Connor and Schmidt in COVID protocol
Mike McIntyre: Winnipeg Jets forward Kyle Connor and defenseman Nate Schmidt have been placed in COVID protocol after testing positive in Buffalo yesterday morning.
Mike McInytre: Connor and Schmidt will have to stay in the US for the next five days and will miss three games – Buffalo, Toronto and LA.
Jeannot and Hall fined
NHL Player Safety: Nashville Predators forward Tanner Jeannot was fined a max amount of $2,000 for kneeing Ottawa Senators forward Brady Tkachuk.
NHL Player Safety: Boston Bruins forward Taylor Hall was fined the max amount of $5,000 for roughing Toronto Maple Leafs defenseman Ilya Lyubushkin.
Sateri will arrive tomorrow
Craig Morgan: Arizona Coyotes goaltender Harri Sateri should arrive in Arizona tomorrow. He’ll need to get in some practices before he’s ready to start playing.
NHL has discussed hosting five Senators games in Quebec City
Dennis Lessard of La Presse: (through google translate) The Ottawa Senators, the NHL and Quebocor have held preliminary talks to have the Senators play five games in Quebec City.
Sources said that it was Gary Bettman who brought up the idea with Quebec Finance Minister ERic Girard in January.
The Senators would ask for a fee to host those games there, and number which hasn’t been determined.
It’s believed that they wouldn’t have any trouble securing sponsors and that the games would be sold out.
Renaud Lavoie: NHL deputy commissioner Bill Daly on the La Presse story: “There have been expressions of interest and very preliminary discussions at this point. Nothing more. ”
Shawn Simpson: “Anyone that thinks the Sens playing 5 games in QC will help grow the brand, is out of touch with reality. This is the last thing the franchise needs right now.”
Bruce Garrioch: “Wouldn’t it make more sense for the Arizona Coyotes, who will play in a 5,000-seat arena next season, to play five games in Quebec City if that’s even been raised?”
Shawn Simpson: “I’m told the 5 games in QC has been talked about in the past. It would be some nice cash for the Sens. It also involved some politics at the league level and with the Sens. The league wanted to show some love to Quebec, and the Sens could use it as a scare tactic.”
NHL Watcher: “Friedman on TJMS says we’re probably going to unfortunately hear a lot of rumours concerning the Sens going forward like the Quebec City one from this morning, which the Sens debunked. Stories like who’s interested, what’s going to happen to them, etc.”
Shawn Simpson: “Also interesting on the Quebec city side. They very much feel they should have a franchise. Playing some games would give the market some love. If Arizona doesn’t get moving on a new building, they would head North. Much like Atlanta to Winnipeg, with Houston saved for expansion.”
