Headlines

Go To MLB Trade Rumors
Go To Hoops Rumors

Newsstand

A Second Senators Player Tests Positive For COVID-19

at CDT | by Leave a Comment

For the second time this week, the Senators have announced that one of their players has tested positive for the coronavirus (COVID-19).  The announcement did not name the player but noted that he took part in their recent California road trip through San Jose, Anaheim, and Los Angeles.

A total of 52 people were on that trip including players, coaches, support staff, and broadcasters.  Of those, 44 are currently showing no symptoms.  On top of the two players that have tested positive, there are six other people that have been tested between Wednesday and Friday after showing symptoms and the team is waiting for the results.

At the time, these are the only two known NHL players that have tested positive for the virus.  The Kings and Ducks announced earlier in the week that no one was exhibiting symptoms just yet while the Sharks had a part-time SAP Center employee test positive.

Everyone that was on that trip was told to go into self-isolation on March 13th and the announcement indicated that those people continue to be quarantined.

IIHF Officially Cancels Men’s World Hockey Championship

at CDT | by Leave a Comment

It’s a decision that has been expected for a while and is now official.  The IIHF announced that they have cancelled the upcoming Men’s World Hockey Championship that was slated to take place in Switzerland in May due to the ongoing coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic.  IIHF President Rene Fasel released the following statement:

This is a harsh reality to face for the international ice hockey family, but one that we must accept.  The coronavirus is a global problem and requires major efforts by government bodies to combat its spread. The IIHF must do all it can to support this fight. We have to set sport aside for now and support both the government bodies and the ice hockey family.

The annual tournament featured numerous NHL players whose teams were eliminated from the playoffs early as well as a mixture of the some of the top international talents around the world that haven’t made it to the NHL yet.  16 countries had been slated to participate including Belarus and Kazakhstan who were promoted from Division 1-A following the 2019 event.

It may be a while before Switzerland gets another opportunity to host the tournament as host cities for the Worlds have already been named through 2025.

Ottawa Senators Player Tests Positive For COVID-19

at CDT | by 11 Comments

The NHL could only escape for so long. Tonight the Ottawa Senators have announced that one of their players has tested positive for coronavirus (COVID-19) and is in isolation. The player is experiencing mild symptoms.

According to Hailey Salvian and James Mirtle of The Athletic (subscription required), several Senators players are dealing with symptoms and awaiting test results. The report notes that the Senators team played at the Staples Center in Los Angeles just before the NHL shutdown, which had just hosted the Brooklyn Nets of the NBA, who have had four players test positive for COVID-19 in recent days.

The Senators announced that the team is now notifying anyone who has had close contact with the player in question—whose identity has not yet been revealed—and that the rest of the team has been asked to stay isolated.

This is the first NHL player to test positive for the disease.

If it was contracted in the Staples Center facilities, it shows just how important it was for both leagues to quickly suspend play. After the Senators played on March 11th, there was due another team—be it NHL or NBA—in one of the visiting locker rooms for each of the next 11 days. The Nets, Houston Rockets, Anaheim Ducks, New Orleans Pelicans, Denver Nuggets, Dallas Mavericks, Montreal Canadiens, Utah Jazz, Boston Bruins, Phoenix Suns, Vancouver Canucks and Arizona Coyotes were all on the schedule from March 12th through 22nd, not to mention the Los Angeles Kings, Clippers and Lakers who would all be sharing the playing surface.

NHL Temporarily Suspends 2019-20 Season

at CDT | by 51 Comments

After a call with their board of governors, the NHL has temporarily suspended the 2019-20 season. In a press release, the league explained their decision:

In light of ongoing developments resulting from the coronavirus, and after consulting with medical experts and convening a conference call of the Board of Governors, the National Hockey League is announcing today that it will pause the 2019‑20 season beginning with tonight’s games.

The NHL has been attempting to follow the mandates of health experts and local authorities, while preparing for any possible developments without taking premature or unnecessary measures. However, following last night’s news that an NBA player has tested positive for coronavirus – and given that our leagues share so many facilities and locker rooms and it now seems likely that some member of the NHL community would test positive at some point – it is no longer appropriate to try to continue to play games at this time.

We will continue to monitor all the appropriate medical advice, and we will encourage our players and other members of the NHL community to take all reasonable precautions – including by self-quarantine, where appropriate. Our goal is to resume play as soon as it is appropriate and prudent, so that we will be able to complete the season and award the Stanley Cup. Until then, we thank NHL fans for your patience and hope you stay healthy.

Last night, the NBA took a similar step after Utah Jazz player Rudy Gobert tested positive for coronavirus (COVID-19). The Jazz and several other NBA teams that had recently played them were instructed to self-quarantine, but there are also concerns that it could spread to the NHL given that teams in several cities use the same arenas for both basketball and hockey. Since then another Jazz player, Donovan Mitchell, has also tested positive.

This morning, the league issued a directive to all teams to cancel practices and media availability until a decision was made. That came after the Columbus Blue Jackets and San Jose Sharks had both already announced they would hold home games without spectators. Major League Soccer also suspended their season for 30 days, along with several other college cancellations.

It is important to note that the league has not cancelled, but suspended the season. That means it does plan on resuming at some point, though it is not clear if they will play out the rest of the regular season, move straight into playoffs or some other combination of the two. In fact, with no real understanding of how the next weeks and months will play out, there is no guarantee that the 2019-20 season even does resume.

There is plenty of uncertainty in the entire sporting world, but the NHL obviously felt it could not proceed due to the public health risk. The AHL is expected to follow the NHL’s lead and suspend the minor league season, meaning no high level professional hockey will take place in North America for the time being.

The NHLPA released a statement agreeing with the decision, noting that it is the “appropriate course of action.”

NHL Cancels Practices, Will Issue Update On Season Status

at CDT | by 13 Comments

The NHL has issued a directive for teams to cancel all practices, morning skates and media availability today while they continue to work through their response to the coronavirus (COVID-19) outbreak. The league’s board of governors is scheduled to have a conference call at noon according to Darren Dreger of TSN, after which there will likely be an announcement.

Last night, the NBA suspended their season indefinitely after Utah Jazz player Rudy Gobert tested positive for coronavirus (COVID-19). The Jazz and several other NBA teams that had recently played them were instructed to self-quarantine, but there are also concerns that it could spread to the NHL given that teams in several cities use the same arenas for both basketball and hockey. Since then another Jazz player, Donovan Mitchell, has also tested positive.

The AHL and ECHL have also not made an announcement yet, but are expected to follow the NHL’s lead.

Brett Cyrgalis of the New York Post has tweeted that teams around the league have been told the season will be suspended, while Pierre LeBrun of The Athletic has heard that on-ice officials have been told to book flights home.

Lightning’s Steven Stamkos Out Six To Eight Weeks

at CDT | by 3 Comments

March 3: Stamkos underwent successful surgery on Monday. His timeline has not changed.

February 29: The Tampa Bay Lightning suffered a significant loss when the team announced that captain Steven Stamkos will miss the next six to eight weeks to have surgery to repair a core muscle injury, which he is expected to have Monday, March 2. To make matters worse for the Lightning, even if the estimated injury time is on the short end (six weeks), Stamkos is still likely to miss some playoff time as the playoffs start in five weeks from today.

That’s a serious issue for a team that were swept out of the first-round of the playoffs last season by the Columbus Blue Jackets. The Lightning have been up and down all season, on top of that, and while it looked like the team was heading in a positive direction recently, clearly establishing themselves as the Atlantic Divsion’s second-best team and looking to challenge the Boston Bruins for first place, the Lightning have now lost four straight.

The Athletic’s Joe Smith (subscription required) wrote Friday that there was some concern regarding Stamkos, who was held out of Thursday’s game due to a lower-body injury. He has missed three games earlier in the month and has skipped several practices and skates to heal his injury. Jon Cooper has already said that the team will have to go “game-to-game” with Stamkos until this announcement.

Stamkos’ loss is critical, not just because the 30-year-old’s a top-line player who currently has 29 goals this season, but because of his leadership in the locker room. On top of that, this has been an issue for the veteran for quite a while and yet, Stamkos has still been quite effective. Unfortunately, the team has to hope it can continue on its course and finish strong during the regular season as well as hope that it can win some playoff games without him until Stamkos is ready to return.

Jake Muzzin Signs Four-Year Extension

at CDT | by 1 Comment

Now that the trade deadline is over without much movement, the Toronto Maple Leafs can announced Jake Muzzin’s four-year extension. The veteran defenseman has inked a deal that keeps him in Toronto through 2023-24, and will carry an average annual value of $5.625MM.

The deal will be of little comfort for Maple Leafs fans that saw their team do almost nothing on deadline day, but does keep a solid contributor in the mix for the next several years. Muzzin has fit in well in Toronto as a two-way star that can log huge minutes in a shutdown role while also moving the puck quickly to the team’s talented forwards. In Morgan Rielly’s absence he has been the only real reliable option on the back end, part of the reason why so many were expecting a change to occur today.

Like many of their previously extensions, Muzzin’s deal is front-loaded with huge signing bonuses. That makes it easier to get rid of down the line, and leans on the financial might of the organization to give them a slight advantage.

Still, signing any 31-year old defenseman comes with substantial risk. Muzzin has deal with injuries this season and has a lot of miles on his body after playing a physical style for parts of nine seasons. If he takes a step backwards as his thirties roll along the Maple Leafs could be in real trouble given how much money they already have committed to their star forwards.

Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images

Carolina Hurricanes Acquire Sami Vatanen, Brady Skjei

at CDT | by 7 Comments

It’s a busy last few minutes for the Carolina Hurricanes, as they are set to acquire both Sami Vatanen and Brady Skjei. Elliotte Friedman of Sportsnet tweets that the Devils will receive Janne Kuokkanen, Fredrik Claesson and a conditional fourth-round pick for Vatanen, while Pierre LeBrun of The Athletic reports that Skjei will be had for a first-round pick.

These two defensemen will come into an organization that already acquired Vincent Trocheck earlier in the day, making the Hurricanes one of the obvious winners from today’s festivities. Adding two potential top-four options and a second-line center in the matter of a few hours will change the look of the team as they head into a playoff chase.

Vatanen, 28, is an unrestricted free agent at the end of the season and is actually currently injured, but will rejoin the lineup soon in Carolina and offers a right-handed puck-mover to help replace the losses of Dougie Hamilton and Brett Pesce. Vatanen has played both sides of the ice and can do a little bit of everything, including help on the powerplay and penalty kill.

Skjei meanwhile represents a more long-term addition for the Hurricanes. The 25-year old defenseman is signed through the 2023-24 season at a $5.25MM cap hit, but has also been quite inconsistent this year for the Rangers. Perhaps asked to fill a smaller role in Carolina will allow him to flourish once again, given how deep the team is on the blue line.

When all is said and done the Hurricanes will sit with a group including Jaccob Slavin, Jake Gardiner, Joel Edmundson, Trevor van Riemsdyk, Haydn Fleury, Vatanen and Skjei, with Pesce and Hamilton working their way back at some point (though when that will be still isn’t clear). That’s just about the deepest defense corps in the entire league, not to mention the fact that Carolina still has Gustav Forsling, Jake Beane, Joey Keane and Roland McKeown in the minor leagues.

Kuokkanen becomes one of the most interesting prospects for the Devils immediately, after posting strong results in the minor leagues but getting little opportunity in Carolina. He’ll surely get a bigger chance on the Devils as they rebuild, and when added to a mid-round pick is nice work by interim GM Tom Fitzgerald.

For the Rangers, clearing Skjei’s contract was the clear goal, even though the defenseman still obviously has value. The team has work to do on their cap moving forward, and nabbing a first-round pick will only help fill their prospect cupboards even more.

Islanders Acquire Jean-Gabriel Pageau, Sign Him To Six-Year Extension

at CDT | by 37 Comments

12:53 p.m. — It looks like the cost to bring Pageau aboard isn’t just for a rental, however, as the Islanders announced they have signed him to a six-year extension to remain with New York. Sportsnet’s Chris Johnston adds that the deal has a $5MM AAV.

9:46 a.m. — The New York Islanders announced they have completed a deal with the Ottawa Senators, as the team picked up center Jean-Gabriel Pageau.  In exchange for Pageau, the Islanders sent over a significant haul of draft picks as Ottawa receives a 2020 first-rounder, a 2020 second-rounder, and a third-rounder in 2022.  The first-round pick is top-three protected while the third-rounder will only be conveyed if the Islanders win the Stanley Cup this season.

The 27-year-old had been engaged in discussions regarding a contract extension in recent days but clearly, the two sides weren’t able to come to an agreement.  This means he’s likely to hit the open market as an unrestricted free agent unless New York can work out an agreement with him.

Pageau is having a career year offensively.  He already has 24 goals and 16 assists in 60 games; it’s the first time that he has reached the 20-goal mark in his career though that is aided by a 17.8 shooting percentage.  He has also seen his ice time jump to over 19 minutes per game, also a career-best.

He immediately becomes the top goal scorer on the Islanders (Brock Nelson checks in at 22 goals) and should play a key role for them as a second-line pivot.  The fact that he can be an effective penalty killer will certainly help a unit that is killing just over 80% of their penalties and his 53.2% success rate at the faceoff dot will be critical as well.  Nevertheless, it’s a steep price to pay for someone who has been more of a third liner for most of his career.

Meanwhile, the Senators add a third first-round pick to their arsenal for the upcoming draft (unless New York wins in the draft lottery) and currently have 14 picks at their disposal.  GM Pierre Dorion already has a deep prospect pool and with this many selections (including nine in the first three rounds), it’s about to get a lot stronger.

TSN’s Bob McKenzie was the first to report the trade.

Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.

Edmonton Oilers Acquire Andreas Athanasiou

at CDT | by 6 Comments

After coming close to a trade with the Columbus Blue Jackets, the Detroit Red Wings are actually sending Andreas Athanasiou back to his old GM instead. Ken Holland and the Edmonton Oilers have acquired Andreas Athanasiou and Ryan Kuffner. In return, the Red Wings will receive Sam Gagner, a 2020 second-round pick and a 2021 second-round pick. The Oilers will retain 10% of Gagner’s remaining salary.

As our Brian La Rose wrote when Athanasiou looked like he was heading to Columbus, it has been a very strange season for the 25-year-old.  Last year, he had a career-best 30 goals and 24 assists in 76 games and it looked like he was on his way to being part of Detroit’s long-term core.  However, things have gone completely off the rails this season.  He has struggled considerably offensively with only 24 points in 46 games while his plus/minus has been dreadful at -45.  That’s already in the bottom 30 all-time among NHL forwards.

While he would have had plenty of opportunity in Columbus due to their injuries, Athanasiou’s future in Edmonton may be even more exciting. One of the few players in the league who can keep up with Connor McDavid’s skating ability, there is a chance the pair could be combined to make the fastest line in the league. That kind of speed could be devastating for opponents to deal with, though Athanasiou will have to find some more consistency in his game to deserve a spot on the top line.

Not only will he know the GM from their time in Detroit, but Athanasiou will join Mike Green on his way over from the Red Wings at the deadline. You might not think that grabbing two players from the worst team in the league is a positive strategy, but familiarity is certainly a factor here for an executive that wants to win right away.

In terms of the return, Detroit gets two nice picks for a player that was bound to be a tough negotiation this summer. Athanasiou is a restricted free agent again and had already held out late into the offseason previously. The 25-year old currently carries a $3MM cap hit but could certainly put himself in line for a big raise with a strong few months in Edmonton.

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

scroll to top