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Pavel Zacha

Devils Notes: Top Draft Pick, Bratt, Zacha, Goaltending

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Devils GM Tom Fitzgerald met with reporters (video link) earlier this week and indicated that he’s open to moving their first-round pick in an effort to expedite their return to the playoffs:

I said this two drafts ago, when we had the three first-round picks, I’m open to whatever can help our team improve. If that is using a pick like that, wherever it may be, to help bring in a player that we know, and feel, will help impact the results that we are looking for, absolutely.

It has been a tough run as of late in New Jersey with the team missing the playoffs for four straight years and not recording a victory in a postseason series in the last ten seasons.  Along the way, they’ve had a pair of number one draft picks in Nico Hischier and Jack Hughes while adding Dougie Hamilton in free agency last summer.  If they truly are open to dealing away their top pick (where it falls will be known on Tuesday with the draft lottery), they should be able to land another significant addition. Sportsnet’s Jeff Marek suggests that one possibility could be Minnesota’s Kevin Fiala, who the Devils have previously expressed interest in.

More from Fitzgerald’s comments:

  • Winger Jesper Bratt highlights their list of restricted free agents and Fitzgerald indicated their intention is to work out a long-term deal with the 23-year-old. Bratt is coming off a career season where he led the Devils in scoring with 26 goals and 47 assists in 78 games, making his $2.75MM cap hit quite a bargain.  He’s owed a $3.3MM qualifying offer (120% of the AAV is lower than his $3.45MM salary this season) but also has arbitration rights.  Whether it’s a long-term contract or one awarded by an arbitrator, Bratt will be getting a significant raise for next season.
  • Another RFA of note is Pavel Zacha. The forward had a career-best 36 points in 70 games this season and is a year away from UFA eligibility.  Fitzgerald suggested that he wants “to see where some of the ducks fall on how we want to build out this team” before deciding on whether or not Zacha still fits in their plans.  The 25-year-old is subject to the old qualifying offer rules and will need to be tendered a $3MM offer to match his salary from last season to retain his rights.  If New Jersey decides to move on, Zacha could be one to watch for on the trade front in the coming weeks.
  • Fitzgerald confirmed the desire to add another NHL-quality goaltender to the ranks. Mackenzie Blackwood is currently slated as their starter and Jonathan Bernier may or may not be ready for the start of next season as he works his way back from hip surgery.  While carrying three NHL-caliber netminders isn’t something that’s appealing for most teams, New Jersey’s situation is one where going that way certainly makes a lot of sense.

Metropolitan Notes: Zacha, Hartsburg, Malkin

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The Devils are receiving some interest in forward Pavel Zacha, Sportsnet’s Elliotte Friedman reports in his latest 32 Thoughts column.  The 24-year-old is on pace for a career season offensively and has 22 points in 45 games this season while splitting time between center and the wing.  New Jersey’s top two spots down the middle are more or less set for the better part of the next decade so it’s certainly understandable why some teams may be sniffing around.  Zacha has one season of RFA eligibility remaining and will be able to file for arbitration this summer.  He’s subject to the old rule for qualifying offers which means his $3MM salary is what he’ll need to be offered to maintain his rights.

More from the Metropolitan:

  • The Blue Jackets have brought back Craig Hartsburg, he revealed in a podcast for the team’s website (audio link). Hartsburg spent parts of six seasons in Columbus over two separate stints, spending time as both an assistant coach and a scout.  Now, he’ll work with the team roughly once a month for a week at a time.  The 62-year-old has plenty of NHL coaching experience and has stints as the head coach in Chicago, Anaheim, and Ottawa in the past.
  • Penguins center Evgeni Malkin is officially listed as a game-time decision for Sunday’s game against New Jersey but he is expected to return, notes Mike DeFabo of the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette. He was placed in COVID protocol just after the All-Star break and it appears he won’t be missing any more time than the minimum five days.  Between that and injuries, the pending UFA has played in just a dozen games this season although he has been productive when he has played, notching 13 points.

New Jersey Devils Sign Kyle Shapiro To ATO

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The New Jersey Devils were in trouble when they were forced to put both Akira Schmid and Mackenzie Blackwood in the COVID protocol. The only other healthy goaltender in the entire organization was Jon Gillies. While he’ll get the start tonight, his backup will be Kyle Shapiro, who has signed an amateur tryout contract.

Shapiro, 28, is an assistant coach with the NAHL’s New Jersey Titans and serves as a regular emergency backup for the Prudential Center. He played four seasons of Division III college hockey, three of them with the University of Southern Maine and one with New England College. If forced into action, it would be his first competitive game since the 2017-18 season.

It’s not all bad news for the Devils though. The team has also activated Nathan Bastian, Andreas Johnsson, Yegor Sharangovich, and Pavel Zacha from the COVID protocol. Colton White has also been recalled from the taxi squad. All five players are available to play tonight, giving the team a little bit of a boost as they take on the New York Islanders.

Devils Issue Injury Updates On Hamilton, Hischier, Others

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After the New Jersey Devils completed their morning skate Tuesday, the team had quite a few injury updates to share.

Defenseman Dougie Hamilton will have surgery tomorrow to repair a broken jaw suffered on January 2, and he’s been moved to injured reserve. Goalie Jonathan Bernier had hip surgery yesterday and is out for the remainder of the season. Team captain Nico Hischier is out for tonight’s game against Boston with a lower-body injury, and forwards Yegor Sharangovich and Pavel Zacha entered the NHL’s COVID-19 protocol today.

Hamilton’s certainly been decent this season, his first with the Devils. Through 30 games, the free-agent acquisition has seven goals and 13 assists while logging 21:24 per game, the second-highest mark on the team behind Damon Severson.

The long-term absence of Bernier is organizationally tough to swallow, too. Bernier had been solid through 10 games with a .902 save percentage, but the injury had been bothering him intermittently throughout the season and it’s the right move to shut him down to hopefully avoid career-ending complications.

Right now, the backup role will be competed for by Akira Schmid, Jon Gillies, and Nico Daws, all of whom have played NHL games this season. Gillies will likely win the role to allow more development time for Schmid and Daws, who are both just 21 and haven’t blown the doors off in NHL action. More time in the AHL will serve them best.

Both Sharangovich and Zacha have been valuable depth pieces for New Jersey, and they’ll hopefully only be subject to the five-day quarantine and will only miss the team’s next three games. Sharangovich has seven goals and 14 points through 30 games this year, while Zacha has nine goals and 16 points through 33.

It’s hard to remember the last time that a team issued injury updates simultaneously about this many players, and it forces the Devils to make serious adjustments to their roster and their lineups. It’s a seriously tough break for a team that’s barely hanging on to their chances to make the playoffs.

COVID Protocol Related Absences: 02/13/21

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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. 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)

COVID Protocol Related Absences: 02/12/21

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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 Wild are still listed as TBA, but the rest of the list is in:

Arizona – John Hayden*
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
Detroit – Calvin Pickard*
Edmonton – Jesse Puljujarvi
Florida – Anthony Duclair
Los Angeles – Andreas Athanasiou, Blake Lizotte
Minnesota –  TBA
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, Ty Smith, Matt Tennyson, Sami Vatanen, Pavel Zacha, 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: (none)

The biggest addition here is Stamkos, who seemingly won’t be able to play in tomorrow’s game against the Panthers. Stamkos was a late scratch by the Lightning yesterday, but that was reported as injury-related. No update on his status was given this morning, but his appearance here is certainly troubling.

There are also two new names for the Flyers, including one that no hockey fan wanted to see on the CPRA list this season. Lindblom, a cancer survivor, has been added. It can’t be stressed enough that appearing here does not necessarily mean the player has tested positive for coronavirus, but everyone hoped Lindblom would avoid it entirely this season.

*denotes new addition

COVID Protocol Related Absences: 02/11/21

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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 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

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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. 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

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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. 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

COVID Protocol Related Absences: 02/08/21

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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. While Edmonton and Pittsburgh are 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
Edmonton – TBA
Los Angeles – Andreas Athanasiou, Blake Lizotte
Minnesota –  Nick Bjugstad, Nick Bonino, Ian Cole, Joel Eriksson Ek, Marcus Foligno, Brad Hunt, Marcus Johansson, Jared Spurgeon, Nico Sturm, Victor Rask*, Carson Soucy*
New Jersey – Nathan Bastian, Jesper Bratt, Eric Comrie, Nikita Gusev, Jack Hughes, Andreas Johnsson, Dmitry Kulikov, Janne Kuokkanen, Michael McLeod, Kyle Palmieri, Damon Severson, Yegor Sharangovich, Ty Smith, Matt Tennyson, Pavel Zacha, Travis Zajac,  Connor Carrick*, Nico Hischier*, Sami Vatanen*
Philadelphia – Travis Sanheim
Pittsburgh – TBA
Vegas – Alex Pietrangelo
Washington – Jakub Vrana

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: Evgeny Kuznetsov, Washington Capitals; Ilya Samsonov, Washington Capitals; Adam Boqvist, Chicago Blackhawks

Dahlin was technically added late last night, joining the rest of the Sabres on the list. More games for Buffalo, New Jersey, and Minnesota were postponed today.

After being removed only yesterday, Vatanen re-appears on the Devils list today. Carrick is also there after previously appearing due to him leaving the league’s protocols to attend the birth of his child. The Devils are now up to 19 players, the largest number by any team this season.

*denotes new addition

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