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Panthers, Ducks Announce More COVID Protocol Additions

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The Florida Panthers will not have Patric Hornqvist in the lineup this evening when they take on the Carolina Hurricanes, as he has entered the COVID protocol. Hornqvist joins Mason Marchment, Sam Reinhart, and Spencer Knight, stealing quite a few important names from the team’s regular roster.

The Panthers, among the league’s elite teams so far this season, lost their last game against the Dallas Stars in a shootout and have now called two points behind the Tampa Bay Lightning for first place in the Atlantic Division. The team is not only without these key players due to COVID-related absences, but also names like Sam Bennett due to a suspension and Markus Nutivaara due to injury. Despite that, they will need to try to take down the red hot Metropolitan-leading Hurricanes.

Lucas Carlsson and Aleksi Heponiemi will both enter the lineup tonight, while Sergei Bobrovsky will take the net again, his fifth start since returning from the holiday break.

In Anaheim, the Ducks are facing their own COVID absences. Vinni Lettieri is the latest addition to the protocol, where he will join John Gibson, Hampus Lindholm, Derek Grant, and Sam Carrick. Ryan Getzlaf has technically left the protocol, but he’ll also miss tonight’s game against the New York Rangers as the team gets him back up to speed.

The Ducks have recalled five players ahead of the game. Benoit-Olivier Groulx, Jacob Perreault, Buddy Robinson, Greg Pateryn, and Lukas Dostal are all up from the San Diego Gulls. Perreault, still just 19, would be making his NHL debut when he hits the ice tonight (he is expected to play with Trevor Zegras and Sonny Milano). Selected 27th overall in 2020, Perreault has 18 points in 23 games for the Gulls this season as one of the few junior-aged players eligible to play in the minor leagues. That’s thanks to the number of games he played last season–27–during the OHL’s postponed campaign. The son of longtime NHL forward Yanic Perreault, he would be the 16th player from the 2020 first round to make his debut–the second for Anaheim, after Jamie Drysdale.

Kevin Connauton, Joseph Woll Activated From Injured Reserve

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A pair of preseason injuries are no longer limiting two players that are looking to push for more NHL opportunity this season. PuckPedia reports that the Florida Panthers have activated veteran defenseman Kevin Connauton from the Season-Opening Injured Reserve and CapFriendly reports that the Toronto Maple Leafs have done the same with young goaltender Joseph Woll.

Connauton, 33, is just two years removed from being a starter for the Arizona Coyotes and the year before that set a career high with 21 points and 73 games. Yet, the past two years he has been used sparingly, to say the least. Connauton played in only four games with the Colorado Avalanche in 2019-20 and last season suited up for just seven games with the Panthers. Despite his limited NHL time of late, Florida still re-signed the experienced blue liner this summer and at least seem willing to give him a shot at a permanent job by not only activating him to the NHL roster, but making room by demoting priority NCAA free agent addition Matt Kiersted. The Cats are still only carrying seven defensemen with Markus Nutivaara currently on injured reserve, but Connauton may still have to prove he is worthy of a roster spot before Nutivaara returns. With solid depth on the blue line, recently supplemented by the acquisition of Olli Juolevi, Florida needs a reason to keep Connauton on the NHL roster and his seven games last season may not be enough. Getting healthy and back in action as quickly as he did certainly helps his case though.

Woll, 23, may ironically have a better shot at NHL opportunity this season despite having no experience in the league. The 2016 third-round pick, who was a standout at Boston College, has been with the AHL Marlies for the past two seasons and while his numbers aren’t eye-popping, his play continues to draw praise. The Toronto net is far from set and just while Woll was recovering from injury himself, the Leafs lost off-season addition Petr Mrazek to injury. Mrazek signed a three-year deal this summer, but has a history of injury issues. Current starter Jack Campbell and backup Michael Hutchinson are on expiring contracts and will be on the wrong side of 30 as they look for their next deal. Between planning for the future and managing the present, the Maple Leafs have some incentive to give Woll a look – potentially a long look – this season. Now healthy, the young keeper can settle in down in the AHL and hopefully look forward to his NHL debut sooner rather than later.

Injury Updates: Saros, Hischier, Anderson-Dolan, Panthers

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The Predators aren’t getting much good fortune on the injury front.  Just a day after losing a pair of core players to injury and Ryan Johansen to the CPRA list, Nashville is now without one of their goaltenders.  The team announced (Twitter link) that Juuse Saros is day-to-day with an upper-body injury that was sustained in yesterday’s game in a collision with Nino Niederreiter, one that netted the winger a fine.  Saros earned the starting role last season but has struggled this year, posting a .895 SV%, the lowest of his career.  Veteran Pekka Rinne has been the better goalie statistically this year and will hold down the fort while Saros is out while Kasimir Kaskisuo will likely be recalled from the taxi squad on Thursday.

Other injury news from around the NHL:

  • The Devils expect to have an update on Nico Hischier’s status over the next few days, notes Sean Farrell of the Bergen Record. The center has missed the last two games after getting hit in the face with a puck on Saturday, extending his tough luck to start the season.  While he was named captain, he has hardly played, missing time due to a leg injury sustained in offseason training as well as a stint on the CPRA list.  As a result, Hischier has played in just five games so far, collecting two goals and an assist.
  • Kings center Jaret Anderson-Dolan has resumed skating as he tries to work his way back from an upper-body injury, relays Zach Dooley of LA Kings Insider. However, head coach Todd McLellan indicated that it’s unlikely that the 21-year-old will be available for the rest of their homestand, spanning the next three games.  Anderson-Dolan was off to a strong start to his year before being injured against Arizona, collecting five points over his first six games.
  • Panthers defenseman Markus Nutivaara and winger Anthony Duclair will accompany the team on their five-game road trip, reports Jameson Olive of Florida’s team website (Twitter link), suggesting the veterans are nearing a return. Nutivaara has missed the last nine games with an upper-body injury while Duclair missed his first game Monday due to a lower-body issue but it appears he won’t be out for long.

COVID Protocol Related Absences: 01/18/21

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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 early game between Detroit and Columbus has a few players held out, but the full list will be updated later this evening:

Carolina – Jordan Staal
Columbus – Mikko Koivu
Detroit – Adam Erne*, Robby Fabbri*
Florida – Juho Lammikko*, Markus Nutivaara*
Minnesota – Alex Stalock
Nashville – Mikael Granlund
New Jersey – Eric Comrie
Philadelphia – Shayne Gostisbehere
Tampa Bay – Blake Coleman*, Curtis McElhinney
Vancouver – Jordie Benn
Winnipeg – Anton Forsberg, Tucker Poolman

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

The big newcomer is Coleman, who has played two games for the Tampa Bay Lightning this season but now appears on the list alongside McElhinney. The Lightning don’t play until Thursday because of the rescheduled games against Dallas, so Coleman will be one to keep an eye on this week.

As has been the case so far this season, the league declined to identify anyone from Dallas and will hold off on doing so until they are able to play in their first game, now scheduled for January 22. They had a significant outbreak early in camp as 17 of the 27 players that tested positive in training camp were from the Stars.

*denotes new addition

COVID Protocol Related Absences: 01/13/21

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As reported earlier, beginning today, and each day for the remainder of the 2020-21 season, the NHL will be sharing the names of players who are “unavailable” to play or practice due to any number of factors that place them under the league’s COVID-19 Protocol. Here is the list of players for today, Wednesday, January 13:

F Lawson Crouse, Arizona Coyotes
F Karson Kuhlman, Boston Bruins
D Erik Johnson, Colorado Avalanche
F Mikko Koivu, Columbus Blue Jackets
D Christian Djoos, Detroit Red Wings
F Darren Helm, Detroit Red Wings
F Gaetan Haas, Edmonton Oilers
F James Neal, Edmonton Oilers
D Markus Nutivaara, Florida Panthers
D Kurtis MacDermid, Los Angeles Kings
G Cal Petersen, Los Angeles Kings
D Sean Walker, Los Angeles Kings
G Alex Stalock, Minnesota Wild
F Mikael Granlund, Nashville Predators
D Luca Sbisa, Nashville Predators
F Justin Richards, New York Rangers
D Shayne Gostisbehere, Philadelphia Flyers
F Kasperi Kapanen, Pittsburgh Penguins
F Maxim Letunov, San Jose Sharks
D Jordie Benn, Vancouver Canucks
F J.T. Miller, Vancouver Canucks
F Nikolaj Ehlers, Winnipeg Jets

*NOTE: The league declined to list any specific members of the Dallas Stars at this time. The team is currently recovering from an extensive breakout.

Keith Yandle Available For Trade, Will Not Play For Panthers This Season

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The Florida Panthers have made the major decision to move away from one of their veteran leaders. Appearing on TSN’s “Insider Trading”, Frank Seravalli states that the Panthers have told Keith Yandle that he is not in their plans for this season. This appears to be a mere personnel choice for Florida and new GM Bill Zito, as Seravalli reports that he has simply “fallen out of favor”.

However, Yandle’s current contract – a seven-year, $44.5MM pact with three years remaining – contains a full No-Movement Clause. He cannot be placed on waivers without his permission, nor can he be traded without approving the deal. As a result, the only plan for now appears to be making him a healthy scratch. While this will sadly mean the end of Yandle’s NHL-best 866-game “iron man” consecutive games played streak, he will still be a member of the team getting paid in full for his (lack of) services. That clearly cannot last for the Panthers.

Florida has overhauled their blue line this off-season, acquiring Radko Gudas and Markus Nutivaara and more recently claiming Gustav Forsling and Noah Juulsen off of waivers. They appear to content to move forward with this younger, new-look group. That should not however be read as an indictment of Yandle’s ability. The 34-year-old is still a very capable puck-moving defenseman who recorded 45 points in 69 games last season. In terms of per-game scoring, it was right in line with some of Yandle’s best offensive seasons. The veteran is obviously durable, but he is also consistent, good for 40+ points in each of his nine 82-game seasons.  Yandle may be just 24 games away from 1,000 for his career, but he has not lost a step.

A skilled and experienced defenseman who is respected across the league and has shown no signs of slowing down, Yandle should draw trade interest. Even in a season where money is tight and trades are expected to be scarce, the chance to bring in a reliable play-maker like Yandle should intrigue a number of teams. Due to his high salary cap hit and extended term, the Panthers may be required to take back a bad contract or eat a significant portion of Yandle’s salary. However, they have put themselves in this position by publicly moving on from a good player who is still under contract with restrictive terms, hurting their bargaining power. How this situation shakes out will be a major story in the early part of this new season.

Florida Panthers Sign Alexander Wennberg

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New Florida Panthers GM Bill Zito continues to collect players from his previous team, the Columbus Blue Jackets. After trading for Markus Nutivaara yesterday, the Panthers have now signed Alexander Wennberg, who was bought out by the Blue Jackets. TSN’s Darren Dreger reports that it is a one-year deal worth $2.25MM.

Wennberg, 26, is signing a “show me” deal in an effort to rehabilitate his value on a one-year deal in hopes of cashing in next off-season. Wennberg never lived up to the six-year, $29.4MM deal he signed in Columbus following a breakout 59-point season in 2016-17. He has recorded declining point totals in each of the past three seasons and looked more like a 20-30 point player rather than a 60+ point player. With the Blue Jackets looking to make major improvement to their roster, they opted to buyout the remaining three years of Wennberg’s contract rather than continuing to pay him to under-produce.

No one outside of Columbus knows Wennberg’s true potential better than Zito, who appears happy to give the young forward a second chance. Florida could lose free agents Mike Hoffman and Evgenii Dadonov and will need to find offense elsewhere. A change of scenery and an increased role could be all it takes to get Wennberg to display his star power once again.

The Panthers have also signed minor league forward Ryan Lomberg to a two-year, two-way deal. The salary terms have not yet been disclosed.

Florida Panthers Acquire Markus Nutivaara

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Bill Zito has grabbed one of his old players, making a trade with his former boss. The Florida Panthers have acquired Markus Nutivaara from the Columbus Blue Jackets in exchange for Cliff Pu. No other pieces are included in the deal.

In their second cap-clearing measure since acquiring and signing Max Domi, the Blue Jackets will walk away from the $2.7MM charge that Nutivaara carries over the next two seasons in what is essentially a salary dump. While Pu was once considered a top prospect, he is now 22 and played in just 14 games last season, splitting time between the AHL and ECHL. In fact, it was the second season in a row that Pu spent time in the ECHL, despite his selection in the third round back in 2016. While his career isn’t over, he’ll have to make substantial strides in the final year of his entry-level contract to even warrant a qualifying offer next offseason.

No, this is more about clearing room for the Blue Jackets, who lose a perfectly capable player in Nutivaara in order to shore up their financial situation. The 26-year-old defenseman has played in 244 games over the last four years for the Blue Jackets, recording 60 points and averaging just under 16 minutes a night. While he won’t be stepping into Florida’s top pair, Nutivaara will certainly play games for them next season. Zito knows exactly what he has here from his time with the Blue Jackets, and obviously knew he could get him for cheap as Columbus reshapes their roster.

In Florida, it certainly feels like even more changes are coming on defense after a dreadful season in their own end. Mike Matheson and Joshua Brown have already been shipped out of town in other trades, but there is still work to be done if things are to look drastically different when the 2020-21 season begins. Keith Yandle and Anton Stralman are now both 34 and on expensive deals, while the team only actually has five four defensemen on one-way contracts. With plenty of cap space to work with, Zito will be able to put his stamp on this team quickly.

Columbus Blue Jackets Eyeing Big Splash This Off-Season

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Last off-season, no team took a bigger hit than the Columbus Blue Jackets. The club lost two of their franchise stars in forward Artemi Panarin and goaltender Sergei Bobrovsky to free agency, along with expensive rental forwards Matt Duchene and Ryan Dzingel. Panarin, Bobrovsky, and Duchene were in fact the three largest UFA contracts handed out last summer. No one expected the Blue Jackets to be able to rebound from those losses, but one year later the team knocked out a talented Toronto Maple Leafs team in the qualifying round and gave the Tampa Bay Lightning, one of the NHL’s best, a run for their money in the the first round.

Columbus showed that they still have what it takes to be a contender even with last year’s major losses. The team has discovered not one but two reliable options in net, has one of the top defensive pairs in the league and solid depth behind them, and a mix of youth, experience, skill, and grit up front. If there is one thing that the Blue Jackets still lack, it is what they lost in Panarin and Duchene: elite top-six forwards. While the team has a number of young players who may grow into that role, the club does not appear content to sit in wait, instead hoping to take action this off-season. The Athletic’s Aaron Portzline writes that whispers out of the organization is that GM Jarmo Kekalainen is preparing to add at least one if not two high-skill forwards this off-season, with a bona fide top-six center as the priority.

On the surface, this plan makes perfect sense. Portzline notes the Blue Jackets ranked second-to-last in forward scoring this season, which undoubtedly was partially the result of a rash of injuries up front but is still an indictment of the forward corps’ ability to produce. The team also has roughly $68MM committed to 20 players who were regular players this season with just a few restricted free agents to take care of, so there could be cap space to spare on the free agent market.

However, adding impact forwards will be easier said than done. While Columbus has approximately $13.5MM in cap space, should they opt for long-term contracts for budding top-six center Pierre-Luc Dubois and solid young defenseman Vladislav Gavrikov, much of that space could be eaten up. On top of that, the team will have to make decisions on re-signing RFA forwards Josh Anderson and Devin Shore as well. If both return, the team will be right up against the cap ceiling without even touching the free agent market. They will also be facing a roster crunch with 17 players already signed to one-way contracts worth $1.6MM or more, including recent KHL import Mikhail Grigorenko but not any of the aforementioned RFA’s.

Even if the team does have space to explore the top names on the open market, they may find that no one fits their top-six center criteria. While the team will surely kick the tires on big names like Taylor Hall, Tyler Toffoli, Mike Hoffman, and Evgenii Dadonov, none of that group is a solution down the middle. The second tier also only offers players that are not necessarily natural centers: Mikael Granlund, Carl Soderberg, or even old friend Derick Brassard. Columbus’ best bet may be to target a younger, more moldable player with some center experience, such as Vladislav Namestnikov, Erik Haula, or Alex Galchenyuk. However, there really isn’t an ideal target to sure up the center position in the top six.

For both internal and external reasons, Kekalainen seems likely to explore the trade market in his efforts to add at least one of his target top-six forwards and most likely at center. Portzline also opines that this is a likely route and that the team could deal from their depth at forward or defense to make a deal. On the blue line in particular, the team will have eight experienced NHL defenseman once Gavrikov is re-signed and will likely have to thin that group. Portzline believes that David Savard would be the easiest to move, while talented but oft-injured Ryan Murray or useful Markus Nutivaara could also draw interest. Up front, the rights to Anderson or Shore could certainly be dealt and the team will likely dangle Alexander Wennberg again this off-season. The real question is whether the team would give up on a top young prospect like Emil Bemstrom, Alexandre Texier, or Liam Foudy. Portzline also believes that teams could come calling on goaltenders Joonas Korpisalo and Elvis Merzlikins, but dealing either one could just create another hole in the lineup.

With plenty of trade chips, the Blue Jackets could cash in on a desperate market. Given both the flat salary cap and the looming threat of the 2021 Expansion Draft, there will likely be many teams open to moving established forwards this off-season and Columbus has a much better chance of finding a true top-six center – and perhaps even another top forward – via trade. One way or another, the club has been inspired by its playoff run and has its sights set on improving immediately, so don’t be surprised to see the Blue Jackets make a big splash this summer.

Snapshots: Team Canada, Kreider, Nutivaara, Copp

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The World Junior Championships got a gold medal game to remember as Canada pulled off a big comeback victory Saturday to win the gold as Los Angeles Kings’ prospect Akil Thomas scored the go-ahead goal to give Canada a 4-3 win over Russia on Sunday.

Canada was down 3-1 to Russia in the third, but got key goals from Washington Capitals’ prospect Connor McMichael and Arizona Coyotes forward Barrett Hayton to come back and tie the game. It’s the third time in six years that Canada has won the World Championships, but the first time since 2008 that they have won the title on Europe ice. Russia finished with the silver, while Sweden topped Finland for the bronze medal earlier today.

Projected top pick in the 2020 draft, Alexis Lafreniere was named the MVP of the tournament, by the IIHF, as well as the top forward. Toronto Maple Leafs defenseman Rasmus Sandin was awarded the top defenseman award, while St. Louis prospect Joel Hofer won the top goaltender award.

  • One reason the Montreal Canadiens went through with signing forward Ilya Kovalchuk last week was that they realized they had little chance of acquiring New York Rangers forward Chris Kreider. The New York Post’s Larry Brooks notes that Kreider, who has a modified no-trade clause in which he has submitted an 11-team no-trade list, has all the Canadien teams on his list, meaning he has no interest in playing there. Kreider remains the top trade candidate at the trade deadline.
  • The Columbus Blue Jackets got some much needed depth back on their blueline as the team announced they have activated Markus Nutivaara off of injured reserve. The 25-year-old has been out since Nov. 5 when he suffered an upper-body injury and has now missed 27 games. The blueliner has two goals in 10 games this season, but should add a helping hand as the team has several defensemen on IR, including Ryan Murray, Dean Kukan and Andrew Peeke.
  • The Winnipeg Jets may have forward Andrew Copp back in the lineup as The Athletic’s Ken Weibe reports that the 25-year-old was a full participant in practice. Head coach Paul Maurice said that if he comes to the rink feeling as good as he left Sunday, that Copp should find himself back in the lineup. The forward has missed the past eight games with an upper-body injury.

 

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