COVID Protocol Related Absences: 02/17/21
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
Los Angeles – Andreas Athanasiou
Minnesota – Jonas Brodin, Victor Rask, Carson Soucy, Cam Talbot
New Jersey – Nico Hischier
NY Rangers – Filip Chytil
Ottawa – Ryan Dzingel
Philadelphia – Justin Braun, Morgan Frost, 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: Casey Mittelstadt, Buffalo Sabres; Tyson Jost, Colorado Avalanche; Gabriel Landeskog, Colorado Avalanche; Brad Hunt, Minnesota Wild; Dmitry Kulikov, New Jersey Devils; Travis Zajac, New Jersey Devils
Once again, there were no new additions to the list. The Sabres are now completely free after having a substantial outbreak and the Avalanche also have their captain out of the protocol. Things continue to trend in the right direction.
The Devils, who once had 19 players on the list at once, now have just Hischier held out and should be able to get their season back on track.
COVID Protocol Related Absences: 02/16/21
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 the league is still waiting for a report from the Kings here are today’s results for the other 30 teams:
Buffalo – Casey Mittelstadt
Colorado – Samuel Girard, Tyson Jost, Gabriel Landeskog, Hunter Miska
Los Angeles – TBA
Minnesota – Jonas Brodin, Brad Hunt, Victor Rask, Carson Soucy, Cam Talbot
New Jersey – Nico Hischier, Dmitry Kulikov, Travis Zajac
NY Rangers – Filip Chytil
Ottawa – Ryan Dzingel
Philadelphia – Justin Braun, Morgan Frost, 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: Dylan Cozens, Buffalo Sabres; Curtis Lazar, Buffalo Sabres; Jake McCabe, Buffalo Sabres; Brandon Montour, Buffalo Sabres; Rasmus Ristolainen, Buffalo Sabres; Nikita Gusev, New Jersey Devils
The Sabres had several players come off again today, though Mike Harrington of the Buffalo News confirmed this morning that Montour and McCabe shouldn’t have been included on yesterday’s list either. Both of those two practiced yesterday as well. The Sabres are back in action tonight against the Islanders after suffering a 3-1 loss in their first game in more than two weeks last night.
With no new additions today, the list of names has been dramatically reduced from a week ago.
COVID Protocol Related Absences: 02/15/21
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 the league is still waiting for a report from the Edmonton Oilers, here are today’s results for the other 30 teams:
Buffalo – Dylan Cozens, Curtis Lazar, Jake McCabe, Casey Mittelstadt, Brandon Montour, Rasmus Ristolainen
Colorado – Samuel Girard, Tyson Jost, Gabriel Landeskog, Hunter Miska*
Edmonton – TBA
Los Angeles – Andreas Athanasiou
Minnesota – Jonas Brodin, Brad Hunt, Victor Rask, Carson Soucy, Cam Talbot
New Jersey – Nikita Gusev, Nico Hischier, Dmitry Kulikov, Travis Zajac
NY Rangers – Filip Chytil
Ottawa – Ryan Dzingel
Philadelphia – Justin Braun, Morgan Frost, 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: John Hayden, Arizona Coyotes; Tobias Rieder, Buffalo Sabres; Nick Bonino, Ian Cole, Nico Sturm, Minnesota Wild; Nathan Bastian, New Jersey Devils
Many of today’s CPRA removals were revealed long before the list was published this afternoon. Hayden was in the lineup for Coyotes for their matinee match-up with the Blues, while Bastian joined the Devils in their return to practice this morning and Rieder did the same with the Sabres. Interestingly, McCabe and Montour were also participants in Buffalo practice today, likely indicating that they will come off the list tomorrow. New Jersey’s Gusev and Kulikov skated separately with coaches after practice today, possibly implying that they too will be off the list soon.
After being late to report yesterday, the Colorado Avalanche are responsible for the only CPRA addition today in young goaltender Miska. Otherwise, this is another positive day as the NHL’s COVID numbers continue to trend strongly in the right direction. With the difficult situations in Buffalo, Minnesota, and New Jersey looking like they will soon be resolved, some progress in Philadelphia is seemingly the only thing stopping the league moving on from their recent rash of postponements and lengthy CRPA lists.
COVID Protocol Related Absences: 02/14/21
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
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
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
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
Filip Chytil Out Four To Six Weeks
The New York Rangers have lost one of their young forwards for at least a month, announcing today that Filip Chytil will be out for four to six weeks with an upper-body injury. The injury likely occurred when Chytil collided with Evan Rodrigues, a hit that left the Pittsburgh Penguins forward injured as well.
Chytil, 21, has still not experienced a breakout season with the Rangers, but was off to quite a strong start in his third year. The young forward was the team’s third-line center and had three points through his first four games, averaging just over 14 minutes a night. The team will have to find a replacement now as they try to climb out of the bottom of the East Division.
The Rangers have lost three straight and still haven’t received any contribution from first-overall pick Alexis Lafreniere, who is still looking for his first NHL point. Losing a core piece like Chytil, even if he still hadn’t reached his potential, is concerning for a team that was already struggling. Even more weight will be placed on the shoulders of some of their veteran players to get things turned around.
Metropolitan Notes: Rangers, Brodeur, Holtby
With dates set now for training camp (July 10) and playoff start (July 30), pending an official agreement, many players currently residing in Europe will have to eventually make their way back to North American soil to prepare for the playoffs. While it might be too early for some to begin that process, Newsday’s Colin Stephenson writes that several New York Rangers’ players are preparing to start that process soon.
Forward Pavel Buchnevich will be the first to cross the ocean with his agent confirming that the 25-year-old, who has spent the pause in Russia, is expected to be in New York on Sunday. Other Rangers’ players are expected to follow, including Henrik Lundqvist, Mika Zibanejad and Jesper Fast, who are currently in Sweden; Kaapo Kakko and Alexandar Georgiev in Finland; and Filip Chytil from the Czech Republic. Artemi Panarin and Igor Shesterkin both opted to stay in the U.S. during the COVID-19 pandemic.
Players are expected to be tested for the coronavirus when they arrive in New York and then tested again in a week. If both tests are negative, they will then be cleared to practice.
- Matt Larkin of the Hockey News writes that former New Jersey Devils’ goaltender Martin Brodeur is not interested in becoming general manager of the New Jersey Devils at this time. The longtime Devils goaltender moved from a hockey business position to a hockey operations role on Jan. 12 after the team fired Ray Shero as their general manager and replaced him with Tom Fitzgerald on an “interim basis.” However, Brodeur said that while that role interests him down the role, he’s not ready to take on that challenge yet. The 48-year-old currently lives in St. Louis and made it clear he might not be ready to take on a rigorous role as a general manager. “I’m not saying that one day, I won’t say, ‘You know what? This is the time for me to do it, maybe,’ Brodeur said. “But right now, I value my time off too much to get myself involved. Not that I’m not involved, as in my role I need to be pretty much present, but I’m able to kind of make my own schedule and not rely on the general manager setup.”
- Sportsnet’s Luke Fox writes that while many people still envision goaltender Braden Holtby to be the Washington Capitals starting netminder when the playoffs resume, it will be critical for the upcoming unrestricted free agent to perform well. With the salary cap not likely to go up this year due to COVID-19, many UFA’s aren’t likely to score big free agent contracts. Holtby, who was outplayed by rookie Ilya Samsonov and posted poor regular season numbers with a career-low .897 save percentage, could benefit if he dominated in the playoffs.
Metropolitan Notes: Hall, Couturier, Chytil
There hasn’t been much in the way of recent discussions about an extension between the Devils and winger Taylor Hall. However, it appears as if that will be changing as Hall told NHL.com’s Mike Morreale that his agent Darren Ferris will be sitting down with New Jersey GM Ray Shero at some point during their Western road trip to talk contract. That will represent their first meeting since the beginning of the season.
The 27-year-old came into the season with a chance at pushing for a similar price tag to Artemi Panarin, who back in July landed a record-setting $11.642MM AAV, the highest ever given to a winger. However, while he has played relatively well so far, he’ll need to pick things up on the goal front as he has just two in a dozen games so far this season. Nonetheless, with a current $6MM cap hit, Hall will be in line for a substantial raise regardless of whether that’s with the Devils or someone else.
More from the Metropolitan Division:
- Flyers center Sean Couturier is playing through a shoulder injury, reports Jordan Hall of NBC Sports Philadelphia. Head coach Alain Vigneault acknowledged that Philadelphia’s team doctors had asked him to have him not take faceoffs in an effort to help the strain heal. It’s believed that Couturier will need to avoid taking draws for the better part of another week. Despite the discomfort, he’s off to another strong start to his season with nine points through 13 games so far.
- Rangers center Filip Chytil has impressed since being recalled from AHL Hartford with a pair of goals in as many games going into Monday’s contest against Ottawa. He mentioned to Greg Joyce of the New York Post that part of the reason for his early success is that he’s playing his natural position after spending most of last year on the wing. However, with Mika Zibanejad nearing a return from his neck issue, that opportunity to play down the middle may not be there for much longer. It appears that he’ll have to adapt to the wing again or head back to the minors; given how he has fared thus far, the former is more likely than the latter.