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COVID Notes: Halak, Sabres, Connolly, Sheary, Oilers, Stutzle, Sillinger

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The Canucks announced (Twitter link) that goaltender Jaroslav Halak has been placed into COVID protocol.  The veteran was set to get the start for today’s game against Carolina but instead, that will go to Thatcher Demko with Spencer Martin coming up from the taxi squad.  Halak has made just eight appearances this season and has a $1.25MM bonus pending when he gets to his tenth.  He’ll now have to wait a little longer to get that bonus, one that has recently landed himself in trade speculation as well.

More COVID news from around the NHL:

  • Sabres winger Tage Thompson and center Peyton Krebs have both cleared COVID protocol, notes Bill Hoppe of the Olean Times Herald. Thompson will suit up tonight in Detroit while they will take it a little slower with Krebs and re-assess his status on Sunday.
  • Blackhawks winger Brett Connolly has entered COVID protocol, relays John Dietz of the Daily Herald (Twitter link). The veteran has only played in four games with Chicago this season and has spent most of the year in the minors.  Defenseman Ian Mitchell was recalled from AHL Rockford just a day after being sent down.
  • The Capitals announced (Twitter link) that winger Conor Sheary has been placed in COVID protocol. The 29-year-old has impressed in his second season in Washington, notching ten goals and nine assists in 31 games, good for third on the team in goals.
  • The Oilers have taken wingers Warren Foegele and Tyler Benson plus defenseman Slater Koekkoek out of COVID protocol, mentions Sportsnet’s Jack Michaels (Twitter link). With those activations, Edmonton – who last played on January 5th – will be able to dress 18 skaters against Ottawa tonight.
  • The Senators announced (Twitter link) that they have removed winger Tim Stutzle from COVID protocol. The just-turned 20-year-old has had a bit of a quieter sophomore season than expected, collecting five goals and ten assists in 29 games.
  • The Blue Jackets have placed center Cole Sillinger in COVID protocol, per a team release.  The rookie has held down a regular spot in the lineup with Columbus this season, notching 13 points in 35 games.  Liam Foudy has been recalled from the taxi squad to take Sillinger’s place on the roster.

Tage Thompson Placed In COVID Protocol; Jack Quinn Recalled

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The Buffalo Sabres could have another debut on the horizon, as Jack Quinn has been recalled to the taxi squad and was on the ice at practice today. His appearance could be explained by the absence of Tage Thompson, who was moved to the COVID protocol. Quinn skated on a line with Dylan Cozens and Vinnie Hinostroza according to John Vogl of The Athletic, suggesting he could play tomorrow against the Tampa Bay Lightning.

Quinn, 20, was the eighth overall pick in 2020 and has so far spent his professional career entirely in the minor leagues. The AHL has posed no issue, however, as the talented youngster has 26 points in 20 games this season for the Rochester Americans and looks poised to make an impact at the higher level.

If he does replace Thompson in the lineup tomorrow and make his debut, he’ll have some big shoes to fill. The 24-year-old Thompson has found his game this season with 12 goals and 23 points in 34 games, good enough to lead the Sabres in both categories. Despite standing 6’7″, the hulking winger actually plays more of a skill game and is on pace to more than double his previous career totals.

Unfortunately, he’s not the only Sabre in the protocol at the moment. Thompson joins Peyton Krebs, Alex Tuch, and Kyle Okposo on the sideline for tomorrow’s game.

Buffalo Sabres Sign Tage Thompson

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The Buffalo Sabres have reached a deal with one of their restricted free agents, signing Tage Thompson to a three-year contract. The deal will carry an average annual value of $1.4MM.

Thompson, 22, was a big part of the trade that saw Ryan O’Reilly head to the St. Louis Blues in 2018, but failed to make an immediate impact in Buffalo. In 65 NHL games during the 2018-19 season, Thompson was held to just 12 points, struggling at times to be effective in any way for the Sabres. Starting at the minor league level in 2019-20 he looked to have an extra step, resulting in 12 points in 16 games with the Rochester Americans, but was injured almost immediately after earning a call-up. That injury resulted in season-ending shoulder surgery in early January, basically costing the young forward an entire development year.

With that inconsistent history, it’s easy to ask how he deserves a multi-year deal. The thing is, Thompson still has immense potential as a secondary scoring option in Buffalo. The Sabres and his camp both know that, but a three-year deal works as a nice middle-ground for both sides. The Sabres lock him in at a very reasonable price should he break out in 2020-21, while Thompson receives a nice salary bump and some security as he tries to work his way back from injury and show what he can do at the NHL level.

Standing 6’5″ with strong offensive instincts, Thompson does have 14 goals and 23 points in 24 games for Rochester over the last two seasons. He looked like a real difference-maker at the start of last season, and if that can carry over to give captain Jack Eichel and newly acquired Eric Staal another top-six option on the wing the deal will look like a steal. There’s no guarantee that happens, but the Sabres are looking for any way to climb out of their cycle of losing and taking a chance on a 22-year old first-round pick—instead of a veteran free agent—seems like a good bet.

Tage Thompson Undergoes Season-Ending Surgery

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An extremely disappointing season for Tage Thompson has come to an abrupt conclusion, as the Buffalo Sabres announced that the young forward has undergone shoulder surgery and will be out for the remainder of the season. Thompson’s recovery timeline is set at five to six months, meaning he should be ready to return for training camp next season.

Thompson, 22, was one of the big pieces the Sabres received from the St. Louis Blues in the Ryan O’Reilly trade, but still hasn’t been able to even establish himself as an NHL regular. He played 65 games for the Sabres last season but received limited minutes and recorded just 12 points. This year he failed to make the team out of camp and ended up playing 16 games with the Rochester Americans.

While he was good enough to earn a call-up in November—Thompson scored 12 points in those 16 games with Rochester—he was quickly injured and moved off the roster. That initial injury obviously didn’t heal as the team had hoped, as a three to five week timetable has now led to surgery and a season lost.

Importantly, Thompson is in the final year of his entry-level contract and will be a restricted free agent in the summer. With not even a full NHL game under his belt this season he won’t have much leverage in contract talks, and he isn’t yet eligible for salary arbitration.

Kyle Okposo Diagnosed With Concussion

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The Buffalo Sabres released their injury report today, and one name in particular drew plenty of attention. Veteran forward Kyle Okposo is out indefinitely with a concussion, a frightening injury for someone with his history of brain injuries. The team also announced that Tage Thompson, who didn’t even make it through his season debut, will be out three to five weeks with a shoulder injury.

Okposo, 31, has suffered multiple head injuries over the last few years, including one that put him in the Neuro Surgical ICU at Buffalo General Hospital in 2017. That was followed by a concussion in 2018 and another one in February when he was struck with a hard punch from Anthony DeAngelo.

The Sabres are starting to look awfully thin at forward as Okposo and Thompson join Vladimir Sobotka on the sideline, meaning their pursuit of another top-nine option could be amplified in the coming days. The team could potentially get even more salary cap relief by putting Okposo on long-term injured reserve if he is going to miss at least a month, though that is not clear at this point.

Training Camp Cuts: 09/30/19

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Teams will be finalizing their opening day rosters today, meaning that plenty of players will be removed from training camp. As always, we’ll keep track of all those cuts right here. Keep checking back as this list will be updated throughout the day.

Arizona Coyotes (per team release)

G Adin Hill (to Tuscon, AHL)

Boston Bruins (per team release)

F Peter Cehlarik (placed on waivers before AHL assignment)
F Anders Bjork (to Providence, AHL)
F Trent Frederic (to Providence, AHL)
F Jack Studnicka (to Providence, AHL)
F Cameron Hughes (to Providence, AHL)
G Maxime Lagace (to Providence, AHL)

Buffalo Sabres (per team release)

F Remi Elie (placed on waivers before AHL assignment)
F Curtis Lazar (placed on waivers before AHL assignment)
F Scott Wilson (placed on waivers before AHL assignment)
D Casey Nelson (placed on waivers before AHL assignment)
F Rasmus Asplund (to Rochester, AHL)
F Tage Thompson (to Rochester, AHL)
D Lawrence Pilut (to Rochester, AHL)

Chicago Blackhawks (per team release)

F Anton Wedin (to Rockford, AHL)
D Dennis Gilbert (to Rockford, AHL)

Columbus Blue Jackets (per team release)

F Marko Dano (placed on waivers before AHL assignment)
F Eric Robinson (to Cleveland, AHL)
G Hayden Stewart (released from PTO)

Edmonton Oilers (per team release)

F Sam Gagner (placed on waivers before AHL assignment)
D Brandon Manning (placed on waivers before AHL assignment)
D William Lagesson (to Bakersfield, AHL)

Los Angeles Kings (per team release)

F Mario Kempe (to Ontario, AHL)
D Paul Ladue (to Ontario, AHL)
D Derek Forbort (designated injured/non-roster)

Minnesota Wild (per team release)

F J.T. Brown (placed on waivers before AHL assignment)
D Louie Belpedio (to Iowa, AHL)

Montreal Canadiens (per team release)

F Charles Hudon (to Laval, AHL)
G Charlie Lindgren (to Laval, AHL)

New Jersey Devils (per team release)

D Jeremy Groleau (to Binghamton, AHL)

New York Rangers (per team release)

F Boo Nieves (placed on waivers before AHL assignment)
F Filip Chytil (to Hartford, AHL)
F Vitali Kravtsov (to Hartford, AHL)
F Vinni Lettieri (to Hartford, AHL)
D Ryan Lindgren (to Hartford, AHL)
G Igor Shesterkin (to Hartford, AHL)
D Tarmo Reunanen (to Lukko, Liiga)
D Joseph Morrow (released from PTO)

Tampa Bay Lightning (per team release)

D Luke Schenn (placed on waivers before AHL assignment)
F Danick Martel (to Syracuse, AHL)
F Alexander Volkov (to Syracuse, AHL)

Toronto Maple Leafs (per team release)

F Kenny Agostino (placed on waivers before AHL assignment)
F Nic Petan (placed on waivers before AHL assignment)
F Garrett Wilson (placed on waivers before AHL assignment)
D Kevin Gravel (placed on waivers before AHL assignment)
F Kalle Kossila (designated injured, non-roster)
F Mason Marchment (designated injured, non-roster)
F Egor Korshkov (to Toronto, AHL)
F Matt Read (released from PTO, signs AHL contract)

Vancouver Canucks (per team release)

F Sven Baertschi (placed on waivers before AHL assignment)
F Nikolay Goldobin (placed on waivers before AHL assignment)
D Alex Biega (placed on waivers before AHL assignment)

Vegas Golden Knights (per team release)

F Keegan Kolesar (to Chicago, AHL)
D Jake Bischoff (to Chicago, AHL)

Winnipeg Jets (per team release)

F J.C. Lipon (placed on waivers before AHL assignment)
D Nelson Nogier (placed on waivers before AHL assignment)
G Eric Comrie (placed on waivers before AHL assignment)
F Joona Luoto (to Manitoba, AHL)
F C.J. Suess (to Manitoba, AHL)

Washington Capitals (per team release)

F Liam O’Brien (placed on waivers before AHL assignment)
F Michael Sgarbossa (placed on waivers before AHL assignment)
D Christian Djoos (placed on waivers before AHL assignment)
F Shane Gersich (to Hershey, AHL)

Atlantic Notes: Point, Plekanec, Thompson

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The six-year, $31MM extension that Tampa Bay gave winger Yanni Gourde on Friday raised more than a few eyebrows given his relative inexperience.  Matt Larkin of The Hockey News suggests that the Lightning may have created another problem for themselves with the move as it pertains to pending RFA center Brayden Point.  His agent has already indicated that his preference is to wait until the summer to get a new deal for Point finalized and with a strong start that has seen him collect 14 points in 12 games to start the season, the asking price is only going up at this rate.  Accordingly, Larkin likens the situation to Toronto and RFA William Nylander where the team may be banking on Point taking a discount to keep the core intact.  If he’s unwilling to do so (and doesn’t want to take a bridge contract), GM Julien BriseBois may have to move out a couple of players before next season to free up enough room to re-sign Point and fill out his roster.

More from the Atlantic:

  • Canadiens center Tomas Plekanec returned to practice for the first time since sustaining a back injury in mid-October, notes TVA Sports’ Renaud Lavoie (Twitter link). The veteran has played in just three games this season after beginning the year as a healthy scratch and then suffering this injury just after reaching the 1,000 games played milestone.  While he is still likely at least a few days away from returning, it’s worth noting that Montreal is carrying a full roster and they have already lost one player to waivers as a result of that crunch earlier this season.
  • Sabres center Tage Thompson will be scratched for the sixth time already this afternoon which has led to some discussion about whether or not the 21-year-old would be better served playing with AHL Rochester instead. Head coach Phil Housley told Bill Hoppe of the Olean Times Herald that they believe that there’s value in keeping him up for extra drills after practice and video sessions but acknowledged that playing time is still most important for his development.  With that in mind, it wouldn’t be surprising to see him sent down if he’s not back in Buffalo’s lineup over the next few games.

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