The Latest: COVID forces postponement of San Jose-Vegas game
Minnesota Wild center Nick Bonino (13) skates down the ice against San Jose Sharks defenseman Marc-Edouard Vlasic (44) during the second period of an NHL hockey game in San Jose, Calif., Monday, Feb. 22, 2021. (AP Photo/Tony Avelar)The Latest on the effects of the coronavirus outbreak on sports around the world:___San Jose’s game against Vegas scheduled for Thursday night has been postponed after a Sharks player entered the NHL’s COVID protocol. It’s the 36th NHL game this season to be postponed for virus-related issues and 40th counting the Texas snowstorm that affected Dallas. ___The NHL is down to a season-low eight players on the COVID-19 list after play on Tuesday night, five of them on the Philadelphia Flyers. That’s a marked improvement in the 11 days since the league had a season-high 59 players on the list.
Trade action heats up at NHL draft ahead of free agency
The Penguins got the action started on the second day of the NHL draft by trading goaltender Matt Murray to the Ottawa Senators. “You just know on days like these if you get a phone call from your GM, it’s usually a trade,” Bonino said. The Penguins previously traded winger Patric Hornqvist to Florida, and Chicago traded defenseman Olli Maatta to Los Angeles. Vegas is looking to trade the 35-year-old and even sweeten the deal with a pick but has to deal with an overflowing goalie market. Bonino and new Predators forward Luke Kunin will be swapping jerseys after the trade that continues the Wild's makeover.