TAXI SQUADS TO HELP TEAMS STAY ON ICE IN PANDEMIC
The NHL is bracing for bumps as it aims to pull off a season during the pandemic and the hope is that taxi squads will help teams stay on the ice.
The defending Western Conference champion Dallas Stars have already had to postpone their season opener this week because six players and two staff members tested positive for the coronavirus. The Stars won’t face an opponent earlier than Jan. 19, when they’re currently scheduled to play at Tampa Bay in a Stanley Cup Final rematch.
Dallas and every other team will likely lean on taxi squads this season.
NHL teams get to have four to six players on taxi squads after they clear waiv
ers, essentially expanding the size of the team beyond the 23-man limit when teams submit their rosters to the league today.
Hundreds of players were put on waivers Monday, including Montreal’s Corey
Perry and Tampa Bay’s Tyler Johnson and Luke Schenn. All could now be taxi squadbound.
“We’re going into unchartered waters with the taxi squad that is in place to try to get us through the season,” Edmonton Oilers GM Ken Holland said in a telephone interview with The Associated Press. “Taxi squads will give us 29 players tested every day, practicing and traveling with us that are eligible to play in games on short notice.”
Players on taxi squads can be put on the active roster as late as 2 p.m. PT on a game day, giving clubs a better chance of having four lines, three defensive pairings and two goaltenders even if rosters take a hit because of COVID-19 protocols.
Notable
Comissioner Gary Bettman said the NHL’s celebration of Martin Luther King Jr. Day on Jan. 18 will include honoring San Diego resident Willie O’Ree, who became the league’s first Black player on Jan. 18, 1958.
Teams will wear helmet decals bearing O’Ree’s likeness.
• Shane Doan is returning to Arizona. The Coyotes announced the longtime former captain has been hired as chief hockey development officer.
• This year’s outdoor games will be in a unique, picturesque setting: along the shores of Lake Tahoe. The NHL announced it will hold two games on an outdoor rink set up at Edgewood Golf Course in Stateline, Nev.