Buffalo Sabres forward Vinnie Hinostroza has entered the NHL’s COVID protocols, the team announced on Monday evening. Earlier in the day, the scheduled game between the Sabres and the Blue Jackets for Money evening was postponed, along with the teams’ other meeting later this week.
The Sabres have been pretty fortunate up until this point, with only goaltender Dustin Tokarski recently in protocol. Unfortunately, they’re now at least the 21st team to have a player enter protocol in the last seven days.
Below is a (non-exhaustive) list of NHL players who have been placed in the league’s COVID protocol in the last week. Note: this situation is constantly changing, and it’s entirely possible that I’ve missed one or two players — or even that more are added as I write this.
December 13: Lindholm, Mangiapane, Richardson, Ruzicka, Tanev, Zadorov, Aho, Jarvis
December 14: McLeod, Schenn, Lammikko, Marchand, Hanifin, Lucic, Monahan, Jordan Staal, Andrei Svechnikov, Cole, Lorentz, Barzel, Frost, Poolman, Smith, Devon Toews, Jaros
December 15: Andersson, Froese, Gaudreau, Gudbranson, Lewis, Markstrom, Pitlick, Fabbri, Rasmussen, Bergeron, Granlund, Johansen, Luff, McCarron, Tomasina, Harpur, Bennett, Godas, Lomberg, Montour, Verhaeghe, Kuznetsov
December 16: Ekblad, Vatrano, Doughty, Blidh, Frederic, Swagman, Dube, Kylington, Crouse, Beagle, Shore, Cousins, Burakovsky, Compher, Makar, Kuemper, Steen, Boqvist
December 17: Nugent-Hopkins, Backlund, Galchenyuk, Keith, Borowiecki, Kerfoot, Tavares, Spezza, Simmonds, Motte, Backstrom
December 18: Hall, Lazar, Smith, Rowney, Nedeljkovic, Zadina, Puljujarvi, Petersen, Lehkonen, Willman, Oleksiak, Sundqvist, Campbell, Brodie, Dermott, Myers
December 19: Jenner, Roslovic, Carlsson, Gagner, Suter, Veleno, Danault, Dauphin, Soucy, Oshie, Noesen
December 20: Brendon Smith, Hayes, Burns (effective 12/17, announced 12/20), Nurse, Lagesson, Hinostroza
Now, with the most recent postponement of tomorrow’s Arizona vs. Seattle game, Frank Seravalli reports that there has been conversation about a possible league-wide shutdown:
Sources say there has been conversation today about a possible league-wide shutdown effective tomorrow. The situation remains very fluid. No decision yet.
Now just 7 games left before Christmas break.
44 games have been postponed this season, 39 in last 7 days. https://t.co/orrTu46gjb
— Frank Seravalli (@frank_seravalli) December 20, 2021
It’s also anticipated that an announcement will come in the next few days from the NHL and NHLPA regarding player participation in the Beijing Olympics.
More to come… soon.