Deep Blue Sea: Aaron Dell finds a new home
Plus the season’s first postponement, a Jacob Voracek explainer and more in today’s news and notes.
The New Jersey Devils are hoarding goaltenders.
The 24-year-old Mackenzie Blackwood has secured a starting job in New Jersey, but the team is struggling to find depth in net — especially in a season where teams are required to carry three goaltenders and will likely see a third or fourth goaltender start at some point.
There’s 28-year-old Scott Wedgewood, who has largely played his career in the AHL and is unimpressive at the NHL level, who signed with the Devils in October as a free agent. Gilles Senn, a 24-year-old Swiss goaltender, made New Jersey’s Taxi Squad for 2021. Senn was drafted by the team in 2015 and has one season of professional experience, posting a .901 save percentage last year with the Binghamton Devils. With the AHL team this year is Evan Cormier, who split last season between the AHL and ECHL.
Understandably, the Devils have been looking for a NHL back up goaltender. First, they picked up Eric Comrie off waivers from the Winnipeg Jets last week. Comrie, however, was not only tied up at the border, bu also has landed on the NHL’s COVID-19 protocol. There’s uncertainty about how soon he’ll be able to join the Devils.
So when the Toronto Maple Leafs placed former Sharks backup goaltender Aaron Dell on waivers, they had to know New Jersey was ready and waiting to snatch him up. Dell signed a one-year, $800,000 contract with Toronto in October.
Read more about it linked below.
News & Notes
- Donato finding firmer footing after Sharks’ first two games [NBC Sports Bay Area]
- Two games in, Sharks rookie John Leonard already pushes for more responsibility [The Athletic]
- Can Devan Dubnyk find his game again with Sharks? One analyst has faith he will [The Mercury News]
- What Dubnyk, Sharks coach Nabokov have been focusing on [NBC Sports Bay Area]/
Blood in the Water
- New Jersey Devils Claim Goaltender Aaron Dell from Waivers [All About The Jersey]
- Why is Jake Voracek so mad? [Broad Street Hockey]
- The Montreal Canadiens penalty kill is using depth to their advantage [Habs EOTP]
- Columbus Blue Jackets coach John Tortorella denies benching disgruntled Pierre-Luc Dubois [ESPN]
- NHL postpones Tuesday’s Hurricanes-Predators game [NBC Sports]
- ‘Boy, This Is Eerie’: Behind the Scenes at a Fanless NHL Game [Bleacher Report]
- NHL teams wrestling with COVID-19 fan attendance policies [ESPN+]/
Scores & Recaps
- San Jose Sharks 5, St. Louis Blues 5
- Minnesota Wild 0, Anaheim Ducks 1
- Columbus Blue Jackets 3, Detroit Red Wings 2
- Boston Bruins 0, New York Islanders 1
- Winnipeg Jets 1, Toronto Maple Leafs 3
- Buffalo Sabres 6, Philadelphia Flyers 1
- Carolina Hurricanes 4, Nashville Predators 2
- Vancouver Canucks 2, Calgary Flames 5
- Montreal Canadiens 3, Edmonton Oilers 1
- Arizona Coyotes 2, Vegas Golden Knights 4/
Click on a team name to find a recap on their SB Nation site!
On the Schedule
- Winnipeg Jets at Ottawa Senators, 4 PT/7 ET on TVAS, TSN5, TSN3
- Chicago Blackhawks at Florida Panthers, 4 PT/7 ET on FS-F, NBCSCH
- Buffalo Sabres at Philadelphia Flyers, 4 PT/7 ET on NBCSP, MSG-B
- New Jersey Devils at New York Rangers, 4 PT/7 ET on MSG, MSG+
- Washington Capitals at Pittsburgh Penguins, 4 PT/7 ET on NBCSN, SN, ATTSN-PT, NBCSWA
- Columbus Blue Jackets at Detroit Red Wings, 4:30 PT/7:30 ET on ESPN+, FS-D, FS-O
- Colorado Avalanche at Los Angeles Kings, 7 PT/10 ET on NHLN, SN, FS-W, ALT/