Kivlenieks dies in freak accident
Brian Hedger: Columbus Blue Jackets 24-year old goaltender Matiss Kivlenieks died from a “fireworks mortar blast chest trauma” according to the autopsy performed by the Oakland County medical examiner.
Jarmo Kekalainen: “Life is so precious and can be so fragile. Hug your loved ones today. RIP Matiss, you will be dearly missed.”
#CBJ say Kivlenieks’ death was the result of a tragic accident and “an apparent head injury suffered in a fall.”
CBJ president of hockey operations John Davidson: pic.twitter.com/Ia2vkSVVFt
— Aaron Portzline (@Aportzline) July 5, 2021
This. 😔 pic.twitter.com/Dmtu65CXsN
— 614 Hockey (@614Hockey) July 5, 2021
Canadiens make some lineup changes
Alexandre Gascon: Montreal Canadiens lines at their morning skate.
Toffoli-Danault-Gallagher
Caufield-Suzuki-Anderson
Byron-Evans-Lehkonen
Armia-Staal-Perry
John Lu: Canadiens Dominique Ducharme: “It’s nothing against (Kotkaniemi) or anything else but we have depth and we have options.”
John Lu: Ducharme: “Again, it’s not punishment… sometimes as a hockey player you face these moments,” adding “He’s a good team guy and understands the situation even though nobody wants to sit.”
Eric Engels: Ducharme: “First, we wanted to put Evans with Byron and Lehkonen and didn’t want to undo our duos of Danault-Gallagher, Caufield-Suzuki and the fourth line. On D, we wanted to bring in more dynamic skaters in Romanov and Kulak.”
Eric Engels: “This needs to stop. Seriously. No one hates Kotkaniemi. Ducharme is putting Evans with Byron and Lehkonen and likely using them as a shutdown line. He’s moving Toffoli with Danault and Gallagher for offence and moving Anderson with Caufield and Suzuki for sustained pressure.”
Eric Engels: “Anyway… I’m not advocating the move. Just explaining it. But it has nothing to do with like or dislike.”
GTD for Killorn
Chris Johnston: Tampa Bay Lightning forward Alex Killorn was on the ice for their morning skate and will be a game-time decision.
Coach Jon Cooper: “he’s definitely inching his way closer.
Dansk signs in the KHL
Ben Gotz: Vegas Golden Knights UFA goaltender Oskar Dansk sign a two-year deal with Spartak of the KHL.
Plenty of coaches available for midseason changes
Luke Fox of Sportsnet: If a team is looking to make a coaching midseason next year there are numerous familiar names still available: Rick Tocchet, John Tortorella, Claude Julien, Bruce Boudreau, David Quinn, and Mike Babcock.
Mission Accomplished. #MentalMiles pic.twitter.com/9DBr6F2Zr1
— Stephen Johns (@stjohns28) July 5, 2021
