Marcus Johansson Out Indefinitely With Lower-Body Injury
The Seattle Kraken’s inaugural season hasn’t gotten off to the smoothest start. After a handful of players hit the COVID protocol only for most of them to be cleared just before the game last night, Marcus Johansson–one of the players to be cleared and play–has suffered a lower-body injury and will be out indefinitely. Johansson has been moved to injured reserve. The team has also swapped Kole Lind and Alexander True between the AHL and NHL rosters, with the former joining the Kraken for their journey to Nashville.
Johansson played more than 16 minutes last night, actually logging the sixth-most ice time among the team’s forwards. Now that he’s out, the team will have to reorganize their lines and find another option for the powerplay. The 31-year-old forward signed a one-year, $1.5MM deal with the Kraken this offseason after a disappointing season with the Minnesota Wild, but has long been a reliable two-way option that can play up and down the lineup.
With Calle Jarnkrok still listed in the COVID protocol, Yanni Gourde still working his way back and Johansson now shelved with an injury, the team is already getting thin on capable NHL forwards. This is the difficult part about having only a partial minor league affiliate, as the Kraken only actually have five forwards (not including Lind) in the AHL to draw from, meaning a rash of injuries could put them in a very tough spot. For now, things can be handled with a few recalls, but if many more serious injuries happen look for the Kraken to make a waiver claim, trade, or free agent signing to add to the group. Alex Barre-Boulet, exactly that kind of addition, was not active for last night’s game but could make his Seattle debut in the coming days now that there is another open spot.
Five Kraken Players In COVID Protocol
Oct 12: Johansson has been cleared and can play tonight, but Hakstol told reporters including Clark that Jarnkrok, McCann, Oleksiak and Donskoi are all still unavailable. The lineup is a “work in progress” for the Kraken.
Oct 11: Just after the Vegas Golden Knights announced that Mattias Janmark is in the COVID protocol, their opponent for tomorrow night had some even worse news. Seattle Kraken head coach Dave Hakstol told reporters including Ryan S. Clark of The Athletic that Calle Jarnkrok, Marcus Johansson, Jared McCann, Jamie Oleksiak and Joonas Donskoi are all in the COVID protocol.
Just like with Janmark, it is important to remember that inclusion in the protocol 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 COVID Protocol Related Absences list–which actually won’t be released for the first time until tomorrow–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.
Still, this is troubling news for a Kraken team that is expected to play the first game in franchise history tomorrow. Clark notes that the team is trying to get Alex Barre-Boulet, claimed off waivers today from the Tampa Bay Lightning to Vegas in time to play tomorrow night for the Kraken. Losing Jarnkrok, Johansson, McCann and Donskoi from the forward group is taking a huge chunk of the team’s offensive potential off the ice, though it is not confirmed yet if all of them will miss tomorrow’s game.
The team will have to make some adjustments to the roster before today’s deadline, not exactly the start that GM Ron Francis was likely hoping for as the Kraken get ready to take the ice for the first time.
Seattle Kraken Sign Marcus Johansson
The Seattle Kraken have added another top-nine forward, signing Marcus Johansson to a one-year, $1.5MM contract. The unrestricted free agent joins the expansion team after one year with the Minnesota Wild. Kraken GM Ron Francis released a short statement:
Marcus plays a fast game and brings us another veteran presence with a significant amount of playoff experience. His speed, skill and versatility will help our forward group.
Johansson, 30, was one of the few proven players left in free agency, even if he is coming off a poor year in Minnesota. The veteran forward has played nearly 700 regular season games in the NHL and has twice broken the 20-goal mark. This season with the Wild he recorded just six goals and 14 points in 36 games, but he has been valued for his versatility and two-way play in the past.
Things haven’t gone that well since he left the Washington Capitals organization in 2017 though. Johansson was traded to the New Jersey Devils for two relatively high draft picks, and immediately ran into injury trouble. He’d play just 29 games in the 2017-18 season, redirecting 14 points. The next season was better, but he’d be flipped to the Boston Bruins at the deadline when New Jersey was out of it. It’s in Boston where he flashed his high ceiling again, recording 11 points in 22 playoff games. That postseason performance landed him a two-year, $9MM contract from the Buffalo Sabres, which–perhaps unsurprisingly because of the struggles Buffalo has endured–didn’t go well.
Now on a one-year deal at a low cost, Johansson bears all the markings of a potential bounce-back player. There will be plenty of opportunities for offensive minutes in Seattle and he’s still young enough to take advantage of them. The fact that he has experience at all three forward positions will only help head coach Dave Hakstol as he’s filling out a lineup card, which will likely always have Johansson’s name somewhere on it.
The Kraken still have plenty of cap space to spend and this is exactly the type of chance they should be taking. Even if the team struggles to put it all together in year one, players like Johansson can be easily flipped at the trade deadline for a future asset.
Marcus Johansson Suffers Broken Arm
The Minnesota Wild will be without Marcus Johansson for the rest of the playoffs after he broke his arm in last night’s loss. Head coach Dean Evason told reporters including Sarah McLellan of the Star-Tribune about the injury today after Johansson crashed into the net and was forced from the game.
Though he hadn’t been much of a scoring threat this season, Johansson was still playing a substantial role for the Wild, averaging nearly 17 minutes through the first two games of the series against the Vegas Golden Knights. This year the 30-year-old forward had six goals and 14 points in 36 games and contributed on both the powerplay and penalty kill.
Immediately, the fact that Zach Parise has been a scratch through the first part of the series comes to mind. The veteran forward has been such a big part of the Wild for so long that it’s hard to see him pushed to the sidelines, but Evason wouldn’t commit to whether or not he will come in for Johansson. The team also does have the interesting option of someone like Matthew Boldy, the 20-year-old phenom who scored 18 points in 14 AHL games after signing out of Boston College. Boldy has exactly zero NHL experience, but could potentially give the Wild a shot in the arm as they try to even the series on Saturday night.
Minnesota Wild Activate Marcus Johansson From Injured Reserve
The Minnesota Wild are suddenly must-see television after adding Kirill Kaprizov, arguably the most exciting player in franchise history. With a record of 18-10-1 it’s not just Kaprizov that should be drawing your attention though, the entire Wild roster seems energized and competitive. Today, they’ll get back another important piece, activating Marcus Johansson from injured reserve.
Johansson, 30, is on the second season of a two-year, $9MM contract signed with the Buffalo Sabres in 2019 but has been out for weeks with an upper-body injury. He has missed Minnesota’s last 16 games and has suited up just 11 times this season. Despite his regular season struggles the last two years, Johansson showed exactly what he was capable of with the Boston Bruins in the 2019 playoffs, routinely being one of the team’s best players and recording 11 points in 22 games.
It’s that postseason performance that should excite fans of the Wild, given how that wasn’t the only time Johansson has gone past the first round of the playoffs. That’s something Minnesota hasn’t accomplished since 2015 and the team hasn’t gone past the second round since 2003. If this team is to change that trend, they’ll need Johansson firing on all cylinders and making his $4.5MM cap hit a worthwhile investment. If he’s not playing up to that level, perhaps his expiring contract could be one shipped out to open up room for a different addition.
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)
Four Minnesota Wild Players Return From COVID Protocol List
The Minnesota Wild were cleared a couple days ago to return to team activities and look ready to resume their season on Tuesday against Los Angeles. Now the team announced that it has gotten back four of its players off the COVID protocol list, including forwards Nick Bjugstad, Joel Eriksson Ek and Marcus Johansson as well as defenseman Jared Spurgeon.
All four players were on the list since Feb. 3. The team had 13 players on the list as of two days ago, so the team needed some of them back soon if they want to have a competitive team. The Wild last played on Feb. 2, falling to Colorado in a 2-1 loss.
Eriksson Ek finally looks to have turned a corner in his fourth full season with the Wild. He posted career highs a year go with eight goals and 29 points, but it looks like he’s figured things out with five goals and nine points in nine games so far this year. Bjugstad, acquired for a conditional seventh-round pick at a bargain rate from Pittsburgh during the offseason, has found a full-time role with the team, playing in 11 games and scoring two goals and three points in a bottom-six role. Johansson, also acquired this offseason in a swap with Buffalo for Eric Staal, has two goals and three points in nine games.
The biggest return will be the team’s captain in Spurgeon. who is averaging 22:13 of ATOI this season and will be key heading up the team’s blueline. Of course, Spurgeon and Johansson are still dealing with upper-body injuries that could keep them out of the lineup for a few days still, according to Sarah McLellan of the Star Tribune.
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
COVID Protocol Related Absences: 02/10/21
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 Los Angeles is 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
Colorado – Samuel Girard, Tyson Jost, Gabriel Landeskog
Los Angeles – Andreas Athanasiou, Blake Lizotte
Minnesota – Nick Bjugstad, Nick Bonino, Jonas Brodin, Ian Cole, Joel Eriksson Ek, Marcus Foligno, Brad Hunt, Marcus Johansson, Carson Soucy, Jared Spurgeon, Nico Sturm, Cam Talbot, Victor Rask*
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, Yegor Sharangovich, Ty Smith, Matt Tennyson, Sami Vatanen, Travis Zajac
Philadelphia – Justin Braun, Claude Giroux, Travis Sanheim
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: Lucas Wallmark, Chicago Blackhawks; Kyle Palmieri, New Jersey Devils; Pavel Zacha, New Jersey Devils
Nosek has been added today after being removed from the third period of last night’s game against the Ducks. The league has issued a statement regarding the situation:
The National Hockey League announced today that, immediately upon notification that one of its Players had returned a positive test for COVID-19, the Vegas Golden Knights removed forward Tomas Nosek from Tuesday night’s game vs. Anaheim, in precise accordance with the terms of the League’s COVID Protocol. Nosek was immediately isolated from his teammates and close contact tracing was begun, also in accordance with the Protocol.
Tomorrow night’s game in Las Vegas between the Golden Knights and Ducks remains scheduled to be played at 10 p.m. ET/7 p.m. PT. Rapid PCR Point of Care tests will be administered to all Players and staff on both teams in advance of that game (in addition to the daily lab-based PCR testing) and any decision regarding potential postponement will be made by the League’s, NHLPA’s and Clubs’ medical officials, following all COVID Protocols and local and federal regulations.
The Devils had two players removed today, a good sign that they are heading towards a resumption of play eventually. The team is still currently shutdown while they deal with the situation.
*denotes new addition
COVID Protocol Related Absences: 02/09/21
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 Los Angeles is 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
Los Angeles – TBA
Minnesota – Nick Bjugstad, Nick Bonino, Ian Cole, Joel Eriksson Ek, Marcus Foligno, Brad Hunt, Marcus Johansson, Carson Soucy, Jared Spurgeon, Nico Sturm, Cam Talbot*, Jonas Brodin*
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, Yegor Sharangovich, Ty Smith, Matt Tennyson, Sami Vatanen, Pavel Zacha, Travis Zajac
Philadelphia – Travis Sanheim, Justin Braun*, Claude Giroux*
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: Victor Rask, Minnesota Wild; Alex Pietrangelo, Vegas Golden Knights; Jakub Vrana, Washington Capitals
The big news today is the addition of Braun and Giroux, leading to the postponement of tonight’s Philadelphia Flyers game. The league is continuing to monitor the situation to see if any further postponements are needed.
Minnesota also has two new additions as the virus continues “creeping through the team.” Their season is still on pause as they sort through this outbreak, which now has a total of 12 players in the protocol.
*denotes new addition