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Frederik Andersen, Jesper Fast Added To COVID Protocol

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Dec 23: The Hurricanes have also added Jesper Fast to the protocol as their testing continues to reveal more cases. The Hurricanes are going to be severely shorthanded should they return to the ice as scheduled.

Dec 22: Despite the NHL now on their holiday break, COVID concerns around the league should not be forgotten. Players that enter the protocol in the coming days will likely be unavailable when their teams return to action, given the usual ten-day isolation period. For the Carolina Hurricanes, that means their starting goaltender might be missing when things start up again next week. Frederik Andersen has been placed in the COVID protocol.

Andersen, 32, has been a true Vezina candidate this season for the Hurricanes, posting a .930 save percentage in 21 games. His 1.93 goals-against average is the best in the league, and his numbers across the board are the best of his career. Given the fact that Antti Raanta hasn’t been totally healthy, Andersen’s ability to carry the load for Carolina has been extremely important.

The Hurricanes are set to resume action on December 27, but now have nine players in the protocol. Andersen joins Stefan Noesen, Andrei Svechnikov, Steven Lorentz, Jordan Staal, Seth Jarvis, Sebastian Aho, Brendan Smith, and Ian Cole on the outside looking in, though some of those players will be eligible to return before the team’s next game.

Kevin Hayes, Brendan Smith Enter COVID Protocol

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A pair of Metropolitan Division players have entered the COVID protocol today, as the Carolina Hurricanes and Philadelphia Flyers have announced the absences of Brendan Smith and Kevin Hayes respectively.

The Flyers were set to take on the Washington Capitals tomorrow and Pittsburgh Penguins on Thursday, but will now have to do it without the services of a top forward. Hayes has had a nightmare season to this point, suiting up for just 11 games so far due to injury. He does have six points in those games, but now faces another period on the sidelines.

Carolina meanwhile wasn’t scheduled to play until after the break, meaning they should at least be getting a handful of players back from the COVID protocol in time to face the Florida Panthers on Dec 27. Sebastian Aho and Seth Jarvis have already been in the protocol for a week, while others like Jordan Staal, Andrei Svechnikov, Ian Cole, and Steven Lorentz will have also cleared the ten-day threshold by the time the Hurricanes are set to return to action.

NHL/NHLPA Pause Cross-Border Travel, Issue Updates On Season And Olympics

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The NHL and NHLPA released a joint statement today that the league will postpone any games that require cross-border travel through the holiday break. The 12 postponed games are as follows:

Canadiens @ Islanders (12/20), Ducks @ Oilers (12/20), Blues @ Senators (12/21), Canucks @ Sharks (12/21), Canadiens @ Rangers (12/22), Jets @ Stars (12/22), Oilers @ Kings (12/22), Blues @ Maple Leafs (12/23), Hurricanes @ Senators (12/23), Canadiens @ Devils (12/23), Ducks @ Canucks (12/23), Oilers @ Sharks (12/23)

Adding on these 12 games, there are now 39 games that the league has postponed this year. As instances pop up of players stuck on the wrong side of the border and potentially unable to get home for the holidays, the pause comes now to prevent any future situations like this from occurring.

However, the NHL and NHLPA in today’s statement remained with their stance today against placing a pause on the entire regular-season schedule. The league will continue to monitor COVID outbreaks on teams on a case-by-case basis, stating that they “will be monitoring not only the number and pattern of positive COVID results but also the depth of Club line-ups so as to ensure both the health and safety of the Players and the integrity of League competition.”

The two parties also gave an update on the potential of Olympic participation, stating they’ll reach a final determination within the coming days. They’re “actively discussing the matter” and commit to remaining flexible. The NHL has until January 10, 2022, to opt out of the Olympics without incurring a financial penalty. Sportsnet’s Elliotte Friedman speculates that an “Olympics without NHL players seems to be a reality,” but doesn’t expect a formal announcement for a few days.

Jordan Martinook And Jalen Chatfield Not Close To Returning From Lower-Body Injuries

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  • Carolina won’t be getting any help on the injury front for a little while as Walt Ruff of the Hurricanes’ team site relays (Twitter link) that winger Jordan Martinook and defenseman Jalen Chatfield aren’t close to returning from their respective lower-body injuries. Martinook has been out for a little more than two weeks and head coach Rod Brind’Amour acknowledged that the 29-year-old could start skating soon but still will need a fair bit of time before he’s able to come back.  Meanwhile, Chatfield’s injury was more recent, sustained back on Sunday against his former team in Vancouver.

Carolina Hurricanes Recall Three Players

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The Carolina Hurricanes are expected to play the Detroit Red Wings this evening, but because of recent COVID-related absences, did not have a full roster to do so. The team came into the day with just 13 healthy, active skaters for tonight’s game, five short of a normal lineup. They also only had the cap space to make one recall, around $1MM free from long-term injured relief.

Instead of making the Hurricanes play four short, the NHL has allowed them to make two emergency exemption recalls today. Stefan Noesen and Andrew Poturalski are those exemption recalls, which need to have a cap hit of $850K or less, but will now not cost the team anything against the cap. Jack Drury, with his $925K cap hit, will be the team’s regular recall.  That means that the Hurricanes are still going to play two players short tonight.

As team reporter Walt Ruff writes, the league made the decision to avoid a safety issue in tonight’s game. The Hurricanes will still play short, as other teams have this season, and then after tonight’s game will be able to make two additional emergency exemption recalls. Once again those recalls would have to have cap hits of $850K or less, but it would give them 18 skaters for this weekend’s back-to-back situation.

There will certainly be teams frustrated that the Hurricanes are seeming to get cap relief when they have not, but it also sets a precedent from the league moving forward. The Calgary Flames, for instance, will also not be able to field anywhere near a full lineup should their season resume before they get all of their players back from the COVID protocol.

Importantly, this still means that Carolina is playing down two skaters tonight, a severe disadvantage as they try to move forward. Good news for Drury though, who will be making his NHL debut after a strong start in the AHL.

Hurricanes-Wild Game Postponed

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The Carolina Hurricanes and Minnesota Wild aren’t going to play tonight after all. According to several reports including Michael Russo of The Athletic, four more players from the Hurricanes have tested positive today for coronavirus and will be put into the COVID protocol. The team put Seth Jarvis and Sebastian Aho in the protocol yesterday. The league has officially announced the single postponement, noting that it will provide a further update tomorrow. The four players entering the protocol today are Jordan Staal, Andrei Svechnikov, Ian Cole, and Steven Lorentz.

If it weren’t postponed, the Hurricanes would be extremely shorthanded for this evening’s action. The team does not have the cap space for more than one recall, which they used on Andrew Poturalski earlier today. There is also a growing sentiment that on-ice transmission has occurred over the weekend, as several teams that played each other–Carolina, the Calgary Flames, Vancouver Canucks, and Boston Bruins in particular–have now had players enter the protocol recently.

The Flames, Ottawa Senators, and New York Islanders are the three teams that have seen their season postponed to this point, but if the Hurricanes become the fourth, even more doubt will be placed upon NHL participation in the upcoming Olympics. The league has maintained that if postponements cause a “material disruption” to the schedule they will take the decision out of the players’ hands and withdraw from international competition.

This is also not the first time the Hurricanes have been affected by COVID absences. Brett Pesce, Tony DeAngelo, and Ethan Bear were all in the protocol at once, with the former two only expected to make their return tonight, before the game was postponed.

Sebastian Aho, Seth Jarvis Enter COVID Protocol

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The Carolina Hurricanes have announced that Sebastian Aho and Seth Jarvis have both entered the COVID protocol. Though the team did not confirm whether or not they have tested positive, both players–plus a member of the training staff–will be remaining in Vancouver as the team travels to Minnesota, suggesting they have.

Notably, the Hurricanes played the Calgary Flames on Thursday, a team that has now been shut down due to a massive outbreak. Carolina played two more games between then and now, visiting the Edmonton Oilers and Vancouver Canucks. Aho actually didn’t play in the game against Vancouver, missing it with an “illness”, but Jarvis did, playing a career-high of 17 minutes against the Canucks.

This isn’t the first time that the Hurricanes have dealt with brutal COVID-related absences either. The team lost Ethan Bear, Brett Pesce, and Tony DeAngelo all at the same time earlier this season, with the latter two only expected to make their return tomorrow night. It’s a good thing they are, too, because the Hurricanes don’t have the cap space to make any additional recalls. Like other teams, they would have been forced to play shorthanded if any other injuries cropped up. Instead, the team has sent Maxime Lajoie back to the AHL as the two defensemen rejoin the club in Minnesota.

Still, losing Aho and Jarvis will take a big bite out of the Hurricanes’ top-six. Aho is fresh off a second star of the week award after extending his multi-point game streak to five, and easily leads the team with 32 points in 26 games. Jarvis meanwhile has been a little less reliable as an offensive piece with 11 points in 20 games, but is still just 19 years old and getting his feet wet at the NHL level. The youngster hasn’t scored a goal in his last 11 games and will now face a quarantine period before he can get back on the ice if he has indeed tested positive.

Ian Cole Avoids Suspension, Earns Fine

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The Department of Player Safety has determined that Ian Cole will not receive a suspension for his hit on Mark Scheifele last night. Cole has earned a $5,000 fine instead, the maximum allowable amount under the CBA.

The Carolina Hurricanes defenseman received a five-minute major and a game misconduct for the play, while Scheifele did not exit the game or suffer a serious injury. Both of those things likely were considered in the decision of whether or not to elevate it to a suspension, like the one handed out to Neal Pionk recently. Pionk delivered a similar knee-on-knee hit against Rasmus Sandin, who suffered an injury on the play. The Winnipeg Jets defenseman was not penalized by the on-ice officials, and ended up receiving a two-game suspension.

It’s certainly good news for the Hurricanes, who are already down two key defensemen. With Cole out of the game and the Hurricanes on a long penalty kill, Jaccob Slavin ended up logging nearly 30 minutes against the Jets, including more than six shorthanded. If Cole were to also receive a suspension, the team would be dealing with a huge gap in their depth on the back end. Instead, he’ll get a fine on his record that will influence future supplementary discipline decisions and cost him a bit of money.

Pesce, DeAngelo Exit COVID Protocol; Will Not Travel To Canada

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Two key players for the Carolina Hurricanes can get back on the ice, now that they’re out of the COVID protocol, but Brett Pesce and Tony DeAngelo will not be traveling to meet the team in Canada. The Hurricanes are currently on a road trip through Western Canada, where they’ll face the Calgary Flames, Edmonton Oilers, and Vancouver Canucks over the next few days. While they’re past the 10-day threshold for the league, the Canadian border requires 14 days to have passed.

It’s not clear yet if the two defensemen will join the team in Minnesota, where Carolina is set to take on the Wild next Tuesday, but getting them back to training is obviously a positive. Pesce, one of the most reliable defenders in the league, has played just 15 games this season after missing time in early November. The 27-year-old has averaged more than 21 minutes of ice time in those games, however, and is a key part of the team’s penalty kill and second powerplay unit. He has seven points on the season, after earning Norris Trophy votes in 2020-21 for registering 25 points in 55 games.

DeAngelo meanwhile is still third on the team in scoring despite missing the last few matches, as he racked up 19 points in his first 20 games of the season. Six of those came on the powerplay, where he logs more ice time than any other player on the Hurricanes. A talented offensive player, he’s been a strong fit for the team after the departure of Dougie Hamilton in the offseason.

The Hurricanes went through a short rough patch, losing three in a row as they adjusted to life without some of their regular defensemen, but have gotten back in the win column of late. Last night they defeated the Winnipeg Jets 4-2, but it required Jaccob Slavin to log nearly 30 minutes of ice time (including more than six minutes on the penalty kill) to do it. He’ll be as happy as anyone to see some of his defense group get back, as soon as the team returns to the U.S.

Rod Brind'Amour Fined $25,000 For Inappropriate Conduct

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