Ice Breakers: Chicago in no rush to hire next GM; Habs, Sens eye Kravtsov

Welcome back to another edition of Ice Breakers, our regular feature at DailyFaceoff.com where we’ll pass along news and tidbits from around the National Hockey League.

Let’s break the ice:

> The Chicago Blackhawks are in no rush to hire a replacement for general manager Stan Bowman, who resigned on Oct. 26 in the wake of Chicago’s cover-up of player Kyle Beach’s sexual assault at the hands of then-video coach Brad Aldrich during the 2010 run to the Stanley Cup.

In fact, sources say the Blackhawks have not reached out to a single candidate to begin the interview process, in the two weeks since team CEO Danny Wirtz announced the Jenner & Block report’s findings.

It would not be a surprise to see interim GM Kyle Davidson maintain the role for the balance of the season. There has been no shortage of internal support and confidence in Davidson, 33, who has held nearly every front office role over the 11 years he spent working his way up the ladder, starting when he first joined the team as an intern.

Davidson made the call to fire head coach Jeremy Colliton over the weekend. Davidson is the one who has been making and fielding calls with other managers over the last week in an attempt to shake up the roster, looking to move forwards Dylan Strome, Adam Gaudette and others.

It might well be Davidson who gets the longest look in the Blackhawks’ search for new hockey operations leadership when it’s all said and done.

> While Aldrich’s name was X’d off of the Stanley Cup, other hockey organizations have moved to distance themselves from the scandal. For instance, we’re told a banner celebrating senior vice president of hockey operations Al MacIsaac‘s contributions to Chicago’s Cup wins has been removed from his hometown rink at Antigonish Arena in Nova Scotia.

> Keep an eye on Vitali Kravtsov, the New York Rangers’ No. 9 overall pick from the 2018 NHL Draft, who had NHL teams buzzing after his first game back in the KHL on loan with Traktor Chelyabinsk.

League sources say the Montreal Canadiens and Ottawa Senators were the two teams who expressed the most interest in Kravtsov, who refused his assignment to AHL Hartford and forced his way back to Russia. The Rangers gave Kravtsov’s agent, Dan Milstein, permission to help seek a trade.

Kravtsov, 21, collected two goals and one assist in his first game back, including this beauty:

OH MY GOODNESS @Kravtsov 🔥 pic.twitter.com/QBNedUBjWV

— KHL (@khl_eng) November 5, 2021

> Finally, we reported a few weeks back that the NHL and NHLPA were considering removing or reducing COVID-19 testing requirements for vaccinated, asymptomatic individuals.

To follow up, the NHL and NHLPA did revise protocols – effective immediately – over two meetings held on Oct. 29 and Nov. 3.

But asymptomatic players will continue to be tested once every 72 hours, as per the original protocol.

The NHL and NHLPA are scheduled to meet again on Dec. 15 to discuss any further changes.

Here are the protocol updates:

• Isolation After Symptoms. Players will be isolated after the development of any symptoms, even minor ones.
• Testing after Symptoms. And player or staff member who is symptomatic, but tests negative, should be tested daily until symptoms improve.
• Testing Frequency. Frequency of testing for asymptomatic fully vaccinated players will continue to be every 72 hours.
• Positive Test Protocol. There is now an expedited procedure to confirm a negative (false positive) test.
• Early Exit from Isolation. Recommendation that COVID positive players who experience only minor symptoms may be eligible for early exit from isolation once symptoms resolve and after two negative tests taken 24 hours apart. 
• Exercise during Isolation. Players can engage in moderate exercise during their COVID isolation period if asymptomatic or if experiencing only minor symptoms.
• Entry to Canada after a Positive Test. Players who have tested positive for COVID will not be permitted entry to Canada until 14 days after the date of their positive test. Canadian authorities do not permit exceptions to this requirement.
• Enhanced Measures. Applicable where there are multiple COVID positive players on a Club, and recommendation for POC tests to be administered pre-game in such circumstances.