manager position in Los Angeles Kings’ Ron Hextall and Montreal Canadiens’ Scott Mellanby, another candidate, New York Rangers’ assistant general manager Chris Drury had become a longshot due to the belief that the New York Rangers wouldn’t be granted to interview with the Penguins.

However, New York Post’s Larry Brooks writes that the Rangers would not stand in the way of Drury becoming a general manager, although as of Saturday afternoon, there had been no such request from Pittsburgh. The 44-year-old Drury has become one of the most sought-after assistant general managers in the league and the scribe believes that the Rangers are well aware that they will lose Drury to a GM opportunity sooner than later.

Snapshots: Zajac, Laine, Pastrnak

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The New Jersey Devils have announced that Travis Zajac has been placed on the COVID Protocol Related Absences list, which will be released later today. He joins Mackenzie Blackwood as Devils that won’t make the trip to Buffalo for their matches this weekend due to the protocol. Head coach Lindy Ruff explained that the team isn’t making any excuses while they deal with the absence of some top players:

I think we’re becoming accustomed to it. We start the year without [Jesper] Bratt and Nico [Hischier]. But I think every team is dealing with those situations. It’s no excuse.

Zajac, who was supposed to celebrate his 1,000th regular season game this weekend, will have to wait for at least a little while. The 35-year-old forward has two goals in his first seven games.

  • Another player that will have to wait the weekend before joining his teammates is Patrik Laine, who is finally on his way to Columbus this afternoon after acquiring his U.S. work visa. As Aaron Portzline of The Athletic reports, Laine will face a 48-hour minimum quarantine period before he’s cleared to play after arriving in Columbus, but he is expected to debut on Tuesday against the Dallas Stars. Because he was dealing with a minor injury at the time of the trade, Laine actually hasn’t played since January 14, seeing very little practice time during that stretch at all. Though the Blue Jackets coaching staff were sending him video work to study, he won’t have much time to prepare if he’s in the lineup Tuesday night.
  • David Pastrnak has declared himself fully healthy and ready to get back into the Boston Bruins lineup, a huge boost to a team that is already finding plenty of success without him. The Bruins are now 5-1-1 on the season and have scored 18 goals in their last four games, all wins. The return of Pastrnak will only make the team stronger as they continue their quest for an East Division title. Boston is currently two points behind the Washington Capitals, who are undefeated in regulation this season.

Taxi Squad Shuffle: 01/25/21

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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.

  • After a loss last night, the Calgary Flames have moved Derek Ryan and Oliver Kylington to the taxi squad. The team continues to do this on off days to accrue cap space, but will eventually need to put Ryan through waivers again. After suiting up last night, the 34-year-old center has now played four games on the season; once he plays ten, he’ll have to clear again to go back to the taxi squad.
  • The New Jersey Devils have sent Nolan Foote from the taxi squad to the minor leagues, giving the young forward a chance to compete for an AHL role. The 20-year-old has still yet to make his professional debut, spending last season with the Kelowna Rockets of the WHL.
  • After Connor Ingram took a leave to enter the player assistance program, the Nashville Predators recalled Kasimir Kaskisuo to serve as the team’s taxi squad goaltender. The move leaves them awfully thin at the position, with Devin Cooley (he of six career professional games) the only other goaltender in the minor leagues on an NHL contract. Should the Predators face any injury trouble to roster options Juuse Saros or Pekka Rinne, they could quickly see the bottom of their depth chart.
  • The Buffalo Sabres have moved Jonas Johansson to the taxi squad, a good indication that Carter Hutton is ready to return from his minor injury. The team has also moved Rasmus Asplund and Dustin Tokarski off the taxi squad, sending them to the Rochester Americans for the time being.

This page will be updated throughout the day as moves are officially announced. 

Nico Hischier Resumes Skating, Jesper Bratt Should Be Available Next Week

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New Jersey has yet to have top center Nico Hischier in the lineup this season but it appears as if he is getting closer to suiting up.  Marc Ciampa of the Devils’ team site relays several updates from head coach Lindy Ruff who indicated that Hischier has started to skate on his own as he works his way back from a leg injury.  While there’s no timetable for his return still, the fact he’s now back on the ice for workouts is certainly a big step in his rehab.

Meanwhile, winger Jesper Bratt is in town and is going through his mandatory quarantine period which means he should be available to begin skating with the team in the next few days.  As for goaltender Aaron Dell, he has not yet received his work visa and thus has not been able to travel to New Jersey to start his quarantine period so the Devils will be waiting a while for their new backup to become available.

Taxi Squad Shuffle: 1/24/21

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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.

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