With the NHL off for several days due to the All-Star break, it was a fairly quiet week around the league although there was still some news of note which is recapped in our top stories.
Updated COVID Protocols: The NHL and NHLPA jointly announced several changes to their COVID protocol. Notable among the changes is the removal of the enhanced safety measures put in earlier in the season as well as removing the daily testing requirement for fully vaccinated players as well as lifting the testing requirement for close contacts. That should result in a significant reduction in the number of players of COVID protocol but it won’t eliminate them entirely as earlier today, New Jersey’s Jack Hughes and Carolina’s Jesperi Kotkaniemi both entered COVID protocol.
Columbus Injuries: The Blue Jackets have had a tough year on the injury front this season and that trend continued with two more injuries. First, defenseman Jake Bean will be out for four weeks due to a groin strain. The 23-year-old has impressed after coming over from Carolina in a draft day trade, logging more than 21 minutes a night on the back end, good for third among Columbus blueliners. Two days later, winger Eric Robinson was ruled out for six weeks due to an MCL sprain sustained on a hit from Florida’s Radko Gudas. Robinson has 17 points in 42 games this season and is one point away from matching his career high.
Three For Greenway: The Wild took care of one of their pending restricted free agents early, inking winger Jordan Greenway to a three-year, $9MM contract extension. The 24-year-old is in the final year of his bridge deal and would have been owed a $2.52MM qualifying offer this summer. This contract gives him a bit more than that while Minnesota locks in a power forward at an affordable price. While they likely would have preferred to work out a long-term pact, their cap situation for next season with higher buyout costs for Zach Parise and Ryan Suter would have made that difficult. Greenway also received an eight-team no-trade clause in the final season of the deal, the only year he was eligible for trade protection as it’s the only UFA-eligible year covered in the contract.
Verbeek To Anaheim: After running with Jeff Solomon as their interim GM for close to three months, the Ducks made their decision on who their next GM will be, hiring Pat Verbeek away from Detroit. Verbeek has spent the last 15 seasons in an NHL front office, working his way up from being a scout to an assistant GM and this will be his first opportunity to run a franchise. With three prominent pending unrestricted free agents in defensemen Josh Manson and Hampus Lindholm plus winger Rickard Rakell, Verbeek will have his work cut out for him quickly. Meanwhile, the Red Wings wasted little time finding Verbeek’s replacement, promoting Shawn Horcoff to assistant GM and GM of AHL Grand Rapids. The long-time NHL center has been in Detroit’s front office since retiring back in 2016.
Key Events Revealed: As is often the case at the All-Star Game, the league revealed some of their key events for next season. The 2023 Winter Classic will be hosted by Boston at Fenway Park with an opponent yet to be determined. Carolina will host a Stadium Series game at Carter-Finley Stadium, home of the NC State Wolfpack for their first-ever outdoor contest. Also, Florida will host the All-Star game on February 3rd and 4th. The NHL also intends to resume their Global Series although that was also the plan for this season before that was scrapped due to COVID.