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The polar vortex that has gripped Buffalo, NY for the past 72 hours has not intimidated inquiring eyes from the Sabres-Islanders game tonight.
With the December 19 NHL trade freeze approaching, many NHL dignitaries and pro scouts have braved the lake effect snows and sub zero wind chills to travel to Buffalo to study the Sabres and Islanders.
The Sabres and Islanders hae players whose names have been prevalent in trade rumors since last summer. Buffalo forwards Evander Kane and Zemgus Girgensons are interesting players to many NHL teams right now. Travis Hamonic, Calvin De Haan, Nick Leddy, Ryan Strome, and Casey Cizickas are among the many Islanders being mentioned in trade rumors.
For the umpteenth time in the past two months, the director of player personnel for the Anaheim Ducks is in Buffalo. THe Ducks are still searching for a veteran two-way center/forward.
The Toronto Maple Leafs have dispatched their director of pro scouting to Buffalo. The Leafs are looking to bolster their blue line.
The direcort of pro scouting of the Montreal Canadiens continues to make the trip to Buffalo. The Habs are still looking for a veteran centerman.
The Edmonton Oilers' senior vice president of hockey operations has made the trip to Buffalo. The Oilers are always looking to improve their forward ranks and D corps.
Also in attendance are pro scouts from Colorado, Chicago, Carolina, Dallas, NY Rangers, Las Vegas, Boston.
Per teh NHL Collective Bargaining Agreement, the annual NHL holiday roster freeze starts Monday at midnight, effectively shutting down any player movement until after the holidays.
CBA Article 16.5(d)) states that NHL rosters are frozen from December 19th at 11:59pm through to December 28th at 12:01am.
Translation:
No trades, loans, and waivers.
There are a few exceptions to the rule. They are:
Players recalled from the minors.
A player can be recalled from a team’s AHL or ECHL team during the roster freeze. This allows teams to replace injured NHL players with those in the AHL.
Players claimed from waivers if placed before the roster freeze.
If a player was placed on Regular Waivers before the freeze, and was claimed during the freeze, that player will still have to report to his new club immediately.
Players reassigned after emergency recall. Any player in the NHL on an emergency recall may be loaned back to his minor league team during the freeze.
Waiver-exempt players recalled after December 11th. Any waiver-exempt player recalled after December 11th may be loaned back to his minor league team until 11:59pm on December 23rd. Any movement necessary to make room for a player returning from LTIR. Teams are permitted to waive or reassign players if the team needs to make roster space for a player returning from Long-Term Injury Reserve. The clause states any transactions necessary, but it is unclear whether that would allow trades between NHL teams (assuming the moving team received non-frozen assets in return).
Aside from these exceptions, NHL rosters remain static until the 28th to provide stability for players and their families during the holiday period.
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It's the season of giving and the Department Of Player Saftey is in a generous mood.
Cody Eakin earned himself a four game ban destroying NY Rangers goalie Henrik Lundqvist.
Eakin was assessed a five-minute major and was booted from the game for the collision with Lundqvist in the first period Thursday.
The NHL said that Eakin didn't attempt to make a distinct effort to avoid contact with The King.
Lundqvist wasn't injured on the play.
It's the first suspension of Eakin's career, and he's eligible to return December 29 against Colorado.
Eakin will forfeit $85,555.55 for the 4 game suspension.
The King lost his crown in the collision and was banished to the quiet room for concussion protocol.
Lundqvist would later return to put the finishing touches on the 2-0 Rangers shutout.
Talk about revenge being a dish best served cold.
In my opinion, the Rangers players who refused to retalitate on Eakin should be benched for their next game. Lundvist was annihilated in a scary collision and his teammates didn't come to his defense. That is downright disrespectful to watch your teammate get mugged and do nothing about it.
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Mike Hoffman knows better than to cross check opponents high and from behind.
Hoffman has been suspended two games for his high hit on San Jose's Logan Couture.
Thanks, Department Of Players Safety
Hoffman will forfeit $57,638.89 for the 2 game suspension.
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The NHL also announced that Marc-Edouard Vlasic was fined $5,000, the maximum allowed under the collective bargaining agreement, for the “dangerous use of his stick… on Ottawa’s Erik Karlsson.
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Remember when Bob Hartley won the 2015 Jack Adams Trophy as the head coach of the Calgary Flames? Hartley's Flames win a playoff series with young guns Johnny Gaudreau and Sean Monahan at the helm.
Remember when the Flames canned Hartley last season?
Hartley wasn't out of work for very long.
According to Aivis Kalniņš, Hartley will be named head coach of Latvia's men's national hockey team.
According to Kalniņš, former NHL head coaches Patrick Roy and Ron Rolston were also being considered for the Team Latvia gig.
Hartley has nearly 1,000 career NHL games coached on his resume.
Hartley has previously won the Stanley Cup with the Colorado Avalanche in 2001.
I'll be curious to see if Hartley will inspire and motivate his Latvian hockey players the same way that former Buffalo Sabres head coach and Latvian folk hero Ted Nolan has done in the recent past at the 2014 Sochi Olympics and at the IIHF World Championships.