Artemi Panarin Enters COVID Protocol
Shortly ahead of their matinee game Sunday against Tampa Bay, New York Rangers forward Artemi Panarin entered the NHL’s COVID-19 protocol along with assistant coach Mike Kelly, according to the team. In a corresponding move, the team recalled forward Morgan Barron from the taxi squad to have an extra forward on the active roster.
The 30-year-old Panarin has 10 goals and 26 assists through 31 games this year to lead the team in points. It will be just his second missed game of the season.
Panarin played the Rangers’ two post-holiday break games after leaving the team’s December 15 game against Arizona with an undisclosed injury.
If Panarin is out for the five-day quarantine period, then he’ll miss three games. He could return January 8 against Anaheim, missing games against Tampa Bay, Edmonton, and Vegas.
New York Rangers Recall Morgan Barron
A simple recall of a forward is not usually important news, but for the New York Rangers today, it could reveal more about a different top prospect. The team has recalled Morgan Barron from the Hartford Wolf Pack, moving Kaapo Kakko to injured reserve with an upper-body injury.
Baron’s recall is not really surprising. The 22-year-old has come a long way since being a sixth-round pick in 2017 and was already on the fringe of making the roster out of camp. The 6’4″ forward played five games for the Rangers last season, scoring his first NHL goal. He has two goals in his first two AHL games of this season, continuing to show that he can be a dominant force at that level.
It’s the fact that the spot didn’t go to Vitali Kravtsov that is the headline here, as the disgruntled forward remains in limbo. Refusing an assignment to the AHL, Kravtsov and his representatives have been given permission to seek a trade. Last night on Hockey Night In Canada, Sportsnet’s Elliotte Friedman updated the situation:
I understand the Rangers have asked him ‘would you like to go to AHL Hartford and work your way back up?’ Kaapo Kakko got hurt tonight. At this point in time he hasn’t agreed, I don’t know if he will, but the offer is out there for him to return.
Russ Cohen of Sportsology reports that Kravtsov is back in Chelyabinsk and was at the Traktor-Dynamo game today. Cohen adds that he’s been told there are five NHL teams interested.
Meanwhile, Kakko will miss at least seven days after being placed on injured reserve, but no definite timeline has been released for his potential return. Head coach Gerard Gallant called him “day-to-day” after the game, but there has been no update other than the IR placement since.