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NHL Announces Postponement, Reschedule

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12:15pm: The league has officially postponed tonight’s game between the Flyers and Capitals after a second player entered the COVID protocol. No other games have been postponed at the moment, but the league will continue to analyze test results in the coming days.

The league has also announced that the St. Louis Blues and Arizona Coyotes will move another game from later in the season, meaning they will now have seven games in a row against each other due to COVID outbreaks in other parts of the Central Division. Game #684, originally scheduled for April 15, will now be played this Friday, February 12.

10:15am: The Philadelphia Flyers are the latest NHL team facing the specter of postponement. Darren Dreger of TSN reports that the team had another positive test result late last night and will likely have their game against the Washington Capitals this evening postponed. Travis Sanheim was the only Philadelphia player on the COVID Protocol Related Absences list yesterday, but that appears likely to change.

As we’ve seen with some of the other outbreaks, positive test results can come slowly and trickle in for several days after the initial positive test. It’s not clear how many players or staff have tested positive in Philadelphia or how widespread the damage is, but it appears as though they’ll miss at least one game (and, given the way the NHL has operated previously, more than that).

Of course, just 12 days from now the Flyers were set to take on the Boston Bruins in the NHL’s marquee outdoor event. The NHL Outdoors at Lake Tahoe is a set of two games including Philadelphia, Boston, Colorado, and Vegas that is supposed to start a modern trend of Mystery, Alaska-type events in the North American wilderness.

We’ll have to wait and see if that event is in jeopardy, but the focus now is getting the Flyers players healthy and safe. The list of postponements continues to grow.

Minor Transactions: 02/08/21

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The AHL (at least most of its teams) has now joined the NHL in a new season, but there are still plenty of moves being made in the minors as teams solidify their lineups for the new campaign. Of course, many of those who were not successful in securing a contract in the NHL or AHL continue to find work overseas, while other are returning to juniors. Keep up with all of the minor moves made today right here:

  • A pair of veterans have been successful with AHL tryouts in Pennsylvania. Tim Schaller has earned a spot with the Wilkes-Barre Scranton Penguins, per a league release, while Chris Mueller will be back in the AHL for a 13th consecutive season as the Lehigh Valley Phantoms announced a one-year deal. Schaller, 30, had been an NHL regular for several years before last season, when his lack of production for the Vancouver Canucks finally caught up with him and he was traded to the Los Angeles Kings and subsequently demoted. Schaller has been an effective fourth liner in the past and will look to earn his way back to the NHL with a strong season in the minors. Mueller, 34, is likely beyond an NHL comeback at this point, having not played in the league since 2014-15, but the decorated AHLer is only a couple seasons away from cracking the league’s top 20 in all-time games played.
  • An intriguing prospect has signed on with the AHL’s Toronto Marlies. Pavel Gogolev, fresh off of a 96-point season in the OHL last year, has returned to Ontario to join the Marlies, according to the AHL’s transactions log. He had been playing with Vasby IK of Sweden’s Allsvenskan to begin the year, but the club confirms that his contract has been terminated. Gogolev, 20, was passed over yet again in the most recent NHL Draft despite finishing sixth overall in OHL scoring last season. Perhaps this was due to his advanced age relative to other draft-eligible prospects or the lack of development in his defensive ability, but there is no doubting that Gogolev has impressive offensive skill and has shown repeatedly that he is committed to North American hockey and pursuing an NHL career. He will take another step closer to that goal this season with AHL Toronto.
  • Blake Pietila is looking to stick around the North American game and has signed a PTO with the Hershey Bears, the team announced. The former New Jersey Devils prospect signed with the Anaheim Ducks for the 2019-20 season, but played exclusively in the AHL despite having set a new career high in NHL appearances the season prior. The hard-working forward is looking for another opportunity to show he can still be an NHL asset and hopes to not only crack the Hershey roster, but carve out a top role as well. Pietila has recorded 142 points in 266 career AHL games, proving himself to be an impact player in the minors.
  • Despite appearing in training camp for the San Jose Barracuda, Sharks prospect Vladislav Kotkov will wait another season to turn pro. The Sharks have reassigned Kotkov to the QMHL’s Saint John Sea Dogs for one final junior campaign, the team announced. The Sea Dogs are certainly happy about the decision; Kotkov was acquired this summer for a pair of draft picks which would have been squandered if he had never suited up for the team. The overage import forward is a big, powerful offensive presence who is sure to make a major impact for Saint John before inevitably doing so for the Barracuda and possibly the Sharks down the road as well.
  • Former NHL journeyman Andrew Ebbett made a career as a hired gun, playing for six different teams over eight seasons but still managing to suit up for 32 games each year on average. However, when his luck in North America ran out in 2015, he made the unlikely discovery of the first long-term home of his career with SC Bern of the Swiss NLA. Ebbett has spent the last five seasons with Bern, the past four of which as a captain and a top-five scoring forward. However, it is time for Ebbett to move on yet again. At 38, he is not ready to call it a career just yet, but has said goodbye to Bern and signed with EHC Munich of the German DEL. Having recently lost other names familiar to NHL fans in Derek Roy and Kalle Kossila, the Red Bulls were excited to land the veteran Ebbett as a replacement for the remainder of the year.

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

Philadelphia Flyers Activate Sean Couturier

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His time was coming near, but the Philadelphia Flyers announced Sunday that they are activating injured forward Sean Couturier off of injured reserve and the Selke Award winner is expected to be in the lineup today against the Washington Capitals.

The 28-year-old was expected to miss at least two weeks after suffering a Costochondral separation, or a rib separation, early in a Jan. 15 game against the Pittsburgh Penguins. Couturier has only managed to play in two games this season (including just 45 seconds on the day of his injury).

Couturier should immediately provide some much-needed stability to a Flyers team that was expected to be a dominant team this season. While the team is in second place with a 7-3-2 record this year, Philadelphia has struggled quite a bit at the same time, giving up several leads in games.

The Flyers are also expecting Philippe Myers to return to the Flyers’ lineup and is expected to start on the first pairing with Ivan Provorov, according to The Athletic’s Charlie O’Connor. Travis Sanheim has come out of the lineup, but no report on whether it is injury-related.

Flames Notes: Gaudreau, Bennett, Ryan

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After a dismal 2019-20 campaign in which he posted a career-low in points and took a step back even on a per-game basis, Calgary Flames star forward Johnny Gaudreau looks like his old self early on this season. Gaudreau recorded a point in each of the Flames’ first nine games and has six goals and eleven points total through ten games. With Gaudreau’s elite production back, last year’s trade rumors have all but dried up, writes Sportsnet’s Ryan Dixon. Even at a 68-point full-year pace last season, Gaudreau’s $6.75MM AAV contract was a value. However, there was considerable discussion about moving him in the case of his scoring touch continuing to fall off over the remainder of the contract. There was also a lot made of Gaudreau’s connection to the Philadelphia Flyers, his favorite team while growing up in New Jersey, and whether he simply desired a move out of Calgary. However, now that he is back to point-per-game scoring, there seems little chance that Gaudreau is going anywhere before his current contract expires after next season. While there are many who will continue to speculate that Gaudreau will leave for Philadelphia as a free agent – Dixon also notes the possible fit with the New Jersey Devils – he appears to be back in good graces with the Flames and their fans and the organization will do all it can to retain the dynamic forward for as long as possible.

  • While the trade rumors are quiet when it comes to Gaudreau, it is the exact opposite for teammate Sam Bennett. Bennett is on the block and while the Flames have said they will take their time with a potential deal, his healthy scratch for the team’s last game somewhat betrays that idea. Whether or not Bennett has formally requested a trade out of Calgary remains unclear, there is seemingly universal agreement that the clock is ticking on the current relationship between he and the Flames. What everyone is not in agreement on however is what the Flames may be looking at in return – or more specifically who. New York Rangers defenseman Anthony DeAngelo is the only trade target rivaling Bennett on the rumor mill right now and it is easy to see how the two teams may be interest in some sort of swap of the two outcasts. Bob McKenzie was the first to report that Calgary was interested in DeAngelo, but this was refuted by Flames beat writer Eric Francis. The pendulum has now swung back the other way, as The New York Post’s Larry Brooks has responded directly to Francis, stating the contrary. Not only does USA Today’s Vincent corroborate Brooks’ side of the story, he adds that the Rangers are also equally interested in Bennett. While the trade is unlikely to be a simple one-for-one due to salary discrepancy, there could be more to a potential Bennett-DeAngelo swap than some may have initially believed. Either way, both players seem destined for new teams sooner rather than later.
  • While head coach Geoff Ward has not yet disclosed his plans for Saturday night’s lineup, per Sportsnet’s Pat Steinberg, he may have no choice but to put Bennett back in. Derek Ryan, who has been invaluable as a bottom-six contributor to the penalty kill and face-off dot so far this year, suffered a finger injury in the Flames’ last game. While the team initially hoped that it was a minor injury and believed Ryan would not miss much time, Ward told the media that Ryan saw a specialist and has been diagnosed with a fracture. Depending on the location and severity, a finger fracture can take two-to-eight weeks to heal. There is currently no timeline for his return and someone will need to take his place in the starting lineup for the time being. Bennett, who is capable of playing a physical, energy role, is the best candidate, so if he is scratched again it will only serve to strengthen the argument that the Flames are protecting their trade asset for a forthcoming deal.

Minor Transactions: 02/05/21

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It’s opening day in the AHL for a number of teams with more set to get underway this weekend, while others are getting started with training camp. As a result, official rosters continue to be released and a few of these lists have included some surprising names. Follow along with these reveals as well as other minor moves around the hockey world:

  • Operating without an AHL affiliate this year, as the Milwaukee Admirals opted out of the season, the Nashville Predators were expected to share the Chicago Wolves with the Carolina Hurricanes. However, seeing as Carolina is the actual parent club and there are only so many AHL roster spots to go around, it seems Nashville has made other arrangements for some of their other prospects. The newly released training camp roster for the Tucson Roadrunners, affiliate of the Arizona Coyotes, shows that Nashville forwards Michael Carcone and Josh Wilkins have been loaned to the club. Wilkins is in his second season with the Predators organization as an undrafted free agent out of Providence College, while Carcone joined the organization as a UFA this summer and has four seasons of AHL experience under his belt. It’s an unexpected but welcome influx of talent and experienced up front for the Roadrunners.
  • Another former Milwaukee Admiral was a surprise inclusion on the Bridgeport Sound Tigers opening day roster. Per the AHL transactions log, goaltender Ken Appleby has signed with Bridgeport for this season. The former New Jersey Devils and Winnipeg Jets keeper spent last season on an AHL contract and will do so again this year. However, he hopes that he can eventually earn another NHL deal, perhaps even over the course of the season as he did with the Jets in 2018-19. The 25-year-old was stellar in three emergency appearances for the Devils in 2017-18 and has good numbers in the AHL and ECHL over his five-year pro career.
  • A familiar face is joining the Belleville Senators on a PTO in training camp. Veteran defenseman Cody Goloubef has joined the club on a tryout basis, Belleville announced. Goloubef previously played with the AHL Senators in 2018-19 after coming over in a trade with the Boston Bruins, but played exclusively in the NHL with Ottawa and the Detroit Red Wings last year. Seemingly unable to find a new NHL contract, the Ontario native has returned to his most recent AHL home and should have a strong chance at earning a contract. The 31-year-old Goloubef brings 160 NHL game and over 300 AHL games worth of experience to Belleville.
  • Philadelphia Flyers prospect Adam Ginning is preparing to spend at least one more year developing at home in Sweden. Farjestad BK of the SHL has announced an extension with Ginning through the 2021-22 season. The big defenseman, who stands 6’4″ and weighs in at over 200 pounds, has taken a step forward in the SHL this season, already setting a career high in points through just 32 games and asserting himself with the second-most penalty minutes on the team. The club feels that Ginning has pushed himself beyond many of the competing defensemen on the team and has claimed a top role on the blue line. Having claimed that role, he could be in for a special season next year before the Flyers inevitably try to bring him over.

COVID Notes: Protocol Changes, Fletcher, AHL

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As noted this morning by Elliotte Friedman of Sportsnet, the NHL is instituting some changes to the in-arena COVID protocols. James Mirtle of The Athletic examines the changes, which include the removal of the glass behind the benches. In the memo, the league explains the change:

To allow for air flow to more easily move away from the benches where Players and Coahces are in close proximity to on another during games, Clubs/Arenas shall remove the partitions of shielding that are behind the home and visiting team benches.

In Mirtle’s piece, he explains that some team personnel are “on edge” about whether the season can be completed. Yesterday, the league had 40 players on the COVID Protocol Related Absence list and three teams–Buffalo, New Jersey, and Minnesota–with their facilities currently shutdown and games postponed due to an outbreak.  The only division safe from disruption so far has been the North, which has not yet seen a game postponed this season.

  • It’s not just players and coaches that have to deal with the reality of COVID-19. Pierre LeBrun of The Athletic reports that Philadelphia Flyers GM Chuck Fletcher tested positive for the virus last month and had to isolate in a hotel. The front office executive is now out of isolation and recovered. The league’s COVID Protocol Related Absences list is only for players and does not include staff—like Fletcher or Buffalo head coach Ralph Krueger—that have tested positive or required isolation for close contact.
  • The AHL is trying to start their season tomorrow, meaning they’ll have to deal with their own COVID struggles. That started today when two games were postponed already. Due to league protocols, the Cleveland Monsters are unable to travel to Rockford to face the IceHogs on Friday and Saturday. The Chicago Wolves will play Rockford on Saturday instead. While the league has officially listed those games as “postponed” on the schedule, it is not at all clear if they will actually be rescheduled for some point down the line.

Morgan Frost To Undergo Shoulder Surgery

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The Philadelphia Flyers gave an update on several injured players today, including young forward Morgan Frost. GM Chuck Fletcher explained to reporters including Charlie O’Connor of The Athletic that Frost will undergo shoulder surgery and will be out “months,” perhaps even for the rest of the 2020-21 season. Prospect Wade Allison had ankle surgery and is still four to five weeks away, while Sean Couturier is still seven to ten days away from rejoining the lineup.

More than anything, it’s a tough blow for the 21-year-old Frost who still hasn’t established himself as a regular in the NHL after being the 27th overall pick in 2017. The undersized forward dominated the OHL in the two seasons following his draft and played in 20 games for the Flyers last season, but registered just seven points. He was scoreless in two contests this year, which could be the only two games he plays given the seriousness of his injury.

Frost is still under contract for next season, but now faces the very real possibility of heading into a 2022 offseason as a restricted free agent without much NHL time under his belt. While some may consider that a blessing for the Flyers, who will likely be able to re-sign the young forward for a relatively small amount, they would certainly rather have him playing and developing this season.

Allison, who was a second-round pick in 2016, is only just trying to get his professional career started after spending the last four seasons at Western Michigan University. The 6’2″ forward signed a two-year entry-level contract last March but hasn’t been able to play a game since his college career ended. Waiting another four or five weeks means he won’t get much time in the AHL this year, as the Lehigh Valley Phantoms already have only 38 games on the schedule that starts this weekend.

Philadelphia Flyers To Scratch Travis Konecny

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The Philadelphia Flyers have won five of their first eight games and currently have the third-best record in the East Division. Apparently, that hasn’t stopped head coach Alain Vigneault from sending messages to his team though. Vigneault has confirmed to The Athletic’s Charlie O’Connor that a healthy Travis Konecny will be scratched for the Flyers’ match-up with the New York Islanders on Saturday night.

Vigneault’s issue with his team so far this season has been their five-on-five play and it seems Konecny will be the one to be made example of. O’Connor writes that Vigneault has been talking to team nearly every game about improving their even strength play in all three zones and has not seen any improvement from Konecny, among others. Vigneault spoke with Konecny, who he still calls one of their three best forwards, this morning and explained his decision to make him a healthy scratch. He explained the decision to O’Connor as well:

I’ve been talking to the players about it for some time, areas we need to be better at… I’ve addressed this with the group a couple of times. Not a couple of times, basically after every game, about our need to play better five-on-five, the need to do the right things, to play the right way… I came here to Philly to win a Stanley Cup, and to win a Stanley Cup, there’s a certain way that you have to play… (Konecny) is the one tonight who is not going to play. His five-on-five game needs to be better in the areas that he’s aware of.

So, Konecny will watch from the press box tonight as his coach hopes that he and his teammates finally get the message. Meanwhile, the Flyers will be without the player tied for the team lead in goals and plus/minus and among the top five in points and hits. The team only hopes that this move doesn’t come back to bite them against a good Islanders in a shortened, divisional season where every game matters that much more.

What Your Team Is Thankful For: Philadelphia Flyers

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We’ve now made it past the holiday season but there is still plenty to be thankful. Like the last few years, PHR will take a look at what teams are thankful for but this year comes with a bit of a change. Normally teams would have an idea of where their season was heading, coming up on the one-quarter mark with mountains of statistics to analyze. Instead, in this unprecedented year, things are just getting underway. We’ll still take a look at what each group is excited about and what they could hope for with the calendar having now flipped to 2021.

What are the Flyers most thankful for?

A group of young impact players changing the look of the team.

It’s taken a few years, but the team is suddenly loaded with young talent that is contributing in a major way for the team. Just a few years ago, the team brought in players like Travis Konecny, Ivan Provorov, Travis Sanheim and  goaltender Carter Hart to name a few. Those players have established themselves as elite players on a playoff team that is hoping to now take that next step. Other younger players have more recently stepped in as well, including Joel Farabee, Morgan Frost, Philippe Myers, etc. The hope is the next wave can also take the next step.

Who are the Flyers most thankful for?

Their veteran forwards.

The team may have quite a few young players they can count on for support, but the team continues to be held together by their veteran depth. The team still has their top three long-time forwards, Sean Courturier (the 2020 Selke winner), Jacob Voracek and Claude Giroux, but have also gotten great contributions from Kevin Hayes, who has looked outstanding in his one-plus year with the team, even posting eight points in six games with the team so far this year. Even James van Riemsdyk has posted solid numbers this season, giving the offense a solid core presence.

What would the Flyers be even more thankful for?

Rebound seasons for Oskar Lindblom and Nolan Patrick.

The Flyers lost a pair of impressive young players for the season last year. Lindblom was diagnosed with Ewing’s Sarcoma, a form of cancer and spent the season receiving treatment. He was cleared of the cancer late in the year and even made the trip with the team into the playoff bubble, although he didn’t play. Regardless, now healthy, the team hopes that Lindblom can pick up where he left off, which was producing at a high level. So far, he has spent quite a bit of time on the first line.

Patrick, on the other hand, missed the entire 2019-20 season due to concussion issues with plenty of questions on whether he would be back when the season started. However, Patrick is back, centering the third line and looking sharp, perhaps sharper than he has ever played before, giving hope to the Flyers future.

What should be on the Flyers’ wish list?

Improved defense.

The loss of Matt Niskanen has had quite an impact. The veteran blue liner announced his retirement during the offseason, something the team hadn’t planned on. The Flyers did go out and re-sign veteran Justin Braun, but the team has put a lot of pressure on their young defense this year and it has showed so far. The team could really use a veteran, perhaps at the trade deadline, to bolster their defense if they want to make any type of run in a shortened season and in a challenging division this year.

Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.

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