NHL Thread Because There Isn't An NHL Thread

The NHL will discuss the possibility of returning to a bubble for the 2021 postseason, Sportsnet's Elliotte Friedman reported on "Saturday Headlines."

The league hosted the 2020 playoffs in separate bubbles in Toronto and Edmonton. Whether or not the same measures will be used depends on how the COVID-19 pandemic evolves, Friedman adds.

Over 33,000 tests were administered during last season's 24-team playoffs, and zero positive results were returned. Teams entered their respective bubbles on July 26, and the Tampa Bay Lightning won the Stanley Cup on Sept. 28.


Nearly every team has had at least one player enter COVID-19 protocol since the 2020-21 season began Jan. 13. The Vancouver Canucks currently have 14 players on the COVID-19 list, and the Brazil variant of the coronavirus has reportedly infected some of those players.

The regular season is scheduled to end May 8, with the postseason beginning May 11, but those dates are subject to change if the league needs to reschedule games.
 
Boston Bruins goaltender Jaroslav Halak has tested positive for COVID-19, head coach Bruce Cassidy said, according to The Athletic's Fluto Shinzawa.

Halak will miss Monday's clash versus the Philadelphia Flyers, Shinzawa adds.

Dan Vladar will start for Boston, with Jeremy Swayman serving as his backup. Tuukka Rask remains sidelined with an upper-body injury.


Halak started Saturday versus the Pittsburgh Penguins. However, the Bruins have recently dealt with a false positive as they held out forward Brad Marchand for two games even though he didn't contract the virus.

Halak is 9-5-3 this season with a .910 save percentage.
 
And Staal scores in OT vs team some other country (to which team Canada loaned its backup Mike Smith to keep it interesting).
 
Here we go!

Buffalo Sabres forward Taylor Hall will not play Tuesday against the New Jersey Devils, the team announced.

"It's part of the business, we all know that," interim head coach Don Granato said. "Taylor knows that."

Hall is widely expected to be traded ahead of the April 12 deadline. The former Hart Trophy winner is a pending unrestricted free agent and the Sabres are the worst team in the NHL.


The 29-year-old's contract includes a full no-movement clause which allows him to control his own destiny, and he's said recently he'd be willing to listen to trade offers. The deal carries an $8-million cap hit, per CapFriendly.

Hall is mired in the worst season of his career, as he's tallied two goals and 17 assists in 37 games.

Devils forward Kyle Palmieri is also sitting out in anticipation of a possible trade.
 
The Montreal Canadiens placed forward Brendan Gallagher on long-term injured reserve, and he's expected to miss at least six weeks with a fractured thumb, the team announced Wednesday.

The Habs receive $3.75 million in salary relief with the transaction, according to CapFriendly, giving them more flexibility ahead of the April 12 trade deadline. There's no salary cap in the postseason.

Gallagher suffered the injury while blocking a shot Monday against the Edmonton Oilers.


The pesky 28-year-old winger finishes his season with 14 goals and nine assists in 35 games.

The 2020-21 regular season is projected to wrap up by May 11 - at the earliest - so it's possible Gallagher returns at some point during Round 1 of the playoffs, should Montreal qualify.
 
Hollywood said:
The Montreal Canadiens placed forward Brendan Gallagher on long-term injured reserve, and he's expected to miss at least six weeks with a fractured thumb, the team announced Wednesday.

The Habs receive $3.75 million in salary relief with the transaction, according to CapFriendly, giving them more flexibility ahead of the April 12 trade deadline. There's no salary cap in the postseason.

Gallagher suffered the injury while blocking a shot Monday against the Edmonton Oilers.


The pesky 28-year-old winger finishes his season with 14 goals and nine assists in 35 games.

The 2020-21 regular season is projected to wrap up by May 11 - at the earliest - so it's possible Gallagher returns at some point during Round 1 of the playoffs, should Montreal qualify.
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There is some talk that the move is in part because 6 weeks is minimum for LT-IR to get cap-relief. 6-weeks ends up right in the middle of the 1st round of the playoffs if they start as currently planned (which is likely to be pushed back given the rescheduling that may have to take place due to the Canucks situation). Gives the Habs some 3.5M cap space to actually make another move at the deadline.
 
The Toronto Maple Leafs are holding forward William Nylander out of the lineup against the Montreal Canadiens on Wednesday after the forward was exposed to a possible case of COVID-19 with a close contact outside the team, the club announced.

Nylander is isolating and his status will be re-evaluated tomorrow pending the results of further testing.

After consulting with the NHL, the game will go on as planned, the club confirmed. Forward Alexander Barabanov will take Nylander's place in the lineup.
 
Winnipeg Jets captain Blake Wheeler won't fly with the team on its upcoming road trip and his return timetable is unclear, head coach Paul Maurice said Wednesday.

"He took the elbow last game, was fine, felt good, started to feel a little off (Tuesday), then (Wednesday) started not feeling great," the bench boss told reporters. " ... We don't have a diagnosis on that yet, but we're going to treat it as it is. ... (We need to be) really careful with these things."

"We don't want him flying in and out until we know exactly what's going to happen here," he continued.


Maurice added that Wheeler is out indefinitely.

Ottawa Senators forward Brady Tkachuk was given a minor penalty for elbowing Wheeler up high late in the second period of Winnipeg's 4-3 win Monday. Wheeler finished the contest, playing seven shifts in the third.


The Jets are embarking on a five-game road trip beginning with Thursday's matchup against the Montreal Canadiens. Winnipeg will play Montreal again Saturday, then face the Senators on Monday and Wednesday before meeting the Toronto Maple Leafs on Thursday.

Wheeler had played in all 39 of the Jets' games in 2021, collecting 10 goals and 22 assists while averaging 18:16 of ice time. The 34-year-old has worn the "C" for Winnipeg since 2016-17, and he's spent 10-plus campaigns of his 13 NHL seasons with the Jets franchise.
 
BjorgenFjorgen said:
I really didn't expect the four playoff spots in the North to be basically spoken for already.
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I’m trying to get used to the idea that Florida has TWO teams, let alone the shitty one not being shitty (apparently?) so I’m all off-kilter.

also apparently there’s a WHOLE DIVISION in the West?

where’s daddy’s pre-post-season special medicine?
 
TRADE ALERT 🚨

The New York Islanders acquired forwards Kyle Palmieri and Travis Zajac from the New Jersey Devils in exchange for forwards A.J. Greer, Mason Jobst, a 2021 first-round pick and a conditional 2022 fourth-round pick, the team announced.

New Jersey agreed to retain 50% of both Zajac and Palmieri's salaries.

More to come.
 
Turbo said:
I never really noticed how ugly Mitch Marner is. He really needs to talk to his bud Matthews about getting a snazzy stash going to hide that mug. if he can grow one that is. All hope may already be lost.
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We 100% can not encourage the molestache for any player, no matter how ugly. For any reason.

Related, was it Recchi that used to get fans chanting “ug-ly” at him? For whatever reason I was thinking about that earlier this week.
 
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