NEWSLETTER
So what is everyone doing without the hockey they had planned to watch leading up to the Holidays? Tonight was supposed to be the Blackhawks’ last game before the break, taking on the Dallas Stars looking for quick revenge after losing in overtime in their previous meeting over the weekend. That is obviously not happening.
• Here’s where the league stands with COVID as of yesterday afternoon.
#NHL Covid-19 at holiday pause (as of Dec. 22, 3pm ET)
140 players reported active in protocol (19% of rosters)
⬆️ 9 added in 24 hours
26 of 32 teams w at least 1 player in protocol
6 head coaches in protocol
50 games postponed (45 in last 9 days)
0 tests scheduled until Dec. 26— Frank Seravalli (@frank_seravalli) December 22, 2021
• 19% of rosters and only six teams unaffected by the rapid spread through the league. The pause was the right move to make. I’m still skeptical of what is to come when the league hopes to resume as usual on December 27. But we shall see.
• In the meantime, some teams like the Toronto Maple Leafs have donated the food that was supposed to be used for games that got postponed to local food banks.
Our games have been postponed at @ScotiabankArena but the food won't go to waste. 1,200 lbs of food from Leafs and Raptors games this week is going to @SecondHarvestCA pic.twitter.com/U3pM3nL2MP
— Toronto Maple Leafs (@MapleLeafs) December 22, 2021
• File that under things you love to see.
• Something we might see when the league returns to action is the reimplementation of the Taxi Squads. According to reports, the league and NHLPA are discussing that and other measures to help teams field properly competitive rosters and lineups, should they still be affected by COVID cases.
Report: NHL Could Be Bringing Back Taxi Squadshttps://t.co/iTAOYZ9ZZm
— Bleacher Nation Blackhawks (@BN_Blackhawks) December 22, 2021
• Can’t imagine the Rockford IceHogs would be too thrilled to see a number of their top players put on Taxi Squads. Also wouldn’t think the Blackhawks would want players like Lukas Reichel, Alex Nylander, or Ian Mitchell just sitting on the Taxi Squad, doing nothing.
• The idea was floated to me by Joe Olmo of WIFR In Rockford of using the NBA model and allowing teams to sign players to emergency contracts to deal with COVID absences. There are plenty of talented players sitting at home that would love to have a chance to play in the NHL again and probably should be, like Bobby Ryan and Eric Staal.
• One player making a name for himself in Chicago has been Brandon Hagel. Over the past season and a half, Hagel has quickly become a fan favorite, very much in the mold of an Andrew Shaw-type of player. But unlike Shaw, Hagel’s game is much more refined at this point in his career, as evidenced by Scott Powers of The Athletic:
Brandon Hagel's combination of hustle and skill have made him a Blackhawks fan-favorite. But the numbers say he's been even better than you think. Here's @ByScottPowers' story: https://t.co/b5U6FGfoOU
— Mark Lazerus (@MarkLazerus) December 22, 2021
• Hagel is fourth in scoring with 16 points in 27 games. He’s played 80 career NHL games and has tallied 17 goals and 40 points; that would be a pretty decent entire season for a player in his first “year” in the NHL.
• While Hagel can play the role of the “grinder” for the Blackhawks, it’s Jonathan Toews who is feeling the “grind” this season. After missing all of last year due to Chronic Immune Response Syndrome, Toews is still not feeling 100% like himself 30 games into the season.
Jonathan Toews Says This Season Has Been a “Grind”https://t.co/PW8oIFckdg
— Bleacher Nation Blackhawks (@BN_Blackhawks) December 22, 2021
• Things have been going much better in recent games, with three goals and four points over his last five games, but Toews needs to be doing more if he is going to A) live up to his contract numbers and B) help get the Blackhawks into a postseason chase.
• Hey, maybe they could use this kid?
Backhander ✔️
Outdoor rink ✔️
Celly 🙌 ✔️🎥 @teagle_17 pic.twitter.com/VS2JhxMTdU
— Chicago Blackhawks (@NHLBlackhawks) December 22, 2021
• His backhand is better than mine, sheesh.
• Yesterday, it was made official that the NHL would not be sending players to the Olympics. Players on non-NHL contracts will now populate the 2022 Games. Was this the year that Team USA, which has not won a Gold Medal since the 1980 Miracle on Ice team, could have finally been the top favorite?
With the NHL not going to the Olympics this season, has Canada missed its last opportunity to be the clear favourites for Gold?
In the drafts since 2016, the tide has shifted towards the USA. Will it be enough to change the dynamics of international hockey for good? pic.twitter.com/RZcVsYcQ7u
— JFresh (@JFreshHockey) December 22, 2021
• Unfortunately, we’ll have to wait until 2026. (Or maybe 2023 if the whole Winter Olympics get pushed back a year, which could happen because COVID doesn’t give an F- about your plans.)
• While NHL has-beens and never-weres will populate the Olympics, the World Junior Championships get underway on December 26 with future NHL stars. Team USA and Team Canada will be looking good in these custom skates from CCM:
Here are the skates some of the top U20 Canadian and American players in the world will be rocking at the upcoming #WorldJuniors 👀🔥 pic.twitter.com/iixbTCliHi
— CCM Hockey (@CCMHockey) December 22, 2021
• Pre-tournament games get underway today, with Team USA playing Finland at 1:00 p.m. CT on TSN.
• Ya’ll really want to get rid of Dylan Strome bad, eh?
2021 In Review:
Armchair-GM's Most Traded Player by Team
Alexander Kerfoot is the only player to be listed twice (he was traded more than any other player on both the Leafs and Kraken rosters throughout all of 2021)https://t.co/bj7cxEn4xe pic.twitter.com/nNw9eRAJEJ
— CapFriendly (@CapFriendly) December 23, 2021
• Also, if Kings fans want to get rid of Alex Turcotte so badly, uh Hi 👋, the Blackhawks will take him off your hands for you.
• If you are bored or, worse, stuck in quarantine without hockey, maybe take a page out of Nikola Vucevic’s book and get yourself some Lego sets.
LOL: Nikola Vucevic Built a Bunch of Legos While He Was in Quarantinehttps://t.co/RstknPbeVT
— Bleacher Nation Bulls (@BN_Bulls) December 22, 2021
• Lego sets, which apparently are more valuable than Gold?
A new study finds that select, unopened Lego sets on the secondary market saw an average annual return of 11%. That's more than gold.https://t.co/WJv8qZBl0A
— NPR (@NPR) December 22, 2021
• That will do it for today. I hope you all enjoy your Thursday!
