Sports

NHL-Teams to have ‘taxi squads’ as three more games hit by COVID-19

Published

3 years ago

December 27, 2021

The National Hockey League (NHL) and players’ body (NHLPA) said late on Sunday they had reached an agreement to allow teams to form temporary ‘taxi squads’ to avoid further disruptions to the season after three more games were postponed due to COVID-19.

The ‘taxi squads’ are made up of up to six reserve players who travel and practice with teams and can replace regulars who are ruled out due to COVID-19, with the system in place until the All Star break in February.

The NHL’s holiday break started early last week as COVID-19 cases rose. On Friday the league postponed Monday’s 14-game schedule to give teams more time to test players and staff and assess their ability to compete.

Three additional games were postponed — Columbus-Chicago on Dec. 28 and Pittsburgh-Toronto and Boston-Ottawa on Dec. 29 — taking the total number of games affected to 67.

All other games this week will go ahead as scheduled, the NHL and NHLPA said in a statement https://www.nhl.com/news/nhl-nhlpa-to-allow-taxi-squads/c-329234650.

“The league and NHLPA will continue to monitor test results and teams’ readiness to play over the coming days and weeks,” the statement added.

Several factors will be considered when assessing games should be postponed, including players unavailable to teams due to COVID-19, the risk of further transmission within a team, and a team’s access to players from its minor league affiliate.

Earlier on Sunday, the Dallas Stars placed five players in COVID-19 protocol, while the Buffalo Sabres did the same for head coach Don Granato and two of its players, as NHL teams returned to practice after an extended holiday break.

The Stars, whose Finnish defenseman Jani Hakanpaa had previously entered protocol, added two support staff members to the list, while the New York Islanders placed four of its players in protocol.

Last week the league said it would not send players to the men’s ice hockey tournament at the Beijing Winter Olympics, citing the “profound disruption” to its regular-season schedule from the pandemic.

(Reporting by Amy Tennery in New York; additional reporting by Shrivathsa Sridhar in Bengaluru; Editing by Richard Chang/Peter Rutherford)

Sports

Red Wings sign Moritz Seider to 7-year deal worth nearly $60M

Published

57 mins ago

September 19, 2024

Anne Joseph

DETROIT (AP) — The Detroit Red Wings made another investment this week in a young standout, signing Moritz Seider to a seven-year contract worth nearly $60 million.

The Red Wings announced the move with the 23-year-old German defenseman on Thursday, three days after keeping 22-year-old forward Lucas Raymond with a $64.6 million, eight-year deal.

Detroit drafted Seider with the No. 6 pick overall eight years ago and he has proven to be a great pick. He has 134 career points, the most by a defenseman drafted in 2019.

He was the NHL’s only player to have at least 200 hits and block 200-plus shots last season, when he scored a career-high nine goals and had 42 points for the second straight year.

Seider won the Calder Trophy as the league’s top rookie in 2022 after he had a career-high 50 points.

Red Wings general manager Steve Yzerman is banking on Seider, whose contract will count $8.55 million annually against the cap, and Raymond to turn a rebuilding team into a winner.

Detroit has failed to make the playoffs in eight straight seasons, the longest postseason drought in franchise history.

The Red Wings, who won four Stanley Cups from 1997 to 2008, have been reeling since their run of 25 straight postseasons ended in 2016.

Detroit was 41-32-9 last season and finished with a winning record for the first time since its last playoff appearance.

Yzerman re-signed Patrick Kane last summer and signed some free agents, including Vladimir Tarasenko to a two-year contract worth $9.5 million after he helped the Florida Panthers hoist the Cup.

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Sports

Vancouver Canucks star goalie Thatcher Demko working through rare muscle injury

Published

2 hours ago

September 19, 2024

Anne Joseph

PENTICTON, B.C. – Vancouver Canucks goalie Thatcher Demko says he’s been working his way back from a rare lower-body muscle injury since being sidelined in last season’s playoffs.

The 28-year-old all star says the rehabilitation process has been frustrating, but he has made good progress in recent weeks and is confident he’ll be able to return to playing.

He says he and his medical team have spent the last few months talking to specialists around the world, and have not found a single other hockey player who has dealt with the same injury.

Demko missed several weeks of the last season with a knee ailment and played just one game in Vancouver’s playoff run last spring before going down with the current injury.

He was not on the ice with his teammates as the Canucks started training camp in Penticton, B.C., on Thursday, but skated on his own before the sessions began.

Demko posted a 35-14-2 record with a .918 percentage, a 2.45 goals-against average and five shutouts for Vancouver last season.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published Sept. 19, 2024.

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Sports

Arch Manning to get first start for No. 1 Texas as Ewers continues recovery from abdomen strain

Published

3 hours ago

September 19, 2024

Anne Joseph

AUSTIN, Texas (AP) — No. 1 Texas will start Arch Manning at quarterback Saturday against Louisiana-Monroe while regular starter Quinn Ewers continues to recover from a strained muscle in his abdomen, coach Steve Sarkisian said Thursday.

It will be the first career start for Manning, a second year freshman. He relieved Ewers in the second quarter last week against UTSA, and passed for four touchdowns and ran for another in a 56-7 Texas victory.

Manning is the son of Cooper Manning, the grandson of former NFL quarterback Archie Manning, and the nephew of Super Bowl-winning QBs Peyton and Eli Manning.

Ewers missed several games over the previous two seasons with shoulder and sternum injuries.

The Longhorns are No. 1 for the first time since 2008 and Saturday’s matchup with the Warhawks is Texas’ last game before the program starts its first SEC schedule against Mississippi State on Sept. 28.

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