Questions unanswered as Jake Voracek is ‘unable to participate’ in Flyers’ scrimmage
The top-line right winger was missing from the Flyers' scrimmage Saturday. Is he injured? Nicked up? Does he have the coronavirus? Teams aren't allowed to say.
Jake Voracek, the Flyers’ top-line right winger, missed the team’s first intrasquad scrimmage of Training Camp II Saturday in Voorhees for an undisclosed reason.
Maybe he’s injured. Maybe he has the coronavirus. Maybe he’s been exposed to someone who has the virus.
No one on the Flyers is allowed to say because of privacy issues that the NHL and the players’ association have established as the season tries to restart.
Flyers general manager Chuck Fletcher, in a statement, said Voracek was “unable to participate” in the scrimmage.
After the scrimmage -- Team Black, with Brian Elliott as its goaltender, defeated Team Orange (Carter Hart’s squad), 3-2 -- coach Alain Vigneault said he wasn’t permitted to add anything to Fletcher’s statement.
Forward Scott Laughton said he had “no concern” about Voracek’s status. “We’ve got lots of time until Toronto,” Laughton said about the hub city where the Flyers will restart their season next month.
The Flyers don’t play a real game until Aug. 2 against Boston in Toronto; it’s part of a round-robin tournament that will determine the Eastern Conference’s top four seeds.
The Bruins are also missing one of their top players, David Pastrnak. Pastrnak’s agent, J.P. Barry, told The Athletic that the winger was being quarantined because he was near someone who tested positive for the coronavirus. So far, Pastrnak, who had 48 goals this season, has tested negative, the agent said.
Meanwhile, New York Rangers forward Pavel Buchnevich had to leave practice Saturday with an apparent injury. Rangers coach David Quinn said because of the league’s secrecy policy, “I’m off the hook.”
A similar situation occurred Saturday when Penguins star Sidney Crosby exited his team’s intrasquad scrimmage and didn’t return. Since the NHL controls all information during what the league calls Phase 3 (training camp) and Phase 4 (games), teams are not allowed to give injury updates. All they can say is the player was “unfit to play” or “unable to participate.”
That may not play well with the gambling websites -- some of which are betting partners with the NHL -- but, for now, that is the league’s stance.
“As the league has put forth these rules, we’re not allowed to comment,” Pittsburgh coach Mike Sullivan told reporters.
Crosby missed two months of the season and had core-muscle surgery.
If Pittsburgh beats Montreal in a best-of-five play-in series and the Flyers don’t advance from their fourth seed in the round-robin tourney, the Pennsylvania rivals would meet in the first-round of the Stanley Cup playoffs.
Scrimmage stuff
In Saturday’s scrimmage, Connor Bunnaman, Travis Konecny and Shayne Gostisbehere scored for the Black in their 3-2 win. Justin Braun and James van Riemsdyk scored for the Orange.
“I definitely liked our intensity,” Vigneault said. “The execution and decision-making is going to get better.”
“I thought the pace was good,” defenseman Travis Sanheim said. “... I think we’re going to push harder and work harder as we go along.”
Team Orange rotated several players to take Voracek’s right-wing spot on the top line.
During the regular season, Voracek had 56 points and led the Flyers with 44 assists; he was second among the team’s forwards with a plus-14 rating.
If Voracek remains sidelined, Konecny would probably skate with Claude Giroux and Sean Couturier on the top line.