Not to be mistaken with the Las Vegas Raiders head coach, Jonathan Gruden was selected in the fourth-round (No.95 overall) in 2018. The 6-foot, 180 lbs. centre moved from Miami (Ohio) University to the London Knights (OHL) for the 2020 season, where he was second on the team in goals (30) and fourth in points (66) in 59 games.
Dillon, 29, was acquired from the Sharks for second and third round draft picks last February and appeared in 10 regular season and eight playoff games with Washington. He picked up just one assist, 42 hits and 26 blocked shots in a Capitals uniform. With Michal Kempny out for 6-to-8 months, the Capitals were quick to re-sign the 6-foot-4, 225 lbs. defenseman.
MacEwen split his 2020 campaign between the AHL and NHL, recording 11 points (5G / 6A) in 20 games with Utica and six points (5G / 1A) in 17 games with Vancouver. MacEwen is a big winger (6-foot-4, 211 lbs) who posted excellent numbers at lower-levels and should be a bottom-6 player for the Canucks in 2021.
Allen is a 30-year-old netminder who is heading into the final year of a four-year contract that carries a $4.35 million cap hit. Allen is likely the first of a few cap causalities in St. Louis, who have very few contracts coming off of the books this offseason and both Alex Pietrangelo (UFA) and Vince Dunn (RFA) looking for new deals. As for Allen, he will backup Carey Price in 2021 and is coming off of a year in which he was 12-6-3 with a 2.15 GAA and .927 SV% in 21 starts and three relief appearances.
As expected, it looks like Hamilton will make his long-awaited return in Game 1 vs. his former team. Head coach Rod Brind'Amour did not announce who would come out of the lineup for Hamilton but it's expected to be Haydn Fleury. Hamilton will likely skate with Jaccob Slavin and quarterback the top power-play unit, bumping Sami Vatanen to PP2.
Hamilton was on the ice again for Monday's practice and head coach Rod Brind'Amour said he is "hopeful" that Hamilton will be ready for Game 1 on Tuesday. It would be his first game since January 16th. He had 40 points (14G / 26A) in 47 regular-season games before breaking his leg vs. Columbus.
