The taxi squad concept could rise up again, the Islanders are treading water and the fans of the Canadiens and Canucks let their displeasure be known. Avry Lewis-McDougall gets into some of the biggest storylines of this past week in the NHL.
We're nearing the Christmas break, but the news hasn't died down just yet. In fact, it's only just starting to get interesting.
Here's a look at three stories from the past week to start your Monday:
The concept of the taxi squad may not be dead just quite yet
The COVID-19 pandemic altered a lot about the 2020-21 NHL season beyond just the season structure. The rosters saw the usage of taxi squads for all teams, made up of four to six players to assist in roster recalls.
On a recent episode of 32 Thoughts, Sportsnet's Jeff Marek reported that NHL deputy commissioner Bill Daly had told him the concept is not making a return as of right now but there is a chance that the league could reverse course on that.
Seven AHL teams have been shut down due to COVID outbreak problems and it is creating problems in the recall process for their parent franchises.
As hockey tries to return to levels of normalcy, the roster issues due to the pandemic remind us all that we are not out of the woods yet when it comes to the current global health situation.
Both Canucks and Canadiens fans are bringing back jersey tossing
To say that fans in Vancouver and Montreal have been mad about the state of their franchises would be a tremendous understatement. Even with the writing on the wall that change would be coming (and eventually did) for both front offices, fans let their voices be heard with what they threw on the ice this past week.
With front office shakeups, it will be interesting to see what changes in both markets on and off the ice.
The New York Islanders regression has been painful to watch
The step back in Long Island has been drastic and I'm not sure how many at the start of the season saw this step back coming. The Islanders after three straight trips to the playoffs and two straight trips to the conference final, they're on pace to compete in the draft lottery.
The Islanders have dropped 11 straight games and have yet to win a game at their new arena, UBS Arena.
With a 5-10-5 record, while being one of the lowest-scoring teams in the league, it's safe to say this has been the most disappointing team in the league.