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Brent Burns Placed In COVID Protocol

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Dec 21: Burns has been joined by Tomas Hertl and Jonathan Dahlen, both added to the protocol today. An additional Sharks staff member has also been added.

Dec 20: When the San Jose Sharks experienced their COVID outbreak earlier in the season, one of the key names that went unaffected and helped carry them through was Brent Burns. The veteran defenseman has played in all 30 of the team’s games so far this season, but that could be about to change. Burns has been added to the COVID protocol, though his placement there is apparently retroactive to December 17. That means he would be technically eligible to return for the Sharks’ next game, currently scheduled for December 27, should he pass all of the medical testing.

Burns, 36, has averaged nearly 26 minutes a night this season for the Sharks and is once again racking up points at a strong pace. The roving defender has 17 points in 30 games, good for 23rd in the league among defensemen. Should he have to miss any games after the holiday break, it would be a huge blow to San Jose’s chances.

Given that no other players have entered in the past few days for the Sharks, the hope is that this is a contained case. If that proves incorrect and other players enter the protocol in the coming days, they wouldn’t be available when the season resumes. For a team just barely hanging on in the Pacific Division playoff race, losing any more bodies could have a dire impact.

Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images

Coyotes-Kraken Game Postponed

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And then there were eight. The NHL has announced another postponement, this time between the Seattle Kraken and Arizona Coyotes. The game tomorrow night will be rescheduled for later this season, after another Seattle player tested positive for coronavirus. As Geoff Baker of the Seattle Times writes, the team abruptly canceled practice today–Yanni Gourde had already taken the ice–as they waited for confirmation on the positive result.

The Kraken canceled practice yesterday as well after Carson Soucy entered the protocol. They will now be silent through the holiday break after their Thursday game against the Calgary Flames was already postponed. Seattle is set to resume in a game against the Vancouver Canucks on December 27.

The Coyotes meanwhile can stay home to welcome in the Tampa Bay Lightning for Thursday night, their last game before the holiday break.

Forty-four games have been postponed this season. Eight remain on the NHL schedule this week.

Devils-Penguins Game Postponed

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Another day, another postponement. The NHL has announced that the New Jersey Devils and Pittsburgh Penguins will not play tomorrow due to “COVID-related issues” affecting the Devils. That means New Jersey is now off through the holiday break, as their game Thursday against the Montreal Canadiens was previously postponed.

Notably, these two teams played just last night, with the Penguins coming out on top 3-2. Nico Hischier, Ryan Graves, and Jesper Boqvist were all back on the ice today at practice after having been previously in the COVID protocol, but the announcement suggests there are more positive cases in the Devils organization.

The count is now at 43 for postponed games in the NHL, something that could certainly be classified as a “material disruption,” the term used by the league in regards to pulling the plug on the Olympics. There are of course other indicators that the players themselves don’t want to attend, but these postponements likely would have been enough anyway.

There are now just nine games scheduled for this week in the NHL.

Blue Jackets, Canadiens Shut Down Through Holiday Break

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Two more teams have been shut down in the NHL as Columbus Blue Jackets and Montreal Canadiens will be put on pause through the holiday break. The Blue Jackets canceled today’s morning skate while waiting for COVID results and did not actually even travel to Buffalo, where they were supposed to play this evening. The teams were set to play a rematch in Columbus on Thursday, but that game has also been postponed. The Blue Jackets have subsequently placed Eric Robinson, Andrew Peeke, and Joonas Korpisalo in the COVID protocol.

The Canadiens actually didn’t have any games scheduled as they had already been postponed, but will also pause team activities. Still, Mike Hoffman was added to the protocol today, joining Artturi Lehkonen and Laurent Dauphin.

More than 40 games have now been postponed through the early part of the season, many of those coming over the last few days as the NHL deals with a massive COVID-19 outbreak. Several teams have been shut down completely through the Christmas break and all games that required cross-border travel have also been postponed.

While there is hope that things can get back to normal in the coming weeks, confidence from the NHL and NHLPA that the season will continue, and some teams still not really affected by the outbreak, it’s certainly not a perfect scenario for the NHL schedule maker. Remember, even if the league doesn’t go to the Olympics, deputy commissioner Bill Daly said during a media availability earlier this month that it would be difficult to use that three-week break for many rescheduled games. Buildings have already booked events for many of those dates, though there will likely be some opportunities to make up some of these missed games.

NHL Shuts Down Detroit Red Wings Through Holiday Break

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The NHL announced today that due to continued COVID spread within the organization, the league has shut down the Detroit Red Wings through the holiday break.

Detroit’s facilities will be closed through at least December 26, the last day of the holiday break. Until then, players and staff have effectively been sent home.

As a result of the shutdown, Detroit’s game originally scheduled for Thursday against the Minnesota Wild is postponed. It’s the 40th NHL game to be postponed this season, further casting Olympic participation into doubt.

There are six Detroit players currently in COVID protocol – Filip Zadina, Carter Rowney, Givani Smith, Michael Rasmussen, Robby Fabbri, and Alex Nedeljkovic. Due to the nature of the release, it’s possible that more additions will be announced later tonight.

The Red Wings will come out of the holiday break with a 15-13-3 record and .532 points percentage, which is the fifth-best in the Atlantic Division.

Detroit’s shutdown was originally reported by Daily Faceoff’s Frank Seravalli.

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.

NHL Postpones Predators And Bruins Games Through Holiday Break, Postpones Three Other Games

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As expected, there have been more postponements around the league as a result of the sharp increase in players testing positive for COVID-19.  The league announced that the Bruins and Predators have had their games postponed through the holiday break while three other contests this weekend have been postponed including tonight’s Canucks-Maple Leafs contest.  A full summary of the postponed games by team from today’s announcement is as follows:

Arizona: Dec. 19 at Vancouver
Boston: Dec. 19 at Ottawa, Dec. 21 vs Carolina, Dec. 23 vs Colorado
Nashville: Dec. 19 at Carolina, Dec. 21 vs Winnipeg
Seattle: Dec. 19 vs Toronto
Toronto: Dec. 18 at Vancouver, Dec. 19 at Seattle
Vancouver: Dec. 18 vs Toronto, Dec. 19 vs Arizona

These postponements come on the heels of Calgary, Colorado, and Florida all having their games postponed yesterday through the holiday break plus tonight’s Boston-Montreal contest.  No games have been rescheduled at this time.

The NHL has a window to withdraw their participation from the upcoming Olympics as a result of the outbreak that has hit the league now and with five teams currently out of action plus the Senators and Islanders having missed games earlier this season due to COVID, it will be interesting to see if they’re able to reschedule all of those games without needing to use the three-week break for the Olympics.  The NHL can withdraw without financial penalty if the decision is made January 10th or earlier.

More Postponements Announced Due To COVID Outbreaks

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The NHL has officially postponed several games, shutting down the Calgary Flames, Colorado Avalanche, and Florida Panthers through the holiday break. The following games will need to be rescheduled:

  • Calgary: Dec 21 vs Anaheim, Dec 23 vs Seattle
  • Colorado: Dec 18 vs Tampa Bay, Dec 20 @ Detroit, Dec 22 @ Buffalo, Dec 23 @ Boston
  • Florida: Dec 18 @ Minnesota, Dec 21 @ Chicago, Dec 23 vs Nashville

The Panthers have been ravaged by COVID recently, placing eight players in the protocol this week. Aaron Ekblad, Frank Vatrano, Sam Bennett, Radko Gudas, Ryan Lomberg, Brandon Montour, and Carter Verhaeghe are all unavailable for the club, while a postponement could suggest even further poor results in testing today. It would be the second time in just a few days that the Wild have a game postponed due to their opponent’s situation, after missing Tuesday’s match against the Carolina Hurricanes.

For Colorado, this was a predictable outcome after they were stripped of several key players just before game time last night. Darcy Kuemper and Cale Makar were both ruled out despite expecting to play only hours after Andre Burakovsky and J.T. Compher were added to the protocol. That forced the Avalanche to play shorthanded and with an emergency backup goaltender though according to multiple reports including Elliotte Friedman of Sportsnet, Colorado was actually given the option to not play the game. The Avalanche ended up losing the game by a 5-2 margin, and it now looks like they’ll be given a few days to get their outbreak under control.

Calgary has basically the entire organization in the protocol, with just four active players outside of it after Mikael Backlund entered this morning. The team had already seen games on Dec 13, 14, 16 and 18 postponed.

Despite these postponements, Greg Wyshynski of ESPN reports that there is still not a strong push to pause the season entirely. The league instituted some protocol changes recently and, according to Wyshynski, wants to give them “some runway.”

Canadiens-Bruins Game Postponed

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The NHL has announced another postponement, this time for a game scheduled between the Boston Bruins and Montreal Canadiens for tomorrow night. This comes after the Bruins played undermanned yesterday and the Canadiens played in an empty building. There are COVID and hockey-related revenue concerns to be considered by the league, after the Bruins have continued to place more and more players into the protocol.

Just before the Bruins took the ice yesterday, Oskar Steen was placed in the COVID protocol, joining six others from the team including top players like Brad Marchand and Patrice Bergeron. The league has maintained throughout this season that they’ll only start postponing games if the spread seems to be out of control, which it appears to be in Boston.

The Bruins are one of the teams that went west and played the Calgary Flames recently, a team that has had such widespread positive testing that they’ve completely shut down. Like in the case of the Carolina Hurricanes, who placed a good chunk of players in the protocol but then had multiple days with no more positive tests, the hope is that a lengthy postponement won’t be necessary for the Bruins. That obviously remains to be seen.

Calgary Flames Games Postponed Through December 18

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Dec 15: Given that there are more than two dozen members of the organization now in the protocol, the Flames’ game on Saturday against the Columbus Blue Jackets has also been postponed. The team’s practice facilities are also going to be closed until further notice.

Dec 13: The NHL has shut down a third team this season, postponing all Calgary Flames games through Thursday, December 16. The decision comes after six players and one staff member entered the COVID protocol during a 24-hour period. The league notes “concern with continued spread” and the likelihood of further positive test results led to the postponement. Elias Lindholm, Andrew Mangiapane, Brad Richardson, Adam Ruzicka, Chris Tanev, Nikita Zadorov and a member of the team’s training staff are those in the protocol.

Calgary’s training facilities have been closed for the time being. The team was set to take on the Chicago Blackhawks this evening, the Nashville Predators tomorrow night, and the Toronto Maple Leafs on Thursday, three games that will have to be rescheduled for later this season.

The Flames follow the New York Islanders and Ottawa Senators who have also seen COVID-related postponements, though they weren’t the only ones with serious outbreaks. The San Jose Sharks at one point had seven players in the protocol and were forced to continue their season, while the St. Louis Blues have played shorthanded several times because of COVID absences that they didn’t have cap space to replace.

The cap very well could be part of the decision-making in this case as well. Calgary is currently pushed right up to the salary cap ceiling, with less than $1MM in room for recalls. They could perhaps fill one of those six absences with a call-up, but not six, meaning the Flames would be seriously shorthanded had the league not stepped in. While this certainly may not be of comfort to teams like the Sharks, Islanders, and Senators, who were all forced to play with several minor league replacements for a while, it also could be something the league wants to avoid moving forward.

One of the biggest questions now is that of Olympic participation. NHL commissioner Gary Bettman put the decision squarely on the NHLPA’s shoulders when he spoke last week, but still maintained the option to pull the plug himself if the season experiences a “material disruption” of its schedule. The Flames by themselves likely don’t represent that, but the more games that have to be rescheduled due to COVID outbreaks, the more difficult an Olympic break becomes.

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