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Archives for December 2021

Montreal Canadiens Add Two More To COVID Protocol

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Welcome to Montreal, you’re going into the COVID protocol. The Montreal Canadiens have announced that Louis Belpedio and Gianni Fairbrother have both entered the protocol, just two days after they were recalled from the AHL.

Belpedio and Fairbrother join Paul Byron, Laurent Dauphin, Mike Hoffman, Artturi Lehkonen, Tyler Toffoli, Ben Chiarot, Joel Edmundson, Jeff Petry, Chris Wideman, Jake Allen, and Cayden Primeau in the protocol.

The Canadiens are still currently scheduled to take on the Carolina Hurricanes tonight, despite Montreal’s drastically impaired roster. The team is missing 13 skaters due to COVID (Lehkonen is skating but not yet activated) and another half dozen to injury.

Players like Rafael Harvey-Pinard, Lukas Vejdemo, and Corey Schueneman all made their season debuts on Tuesday against the Tampa Bay Lightning, a game that was actually one of the more competitive matches from the Canadiens all season.

It continues to be a nightmarish season for Montreal, who are now 7-21-4 on the year.

Attendance Restrictions Raise Questions About Canadian Home Dates

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In many Canadian cities–Montreal and Winnipeg most notably–several games have already been postponed through January in the hope that they will be able to be held with full attendance later in the season. On Tuesday, the league announced nine games, including four in Montreal, that would be rescheduled for later in the year.

Now, as restrictions are tightened in British Columbia and Ontario, there are further questions around home dates for the Vancouver Canucks, Toronto Maple Leafs, and Ottawa Senators.

Elliotte Friedman of Sportsnet tweets that Canucks home dates on January 5 and 8 could be postponed until the capacity increases. Those are games against the New York Islanders and Ottawa Senators, respectively, once the Canuck return from their current road trip. Earlier this month, the BC government announced restrictions that would cap attendance at 50% for events of more than 1,000 people.

The Ontario government has gone even further, limiting attendance to just 1,000 people for large sporting events starting Friday. The Maple Leafs and Senators–as well as many OHL arenas–will obviously be hugely affected by that change, limiting their ability to drive revenue from ticket sales and concessions, revenue that is important to the league’s projections.

The Maple Leafs had their January 3 game against the Carolina Hurricanes postponed already, but were supposed to play against the Senators Saturday night in Toronto. They also have a home date against the Edmonton Oilers on January 5 before a four-game road trip.

Ottawa meanwhile is scheduled to host the Minnesota Wild on January 3, before a five-game road trip. It is not clear yet if the league will postpone these games, but recent actions suggest it is a possibility.

Notably, the Ontario government also has changed its isolation guidelines to recommend just five days (down from 10) for vaccinated individuals who are asymptomatic or have had their symptoms resolve. That would mean the NHL’s new guidelines would now apply to Maple Leafs and Senators players, allowing some earlier exits from the COVID protocol (provided they test negative).

2022 World Junior Championship Canceled

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Dec 30: Following the cancelation, the IIHF has announced that additional cases were confirmed in players across five teams–Canada, Russia, Germany, Sweden, and Slovakia–along with another on-ice official. The federation has also announced that all team members and officials that tested positive will remain in a mandatory minimum ten-day quarantine before returning to their respective countries and club teams.

Dec 29: After three teams were forced to forfeit matches this week following positive COVID-19 cases, the IIHF has canceled the remainder of the World Junior Championship, according to several reports including Chris Peters of Daily Faceoff, Bob McKenzie of TSN, and Emily Kaplan of ESPN. The U.S., Russia, and Czechia all forfeited matches, and before the tournament even began, Finland, Austria, and Switzerland also experienced positive test results.

The IIHF has confirmed the cancelation now, noting that the “sportive integrity of the event” was compromised after three forfeits. They also released this statement from IIHF president Luc Tardif:

Together with the teams, we came into this event with full confidence in the COVID-19 protocols put in place by the IIHF, the LOC, Alberta Health, Alberta Health Services and the Public Health Agency of Canada. The ongoing spread of COVID-19 and the Omicron variant forced us to readjust our protocols almost immediately upon arrival to attempt to stay ahead of any potential spread. This included daily testing and the team quarantine requirement when positive cases were confirmed.”

We owed it to the participating teams to do our best to create the conditions necessary for this event to work. Unfortunately, this was not enough. We now have to take some time and focus on getting all players and team staff back home safely.

This cancelation follows the decision to cancel the six other international tournaments in January, but go ahead with the World Juniors as planned. The event was not in a tight bubble like last year, with reports surfacing today that players and staff had even interacted with wedding attendees in the hotel they were staying at.

It is not yet clear when players will depart for their respective clubs, or who exactly tested positive for each country. The official statements from the IIHF have not yet been released.

It’s hard to fathom how exactly the tournament was expected to be played at all if a few positive cases derailed it so quickly, but with the WJC being such a significant financial event for the IIHF, it’s easy to see why they would try. The 2023 event is currently scheduled to be held in Novosibirsk, Russia.

For a player like Owen Power of Canada, this was his one shot at playing in the tournament given he will turn 20 before next year’s event begins. Power was not allowed to leave Michigan for last year’s event because of the uncertain role he would play, and also missed out on the NCAA tournament when his program ended up pulling out because of COVID precautions. It’s been a disappointing stretch for the Buffalo Sabres prospect and other top players of his age group, but he’ll now return to Michigan along with players like Kent Johnson, Matty Beniers, Brendan Brisson, and Luke Hughes with the NHL just over the next ridge.

Others, like Connor Bedard and Matvei Michkov, still have time to participate in future World Juniors but are missing a chance to put up special, record-breaking numbers at their young age. The top picks for 2023 were already impressing fans across the world with their skills and will now return to their club teams to wait for the next international stage. In Bedard’s last game–and the last one that will be played at the 2022 tournament–he scored four goals, becoming the first 16-year-old Canadian to record a hat trick at the tournament since Wayne Gretzky.

Dustin Wolf Recalled On Emergency Basis

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The Calgary Flames will have a backup goaltender tonight with just 19 games of AHL experience. One that was selected 214th overall in 2019. One that is just 20 years old. They’ll also have a backup goaltender who has lost just six games since the end of the 2019-20 season.

Dustin Wolf has been recalled by the Flames under emergency conditions as Dan Vladar has been designated non-roster for tonight’s game against the Seattle Kraken. Brett Ritchie will also be unavailable as he was placed in the COVID protocol and did not travel with the team. Byron Froese has been assigned to the taxi squad.

Wolf, 20, was deemed too small in his draft year, so fell all the way to the seventh round, nearly going undrafted altogether despite leading the WHL in both save percentage (.936) and goals-against average (1.69). He went 41-15-2 for the Everett Silvertips that season and came back in 2019-20 to once again league the league in both categories, taking home CHL Goaltender of the Year honors. His 2020-21 season with the Silvertips was much of the same, as Wolf posted a .940 and 1.80 GAA while going 18-3.

He’s too small for professional hockey, some said, but Wolf has continued that outstanding play this season in the AHL. With a 14-0-2 record, .940 save percentage, and 1.84 GAA for the Stockton Heat, he’s done nothing but stop the puck at the pro level. While there’s still a long way to go before he puts up numbers like that in the NHL (or even receives playing time), it’s hard to bet against–and easy to root for–the young netminder.

Evgeni Malkin Hoping To Play Several More Years

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Evgeni Malkin is set to return from a long injury rehab in the next few weeks, so he stood in front of the media for the first time in several months and took questions about his future. As Matt Vensel of the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette writes, Malkin explained to the gathered media that he plans on playing three or four more years and that he’s not thinking about money right now. “I’m like pretty rich guy,” Malkin said when asked about his future as an unrestricted free agent.

With career earnings of nearly $116MM according to CapFriendly, the 35-year-old forward may be underselling himself.

Malkin is in the final season of an eight-year, $76MM contract signed in 2013 and currently carries a cap hit of $9.5MM. When the deal was signed it accounted for 14.77% of the salary cap; now, with the cap set at $81.5MM, that number is down at 11.66%, a much more reasonable amount for an aging superstar. Whether Malkin’s career in Pittsburgh continues past this season and what an extension would look like are the real questions now.

If healthy, Malkin should still be a dominant presence in the league. In 2019-20 he put up 74 points in just 55 games, leading to Hart and Selke Trophy votes after the shortened season. Last year he was still almost a point-per-game despite dealing with the knee injury that limited him to just 33 contests. Now, with that knee feeling “200 percent stronger” according to the big Russian, it will be interesting to see what he can do down the stretch, and how that will influence contract negotiations with Pittsburgh or elsewhere.

There have been questions about Malkin’s future in Pittsburgh for years, ones that have been amplified over the past few seasons as the Penguins failed to register any playoff success. But there is also something to be said for his legacy as one of the greatest Penguins of all time and a huge reason why the franchise now has five Stanley Cups. Malkin has played his entire career in Pittsburgh, scoring 1,104 points in 940 regular season games, and will go into the Hall of Fame years from now as a Penguin. Whether he ever plays for another organization remains to be seen, but three or four more years is a long time, especially if he can’t live up to the level of performance he has shown in the past.

Taxi Squad Shuffle: 12/30/21

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Seven, count ’em seven games on the NHL schedule this evening as the league starts to get back to a full slate. That includes a battle between Mark Giordano and the team he captained for so long, Bruce Boudreau looking to stay undefeated as head coach of the Vancouver Canucks, and an important Atlantic Division matchup between two Florida-based teams. As they and the rest of the league prepare for action, we’ll keep track of all the minor league and taxi squad shuffling right here.

Atlantic Division

  • The Toronto Maple Leafs have recalled Teemu Kivihalme and Chad Krys to the taxi squad, giving them some extra bodies on defense while they continue to deal with COVID absences. The team actually had a defenseman from Ryerson University–Gregory DiTomaso–take part in practice today, while Krys, acquired from the Chicago Blackhawks earlier this season, also joined the big club for the first time.
  • The Buffalo Sabres have assigned Oskari Laaksonen, Brandon Biro, and Ryan MacInnis to the taxi squad. Laaksonen especially is an interesting prospect for the Sabres, given how well he has scored at the AHL level so far. The 22-year-old defenseman has 32 points in 51 games since joining the Rochester Americans last season. A third-round pick in 2017, he has yet to make his NHL debut.
  • The Florida Panthers have recalled Chase Priskie to the taxi squad. Priskie has played twice for the Panthers this season but is still looking for his first NHL point. The 25-year-old has 12 points in 22 games for the Charlotte Checkers.
  • John Moore has been removed from the Boston Bruins taxi squad and sent back to the AHL. The 31-year-old defenseman has spent more time in Providence than Boston this season, scoring six points in 10 games for the P-Bruins.

Metropolitan Division

  • The Philadelphia Flyers have made a small swap, sending Gerald Mayhew to the taxi squad while recalling Jackson Cates.  Mayhew made his Flyers debut on Wednesday while Cates has a goal in two games with Philadelphia this season.

Central Division

  • Ahead of the Winter Classic, the Minnesota Wild have recalled Connor Dewar and Dakota Mermis to the taxi squad, adding some extra insurance as they deal with uncertain COVID cases and injuries. Dewar, 22, has played in four games for Minnesota this season but is still looking for his first NHL point.
  • The Arizona Coyotes have recalled Vladislav Kolyachonok from the AHL to the taxi squad, where the young defenseman will get the chance to practice with the NHL club. Kolyachonok, 20, has five points in 15 games for the Tucson Roadrunners after being acquired as part of the Anton Stralman trade last summer.
  • The Chicago Blackhawks have recalled defenseman Alec Regula and forward Josiah Slavin from AHL Rockford, assigning them to the taxi squad.  Regula got into three games with Chicago last season while Slavin has an assist in nine NHL games this season.

Pacific Division

  • The Edmonton Oilers have loaned Dmitri Samorukov back to the AHL, as Darnell Nurse and William Lagesson return to practice. The 22-year-old Samorukov has played just one NHL game but looks like he could be a part of the Oilers blueline down the road. For now, he’ll return to the Bakersfield Condors where he has three points in 15 games this season.
  • The Los Angeles Kings have recalled Vladimir Tkachev and Jacob Moverare from the AHL. Quinton Byfield has been activated from the COVID protocol and loaned back to the Ontario Reign. Moverare, 23, is still waiting to make his NHL debut, despite several recalls in the last few weeks.
  • The Arizona Coyotes have brought up goaltender David Tendeck to the taxi squad.  The 22-year-old has played in 12 games with Rapid City of the ECHL this season, posting a 3.21 GAA with a .912 SV%.

This page will be updated throughout the day

Cal Foote, Taylor Raddysh Enter COVID Protocol

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The Tampa Bay Lightning announced some good news and some bad news today. Head coach Jon Cooper and forward Pierre-Edouard Bellemare have both exited the COVID protocol, but Cal Foote and Taylor Raddysh have taken their place. Goaltending coach Frantz Jean has also entered the protocol.

Getting Cooper back is obviously big news for the Lightning, who take on their state rival Florida Panthers tonight in a matchup that could have playoff implications down the road. Tampa Bay, Florida, and the Toronto Maple Leafs are all battling for supremacy at the top of the Atlantic Division, with the Lightning currently holding a four-point lead on both. The head coach doesn’t have to split his attention anymore either–his services at the upcoming Olympics are no longer required, after the NHL decided against participation.

Losing Foote hurts though, even if he is averaging just over 13 minutes a night this season. The 23-year-old defenseman is a key piece of depth for the Lightning and has suited up 20 times this season, registering strong results in his limited ice time. With Andrej Sustr and Mikhail Sergachev already unavailable due to the COVID protocol, the defensive depth of Tampa Bay will be tested.

Foote and Raddysh join Sergachev, Sustr, Anthony Cirelli, Andrei Vasilevskiy, and Brian Elliotte on the sidelines.

Minnesota Wild Extend Dean Evason

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Ahead of this weekend’s Winter Classic, the Minnesota Wild have left a present under the tree of each member of their coaching staff. Dean Evason and his entire staff have signed multi-year contract extensions. Evason, assistants Darby Hendrickson, Brett McLean, and Bob Woods, goaltending coach Frederic Chabot, and video coaches T.J. Jindra and Jonas Plumb aren’t going anywhere.

Hired partway through the 2019-20 season, Evason has done nothing but win since arriving in Minnesota. The team has a 62-29-7 record during his 98 games behind the bench, including a 19-9-2 record this season. There is obvious buy-in from many of the team’s stars, while other players like Joel Eriksson Ek have taken huge leaps in development since Evason took over.

An extension for the head coach was always likely given his success, but the Wild have rewarded the entire staff for how they work together. It’s not often you see such a widespread contract announcement, but management obviously likes what’s going on behind the bench and on the ice.

The Wild take on the St. Louis Blues at Target Field on Saturday night in what looks like it will be one of the coldest NHL games of all time. Perhaps the security a new contract extension brings can keep Evason warm as he tries to navigate the wintery outdoor game.

Ottawa Senators Activate Erik Brannstrom From Injured Reserve

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Per CapFriendly, the Ottawa Senators activated defenseman Erik Brannstrom from injured reserve on Wednesday night.

A broken hand in mid-November gave Brannstrom an expected return timeline of two months. However, it appears as though he’ll be returning to the lineup about two weeks ahead of schedule, which is great news for both him and the Senators.

Ottawa’s current depth on defense is running a tad thin with both Nikita Zaitsev and Josh Brown on injured reserve. With Michael Del Zotto waived and sent to AHL Belleville, names like Dillon Heatherington and Jacob Bernard-Docker are on their list of six healthy defensemen at the NHL level.

Brannstrom had played sparingly prior to the injury, however. The 15th overall pick in 2017 got into just two games with Ottawa, recording no points and an average ice time of 16:54. He did, however, spend some time in Belleville, recording three points in nine games.

Now healthy again, Brannstrom’s short-term future in the Ottawa lineup may seem unclear due to him jumping up and down between the NHL and AHL this season. However, with the current state of their defense personnel, it’s likely he gets another shot in an NHL role.

IIHF Will Attempt To Reschedule 2022 World Junior Championship

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International Ice Hockey Federation president Luc Tardif told Russian outlet Championat on Wednesday that they’d like to reschedule the 2022 World Junior Championship, which was cancelled today due to a series of forfeited games at the tournament due to COVID cases among teams.

Tardif says that the summer of 2022 is the most likely outcome and that the tournament would likely stay in Canada. From a financial and television perspective, it would make sense to hold the tournament after the conclusion of the 2022 Stanley Cup Final in July.

Translated from Russian, Tardif had this to say on the tournament’s cancellation:

The integrity of the tournament was violated, for reasons of player safety, we decided it was necessary to hold the [WJC] for real… Hockey is excellent, but the [Omicron] situation is disappointing. We preferred to end the tournament now, we will develop a proposal for all federations with new dates.

One important note from the interview is that teams will be able to modify their rosters for the tournament, should it be rescheduled. It’s big news for players like Finland’s Aatu Raty, who weren’t taken to the tournament due to testing positive for COVID during the selection process.

Tardif says he doesn’t know if the tournament will be held in a bubble this time around. To be fair, it’s impossible to predict the nature of COVID six months from now, and it’s therefore impossible to make a call on that front.

Still, optimism remains for these junior players to get an honest crack at medalling at the World Juniors in 2022.

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