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Snapshots: Coyotes, Granlund, Stars-Predators

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If you thought new ownership, new management, or a new season had created any stability in the Arizona Coyotes front office, think again. In an unbelievable piece by Katie Strang of The Athletic (both in quality and content), the Coyotes’ internal turmoil is detailed, which includes lawsuits, unpaid invoices, and breaches of contract, among many other eyebrow-raising stories.

Much of what Strang reports does not have a direct impact on the Coyotes’ on-ice product, but it does touch on the management style of new GM Bill Armstrong and the missteps that resulted in the drafting of Mitchell Miller (who the team then renounced the rights to). The whole piece is a must-read for any hockey fan.

UPDATE: The Coyotes have released a statement that does not directly dispute the Strang piece, but alleges The Athletic has “condoned a harassment campaign against Mr. Alex Meruelo, the Arizona Coyotes, the Meruelo Group and dozens of current employees and former employees.” The statement concludes by announcing the team will be exploring legal options in response to the piece. (Full statement via Greg Wyshynski of ESPN)

  • In James Mirtle’s latest piece for The Athletic, he suggested that Mikael Granlund could be a fit for the Toronto Maple Leafs if their search for a top-six winger continues. Granlund is on a one-year deal with the Nashville Predators and carries a $3.75MM cap hit. Mirtle’s colleague Adam Vingan recently examined the trade value of several Predators players, comparing Granlund to the Gustav Nyquist and Mats Zuccarello moves of 2019. Both of those trades included second-round selections and a conditional third-round pick.
  • Speaking of the Predators, Granlund and the rest of the team will have to wait another few days to get back into game action. Like yesterday, tonight’s game between the Predators and Dallas Stars has been postponed due to inclement weather. Nashville will now head to Columbus where they take on the Blue Jackets’ on Thursday evening.

Snapshots: Blues Defensemen, Stars-Predators, Thompson

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The Blues held out defenseman Marco Scandella from today’s seventh and final game against Arizona as they were hesitant to part with a winning lineup, reports Jeremy Rutherford of The Athletic (Twitter link).  The veteran has missed the last couple of weeks with an upper-body injury and has averaged nearly 19 minutes per game in nine contests this season.

Meanwhile, the Blues announced that blueliner Torey Krug sustained an upper-body injury in today’s game and is listed as day-to-day.  Krug leads all St. Louis defenders with nine points in 16 games so far this season.  If he’s unable to suit up on Thursday against San Jose, that could provide the opportunity for Scandella to return to the lineup.

Elsewhere around the league:

  • Tonight’s game between the Stars and Predators was postponed. This had nothing to due with COVID-19 but instead, Matthew DeFranks of the Dallas Morning News notes that the decision was made at the request the Mayor of Dallas due to ongoing power issues from the storm that has hit the area hard.  DeFranks adds that a similar request could be made for tomorrow’s game.  The league has not yet decided when the game will be rescheduled for.
  • After welcoming winger Jansen Harkins back from injured reserve today, the Jets may soon be doing the same for center Nate Thompson. Sportsnet’s Ken Wiebe reports (Twitter link) that the team expects the veteran to be available to play soon.  Thompson has played in four games on Winnipeg’s fourth line this season after signing a one-year, $750K contract in free agency.

Snapshots: Tatar, Dumba, Devils, Murphy, Hamonic

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The Montreal Canadiens will be without Tomas Tatar Saturday against the Toronto Maple Leafs, who is a healthy scratch, according to Sportsnet’s Eric Engels. The move made by head coach Claude Julien is believed to be a message sent to both Tatar and the team after Montreal has lost three of their last four games.

Tatar, despite having four goals and eight points in 14 games, has been adequate on the ice, but not as good as last season when he posted 22 goals and 61 points in 68 games. Engels believes that the message is meant just as much to the team as Tatar is one of the most popular players in the locker room.

The Philadelphia Flyers attempted a similar benching of leading scorer Travis Konecny on Jan. 30. Unfortunately, he has not scored a point since then.

  • Corey Masisak of The Athletic reports that a New Jersey Devils team spokesman said the team will be allowed to return to practice on Monday. That will be the first time the team has been allowed on the ice since the game at Buffalo on Jan. 31. The team is currently scheduled to play on Tuesday at the New York Rangers.
  • The Minnesota Wild got even more good news when they learned that defenseman Matt Dumba should be in the lineup on Tuesday when they begin playing once again after suffering what looked to be a severe ankle injury, according to Star Tribune’s Sarah McLellan. Dumba got tangled up with teammate Jordan Greenway and suffered an awkward fall on Jan. 30, but the blueliner said that he’s feeling good and has no issues regarding the injury. The 26-year-old Dumba is looking solid this season, already with three goals in just nine games this season. Teammate Mats Zuccarello is also getting closer to a return. The veteran forward practiced Friday in a non-contact jersey.
  • The Chicago Blackhawks have placed defenseman Connor Murphy on injured reserve, retroactive to Feb. 9, according to NHL.com’s Brandon Cain. The blueliner was suffered a right hip injury in that game and is expected to miss up to two weeks. Murphy has been playing well for Chicago with two goals and five points in 13 games, while averaging 22:45 of ATOI.
  • The Vancouver Canucks could be getting a boost back to their defense as head coach Travis Green reported that defenseman Travis Hamonic is close to returning to the team. The 30-year-old blueliner remains on long-term injured reserve with an upper-body injury. He has only appeared in five games with the Canucks this year with two assists, but could be a big addition if he returns soon.

Snapshots: COVID, U18, O’Ree

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The NHL has sent out a memo to its teams detailing further enhanced COVID measures, according to Elliotte Friedman of Sportsnet. The memo includes specifically recommended masks, virtual meetings, removing the glass from the penalty box, further recommendations about remaining at home except for practices/games, and, perhaps most importantly, rapid testing on game days.

Vegas Golden Knights forward Mark Stone spoke about the rapid testing change this morning, one that should hit close to home given his team had a player pulled mid-game recently. Tomas Nosek played two periods before his positive test results forced him out of a Golden Knights game, a situation that rapid testing can hopefully help avoid. Today, the Edmonton Oilers-Montreal Canadiens game has been pushed back an hour to give the league more time to process tests after one Edmonton player was added to the COVID protocol.

  • While the NHL continues to try and navigate their season, international events are starting to be planned for later this year. USA Hockey has announced the 2021 IIHF Under-18 Men’s World Championship, to be held in conjunction with the Dallas Stars in Texas. The event is scheduled for April 26-May 6 and will primarily be held in Frisco, Texas at the Comerica Center.
  • The Boston Bruins will postpone their banner raising ceremony for Willie O’Ree until next year, retiring his number 22 on January 18, 2022, instead, in the hopes that he will be able to attend the event in front of a full arena. That date will be 64 years after O’Ree made his debut as the first Black player in the NHL.

Snapshots: Canucks, Laine, McCann

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The Vancouver Canucks are shopping around a few of their underperforming forwards, and Elliotte Friedman of Sportsnet writes in his latest 31 Thoughts column that the Nashville Predators are one of the teams interested in Adam Gaudette. The 24-year-old forward seemed to have a breakthrough season last year for the Canucks, scoring 33 points in 59 games, but was virtually invisible in the postseason and has just two points in 12 games this season. Gaudette is on a one-year, $950K contract this season and will be an arbitration-eligible RFA in the summer.

On the other name that is swirling around, Jake Virtanen, Friedman seems less certain but does note that the Boston Bruins were checking him out at one point. The San Jose Sharks “poked around” in the offseason, which makes sense given it appeared at one point as though Virtanen would not be back with the Canucks this year. The 24-year-old Virtanen still has just one point through 12 games.

  • The recent benching of Patrik Laine was because he “verbally disrespected” a member of the coaching staff, according to both Aaron Portzline of The Athletic and Brian Hedger of the Columbus Post-Dispatch. The young forward and Blue Jackets head coach John Tortorella told reporters today that the incident was behind them, and Laine is expected to be back on the top line with Jack Roslovic and Cam Atkinson when the team plays tomorrow. Despite all that has happened this season, Laine still has five goals and six points through five games, a testament to just how impressive his offensive ability can be. His is still a very interesting situation to watch unfold, however, after playing just 11 minutes on Monday night.
  • The Pittsburgh Penguins will be without Jared McCann a little longer than originally anticipated, as head coach Mike Sullivan told reporters today that the young forward will be out “week-to-week” while he deals with a lower-body injury. McCann played just four minutes in the team’s last game before exiting and has five points on the season.

Snapshots: Danault, Simek, Frk

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Montreal Canadiens center Phillip Danault has struggled this season as he is one of just two forwards who have yet to record a goal this season. The 27-year-old is coming off of 53 and 47-point seasons that last two years, but the pending unrestricted free agent reportedly turned down a six-year, $30MM deal during the offseason, according to Montreal Gazette’s Stu Cowan, and it looks to be weighing on him.

Danault refused to talk about his contract situation Friday, but Cowan said that ice time might play more of a role in his decision-making than money. Danault, who was playing top-six minutes for much of the past two seasons, is now the team’s No. 3 center behind Nick Suzuki and Jesperi Kotkaniemi.

“I needed some time to adapt,” Danault said. “There are a lot of things that changed at the same time, whether it was my ice time or the way I was being used on the penalty-kill. I’m still playing with the same linemates, though. We try to give everything we have every night. I’m ready to do everything I can to help the team win. It’s going really well right now and we’ll keep on going that way.”

  • NHL Player Safety announced that San Jose Sharks defenseman Radim Simek has been fined $5,000 for spearing Anaheim Ducks forward Adam Henrique Saturday (video here). The fine is the most that is allowed by the CBA.The infraction occurred at 6:21 of the second period when the spearing occurred in front of the Sharks’ net. The two players then fought immediately afterwards with both players receiving two-minute penalties for roughing with the spearing getting missed.
  • The Los Angeles Kings could be without forward Martin Frk for some time, according to Los Angeles Times’ Jack Harris. While he hasn’t received an update from the team’s training staff, head coach Todd McLellan said that by the look of the injury, he could be “out for a little while.” Frk missed the first nine games of the season with a groin injury and was making his season debut Friday only to be knocked out with another  lower-body injury.

Snapshots: Weekes, Ontario, Vegas

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There’s another interesting name to throw on the pile of candidates for the Pittsburgh Penguins’ GM job, as Frank Seravalli of TSN reports that NHL Network analyst Kevin Weekes will be among the first to interview for the role. The former NHL goaltender has no experience in the front office but did play more than a decade in the league and has been a strong broadcaster since his retirement.

Patrik Allvin, the interim GM, will also be among the first few interviews according to Seravalli. Just yesterday it was reported that both Chris Drury and John Ferguson Jr. had received permission from their respective teams to speak with the Penguins, while many other candidates have been mentioned since Jim Rutherford’s unexpected resignation.

  • The AHL released a schedule for the season that is set to start on Friday, but no games were listed for the North Division, made up of the Canadian-based teams. That’s because of some resistance from the Ontario provincial government, but Chris Johnston of Sportsnet reports that there has been some progress between the two sides. The Toronto Marlies and Belleville Senators, the two teams based in Ontario, will likely have to start the season on a road trip to make things work according to Johnston, but could be “up and running in the next week or two.”
  • The Vegas Golden Knights are set to resume their schedule on Friday against the Los Angeles Kings after positive COVID tests shut things down, and were on the ice today preparing. Among those absent from practice were defenseman Alex Pietrangelo and head coach Pete DeBoer, along with assistants Ryan Craig and Ryan McGill. There is still a little bit of time before the game for Pietrangelo to come off the COVID Protocol Related Absences list, but for now, it appears as though they will prepare without their big free agent acquisition. Kaedan Korczak, one of the team’s top defensive prospects, was recalled to the taxi squad today.

Snapshots: Three Stars, Bjugstad, Beijing

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It was a western Canada sweep of the NHL’s Three Stars for this week, as young Vancouver Canucks goaltender Thatcher Demko took home the league’s top honors while Edmonton Oilers superstar teammates Connor McDavid and Leon Draisaitl earned the second and third stars, respectively. Demko, who the Canucks are hoping can establish himself as their starter of the future this season, certainly played the part this week. He won all three of his starts, allowing just three goals total – one per game – on 103 shots. A 1.00 GAA and .971 save percentage are more than worthy enough of first star status. Meanwhile, McDavid and Draisaitl put up monstrous numbers that have somehow become commonplace for both. The duo combined for seven goals and 24 points in just four games. Somehow the Oilers won just two of their four contests.

  • Nick Bjugstad’s wallet is now $5,000 lighter. The NHL Department of Player Safety announced that the Minnesota Wild center has received the maximum fine allowable for cross checking. The incident in question occurred on Sunday against the Colorado Avalanche. Defenseman Ryan Graves was the victim, taking a high cross check early in the second period. While the intent of the check was questionable at best, as Bjugstad battled Graves in front of the net, there is no denying that he delivered the check to Graves’ head area. That was all it took for the big pivot to earn a maximum fine.
  • When the NHL returns to the Winter Olympics next year, they will do so on a more familiar ice surface. TSN’s Pierre LeBrun relays word from IIHF President Rene Fasel that the ice surface that will be used in Beijing will be North American in size. The IIHF has previously discussed using these smaller rink dimensions in competition after exclusively using the international dimensions in the past and the 2022 Winter Olympics will be the debut of this change. This does not imply that all future Olympic competitions will be played on a North American surface, but it does open the door for IIHF competition to be played on varying rink sizes, possibly as decided by the hosts.

Snapshots: Anderson, Henderson, Letang

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Partway through the game against the Calgary Flames, Montreal Canadiens forward Josh Anderson’s absence was noticeable. It wasn’t clear at all what had forced him from the game, but afterward, Claude Julien gave an update that no one wanted to hear.

Anderson had been pulled with flu-like symptoms. The power forward tested negative for COVID-19 but will be tested again tomorrow. Hopefully, further testing continues to come back negative and Anderson will be able to get back into the lineup in the coming days.

  • That likely won’t be true for at least one player in the Henderson Silver Knights-San Jose Barracuda preseason contest, given that it was suspended mid-game due to COVID protocols. Henderson was winning 1-0 as the teams came out to start the third period, but they were sent off the ice and the game was canceled. More information will come as the team gets it. UPDATE: The Silver Knights say the game was not suspended because of a positive COVID test from any Henderson players or staff.
  • The Pittsburgh Penguins were already down most of their starting defensemen heading into tonight before Kris Letang suffered a lower-body injury and was removed from the game. Head coach Mike Sullivan told reporters that Letang is still being evaluated. The Penguins still managed to win the game in overtime, but losing Letang would be a huge blow for a team already scraping the bottom of their depth chart.

Snapshots: Sabres, Capitals, Blues

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Sabres winger Sam Reinhart is dealing with an upper-body injury, notes Lance Lysowski of The Buffalo News.  While he didn’t leave Thursday’s game, he was absent from practice on Friday and he will at least miss today’s game while his availability for Sunday’s rematch against New Jersey is still up in the air.  The 25-year-old is off to a good start this season with three goals and three assists in eight games and will be a restricted free agent for the final time this summer.

Meanwhile, Lysowski adds (Twitter link) that prospect Jack Quinn is dealing with an upper-body injury of his own.  He’s currently on the taxi squad but the Sabres may send him to AHL Rochester once he recovers.  While he’s still junior-aged, Quinn can go to the minors as long as the OHL season continues to be delayed.

Elsewhere around the league:

  • Capitals winger Alex Ovechkin and Dmitry Orlov have been cleared from the CPRA list, relays Samantha Pell of the Washington Post (Twitter link). The two took part in Washington’s morning skate today but Evgeny Kuznetsov and Ilya Samsonov weren’t, meaning their time on the list will continue.  Meanwhile, Pell adds in a separate tweet that center Lars Eller also skated earlier today in a non-contact sweater after missing Thursday’s contest due to an upper-body injury.
  • The Blues will be without center Tyler Bozak for their two games this weekend against Anaheim, reports Jim Thomas of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch. He was injured on a hit from Vegas winger Mark Stone on Tuesday night, one that had St. Louis hoping for some sort of supplemental discipline although none was coming.  Sammy Blais will take Bozak’s spot in the lineup.  As for defenseman Robert Bortuzzo, he’s expected to take the gameday skate today with head coach Craig Berube hoping that he’ll be available on Sunday.

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