Taxi Squad Shuffle: 01/31/22
Say goodbye to January with five games on the NHL schedule, including the first of a home-and-home between the New Jersey Devils and Toronto Maple Leafs. Unfortunately, the Devils will be without head coach Lindy Ruff for both games after his father’s passing a few days ago. Ruff is on leave from the organization, and assistant coach Alain Nasreddine will run the bench in his absence.
As those teams and others prepare, we’ll keep track of all the minor league and taxi squad shuffling:
Atlantic Division
- The Detroit Red Wings have sent Calvin Pickard and Luke Witkowski to the AHL after the former made two appearances in recent days. Pickard, 29, stopped 36 of 38 shots he faced in an improbable win against the Pittsburgh Penguins a few days ago.
- The Ottawa Senators have recalled Mark Kastelic and Lassi Thomson from the taxi squad ahead of their game tonight against the Edmonton Oilers. Erik Brannstrom has also been cleared from the COVID protocol and could be available.
Metropolitan Division
- The Washington Capitals have recalled Lucas Johansen from the AHL to the taxi squad, suggesting the young defenseman could be close to his second game of NHL action. Selected in the first round in 2016, Johansen has just one game under his belt with the Capitals, coming exactly a month ago.
Central Division
- The Minnesota Wild have reassigned Andrew Hammond and Kyle Rau to the Iowa Wild. After its game on Wednesday, the taxi squad will be dissolved, meaning Hammond would have needed to go back anyway. Later in the day, they assigned Matt Boldy and Connor Dewar to the taxi squad. Boldy at least will be recalled again before the Wednesday game.
Pacific Division
- The Los Angeles Kings have loaned Austin Strand to the taxi squad while moving Christian Wolanin up to it from the AHL. The team has one game remaining before the All-Star break, in Detroit on Wednesday night.
This page will be updated throughout the day
Sweden Announces 2022 Olympic Roster
Jan 31: Djuse and Gustafsson have been ruled out because of positive COVID results, meaning Theodor Lennstrom and Philip Holm will replace them on the roster.
Jan 21: With just three weeks until the 2022 Winter Olympic men’s hockey tournament gets underway, rosters are being finalized by all the participating countries. Sweden is the latest to reveal who will represent their country in Beijing next month, announcing a roster filled with names that are familiar to NHL fans. While the best league in the world won’t be going to the international event, there’s still plenty of NHL experience that will hit the ice.
The full roster:
G Magnus Hellberg
G Lars Johansson
G Adam Reideborn
D Lukas Bengtsson
D Erik Gustafsson
D Emil Djuse
D Oscar Fantenberg
D Christian Folin
D Linus Hultstrom
D Jonathan Pudas
D Henri Tommernes
F Daniel Brodin
F Mathias Brome
F Jacob de La Rose
F Dennis Everberg
F Max Friberg
F Pontus Holmberg
F Linus Johansson
F Carl Klingberg
F Marcus Kruger
F Anton Lander
F Joakim Nordstrom
F Fredrik Olofsson
F Gustav Rydahl
F Lucas Wallmark
Like the Finns, Sweden has gone with a veteran lineup filled with NHL and international experience, passing on many of the country’s top young prospects. One interesting name though is Holmberg, a 22-year-old forward that actually signed his entry-level contract with the Toronto Maple Leafs last summer. He’s playing in Sweden this season on loan and has 28 points in 33 games. He is the youngest player on the roster by several years and basically represents the only prospect included. Selected in the sixth round in 2018, it would be quite a find for the Maple Leafs if he can continue his high level of play in North America next season.
Sabres Place Zemgus Girgensons On IR; Activate Dahlin, Olofsson From Protocol
The Buffalo Sabres activated defenseman Rasmus Dahlin and forward Victor Olofsson from COVID protocol ahead of tonight’s game against Colorado after erroneous COVID tests held them out of their last game on Saturday. The team also placed center Zemgus Girgensons on injured reserve retroactive to January 28th with an undisclosed injury.
Girgensons, the longest-tenured Sabre, missed the entirety of the 2020-21 campaign with a hamstring injury suffered during training camp. Back and healthy for this year, he’s brought his extremely solid defensive game to the team’s bottom six.
He’s been in and out of the lineup the past few weeks, though, missing time earlier in the month with another unknown injury and some time in December while on COVID protocol. The Latvian centerman has seven goals and 12 points in 34 games.
Getting Dahlin and Olofsson back in the fold is a large factor for the Sabres and head coach Don Granato. Dahlin, the 2018 first-overall pick, is playing some of the best hockey of his career right now and has 28 points through 42 games. Olofsson is a valuable depth piece who can put pucks in the net and is an important piece with Tage Thompson already out of the lineup.
Carey Price Still Hopes To Play This Season
During his press availability today, Montreal Canadiens goaltender Carey Price said he still hopes to play this season and return from the knee surgery he had in July of 2021.
The 34-year-old and future Hall of Famer said that he should know “within the next two weeks” if he can return to game action prior to the end of the season in April. Price suffered a setback in his recovery about two weeks ago, forcing him to restart the rehabilitation process on his knee.
Originally, Price was projected to miss around three months with the recovery process, and the team expected him to be ready for the start of the season. It became clear about a week prior to the puck drop on the 2021-22 campaign that he wouldn’t be healthy enough to play.
That window in October prior to the start of the season also saw him enter the NHLPA’s Player Assistance Program. He completed his treatment there and returned to the team after a month in early November.
If Price is able to return, the team hopes it will balance what’s been a precarious goaltending situation all season. Neither goalie in their current tandem has been good, as Sam Montembeault (2-8-4, 3.95 GAA, .895% SV) and Cayden Primeau (1-4-1, 4.51 GAA, .879% SV) have both really struggled with full-time NHL duty.
Jake Allen (5-16-2, 2 SO, 3.15 GAA, .901 SV%) had put forth his best effort in a trying season for the Canadiens, but he’s likely on the shelf until mid-to-late March with a lower-body injury.
Boston Bruins Place Erik Haula In COVID Protocol
Boston Bruins forward Erik Haula entered the NHL’s COVID-19 protocol today, per the team. They recalled forward Steven Fogarty from the AHL’s Providence Bruins to take his spot on the active roster.
Haula, despite just 16 points through his first 40 games in Boston, had been heating up as of late. Seven of those 16 points have come in his past 10 games as he seems to have found a home between Taylor Hall and David Pastrnak on the team’s second line for the time being.
Fogarty’s recall comes with the Bruins not having any healthy forwards available as scratches or on the taxi squad. The AHL veteran and former New York Ranger and Buffalo Sabre has 23 points in 26 games with Providence this year, and he’ll likely slot into the lineup tonight against the Dallas Stars.
A five-day quarantine for Haula would cause him to miss the team’s next two games against Dallas and Seattle.
Vegas Golden Knights Sign Brayden McNabb, Others To Extensions
The Vegas Golden Knights announced Sunday that they’ve come to terms on extensions with defenseman Brayden McNabb, forward Michael Amadio, and goaltender Logan Thompson.
McNabb’s three-year extension carries an average annual value of $2.85MM, Amadio’s two-year deal carries an average annual value of $762,500 and Thompson’s three-year deal is worth $766,667 per year. All three contracts begin in the 2022-23 season.
McNabb has now spent over half of his 552 NHL games with the Golden Knights. The team’s selection from the Los Angeles Kings in the 2017 NHL Expansion Draft, McNabb has 15 goals and 42 assists for 57 points over 314 NHL games in Vegas.
Vegas has used McNabb primarily in a second-pairing role since joining the team, generally with Shea Theodore. With injuries devastating Vegas this year, he’s spent significant time with both Theodore and Dylan Coghlan.
Amadio arrived in the Vegas organization a few months ago after they claimed him off waivers from the Toronto Maple Leafs. The 25-year-old has seven points in 25 games with Vegas this year, and 47 points in 201 career NHL games. Retaining Amadio gives Vegas some reliable depth at the fringes of their forward lineup.
Thompson made his NHL debut last season and is third on the Knights’ goalie depth chart behind Robin Lehner and Laurent Brossoit. His impressive numbers in the AHL suggest a bright future for the 24-year-old, who came to the organization as an undrafted free agent. He has a .928 save percentage and two shutouts in 21 games with the Henderson Silver Knights this year.
Roman Josi, Evgeny Kuznetsov Headed To All-Star Game
The NHL announced today that in light of injuries to the Central Division’s Nathan MacKinnon and the Metropolitan Division’s Adam Fox, Nashville Predators defenseman Roman Josi and Washington Capitals center Evgeny Kuznetsov will serve as their replacements at the 2022 All-Star Game in Las Vegas next weekend. Dallas Stars forward Joe Pavelski will replace MacKinnon as Central Division captain.
Josi heads to the game as Nashville’s second representative, joining goaltender Juuse Saros. The 2020 Norris Trophy winner has a spectacular 43 points in 43 games this season, enjoying what’s on pace to be the best offensive campaign of his 11-year-career. He’ll be the team’s second defenseman alongside Colorado’s Cale Makar.
Kuznetsov is enjoying somewhat of a renaissance campaign, seeing increased production back alongside Alex Ovechkin. His 43 points in 42 games put him on his first point-per-game pace since the 2017-18 season in which Washington won the Stanley Cup. He’s seeing heavy usage this year, playing over 21:25 per game under head coach Peter Laviolette.
Teuvo Teravainen “Doubtful” For Carolina Hurricanes Sunday
Carolina Hurricanes right wing Teuvo Teravainen is doubtful to play for the team Sunday against the San Jose Sharks, according to head coach Rod Brind’Amour.
Teravainen missed the team’s game yesterday, a 2-1 win versus New Jersey, as well with an undisclosed injury. It was just his second missed game of the 2021-22 season.
The 27-year-old Finnish forward is fourth on the team in points with 32, potting 11 goals and 21 assists while averaging 17:58 per game. He’s most commonly seen top-line duties with Sebastian Aho at center this year.
In his absence, Jordan Martinook, who Brind’Amour has used sparingly this season (just 25 games played), will continue to play alongside Aho and rookie Seth Jarvis.
Brind’Amour said that there’s a possibility Teravainen may take warmups, so even if he doesn’t return today, it won’t be long before he’s back in the lineup.
Sabres’ Aaron Dell Clears Waivers
Jan. 30: Sportsnet’s Elliotte Friedman reports that Dell cleared waivers today. He will continue to serve his three-game suspension as a member of the Buffalo Sabres.
Jan. 29: The Sabres appear to be set to get Craig Anderson back tonight, lessening their need for goaltending depth. Accordingly, the team announced (Twitter link) that they’ve placed netminder Aaron Dell on waivers.
Dell was in the news earlier this week when he received a three-game suspension for his hit on Senators winger Drake Batherson. Two games still remain on that ban, one of which is tonight in Arizona. As long as he’s on the active roster and not moved to non-roster status, he still should get credit for serving the second game of his suspension even while being on waivers.
It has been a rough season on the ice as well for the 32-year-old as he has struggled mightily in his NHL action so far. He has played in a dozen games for Buffalo in 2021-22, recording just one victory while posting a 4.03 GAA and a save percentage of just .893. Those numbers are actually better than what he put up in seven games with New Jersey last season which is what led to him settling for a two-way deal worth the league minimum of $750K in the NHL and $350K in the minors.
Despite all that, there is still a chance that Dell is claimed. Several teams are dealing with injuries between the pipes at the moment and could view the veteran as a short-term stopgap to allow a prospect currently on recall to return to the minors. If that doesn’t happen, Buffalo could opt to immediately send Dell down or keep him on their roster through the weekend to clear the remainder of his suspension and then send him to the taxi squad or AHL Rochester.
Jonathan Toews, Nathan MacKinnon In Concussion Protocol
Jan 30: Sportsnet’s Nick Kypreos was correct when he reported MacKinnon underwent surgery, as Avalanche head coach Jared Bednar confirmed today. MacKinnon has been ruled out for the All-Star Game, and Bednar told reporters including Baugh that Mikko Rantanen was “an easy case” as his replacement. That case may be ineffective though, as David Pagnotta of The Fourth Period tweets that it will be Roman Josi who replaces MacKinnon instead, giving the Central Division another defenseman.
Jan 28: Two high-profile centers are unavailable for their teams at the moment because of head injuries. Colorado Avalanche star Nathan MacKinnon has been ruled out for the team’s last three games before the All-Star break as he deals with a facial fracture and concussion from Taylor Hall‘s hit on Wednesday night. The Chicago Blackhawks, Colorado’s opponent tonight, will be without Jonathan Toews as he is also in the concussion protocol. Toews finished his last game against the Detroit Red Wings, though Charlie Roumeliotis of NBCS Chicago noticed a hit that could have caused the issue.
With MacKinnon out, the Avalanche will go with a top line of Gabriel Landeskog, Mikko Rantanen, and Valeri Nichushkin, according to Peter Baugh of The Athletic. Dylan Sikura, recently recalled, will enter the lineup on the fourth line and play in his second NHL game of the season. Sikura has 31 points in 29 games for the Colorado Eagles this season.
Obviously, the loss of MacKinnon is a big one, given his place as one of the top players in the entire league. With 43 points in 31 games so far, he was named to the Central Division All-Star team, a spot that now seems up for grabs. It is unlikely that he would participate after suffering an injury like this, meaning there should be a replacement named in the coming days. Given he was the “captain” of the group, that will also have to be decided if MacKinnon is indeed held out of the event.
For Toews, this is just the latest in what has been a difficult season. Coming back from his missed 2020-21 campaign, the 33-year-old forward hasn’t exactly been himself, registering just four goals in 43 games so far. In 2019-20 he had 18 but had previously never recorded fewer than 20 in any of his first 12 NHL seasons. With just 19 points in those 43 contests, he ranks fifth on the Blackhawks in scoring, well behind Patrick Kane and Alex DeBrincat who have carried the load thus far. He’s also averaging fewer than 18 minutes a night for the first time in his career and will now potentially miss some time with a concussion.