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Joel Eriksson Ek

COVID Protocol Related Absences: 02/08/21

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

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

As a reminder, inclusion on this list does not mean that a player has tested positive for Coronavirus or even that they have been confirmed as a close contact to another positive person. Included in the NHL’s list of possible reasons for someone being on the list is are the following:

(1) an initial positive test which remains unconfirmed until confirmatory testing is completed pursuant to the Positive Test Protocol; (2) mandated isolation for symptomatic individuals pursuant to the Positive Test Protocol; (3) required quarantine as a high-risk close contact in accordance with the Positive Test Protocol; (4) isolation based on a confirmed positive test result and/or; (5) quarantine for travel or other reasons as outlined in the COVID-19 Protocol

Players removed today: Evgeny Kuznetsov, Washington Capitals; Ilya Samsonov, Washington Capitals; Adam Boqvist, Chicago Blackhawks

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

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

*denotes new addition

COVID Protocol Related Absences: 02/07/21

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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 CPRA list for Sunday:

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

As a reminder, inclusion on this list does not mean that a player has tested positive for Coronavirus or even that they have been confirmed as a close contact to another positive person. Included in the NHL’s list of possible reasons for someone being on the list is are the following:

(1) an initial positive test which remains unconfirmed until confirmatory testing is completed pursuant to the Positive Test Protocol; (2) mandated isolation for symptomatic individuals pursuant to the Positive Test Protocol; (3) required quarantine as a high-risk close contact in accordance with the Positive Test Protocol; (4) isolation based on a confirmed positive test result and/or; (5) quarantine for travel or other reasons as outlined in the COVID-19 Protocol

Players removed today: Sami Vatanen, New Jersey Devils

Sanheim was put into COVID protocol earlier in the day for COVID-19 and while that doesn’t necessarily mean he tested positive, he at least could have been seriously exposed. However, the NHL announced that they conducted rapid testing for all Flyers players, coaches and staff before their afternoon game with the Washington Capitals. All tests came back negative and the game was still played.

*denotes new addition

COVID Protocol Related Absences: 02/06/21

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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 CPRA list for Saturday:

Buffalo – Taylor Hall, Rasmus Ristolainen, Brandon Montour, Tobias Rieder, Jake McCabe, Dylan Cozens*, Curtis Lazar*
Chicago – Adam Boqvist, Ryan Carpenter, Lucas Wallmark
Colorado – Tyson Jost, Gabriel Landeskog
Dallas – Andrej Sekera
Los Angeles – Andreas Athanasiou, Blake Lizotte
Minnesota – Marcus Foligno, Nick Bjugstad, Nick Bonino, Joel Eriksson Ek, Marcus Johansson, Jared Spurgeon, Nico Sturm, Ian Cole*
New Jersey – Kyle Palmieri, Sami Vatanen, Travis Zajac, Andreas Johnsson, Janne Kuokkanen, Michael McLeod, Pavel Zacha, Jack Hughes, Damon Severson, Ty Smith, Matt Tennyson, Jesper Bratt, Nathan Bastian, Nikita Gusev, Yegor Sharangovich, Dmitry Kulikov
Vegas – Alex Pietrangelo
Washington – Evgeny Kuznetsov, Ilya Samsonov, Jakub Vrana*

As a reminder, inclusion on this list does not mean that a player has tested positive for Coronavirus or even that they have been confirmed as a close contact to another positive person. Included in the NHL’s list of possible reasons for someone being on the list is are the following:

(1) an initial positive test which remains unconfirmed until confirmatory testing is completed pursuant to the Positive Test Protocol; (2) mandated isolation for symptomatic individuals pursuant to the Positive Test Protocol; (3) required quarantine as a high-risk close contact in accordance with the Positive Test Protocol; (4) isolation based on a confirmed positive test result and/or; (5) quarantine for travel or other reasons as outlined in the COVID-19 Protocol

Players removed today: Connor Carrick, New Jersey Devils; Pierre-Luc Dubois, Winnipeg Jets

It should come as little surprise that the Buffalo Sabres and Minnesota Wild, two teams that have had games postponed due to COVID outbreaks, have new additions to the CPRA list. The Sabres are up to seven players, as well as head coach Ralph Krueger, in the protocol. Minnesota has eight players on the list now, including Cole who was added late last night, presumably following a positive test.

The surprise addition to list is Vrana for the Capitals. Washington has had the one incidence of COVID Protocol violation, one that cost them $100K and landed four players on the list, but otherwise had been unaffected. Yet, Vrana is now out of action with no word yet on the cause.

If there is any good news in regards to the Coronavirus in the NHL today, it is that all Vegas Golden Knights coaches were finally back at practice today after the entire staff had previously landed in the protocol. The New Jersey Devils also add one more player to their thin active list as Carrick, who had merely left the team for the birth of his child, has timed out of the protocol.

*denotes new addition

COVID Protocol Related Absences: 02/05/21

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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 Anaheim Ducks have yet to report their results for today. For all 30 other teams, here is the CPRA list for Friday:

Anaheim – TBA
Buffalo – Taylor Hall, Rasmus Ristolainen, Brandon Montour, Tobias Rieder, Jake McCabe
Chicago – Adam Boqvist, Ryan Carpenter, Lucas Wallmark
Colorado – Tyson Jost, Gabriel Landeskog
Dallas – Andrej Sekera
Los Angeles – Andreas Athanasiou, Blake Lizotte
Minnesota – Marcus Foligno, Nick Bjugstad, Nick Bonino, Joel Eriksson Ek, Marcus Johansson, Jared Spurgeon, Nico Sturm
New Jersey – Connor Carrick, Kyle Palmieri, Sami Vatanen, Travis Zajac, Andreas Johnsson, Janne Kuokkanen, Michael McLeod, Pavel Zacha, Jack Hughes, Damon Severson, Ty Smith, Matt Tennyson, Jesper Bratt, Nathan Bastian, Nikita Gusev, Yegor Sharangovich, Dmitry Kulikov*
Vegas – Alex Pietrangelo
Washington – Evgeny Kuznetsov, Ilya Samsonov
Winnipeg – Pierre-Luc Dubois

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 Marino, Pittsburgh Penguins

The good news: there was no net gain to the CPRA list today. One player was added and one player was removed. For the injury plagued Pittsburgh Penguins blue line, getting Marino back is a major relief. It also removes the Penguins entirely from the COVID doghouse for the time being.

The bad news: a troubling situation in New Jersey gets only worse, as Kulikov joins the long list of players in the protocol. The Devils have seen a number of their coming games postponed and that could easily continue given the sheer number of players still out of action.

*denotes new addition

COVID Protocol Related Absences: 02/04/21

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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. Today, commissioner Gary Bettman announced some in-arena adjustments for the league to follow, but also released a statement on the current situation:

With about 20 percent of our season played, we are mindful of the fact that we might be seeing a more aggressive transmission of the virus and will continue to make adjustments to our Protocols as we consult on a daily basis with, and adhere to, the recommendations of our medical advisors.

It is important to note that, while we have seen almost 100 players enter our COVID Protocols, fewer than half have done so because of confirmed positive tests – and, among that group, many have not been symptomatic. Our priority has been and will continue to be to act conservatively with an abundance of caution, understanding that there are many things about the transmission of COVID-19 that are still being discovered. As a result, we won’t hesitate to take additional measures as indicated by what we are learning and as directed by our medical advisors.

Here is the CPRA list for today:

Buffalo – Taylor Hall, Rasmus Ristolainen, Brandon Montour, Tobias Rieder, Jake McCabe*
Chicago – Adam Boqvist, Ryan Carpenter, Lucas Wallmark
Colorado – Tyson Jost, Gabriel Landeskog*
Dallas – Andrej Sekera
Los Angeles – Andreas Athanasiou, Blake Lizotte
Minnesota – Marcus Foligno, Nick Bjugstad, Nick Bonino, Joel Eriksson Ek, Marcus Johansson, Jared Spurgeon, Nico Sturm*
New Jersey – Connor Carrick, Kyle Palmieri, Sami Vatanen, Travis Zajac, Andreas Johnsson, Janne Kuokkanen, Michael McLeod, Pavel Zacha, Jack Hughes, Damon Severson, Ty Smith, Matt Tennyson, Jesper Bratt, Nathan Bastian, Nikita Gusev, Yegor Sharangovich
Pittsburgh – John Marino
Vegas – Alex Pietrangelo
Washington – Evgeny Kuznetsov, Ilya Samsonov
Winnipeg – Pierre-Luc Dubois

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: Filip Zadina, Detroit Red Wings; Aaron Dell, New Jersey Devils;

Of course, the list does not include Buffalo head coach Ralph Krueger, who has also tested positive and is isolating away from the team. McCabe joins four other important members of the Sabres that are sitting out, though it is not clear how many have actually tested positive.

The addition of Landeskog is also important to note, given that the Avalanche are not shutdown like the Minnesota Wild, their last opponent and have a game scheduled for Saturday afternoon. The team is already dealing with a long list of injuries and now will likely be without their captain as well.

It is important to note that Dell wasn’t actually on the list because of the outbreak among the Devils, but because of quarantine rules after he was claimed off waivers from the Toronto Maple Leafs. Unfortunately, he still won’t get to practice with his new team until the Devils go back to work.

*denotes new addition

Minor Transactions: 12/22/19

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It’s a quiet day in the NHL with just four games on the schedule, the most interesting being the matchup with the Calgary Flames visiting the Dallas Stars. It should get more interesting on Monday with a full slate of games before the NHL darkens for the holiday break and players will get three full days off to relax with their families before restarting again on Friday. Despite a roster freeze, teams can still call up players to fill out their rosters, so keep an eye here for all transactions for the day:

  • The Anaheim Ducks announced they have recalled forward Daniel Sprong from the San Diego Gulls of the AHL. Sprong, who played 47 games with the Ducks last season (plus 16 with Pittsburgh), finally gets a chance to return to the NHL this season. He’s played 24 games with San Diego, scoring seven goals and 18 points. He’ll fill in immediately for a banged up Anaheim squad.
  • The Chicago Blackhawks announced they have recalled forward John Quenneville from the Rockford IceHogs of the AHL. With Brandon Saad on injured reserve, the team had an open roster spot. The 23-year-old has not played a game yet for Chicago since being acquired over the summer from New Jersey. Quenneville has scored eight goals and 13 points in 19 AHL games this season.
  • The Pittsburgh Penguins assigned several players to the Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins as the team announced that forwards Joseph Blandisi and Thomas Di Pauli as well as defenseman Kevin Czuczman have all been sent to the AHL. Blandisi, who has played in 14 games for Pittsburgh this year, did play in all three Western Conference games, even scoring a goal on Friday. Neither Di Pauli or Czuczman got into a Penguins game.
  • The Minnesota Wild announced they have activated center Joel Eriksson Ek off of injured reserve and have assigned forward Luke Johnson to the Iowa Wild of the AHL. Eriksson Ek has missed the last week with an undisclosed injury. The 22-year-old has scored two goals and 12 points in 30 games this season.
  • The New York Rangers announced they have recalled forward Phillip Di Giuseppe from the Hartford Wolf Pack of the AHL to help fill in the roster for the team’s final game on Monday against the Philadelphia Flyers before the winter break hits. The 26-year-old forward has nine goals and 17 points in 17 games with Hartford.

What Your Team Is Thankful For: Minnesota Wild

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As the holiday season approaches, PHR will take a look at what teams are thankful for as the season heads towards the midway mark. There also might be a few things your team would like down the road. We’ll examine what’s gone well in the early going and what could improve as the season rolls on for the Minnesota Wild.

What are the Wild most thankful for?

Not being at the bottom of the Western Conference. For the first 18 games of the season, Minnesota had a 6-11-1 and were at the bottom of the conference and looked to be an obvious lottery team that had a chance at the top pick. Instead the veterans seems to have found their game, going on a 11-3-4 run (including a six-game winning streak) and the team suddenly finds itself in the playoff race once again.

While the team currently sits outside the playoff race, the Wild have returned to respectability and have plenty of time to make up for lost time and try and fight for a playoff spot down the road.

Who are the Wild most thankful for?

Eric Staal.

The team got 42 goals from the veteran winger after the 2017-18 season, but then came away with a disappointing 22-goal performance last season, suggesting that the now 35-year-old might be fading quickly. While he may never return to that 42-goal season form ever again, Staal has looked a bit more like himself, having scored 13 goals already through 37 games, which could bring him close to a potential 30-goal season, something the team desperately needs.

Staal still has another season on his contract after this one and a big performance from Staal this year, will make his final year sound more promising.

What would the Wild be even more thankful for?

While the team has gotten solid production from backup goaltender Alex Stalock who has been solid with a 2.81 GAA and a .907 save percentage, the Wild need to get starter Devan Dubnyk back on track. The starter, who just returned Thursday after being out since Nov. 16 due to a personal matter, has struggled before this season. He carries a 3.48 GAA and a .891 save percentage through 15 games. Dubnyk appeared in 67 games last season and maintained a .913 save percentage, which is a number that the team needs their star goaltender needs to return to. A solid netminder in goal would help this veteran team make a legitimate playoff run.

What should be on the Wild’s Holiday Wish List?

The team needs to get some of its young players going and producing more offense. The team has been waiting for Joel Eriksson Ek, Jordan Greenway and Luke Kunin to take that next step and develop into bonafide top-six players. While they occasionally find themselves up there, they have yet to show any consistency the team needs to move forward. Eriksson Ek has just two goals and 12 points through 30 games, while Greenway has just four goals and 13 points in 35 games. Kunin might have the most goals with eight, but still has just 13 points in 36 games.

Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.

Western Notes: Arvidsson, Granlund, Demers, Glass

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The Nashville Predators expect to get two big returns to their lineup Saturday as the forward’s Viktor Arvidsson and Mikael Granlund are expected back, according to NHL.com’s Matt Kalman. Both have been out with lower-body injuries, but the hope is that both players will boost Nashville’s struggling team.

Arvidsson has missed 12 games over four weeks. He was originally estimated to be out for four to six weeks, which means he will return at the early part of the estimation. The 26-year-old started strong with six goals and 15 points in 22 games. Granlund, on the other hand, has missed four straight games with a lower-body injury as well. Granlund has four goals and 12 points in 28 games.

  • The Athletic’s Craig Morgan reports that Arizona Coyotes defenseman Jason Demers was a full participant in practice Saturday and while he is listed as doubtful for Sunday’s game against Detroit, but is expected to be re-evaluated on Monday against Nashville. This is a quick turnaround for Demers who underwent a minor procedure on his knee just two weeks ago.
  • Vegas Golden Knights head coach Gerard Gallant said that while forward Cody Glass is closing in on a return, he will not play in their back-to-back games against San Jose and Colorado Sunday and Monday, according to Las Vegas Review-Journal’s David Schoen. Glass, who has been out since Dec. 8 with a concussion, skated Saturday in a non-contact jersey, suggesting he’s close to returning. That could suggest that the rookie could make his return Friday vs. Anaheim.
  • The Minnesota Wild hope to get back a player as well. Star Tribune’s Sarah McLellan reports that center Joel Eriksson Ek should be able to return at some point next week. The 22-year-old has been out with an upper-body injury for the past week and is expected to practice with the team on Sunday. Eriksson Ek has two goals and 12 points in 30 games this season.

Wild Make Three Forwards Available

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Wild GM Bill Guerin is still getting a sense for his team but it appears there are some players he’s open to moving on from.  Postmedia’s Bruce Garrioch reports that Minnesota has made forwards Ryan Donato, Joel Eriksson Ek, and Kevin Fiala available.

Two of those players were fairly recent acquisitions of former GM Paul Fenton who brought them in through a pair of trades back in February in advance of the trade deadline.  However, those acquisitions were questioned at the time and neither player is off to a particularly strong start this season.

Donato just became waiver-eligible on Thursday when he played in his 80th career NHL game (regular season and playoffs).  He has shown flashes of being able to contribute in the NHL both early in his time with Boston as a rookie and Minnesota last season.  However, the results haven’t been too strong in between.  Nonetheless, given that he’s only 23 with a manageable contract at $1.9MM per season for two years, he should have some suitors around the league.

As for Eriksson Ek, he hasn’t lived up to his draft billing that saw him go 20th overall back in 2015.  While he is a capable defensive center, the production hasn’t been there as he has just 38 points in 155 career regular season games.  He’s currently on injured reserve due to a lower-body injury but did skate with the team on Friday so it appears he’s close to returning.  Eriksson Ek is also on a bridge contract that carries a $1.4875MM AAV through 2020-21.

Fiala, meanwhile, was Fenton’s most notable acquisition as he parted with Mikael Granlund to get him at the deadline.  Unfortunately for Minnesota, Fiala hasn’t rewarded their faith in him.  He had just seven points in 19 games down the stretch last year and has just a single helper in seven contests so far this season.  He’s not far removed from a 48-point campaign in 2017-18 though so the asking price will justifiably be high.  Fiala is in the first season of a two-year deal with a $3MM cap hit.

Interestingly enough, these players are all among Minnesota’s youngest with no one being older than 23.  For a team that looks like they need to try to rebuild in the near future, players of this age are typically the ones that teams in this situation look to acquire, not trade away.  Guerin is believed to be willing to listen on pretty much everything and with these players available, he should have some interesting trade scenarios presented to him.

Mats Zuccarello Activated From Injured Reserve

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The Minnesota Wild have activated Mats Zuccarello from injured reserve and expect him to be in the lineup tonight against the Edmonton Oilers. Unfortunately, they’ve also moved Joel Eriksson Ek to IR with a lower-body injury, retroactive to October 17th.

Zuccarello, the Wild’s big offseason signing, was off to a disappointing start even before he got injured, recording zero points in his first four games while playing fewer than 15 minutes a night (his lowest average since his rookie season). Six penalty minutes, terrible possession metrics and a -6 rating didn’t endure him to many Minnesota fans early, but hopefully now at full health he can get back to his previous ability.

There’s no questioning that Zuccarello can be an effective NHL player, but signing a 32-year old to a five-year, $30MM contract always seemed concerning for a team in Minnesota’s position. It was one of the final moves former GM Paul Fenton was allowed to make before he was fired and replaced by Bill Guerin, and didn’t seem to jive with his previous moves to make the roster younger.

Minnesota is off to a dreadful start at 2-6, but did at least win their most recent game against the Montreal Canadiens. The team desperately needs more scoring, something that hopefully Zuccarello can provide now that he’s back on the ice.

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