SPORT-SCAN DAILY BRIEF NHL 12/5/2020 Anaheim Ducks Philadelphia Flyers 1196389 NHL and players’ union aiming for mid-January start to 1196413 Good vibes in negotiations between NHL owners and season players’ union 1196390 NHL targeting mid-January for starting new season 1196414 New book details fascinating stories about Philly’s pro-hockey history, including a team that conjures ‘Slap S Boston Bruins 1196415 The latest reports on length of 2020-21 NHL season, when 1196391 Will the Bruins improve? Will Zdeno Chara return? Our fan it could start survey results Pittsburgh Penguins Buffalo Sabres 1196416 Why do the Penguins have so many Finnish players? 1196392 How Dylan Cozens used the terrain around Whitehorse to 1196417 Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins sign former Ducks draft prep for Sabres camp pick Kyle Olson 1196418 Penguins A to Z: Can Zach Aston-Reese build off his Carolina Hurricanes breakout season? 1196393 Hurricanes defensemen are among the NHL’s best, so 1196419 Penguins have reportedly looked into playing outdoors what can we expect from them? amid pandemic Chicago Blackhawks San Jose Sharks 1196394 Ranking Blackhawks' rebuilding blocks, from Patrick Kane 1196420 Report: Sharks' next season could begin in mid-January to Ian Mitchell 1196421 Doc Emrick tells hilarious Jumbo story from Cup Final Columbus Blue Jackets Tampa Bay Lightning 1196395 Blue Jackets center Max Domi eager to fill key role, play 1196422 Two Canadian favorites, the Raptors and the Stanley Cup, for coach John Tortorella cross paths in Tampa Dallas Stars Toronto Maple Leafs 1196396 Stars prospect Ty Dellandrea on playing in Finland, and 1196423 The NHL will be just fine, season or no season. Losing a what’s next after Liiga’s pause couple of teams might even help the bottom line 1196424 What the GTHL’s latest decision means for minor hockey Detroit Red Wings families across Toronto 1196397 NHL eyes mid-January start, 52- or 56-game schedule Vancouver Canucks Los Angeles Kings 1196429 Vancouver College football registers big upset over 1196398 NHL and players’ union aiming for mid-January start to Canucks Skate in uniform contest season 1196430 COVID-19: Seattle hockey bar battles for survival with its 1196399 NHL targeting mid-January for starting new season Kraken team still a year away 1196400 Los Angeles Kings trades: Best and worst of the salary- cap era Vegas Golden Knights 1196425 Golden Knights trade value tiers: Ranking every player by Minnesota Wild trade market value 1196401 Wild winger Mats Zuccarello has arm surgery, likely will miss training camp Washington Capitals 1196426 NHL proposes mid-January starting date for upcoming Montreal Canadiens season 1196402 Canadiens prospect Cole Caufield leads Wisconsin over Ohio State Websites 1196403 Worst trades in Canadiens history: Chelios deal haunts 1196431 The Athletic / What hurdles are delaying the start of the Serge Savard 2020-21 NHL season? 1196404 What the Puck: Dark times call for bright lights of 1196432 The Athletic / LeBrun: NHL pushes season start to Canadiens hockey mid-January, intends on playing 56 games 1196405 How a 56-game schedule would impact the new and 1196433 The Athletic / Down Goes Brown: Who wins an all-time improved Canadiens battle between Team Byng and Team PIM? 1196434 The Athletic / Inside Kendall Coyne Schofield’s rapid rise: New Jersey Devils ‘Everything she touches is A-plus’ 1196406 NHL, players close to deal to start season on Jan. 15 | 1196435 Sportsnet.ca / NHL, NHLPA discussing Jan. 15 start date What it means for Devils for 2020-21 season 1196407 What we can learn from a Devils season split between two 1196436 Sportsnet.ca / Canadiens Notebook: Lost season would coaches be nightmare scenario for Montreal 1196437 Sportsnet.ca / Why UND players Bernard-Docker, New York Islanders Weatherby knelt before NCAA game 1196408 Islanders will get $6M cap relief with Johnny Boychuk 1196438 TSN.CA / Fired-up Tomasino making big impression at coming off the books Canada's camp 1196409 NHL, players considering a mid-January start to 52- or 1196439 USA TODAY / Canucks parting ways with anthem singer 56-game season planning to sing at Vancouver rally protesting COVID-19 re New York Rangers 1196410 Rangers got younger looking ahead to 2020-21 Winnipeg Jets 1196427 What to expect from the 2021 Jets? Ottawa Senators 1196428 Jets state of the franchise: If ever there was a time to 1196411 Part of the team since Day 1: Senators staffers Linda ‘prove it,’ this is it Julian and Allison Vaughan 1196412 'LET'S DO IT': Senators NHL franchise bid started with beers after a pickup game SPORT-SCAN, INC. 941-284-4129 1196389 Anaheim Ducks NHL and players’ union aiming for mid-January start to season A detailed view of center ice with a Stanley Cup logo. By JACK HARRISSTAFF WRITER DEC. 4, 20204:16 PM The Kings and Ducks will have to wait a little longer to return to the ice. Hopes of starting the 2021 NHL season Jan. 1 have all but faded, with the league and NHL Players’ Assn. now focusing their discussions on opening in mid-January, according to media reports published Friday. The news hardly comes as a surprise after weeks of reported conversations between the NHL and union failed to produce a revised format for the upcoming season, which is expected to contain numerous structural changes amid the coronavirus outbreak. Among the many issues that remain unclear are how many games each team will play (the original target of 60 reportedly has been reduced to between 52 and 56); how divisions might be realigned to account for travel restrictions between the U.S. and Canada; the extent of safety protocols for players and teams; and how revenues will be distributed to owners and players in a year that likely will feature few, if any, fans at games. During a Sports Business Journal panel discussion this week, Commissioner Gary Bettman hinted that the goal of starting on New Year’s Day was growing unlikely. Meanwhile, negotiations over salary escrows and deferrals spilled into the public, with player agent Allan Walsh taking to Twitter to criticize Bettman and the owners for allegedly proposing changes to an extension of the Collective Bargaining Agreement that the two sides struck in July. A mid-January start would push the Kings’ and Ducks’ layoff to nine months, with neither team having played since last season was suspended in March. Both clubs finished among the bottom three of the Western Conference and failed to qualify for the expanded 24-team postseason. While the 24 playoff teams are expected to be allowed to open training camps two weeks prior to the season, the Kings, Ducks and five other non-playoff qualifiers likely will be permitted to return to practice a couple days earlier. For the NHL to have accomplished a Jan. 1 start, that would have required training camps to begin perhaps as soon as late next week — a near impossibility now given the fact some European players have not yet returned to North America and, in some markets, will need to quarantine for two weeks upon arrival. LA Times: LOADED: 12.05.2020 1196390 Anaheim Ducks NHL targeting mid-January for starting new season By ELLIOTT TEAFORD | [email protected] | Orange County Register PUBLISHED: December 4, 2020 at 11:17 a.m. | UPDATED: December 4, 2020 at 11:17 a.m. The NHL and the players union reportedly made progress in their talks to begin the 2020-21 season, and are now targeting a Jan. 15 start, with training camps opening as soon as Dec. 26 for the Ducks, Kings and five other teams that didn’t qualify for the Return to Play last summer. The season could be in the range of 52 to 56 games, down from the usual 82, with the Stanley Cup awarded in late June or early July, well before NBC must shift its coverage focus from hockey to the Tokyo Olympics, according to various reports Friday. The league also is determined to end the upcoming season as close to its customary early June date in order to prepare for the 2021-22 season, when it hopes to play its traditional 82-game schedule between Oct. 1 and April 15, as it welcomes the expansion Seattle Kraken as its 32nd team. “I think this is the most important thing: What we’re focused on is trying to get through the 2021 season so we can be back in position for 2021-22 to (get back to) normalcy,” NHL commissioner Gary Bettman said at a sports business forum Wednesday in New York. There are many issues still to be resolved before an agreement can be completed, including the economics of a shortened season likely contested without fans in attendance during a time of heightened restrictions because of a surge of COVID-19 cases throughout North America. In fact, the pandemic is of such a concern that the start of the season could be delayed further, perhaps pushed back to Feb. 1, with the guidance of health officials. The league is said to be hopeful of starting with games in home arenas, but could begin in hub cities as a fallback option. Last season was completed, after a 4 1/2-month pause because of the initial outbreak, with 24 teams playing inside strict bubbles in Toronto and Edmonton. Neither the owners nor the players wish to return to a bubble format, but they might be forced into playing in four or more hub cities. Although it hadn’t been formalized, as of Friday, the league was expected to realign its four divisions temporarily, establishing one entirely of the seven Canadian teams because the border with the U.S.