Snapshots: NHLPA, Copp, Jagr
The NHLPA has strongly encouraged its players to be fully vaccinated against COVID-19 and warned of the potential for loss of pay for those who don’t do so, reports Michael Russo and Katie Strang of The Athletic (subscription link). The main scenario where this could happen is flying into Canada where border travel is facing heightened restrictions; commercial travelers will require proof of vaccination by the end of October and while NHL teams fly charter, they could be subjected to that same policy and not allowed into the country. In that situation, teams could have the ability to withhold salaries for the players not allowed in. Deputy Commissioner Bill Daly noted that over 85% of NHL players have been fully vaccinated already so this wouldn’t necessarily affect many players but it’s a scenario the NHLPA wants to prepare its membership for.
Elsewhere around the hockey world:
- Jets forward Andrew Copp acknowledged to reporters, including Postmedia’s Paul Friesen, that his preference was to sign a long-term deal. However, Winnipeg’s cap situation after some of their additions on the back end basically forced their hand and the two sides settled on a one-year, $3.64MM pact that will walk the 27-year-old to unrestricted free agency next summer. With roughly $63.5MM tied up in a dozen players for 2022-23 per CapFriendly (excluding Bryan Little’s LTIR-bound contract), a strong showing next season could result in Copp playing his way out of Winnipeg entirely.
- Veteran winger Jaromir Jagr will turn 50 late in the 2021-22 season and the future Hall of Famer will spend it playing with his hometown team in Kladno in the Czech Extraliga. The overwhelming majority of players hang up their skates by that age but in an interview with Pavel Barta of The Hockey News, the veteran indicated that he’s continuing to play out of obligation more than anything else. Jagr happens to be the owner of the team and is worried about a loss of sponsorship that could put the team in jeopardy if he decided to call it a career. While he isn’t the top scorer he once was, Jagr had a dozen points in 19 games last season to help lead Kladno back to the top level.
Winnipeg Jets, Andrew Copp Avoid Arbitration
The Winnipeg Jets have avoided arbitration with another restricted free agent, signing Andrew Copp to a one-year, $3.64MM contract according to Elliotte Friedman of Sportsnet. Copp had a hearing scheduled for August 26, which will no longer be necessary.
Copp, 27, will be an unrestricted free agent when the deal expires, but there wasn’t much flexibility for the Jets to sign him to a longer deal. The team is pushed right up against the salary cap even with Bryan Little‘s $5.3MM deal moving to long-term injured reserve, meaning a multi-year deal with Copp (which would have carried a higher cap hit) would have required a subsequent move.
Instead, the team will move forward with the group they have now and revisit extension talks down the line. Copp will be eligible to sign a new contract with the team when the calendar turns to 2022. If he continues the play he showed this year, that next deal will certainly be coming with a substantial raise on $3.64MM.
Copp broke out offensively this season, scoring 15 goals and 39 points in just 55 games while playing a much bigger role for the Jets. Not only did he receive more regular powerplay time, but he also averaged 2:29 of short-handed ice time to lead all Winnipeg forwards. Overall he came in behind only Mark Scheifele, Kyle Connor, and Blake Wheeler in terms of average ice time, ahead of several more highly-paid teammates. It’s hard to overstate just how important he was to the Jets forward group, serving as a sort of fix-it player for any situation.
While he may not get much fanfare for his performance, other teams surely will have noticed the player that Copp has developed into. His free agent market will be significant if he makes it there, meaning this one-year deal is certainly a risk for the Jets in terms of retaining his services past 2021-22. The team is in a win-now mode though after a disappointing second-round exit, and clearly has decided that the expensive defensive additions were worth the cap squeeze they’re now experiencing.
With Copp signed, the Jets have essentially completed their offseason work, with only Johnny Kovacevic still to sign as a restricted free agent.
Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images
Central Notes: Copp, Pleau, Fiala
The Jets are a team that projects to be quite tight to the Upper Limit of the salary cap. Per CapFriendly, they have just over $6MM in cap room which amounts to roughly $11.35MM once Bryan Little’s LTIR is factored in but they still have to re-sign defenseman Neal Pionk and center Andrew Copp as well, both of whom have arbitration hearings later this month. Accordingly, Scott Billeck of the Winnipeg Sun suggests that with the strong platform season Copp had – one that saw him notch career highs in goals (15), assists (24), and points (39) – could wind up pushing him out of town. GM Kevin Cheveldayoff spent nearly $10MM last month to shore up their back end with the acquisitions of Nate Schmidt and Brenden Dillon but if Pionk and Copp wind up getting more than they anticipated, it certainly could force their hand into trading someone and selling high on Copp would certainly make some sense for Winnipeg.
More from the Central:
- The Coyotes have added some experience to their front office as they announced the hiring of Larry Pleau as Senior Advisor to the General Manager. The 74-year-old spent the last 23 years with St. Louis with the first 12 of those being as their GM and the last 11 in an advisory role similar to the one he will have with Arizona. GM Bill Armstrong certainly has a long-standing connection with Pleau having worked under him for 16 seasons with the Blues before coming to the desert last year.
- The Wild’s decision to elect salary arbitration for winger Kevin Fiala earlier this week raised some eyebrows as it’s a move that’s rarely made. Michael Russo of The Athletic posits (subscription link) that the team wants to ensure Fiala is at training camp at the start which wasn’t the case two years ago when talks dragged out longer than either side would have liked. While a deal will be done within the next two weeks – his hearing is August 17th – there is certainly some risk that Minnesota is taking as Fiala could simply elect for a two-year award to take him to UFA eligibility in 2023, a move that certainly would hurt his trade value as well if it gets to that point.
17 Players File For Salary Arbitration
At 4pm CT today, the deadline for players to file for salary arbitration passed. Once it did, the NHLPA released the full list of 17 players who have filed. That list:
Nikita Zadorov (CGY)
Dennis Gilbert (COL)
Adam Erne (DET)
Jakub Vrana (DET)
Michael McNiven (MTL)
Juuse Saros (NSH)
Dante Fabbro (NSH)
Adam Pelech (NYI)
Victor Mete (OTT)
Zach Aston-Reese (PIT)
Adin Hill (SJS)
Vince Dunn (SEA)
Zach Sanford (STL)
Ross Colton (TBL)
Jason Dickinson (VAN)
Andrew Copp (WPG)
Neal Pionk (WPG)
Elliotte Friedman of Sportsnet notes that the Boston Bruins also filed for team-elected arbitration with Brandon Carlo in the first window, but the two sides reached a six-year extension on last month. Other restricted free agents that are arbitration-eligible but did not file can still be taken to arbitration by their clubs. The second deadline for club-elected arbitration filing is August 2 at 4pm CT. Salary arbitration hearings will be held between August 11-26, but the two sides can continue to negotiate a contract up until the time of their hearing.
It is important to note that these players who have elected salary arbitration are no longer eligible to sign an offer sheet.
Jets Notes: Copp, Heinola, Little
Two summers ago, the Jets surprisingly went to salary arbitration with forward Andrew Copp following a then career-best 28-point campaign and he was ultimately awarded a two-year deal with an AAV of $2.28MM. The 26-year-old will be in need of a new deal this offseason in his final season of RFA eligibility but told reporters, including Ted Wyman of the Winnipeg Sun, that what happened then won’t have any bearing on negotiations now. Copp is certainly in the drivers’ seat when it comes to these discussions. He’s coming off a 39-point season and is a year away from being eligible for unrestricted free agency so if early talks don’t go well, he can just file for arbitration, still walk away with a fair-sized raise, and hit the open market in 2022.
More from Winnipeg:
- The lack of NHL action for defenseman Ville Heinola raised some eyebrows this season but Wyman notes in a separate column that it wasn’t due to the team wanting his contract to slide another season. That ultimately happened as he suited up just five times in 2020-21, allowing for another automatic one-year extension; he’ll still have three years on his entry-level deal next season. Head coach Paul Maurice indicated some depth on the left side of the back end and a need to get faster as the reasons that the 20-year-old was rarely able to get into the lineup.
- Jets forward Bryan Little missed all of this season due to a perforated eardrum and while he hasn’t retired, GM Kevin Cheveldayoff stated as his end-of-season press conference (video link) that he remains unavailable and that “there are no medical opinions that say that he should play”. The 33-year-old has three years remaining on his contract with a cap hit of just under $5.3MM and assuming he’s unable to return, he’ll spend that time on LTIR as he did this season.
Expansion Draft Issues: Several Teams Have Moves To Make Before July 17
The trade deadline may have come and gone, but that doesn’t mean that there won’t be any more trades over the courses of the remainder of the league year. The NHL Expansion Draft is right around the corner, with protection lists due on July 17, ahead of the draft on July 21. By that time, all 30 participating teams must be able to submit a protection list that complies with the exposure requirements of the draft. As a reminder, teams may protect seven forwards, three defensemen, and a goalie or eight skaters and a goalie. However, they must also expose two forwards and one defenseman signed beyond this season and who have played in 27 NHL games this season or 54 games over the past two seasons, as well as a goaltender under team control beyond this season.
For many teams, this is easier said than done though. Long-term forwards and defensemen with considerable games played who are also deemed expendable are not all that common. With the trade deadline completed, teams are stuck with the group that they have unless they decide to make a trade in the time between their regular season end or postseason elimination and the week of the draft. Some can solve their problems internally, while others may be more hard pressed. Based on their most likely protection scheme, here are the teams with work to do:
Calgary Flames
Problem Area: Forward
Internal Solutions: The Flames may be having a difficult season, but they have a talented top-six who are all signed long-term. Except, that’s where the term forwards end. If Calgary cannot convince Milan Lucic to waive his No-Movement Clause, the team will be missing both of their required forwards for exposure by protecting Looch and the top-six. Even if Lucic does waive, the team will need to make another forward available to Seattle. RFA Dillon Dube meets the games played criteria, but the team is likely to protect the young forward or, if not, will not do anything to make him more attractive to the Kraken. That leaves fellow RFA Dominik Simon and impending UFA’s Derek Ryan, Josh Leivo, and Joakim Nordstrom, as well as Brett Ritchie with six more games played, as other names who could earn extensions due to otherwise meeting the exposure criteria.
Likelihood of a Trade: Medium. With so many affordable, bottom-six role players that the team could hand new one-year deals, the Flames have options. However, if Lucic does not waive and the team feels pressured to re-sign two of those players, they may look for outside help rather than bring back too much of a forward corps that has underachieved this year.
Colorado Avalanche
Problem Area: Forward
Internal Solutions: As one of the top scoring team’s in the NHL, the Avalanche will want to keep as much of their forward corps as they can and with the likes of Gabriel Landeskog and Brandon Saad heading to free agency and not in need of protection, the team can do just that. However, if Colorado does protect their top nine scoring forwards minus Landeskog and Saad, that leaves them with, at best, one forward to expose and zero if they choose to protect both Valeri Nichushkin and J.T. Compher. If the Avs do choose to protect the duo, that should leave RFA Tyson Jost unprotected, who they could extend in order to meet the exposure requirement. However, Jost has arbitration rights and may not rush into a new deal. Other candidates to re-sign would be UFA’s Pierre-Edouard Bellemare, Carl Soderberg, or Matt Calvert. Fortunately, the Avalanche have an even easier internal fix and that is simply playing Logan O’Connor five more times before the end of the season.
Likelihood of a Trade: Low. Between playing O’Connor and exposing one of Nichushkin or Compher, Colorado may not have to make any move at all. If they do, they have options. Who wouldn’t want to re-sign in Colorado right now, even if its only for the purpose of being expansion draft fodder.
Columbus Blue Jackets
Problem Area: Forward
Internal Solutions: It’s easy to guess six forwards that the Blue Jackets will protect, but the seventh is a bit trickier. Do they expose star Gustav Nyquist, who has missed the whole season due to injury and is on a substantial contract and on the wrong side of 30? Or do they expose Eric Robinson, who has been a hard-working depth presence this season but has limited upside? Well, if they choose to protect either one, it only leave the other as meeting exposure criteria. Only if both are exposed is Columbus good to go and that scenario seems unlikely. However, the only forward currently meeting the requirements other than term is RFA Kevin Stenlund, though UFA Mikhail Grigorenko requires only two more games played (and a new contract).
Likelihood of a Trade: High. The Blue Jackets surely want to bring Stenlund back, but he has arbitration rights and may not be keen to sign quickly just to help with expansion requirements. If a Stenlund deal can’t be reached sooner rather than later, Columbus may not have a choice but to bring someone in from the outside. A Grigorenko extension seems unlikely, as does exposing both Nyquist and Robinson.
Dallas Stars
Problem Area: Forward
Internal Solutions: The Stars’ protection scheme at forward is fairly obvious, as they have seven core forwards who stand out above the rest. However, those seven are also the only regular forwards with term on their contracts. Of all other expansion-draft eligible forwards for Dallas, only Joel L’Esperance has additional time on his current deal and he cannot reach the games played requirement. As a result, the Stars must find two forwards to expose, whereas most of these other problematic teams can at least scrounge up one forward. Among the options to re-sign are veteran UFA’s Blake Comeau and Andrew Cogliano or younger UFA’s Tanner Kero and Justin Dowling. However, it may be easier to re-up an RFA like Jason Dickinson or, with three more games, Nicholas Caamano.
Likelihood of a Trade: Medium. The Stars have a number of options, many of whom will likely re-sign at some point anyhow or else Dallas will have to rebuild their bottom-six from scratch. However, with two slots to fill there is always a chance that acquiring a player could be easier than negotiating a pair of early extensions.
New Jersey Devils
Problem Area: Forward
Internal Options: A rebuilding Devils team has a number of regular forwards who are ineligible for the draft and many others, protected or not, who are restricted free agents. What they lack is many term forwards, especially of the the expendable variety. While New Jersey could go in a few different direction with their protected list, the reality is simply that they have only five draft-eligible forwards who are signed beyond this season and at least four of those are locks to be protected. The x-factor is Andreas Johnsson. The first-year Devil has fallen well short of expectations and it would not be a surprise to see him exposed, leaving the team with just one spot to fill to meet the quota. However, if they are determined to give Johnsson a second chance and not lose him for nothing, then that becomes two slots that must be filled. The other problem in New Jersey is that the team doesn’t want to give Seattle any added incentive to steal some of their promising young players. Michael McLeod, Janne Kuokkanen, Yegor Sharangovich, and Nathan Bastian would all meet the exposure criteria if extended, but it’s safe to assume that the Devils will protect two or three of that group and may not be too excited to lose any of the others. Nick Merkley, who requires seven more games played and a new deal, could be seen as more expendable and may be okay with accepting a quick extension, even if it just for expansion purposes.
Likelihood of a Trade: High. With the possibility that New Jersey could protect Johnsson and, in any scenario, will want to steer the Kraken away from their young forwards if at all possible, the Devils seem like a prime candidate to bring in some outside help with meeting exposure criteria.
San Jose Sharks
Problem Area: Forward
Internal Options: Much like the Stars, the Sharks are not an elite team right now, but possess a solid group of top-six forwards who will all be protected. Also like Dallas though, the team has complete lack of long-term commitment to any forward outside of that group. The only other eligible forward signed beyond this season is Jayden Halbgewachs, who has not played a single NHL game, nevertheless enough to meet the requirement. There is not a great list of internal options to re-sign either. Of the players who would meet exposure criteria with an extension, Patrick Marleau is likely to retire, Marcus Sorensen seems to need a fresh start in free agency, and one of Rudolfs Balcers and Dylan Gambrell is likely to be the seventh forward protected. That really leaves UFA Matt Nieto as the lynchpin. If the Sharks can re-up Nieto and whoever they don’t protect between Balcers and Gambrell, they are good to go. If Nieto isn’t keen to re-sign and if Balcers or Gambrell wish to pursue arbitration, the Sharks will be stuck without any forwards to expose.
Likelihood of a Trade: High. The Sharks are in as tough a position as any team on this list. If left exposed, Washington native Gambrell seems like a very likely pick by Seattle, but San Jose needs to meet the exposure quota all the same. That could involve bringing in one if not two forwards before the draft. There simply aren’t many other options on the roster.
Toronto Maple Leafs
Problem Area: Forward OR Defense (Scheme-Dependent)
Internal Options: It should come as no surprise that a team build entirely on a small, expensive core group and veterans on affordable, one-year deals is not well-prepared for the expansion draft. Of the ten Toronto skaters who currently meet the exposure criteria, four are forwards that will be protected in any scenario and three are defensemen that will be protected in any scenario. This leaves Alex Kerfoot at forward and Justin Holl on defense(with Pierre Engvall as the odd man out will likely be exposed regardless); only one can be protected and the other is the most likely Leaf to be selected. If the Maple Leafs value Holl more than Kerfoot, they will go with eight skaters in their protection list. In this scenario, they will not have any defensemen who meet the exposure criteria. Fortunately, any of RFA Travis Dermott or UFA’s Zach Bogosian or Ben Hutton could re-sign and fill that role. Alternatively, if the team values Kerfoot more than Holl, they will go with the standard 7-3 protection scheme. This would allow them to protect Kerfoot as well as extend and protect others like Zach Hyman, Joe Thornton, or Jason Spezza. Those three would all meet exposure requirements as well with a new deal, but Toronto will not offer them up to Seattle. Wayne Simmonds, Riley Nash, or Alex Galchenyuk could be more likely though. Unfortunately, these are all unrestricted free agents and not as easy to re-sign before the off-season as a restricted free agent. The Leafs could find themselves in a bind as a result.
Likelihood of a Trade: Low. There is still so much to be determined about the Leafs’ approach to the draft and they have options either way and player who would likely be eager to re-sign. It’s not a straightforward situation by any means, but they should be able to figure it out without taking the risk of adding salary that they can’t spare by making a trade.
Winnipeg Jets
Problem Area: Forward
Internal Options: The Jets are known for their depth at forward and eight of their top-nine meet the exposure criteria as a result, with RFA Andrew Copp not fitting the bill but almost certain to be protected anyway. The decision for the seventh and final protection slot is likely between the recently-extended Adam Lowry and upstart Mason Appleton. Whoever isn’t protected fills one of the two exposure roles. However, no one else is currently eligible. Extension candidates include UFA’s Mathieu Perreault, Trevor Lewis, and Nate Thompson, but Winnipeg may not necessarily want to commit further to any of those three. The solution: Jansen Harkins is signed through next season and requires just four more games to meet exposure level.
Likelihood of Trade: Low. Just play Harkins and move on. The list of teams in trouble is already long enough.
NHL Requests Further Salary Deferral From Players In 2020-21
As the NHL continues to work with the NHLPA’s Return to Play Committee on plans to begin the 2020-21 season, the league has requested more financial concessions from the players. Larry Brooks of the New York Post reports that the NHL is seeking an additional 13% of salary deferral on 2020-21 player salaries. This is in addition to a 10% deferral and 20% escrow written into the Collective Bargaining Agreement for the 2020-21 season.
The league’s request means that players would see 23% of their salary, post-escrow, deferred to the future in order to help owners with the reality of reduced revenue in another season impacted by the Coronavirus pandemic. For those who like equations, that means players would be paid y=.77*(.8x), with x being the player’s total compensation in 2020-21. For those who dislike equations, they would be making about 62% of their salary this season, at least for those whose signing bonuses do not exceed 62% of their total compensation. Brooks writes that he is unsure whether this request is an ultimatum by the league or a starting point for negotiations. It is also unclear if the additional 13% of deferred salary would be treated the same as the initial 10%, which will be paid out to each player in three equal installments in 2022, 2023, and 2024.
ESPN’s Greg Wyshynski adds that league sources have stated that under no circumstances will owners pay their players for a full 82-game season when it seems like a near certainty that the 2020-21 campaign will be considerably shortened. Of course, the existing 10% of salary deferral is already paying players for the equivalent of a 74-game season. An additional 13% of salary deferral would still pay players the equivalent of a 63-game schedule, which seems fair considering the minimum number of games has reportedly been set at 48 by the league while the hope is that it will be closer to 60 games. In either case, players will still receive their salary beyond what they would be paid on a per-game basis.
If deferred salary is still up for negotiation, the two sides need to get moving on hammering out the details. If the league hopes to begin on New Year’s Day, players have just a matter of weeks to return to their NHL cities to quarantine before training camps can open in December. There are still a lot of details to be worked out and the owners’ financial concerns are just one small part.
Fortunately, the two sides have been in communication and it seems the NHL and NHLPA have been in agreement on many goals and possible terms for a return to play. TSN’s Pierre LeBrun adds that the NHLPA’s player representatives on the Return to Play Committee are as follows: David Backes, Darren Helm, David Savard, Justin Faulk, Lars Eller, Sam Gagner, Justin Abdelkader, Ian Cole, Zach Hyman, Ron Hainsey, Claude Giroux, Ryan Dzingel, Andrew Copp, Alex Biega, Chris Kreider, Mark Scheifele. Hopefully this group can work with the league to get NHL hockey back as soon as possible and in a format that is safe and effective for the coming season.
Jets’ Adam Lowry Out A Minimum Four Weeks
The Winnipeg Jets have been fortunate enough to avoid major injuries to their core players this season. The only exception has been center Bryan Little, who suffered an upper-body injury in early November and has yet to return to return to game action. However, Little has begun practicing with the team and the timing could not be better. The Jets’ depth down the middle has taken another hit, as center Adam Lowry has sustained an upper-body injury of his own and is expected to miss a significant amount of time. The team believes that he will miss “at least four weeks”, putting a return date some time around late February.
Lowry’s injury occurred in Sunday night’s game against the Chicago Blackhawks, when he took a blindside hit from Drake Caggiula. Caggiula was given a minor penalty for interference, but there is not expected to be any additional response from the league. Lowry got up slowly and went straight to the locker room in obvious pain and did not return. Winnipeg went on to lose 5-2, slipping to 4-5-1 in their past ten games.
Winnipeg was looking forward to Little’s return, as their struggles of late have dropped them out of the playoff picture. Now, even with Little hoping to return soon, the Jets wills till be short-handed with Lowry out. The Athletic’s Murat Ates writes that Andrew Copp will move up to third-line center for the time being, as the team awaits Little’s return and waits out Lowry’s potential month or more absence. Lowry has just ten points on the year, but is invaluable to the team in other ways. He leads the team in hits and is their most skilled face-off man, while skating on the team’s top penalty kill unit. While Copp does many of these same things well, increased ice time for Copp is not going to make up for the loss of Lowry and even Little’s return will not totally make up for his absence. The Jets will continue to have to work hard to stay relevant this season in the wake of this injury news.
Snapshots: Three Stars, QMJHL Trades, Jets
The NHL has released their Three Stars for last week, with Nathan MacKinnon taking home top spot. The Colorado Avalanche superstar had eight points in three games and has now almost caught Leon Draisaitl and Connor McDavid in the NHL scoring race. MacKinnon has 25 goals and 64 points on the season, a pace that would see him easily eclipse his personal best of 99 points set last season.
In second place is another exceptional center in Mark Scheifele, who posted eight points of his own in three games. The Winnipeg Jets forward now has 20 goals and 48 points this season, while averaging close to 22 minutes a game. The third star went to Zach Werenski, who incredibly scored five of the eight goals that the Columbus Blue Jackets totaled last week. The 22-year old defenseman now has double digit goal totals in each of his first four seasons, and 13 this year in just 35 games.
- With the World Juniors over, several CHL players that took part in the tournament will likely see their rights traded as teams load up for Memorial Cup runs. Nowhere is that more obvious than the QMJHL, where both Raphael Lavoie and Dawson Mercer were dealt today. The pair of Canadian gold medalists are on the move to Chicoutimi where they’ll join a Sangueneens team that is 27-7-4 on the season.
- Andrew Copp has been officially activated from injured reserve by the Winnipeg Jets, with Nathan Beaulieu taking his place. Copp hasn’t played since the middle of December, but is an important depth forward for the Jets. In 34 games this season the 25-year old has 14 points, seeing more playing time and better linemates than ever before in his career.
Snapshots: Team Canada, Kreider, Nutivaara, Copp
The World Junior Championships got a gold medal game to remember as Canada pulled off a big comeback victory Saturday to win the gold as Los Angeles Kings’ prospect Akil Thomas scored the go-ahead goal to give Canada a 4-3 win over Russia on Sunday.
Canada was down 3-1 to Russia in the third, but got key goals from Washington Capitals’ prospect Connor McMichael and Arizona Coyotes forward Barrett Hayton to come back and tie the game. It’s the third time in six years that Canada has won the World Championships, but the first time since 2008 that they have won the title on Europe ice. Russia finished with the silver, while Sweden topped Finland for the bronze medal earlier today.
Projected top pick in the 2020 draft, Alexis Lafreniere was named the MVP of the tournament, by the IIHF, as well as the top forward. Toronto Maple Leafs defenseman Rasmus Sandin was awarded the top defenseman award, while St. Louis prospect Joel Hofer won the top goaltender award.
- One reason the Montreal Canadiens went through with signing forward Ilya Kovalchuk last week was that they realized they had little chance of acquiring New York Rangers forward Chris Kreider. The New York Post’s Larry Brooks notes that Kreider, who has a modified no-trade clause in which he has submitted an 11-team no-trade list, has all the Canadien teams on his list, meaning he has no interest in playing there. Kreider remains the top trade candidate at the trade deadline.
- The Columbus Blue Jackets got some much needed depth back on their blueline as the team announced they have activated Markus Nutivaara off of injured reserve. The 25-year-old has been out since Nov. 5 when he suffered an upper-body injury and has now missed 27 games. The blueliner has two goals in 10 games this season, but should add a helping hand as the team has several defensemen on IR, including Ryan Murray, Dean Kukan and Andrew Peeke.
- The Winnipeg Jets may have forward Andrew Copp back in the lineup as The Athletic’s Ken Weibe reports that the 25-year-old was a full participant in practice. Head coach Paul Maurice said that if he comes to the rink feeling as good as he left Sunday, that Copp should find himself back in the lineup. The forward has missed the past eight games with an upper-body injury.