• Logan Stankoven’s NHL debut will have to wait. After being recalled earlier today for precautionary reasons, the Stars announced (Twitter link) that the 20-year-old was returned to AHL Texas.  Stankoven has been dominant in his first professional campaign, notching 24 goals and 33 assists in 46 games to lead the AHL in scoring.
• The Golden Knights announced (Twitter link) that they’ve re-assigned center Byron Froese to AHL Henderson. The 32-year-old played in two games with Vegas on this latest recall, bringing his season total to nine although he’s still looking for his first point.  Froese has 15 points in 37 games so far with the Silver Knights.
• Artem Anisimov’s time in the Rangers organization has come to an end as he was released from his PTO with AHL Hartford, per a team release. The 35-year-old joined the Wolf Pack early last month and got into 18 games but managed just a goal and three assists.  A veteran of 771 career NHL games, it looks unlikely that Anisimov will be adding to that total.
• A trio of former NHL players are sticking around in Switzerland as Fribourg-Gotteron of the NL recently announced that forwards Lucas Wallmark, Marcus Sorensen, and Jacob de La Rose have all signed two-year extensions through the 2026-27 season. Each player last saw time at the NHL level back in the 2020-21 campaign with de la Rose having the most experience, suiting up in 242 games between Montreal, Detroit, and St. Louis.

Wallmark was under contract with the Lions through 2025, departing the club after the first season of a three-year agreement. The 2014 fourth-round selection of the Carolina Hurricanes had 37 points in 50 games and led the team with a +22 rating.

He’d spent the past two seasons overseas after five years in the NHL with the Hurricanes, Chicago Blackhawks, and Florida Panthers. Wallmark was an effective defensive presence in the bottom six during his time in the NHL and could still easily crack most rosters in the league today.

Wallmark represented Sweden at the delayed 2020 Winter Olympics, recording five goals in six games. He had a career-high 10 goals and 28 points in 81 games with Carolina in 2018-19, helping them advance to the Eastern Conference Final.

Of note, the Lions also announced in their release that 26-year-old Ludovic Waeber will be signing an NHL contract next season, although it’s unclear with which team. Waeber has some limited experience with the Swiss national team and had been their starter between 2020 and 2022. However, he slipped to a backup role this season behind Czech netminder Šimon Hrubec, posting a .914 save percentage and an 8-9-1 record in 19 games.

Wallmark, 26, once recorded ten goals and 28 points in a season for the Carolina Hurricanes and appeared to be on his way to relevance in the NHL. That quickly dissipated though, and after several trades (he was sent to the Florida Panthers two years in a row), he took his talents to CSKA Moscow where he had 19 points in 31 games. This season also included a stint with the Swedish Olympic squad, where Wallmark actually scored five goals in an impressive six-game performance, earning a place on the tournament All-Star team.

Given his relative youth, a contract in Switzerland doesn’t necessarily end any chance of Wallmark returning to North America at some point, but it certainly will delay it. Zurich is one of the most well-run organizations in all of Europe and routinely grabs top imports from around the globe. Despite not finding much success in his last few NHL stops, Wallmark should have no problem in the NL.

Granlund meanwhile is another year removed from the NHL, last playing for the Edmonton Oilers in the 2019-20 season. He’s spent the last two seasons in the KHL with Salavat Yulaev Ufa, where he has been one of the league’s most consistent offensive players. In 91 KHL regular season games over two seasons, Granlund scored 31 goals and 91 points, numbers that should follow him to Switzerland if he does in fact sign. Another participant in the Olympics, he managed to record just one point in the tournament, but still take home a gold medal with the Finns.

Now 29, a return to North America is still possible down the road, and Granlund did score 19 goals for the Vancouver Canucks in 2016-17. That kind of scoring touch has been inconsistent for him at the NHL level though, meaning he might be another European star that prefers to stay overseas than risk demotion to the AHL by coming to this side of the pond.

Kravtsov, who requested a trade and basically forced his way back to the KHL for this entire season rather than play in the minor leagues, was eliminated from the KHL playoffs this week when Traktor Chelyabinsk fell to Metallurg Magnitogorsk. The 22-year-old forward is a restricted free agent this summer and would need a new contract if he’s to play in New York next season.

• Earlier this month, both Lucas Wallmark and Joakim Nordstrom terminated their contracts in the KHL because of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. Their agent, Claes Elefalk, told SVT Sport that the two left “substantial amounts” on the table by terminating contracts that would have originally kept them in Russia until May 2023. The pair of Swedes are obviously well known to NHL fans, who watched Wallmark play nearly 200 games with the Carolina Hurricanes, Florida Panthers and Chicago Blackhawks, and Nordstrom play nearly 500 with the Blackhawks, Hurricanes, Boston Bruins, and Calgary Flames, before leaving for the KHL last summer. Both are now unrestricted free agents.
• Though he was born in Vancouver, British Columbia, Macklin Celebrini ended up being drafted first overall by the Seattle Thunderbirds in the most recent WHL U.S. Prospect Draft, after playing parts of two seasons at the powerhouse Shattuck St. Mary’s prep academy in Minnesota. Celebrini put up incredible numbers this year for the program, scoring 50 goals and 117 points in just 52 games. Unfortunately for the Thunderbirds, it appears as though that pick was wasted (at least for now). Celebrini–a top prospect for the 2024 draft–has signed a tender agreement with the Chicago Steel of the USHL for the 2022-23 season. He will take the place of Chicago’s first-round pick in next month’s USHL draft, and will continue his development at another powerhouse program with the Steel.

The Eastern Conference first round match-up between Salavat Yulaev Ufa and Sibir Novosibirsk will look decidedly different moving forward. Ufa, the No. 3 seed in the conference, announced that all of their import players have left the team. This includes names familiar to NHL fans like Markus Granlund, Teemu Hartikainen, and Philip Larsen. Granlund and fellow departure Sakari Manninen led the club in scoring this season. Novosibirsk revealed that a pair of former NHLers had left their ranks as well in goaltender Harri Sateri and defenseman Jyrki Jokipakka. Leading scorer Nick Shore had already left the team and is now joined by the starting goaltender and arguably their best defender. Perennial favorite CSKA Moscow is not immune to this movement; the team announced that they have lost recent NHL contributors Joakim Nordstrom and Lucas Wallmark, both of whom served in top-six roles. Finally, regular season champion Metallurg Magnitogorsk may have lost their title hopes with the departure of starting goaltender Juho Olkinuora. The former AHLer and University of Denver standout was among the best keepers in the KHL this season. This is not the extent of the departures of foreign players, nor will it be the last.

• There has been a flurry of activity in the AHL of late, headlined by an extension for veteran forward Tanner Fritz. The Hartford Wolf Pack announced that their plus/minus leader has inked a new contract for the 2022-23 season. Fritz, 30, has played his pro career almost exclusively in New York and Connecticut, spending five years with the New York Islanders and their affiliate in Bridgeport before moving to Hartford this season. While appreciative of a new contract, Fritz is probably eyeing a contract with the New York Rangers next, if possible. In Toronto, the Marlies have elevated NHL veteran Joseph Blandisi from a PTO to a contract for the remainder of the season. Blandisi, 27, has been a near point-per-game player for the Marlies this season and is well-deserving of a real contract. Down in Charlotte, the Checkers are bringing in some fresh blood from the junior ranks. Defenseman Robert Calisti of the OHL’s Sault Ste. Marie Greyhounds and forward Xavier Cormier of the QMJHL’s Rimouski Oceanic have each signed two-year contracts with the club, beginning next season. The two combined for 72 points in 81 games this season and the Checkers hope that production translates to the pros.
• If it seems like all the action right now is outside of the NHL, while the trade market remains all bark and no bite, it’s true. Despite the usual speculation, there have been nearly no early moves made this season with the deadline just over two weeks away. Outside of Tyler Toffoli and Nick Ritchie/Ilya Lyubushkin, the only trades made of late have included future considerations, seventh-round picks, and third-string goaltenders. TSN’s Pierre LeBrun reports that the holdup on the market comes from the buyers rather than the sellers. He believes that the salary cap concerns, especially from those teams managing long-term injuries, is slowing deal-making. However, there may be hope that things will pick up soon, as LeBrun notes that sellers are getting antsy. Contenders with cap space, such as the Predators, Rangers, Wild, and Bruins, could be the beneficiaries if other cap-strapped teams continue to drag their feet.

In this tournament, most nations decided to take a more veteran group, but the 17-year-old Slafkovsky is the one who stood out the most. A brilliant mix of size and skill, the 6’4″ forward continues to climb up draft boards and make his case to be picked among the first few selections later this year. Amazingly, that seven-goal performance came after several other goalless appearances at the international level. In last year’s World Juniors, last year’s World Championship, last year’s Olympic qualifying, and this year’s shortened World Juniors–16 games in all–Slafkovsky had no goals and just a single assist.

If this is his coming-out party, it couldn’t have come at a better time. With limited action with TPS in Liiga this season, some teams may have not been extremely familiar with the young forward even if their European scouts were. They certainly will be now, only helping his stock rise as the year continues.

The rest of the tournament All-Star team has some familiar faces as well. It was as follows:

G Patrik Rybar (Slovakia)
D Mikko Lehtonen (Finland)
D Egor Yakovlev (ROC)
F Juraj Slafkovsky (Slovakia)
F Sakari Manninen (Finland)
F Lucas Wallmark (Sweden)

Jan 21: With just three weeks until the 2022 Winter Olympic men’s hockey tournament gets underway, rosters are being finalized by all the participating countries. Sweden is the latest to reveal who will represent their country in Beijing next month, announcing a roster filled with names that are familiar to NHL fans. While the best league in the world won’t be going to the international event, there’s still plenty of NHL experience that will hit the ice.

The full roster:

G Magnus Hellberg
G Lars Johansson
G Adam Reideborn

D Lukas Bengtsson
D Erik Gustafsson
D Emil Djuse
D Oscar Fantenberg
D Christian Folin
D Linus Hultstrom
D Jonathan Pudas
D Henri Tommernes

F Daniel Brodin
F Mathias Brome
F Jacob de La Rose
F Dennis Everberg
F Max Friberg
F Pontus Holmberg
F Linus Johansson
F Carl Klingberg
F Marcus Kruger
F Anton Lander
F Joakim Nordstrom
F Fredrik Olofsson
F Gustav Rydahl
F Lucas Wallmark

Like the Finns, Sweden has gone with a veteran lineup filled with NHL and international experience, passing on many of the country’s top young prospects. One interesting name though is Holmberg, a 22-year-old forward that actually signed his entry-level contract with the Toronto Maple Leafs last summer. He’s playing in Sweden this season on loan and has 28 points in 33 games. He is the youngest player on the roster by several years and basically represents the only prospect included. Selected in the sixth round in 2018, it would be quite a find for the Maple Leafs if he can continue his high level of play in North America next season.

Wallmark, 25, was half of the return the Panthers received from the Chicago Blackhawks for Brett Connolly, Henrik Borgstrom, and Riley Stillman. The team used him just four times down the stretch and didn’t dress him in the playoffs, meaning they’ll receive very little in the trade. His rights can be retained with a qualifying offer, but it’s not clear whether he’ll actually be back in time for them to actually receive any benefit from that. Wallmark will become an unrestricted free agent in the summer of 2022, regardless of where he spends the next two seasons.

It was an interesting move at the time, given how little the Panthers seemed to value Wallmark the first time they acquired him in 2020. Part of the deal that saw Vincent Trocheck head to Carolina, Wallmark played seven games for the Panthers that season, played twice in the bubble qualification round, and then was left without a qualifying offer. He became an unrestricted free agent, signed a one-year deal with the Blackhawks, and ended up back in Florida by the end of the year. It’s not really like anything changed during that time; in fact, Wallmark failed to score even a single goal in his 16 games with Chicago.

The fact that he has signed a deal in the KHL this early could suggest that he already knows the Panthers were going to leave him unqualified once again. While this could change that decision, it doesn’t appear as though he has much of a future in Florida. In 187 regular season games, Wallmark has 23 goals and 59 points.

Carolina Hurricanes
Status: Buyer

In – F Cedric Paquette, D Jani Hakanpaa, D David Warsofsky, F Yegor Korshkov, 2022 sixth-round pick (ANA), 2022 seventh-round pick (CLB)
Out – F Ryan Dzingel, D Haydn Fleury, F Gregory Hofmann

Chicago Blackhawks
Status: Neutral

In – F Brett Connolly, F Vinnie Hinostroza, F Adam Gaudette, D Riley Stillman, F Henrik Borgstrom, F Josh Dickinson, F Ryder Rolston, 2021 second-round pick (VGK), 2022 third-round pick (VGK), 2021 fourth-round pick (MTL), 2021 seventh-round pick (FLA)
Out – F Mattias Janmark, F Carl Soderberg, F Matthew Highmore, F Lucas Wallmark, D Madison Bowey, D Lucas Carlsson, F Brad Morrison, 2021 fifth-round pick, 2022 fifth-round pick

Columbus Blue Jackets
Status: Seller

In – D Mikko Lehtonen, F Gregory Hofmann, 2021 first-round pick (TOR), 2021 first-round pick (TBL), 2022 third-round pick (TBL), 2022 fourth-round pick (TOR), conditional 2022 seventh-round pick (TOR)
Out – F Nick Foligno, D David Savard, F Riley Nash, G Veini Vehvilainen, 2022 seventh-round pick

Dallas Stars
Status: Neutral

In – None
Out – None

Detroit Red Wings
Status: Seller

In – F Jakub Vrana, F Richard Panik, F Hayden Verbeek, 2021 first-round pick (WAS), 2022 second-round pick (WAS), 2021 fourth-round pick (TBL), 2022 fourth-round pick (COL), 2021 fifth-round pick (OTT via MTL)
Out – F Anthony Mantha, D Patrik Nemeth, D Jon Merrill, D Brian Lashoff

Florida Panthers
Status: Buyer

In – F Sam Bennett, D Brandon Montour, F Lucas Wallmark, D Lucas Carlsson, F Brad Morrison, 2022 sixth-round pick (CGY)
Out – F Brett Connolly, F Vinnie Hinostroza, D Riley Stillman, F Henrik Borgstrom, F Emil Heineman, 2022 second-round pick, 2021 third-round pick, 2021 seventh-round pick

Nashville Predators
Status: Neutral

In – D Erik Gudbranson
Out – D Brandon Fortunato, 2023 seventh-round pick

Tampa Bay Lightning
Status: Buyer

In – D David Savard, D Fredrik Claesson, D Brian Lashoff, F Antoine Morand, conditional 2023 seventh-round pick
Out – F Alexander Volkov, G Magnus Chrona, 2021 first-round pick, 2022 third-round pick, 2021 fourth-round pick

April 5: Two more players have hit waivers today, after Luke Johnson and Jacob de La Rose cleared today. The Chicago Blackhawks and Dallas Stars have placed Lucas Wallmark and Tanner Kero on waivers respectively according to Elliotte Friedman of Sportsnet.

Wallmark, 25, still doesn’t have a goal this season for the Blackhawks and has been limited to just three points in 16 games. Once a regular with the Carolina Hurricanes, he has become a part-time depth player with Chicago and, with the recent acquisition of Vinnie Hinostroza, on the outside looking in. With a cap hit of $950K there is a chance he is claimed, but it seems much more likey that Wallmark will clear and find himself on the taxi squad.

The same can be said about Kero, even if he has been playing well of late. The 28-year-old has five points in 20 games for the Stars this season, his first taste of NHL action since 2017-18. Given that Kero has already cleared waivers twice this season, Dallas should feel comfortable about putting him through again. If he isn’t claimed, he can once again bounce back and forth between the taxi squad and active roster, saving the team some cap on off days.

Buffalo – Dylan Cozens, Rasmus Dahlin, Taylor Hall, Curtis Lazar, Jake McCabe, Casey Mittelstadt, Brandon Montour, Tobias Rieder, Rasmus Ristolainen
Chicago – Ryan Carpenter
Colorado –  Samuel Girard, Tyson Jost, Gabriel Landeskog
Los Angeles – Andreas Athanasiou, Blake Lizotte
Minnesota –  Nick Bjugstad, Nick Bonino, Jonas Brodin, Ian Cole, Joel Eriksson Ek, Marcus Foligno, Brad Hunt, Marcus Johansson, Carson Soucy, Jared Spurgeon, Nico Sturm, Cam Talbot, Victor Rask*
New Jersey – Nathan Bastian, Jesper Bratt, Connor Carrick, Eric Comrie, Nikita Gusev, Nico Hischier, Jack Hughes, Andreas Johnsson, Dmitry Kulikov, Janne Kuokkanen, Michael McLeod, Damon Severson, Yegor Sharangovich, Ty Smith, Matt Tennyson, Sami Vatanen, Travis Zajac
Philadelphia – Justin Braun, Claude Giroux, Travis Sanheim
Vegas – Tomas Nosek*

As a reminder, inclusion on this list does not mean that a player has tested positive for Coronavirus or even that they have been confirmed as a close contact to another positive person. Included in the NHL’s list of possible reasons for someone being on the list is are the following:

(1) an initial positive test which remains unconfirmed until confirmatory testing is completed pursuant to the Positive Test Protocol; (2) mandated isolation for symptomatic individuals pursuant to the Positive Test Protocol; (3) required quarantine as a high-risk close contact in accordance with the Positive Test Protocol; (4) isolation based on a confirmed positive test result and/or; (5) quarantine for travel or other reasons as outlined in the COVID-19 Protocol

Players removed today: Lucas Wallmark, Chicago Blackhawks; Kyle Palmieri, New Jersey Devils; Pavel Zacha, New Jersey Devils

Nosek has been added today after being removed from the third period of last night’s game against the Ducks. The league has issued a statement regarding the situation:

The National Hockey League announced today that, immediately upon notification that one of its Players had returned a positive test for COVID-19, the Vegas Golden Knights removed forward Tomas Nosek from Tuesday night’s game vs. Anaheim, in precise accordance with the terms of the League’s COVID Protocol. Nosek was immediately isolated from his teammates and close contact tracing was begun, also in accordance with the Protocol.

Tomorrow night’s game in Las Vegas between the Golden Knights and Ducks remains scheduled to be played at 10 p.m. ET/7 p.m. PT. Rapid PCR Point of Care tests will be administered to all Players and staff on both teams in advance of that game (in addition to the daily lab-based PCR testing) and any decision regarding potential postponement will be made by the League’s, NHLPA’s and Clubs’ medical officials, following all COVID Protocols and local and federal regulations.

The Devils had two players removed today, a good sign that they are heading towards a resumption of play eventually. The team is still currently shutdown while they deal with the situation.

*denotes new addition

Buffalo – Dylan Cozens, Rasmus Dahlin, Taylor Hall, Curtis Lazar, Jake McCabe, Casey Mittelstadt, Brandon Montour, Tobias Rieder, Rasmus Ristolainen
Chicago – Ryan Carpenter, Lucas Wallmark
Colorado –  Samuel Girard, Tyson Jost, Gabriel Landeskog
Los Angeles – TBA
Minnesota –  Nick Bjugstad, Nick Bonino, Ian Cole, Joel Eriksson Ek, Marcus Foligno, Brad Hunt, Marcus Johansson, Carson Soucy, Jared Spurgeon, Nico Sturm, Cam Talbot*, Jonas Brodin*
New Jersey – Nathan Bastian, Jesper Bratt, Connor Carrick, Eric Comrie, Nikita Gusev, Nico Hischier, Jack Hughes, Andreas Johnsson, Dmitry Kulikov, Janne Kuokkanen, Michael McLeod, Kyle Palmieri, Damon Severson, Yegor Sharangovich, Ty Smith, Matt Tennyson, Sami Vatanen, Pavel Zacha, Travis Zajac
Philadelphia – Travis Sanheim, Justin Braun*, Claude Giroux*

As a reminder, inclusion on this list does not mean that a player has tested positive for Coronavirus or even that they have been confirmed as a close contact to another positive person. Included in the NHL’s list of possible reasons for someone being on the list is are the following:

(1) an initial positive test which remains unconfirmed until confirmatory testing is completed pursuant to the Positive Test Protocol; (2) mandated isolation for symptomatic individuals pursuant to the Positive Test Protocol; (3) required quarantine as a high-risk close contact in accordance with the Positive Test Protocol; (4) isolation based on a confirmed positive test result and/or; (5) quarantine for travel or other reasons as outlined in the COVID-19 Protocol

Players removed today: Victor Rask, Minnesota Wild; Alex Pietrangelo, Vegas Golden Knights; Jakub Vrana, Washington Capitals

The big news today is the addition of Braun and Giroux, leading to the postponement of tonight’s Philadelphia Flyers game. The league is continuing to monitor the situation to see if any further postponements are needed.

Minnesota also has two new additions as the virus continues “creeping through the team.” Their season is still on pause as they sort through this outbreak, which now has a total of 12 players in the protocol.

*denotes new addition

Buffalo – Dylan Cozens, Rasmus Dahlin, Taylor Hall, Curtis Lazar, Jake McCabe, Casey Mittelstadt, Brandon Montour, Tobias Rieder, Rasmus Ristolainen
Chicago – Ryan Carpenter, Lucas Wallmark
Colorado –  Samuel Girard, Tyson Jost, Gabriel Landeskog
Edmonton – TBA
Los Angeles – Andreas Athanasiou, Blake Lizotte
Minnesota –  Nick Bjugstad, Nick Bonino, Ian Cole, Joel Eriksson Ek, Marcus Foligno, Brad Hunt, Marcus Johansson, Jared Spurgeon, Nico Sturm, Victor Rask*, Carson Soucy*
New Jersey – Nathan Bastian, Jesper Bratt, Eric Comrie, Nikita Gusev, Jack Hughes, Andreas Johnsson, Dmitry Kulikov, Janne Kuokkanen, Michael McLeod, Kyle Palmieri, Damon Severson, Yegor Sharangovich, Ty Smith, Matt Tennyson, Pavel Zacha, Travis Zajac,  Connor Carrick*, Nico Hischier*, Sami Vatanen*
Philadelphia – Travis Sanheim
Pittsburgh – TBA
Vegas – Alex Pietrangelo
Washington – Jakub Vrana

As a reminder, inclusion on this list does not mean that a player has tested positive for Coronavirus or even that they have been confirmed as a close contact to another positive person. Included in the NHL’s list of possible reasons for someone being on the list is are the following:

(1) an initial positive test which remains unconfirmed until confirmatory testing is completed pursuant to the Positive Test Protocol; (2) mandated isolation for symptomatic individuals pursuant to the Positive Test Protocol; (3) required quarantine as a high-risk close contact in accordance with the Positive Test Protocol; (4) isolation based on a confirmed positive test result and/or; (5) quarantine for travel or other reasons as outlined in the COVID-19 Protocol

Players removed today: Evgeny Kuznetsov, Washington Capitals; Ilya Samsonov, Washington Capitals; Adam Boqvist, Chicago Blackhawks

Dahlin was technically added late last night, joining the rest of the Sabres on the list. More games for Buffalo, New Jersey, and Minnesota were postponed today.

After being removed only yesterday, Vatanen re-appears on the Devils list today. Carrick is also there after previously appearing due to him leaving the league’s protocols to attend the birth of his child. The Devils are now up to 19 players, the largest number by any team this season.

*denotes new addition

Anaheim – TBA
Buffalo – Taylor Hall, Rasmus Ristolainen, Brandon Montour, Tobias Rieder, Jake McCabe, Dylan Cozens, Curtis Lazar, Casey Mittelstadt*
Chicago – Adam Boqvist, Ryan Carpenter, Lucas Wallmark
Colorado – Tyson Jost, Gabriel Landeskog, Samuel Girard*
Dallas – TBA
Florida – TBA
Los Angeles – Andreas Athanasiou, Blake Lizotte
Minnesota – Marcus Foligno, Nick Bjugstad, Nick Bonino, Joel Eriksson Ek, Marcus Johansson, Jared Spurgeon, Nico Sturm, Ian Cole, Brad Hunt*
New Jersey – Kyle Palmieri, Travis Zajac, Andreas Johnsson, Janne Kuokkanen, Michael McLeod, Pavel Zacha, Jack Hughes, Damon Severson, Ty Smith, Matt Tennyson, Jesper Bratt, Nathan Bastian, Nikita Gusev, Yegor Sharangovich, Dmitry Kulikov, Eric Comrie*
Philadelphia – Travis Sanheim*
Vegas – Alex Pietrangelo
Washington – Evgeny Kuznetsov, Ilya Samsonov, Jakub Vrana

As a reminder, inclusion on this list does not mean that a player has tested positive for Coronavirus or even that they have been confirmed as a close contact to another positive person. Included in the NHL’s list of possible reasons for someone being on the list is are the following:

(1) an initial positive test which remains unconfirmed until confirmatory testing is completed pursuant to the Positive Test Protocol; (2) mandated isolation for symptomatic individuals pursuant to the Positive Test Protocol; (3) required quarantine as a high-risk close contact in accordance with the Positive Test Protocol; (4) isolation based on a confirmed positive test result and/or; (5) quarantine for travel or other reasons as outlined in the COVID-19 Protocol

Players removed today: Sami Vatanen, New Jersey Devils

Sanheim was put into COVID protocol earlier in the day for COVID-19 and while that doesn’t necessarily mean he tested positive, he at least could have been seriously exposed. However, the NHL announced that they conducted rapid testing for all Flyers players, coaches and staff before their afternoon game with the Washington Capitals. All tests came back negative and the game was still played.

*denotes new addition

Buffalo – Taylor Hall, Rasmus Ristolainen, Brandon Montour, Tobias Rieder, Jake McCabe, Dylan Cozens*, Curtis Lazar*
Chicago – Adam Boqvist, Ryan Carpenter, Lucas Wallmark
Colorado – Tyson Jost, Gabriel Landeskog
Dallas – Andrej Sekera
Los Angeles – Andreas Athanasiou, Blake Lizotte
Minnesota – Marcus Foligno, Nick Bjugstad, Nick Bonino, Joel Eriksson Ek, Marcus Johansson, Jared Spurgeon, Nico Sturm, Ian Cole*
New Jersey – Kyle Palmieri, Sami Vatanen, Travis Zajac, Andreas Johnsson, Janne Kuokkanen, Michael McLeod, Pavel Zacha, Jack Hughes, Damon Severson, Ty Smith, Matt Tennyson, Jesper Bratt, Nathan Bastian, Nikita Gusev, Yegor Sharangovich, Dmitry Kulikov
Vegas – Alex Pietrangelo
Washington – Evgeny Kuznetsov, Ilya Samsonov, Jakub Vrana*

As a reminder, inclusion on this list does not mean that a player has tested positive for Coronavirus or even that they have been confirmed as a close contact to another positive person. Included in the NHL’s list of possible reasons for someone being on the list is are the following:

(1) an initial positive test which remains unconfirmed until confirmatory testing is completed pursuant to the Positive Test Protocol; (2) mandated isolation for symptomatic individuals pursuant to the Positive Test Protocol; (3) required quarantine as a high-risk close contact in accordance with the Positive Test Protocol; (4) isolation based on a confirmed positive test result and/or; (5) quarantine for travel or other reasons as outlined in the COVID-19 Protocol

Players removed today: Connor Carrick, New Jersey Devils; Pierre-Luc Dubois, Winnipeg Jets

It should come as little surprise that the Buffalo Sabres and Minnesota Wild, two teams that have had games postponed due to COVID outbreaks, have new additions to the CPRA list. The Sabres are up to seven players, as well as head coach Ralph Krueger, in the protocol. Minnesota has eight players on the list now, including Cole who was added late last night, presumably following a positive test.

The surprise addition to list is Vrana for the Capitals. Washington has had the one incidence of COVID Protocol violation, one that cost them $100K and landed four players on the list, but otherwise had been unaffected. Yet, Vrana is now out of action with no word yet on the cause.

If there is any good news in regards to the Coronavirus in the NHL today, it is that all Vegas Golden Knights coaches were finally back at practice today after the entire staff had previously landed in the protocol. The New Jersey Devils also add one more player to their thin active list as Carrick, who had merely left the team for the birth of his child, has timed out of the protocol.

*denotes new addition