COVID Protocol Related Absences: 04/03/21
Each day, the NHL will publicly release the list of players that are unavailable to their respective teams due to being in COVID-19 Protocol. Here is the list for today:
Boston – Jake DeBrusk
Dallas – Anton Khudobin*
Los Angeles – Brendan Lemieux, Matt Roy*
Montreal – Joel Armia, Eric Staal
Ottawa – Jacob Bernard-Docker*, Shane Pinto*
Vancouver – Alexander Edler, Adam Gaudette, Travis Hamonic, Braden Holtby, Quinn Hughes, Zack MacEwen, Antoine Roussel, Travis Boyd*, Thatcher Demko*, Jayce Hawryluk*, Bo Horvat*, Tyler Motte*, Tyler Myers*, Brandon Sutter*
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: Brandon Hagel, Chicago Blackhawks; Zach Parise, Minnesota Wild
It’s another brutal day for the Canucks, who are up to 14 players now after several more positive test results. As Pierre LeBrun of The Athletic points out, even that number doesn’t include the taxi squad player and three coaches that have also tested positive. Team activities are currently shutdown through April 6, but that certainly seems optimistic at this point. The Canucks next game, scheduled for April 8, is obviously up in the air at this point with so many of their players in the protocol.
Hagel comes off after just one day, but there are a few other new names today including Khudobin, who tested positive for the coronavirus in the offseason. The two young Ottawa players are in the protocol after traveling from the U.S. following their college seasons.
*denotes new addition
Los Angeles Kings Sign Matt Roy To Three-Year Extension
The Los Angeles Kings announced they have signed defenseman Matt Roy to a significant raise as the team has extended him for three more years. The deal is worth $9.45MM with a $3.15MM AAV. Roy was going to be a restricted free agent at the end of this season.
The terms of the deal (via TSN’s Pierre LeBrun):
2021-22: $2MM
2022-23: $3.25MM
2023-24: $4.2MM
The 26-year-old was making just $700K this year, the last year of his two-year bridge deal he signed in 2019. By signing a three-year pact, the Kings bought out two UFA years, hence the significant raise.
Roy is the ultimate success story.
Drafted in the seventh round in the 2015 draft after his freshman year at Michigan Tech, Roy had two more positive seasons in college before signing with the Kings at the end of the 2017. He played two seasons with the Ontario Reign in the AHL before earning a promotion to Los Angeles late in 2019. He played 25 games for the Kings that year and earned himself a full-time role immediately. Roy finished last season with four goals and 18 points, but more importantly carried a plus-16 rating on a weak L.A. team. This year, Roy has seven assists in 24 games along with a plus-two rating, while averaging 19:16 in ice time, third among Kings’ defensemen behind Drew Doughty and Michael Anderson.