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Latest On Philadelphia Flyers’ Trade Deadline Targets

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Earlier this evening on Hockey Night in Canada, Jeff Marek noted that several high-profile Philadelphia Flyers’ front office members, including Chuck Fletcher, Daniel Briere, Dean Lombardi, and Bill Barber had attended the Lehigh Valley Phantoms game against the Charlotte Checkers, the AHL affiliate of the Florida Panthers (link). Marek said:

We’ve talked before about how Claude Giroux may end up at the end of all of this, as a Florida Panther. Who are they there to see? We believe it is Owen Tippett, and we’ve talked before, Ron, about how Owen Tippett’s name is very much out there and how the Florida Panthers have let it be known that he could be available.

While Giroux to the Panthers has certainly been discussed before, and Tippett as a potential return is not news either, it is of note that a sizable contingent of the Flyers’ front office has gone to see Tippett play in person.

Tippett has been up and down for the Panthers this season, most recently having been sent down to Charlotte on February 22nd. While Tippett has not yet lived up to the potential the Panthers saw when they drafted him 10th overall in 2017, he has shown promise as of late. The 23-year-old winger has just 14 points in 42 games in the NHL this year, but he does have 10 points in eight games with Charlotte this season. Perhaps a change of scenery and an increased role with another team such as the Flyers could benefit Tippett and spark his development.

AHL Shuffle: 03/05/22

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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.

Carolina Hurricanes To Host Washington Capitals In 2023 Stadium Series

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After a long series of COVID-related postponements and cancellations, the Carolina Hurricanes will finally be hosting their long-rumored first outdoor game. The NHL issued a press release today stating that Carolina will host the Washington Capitals at Carter-Finley Stadium in Raleigh, North Carolina, on February 18, 2023.

Carolina was originally supposed to host the 2021 Stadium Series game, but the league made the decision to postpone it prior to the start of the season in December of 2020 as the threat of COVID still loomed largely. General manager Don Waddell then reached a mutual agreement with the NHL prior to the 2021-22 campaign to hold the game off again until 2023 to ensure that the game would be played in front of a full house of fans.

For Washington, it’s their fourth outdoor game in franchise history. They’ve yet to lose outdoors, defeating Pittsburgh in the 2011 Winter Classic, Chicago in the 2015 Winter Classic, and Toronto in the 2018 NHL Stadium Series.

It marks the second season in a row that the Stadium Series has gone to a southern U.S. market.

Top Prospect Logan Cooley Commits To University Of Minnesota

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After previously committing to the University of Notre Dame, top 2022 NHL Draft prospect Logan Cooley is changing Big 10 schools, as the USA Hockey National Development Team Program announced today that he’s committed to the University of Minnesota for his collegiate career.

Cooley is a consensus top-five selection for the upcoming draft, with Daily Faceoff’s Chris Peters even ranking him first in the class ahead of Shane Wright in his midseason rankings.

A product of Pittsburgh and the Penguins’ youth system, Cooley has been money in the bank since joining the U.S. National Team in 2020. During the 2021-22 campaign, Cooley is dominating with 20 goals and 36 assists for 56 points in 41 games. He was also a part of the USA’s World Juniors roster, netting an assist in a singular game prior to the tournament’s abrupt cancellation.

With him and Wright making noise as the likely two best centers in this draft class (although Matthew Savoie would like some words as well), Cooley is a giant get for a Minnesota program that already includes prominent NHL prospects such as Brock Faber, Matthew Knies, Chaz Lucius, and Ryan Johnson. It’s somewhat likely that Cooley’s stay only lasts a year, however, as the highly-touted prospect likely isn’t too far away from making an NHL impact.

 

Latest On Arizona Coyotes Arena Plan

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The long, arduous, and sometimes hilarious process of finding a home for the Arizona Coyotes past this season will likely reach a higher level of clarity soon. A public summary of an upcoming Arizona Board of Regents meeting states that Arizona State University will officially review the Coyotes’ plan to play home games at the school’s currently-under-construction multipurpose arena this upcoming Thursday.

There are multiple things of note in this plan. The most pertinent one is the question of financial responsibility. As rumored earlier, modifications to the original construction project will need to be put in place to accommodate an NHL franchise. Per the plan, the Coyotes will be financially responsible for building a 15,000-square-foot facility annexed to the northeast end of the arena, including NHL-caliber locker rooms, training areas, team storage, and coaching offices. The team will also foot the bill for increasing broadcast capabilities, improving ice surfacing equipment, replay capabilities, and other technological aspects to meet NHL standards.

However, the most striking part has to do with the completion date of the project. While the original plan is still on track to be completed in November of 2022 to house Arizona State’s hockey team, the NHL modifications will take until December to complete. That, according to the document, appears to be when the Coyotes would play their first home game of the 2022-23 season. If that holds true, the team will be faced with a similar situation as the New York Islanders this year, and would likely need to play 10 to 15 straight games on the road to open the season, something that could be seriously detrimental to a team that depends so much on gate revenue.

That may not have to be a reality, though. Coyotes insider Craig Morgan reports that an NHL source believes a workaround could be in place to host Coyotes games there prior to the completion of NHL facilities, allowing them to host home games prior to December.

The Board of Regents document confirms the team’s intention to play home games there for the 2022-23, 2023-24, and 2024-25 campaigns.

NHL, NHLPA Update League COVID-19 Protocol

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The NHLPA and NHL announced today in a joint press release that they’re issuing a set of modifications to the league’s COVID-19 protocol, which will come into effect for each team immediately following their last game before the league’s All-Star break in the schedule.

The five-point list of major edits to the league’s protocol is as follows:

  • The NHL/NHLPA recommend that players receive a booster vaccine as soon as they become available to them. However, at this time, no booster vaccine is required by the league for a player to participate in game action.
  • The league is removing enhanced safety measures put in place in December as the surge of Omicron cases in the United States begins to decrease. They are reverting back to the protocols that were in place at the start of the season, with only a few small changes.
  • One of those changes is the mask requirements for players. Cloth masks will no longer be permitted as appropriate face coverings; only N95 or KN95 masks will be accepted.
  • Fully vaccinated individuals will no longer be required to undergo daily testing.
  • The testing requirement for close contacts has been lifted.

It’s important to keep in mind that this is still a baseline requirement that teams and players are required to follow to fulfill league responsibilities. Local and federal regulations will always hold precedent over the NHL’s protocol.

With the testing requirement being lifted for fully vaccinated individuals, expect the number of players entering COVID protocol on a daily basis to continue to dwindle. Nearly every NHL player is fully vaccinated, and it’s likely that only symptomatic individuals will now enter protocol and be unavailable to teams.

Prospect Notes: Dickinson, Nemec, Prospect Rankings

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Tough news today out of the OHL’s Soo Greyhounds, as the team tweeted today that center Tanner Dickinson, the team’s third-highest scorer, has suffered a broken femur and could be out for the rest of the OHL season. Dickinson is a 2020 fourth-round selection (119th overall) of the St. Louis Blues, and the 19-year-old represented the United States at the 2022 World Junior Championships before the tournament was cut short due to COVID. He actually made his professional debut last season with the OHL completely shut down, going pointless in three games with the AHL’s Utica Comets. The speedy forward had 18 goals, 29 assists, and 47 points in 35 games with the Soo in 2021-22.

More notes from the world of prospects:

  • While longtime top prospect Shane Wright is solidifying his status as the projected first overall pick with a recent hot streak, there’s a hotly contested battle for who teams could look at with the second overall selection. Gone are the days when Brad Lambert and Matthew Savoie had strangleholds on the next two spots after Wright, as a variety of players have had impressive seasons to vault themselves into consideration. In their latest set of draft rankings, McKeen’s Scouting placed Slovak defenseman Simon Nemec at the number two spot, ahead of Savoie and other risers like Logan Cooley and Joakim Kemell. Nemec has broken out in the Tipos Extraliga, the top professional league in Slovakia, eating gigantic minutes for his team, HK Nitra. He has ten points in his last ten games and 23 points in 32 games on the season, incredible numbers for a 17-year-old defenseman in a top professional league, even if it is Slovakia. Fans of teams in the running for lottery picks will actually have a chance to watch Nemec at the Olympics, as he was named to Slovakia’s roster along with former NHLers Martin Marincin and Tomas Jurco.
  • The Athletic’s Scott Wheeler’s annual team prospect rankings are wrapping up, and after he released Winnipeg at the #11 spot today, it’s now evident who Wheeler believes has the top 10 pools in the league. The Anaheim Ducks, Buffalo Sabres, Carolina Hurricanes, Columbus Blue Jackets, Dallas Stars, Detroit Red Wings, Los Angeles Kings, Minnesota Wild, Montreal Canadiens, New Jersey Devils will all get nods in the top 10. It’s incredible to see teams who are having such success this season like Carolina and Minnesota on this list, a true testament to the organizational depth they’ve built through skilled drafting and management. Carolina has the second-best points percentage in the NHL (.762) and is on pace for 125 points, while their AHL affiliate, the Chicago Wolves, has the third-best points percentage in that league.

2022 NHL All-Star Game Rosters To Be Revealed Tomorrow

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The four divisional rosters for the 2022 NHL All-Star Game will be revealed Thursday exclusively on ESPN’s SportsCenter program, the TV network tweeted today. The reveal program will be hosted by Steve Levy, along with analysts and former NHLers Chris Chelios and Mark Messier.

Each division’s roster features nine skaters and two goaltenders, and the tournament continues to be played in a 3-on-3 format. The coaches for the four divisions have already been named — Andrew Brunette (Atlantic), Rod Brind’Amour (Metropolitan), Jared Bednar (Central), and Peter DeBoer (Pacific).

All but one player from each division will be revealed during the roster announcement. Fans have the opportunity to vote for the last player on each squad, known as the Last Men In voting campaign. Details for that will also be revealed during the show.

The All-Star weekend takes place February 4 and February 5.

Panthers, Ducks Announce More COVID Protocol Additions

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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

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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.

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