The Pittsburgh Penguins have hired Ron Hextall as the team's new general manager and have also named Brian Burke the team's new president of hockey operations, the club announced Tuesday.
More to come.
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Tuesday night's contest between the Philadelphia Flyers and Washington Capitals has been postponed, the NHL announced.
The postponement comes after a Flyers player tested positive for COVID-19 late Monday night, according to TSN's Darren Dreger.
Flyers defenseman Travis Sanheim was added to the NHL's COVID-19 list Sunday, and the league confirmed that a second player has now entered the protocol.
The Flyers played the Capitals on Sunday after the league announced the team underwent rapid testing prior to the game and returned all negative tests.
Philadelphia is now the fifth team in the league currently on pause due to the coronavirus. The Minnesota Wild, New Jersey Devils, Buffalo Sabres, and Colorado Avalanche are all currently dealing with outbreaks.
Last week, the league enhanced its in-arena safety protocols in an attempt to reduce the spread of COVID-19. The NHL removed the glass behind the bench and enforced more social distancing in locker rooms.
While the NHL has been testing players daily, the league has recently started investigating into expanding rapid testing on game days to identify positive cases faster.
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A man with deep ties to the Philadelphia Flyers is on the verge of overseeing their intra-state rivals.
The Pittsburgh Penguins have offered their general manager job to Ron Hextall, reports TSN's Frank Seravalli. The two sides are still negotiating terms.
Earlier Tuesday, TSN's Pierre LeBrun tweeted "all signs point to Hextall being the front-runner" for the job but that the team was still discussing the position with others.
The Penguins reportedly interviewed Hextall last week. Pittsburgh also apparently got permission to speak with Chris Drury of the New York Rangers, Chris MacFarland of the Colorado Avalanche, and John Ferguson Jr. of the Boston Bruins, though New York later promoted Drury after he withdrew from the Penguins' search.
Hextall was one of 20 individuals who reportedly reached out to the Penguins to initially express interest in the job.
Pittsburgh tabbed Patrik Allvin - previously the club's assistant GM - as interim GM when Jim Rutherford abruptly resigned in late January. The Penguins were expected to interview Allvin before the other candidates.
Hextall has been an advisor to the Los Angeles Kings' hockey operations department since September 2019. The 56-year-old former Flyers goaltender was the team's GM from 2014 to 2018 and was previously an assistant GM with both Philadelphia and Los Angeles, helping the latter club win the Stanley Cup in 2012.
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Chicago Blackhawks defenseman Brent Seabrook has battled a number of injuries recently and hasn't seen game action in well over a year.
"We’re very concerned for him," general manager Stan Bowman said, according to The Chicago Sun Times' Ben Pope. "He’s been a warrior for us. Think of his time in Chicago - he never really missed any games. But now we’re realizing he was playing through a lot of pain those years, and it’s caught up to him.
"He was dealing with his shoulders and his hips to the point where he probably should have had (the surgeries) done years ago, but that’s how he’s always been driven - to keep moving forward, don’t worry about injuries, play through it."
The blue-liner was limited to 32 games last season. He underwent three different major surgeries for his right shoulder and both of his hips over a six-week span starting in December.
The 35-year-old had recovered from the surgeries over the summer and was planning to return to the lineup this season. However, he suffered a setback after tweaking his back right before training camp was set to begin, Bowman added.
The setback has held Seabrook out of Chicago's lineup this year, and there is no timetable for his potential return. In November, Seabrook said he had no plans to quit hockey due to his injuries and he wanted to prove his doubters wrong.
The 15-year veteran has spent his entire career with the Blackhawks, helping the club win a Stanley Cup in 2010, 2013, and 2015. Beyond this season, he has three more years remaining on his contract at a cap hit of $6.875 million.
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Barry Trotz continues to add to his illustrious career.
The New York Islanders bench boss picked up win No. 850, passing Ken Hitchock and moving into third on the NHL's all-time coaching wins list on Monday with the club's 2-0 win over the New York Rangers.
Trotz now needs 81 wins to pass Joel Quenneville, who's second behind Hall of Famer Scotty Bowman (1,244).
The 58-year-old owns an 88-54-19 record as New York's head coach since the club hired him ahead of the 2018-19 campaign. He's led the Islanders to the playoffs in consecutive seasons and captured his second Jack Adams Award as the league's top coach in 2019.
The Winnipeg native previously coached the Nashville Predators from 1998-2014 and is the franchise's winningest bench boss. He then served as Washington Capitals head coach from 2014-18.
Trotz also ranks 15th all time with 72 playoff victories and won the Stanley Cup with the Capitals in 2018.
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Newly acquired Columbus Blue Jackets superstar Patrik Laine was benched for nearly half of Monday's 3-2 victory over the Carolina Hurricanes.
Laine's final shift came with 6:19 remaining in the second period, and he didn't see any action in the third frame. He was on the ice for Carolina's second goal, and the sniper finished the contest with no points or shots over 11:31 of action.
The 22-year-old was playing his fourth game with his new club since being acquired for Pierre-Luc Dubois, whose tenure with the Blue Jackets came to an unceremonious end after he demanded a trade, and head coach John Tortorella later benched him for a lack of effort.
Laine had recorded three goals with Columbus heading into Monday's game.
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The NHL has postponed more games involving the Buffalo Sabres, Minnesota Wild, and New Jersey Devils due to COVID-19 concerns, the league announced Monday.
Three Devils games (Feb. 11, 13 vs. Philadelphia, and Feb. 15 against Boston), two Sabres games (Feb. 11, 13 vs. Washington), and two Wild contests (Feb 11. vs. St. Louis and Feb. 13 vs. Los Angeles) have been pushed to a later date.
The league’s, NHLPA’s, and clubs’ medical groups will decide on the teams’ resumption of practice and play in the coming days.
The Devils, who had their previous two games postponed, had 16 players on the COVID-19 protocol list as of Sunday. New Jersey's last game was against the Sabres on Jan. 31, and the club has now had five games pushed back.
Buffalo had several players put on the COVID-19 list after that contest with the Devils and had four matchups delayed last week. The Sabres now have six games in total to make up.
Minnesota had three games postponed last week and have not played since Feb. 2. The club now has five games to make up.
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