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Blake Lizotte

Los Angeles Kings Extend Blake Lizotte

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As the league continues its trade deadline frenzy, the Los Angeles Kings have decided to complete a little contract work. Blake Lizotte has signed a two-year contract extension with the Kings, one that will carry an average annual value of $1.675MM. Lizotte was a pending restricted free agent but is now under contract through 2023-24.

After once again proving that he can handle his own as a depth center, the undersized Lizotte is rewarded with a nice raise. Undrafted, the former USHL star exploded onto NHL radars while at St. Cloud State and immediately stepped into the highest level after signing with the Kings in 2019. He has played 58 games for the Kings this season, adding eight goals and 17 points while being a strong contributor on the penalty kill.

While he isn’t pummelled with defensive zone faceoffs like some depth centers–because of the presence of both Anze Kopitar and Phillip Danault–Lizotte still isn’t gifted easy minutes for the Kings and yet continues to find success in terms of possession statistics. That has made him a worthwhile extension candidate, especially as the team continues to improve.

A deal like this doesn’t offer a ton of upside, but it’s a nice reward for a hard-working player that was earning just $800K this season. Lizotte will still be a restricted free agent when it expires.

Kings Place Blake Lizotte In COVID Protocol

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The Kings have announced (Twitter link) a series of transactions highlighted with the placement of center Blake Lizotte into COVID protocol.  Taking his place on the roster is Jaret Anderson-Dolan while T.J. Tynan has also been recalled to replace Kale Clague who was just claimed off waivers by Montreal.

Lizotte has played in all but one game so far this season for Los Angeles, tallying a goal and four assists while logging 11:36 per game primarily on the fourth line.  The 23-year-old has also won a career-high 53.1% of his faceoffs, good for third on the team in that regard.

Anderson-Dolan was a regular with the Kings for the bulk of last season, getting into 34 games where he picked up 11 points before suiting up for Canada at the World Championships.  However, with more depth down the middle this season, he has spent all of 2021-22 so far with AHL Ontario playing heavier minutes and he has responded with 13 points in 16 contests with the Reign.  He should have an opportunity to move into Lizotte’s spot on the depth chart and play the type of role he had last season.

As for Tynan, the 29-year-old is in his first season with the Kings and cleared waivers back in training camp.  He has been quite productive with Ontario, collecting 17 points in 12 games which puts him second in team scoring.  Despite his consistent offensive numbers over the years, he has played in just 19 career NHL contests, the most recent coming back in the 2019-20 season with Colorado.

Los Angeles Kings Re-Sign Blake Lizotte

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Forward Blake Lizotte will be back in L.A. for another year. The Kings have announced that they have signed the impending restricted free agent to a one-year extension. It is a one-way, $800K deal for Lizotte, a decrease from the value of his entry-level contract but with more security. A 10.2(c) RFA, Lizotte had not accrued enough professional experience to even have the right to sign an offer sheet this summer, so Los Angeles held all of the leverage in negotiations, as displayed by the short-term, low-money “show me” contract.

Lizotte, 23, does have more to prove, though. An undrafted free agent out of St. Cloud State University, Lizotte was a star in the NCAA and left after just two years. However, his small stature may have worked at the college level but it has held him back in the pros. At 5’7″ and 175 pounds, Lizotte’s size is a concern, especially at the center position. He looked to be on his way to NHL success in 2019-20, his first full professional season, as he recorded 23 points in 65 games. He did miss five games due to injury, but that was not an abnormal total. This season however Lizotte took a major step backwards. He recorded just ten points in 41 games, well off of his rookie scoring rate and only on pace for 20 points in a full season. His ice time was slashed, his power play role was reduced, and he settled into a one-dimensional bottom-six spot. It didn’t help that he also missed 15 games due to injury or sickness, including the Kings’ final nine contests.

Heading into year three, Lizotte needs to show that he can be more consistent and won’t be pushed around by bigger opposition. L.A. is giving him a one-year deal to see if he can bounce back and show the promise of his rookie season, or if his size and lack of dynamic skill means that he is not a player who can be an NHL regular. Proving himself may be even harder next year; while Lizotte walked out of college and into a starting role on a depleted Kings roster, the team has vowed to add more talent this off-season and Lizotte may have to fight for starts, nevertheless ice time and power play opportunity.

While this move wasn’t necessary for the Kings ahead of the Expansion Draft, it does give them more flexibility. L.A. now has eight forwards who meet the exposure requirements, allowing them more protection choices if they elect to protect seven forwards and three defensemen. Lizotte himself could be protected, but if not his extension allows for someone like Brendan Lemieux or Austin Wagner to be protected when previously both needed to be exposed to meet the quota.

West Notes: Martinez, Hrenak, Lizotte, Sharks, Tarasenko

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Alec Martinez is wrapping up his first ‘full’ season with Vegas and the pending unrestricted free agent told reporters, including David Schoen of the Las Vegas Review-Journal, that he’s hoping this won’t be his last season with the Golden Knights.  However, his agent Alec Schall told Schoen that no offers have been received from the team just yet.  The 33-year-old has been an integral part of their back end this season, logging over 22 minutes a game while chipping in with 27 points in 47 games, the best point per game average of his career.  He’s certainly in line to land a raise on his current $4MM AAV which could make it tough for the Golden Knights to re-sign him as they only have about $6MM in cap room for next year, per CapFriendly, with several players needing to be signed to fill out the roster.  GM Kelly McCrimmon declined to comment other than saying talks will happen “when appropriate”.

More from the West:

  • The Kings have been in discussions with unsigned prospect David Hrenak, reports John Hoven in a piece for LA Kings Insider. The 22-year-old goalie wrapped up his college career with St. Cloud State this season, posting a 2.66 GAA with a .904 SV% in 27 starts and is eligible to become an unrestricted free agent in mid-August if he doesn’t sign.  Los Angeles Director of Player Personnel Nelson Emerson noted that they have two other youngsters in need of playing time (Matt Villalta and Jacob Ingham); with only two minor league affiliates, finding ample time for all three youngsters to play if Hrenak could be tricky.
  • Still with the Kings, center Blake Lizotte is unlikely to play this weekend due to an upper-body injury, notes Zach Dooley of LA Kings Insider. His second full NHL season has been a struggle as the 23-year-old has managed just three goals and seven assists in 41 games which is hardly an ideal stat line for someone that is in need of a new contract for next season.
  • It could be a trying offseason for the Sharks when it comes to freeing up salary cap space, suggests Kevin Kurz of The Athletic (subscription link). High-priced veterans that have underachieved like Erik Karlsson, Marc-Edouard Vlasic, and Martin Jones will be tough to deal but some of their younger higher-paid players like Timo Meier and Kevin Labanc are in the midst of down seasons as well.  They have over $69MM in commitments for next season already, per CapFriendly, and by the time they round out the roster, that won’t leave them with much flexibility unless they can clear out a contract.
  • Blues winger Vladimir Tarasenko missed tonight’s game against Minnesota due to a lower-body injury, the team announced (Twitter link). It has been a tough season for the veteran who, after coming back from shoulder surgery, has only managed four goals in 23 games although he has chipped in 10 assists.

COVID Protocol Related Absences: 02/18/21

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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 are today’s results:

Colorado –  Samuel Girard, Hunter Miska
Minnesota – Andrew Hammond*
New Jersey – Nico Hischier
NY Rangers – Filip Chytil
Ottawa – Ryan Dzingel
Philadelphia – Justin Braun, Claude Giroux, Travis Konecny, Scott Laughton, Oskar Lindblom, Jakub Voracek
Vegas – Tomas Nosek

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: Andreas Athanasiou, Los Angeles Kings; Morgan Frost, Philadelphia Flyers, Jonas Brodin, Minnesota Wild; Victor Rask, Minnesota Wild; Carson Soucy, Minnesota Wild; Cam Talbot, Minnesota Wild

Hammond is the only new player today, added in the wake of the rest of Minnesota’s names coming off the list. It’s a good sign that names like Brodin are coming off, but at least a little concerning that another new name has been added. Los Angeles finally has no one on the list after Blake Lizotte and Athanasiou have come off the last few days, and the Flyers list has shrunk again as well.

It seems things are trending in the right direction. Hopefully, it can stay that way.

*denotes new addition

COVID Protocol Related Absences: 02/14/21

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Each day, the NHL will publicly release the list of players that are unavailable to their respective teams due to being in COVID-19 Protocol. The league is still awaiting updated lists from the Sabres and Avalanche, but the following are the complete results from the other 29 teams:

Arizona – John Hayden
Buffalo – Dylan Cozens, Curtis Lazar, Jake McCabe, Casey Mittelstadt, Brandon Montour, Tobias Rieder, Rasmus Ristolainen
Colorado –  Samuel Girard, Tyson Jost, Gabriel Landeskog
Los Angeles – Andreas Athanasiou
Minnesota –  Nick Bonino, Jonas Brodin, Ian Cole, Brad Hunt, Victor Rask, Carson Soucy, Nico Sturm, Cam Talbot
New Jersey – Nathan Bastian, Nikita Gusev, Nico Hischier, Dmitry Kulikov, Travis Zajac
NY Rangers – Filip Chytil
Ottawa – Ryan Dzingel*
Philadelphia – Justin Braun, Morgan Frost, Claude Giroux, Scott Laughton, Oskar Lindblom, Jakub Voracek, Travis Konecny*
Vegas – Tomas Nosek

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: Rasmus Dahlin, Buffalo Sabres; Calvin Pickard, Detroit Red Wings; Blake Lizotte, Los Angeles Kings; Jesper Bratt, Connor Carrick, Eric Comrie, Jack Hughes, Damon Severson, Ty Smith, Matt Tennyson, Sami Vatanen, New Jersey Devils; Travis Sanheim, Philadelphia Flyers; Steven Stamkos, Tampa Bay Lightning

It’s another strong net positive day for the CPRA. The only true addition to the list comes in the form of Flyers forward Konecny. The other addition, Dzingel, has entered the required quarantine period for any player crossing into Canada after he was dealt to Ottawa by Carolina on Saturday, but by all accounts has not qualified for any other reason. Meanwhile, the Red Wings and Lightning wipe the slate clean while the Devils take a major step forward with eight players coming off the list. Joining Dahlin back at Sabres practice today was also head coach Ralph Krueger, a welcome sight after his own bout with Coronavirus.

While the situations in Buffalo and Colorado remain undetermined at this point, the Devils appear to be on the mend and Minnesota Wild head coach Dean Evason stated that he expects some of his players to begin coming off the list soon as well. If the situation in Philadelphia can be sorted out – especially with their Lake Tahoe game coming up next weekend – the NHL could be looking at a refreshingly short CPRA by this time next week.

 

COVID Protocol Related Absences: 02/13/21

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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. On a positive note, no new players have been put on the list, but quite a few have been removed from the list. The Los Angeles Kings list is being put together now, but there has been a report from John Hoven that both Blake Lizotte and Andreas Athanasiou are both off the list:

Arizona – John Hayden
Buffalo – Dylan Cozens, Rasmus Dahlin, Curtis Lazar, Jake McCabe, Casey Mittelstadt, Brandon Montour, Tobias Rieder, Rasmus Ristolainen
Colorado –  Samuel Girard, Tyson Jost, Gabriel Landeskog
Detroit – Calvin Pickard
Los Angeles – TBA
Minnesota –  Nick Bonino, Jonas Brodin, Ian Cole, Brad Hunt, Victor Rask, Carson Soucy, Nico Sturm, Cam Talbot
New Jersey – Nathan Bastian, Jesper Bratt, Connor Carrick, Eric Comrie, Nikita Gusev, Nico Hischier, Jack Hughes, Dmitry Kulikov, Damon Severson, Ty Smith, Matt Tennyson, Sami Vatanen, Travis Zajac
NY Rangers – Filip Chytil
Philadelphia – Justin Braun, Morgan Frost, Claude Giroux, Travis Sanheim, Jakub Voracek, Scott Laughton, Oskar Lindblom*
Tampa Bay – Steven Stamkos
Vegas – Tomas Nosek

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: Taylor Hall (Sabres), Ryan Carpenter (Chicago), Andreas Johnsson (Devils), Janne Kuokkanen (Devils), Michael McLeod (Devils), Kyle Palmieri (Devils), Pavel Zacha (Devils); Anthony Duclair (Panthers), Jesse Puljujarvi (Oilers), , Marcus Johansson (Wild), Jared Spurgeon (Wild), Joel Eriksson Ek (Wild), Nick Bjugstad (Wild)

COVID Protocol Related Absences: 02/12/21

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Each day, the NHL will publicly release the list of players that are unavailable to their respective teams due to being in COVID-19 protocol. The Wild are still listed as TBA, but the rest of the list is in:

Arizona – John Hayden*
Buffalo – Dylan Cozens, Rasmus Dahlin, Taylor Hall, Curtis Lazar, Jake McCabe, Casey Mittelstadt, Brandon Montour, Tobias Rieder, Rasmus Ristolainen
Chicago – Ryan Carpenter
Colorado –  Samuel Girard, Tyson Jost, Gabriel Landeskog
Detroit – Calvin Pickard*
Edmonton – Jesse Puljujarvi
Florida – Anthony Duclair
Los Angeles – Andreas Athanasiou, Blake Lizotte
Minnesota –  TBA
New Jersey – Nathan Bastian, Jesper Bratt, Connor Carrick, Eric Comrie, Nikita Gusev, Nico Hischier, Jack Hughes, Andreas Johnsson, Dmitry Kulikov, Janne Kuokkanen, Michael McLeod, Kyle Palmieri, Damon Severson, Ty Smith, Matt Tennyson, Sami Vatanen, Pavel Zacha, Travis Zajac
NY Rangers – Filip Chytil
Philadelphia – Justin Braun, Morgan Frost, Claude Giroux, Travis Sanheim, Jakub Voracek, Scott Laughton*, Oskar Lindblom*
Tampa Bay – Steven Stamkos*
Vegas – Tomas Nosek

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: (none)

The biggest addition here is Stamkos, who seemingly won’t be able to play in tomorrow’s game against the Panthers. Stamkos was a late scratch by the Lightning yesterday, but that was reported as injury-related. No update on his status was given this morning, but his appearance here is certainly troubling.

There are also two new names for the Flyers, including one that no hockey fan wanted to see on the CPRA list this season. Lindblom, a cancer survivor, has been added. It can’t be stressed enough that appearing here does not necessarily mean the player has tested positive for coronavirus, but everyone hoped Lindblom would avoid it entirely this season.

*denotes new addition

COVID Protocol Related Absences: 02/10/21

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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. While Los Angeles is still listed as TBA, the rest of the league is in:

Buffalo – Dylan Cozens, Rasmus Dahlin, Taylor Hall, Curtis Lazar, Jake McCabe, Casey Mittelstadt, Brandon Montour, Tobias Rieder, Rasmus Ristolainen
Chicago – Ryan Carpenter
Colorado –  Samuel Girard, Tyson Jost, Gabriel Landeskog
Los Angeles – Andreas Athanasiou, Blake Lizotte
Minnesota –  Nick Bjugstad, Nick Bonino, Jonas Brodin, Ian Cole, Joel Eriksson Ek, Marcus Foligno, Brad Hunt, Marcus Johansson, Carson Soucy, Jared Spurgeon, Nico Sturm, Cam Talbot, Victor Rask*
New Jersey – Nathan Bastian, Jesper Bratt, Connor Carrick, Eric Comrie, Nikita Gusev, Nico Hischier, Jack Hughes, Andreas Johnsson, Dmitry Kulikov, Janne Kuokkanen, Michael McLeod, Damon Severson, Yegor Sharangovich, Ty Smith, Matt Tennyson, Sami Vatanen, Travis Zajac
Philadelphia – Justin Braun, Claude Giroux, Travis Sanheim
Vegas – Tomas Nosek*

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: Lucas Wallmark, Chicago Blackhawks; Kyle Palmieri, New Jersey Devils; Pavel Zacha, New Jersey Devils

Nosek has been added today after being removed from the third period of last night’s game against the Ducks. The league has issued a statement regarding the situation:

The National Hockey League announced today that, immediately upon notification that one of its Players had returned a positive test for COVID-19, the Vegas Golden Knights removed forward Tomas Nosek from Tuesday night’s game vs. Anaheim, in precise accordance with the terms of the League’s COVID Protocol. Nosek was immediately isolated from his teammates and close contact tracing was begun, also in accordance with the Protocol.

Tomorrow night’s game in Las Vegas between the Golden Knights and Ducks remains scheduled to be played at 10 p.m. ET/7 p.m. PT. Rapid PCR Point of Care tests will be administered to all Players and staff on both teams in advance of that game (in addition to the daily lab-based PCR testing) and any decision regarding potential postponement will be made by the League’s, NHLPA’s and Clubs’ medical officials, following all COVID Protocols and local and federal regulations.

The Devils had two players removed today, a good sign that they are heading towards a resumption of play eventually. The team is still currently shutdown while they deal with the situation.

*denotes new addition

COVID Protocol Related Absences: 02/08/21

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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. While Edmonton and Pittsburgh are still listed as TBA, the rest of the league is in:

Buffalo – Dylan Cozens, Rasmus Dahlin, Taylor Hall, Curtis Lazar, Jake McCabe, Casey Mittelstadt, Brandon Montour, Tobias Rieder, Rasmus Ristolainen
Chicago – Ryan Carpenter, Lucas Wallmark
Colorado –  Samuel Girard, Tyson Jost, Gabriel Landeskog
Edmonton – TBA
Los Angeles – Andreas Athanasiou, Blake Lizotte
Minnesota –  Nick Bjugstad, Nick Bonino, Ian Cole, Joel Eriksson Ek, Marcus Foligno, Brad Hunt, Marcus Johansson, Jared Spurgeon, Nico Sturm, Victor Rask*, Carson Soucy*
New Jersey – Nathan Bastian, Jesper Bratt, Eric Comrie, Nikita Gusev, Jack Hughes, Andreas Johnsson, Dmitry Kulikov, Janne Kuokkanen, Michael McLeod, Kyle Palmieri, Damon Severson, Yegor Sharangovich, Ty Smith, Matt Tennyson, Pavel Zacha, Travis Zajac,  Connor Carrick*, Nico Hischier*, Sami Vatanen*
Philadelphia – Travis Sanheim
Pittsburgh – TBA
Vegas – Alex Pietrangelo
Washington – 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: Evgeny Kuznetsov, Washington Capitals; Ilya Samsonov, Washington Capitals; Adam Boqvist, Chicago Blackhawks

Dahlin was technically added late last night, joining the rest of the Sabres on the list. More games for Buffalo, New Jersey, and Minnesota were postponed today.

After being removed only yesterday, Vatanen re-appears on the Devils list today. Carrick is also there after previously appearing due to him leaving the league’s protocols to attend the birth of his child. The Devils are now up to 19 players, the largest number by any team this season.

*denotes new addition

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