Deadline Notes: Chychrun, Marino, Klingberg, Georgiev
The Arizona Coyotes announced that defenseman Jakob Chychrun would not return for the Coyotes tonight after suffering a lower-body injury against the Boston Bruins. Interestingly, this was Chychrun’s second trip to the dressing room of the evening, after leaving the ice earlier in the game and returning, before taking a hit from Boston’s Derek Forbort. As a result of the hit, Chychrun fell awkwardly into the boards.
The injury carries multiple layers of concern for the Coyoytes. While the team is first and foremost concerned with the health of Chychrun, he is one of Arizona’s most important players. It’s also no secret that Chychrun’s name has been front and center among potential trade bait as the NHL’s trade deadline nears, and any long-term injury to Chychrun could drastically affect his market.
- In the 32 Thoughts segment of Hockey Night in Canada, Sportsnet’s Elliotte Friedman added another interesting name to the trade deadline discussion: John Marino. Friedman mentions Marino as a potential option for the Vancouver Canucks, who are searching for an impact defenseman. Friedman adds, however, that the Pittsburgh Penguins very much like Marino and would certainly prefer to keep him. The idea of trading Marino might seem misplaced, especially with the Penguins sitting in second place in the Metropolitan Division, however Vancouver could utilize one of their forward assets such as J.T. Miller or Brock Boeser to try and acquire Marino from Pittsburgh. Even if the young defenseman could bring the Penguins a player like Boeser, Marino is signed through the 2026-27 season at a very reasonable $4.4MM per season, something the salary-cap-mindful Penguins may not want to part with.
- Joining Friedman on Hockey Night in Canada was Sportsnet’s Jeff Marek, who took a name out of the deadline conversation: John Klingberg. Marek mentions that with Miro Heiskanen expected to miss time with mononucleosis, Klingberg may now be more valuable to the Stars than what they could get back for him. Rumors had started to circulate around Klingberg as a potential trade chip when it appeared the Stars would not be able to re-sign the pending UFA. While the talented defenseman would likely bring back a large return for Dallas, the team is in the midst of a playoff push and could use Klingberg for its own benefit. Even if Klingberg leaves via free agency in the summer, he could function as a rental for Dallas, who may have sought to replace him anyways if they were to trade him away. With nine days to go until the NHL’s trade deadline, things can surely change, but for now, it appears Klingberg is staying put.
- ESPN’s Emily Kaplan reports that New York Rangers’ goaltender Alexandar Georgiev has switched agents ahead of the trade deadline. Georgiev is now represented by Gerry Johannson of TSC Hockey. It is not immediately clear why Georgiev changed his representation, but the switch is noteworthy considering Georgiev is one of the more likely names to be moved ahead of the trade deadline.
Anaheim Ducks Prefer To Re-Sign UFAs
9:15 pm: In his 32 Thoughts segment on Hockey Night in Canada Saturday evening, Elliotte Friedman reiterated the Anaheim Ducks desire to extend Hampus Lindholm if possible. However, he notes that the organization has expressed concern regarding the potential term of a Lindholm extension.
6:41 pm: With the trade deadline soon approaching, and the Anaheim Ducks on the outside looking in of the Western Conference playoff picture, speculation about the Ducks trade chips has started to heat up. Elliott Teaford of The Orange County Register reports that Ducks’ General Manager Pat Verbeek made clear to season ticket holders yesterday that his primary intention was to re-sign his impending unrestricted free agents, including defensemen Hampus Lindholm and Josh Manson, and forward Rickard Rakell.
Verbeek had stated at an event for season-ticket holders that while he is working on extending those players, he would look to trade them if he did not believe he could extend them. Verbeek’s primary concern, he said, would be allowing those players to leave in free agency, not having gotten something back for them, or of course re-signing them. Teaford also added that while Verbeek mentioned having ongoing discussions with Lindholm on an extension, he did not mention any of the Ducks’ other unrestricted free agents by name.
If the Ducks do choose to re-sign the trio of Lindholm, Manson, or Rakell, it could come at a high cost. Lindholm is currently in the final year of a six-year, $31.5MM contract he signed with the Ducks in 2016, carrying a cap hit just north of $5.2MM. Lindholm has been one of the Ducks’ best defensemen the past few seasons, even during some lean years in Anaheim. This season, Lindholm has put up 20 points in 53 games, and is second on the team to Cam Fowler in average time-on-ice at 22:43 per game. Lindholm is expected to received a fairly significant raise over his $5.2M cap hit, however if he is dealt, the price for the 27-year-old could be rather significant as well.
Manson is in the final year of a four year, $16.4MM contract he signed with the Ducks in 2017, a contract which has seen Manson emerge as a sturdy, reliable defender for the Ducks through their rebuild. Manson could expect a similar contract this offseason, however a veteran, right-handed, shutdown defenseman like Manson could certainly be a valuable asset to sell on the trade deadline market.
Rakell has been a name mentioned in recent rumors and by Teaford here as well. The forward could be an intriguing name on the deadline market, as a proven point-producer carrying a cap hit just below $3.8MM. However, he may be a player the Ducks could look to extend at a reasonable cost. Rakell is in the final year of a six-year, $22.8MM contract he signed in the fall of 2016, before he began to truly break-out for Anaheim. However, Rakell’s production has dissipated since his stellar 34 goal, 35 assist 2017-18 season. While Rakell is almost certainly due a raise this time around, he may be a player the Ducks could keep at a fair price for a proven scoring touch.
In addition to this trio, the Ducks unrestricted free agents also include Ryan Getzlaf, Sam Carrick, and Nicolas Deslauriers.
AHL Shuffle: 03/05/22
It is a busy Saturday across the NHL with 10 games on the docket over the course of 12+ hours. The St. Louis Blues and New York Islanders kick things off at 11:30am CT, followed by at least one game starting nearly every hour from 2:00pm CT until the Calgary Flames and Colorado Avalanche square off in one of the most highly-anticipated match-ups of the season thus far at 9:00pm CT. If all of these teams aren’t too busy preparing and the other dozen not playing aren’t too busy themselves watching all the action, perhaps we will see some roster movement today.
Atlantic Division
Metropolitan Division
- The Columbus Blue Jackets have demoted defenseman Jake Christiansen, a player who has been up and down regularly this season. The team announced that Christiansen has been reassigned to the AHL’s Cleveland Monsters, where he has played in 39 games this year. While he has only suited up for four with the Blue Jackets, Christiansen has spent considerable time on the NHL roster.
- Kevin Hayes is back with the Philadelphia Flyers. The veteran center has been out since mid-January after undergoing surgery and his recovery exceeded the expected three-to-four week projection. However, he has finally been activated from the injured reserve. Philadelphia may not have many playoff hopes left this season, but will be glad to have a locker room leader back. The timing is poor for Wade Allison, who has also been activated from the IR but with Hayes taking the open NHL roster spot, Allison will head to the AHL’s Lehigh Valley Phantoms. Allison suffered a knee injury in his season debut back in January and has been out ever since, but certainly hoped to return to the Flyers lineup after playing in 14 games as a rookie last season.
- The New York Islanders recalled two players in time for their game against the St. Louis Blues earlier today, a 2-1 win for New York. Forward Otto Koivula was recalled from Bridgeport and played in the game for the Islanders, who were without forwards Mathew Barzal and Anders Lee. This was just Kiovula’s fourth game of the season, last playing December 2nd for the Islanders. Defenseman Parker Wotherspoon was also recalled from Bridgeport, but was immediately sent back down after the game. Wotherspoon has yet to make his NHL debut, but has been a solid contributor for Bridgeport the past few seasons.
- The Carolina Hurricanes recalled goaltender Alex Lyon from the AHL’s Chicago Wolves on an emergency basis. The 29-year-old Lyon has only played in two games this year for Carolina, but has had an impressive 23 games in the AHL, carrying a 2.14 goals against average and .911 save percentage. Lyon’s emergency recall suggests that one of Antti Raanta or Frederik Andersen are unable to go for Carolina tomorrow night.
Central Division
Pacific Division
- The Edmonton Oilers recalled defenseman Philip Broberg from the Bakersfield Condors of the AHL. Broberg was immediately inserted into the Oilers lineup as they square off against the Montreal Canadiens at home. The 20-year-old Broberg has just one point in 17 games this season for Edmonton, but has excelled in the AHL, tallying 19 points in 27 games.
Panthers, Ducks Announce More COVID Protocol Additions
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.
NHL Postpones Detroit/Anaheim Game To Sunday
3:55 pm: The Anaheim Ducks added defenseman Hampus Lindholm and forward Vinni Lettieri to COVID protocol. With the announcement coming so quickly, it was likely the motivator behind tonight’s postponement.
3:50 pm: The NHL has postponed tonight’s game between the Detroit Red Wings and Anaheim Ducks to Sunday, January 9 at 7:00 PM CT.
In the statement, the league says the game was postponed due to COVID issues affecting Anaheim. Currently, the team has five players in COVID protocol – goalie John Gibson and forwards Ryan Getzlaf, Derek Grant, Sam Carrick, and Nicolas Deslauriers.
Trevor Zegras was previously in COVID protocol but was activated from the list today. However, after just one morning skate, he wasn’t going to play in tonight’s game as originally scheduled.
The postponement gives Anaheim a chance to regroup. Getzlaf was placed in protocol on January 2 and could be available by then. Gibson entered today, however, and likely won’t be available for that game.
Snapshots: Paquette, Zuccarello, Canadiens Quarantine
The Montreal Canadiens are absolutely ravaged at the moment by injuries and COVID, and bad turned to worse today when forward Cedric Paquette didn’t finish Saturday’s game against the Florida Panthers due to a neck injury, per TVA’s Renaud Lavoie. Montreal dressed just 11 forwards and five defensemen for that game, a 5-2 loss. They had just three players dressed with a cap hit greater than $1MM, with the majority of their lineup filled out by rookies and AHL call-ups. Paquette played a third-line role, centering Lukas Vejdemo and Alex Belzile. Paquette’s only played in 18 games this season, missing some time due to injury and suspension, but he only has one assist while averaging 9:11 per game. More injury news is certainly concerning for the 28-year-old Paquette, who signed a one-year deal with Montreal this offseason.
More notes from around the league on the first day of 2022:
- With the Minnesota Wild missing captain Jared Spurgeon from tonight’s Winter Classic due to a lower-body injury, The Athletic’s Michael Russo tweets that right wing Mats Zuccarello will serve as the third alternate captain for the outdoor spectacle. Matt Dumba and Marcus Foligno are healthy and will serve as the other two alternates, as per usual. Zuccarello fought back from an early-season injury to have one of the most productive starts of his career, posting 24 points through 24 games. The Norwegian winger will likely reprise his role on the team’s top line, playing alongside Kirill Kaprizov and Ryan Hartman.
- The Canadiens aren’t playing again until January 12th at the earliest as their entire upcoming four-game homestand is postponed. The team won’t complain due to the aforementioned excessive amount of lineup absences, but now, head coach Dominique Ducharme says that a five-day quarantine for the entire team upon their return to Montreal is possible and will be discussed. While it won’t affect their playing schedule, it could give a chance for players to stay healthy and help their lineup get back to having experienced NHLers in the mix.
- UPDATE: the Canadiens and Laval Rocket have officially paused all team activities through January 6, following up on Ducharme’s statement from earlier.
Filip Zadina Placed In COVID Protocol
The Detroit Red Wings placed forward Filip Zadina in COVID-19 protocol prior to their game Saturday against New Jersey, per a team tweet.
In his absence, the team will dress 11 forwards and seven defensemen.
Zadina has just four goals and six assists in 30 games this year but is shooting at an uncharacteristically low 5.6% rate. The 22-year-old forward is still developing and is expected to be a big part of this Detroit team in the future as they regain relevancy.
With Zadina out, Detroit now has six players on the COVID list — forwards Carter Rowney, Givani Smith, Michael Rasmussen, and Robby Fabbri, as well as netminder Alex Nedeljkovic.
The team was already stretched thin at the forward position with Taro Hirose and Riley Barber making their season debuts tonight.
Team Canada’s Alex Pietrangelo Uncertain About Olympic Participation
In a piece by David Schoen of the Las Vegas-Review Journal, Vegas Golden Knights defenseman Alex Pietrangelo, who was one of the three players initially named to Team Canada’s roster for the 2022 Winter Olympics, now says he’s uncertain if he’ll participate in the Games.
Pietrangelo’s concerns come after the International Olympic Committee confirmed a three-to-five-week quarantine period for a positive COVID-19 test. As Pietrangelo notes in the Schoen report, he has a young family and multiple kids and, understandably, doesn’t want to risk being away from his family for that long.
It’s a recent memory for a lot of NHLers, who were forced into a similar situation for the bubble-style 2020 Stanley Cup Playoffs. After the fact, many players expressed concerns and regrets about being away from their families for such a long length of time.
If he does proceed to opt-out, Pietrangelo would be the first confirmed member of an Olympic roster to do. Golden Knight teammate Robin Lehner said publicly last week that he wouldn’t be attending, but was not one of the first three players named to his native Sweden’s Olympic roster.
Obviously, losing a player of Pietrangelo’s caliber won’t be great for Team Canada. However, assuming they still have a large pool of NHLers to select from, they still prove to have the most dynamic puck-moving group of defensemen in the tournament.
Pietrangelo is third on the Golden Knights with 18 points in 26 games this season.
Latest On NHL Olympic Participation
The opening ceremony for the 2022 Winter Olympics in Beijing, China, is now just under two months away.
Yet it’s still not clear whether or not NHL players will be a part of the multi-week-long tournament, with the possibility of the league missing two straight Winter Olympics looming large. Information provided Saturday by the International Olympic Committee provided some more clarity on the situation, for better or for worse.
The key portion of all of it, summarized in this Twitter thread by TSN’s Chris Johnston, is the official word on the quarantine regulations if an athlete does test positive for COVID-19 while in China. Any positive test will yield an automatic quarantine that can last between three and five weeks. While players can test negative twice within a 24-hour span to exit protocol, similar to NHL guidelines, this is only applicable in China after the mandatory minimum 21-day quarantine.
That poses some serious issues for a variety of reasons. For one, if a player tests positive, they won’t get a chance to rejoin their team for the rest of the tournament as the quarantine period is simply too long. It’s also a giant question mark for players financially, especially if they test positive near the end of the tournament, as Johnston notes that teams aren’t required to pay players if they miss time on the other side of the Olympic break. However, a joint call between the IOC, IIHF, NHL, and NHLPA is expected soon to “review these matters,” per Johnston.
It’s a lot of food for thought for players, and the league is now making it clear that it will be entirely the players’ choice on whether they go, with deputy commissioner Bill Daly stating that “[he doesn’t] anticipate being on a different page than the players’ association on these issues.”
There are two paths in that regard. Players could just individually opt-out of playing in Beijing, something Vegas Golden Knights netminder Robin Lehner already did, justifiably citing mental health reasons. However, the possibility remains that the players could collectively elect to not attend the Olympics, marking the second straight Winter Games without an NHL presence.
While it was previously believed that the NHL had a strict deadline of January 10, 2022, to decide on their Olympic participation, it’s now clear, per Johnston, that it’s only a soft deadline. The NHL can opt-out after that point, but will incur financial penalties if they do so.
Gary Bettman: Olympic Participation “Ultimately A Players’ Decision”
The NHL has more than a few concerns about participating in the upcoming Winter Olympics in Beijing, China. Speaking with the media, including CBC’s Joshua Clipperton, following the conclusion of Friday’s Board of Governors meeting, Commissioner Gary Bettman didn’t shy away from expressing his hesitations either:
We have real concerns on a whole host of issues… We have concerns, and we’ve expressed those to the players’ association… Our concerns have only been magnified… I actually find it difficult to believe that a player would want to go…. I don’t think that this is going to be the ideal Olympic experience in terms of the lockdowns in the Olympic Village and everything else that’s going on.
The league’s apprehension is based mostly on the continued issues with the spread of the Coronavirus, not only across the league but on a global basis, China included. The NHL has seen the majority of its teams impacted by COVID-19 already this season, including at the cost of some games. Olympic participation would mean sending its biggest stars off, out of the protection of the league’s protocols and to the origin point of the virus and to protocols that have yet to be finalized and announced. In that same vein, Bettman discussed the possibility that China could mandate a three-week quarantine for any athletes who test positive for COVID and stated that he would be surprised if any NHLer would risk an additional three weeks in the country in order to play at the Olympics. Beyond the COVID conversation, there are also a number of political red flags as the governments of both Canada and the United States have become more vocal of late about the human rights violations taking place in China.
Yet, with all that said, Bettman is standing by his word. Barring a joint decision between the NHL and NHLPA – with Deputy Commissioner Bill Daly stating his expectation that the two sides would be on the same page should it reach this point – to disallow participation, the final decision will lie with the players themselves:
We made a promise to the players, and I’m going, to the best of our ability, adhere to it, understanding that there may be consequences that nobody’s gonna like… It’s not like we haven’t expressed our concerns. But in the final analysis, subject to some caveats, with all of the issues that are being raised… the players, for the most part, seem to continue to be saying they want to go… ultimately, this is going to have to be a players’ decision.
A return to the Olympics was in fact collectively bargained when the NHL and NHLPA agreed to a new CBA last year. The players have right to compete for gold if they so choose, though it is obvious that the league would rather they not. Bettman does note that more players have expressed their concerns of late, but will it be enough? That remains to be seen with time ticking away before the opt-out deadline of January 10 and the opening of the tournament in two months.