NHL Announces Player Assignments For Skills Competition
The NHL All-Star Skills competition will take place tomorrow night in Las Vegas, and the league has announced ahead of time which players will participate in which events. The player assignments for the seven events are as follows:
Fastest Skater
Chris Kreider, NYR
Adrian Kempe, LAK
Kyle Connor, WPG
Evgeny Kuznetsov, WSH
Jordan Kyrou, STL
Dylan Larkin, DET
Cale Makar, COL
Connor McDavid, EDM
Save Streak
Jack Campbell, TOR
Andrei Vasilevskiy, TBL
Frederik Andersen, CAR
Tristan Jarry, PIT
Cam Talbot, MIN
Juuse Saros, NSH
Thatcher Demko, VAN
John Gibson, ANA
Fountain Face-Off
Jonathan Huberdeau, FLA
Claude Giroux, PHI
Jordan Eberle, SEA
Jocelyne Lamoureux-Davidson
Roman Josi, NSH
Nick Suzuki, MTL
Zach Werenski, CBJ
Mark Stone, VGK
Hardest Shot
Adam Pelech, NYI
Timo Meier, SJS
Victor Hedman, TBL
Tom Wilson, WSH
Breakaway Challenge
Goalies: Manon Rhéaume & Wyatt Russell
Kirill Kaprizov, MIN
Trevor Zegras, ANA
Jack Hughes, NJD
Alex DeBrincat, CHI
Alex Pietrangelo, VGK
Las Vegas NHL 21 in ’22
Nazem Kadri, COL
Auston Matthews, TOR
Joe Pavelski, DAL
Steven Stamkos, TBL
Brady Tkachuk, OTT
Accuracy Shooting
Leon Draisaitl, EDM
Clayton Keller, ARI
Rasmus Dahlin, BUF
Sebastian Aho, CAR
Jake Guentzel, PIT
Troy Terry, ANA
Johnny Gaudreau, CGY
Patrice Bergeron, BOS
Jonathan Marchessault, VGK
Two new events, the Fountain Face-Off and 21 in ’22 will be held outside in the Bellagio fountain and Las Vegas strip respectively. Individual winners of each event will earn $30,000.
2022 NHL All-Star Game Rosters Revealed
Jan 26: After Batherson was injured last night, the league has announced that Brady Tkachuk will replace him and be the Senators’ representative.
Jan 13: During a live reveal on ESPN’s SportsCenter program in the United States, the National Hockey League unveiled their four divisional rosters for the 2022 NHL All-Star Game in Las Vegas, Nevada.
Eight skaters and two goalies were announced for each team, leaving one skater spot open for each division. That last spot will once again be decided by a fan vote, who they can select by voting at NHL.com/LastMenIn.
The head coaches of each team were announced earlier, decided by the teams in first place (by points percentage) in their division on New Years Day. Florida’s Andrew Brunette heads the Atlantic Division, Carolina’s Rod Brind’Amour will coach the Metropolitan Division, Colorado’s Jared Bednar is the bench boss for the Central Division, and Vegas’ Peter DeBoer will serve as the Pacific Division’s coach.
Below are the full rosters for each division.
Atlantic Division
F Auston Matthews “C” (Toronto Maple Leafs)
F Drake Batherson (Ottawa Senators)
F Patrice Bergeron (Boston Bruins)
F Jonathan Huberdeau (Florida Panthers)
F Dylan Larkin (Detroit Red Wings)
F Nick Suzuki (Montreal Canadiens)
D Rasmus Dahlin (Buffalo Sabres)
D Victor Hedman (Tampa Bay Lightning)
G Jack Campbell (Toronto Maple Leafs)
G Andrei Vasilevskiy (Tampa Bay Lightning)
Metropolitan Division
F Alex Ovechkin “C” (Washington Capitals)
F Sebastian Aho (Carolina Hurricanes)
F Claude Giroux (Philadelphia Flyers)
F Jack Hughes (New Jersey Devils)
F Chris Kreider (New York Rangers)
D Adam Fox (New York Rangers)
D Adam Pelech (New York Islanders)
D Zach Werenski (Columbus Blue Jackets)
G Frederik Andersen (Carolina Hurricanes)
G Tristan Jarry (Pittsburgh Penguins)
Central Division
F Nathan MacKinnon “C” (Colorado Avalanche)
F Kyle Connor (Winnipeg Jets)
F Alex DeBrincat (Chicago Blackhawks)
F Kirill Kaprizov (Minnesota Wild)
F Clayton Keller (Arizona Coyotes)
F Jordan Kyrou (St. Louis Blues)
F Joe Pavelski (Dallas Stars)
D Cale Makar (Colorado Avalanche)
G Juuse Saros (Nashville Predators)
G Cam Talbot (Minnesota Wild)
Pacific Division
F Connor McDavid “C” (Edmonton Oilers)
F Leon Draisaitl (Edmonton Oilers)
F Jordan Eberle (Seattle Kraken)
F Johnny Gaudreau (Calgary Flames)
F Adrian Kempe (Los Angeles Kings)
F Timo Meier (San Jose Sharks)
F Mark Stone (Vegas Golden Knights)
D Alex Pietrangelo (Vegas Golden Knights)
G Thatcher Demko (Vancouver Canucks)
G John Gibson (Anaheim Ducks)
Snapshots: Three Stars, Greeley, Wild
The NHL has released its Three Stars for last week, with Jordan Kyrou taking home the top spot. The St. Louis Blues forward had seven points in two games, including a four-point effort in the Winter Classic. With 79 points in 128 career games, including 32 in 29 this season, the 2016 second-round pick is establishing himself as a top offensive performer in the NHL.
Second and third place went to Jack Hughes and Jonathan Huberdeau respectively, after their own outstanding weeks. The New Jersey Devils center had eight points in three games and figured into two more overtime victories for the club. Huberdeau meanwhile continues his incredible run and is now up to 41 points in 32 games this season.
- The Dallas Stars have hired Steve Greeley as their new Director of Hockey Strategy/Scouting and Development, bringing him in to oversee the club’s analytics department. Greeley was previously an assistant general manager with the Buffalo Sabres under Jason Botterill and an assistant director of player personnel with the New York Rangers.
- The Minnesota Wild may be giving a young prospect their first chance at the NHL level, as Michael Russo of The Athletic tweets Matt Boldy and/or Marco Rossi could be coming up for Thursday’s game. The Wild placed Jordan Greenway in the COVID protocol today and are already without Joel Eriksson Ek. Boldy, as Russo points out, is the only top-20 pick from 2019 yet to play in an NHL game, while Rossi is only a year removed from his myocarditis diagnosis which put his career on pause.
New Jersey Devils Extend Jack Hughes
The New Jersey Devils have locked up the potential face of their franchise, signing Jack Hughes to an eight-year extension that will kick in next season. The deal comes just as Hughes is set to return to the lineup tonight after a long injury layoff. The $64MM contract will carry an average annual value of $8MM, making him the team’s highest-paid forward and locking him up through the 2029-30 season. Hughes was set to become a restricted free agent for the first time next summer.
PuckPedia reports that the deal will include a 10-team no-trade clause in the last four years of the deal. The full breakdown is as follows:
- 2022-23: $7.0MM salary + $2.0MM signing bonus
- 2023-24: $8.5MM salary
- 2024-25: $8.5MM salary
- 2025-26: $8.5MM salary
- 2026-27: $8.0MM salary
- 2027-28: $7.5MM salary
- 2028-29: $7.0MM salary
- 2029-30: $7.0MM salary
General manager Tom Fitzgerald released a statement explaining his excitement over the contract:
Today is a big day for the New Jersey Devils. This contract shows the commitment Jack and his family have made to us, and how the organization- myself, David Blitzer and Josh Harris- are in turn committed to them. We are building something unique and special here, with Jack being a core piece of that. This is just the start of where we believe we can go with this organization, as we work towards sustained success for years to come.
Selected first overall in 2019, Hughes has slowly developed through his first two years in the league, surrounded by a young, inexperienced roster and seeing his fair share of struggles. There was little doubt he entered this season as an improved player, however, and he showed it with his two-goal performance (including the overtime winner) in the Devils season opener. He had another assist in his second game before injuring his shoulder, which has kept him out since October 19 and limited him to just 26 minutes of ice time so far this season.
That all changes tonight when Hughes returns, now with not only the burden of draft expectations but now with those of a huge contract as well.
A member of one of an incredibly popular hockey family, which includes older brother Quinn Hughes, a star defenseman for the Vancouver Canucks, and younger brother Luke Hughes, who was selected fourth overall by the Devils this year and is currently playing at the University of Michigan, Jack Hughes has a skillset that could lead to huge results for the Devils in the long run. While he had just 21 points in his rookie season, he came back as a teenager last year to put up 31 points in 56 games, including 10 in his last 14.
While the projection of his ceiling is still sky-high, there’s obviously also a ton of risk in a contract like this for the Devils. Yes, Hughes could outperform an $8MM ticket as soon as next season, but he also could very well settle in below the true top-line options in the league and suddenly be a bit of an overpayment. The fact is that he hasn’t delivered that kind of production yet, even if his talent and upside are so obvious.
For a team like the Devils though, who only really have two other long-term commitments–captain Nico Hischier and free agent signing Dougie Hamilton–a deal like this isn’t going to cripple them even if he struggles moving forward. They’re paying for what should be Hughes’ entire prime and locking it in to avoid any distractions in the future. If the league’s revenue recovers to a point where the cap ceiling increases down the road, this deal could look like even more of a bargain, given it keeps Hughes in New Jersey for four unrestricted free agent years.
The pressure is on now for Hughes, who will start on the wing this evening but is still projected to be a center long-term for the Devils. That positional decision could be a huge factor in whether this is deal ends up a bargain or a blunder, as Hughes would hold so much more value if he can continue to line up in the middle of the ice.
This move also clears the deck for the Devils front office to focus on some of the other restricted free agents this summer, without having to wonder how much Hughes’ deal will come in at. Jesper Bratt, Pavel Zacha, Miles Wood, and several others are set to hit RFA status, meaning some more multi-year deals may be coming down the pipe. A team that’s just turning the corner on their rebuild, New Jersey is now 9-6-4 and focused on competing all season long in the Metropolitan Division.
Kevin Weekes of ESPN was first to report that a deal was close between Hughes and the Devils.
Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images
Injury Notes: Penguins, Golden Knights, Avalanche, Wood
The Pittsburgh Penguins received some extremely welcome news today, as head coach Mike Sullivan says centers Sidney Crosby and Jeff Carter are game-time decisions for tomorrow’s contest against the New Jersey Devils as they begin the journey to full health. That’s only 40% of the key contributors they have currently out of the lineup, however, as Kris Letang remains in COVID-19 protocol and Evgeni Malkin and Bryan Rust are on injured reserve. Still, seeing one of the best players in the world close to full health again and nearly ready to make his season debut is always promising news. The return of Carter shouldn’t be overlooked either, as the veteran forward had four points in four games before entering COVID-19 protocol.
More injury notes from around the league:
- The Golden Knights, along with the Penguins, have been one of the most injury-affected teams in the NHL this season. The Athletic’s Jesse Granger issued updates on the health of many Golden Knights today, as the team has six regulars currently sitting out with injury. The most notable of those updates is Mark Stone, who is still out indefinitely but skated today for the first time since suffering a lower-body injury on October 15. However, it could potentially become seven regulars out of the lineup for tonight’s game as William Carrier suffered an injury Wednesday night against Dallas and is a game-time decision.
- Colorado Avalanche winger Mikko Rantanen is day-to-day with a lower-body injury per head coach Jared Bednar, but defenseman Devon Toews is expected to make his season debut during the next two games. Rantanen was scratched from Thursday night’s game against the Blues. Toews’ return will give Colorado a fully healthy defense core for the first time this season, as Samuel Girard is also ready to go.
- Devils head coach Lindy Ruff gave an update today on forward Miles Wood, who he calls “the furthest away” from returning out of all the Devils’ injuries. Considering Jack Hughes was issued a five-week timeline today, that’s not promising news. Wood has not played this season after suffering a lower-body injury just prior to the start of the campaign.
Jack Hughes Out With Dislocated Shoulder
Oct 29: The Devils have announced that after a re-evaluation, it has been determined that there were no unforeseen issues with his shoulder injury. His recovery will be evaluated again in five weeks. That means the Devils will be without their young center for quite some time, but it appears as though surgery is still not on the table.
Oct 21: Jack Hughes will be out indefinitely after suffering a dislocated shoulder, but that’s actually good news for the New Jersey Devils. The young forward will not require surgery and has begun to rehab the injury. Hughes will be re-evaluated next week, meaning he will still miss a good chunk of time, but there was fear that surgery could take away a huge chunk of the season. He has been moved to injured reserve for the time being, which comes with a minimum of seven days.
Hughes, 20, looked like a wholly different player in his first game of the season, scoring two goals and dominating play whenever he was on the ice. He suffered the shoulder injury in his second match, when Seattle Kraken defenseman Jeremy Lauzon sent him sprawling into the boards.
If he has avoided major injury it’s a huge win for the Devils, who are off to a 2-0 start as they try to show the rest of the Metropolitan Division that the playoffs are not out of the question. One of the youngest teams in the league, New Jersey has just three regulars–Tomas Tatar, P.K. Subban, and Jonathan Bernier–over the age of 30. The latter, Bernier, is also dealing with a lower-body injury and will not dress tonight. The team has recalled Nico Daws from the AHL to serve as backup tonight.
Extension Notes: Fox, Hughes, Bergevin, Desharnais
The New York Rangers are the focus of many right now as they try to turn the corner from rebuilding to a contender, and a huge part of that success will be the continued star play of reigning Norris Trophy winner Adam Fox. Pierre LeBrun of The Athletic writes in his latest that a Fox extension should be the entire focus of the Rangers front office right now, lest they put themselves in a trickier situation next summer. LeBrun writes that the Rangers and Fox’s agent Matt Keator have had “very preliminary talks.”
- LeBrun also touches on Jack Hughes, whose camp has also had preliminary talks with the New Jersey Devils on an extension. The young forward suffered a dislocated shoulder and will be out indefinitely for the Devils, but that doesn’t mean he’s any less a key part of their future. The first-overall pick from 2019 had 31 points in 56 games last season and appeared to be taking another step forward this time around, with three points in the game and a half he was able to finish. The scribe believes the Devils will try to sign Hughes to a long-term deal, as they did previously with captain Nico Hischier.
- Meanwhile, Montreal Canadiens GM Marc Bergevin told reporters yesterday that in a perfect world he would be back with the team next season, but that talks are still put off until the end of the season. He confirmed he still has total control over hockey decisions, despite his contract expiring at the end of this season. Arpon Basu of The Athletic examined his comments and suggests that the ball is now squarely in owner Geoff Molson‘s court after Bergevin spoke publicly and made his desire to stay clear.
- Remember David Desharnais? Well, he’s got an extension of his own, this time with HC Fribourg-Gotteron in Switzerland, where he’s played the last few years. Desharnais signed a new one-year extension that keeps him there through the 2022-23 season, allowing him to continue being a key part of a professional team a little longer. The 35-year-old forward scored 282 points in a 524-game NHL career before taking his talents overseas and has been excellent in Switzerland, racking up 94 points in 113 games.
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