NYHN Daily: More Islanders In COVID Protocol, New Roster Rules & More

The New York Islanders practiced Sunday night, but they were without a few players as Cal Clutterbuck, Zach Parise, Oliver Wahlstrom and Anthony Beauvillier were added to COVID-19 protocol. Islanders forward Mat Barzal was back on the ice, with Matt Martin and Robin Salo scheduled to return on Wednesday, Dec. 29 from protocol. Islanders defenseman Ryan Pulock is back on the ice skating, with no timetable for his return.

These stories and more in today’s daily links!

Keeping it ON the Island

The NHL and their teams returned from their Christmas break on Sunday in hopes that the mini-pause would alleviate the league-wide COVID-19 outbreak. That was not the case for the Islanders on Sunday, as before their evening practice, forwards Cal Clutterbuck, Anthony Beauvillier, Zach Parise, and Oliver Wahlstrom were placed in COVID-19 protocol. Cole Bardreau, Simon Holmstrom, and Grant Hutton were added to the taxi squad, which is now back in place from now through the NHL All-star Game in early February. (NYI Hockey Now)

I would like to share with you a poem titled “Twelve Weeks of Hockey” by yours truly. Please enjoy this Christmas treat and sing along if you know the words. (NYI Hockey Now)

Around the National Hockey Now Boards

Though the Boston Bruins have returned to practice coming out of the Christmas break, they’re also still clearly not completely out of the COVID protocol woods. Several players including Taylor Hall and Brandon Carlo were missing from Sunday’s practice while still in COVID protocol, and the Boston Bruins announced that No. 2 center Charlie Coyle has entered the league’s COVID protocol as well. (Boston Hockey Now)

The Pittsburgh Penguins seven-game winning streak is still on hold. The Penguins restart to the 2021-22 NHL season will have to wait as multiple trusted Canadian reporters tweeted the game will be postponed. The Penguins confirmed the news just after 11 p.m. Sunday night. Toronto has 14 players in COVID protocol with the Penguins only having one player, in Evan Rodrigues. (Pittsburgh Hockey Now)

When the Florida Panthers returned to practice for the first time since Dec. 17 on Sunday, all seven players who were in Covid-19 protocols were on the ice. Aaron Ekblad, who was joined by Ryan Lomberg, Carter Verhaeghe, Radko Gudas, Brandon Montour, Sam Bennett and Frank Vatrano on the team’s Covid-19 list, was excited to be back out there. (Florida Hockey Now)

Washington Capitals prospect Oskar Magnusson is the only player from the organization playing at the 2022 World Junior Championships, and he’s already putting himself on the radar in Alberta. After Sweden’s dominant 6-3 victory over Russia in their World Juniors opener on Boxing Day, both Russia and Sweden voted on the standout players from the prelim game. Magnusson was named Sweden’s player of the game. For Russia, it was Matvei Michkov. (Washington Hockey Now)

The Detroit Red Wings still don’t know if they are playing the New York Islanders on Wednesday. If it should turn out that they are playing, who will be playing? Red Wings coach Jeff Blashill still has no idea who will be in his lineup. Blashill currently has 11 players in COVID protocol including few staff members. (Detroit Hockey Now)

As always, every week catch an article by Vegas Hockey Now regarding their AHL affiliate the Henderson Silver Knights. Vegas’ AHL affiliate just finished off a two-game set against the Abbotsford Canucks. The second game of the series featured the “Lucky Launch”, which is Henderson’s version of the “Teddy Bear Toss. Also, check out the latest regarding Vegas’ prospects. (Vegas Hockey Now)

The Colorado Avalanche thought they were receiving good news on Sunday,as five players that had been quarantining were no longer in COVID-19 protocol. However, four new players were placed into protocol following the NHL’s latest rounds of mandatory tests. Mikko Rantanen, Nazem Kadri, Pavel Francouz, Logan O’Connor and Kurtis MacDermid were added with Devon Toews, Cale Makar, Andre Burakovsky, Darcy Kuemper and J.T. Compher back on the ice. (Colorado Hockey Now)

The NHL, rocked recently by a wave of postponements and the official withdrawal from the upcoming Winter Olympics, is searching for answers with more than half their season left. At the moment, all players, vaccinated or not, are tested on a daily basis. So will targeted testing be coming to the NHL soon? hat’s what the San Jose Sharks‘ Logan Couture is hoping for. (San Jose Hockey Now)

Good riddance. Almost. Still a week remains, and although things have started to look up in the end, the calendar year 2021 is the worst in the history of the Vancouver Canucks. Maybe because of Covid other franchises can say the same thing, but in this case we’re not comparing franchises. The pandemic, combined with a handful of other factors and events, brought an unprecedented pile-up of awfulness to BC’s NHL team.(Vancouver Hockey Now)

League Business

The National Hockey League Players’ Association and the National Hockey League today announced agreement on the temporary formation of “Taxi Squads” as well as temporary changes to the Collective Bargaining Agreement to address issues related to the ongoing COVID pandemic. While some of the highlights are listed below, a full copy of the temporary changes can be found here. (NHL)