SEATTLE — The Seattle Kraken are expected to be without five players for Tuesday’s season opener at Vegas due to COVID-19 protocols, Coach Dave Hakstol said Monday.
Forwards Jared McCann, Joonas Donskoi and Marcus Johansson, and defenseman Jamie Oleksiak were placed on the league’s COVID-19 protocol list on Monday. Forward Calle Jarnkrok has been in the protocol since late last week. McCann, Oleksiak, Donskoi and Johansson were all missing from Monday’s final practice before the team departed for Las Vegas.
Seattle GM Ron Francis said at the start of training camp that the entire roster had been vaccinated. But it’s awful timing for the Kraken on the eve of the first game in franchise history.
“Things happen quickly and sometimes at inopportune times,” Hakstol said. “There’s different challenges as you go throughout the season and this is one of them for us early on.”
McCann has been centering Seattle’s top line alongside Jordan Eberle and Jaden Schwartz. Donskoi and Johansson are expected to fill in on the second or third lines, and Oleksiak is a likely top-four defensive pairing for Seattle.
Hakstol said the roster was being shuffled to make sure it was filled ahead of heading to Vegas. That included Seattle claiming young forward Alex Barre-Boulet off waivers from the Lightning. Hakstol said depending on travel, Barre-Boulet could join the team in Vegas in time for the opener.
Hakstol also said forward Colin Blackwell (lower body) is out indefinitely, and Yanni Gourde remains day to day in his recovery from offseason shoulder surgery. Gourde has been practicing and is going with the team on the opening road trip, but said he would not be playing in the opener.
Seattle also announced that Mark Giordano will be the team’s first captain, an expected move after he spent the past eight seasons as captain in Calgary. Seattle’s alternate captains will be Eberle, Schwartz, Gourde and defenseman Adam Larsson.
BLACKHAWKS: The Chicago Blackhawks brought back Erik Gustafsson, agreeing to a one-year contract with the free-agent defenseman.
Gustafsson was released by the New York Islanders on Sunday. The deal with Chicago is worth $800,000.
The return of Gustafsson bolsters the Blackhawks’ blue line after they lost young defensemen Caleb Jones and Wyatt Kalynuk to injuries. Jones sprained his left wrist, and Kalynuk sprained his right ankle.
The Blackhawks visit Colorado on Wednesday for their season opener.
LIGHTNING: The Tampa Bay Lightning signed Jon Cooper to a three-year extension through the 2024-25 season, rewarding their coach after the team won consecutive Stanley Cup titles.
Cooper has been behind bench with the Lightning since March 2013, and the team has made five appearances in the Eastern Conference final. It has played in the Stanley Cup final three times over the past seven seasons.
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