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Morning Notes: Team Canada, Crosby, Bokk

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The Canadian contingent for the IIHF World Championship has named their leadership group, with Ottawa Senators defenseman Thomas Chabot given the captaincy. The team will go with a group of alternates including Josh Anderson, Pierre-Luc Dubois, Adam Lowry, and Damon Severson for the event, likely rotating each game.

The tournament, which starts tomorrow, is a nice way for Chabot to get some more on-ice reps after missing a huge chunk of this season, though with the amount he plays it has already been a long year. In 59 games this season, the Senators’ defenseman scored 38 points and averaged more than 26 minutes a night for the third season in a row.

  • There’s no update yet on Pittsburgh Penguins forward Sidney Crosby, as head coach Mike Sullivan only confirmed that his captain is dealing with an upper-body injury and will be evaluated further on their return home. Crosby took a hit from Jacob Trouba in last night’s game that kept him out, and obviously has a long history with head injuries. The Penguins stayed in New York after last night’s loss and will fly to Pittsburgh today to prepare for tomorrow’s game six.
  • After spending half of this season playing back home in Germany, Dominik Bokk is coming back to North America. His club team announced today that Bokk will re-join the Carolina Hurricanes organization for the 2022-23 season, a previously agreed upon decision. After playing 32 games in the AHL this year, Bokk was loaned to Eisbaren Berlin in the DEL for the stretch run, where he scored 11 points in 14 games and another three in 12 playoff contests. The first-round pick originally selected by St. Louis in 2018 has one year left on his entry-level deal.

Hockey Canada Announces 2022 IIHF World Championship Roster

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The roster is set, with just a few days to go before things kick off for Hockey Canada at the 2022 IIHF World Championship. The defending gold medalists will be icing a rather youthful roster this season, highlighted by some of the league’s up-and-coming stars, along with some established top-end youngsters.

The full roster will be:

G Chris Driedger
G Logan Thompson
G Matt Tomkins

D Thomas Chabot
D Ryan Graves
D Nick Holden
D Dysin Mayo
D Travis Sanheim
D Damon Severson
D Zach Whitecloud

F Josh Anderson
F Mathew Barzal
F Drake Batherson
F Max Comtois
F Dylan Cozens
F Pierre-Luc Dubois
F Morgan Geekie
F Noah Gregor
F Kent Johnson
F Adam Lowry
F Dawson Mercer
F Eric O’Dell
F Nicolas Roy
F Cole Sillinger

For a player like Mayo, this selection truly solidifies the hard work he has put in over years of grinding in the minor leagues. The fifth-round pick spent parts of seven seasons in the AHL before arriving this year with the Arizona Coyotes and becoming one of the team’s most reliable options. Now 25, he’ll be suiting up for his country for the first time at a major international tournament.

Meanwhile, someone like Cozens is taking the next step in representing his country, after last captaining Team Canada at the 2021 World Juniors (where he scored an incredible 16 points in seven games). The Buffalo Sabres forward had 38 points in his first full-length NHL season and has huge upside as a potential franchise cornerstone. The same could be said for players like Johnson and Sillinger, two names that will likely drive the offense for years to come in Columbus.

Perhaps the most interesting name in the group is Dubois, given the Winnipeg Jets center doesn’t have a contract for next season. Pending restricted free agents, especially ones as important as Dubois, usually skip the tournament because of insurance issues and the risk of injury. Instead, he’ll head overseas to play in a tournament he’s already attended twice previously, despite still just being 23 years old.

Devils Notes: Hamilton, Hughes, Wood, Bernier, World Championships

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After another disappointing season, the New Jersey Devils began their wrap-up today with the first half of the team speaking to the media for exit interviews. The Devils’ Amanda Stein had a chance to speak to many members of the Devils to gather injury updates and plans for the summer. One somewhat surprising note was the lingering injury issues that defenseman Dougie Hamilton had been dealing with in the second half of the season. Hamilton had initially been injured when he took a puck to the face in a January 2nd game against the Washington Capitals, causing him to require surgery and miss nearly two months. The defenseman was able to return on February 24th and finish out the regular season, but was clearly not the same player he was before the injury.

According to Stein, Hamilton said that he had never really felt quite the same after returning from the injury, which could have contributed to his dip in play (link). He also mentioned to the Devils’ Sam Kasan that he had actually broken his toe in the game prior to his jaw injury, perhaps also contributing to his second-half slump (link). As Stein cautions, the broken toe was only “one of” Hamilton’s other ailments in addition to his jaw, not the only other ailment (link). In 30 games prior to the injury, Hamilton had seven goals and 13 assists, which fell to just two goals and eight assists in 32 games after his return to the lineup.

  • From one Devils cornerstone to another, Jack Hughes indicated to Stein that his recovery from his latest injury has been going really well, although he has not been back on the ice yet (link). Hughes suffered a season-ending knee injury after a hit from Oliver Wahlstrom on April 3rd when the Devils took on the New York Islanders, his second major injury of the year, after a shoulder injury caused him to miss a roughly six weeks in October and November. Despite the time missed, the Devil’s young star turned in an exceptional breakout season, putting up 26 goals and 30 assists in 49 games. Keeping the 2019 first-overall pick healthy will be a critical factor in New Jersey taking the next step in their build.
  • Continuing on injuries, an unfortunate key story of the Devils’ 2021-22 season, Miles Wood shared with Stein that he was shut down after just three games this season after the hip injury that had kept him out until March 27th, wasn’t recovering as fast as he had expected after each game (link). With the Devils out of the playoff race in early April, it seemed to make more sense for the Devils to shut the veteran winger down and allow him to completely work through his injury and be able to start fresh for 2022-23. Speaking of next season, Wood is set to become an RFA this summer after the expiration of his four-year, $11MM contract and though the Devils have control of him, where Wood plays next season, and what his next contract looks like, could be a particularly interesting storyline to follow this offseason.
  • The final injury update from today’s Devils interviews came from goaltender Jonathan Bernier, who had season-ending hip surgery on January 3rd. Bernier told Stein that he is hoping to be ready for the start of training camp in September, however he is not happy with where he currently is in terms of his recovery and rehab (link). On a positive note, Bernier did mention he had resumed skating last week, albeit without equipment. Hip surgery is always concerning for a goaltender, but from the Devils perspective, the organization now has a full offseason to address their goaltending situation, including Bernier’s rehab. Regardless of the goaltender’s recovery or New Jersey’s moves this offseason, Bernier still has another year at $4.125MM with the Devils next season.
  • Looking to some positive news for New Jersey this spring, several players confirmed to Stein that they plan to represent their countries at the upcoming World Championships. Forward and team captain Nico Hischier (link) and defenseman Jonas Siegenthaler (link) both plan to represent Switzerland in the tournament, with forward Tomas Tatar (link) representing Slovakia, and defenseman Damon Severson (link) representing Canada.

Extension Notes: Severson, Forsberg, Paul

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After seeing the packages that fellow defensemen Ben Chiarot and Hampus Lindholm were traded for, Damon Severson’s name began circulating as a potential trade chip for the New Jersey Devils. When asked about the possibility of Severson being moved, Sportsnet’s Elliotte Friedman put the brakes on the idea, indicating that he believed Severson wanted to stay and was interested in discussing a contract extension (link). Severson is currently in the second-to-last year of a six-year, $25MM contract he signed with the Devils prior to the 2017-18 season, which carries a cap hit just below $4.2MM.

If Severson was to discuss an extension with the Devils, the two sides could not begin those discussions until at least July 1st of this year, and any extension with Severson would not begin until his age 29 season, starting in 2023-24. It’s a fair point to wonder if Severson should be dangled at this year’s trade deadline, as the talented defenseman is not a rental, having an additional year of term at a reasonable cap-hit, is on pace to have a career year, currently sitting on 33 points in 60 games, and the Devils well out of playoff position. Also, comparing the packages the Montreal Canadiens and Anaheim Ducks received for Chiarot and Lindholm, respectively, it’s plausible to think Severson could fetch New Jersey a strong return.

  • Last night on Hockey Night in Canada, Friedman touched on Filip Forsberg’s contract-extension status and potential trade market. He says that the two sides are not close and that talks have not gone well, and that he believes Nashville Predators’ GM David Poile haas tested the market on Forsberg. Despite this, Friedman says he does not believe that Forsberg is going to be traded at the deadline. While nobody knows for certain where the two sides are in their negotiation, the general expectation is that the Predators do not want to go beyond Roman Josi’s $9.059MM cap hit, however Forsberg may believe he can get at least $10MM per year on the open market. Even without an extension in place, it makes sense that Nashville would hold onto Forsberg. With the team in playoff position, Forsberg could act as a sort-of rental for the Predators.
  • Friedman also touched on the Ottawa Senators’ Nick Paul and his extension talks with the team. He believes that while both sides want Paul to remain in Ottawa, they have both dug in in their negotiation. As a result, Paul could be dealt by Monday if an extension is not reached. Although the Senators would prefer to keep Paul, the gritty, well-rounded forward should develop a strong market from contending teams.

East Notes: Smith, Norlinder, Daws

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The New Jersey Devils will get some reinforcement on the defensive end tonight as second-year ’D’-man Ty Smith will make his season debut tonight after missing the first week-and-a-half with injury, per the team. A move prefaced by the waiving and subsequent assignment of Colton White to the AHL’s Utica Comets, Smith likely makes his season debut on a pairing with Damon Severson. The Devils are now at full strength on defense for the first time this year, and the new-look group that also includes Ryan Graves and Dougie Hamilton will get a real chance to shine tonight at home against the Buffalo Sabres as the team looks to improve to a 3-1-0 record. Smith finished seventh in Calder Trophy voting last season, scoring two goals and 21 assists in 48 games.

More notes from today in the Eastern Conference:

  • Per The Athletic’s Marc-Antoine Godin, Canadiens defense prospect Mattias Norlinder will resume skating this week after missing the beginning of the 2021-22 season. While he’s loaned to Frolunda of the Swedish Hockey League this season, the Habs prospect had a strong camp and this year is an important one in his development. A third-round pick of the squad in 2019, Norlinder had a respectable 10 points in 37 games last year in Sweden and looks to continue his growth on a defense core that also includes the Detroit Red Wings’ Simon Edvinsson and former NHLer Christian Folin.
  • Netminder Nico Daws is making his NHL debut tonight for the New Jersey Devils, the team announced this morning. With Mackenzie Blackwood still on injured reserve and Jonathan Bernier still day-to-day with a lower-body injury, a tandem of Daws and Scott Wedgewood will have to do it for now in Jersey. Wedgewood allowed four goals in a loss to the Washington Capitals on Thursday, so the team will give Daws a chance tonight to show what he can do. The 20-year-old was drafted 84th overall in 2020.

Injury Notes: Boeser, Severson, Perron, Hoffman

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While Vancouver fans are relieved to see Elias Pettersson and Quinn Hughes back in action after they signed new contracts to stay with the team, they’ll have to wait a bit longer to see one of their young core members debut this season. Head coach Travis Green said Friday morning that it’s doubtful Brock Boeser plays in that night’s game against the Philadelphia Flyers. Boeser has been on the shelf with an undisclosed injury since October 2. He was expected to only miss one week, but that timeline has passed and his status is now day-to-day. In his absence, it appears rookie Vasily Podkolzin will now get a look on the second line with Pettersson and J.T. Miller.

Some other injury notes from around the league:

  • New Jersey Devils head coach Lindy Ruff notes that defenseman Damon Severson is progressing and could play in New Jersey’s game next Tuesday against the Seattle Kraken. The Devils play their season opener tonight, meaning Severson might only be on the shelf for one game. Severson suffered an undisclosed injury on October 4 and has been listed as day-to-day since then.
  • The Montreal Canadiens could see a big free-agent addition make his debut soon. Head coach Dominique Ducharme says that winger Mike Hoffman could be ready for the team’s Tuesday or Thursday night games next week, but he’ll miss Saturday’s tilt against the New York Rangers. That’s about right on time for Hoffman, who was projected to miss four weeks with a lower-body injury suffered in late September.
  • With the St. Louis Blues’ season opener looming Saturday in Colorado, they could be without forward David Perron, per the St. Louis Post-Dispatch’s Jim Thomas. Perron was absent from the Blues’ practice today but was seen at the facility wearing street clothes. Head coach Craig Berube called it a “maintenance day” for Perron, who’s questionable for the game with an undisclosed injury.

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: 02/11/21

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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 list 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
Edmonton – Jesse Puljujarvi*
Florida – Anthony Duclair*
Los Angeles – Andreas Athanasiou, Blake Lizotte
Minnesota –  Nick Bjugstad, Nick Bonino, Jonas Brodin, Ian Cole, Joel Eriksson Ek, Brad Hunt, Marcus Johansson, Victor Rask, Carson Soucy, Jared Spurgeon, Nico Sturm, Cam Talbot
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, Ty Smith, Matt Tennyson, Sami Vatanen, Travis Zajac, Kyle Palmieri*, Pavel Zacha*
NY Rangers – Filip Chytil*
Philadelphia – Justin Braun, Claude Giroux, Travis Sanheim, Morgan Frost*, 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: Marcus Foligno, Minnesota Wild; Yegor Sharangovich, New Jersey Devils

With Puljujarvi’s addition, the NHL has pushed back the start time for Edmonton-Montreal to give them more time to process testing. It is not clear yet if the two teams will play. It would be the first postponed game in the North Division should it be pushed back.

Two more Philadelphia players isn’t a great sign for the Flyers, who are now just ten days away from the scheduled Lake Tahoe outdoor game. It is currently still scheduled as planned, as is the Flyers game on February 18 against the Rangers. We’ll have to see whether that changes, but New York has also had a player pop up on the list today in Chytil.

Palmieri and Zacha were only removed from the protocol yesterday but now find themselves back on it (though, Corey Masisak of The Athletic tweets that this was a clerical error). The Devils are currently scheduled to play on February 16, similarly against the Rangers.

*denotes new addition

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