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Devils, Oilers Face More COVID Issues, Postponements

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Jan 12: After the Devils placed Akira Schmid in the protocol yesterday, Mackenzie Blackwood has now joined him. The team is supposed to play the New York Islanders tomorrow and only have one healthy goaltender in the organization. Nico Daws is dealing with an injury at the AHL level, meaning Jon Gillies may end up with an EBUG partner for tomorrow night.

Jan 9: The New Jersey Devils have placed two more in the COVID protocol, adding Janne Kuokkanen and Damon Severson to a growing list of unavailable players. The pair join Jesper Bratt, Nathan Bastian, Andreas Johnsson, Pavel Zacha, Yegor Sharangovich, Mason Geertsen, and the injured Dougie Hamilton in the protocol, putting tomorrow night’s game against the Tampa Bay Lightning in jeopardy. That game has now been officially postponed with a new date yet to be announced.

Meanwhile, in Edmonton, the Oilers have canceled today’s practice for precautionary reasons and Frank Seravalli of Daily Faceoff reports that tomorrow’s game against the Ottawa Senators has been rescheduled to next weekend. The Senators were supposed to be in Winnipeg then, but with that game already postponed for attendance reasons, they’re free to return to Edmonton at that point. Elliotte Friedman of Sportsnet confirms that the game will be played on January 15.

The Oilers already have Brendan Perlini, Kailer Yamamoto, Connor McDavid, Derek Ryan, Josh Archibald, Slater Koekkoek, Evan Bouchard, Tyson Barrie, and Ilya Konovalov in the protocol, meaning more positive cases would leave them with an extremely depleted roster. Warren Foegele and Tyler Benson are the new players entering the protocol. After tomorrow, their next scheduled game wasn’t until the 20th, so fitting in a match against the Senators would seem to be no problem. That kind of rescheduling is likely to happen more often as the NHL tries to avoid falling too far behind, though with over 100 games already postponed that ship may have already sailed.

2022 Hobey Baker Nominees Announced

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With the collegiate hockey season more than half over, voting for the Hobey Baker Memorial Award has opened with 77 players nominated for the award. The trophy is given to the top NCAA player in the country and has an impressive line of winners over the past few years. In 2014, Johnny Gaudreau took home the award as a junior for Boston College, followed by Jack Eichel in his only year for Boston University in 2015. Jimmy Vesey, Will Butcher, and Adam Gaudette don’t bring quite the same impact but are still NHL regulars after winning from 2016-18.

2019’s winner was University of Massachusetts defenseman Cale Makar, who has gone on to win the Calder Trophy as the NHL’s best rookie and is now dominating the league with the Colorado Avalanche. In 2020 the award was given to Scott Perunovich, who, after some unfortunate injury issues to start his career, has become a regular part of the St. Louis Blues blueline.

In 2021, Cole Caufield took home the award after leading the nation in scoring at the University of Wisconsin. Caufield made an immediate impact by helping the Montreal Canadiens reach the Stanley Cup Final a few months later and, while struggling this season, looks like a key building block for the future.

The award also has several top NHL alumni in its small fraternity, including Neal Broten, Tom Kurvers, Paul Kariya, Chris Drury, Ryan Miller, and Brendan Morrison. With that group behind them, this year’s winner is certainly not someone to take lightly.

The fan vote will be added to the opinions of NCAA head coaches to come up with a 10-man finalist group on March 16, which will then have another fan vote and go through a selection committee. The nominees are as follows:

Nick Abruzzese – Harvard University
Corey Andonovski – Princeton University
Max Andreev – Cornell University
Jacob Barczewski – Canisius College
Drew Bavaro – Bentley University
Jacob Bengtsson – Lake Superior State University
Matty Beniers – University of Michigan
Trenton Bliss – Michigan Technological University
Louis Boudon – Lake Superior State University
Carson Briere – Mercyhurst University
Bobby Brink – University of Denver
Easton Brodzinski – St. Cloud State University
Nathan Burke – Bowling Green State University
Will Calverley – Rochester Institute of Technology
Declan Carlile – Merrimack College
Gabe Carriere – University of Vermont
Hank Crone – Northern Michigan University
Gustavs Davis Grigals – University of Alaska Fairbanks
Drew DeRidder – Michigan State University
Max Ellis – University of Notre Dame
Ryan Fanti – University of Minnesota Duluth
Sean Farrell – Harvard University
Domenick Fensore – Boston University
Kevin Fitzgerald – St. Cloud State University
Ethen Frank – Western Michigan University
Riese Gaber – University of North Dakota
Matthew Galajda – University of Notre Dame
Cole Guttman – University of Denver
Brian Halonen – Michigan Technological University
Jordan Harris – Northeastern University
Austin Heidemann – Mercyhurst University
Billy Jerry – Long Island University
Kent Johnson – University of Michigan
Jachym Kondelik – University of Connecticut
Matthew Kopperud – Arizona State University
Philip Lagunov – University of Vermont
Devon Levi – Northeastern University
Ture Linden – Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute
Andrew Lucas – University of Vermont
Connor MacEachern – Pennsylvania State University
Mitchell Martan – Canisius College
Keaton Mastrodonato – Canisius College
Jack McBain – Boston College
Aidan McDonough – Northeastern University
Dryden McKay – Minnesota State University, Mankato
Marc McLaughlin – Boston College
Zach Metsa – Quinnipiac University
Ben Meyers – University of Minnesota
Joseph Nardi – Northern Michigan University
Max Newton – Merrimack College
Owen Norton – Mercyhurst University
Nick Perbix – St. Cloud State University
Yaniv Perets – Quinnipiac University
Clayton Phillips – Pennsylvania State University
Kaden Pickering – St. Lawrence University
Jackson Pierson – University of New Hampshire
Blake Pietila – Michigan Technological University
Owen Power – University of Michigan
Brady Risk – University of Alaska Fairbanks
Jake Sanderson – University of North Dakota
Isaiah Saville – University of Nebraska Omaha
Carter Savoie – University of Denver
Owen Savory – University of Massachusetts Lowell
Owen Sillinger – Bemidji State University
Nathan Smith – Minnesota State University, Mankato
Jack St. Ivany – Boston College
Jaxson Stauber – Providence College
Matt Stienburg – Cornell University
Colin Theisen – Arizona State University
Bobby Trivigno – University of Massachusetts Amherst
Braeden Tuck – Sacred Heart University
Ryan Tverberg – University of Connecticut
Zach Uens – Merrimack College
Kevin Wall – Pennsylvania State University
Taylor Ward – University of Nebraska Omaha
Colton Young – Colgate University
Emil Zetterquist – St. Lawrence University

NHL Central Scouting Releases 2022 Mid-Season Rankings

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The mid-season rankings are out from NHL Central Scouting, and even with his relatively unremarkable season, Shane Wright maintains his grip on the top spot. The Kingston Frontenacs captain leads all North American Skaters and still figures to be the first-overall selection in 2022. Dan Marr, director of NHL Central Scouting, had this to say about the OHL forward:

Shane Wright is a strong stride skater who possesses elusive outside speed to beat defenders and quickness to evade checks or lead a rush. He has elite hockey sense with vision, anticipation and composure and has proven that he can carry the load and lead the way when it’s needed in game situations. He has carried himself remarkably despite many disruptions and distractions endured the past year and a half.

The disruptions and distractions that Marr is referencing include an entire year of development lost when the OHL decided not to play at all in 2020-21. Wright had scored 39 goals in 58 games as a rookie in 2019-20 after being granted exceptional status, but missed his entire sophomore season. This year he has 11 goals and 30 points in 22 games for the Frontenacs, but missed a good chunk of time for the World Junior tournament that was ultimately canceled.

The rest of the top five for North American skaters are:

F Logan Cooley, USNTDP
F Matthew Savoie, Winnipeg Ice
F Conor Geekie, Winnipeg Ice
D Pavel Mintyukov, Saginaw Spirit

On the international side, Joakim Kemell has climbed to the top spot after his impressive start in Finland. There was actually a point during the first part of the season when Kemell was leading all Liiga players in scoring, but now he’ll have to settle just for the rookie lead in goals with 12 in 21 games. The 17-year-old forward isn’t overpowering physically but has a neverending drive to get the puck back on his stick. Goran Stubb, head of European Scouting Services, had this to say:

Joakim Kemell had a sensational start to the season where as a 17-year-old rookie he was leading the league in scoring until an injury late in October. Kemell is an excellent, smooth skater with great offensive instincts – a highly-skilled playmaker who plays a competitive two-way game.

The rest of the top five for International skaters are:

F Juraj Slafkovsky, TPS (Liiga)
F Danila Yurov, Magnitogorsk (KHL)
D David Jiricek, Plzen (Czechia)
F Brad Lambert, JYP (Liiga)

Dallas Stars Make Several Roster Moves

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The Dallas Stars had a busy morning, starting with the placement of Alexander Radulov in the COVID protocol. He joins Denis Gurianov and Braden Holtby on the sideline, leaving the team with a few empty holes on the roster. To fill those holes, they’ve recalled Anton Khudobin and Rhett Gardner from the Texas Stars, while also activating Tanner Kero from injured reserve.

It’s been a while now since Radulov was really a dominant force for the Stars but the 35-year-old has reached a new low in terms of importance on the Dallas roster. He has just one goal in 31 games (12 points) and has seen his ice time drop even further in recent days. In fact, since returning to the ice on January 6, he has averaged fewer than 13 minutes and has generated just a single shot on goal through three games. Losing him, while certainly not a positive thing, won’t have the same impact it would have once had.

Jake Oettinger is expected to start tonight for the Stars in Holtby’s place, but the recall is a nice boost for fan-favorite Khudobin, who had been stashed in the minor leagues recently. Through four games for the Texas Stars, the veteran netminder had a 1-3 record with an .898 save percentage. He’ll serve as backup until Holtby is healthy enough to return.

The Stars are in action tonight against the Seattle Kraken before heading to Florida for a back-to-back against the Panthers and Tampa Bay Lightning starting Friday. All three of those games are likely to be played without Radulov, should he be facing the usual five-day minimum isolation period. Two members of the team’s support staff have also been placed in the protocol.

Buffalo Sabres Sign Michael Houser; Update Injury Statuses

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The Buffalo Sabres are going to have a goaltending tandem of Aaron Dell and Michael Houser for a while. The team has signed the latter to a new one-year contract worth $750K at the NHL level, after announcing that Malcolm Subban, Dustin Tokarski, and Ukko-Pekka Luukkonen are all out at least on a week-to-week basis. Subban will be even longer than that, as he’s listed month-to-month with an upper-body injury. Craig Anderson remains out month-to-month as well.

Houser, 29, was in a similar situation last season when he signed a one-year, league-minimum deal with the Sabres on March 19 to provide some emergency cover. The organization has refused to add more NHL depth to the position and now will be stuck once again with a netminder who has spent more time in the ECHL than the AHL.

Over a long mostly minor league career, Houser has made 213 appearances in the ECHL, 88 in the AHL, and four in the NHL. His save percentages at all three are above .900, but it’s hard to believe he could really carry the load for the Sabres and have them stay competitive in the tough Atlantic Division.

Dell meanwhile has also been recalled from the AHL, while Jack Quinn and Casey Fitzgerald were sent back to Rochester. The 32-year-old veteran netminder has been brutal this season during his time in Buffalo, posting an .872 save percentage and 4.52 goals-against-average. He’s been better in the AHL, but his time in the NHL appears to be running out.

The Sabres, now 10-19-6 on the season, have lost six straight and now own a -33 goal differential.

Taxi Squad Shuffle: 01/12/22

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Just three games grace the NHL schedule this evening. They include a bitter rivalry between the Montreal Canadiens and Boston Bruins, an expansion team trying to figure out how to win, and Auston Matthews returning to Arizona to inspire the next generation of hockey fans in the desert. As those teams and others prepare for action, we’ll keep track of all the minor league and taxi squad shuffling.

Atlantic Division

  • The Montreal Canadiens have sent Cameron Hillis to the AHL, after he made his NHL debut much earlier than expected. Hillis has played six games at the ECHL level this season, but with so many injuries and COVID-related absences in Montreal, was needed to fill in for a game. According to the AHL transactions page, Laurent Dauphin will come up in his place.
  • The Boston Bruins have officially sent Jeremy Swayman back to the minor leagues, after signing Tuukka Rask yesterday. He’ll head to Providence, while Tyler Lewington, John Moore and Urho Vaakanainen–the latter two who were moved off the roster to fit in Rask’s salary–are back up with the team now.

Metropolitan Division

  • The Pittsburgh Penguins have recalled Drew O’Connor to the main roster and Filip Hallander to the taxi squad, as they continue to deal with some COVID-related absences. O’Connor, 23, has five points in 20 games this season. Hallander, 21, is still waiting on his NHL debut.

Central Division

  • The Minnesota Wild have recalled Kevin Czuczman to the taxi squad, as they prepare for Friday’s tilt against the Anaheim Ducks. Michael Russo of The Athletic explains that the team is hoping Alex Goligoski clears the COVID protocol early enough to play in that match, but needed an extra body anyway.
  • The Nashville Predators have assigned Tommy Novak to the AHL, though that could just be until they play again tomorrow. Novak has suited up in 27 games for the team this season, scoring one goal and seven points. Later in the day, the team also reassigned Matt Luff and Cole Smith to the taxi squad.
  • The Winnipeg Jets have added Declan Chisholm to the taxi squad, giving them an extra defender as they hit the road to Detroit. The 22-year-old Chisholm has 14 points in 27 games for the Manitoba Moose in his second professional season.
  • Lukas Reichel has been recalled and added to the Chicago Blackhawks taxi squad, which suggests he could make his NHL debut in the coming days. The top prospect has scored 20 points in 20 games for the Rockford IceHogs in his first season of North American hockey. The team has also moved Nicolas Beaudin to the taxi squad while loaning Kurtis Gabriel, Mike Hardman, Josiah Slavin, Cale Morris and Arvid Soderblom to the AHL.
  • The Arizona Coyotes recalled defensemen Victor Soderstrom, Vladislav Kolyachonok, and goalie Ivan Prosvetov to the active roster from the taxi squad. With three defensemen in COVID protocol, the team needed extra bodies quickly. Prosvetov will back up Karel Vejmelka with Scott Wedgewood in protocol.

Pacific Division

  • The Vegas Golden Knights have assigned Logan Thompson, Dylan Ferguson, Daniil Miromanov, Jonas Rondbjerg and Jake Leschyshyn to the AHL, as they don’t play again until January 17. These players can get some time in at the AHL level–while also costing the Golden Knights a little less in the meantime.
  • The Seattle Kraken have recalled Max McCormick from the taxi squad under emergency conditions, as Morgan Geekie is out with an upper-body injury. McCormick has played in eight games for the Kraken this season but is still looking for his first point in a Seattle uniform.
  • The Los Angeles Kings have sent Samuel Fagemo back to the AHL from the taxi squad, where he can continue his season on Friday. The young forward has been involved in a ton of bouncing up and down lately, but has yet to play a game in the NHL.

This page will be updated throughout the day

Canucks Open To Moving Jaroslav Halak

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Jaroslav Halak has played well in limited action for Vancouver this season.  However, in his latest column for the Toronto Star, Chris Johnston reports that the Canucks are open to moving the veteran netminder.

Through his first eight appearances this season, the 36-year-old has posted a 2.59 GAA along with a .915 SV%, numbers that are better than the league average in both categories.  But if you’re thinking that his games played total is awfully low for someone with those numbers – he hasn’t been injured – there’s a reason for that.

It’s that reason that seemingly has him on the trade block.  As part of his contract for this season, Halak is owed a $1.25MM bonus when he reaches his tenth game plus another $250K for maintaining a save percentage of .905 or higher which he’s clearly above at the moment.  Placing those incentives in there helped the $1.5MM AAV of Halak’s deal become more affordable for them on the salary cap this season.  However, with Vancouver deep into LTIR with Micheal Ferland’s contract, they won’t have any unused cap space to offset those bonuses against, meaning that they’d face a $1.5MM overage for Halak when his incentives are met which would come off their 2022-23 cap room.

Under new management, it appears as if that’s a price they’d prefer not to pay, both in money spent and the corresponding cap penalty.  On the other hand, that type of upcoming payment could also scare off potentially interested teams as they’d be on the hook for the full bonus amount plus the remaining balance of Halak’s salary.

It’s a little early for the trade market for a backup goaltender to really materialize with the deadline still more than two months away but Halak’s games played total acts as a shorter-term pressure point.  He has placed just twice in the last six weeks which has allowed them to stretch this out for the time being but Thatcher Demko can’t play basically every game in the second half of the season.  At some point, Halak will have to play if he isn’t traded.  As a result, his situation will be one to watch over the next couple of weeks.

What Your Team Is Thankful For: St. Louis Blues

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In the spirit of the holiday season, PHR will take a look at what teams are thankful for as the season approaches the midway mark. There also might be a few things your team would like down the road. We’ll examine what’s gone well in the early going and what could improve as the season rolls on for the St. Louis Blues.

What are the Blues thankful for?

The return to form from Vladimir Tarasenko.

His trade request has been well-publicized but after he struggled upon returning last season, there was next to no trade market for him while Seattle took a pass on picking him up in expansion.  As a result, St. Louis wasn’t able to honor that request.  They’re certainly glad about that now.  The 30-year-old is having a resurgent season, averaging a point per game through 34 games.  That’s the best point per game average of his career.

While it still seems like Tarasenko wouldn’t mind moving on, the Blues – and GM Doug Armstrong, in particular – have to be quite pleased that the veteran has helped on the ice this season (including a team-high four game-winners) and off the ice as his trade value has only gone up.  Whether it’s later on this season or in the summer, St. Louis will be better-positioned and will have considerably more leverage in any Tarasenko trade discussions.

Who are the Blues thankful for?

Jordan Kyrou.

After a strong showing last season that saw him pick up 35 points in 55 games, the hope was that he had turned the corner and could become a consistent top-six scorer.  It’s fair to say he did that and even more.  So far this season, the 23-year-old leads St. Louis in scoring, averaging more than a point per game and sits tied for 12th in points among all NHL players heading into Tuesday’s action.  All of a sudden, he’s a key cog in their offensive attack and with him under team control for at least the next three seasons after this one, he’s someone that can be built around for a while.

What would the Blues be even more thankful for?

Jordan Binnington getting back to his old form.  This is only the third season since his improbable stretch that helped lead the Blues to the Stanley Cup but his numbers have ticked down each season since then.  This year, while he has held the .910 SV% he had from last season, his GAA has gone up by 35 points to 2.90 which is below average for a starter.  With Ville Husso still relatively unproven in the NHL (just 23 career starts), it would be hard for them to lean on him too heavily in the second half and considering this is the first of a six-year commitment to Binnington, they need him to improve his performance.  They’re already one of the highest-scoring teams in the NHL this season and if Binnington can pick up his play, St. Louis could become a contender really quick.

What should be on the Blues’ wish list?

With minimal cap space, any sort of move is going to be difficult to make.  But if Armstrong can find a way to bring someone in, an upgrade on the back end would certainly go a long way.  Robert Bortuzzo is more of a depth player at this point, Marco Scandella has had a quiet season, and youngsters Jake Walman, Niko Mikkola, and Scott Perunovich are unproven and have had varying degrees of success this season.  In a perfect world, someone that could step into their top four would be ideal but again, their cap situation would make that tricky.  If they can’t do that, then an upgrade on the third pairing would still be one worth pursuing.

Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.

Golden Knights Place Three In COVID Protocol

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Add Vegas to the list of teams that are now missing players due to COVID protocol as the team announced (Twitter link) that defenseman Shea Theodore and centers Nicolas Roy and Nolan Patrick have all entered COVID protocol.  Assuming these are for confirmed positive tests, they’ll be out for at least the next five days.

Theodore has been a key part of the back end for the Golden Knights this season and is off to a strong start offensively with 25 points in 35 games.  Roy is also off to a career-best start with 19 points in 35 contests, already surpassing his previous high in points which is a great start to his contract year.  As for Patrick, he only recently returned from an upper-body injury that cost him 29 games and while this is only a short-term setback, he has unfortunately had a lot of setbacks in recent years.

Taking their spots on the active roster for the time being are blueliner Daniil Miromanov, center Jake Leschyshyn, and winger Jonas Rondbjerg.  All three have spent time with Vegas – Leschyshyn playing the most having suited up in 19 games – and will now be called upon for tonight’s game against Toronto.  While Adam Brooks was eligible to be recalled from his conditioning stint in Henderson, they’ve elected to leave him there a little longer.

Senators Place Stutzle In Protocol, Send Daoust To QMJHL

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The Ottawa Senators have announced a pair of very different transactions for two of their young players. Tim Stutzle has been placed in the COVID protocol, likely ruling him out for the team’s return to action on Thursday. Stutzle joins Anton Forsberg in the protocol and leaves just Brady Tkachuk and Artem Zub as the regular Senators that haven’t been in the protocol this season.

Still just 19, Stutzle has 15 points in 29 games this season and 44 in 82 career matches. That’s an impressive start for the 2020 third overall pick, but it still hasn’t resulted in much success for the team overall. Ottawa is just 9-18-2 on the season despite general manager Pierre Dorion suggesting in the offseason that the rebuild is over. The team hasn’t played since January 1 thanks to COVID concerns and attendance restrictions but will be back in action on Thursday against the Calgary Flames.

While Stutzle has an isolation period to look forward to, a future teammate is looking at a much more exciting prize. The Senators have loaned Philippe Daoust to the Saint John Seadogs of the QMJHL where he will chase a Memorial Cup after starting the year with the Belleville Senators. The 20-year-old forward has five points in 15 games with Belleville this season, but after the Sea Dogs acquired his rights a few days ago it was clear that he would be heading back to junior hockey to finish the year.

Daoust, selected 158th overall in 2020, was outstanding for the Moncton Wildcats in the shortened 2020-21 season, scoring 28 points in 21 games. The Sea Dogs acquired him as part of a ten-piece trade last week as they load up for a championship run. The 2022 Memorial Cup is set to be held in Saint John, meaning the host club will get an automatic entry.

Not yet signed to his entry-level contract, Daoust was playing for Belleville on an AHL deal and will still be in line for a three-year NHL deal whenever he does sign with Ottawa.

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