Devils Notes: Hamilton, White, Ruff
After the news of Jack Hughes entering COVID-19 protocol today, Devils fans are understandably stressed. There’s some good news on the horizon, though, as it appears defenseman Dougie Hamilton is making progress towards his return to the lineup. Team reporter Amanda Stein said today that although Hamilton did not join his teammates for practice today, the veteran defenseman did skate by himself this morning. Hamilton’s been limited to 30 of 45 games this season with various injuries, but he’s now been out of the lineup for over a month with a broken jaw. His 20 points in 30 games are by far the best scoring pace by a Devils defenseman this season, and while his defensive game has stuttered a few times this season, expect more consistent playing time in his new system to aid with that.
More notes from the Devils organization:
- The team made a shift on defense today, calling up defenseman Colton White from the AHL’s Utica Comets. While Mason Geertsen can play defense, he’s been utilized mostly at forward this season when in the lineup. With that, the Devils had no extra healthy defensemen with the team with the dissipation of taxi squads across the league over the All-Star break. White brings 15 games of NHL experience this year back to the roster, notching three assists.
- Stein also reports that head coach Lindy Ruff will return to the team later today in Ottawa ahead of their game against the Senators tomorrow. Ruff was away from the team in Western Canada after the passing of his father. Assistant Alain Nasreddine coached the team in his absence and ran the team’s practice today.
Hockey Canada Updates Olympic Coaching Staff
Jan 30: Colliton will be taking over as head coach of the Canadian team, as Julien is not able to travel with the team due to an injury. Frank Seravalli of Daily Faceoff tweets that Julien fell during a team-building activity during their training camp in Switzerland and suffered fractured ribs.
Jan 14: When the NHL pulled out of the Olympics, so too did the management and coaching staffs that were set to lead Team Canada. Doug Armstrong had been brought in to serve as general manager, while Jon Cooper was supposed to serve as head coach. Since they’ll be busy with NHL duties, Hockey Canada has picked a new pair of familiar faces to lead the program.
Shane Doan will serve as Team Canada GM for the upcoming Olympics, joined by assistant general manager Scott Salmond, a member of Hockey Canada’s executive staff. The coaching staff will officially be led by Claude Julien, along with assistants Jeremy Colliton, Nolan Baumgartner, and Tyler Dietrich. Tom Renney, Hockey Canada’s CEO, released this statement:
We are excited to announce our experienced management group and coaching staff that will lead Canada’s Men’s Olympic Team at the 2022 Olympics. With less than a month until the men’s tournament gets underway at the Olympics, we are excited to continue working with the entire staff as it prepares to represent Canada and build a roster that Canadians can support as it looks to bring home an Olympic gold medal.
Doan and Julien were easy choices after leading the Canadian contingent at the recent Channel One Cup, an event that was basically a backup plan for Olympic preparation should the NHL decide to pull out. Doan also has plenty of international experience and even participated in the 2006 Olympics with Canada. Julien was an assistant on the 2014 squad and has also been part of several other Canadian coaching staffs over the years.
In the release, Salmond says that he looks forward to “unveiling the roster in the coming weeks” but does not give a firm date for the announcement. The tournament starts for Canada on February 10, when they’re set to take on Germany.
Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images
West Notes: Stars, Martinez, Manson
With the Stars having a particularly inconsistent season and being in a battle for a Wild Card spot, some have wondered about the futures of head coach Rick Bowness and GM Jim Nill. Speaking with Saad Yousuf of The Athletic (subscription link), team owner Tom Gaglardi suggested that no firm decisions have been made either way:
“I think we went into this season and we thought we had a really good team and really expect this team to be solid in the playoffs. If that happens, Rick’s probably somebody we want to continue to build around. Past that, we don’t talk about those things. Summer will come when summer comes. We’ve just decided, we’re not talking about these things right now.
“We’re not talking about anybody’s contract. Let’s focus on the now and getting everything we can out of this season. The summer will come. There will be lots of time to take stock and decide which way we go. If there are changes to be made, we’ll make them then.”
A decision will need to be made on Bowness one way or the other as he’s in the final year of his contract while Nill is signed through the end of next season. It appears that the way Dallas performs over the next few months will go a long way towards determining what direction they’ll go.
More from the West:
- Golden Knights defenseman Alec Martinez isn’t quite ready to return from his upper-body injury, notes Jesse Granger of The Athletic (Twitter link). Vegas will have to activate him from LTIR in order to get him in the lineup which will likely in turn cause winger Max Pacioretty to be placed on there for the time being. Granger adds that the lineup for tonight’s game isn’t finalized yet due to some COVID testing questions.
- The Ducks announced (Twitter link) that defenseman Josh Manson suffered an upper-body injury in today’s game against Ottawa. He suffered the injury on a hard hit from Brady Tkachuk in the first period. Manson, a pending unrestricted free agent, has six points in 42 games heading into today’s contest although he is second in the team in hits with 111.
Philadelphia Flyers Hire John Torchetti
The Philadelphia Flyers have added an assistant coach to the staff, filling a vacancy left behind by the firings earlier this season. John Torchetti has been hired and will join Mike Yeo‘s staff, along with Nick Schultz and Darryl Williams. Notably, the Flyers also announced that Yeo will remain interim head coach for the remainder of the season, despite the team losing their last 12 in a row and 14 of 19 since he took over.
If there wasn’t so much frustration surrounding the Flyers at the moment, Torchetti joining Yeo’s staff might bring a few laughs. After all, he was the coach who took over in Minnesota when Chuck Fletcher–then the Minnesota GM, now Philadelphia’s–fired Yeo in 2016. Torchetti has also served as an interim coach for the Florida Panthers and Los Angeles Kings, seemingly always coming in to clean up and add structure to a bad situation.
He actually had a winning record for Minnesota down the stretch and took that team to the playoffs, something that certainly doesn’t seem likely in Philadelphia this year. The team now sits dead last in the Metropolitan Division, tied with the New York Islanders despite playing eight more games. It’s been a dreadful stretch and the Flyers now own the third-worst goal differential in the entire NHL, only ahead of the Arizona Coyotes and Montreal Canadiens.
Torchetti has been a head coach in the IHL, AHL, KHL, and QMJHL as well, most recently with the Moncton Wildcats in 2019-20.
Babcock, Maurice Not Looking To Coach In NHL This Season
The turmoil surrounding the Edmonton Oilers resulted in several jerseys being thrown on the ice after a 6-0 defeat at the hands of the Florida Panthers. As silly as it sounds, jersey tosses have often come just ahead of a coach’s dismissal, as Ron Wilson and Travis Green can attest. The situation with Dave Tippett in Edmonton is an evolving one, as Ryan Rishaug of TSN explains that though a change isn’t imminent, it is a “day-to-day process” at the moment and suggests that a poor result against the Calgary Flames tomorrow night would likely leave no choice for general manager Ken Holland.
With Tippett’s future unclear, some have suggested that Mike Babock, a long-time colleague of Holland’s with the Detroit Red Wings, could be a potential answer in Edmonton. Darren Dreger of TSN tweets that Babcock has no intention of coaching in the NHL this season and will be staying with the University of Saskatchewan through March. Babcock is technically still under contract with the Toronto Maple Leafs, meaning hiring him would come along with buying out at least a portion of the remaining money owed. The eight-year contract he signed in 2015 paid him $6.25MM each season through 2022-23.
Another name, Paul Maurice, has also been thrown into the mix after he resigned as head coach of the Winnipeg Jets earlier this season. Similarly, Dreger reports that Maurice will not be coaching in the NHL for the rest of this season. Maurice is certainly a candidate for the Oilers or another NHL team moving forward, but is taking some time away from the game to refocus.
In terms of candidates for Edmonton then should they move on from Tippett, Rishaug explains that assistant coach Glen Gulutzan would be the most likely on an interim basis. Bakersfield Condors head coach Jay Woodcroft, who previously served as a video assistant under Babcock and Holland in Detroit, would be a candidate for the full-time job but Rishaug doesn’t expect the team would want to commit a multi-year contract to him midseason when the candidate list is so short.
Of course, any change in regard to the Oilers’ head coaching position is speculative at this point and obviously dependent on how the team plays moving forward.
Buffalo Sabres Update Several Injuries
Every week it seems like the Buffalo Sabres announce several new long-term injuries, and this week was no different. The team gave an updated injury report which now lists Kyle Okposo as week-to-week following a hit from Erik Brannstrom on Tuesday night. Head coach Don Granato told reporters including John Vogl of The Athletic that Okposo did not suffer a concussion on the play, but is out with “bumps and bruises.”
Unfortunately, the bad news didn’t end there. Colin Miller, who was still listed as week-to-week on the update, underwent surgery and will miss six weeks. The 29-year-old defenseman played just a few days ago and had been discussed as a strong trade deadline chip for the Sabres. Miller is a pending unrestricted free agent, right-handed, and has nearly 400 games of NHL experience. That made him an attractive option, but he’ll now have to work through rehab and get back to full strength if Buffalo really wants to cash in.
Meanwhile one of their own trade acquisitions, Malcolm Subban, also had surgery and is likely out for the rest of the season. The 28-year-old netminder was acquired from the Chicago Blackhawks last month for nothing more than future considerations but will end with just four appearances for the team. Given Subban is also a pending unrestricted free agent, it’s a tough blow that could see him struggling to find an NHL contract in the summer. In those four games, he posted a .871 save percentage and now holds a .898 for his 86-game NHL career.
Vinnie Hinostroza, who has been a nice story for the Sabres this season with eight goals and 17 points in 36 games, will miss about three weeks with his lower-body injury. The Sabres have recalled Jack Quinn today, who appears to be ready for an extended look at the NHL level because of how many injuries the team is currently dealing with.
Islanders Head Coach Barry Trotz Returns To Game Action
New York Islanders head coach Barry Trotz is back behind the bench for game action tonight after a personal leave of absence from the team for the death of his mother and clearing COVID protocol, reports Newsday’s Andrew Gross.
The team placed Trotz in COVID protocol on January 11, not getting a chance to coach the team after returning from his leave of absence. The last Islanders game Trotz coached was against Buffalo on December 30th, taking his leave of absence the next day.
However, due to a rash of postponements, Trotz has been absent only for the last three of the team’s games. Assistant coach Lane Lambert took over head coaching duties in the process.
With Trotz back at the helm, the Islanders continue a long road back toward a potential playoff spot. By standings points, the team is third-last in the Eastern Conference and 18 points behind Boston for the last wild card spot. However, they have as many as 10 games in hand on some teams, ample room to make up some difference. The eighth-place points percentage in the conference is Washington’s .654, though, and New York’s .467 mark still lags far behind.
2022 NHL All-Star Game Rosters To Be Revealed Tomorrow
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.
Penguins Notes: Malkin, COVID, Recalls
The day has come for Evgeni Malkin, who will make his season debut for the Pittsburgh Penguins tonight against the Anaheim Ducks. The star center has been out all season rehabbing his knee after offseason surgery but now returns to a Pittsburgh lineup that won ten straight before falling to the Dallas Stars on Saturday.
With 48 games left in the regular season, Malkin will have a chance to climb a little further up the all-time points list. He currently sits 63rd with 1,104, just behind Patrick Kane‘s 1,119. Both those names could jump over several impressive names, including former teammate Marian Hossa who is 57th with 1,134. Given Malkin recently said that he wants to play several more seasons, there’s no telling how high he’ll climb before eventually hanging up his skates.
- Unfortunately, Malkin’s return won’t be the only story of the day for the Penguins. Danton Heinen and Zach Aston-Reese have both tested positive for coronavirus and have entered the league’s COVID protocol. They are out for tonight’s game. Head coach Mike Sullivan explained that Heinen is experiencing symptoms, but Aston-Reese is not. The latter could test out of the protocol after five days, while Heinen will need his symptoms to resolve (and provide a negative test after a minimum of five days) before rejoining his teammates.
- The interesting part for the Penguins is how they’ll make the financials fit, as they actually don’t have the cap space to activate Malkin from long-term injured reserve without sending someone else down. With Heinen, Aston-Reese, and Casey DeSmith all on the COVID protocol, they’ll first have to get cap compliant before using emergency recalls to fill out a lineup.
- Moving Jason Zucker to LTIR could solve the issue for now but he too is close to a return. Zucker skated with the club today in a non-contact jersey, but Sullivan explained that his status hasn’t changed and is not ready to return just yet. Given Zucker hasn’t played since December 19, his stint on LTIR could be backdated to allow the Penguins to activate him whenever ready.
Islanders, Blackhawks Announce More COVID Placements
The New York Islanders will not have Barry Trotz behind the bench when the team takes on the New Jersey Devils on Thursday, as the head coach has been placed in the COVID protocol. Unfortunately, it doesn’t end there as Ryan Pulock has also found his way to the protocol today despite being injured.
Pulock hasn’t played since the middle of November as he deals with a lower-body injury, but now won’t even be able to get on the ice to rehab for the next little while. The loss of the 27-year-old defenseman has been one of the biggest problems for the Islanders this season. After receiving Norris Trophy votes and Olympic consideration, Pulock has played in just 12 games so far.
The COVID announcements don’t end there. The Chicago Blackhawks have placed Jake McCabe and head athletic trainer Mike Gapski in the protocol, according to Mark Lazerus of The Athletic. Jakub Galvas has been recalled from the taxi squad to take McCabe’s place and could be making his NHL debut should he get into the lineup tonight against the Columbus Blue Jackets.
Galvas, 22, is in his first year of North American hockey after several years in Czechia and Finland. Through 20 games with the Rockford IceHogs, the fifth-round pick has six points but has shown enough to earn this recall to the NHL squad. While perhaps not a full-time solution at this point, filling in for a few days while McCabe goes through his isolation period shouldn’t be an issue.