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North Notes: Canadiens, Foligno, Pettersson, Brown

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While Canadiens winger Tomas Tatar was expected to be a healthy scratch to make room for winger Cole Caufield’s playoff debut, that won’t be the case after all.  Instead, the team announced (Twitter link) that center Eric Staal will be scratched due to an undisclosed injury.  The veteran missed the final game of the regular season when it was revealed he had been playing through something but Staal did suit up in the first two playoff games, recording an assist.  With Jake Evans remaining unavailable due to his upper-body injury, Montreal will only have three natural centers in the lineup against Toronto tonight.

Elsewhere in the North:

  • While Maple Leafs forward Nick Foligno wasn’t at their morning skate today, he will play tonight relays Joshua Clipperton of the Canadian Press (Twitter link). Pressed into playing down the middle following John Tavares’ concussion and knee injury, he was seen walking gingerly after Saturday’s game two against Montreal.  Riley Nash took his spot at the morning skate and would have been Foligno’s replacement had he not been available.
  • Although he missed the final two months of the season with a lingering wrist injury, Canucks center Elias Pettersson won’t need to undergo surgery to repair the issue, notes Postmedia’s Patrick Johnston. While surgery was discussed at one point with team doctors, they decided that simply rehabbing it would be the better way to go.  He enters restricted free agency this summer coming off a bit of a disappointing campaign that saw him miss 30 games although he still managed to pick up 10 goals and 11 assists in the 26 contests he was able to suit up for.
  • Despite a disappointing and injury-marred season, the Senators will tender a qualifying offer to center Logan Brown, reports Postmedia’s Bruce Garrioch. The 11th-overall pick in 2016, Brown has just 26 career NHL games under his belt, only one of which came this season while injuries limited him to just 13 more with AHL Belleville.  A change of scenery has been speculated as something that might be beneficial for Brown and with him unlikely to be protected in expansion, he could be an intriguing project for Seattle to take a look at.

Patrick Marleau Breaks NHL All-Time Games Played Record

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When the San Jose Sharks dropped the puck tonight against the Vegas Golden Knights, history was made. Patrick Marleau was in the lineup for San Jose, the 1,768th time that he has suited up for a regular season NHL game. This sets a new NHL record, breaking the age-old mark set by the one and only Gordie Howe in 1961.

While no one is comparing Marleau to Howe, who played six additional seasons in the WHA in addition to 26 years in the NHL and is considered one of the greatest of all time, Marleau has had a storied career of his own. The 41-year-old began his NHL story as the 1997 No. 2 overall pick, just one spot behind eventual long-time teammate Joe Thornton. Marleau played immediately for the Sharks, earning Calder Trophy votes in his first season, and the rest is history. Marleau played 19 consecutive seasons with San Jose before finally departing for the Toronto Maple Leafs in 2017. After two seasons in Toronto, Marleau was traded to the Carolina Hurricanes and subsequently bought out. He returned to San Jose, though the Sharks gave him potentially his last chance to win a Stanley Cup last year when he was traded to the Pittsburgh Penguins. It unfortunately didn’t work out for Marleau, but he was still welcomed back to San Jose again this season for a chance to break the games played record. While Marleau’s long career may not include a title, he has many other accolades. A three-time All-Star, Marleau has also received votes for the Hart Trophy five times, the Selke Trophy four times, and the Lady Byng trophy a whopping 15 times, not to mention earning a number of Sharks franchise records as well. Altogether, Marleau has 566 goals and 1196 points in his career, second and fourth respectively among all active players and top-50 all-time.

Beyond the statistics, Marleau has always provided the most important ability as well: availability. Outside of the lockout-shortened 2012-13 season and these past two COVID-impacted campaigns, Marleau has never played fewer than 74 games in a season – and that low mark occurred in his rookie season. In fact, Marleau already shares in another impressive NHL games played mark. He, Jarome Iginla, and Henrik Sedin are the only players in league history to have played every game in an 82-game schedule 11 times (although Sedin holds the record with 12).

Marleau’s new career games played record could stand the test of time as well. The only active players within even 500 games of the mark are Thornton, 41, Zdeno Chara, 44, and Eric Staal, 36. Marleau has the remainder of this season to further tack on games as well. What happens beyond that point is unknown, though many speculate that Marleau could retire now that the record is set, but also given the drop-off in his performance this year. However, Thornton and Chara are also equally likely to retire, while Staal is about six full 82-game seasons from matching the mark. Marleau should be safe for quite awhile atop the all-time games played list.

Congratulations to Marleau on this tremendous achievement from everyone at PHR.

North Notes: Canadiens, Foligno, Hutton, McLeod

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Despite being lauded for his trade deadline moves, Montreal Canadiens general manager finds that his team is struggling, much because of the team’s sudden roster inflexibility. The team has already used up all but one of their post-deadline recalls, bringing up Xavier Ouellet, Alexander Romanov and Paul Byron immediately after making the trades to acquire Jon Merrill and Erik Gustafsson as well as putting defenseman Victor Mete on waivers (and losing him to Ottawa). Most of these moves were made to accommodate the loss of Mete and the pending additions of Merrill and Gustafsson, both who have to quarantine for seven days before being able to join the team.

Now, with just one recall remaining and quite a few games left to go this season, head coach Dominique Ducharme doesn’t have many options to make roster moves, according to The Athletic’s Arpon Basu (subscription required). One significant issue the team could address is the sudden poor play of Eric Staal. Despite scoring the game-winning goal in his debut, Staal has struggled in the seven games he’s played since, scoring no points with just seven shots and boasting a minus-eight plus/minus. However, the team doesn’t have the ability to replace him in the lineup for a game or two with energy-man Jake Evans, who currently is sitting on the taxi squad since they are not ready to use their final recall.

That leaves the team with multiple roster issues for the next few weeks until the team is ready to spend their final recall.

  • Toronto Sun’s Lance Hornby writes that Toronto Maple Leafs’ newly acquired Nick Foligno and Ben Hutton will have their seven-day quarantine expire in a couple of days. However, it remains unknown whether either player would join the team for their five-game road trip that starts today due to their quarantine as well as the recent COVID-19 breakout that forced the postponement of three Toronto Marlies’ games. Of course, getting both Foligno and Hutton into the Toronto lineup so both can pick up their system is crucial.
  • The Edmonton Journal’s Kurt Leavins writes that the Edmonton Oilers have another internal candidate they should consider when it comes to boosting their offense: Ryan McLeod. The 2018 second-round pick has had a great season in the AHL so far with 14 goals and 28 points in 28 games. At $834K and the ability to play center, he could be a valuable chip for the team as the playoffs approach.

Trade Deadline Summary: North Division

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The NHL Trade Deadline has come and gone. A relatively slow day ended with a late burst, as many teams jumped into the mix at the last minute. How do you think your team did? Share your deadline grades in the comments for teams in the North Division.

Calgary Flames
Status: Neutral

In – F Emil Heineman, 2022 second-round pick (FLA), 2022 third-round pick (TOR)
Out – F Sam Bennett, G David Rittich, 2022 sixth-round pick

Edmonton Oilers
Status: Buyer

In – D Dmitry Kulikov
Out – conditional 2022 fourth-round pick

Montreal Canadiens
Status: Buyer

In – F Eric Staal, D Jon Merrill, D Erik Gustafsson
Out – F Hayden Verbeek, 2021 third-round pick, two 2021 fifth-round picks, 2022 seventh-round pick

Ottawa Senators
Status: Seller

In – F Ryan Dzingel, F Michael Amadio, D Brandon Fortunato, 2022 third-round pick (BOS), 2022 seventh-round pick (NYI), 2023 seventh-round pick (NSH)
Out – D Mike Reilly, D Erik Gudbranson, D Braydon Coburn, F Cedric Paquette, F Alex Galchenyuk, D Christian Wolanin, 

Toronto Maple Leafs
Status: Buyer

In – F Nick Foligno, G David Rittich, D Ben Hutton, F Alex Galchenyuk, F Riley Nash, F Stefan Noesen, F Antti Suomela, G Veini Vehvilainen
Out – F Alexander Barabanov, D Mikko Lehtonen, D David Warsofsky, F Yegor Korshkov, 2021 first-round pick, 2022 third-round pick, 2021 fourth-round pick, 2022 fourth-round pick, 2022 fifth-round pick, conditional 2022 seventh-round pick

Vancouver Canucks
Status: Neutral

In – F Matthew Highmore, D Madison Bowey, 2021 fifth-round pick (CHI), 2021 sixth-round pick (WPG)
Out – D Jordie Benn, F Adam Gaudette, 2021 fourth-round pick

Winnipeg Jets
Status: Buyer

In – D Jordie Benn
Out – 2021 sixth-round pick

Trade Deadline Summary: East Division

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The NHL Trade Deadline has come and gone. A relatively slow day ended with a late burst, as many teams jumped into the mix at the last minute. How do you think your team did? Share your deadline grades in the comments for teams in the East Division.

Boston Bruins
Status: Buyer

In – F Taylor Hall, F Curtis Lazar, D Mike Reilly
Out – F Anders Bjork, 2021 second-round pick, 2022 third-round pick

Buffalo Sabres
Status: Seller

In – F Anders Bjork, 2021 second-round pick (BOS), 2021 third-round pick (FLA), 2021 third-round pick (MTL), 2021 fifth-round pick (MTL), 2021 sixth-round pick (COL)
Out – F Taylor Hall, F Eric Staal, D Brandon Montour, F Curtis Lazar, G Jonas Johansson

New Jersey Devils
Status: Seller

In – D Jonas Siegenthaler, F A.J. Greer, F Mason Jobst, 2021 first-round pick (NYI), conditional 2021 fourth-round pick (NYI), conditional 2022 fourth-round pick (EDM)
Out – F Kyle Palmieri, F Travis Zajac, D Dmitry Kulikov, 2021 third-round pick

New York Islanders
Status: Buyer

In – F Kyle Palmieri, F Travis Zajac, D Braydon Coburn
Out – F A.J. Greer, F Mason Jobst, 2021 first-round pick, conditional 2021 fourth-round pick, 2022 seventh-round pick

New York Rangers
Status: Neutral

In – 2021 fourth-round pick (LAK)
Out – F Brendan Lemieux

Philadelphia Flyers
Status: Neutral

In – 2021 fifth-round pick (VGK via WAS), 2022 seventh-round pick (STL via MTL)
Out – F Michael Raffl, D Erik Gustafsson

Pittsburgh Penguins
Status: Buyer

In – F Jeff Carter
Out – conditional 2022 third-round pick, conditional 2023 fourth-round pick

Washington Capitals
Status: Buyer

In – F Anthony Mantha, F Michael Raffl, conditional 2021 third-round pick (ARI/NJ)
Out – F Jakub Vrana, F Richard Panik, D Jonas Siegenthaler, 2021 first-round pick, 2022 second-round pick, 2021 fifth-round pick

COVID Protocol Related Absences: 04/04/21

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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 list for today:

Dallas – Anton Khudobin
Los Angeles – Brendan Lemieux, Matt Roy
Montreal – Joel Armia
Ottawa – Jacob Bernard-Docker, Shane Pinto
Vancouver – Travis Boyd, Thatcher Demko, Alexander Edler, Adam Gaudette, Travis Hamonic, Jayce Hawryluk, Braden Holtby, Bo Horvat, Quinn Hughes, Zack MacEwen, Tyler Motte, Tyler Myers, Antoine Roussel, Brandon Sutter, Jalen Chatfield*, Marc Michaelis*

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: Jake Debrusk, Boston Bruins; Eric Staal, Montreal Canadiens

Two more names have been added to the Canucks list, meaning 16 of the 22 players on the active roster are now in the COVID Protocol. There are also taxi squad members and several coaches that have tested positive. Thomas Drance of The Athletic reports that so far, no support staffers have tested positive.

*denotes new addition

COVID Protocol Related Absences: 04/03/21

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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 list for today:

Boston – Jake DeBrusk
Dallas – Anton Khudobin*
Los Angeles – Brendan Lemieux, Matt Roy*
Montreal – Joel Armia, Eric Staal
Ottawa – Jacob Bernard-Docker*, Shane Pinto*
Vancouver – Alexander Edler, Adam Gaudette, Travis Hamonic, Braden Holtby, Quinn Hughes, Zack MacEwen, Antoine Roussel, Travis Boyd*, Thatcher Demko*, Jayce Hawryluk*, Bo Horvat*, Tyler Motte*, Tyler Myers*, Brandon Sutter*

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: Brandon Hagel, Chicago Blackhawks; Zach Parise, Minnesota Wild

It’s another brutal day for the Canucks, who are up to 14 players now after several more positive test results. As Pierre LeBrun of The Athletic points out, even that number doesn’t include the taxi squad player and three coaches that have also tested positive. Team activities are currently shutdown through April 6, but that certainly seems optimistic at this point. The Canucks next game, scheduled for April 8, is obviously up in the air at this point with so many of their players in the protocol.

Hagel comes off after just one day, but there are a few other new names today including Khudobin, who tested positive for the coronavirus in the offseason. The two young Ottawa players are in the protocol after traveling from the U.S. following their college seasons.

*denotes new addition

COVID Protocol Related Absences: 04/02/21

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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 list for today:

Boston – Jake DeBrusk
Chicago – Brandon Hagel*
Los Angeles – Brendan Lemieux
Minnesota – Zach Parise
Montreal – Joel Armia, Eric Staal
Vancouver –Adam Gaudette, Travis Hamonic, Alexander Edler*, Braden Holtby*, Quinn Hughes*, Zack MacEwen*, Antoine Roussel*

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: Brett Howden, New York Rangers

It’s a terrible day for the Canucks, who have added five more players to the protocol. The team is currently shut down through April 6, but there are obviously questions about whether they will need to stay dark longer than that as the team recovers. For now, their game on April 8 is still scheduled, but the league will be monitoring the situation on a daily basis.

Hagel’s addition was already reported by the Blackhawks earlier, though it is not clear how long he will be in the protocol.

*denotes new addition

COVID Protocol Related Absences: 04/01/21

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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 list for today:

Boston – Jake DeBrusk
Los Angeles – Brendan Lemieux
Minnesota – Zach Parise
Montreal – Joel Armia, Eric Staal
NY Rangers – Brett Howden 
Vancouver –Adam Gaudette, Travis Hamonic*

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: Alexander Volkov, Anaheim Ducks

Volkov has cleared the protocol for Anaheim and is expected to play in his first game since being traded from the Lightning last month.

The big question mark remains Vancouver, who had their game postponed last night after Gaudette’s confirmed positive result. A member of the team’s coaching staff was also put into the protocol and now Hamonic has joined them. The league has shut down the Canucks through April 6 in response.

*denotes new addition

COVID Protocol Related Absences: 03/31/21

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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 list for today:

Anaheim – Alexander Volkov
Boston – Jake DeBrusk
Los Angeles – Brendan Lemieux
Minnesota – Zach Parise
Montreal – Joel Armia, Eric Staal
NY Rangers – Brett Howden 
Vancouver – Adam Gaudette

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: Sean Kuraly, Boston Bruins

Kuraly coming off means it’s another good day for the NHL, even though Adam Gaudette’s positive test was confirmed today. The Vancouver forward will miss a minimum of ten days, but hopefully, no more positive results will show up among the Canucks roster.

*denotes new addition

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