SPORT-SCAN DAILY BRIEF NHL 5/9/2020 1184169 The best Ducks players to wear every number: No. 61 1184196 Wild goalie Devan Dubnyk's family life back to normal through No. 93 even if hockey topsy turvy 1184197 Wild’s Devan Dubnyk: NHL’s hub city restart idea is ‘a lot Bruins to ask’ of players 1184170 Former Bruins goalie doesn’t mask his feelings Canadiens 1184171 Bruins’ season opener in Prague is off as NHL postpones 1184198 Canadiens counting on Romanov's speed, puck-moving international events due to coronavirus ability 1184172 On May 10, 1970, the Bruins were ready to realize a 1184199 Russian defenceman Romanov signs with Canadiens dream. made it come true 1184200 Roundtable reaction: Alexander Romanov coming to 1184173 Everybody still talking about flying Bobby Orr, 50 years Montreal on a ‘one-way ticket’ later 1184201 Duhatschek Notebook: The Answerman’s NHL return 1184174 Milan Lucic tells awesome Tim Thomas story from Bruins' plan, Canadiens’ draft dilemma 2011 run 1184175 This Date in Bruins History: B's earn thrilling OT wins vs. Leafs, Canadiens 1184202 NHL postpones Global Series, meaning Predators aren't 1184176 2020 NHL season: Bruins-Predators season-opener in going to Prague, Switzerland Prague postponed 1184203 What if the Predators had protected James Neal in the 1184177 ‘When I went by, I was jumping’: The 50th anniversary of 2017 expansion draft? Bobby Orr’s flight 1184178 As approaches 35, what does that mean for his production? 1184204 Alternate reality: Rewriting the Devils’ script of the past 7 years 1184179 The numbers behind the struggles of the Sabres’ goalies 1184205 New York Rangers agree to entry-level contract with Flames goalie Tyler Wall 1184180 Saddledome scrubbed clean for Flames' eventual return 1184206 Analyzing the top 10 prospects for the NY Rangers: No. 7 1184181 What Calgary’s top mental coaches are telling elite Matthew Robertson athletes … and how it might apply to you 1184207 Goalie Tyler Wall agrees to entry-level contract with Rangers 1184208 We asked, you answered: The results to The Athletic’s 1184182 Fist-bumping at PNC to Mrazek’s hats: What I miss about Rangers fan survey are here covering the Hurricanes Blackhawks 1184209 AHL's board of governors discuss cancelling the season 1184183 Duncan Keith supports front line workers through Keith while NHL plays waiting game Relief charity 1184210 Ottawa Senators release information for refunds or credits 1184184 Joel Quenneville reflects on 'spectacular' time as for ticket holders Blackhawks head coach 1184211 The Ottawa Senators and Maple Leafs will have 1184185 Blackhawks 2019-20 season in review: Calvin de Haan to wait to go back to work 1184186 Powers Points: How a June draft could affect the Blackhawks 1184212 2020 NHL draft profile: , son of Flyers scout Mark Greig, is a center with 200-foot bite 1184187 Avalanche 2020-21 games in Finland postponed 1184213 Penguins A to Z: Brian Dumoulin continues to be 1184188 Coronavirus causes postponement of European games for underappreciated Blue Jackets, other teams 1184214 Penguins defenseman Kris Letang makes donation to provide meals 1184215 Penguins offering refund options for season-ticket holders 1184189 Catching up with : Stars’ interim coach talks 1184216 Penguins’ player grades: Sam Lafferty life at home, how Dallas can improve if NHL season r Red Wings 1184217 Leafs assistant coach Paul McFarland returning to head 1184190 AHL, with , expected to cancel coaching job in Kingston remainder of season 1184219 Capitals waive Leipsic after misogynistic comments 1184191 ‘I want to be here’: Anthony Mantha hopes his big payday 1184220 Lehtonen, Barabanov success would buck some of recent will be from Red Wings Leafs trend in European signings 1184192 Evgeny Svechnikov ‘just needs a chance’ to show Red 1184221 Leafs assistant coach McFarland departing to take job Wings he can play with Kingston of the OHL 1184222 Leafs, Raptors can start using Toronto practice facilities 1184223 on ‘regrets’ and the lucrative Maple Leafs 1184193 1987 Edmonton Oilers: I love the smell of Game 7 in the extension he passed up morning 1184194 Who are the Oilers’ top 10 prospects and where do they project in the NHL? 1184195 A to Z: Who are the kings of the Kings by letter? Canucks Jets 1184239 Rebuilding the Canucks’ defence: Young blueliners to 1184237 Hull's off-ice actions more deplorable than Leipsic's, but target in a trade Golden Jet scored 50 a season 1184240 Gino Odjick talks his health, and finding 1184238 Q&A: on going No. 2 in NWHL Draft, falling in Moscow in love with hockey again World Leagues News 1184224 Golden Knights GM Kelly McCrimmon stays neutral about 1184256 Ronaldo Souza's positive coronavirus test hangs over June draft controversial UFC return 1184225 Golden Knights roster review: Max Pacioretty 1184257 Daniel Ricciardo: First race after coronavirus break will be 1184226 Capitals waive Brendan Leipsic following misogynistic 'chaos' remarks 1184258 Smaller Cricket Nations Are Feeling The Financial Pain 1184227 Marc-Andre Fleury Road? North Las Vegas getting During The Coronavirus Crisis Golden Knights-themed community 1184259 With the prospect of empty stadiums, how will the NFL move forward? 1184260 Canadian amateur sport gets C$72 million in coronavirus 1184228 Capitals waive Brendan Leipsic after his vulgar remarks relief funding on social media 1184261 The sports world starts to climb out of its coronavirus 1184229 The Capitals-Islanders Easter Epic showed all that’s right quarantine and wrong about playoff hockey 1184262 Big East already has its eye on how the coronavirus could 1184230 Capitals waive Brendan Leipsic in light of sexist social affect the new basketball season media messages 1184263 49ers examining training camp outside of due to 1184231 Capitals' Greatest Hits: How to watch Troy Brouwer's coronavirus game-winning in 2015 Winter Classic 1184264 The Latest: Reno Rodeo canceled because of coronavirus 1184232 Terminating Leipsic's contract was not just the right 1184265 NHL postpones all 2020-21 international games amid decision, it was the only decision coronavirus pandemic 1184233 Capitals to terminate contract of Brendan Leipsic for 1184266 Media companies expect a tough quarter for TV offensive social media comments advertising, with no live sports and spending delayed 1184234 The best Capitals player to wear each jersey number: 81- 1184267 German football 'on parole' in return from coronavirus 99 pause - DFL chief 1184235 Why 'D3: The Mighty Ducks' falls well short of the bar set 1184268 CFL commissioner thinks canceling 2020 season ‘the by the original most likely scenario’ amid coronavirus pandemic 1184236 Capitals put Brendan Leipsic on after ‘completely SPORT-SCAN, INC. 941-284-4129 unacceptable’ comments Websites 1184241 The Athletic / NHL’s Global Series 2020 becomes first event for next season canceled 1184242 The Athletic / ‘When I went by, I was jumping’: The 50th anniversary of Bobby Orr’s flight 1184243 The Athletic / LeBrun: Gretzky and Lemieux on the best series ever – the ’87 Cup final 1184244 The Athletic / DGB Grab Bag: A request for a June draft, roster puzzle answers and a donut delay 1184245 .ca / Why Maple Leafs assistant coach Paul McFarland is returning to the OHL 1184246 Sportsnet.ca / Canadiens' Romanov comparable to Kings' Doughty, says Eastern Conference exec 1184247 Sportsnet.ca / Korean soccer gives NHL first glimpse of what return could look like 1184248 Sportsnet.ca / How a hockey analyst is helping experts in the fight against COVID-19 1184249 Sportsnet.ca / ’s one-handed backhand beauty | Inside the Highlight Reel 1184250 Sportsnet.ca / How Lanny McDonald got his fairytale ending during Flames' '89 Cup run 1184251 Sportsnet.ca / Maple Leafs legend talks ’93 lucky charm, bond with teammates 1184252 TSN.CA / NHL still not at ‘acceptable mass’ to open team facilities 1184253 TSN.CA / praises Toronto Maple Leafs' Morgan Rielly and Mitch Marner, relives Hall of Fame Game 1184254 TSN.CA / The All-Time 7: TSN's All-Time Team 1184255 USA TODAY / Ex-NHL player Georges Laraque, who contracted COVID-19, says it makes 'no sense' to resume season 1184169 Anaheim Ducks Center at the 2010 NHL Draft. Stardom never came for Etem, but he did score three goals in series against Detroit and Winnipeg two years apart. One was on this terrific move.

The best Ducks players to wear every number: No. 61 through No. 93 Honorable mention: None

67 – Rickard Rakell

Eric Stephens 447 games, 129 goals, 154 assists, 283 points, 1,086 shots on goal, 11.9 May 8, 2020 shooting percentage, minus-2 rating

This was the number that was issued to the good-natured Swedish scorer. You would imagine that he’d change it out for a lower one or the This final tour through the Ducks that have helped shape each number club, which leans toward that direction for proven players, would ask him worn by the players included some hitmakers, some one-hit wonders and to do so. Enough people had bought 67 with his name on the back that some who never became a hit. he had no desire to change it.

But this trek through numbers 1 through 30, then 31 through 60 and now Honorable mention: None 61 through 93 did allow for some updates on what a few of these players are doing these days. And that’s why it is often fun to go on a little 71 – Brandon Montour journey through a franchise’s history. Besides, what are we to do when 169 games, 16 goals, 47 assists, 63 points, 96 minutes, 20:47 there is no new live hockey to turn to? time on ice, 200 blocked shots, plus-11 rating

Here’s hoping that you enjoyed this three-part series. There might be Montour didn’t make the cut for his later number (26), but he gets this some names that you’ve forgotten about. And if there are some that one as he came up as a talented prospect in an Anaheim pipeline full of weren’t covered, feel free to add your thoughts and reflections in the young defensemen. It was always risk-reward with the blueliner, whose comments below. tremendous skating should keep him in the NHL for a good bit longer.

61 – Corey Perry Honorable mention: J.T. Brown

988 games, 372 goals (103 power play, 62 game-winning), 404 assists, 74 – Peter Holland 776 points, 1,060 penalty minutes, plus-75 rating 29 games, 5 goals, 2 assists, 7 points, 21 hits, 30 shots on goal, 46.1 Perry spent part of his rookie season in the AHL with the Portland percent faceoffs, plus-3 rating Pirates, where he’d tear it up with linemates Ryan Getzlaf and Dustin Penner. By the end of the year, it was clear that the blond-haired, pest- Much was expected of Holland when the Ducks took him with their first like right wing had the potential to be an impact player for years. Turns pick in the 2009 draft. He had size and a fair amount of skill. But he never out, he was even better. did put it all together at the NHL level, though he did post 11 goals and 25 points for Toronto in 2014-15. He’d last for 266 games before heading Honorable mention: Troy Terry overseas.

62 – Pat Maroon Honorable mention: Joseph Cramarossa

204 games, 26 games, 53 assists, 79 points, 249 penalty minutes, 384 75 – Jaycob Megna hits, minus-8 rating 43 games, 1 goal, 4 assists, 5 points, 32 hits, 29 blocked shots, 12 Following a challenging time establishing himself in Philadelphia’s penalty minutes, 14:32 time on ice, minus-1 rating organization, Maroon found himself in Anaheim and started to put together an NHL career that got him to the mountaintop last spring with Jay Megna was a defensive back that spent some time with Miami, the Stanley Cup for St. Louis, his hometown team. Washington and New Orleans in the NFL. Megna’s two sons wouldn’t follow him into the world of the pigskin. Older brother Jayson continues to Honorable mention: Chris Wagner bump around as he got in eight games with Colorado last season. 63 – Jaycob would make his NHL debut in Chicago, where the Megna family would make its home base. His one NHL goal came on March 6, 2019 189 games, 33 goals (9 on power play), 49 assists, 82 points, 47.0 against St. Louis. percent faceoffs, plus-9 rating Honorable mention: None Bonino was part of a rare Ducks-Sharks trade that sent 2007 ace checker Travis Moen and defenseman to San Jose. He’d 76 – Dustin Penner later switch to 13 and busted out with 22 goals and 27 assists in 2013-14 150 games, 46 goals, 38 assists, 84 points, 100 penalty minutes, 350 before moving on to Vancouver and then winning two Cups with shots on goal, plus-23 rating Pittsburgh. Before the hockey world knew about his pancake consumption, Penner Honorable mention: Kevin Roy was one of those great free-agent finds that team executive David 64 – Brandon McMillan McNab scouted and landed in the mid-aughts. His breakout moment came in the 2006 playoffs. McNab saw a little of his goal-scoring brother, 91 games, 11 games, 15 assists, 26 points, 77 hits, 39.3 percent on Peter, in the big winger. “As the game went on and on, he was so good faceoffs, minus-16 rating and so powerful,” McNab said of Penner, recalling watching him in a triple OT game. “It just seemed like everybody else was wearing down.” This was Matt Beleskey’s first number. Kiefer Sherwood has it for now. Stefan Noesen’s potential Anaheim career was derailed by two major leg Honorable mention: Josh Mahura injuries. Why not go for a deep cut here? McMillan was a third-round pick in 2008 who chipped and chased his way to 10 goals and 11 assists in 77 – Adam Oates 60 games as a promising rookie. Things went sideways for him after that, 67 games, 9 goals, 36 assists, 45 points (20 on power play), 18:38 time but he’s found a home in the KHL. on ice, minus-1 rating

Honorable mention: Kiefer Sherwood The Hall of Fame center is one of the best pure puck distributors in NHL 65 – Emerson Etem history. Oates was a bit of a hired gun at the end and played only one season in Anaheim. But it was 2002-03 and the center could still make 115 games, 15 goals, 16 assists, 31 points, 160 hits, 169 shots on goal, plays. He had 13 points in that 21-game postseason run with the Mighty plus-5 rating Ducks.

Hopes were high when this Long Beach native was taken in the first Honorable mention: Devante Smith-Pelly round by the Ducks as cheers broke out from the locals inside Staples 80 – Ilya Bryzgalov 77 games, 27-27-9 record, 2 , 2.63 goals-against average, .904 save percentage

Leave it to the wacky Bryz to find his way into this number list twice.

Honorable mention: None

83 – Kalle Kossila

19 games, 2 goals, 1 assist, 3 points, 50 percent faceoffs, 9:29 time on ice, minus-5 rating

A four-year standout at St. Cloud State, Kossila hasn’t done much in the NHL or hasn’t gotten much of a chance depending on how you look at it. He put up numbers for the AHL’s Gulls over three seasons.

Honorable mention: None

86 – Ondrej Kase

198 games, 43 goals (9 game-winning), 53 assists, 96 points, 9.5 shooting percentage, 104 takeaways, plus-10 rating

Time will tell if Kase will maximize his offensive potential in Boston, but Ducks fans will remember his energetic play, boundless enthusiasm and joyous goal celebrations, especially when he came up as a rookie.

Honorable mention: None

88 – Jamie McGinn

21 games, 8 goals, 4 assists, 12 points, 51 hits, 23 penalty minutes, 47 shots on goal plus-4 rating

McGinn wore the number in Buffalo and the Ducks let him keep it when they got him for the 2016 stretch run and postseason. General manager Bob Murray sent the Sabres a conditional third-round pick, and McGinn gave them goals in his first two games and eight in 15. He had two more in a seven-game, first-round series against Nashville.

Honorable mention: None

90 – Giovanni Fiore

1 game, 0 goals, 0 assists, 0 points, 10 shifts, 7:53 time on ice, minus-1 rating

A 52-goal overage season with the QMJHL’s Cape Breton Screaming Eagles drew the attention of the Ducks, and the native of Laval, , turned some heads in the 2017 training camp. Fiore took advantage of injuries to make the opening-night roster and made his NHL debut in that season’s second game. It remains his only game in the show.

Honorable mention: None

91 – Sergei Fedorov

85 games, 31 goals, 35 assists, 86 points, 21:02 time on ice, 44 penalty minutes, minus-6 rating

When Anaheim and reached an impasse over a new contract and Kariya ultimately signed with Colorado, Mighty Ducks GM Bryan Murray sought to control the damage by making a huge splash. Murray recruited his former player and reeled in the Detroit star on a five-year, $40-million contract. Fedorov put up some decent numbers (31 goals and 34 assists in 2003-04) but failed to have much impact on team success as the Ducks flopped in their follow-up to the spirited 2003 playoff run. Along came a lockout and a housecleaning from ownership on down. By the fall of 2005, Fedorov was shipped to Columbus.

Honorable mention: None

93 – Anatoli Semenov

76 games, 15 goals (6 on power play), 32 assists, 47 points, minus-18 rating

The Mighty Ducks had the Russian vibe going in the mid-1990s. They drafted a few and acquired them through other means. Semenov was among the players that left the former after playing for many years with Moscow Dynamo. Anaheim got him in the 1993 expansion draft and would reacquire him from Philadelphia in 1996.

Honorable mention: None

The Athletic LOADED: 05.09.2020 1184170 “I let in two of the worst goals in history,” he said, bemoaning his performance in a game that saw the Bruins heavily favored over the expansion Blues. He did, however, give himself credit for making a - Former Bruins goalie Gerry Cheevers doesn’t mask his feelings blank stop on St. Louis forward Larry Keenan with about 15 seconds remaining, to preserve a 3-3 tie and push the game to .

Fifty years after Orr soared, Cheevers predicted another Stanley Cup for Matt Porter the Bruins. “Soon,” he said.

May 8, 2020, 7:47 p.m. Cheevers, unsurprisingly, is a fan of Boston’s starting ‘tender.

“I love Tuukka (Rask),” he said. “He’s big, he fills the net. I would say he’s in the top two or three in the league right now.” Ahh, the Bruins-Canadiens rivalry. May it live forever. What about all-time? In this week’s recounting of Black-and-Golden memories from a half- century ago, several B’s noted they should have won the Stanley Cup in “Before my era, I’d pick (Terry) Sawchuk, (Glenn) Hall and (Jacques) 1971, not just ‘70 and ‘72. “We had a better team,” Plante,” Cheevers said. “But I think , putting everything said. The foil was rookie and those hated Habs. together, might be the best ever.”

Surely the netminder on the other side, fellow Hall of Famer Gerry Boston Globe LOADED: 05.09.2020 Cheevers, wasn’t subconsciously thinking of that bitter end when he got in a dig at Montreal’s current goalie.

“I’m not a big (Carey) Price fan,” said Cheevers, 79, video conferencing from his home in Boca Raton, Fla., with Bruins season ticket-holders on Thursday in advance of Sunday’s 50th anniversary of the ‘70 Cup celebration. “Price hasn’t won. He loses certain games he shouldn’t lose.”

Cheevers’s opinion is not without statistical merit. Price, considered one of the top goalies of his era, won the in 2015. He is 25-31 in the postseason (believe what you will about team wins as a measure of a goalie’s worth), and the Canadiens have made it out of the second round once with Price, a 13-year veteran, in net. Unless the NHL widely expands its playoff field on return, the 24th-place Canadiens will miss the dance for the third straight year.

Cheevers, who split the net with in the Bruins’ ‘70 and ‘72 Cup seasons, was 53-34 in the postseason during his time in Boston (1965-80), not including a four-year stint (‘72-76) with Cleveland of the WHA. He became the Bruins’ coach for four-plus seasons (1980-85) immediately after retiring.

He is still known for his famous mask, white with black stitches drawn by trainer John “Frosty” Forrestal. He claims only one exists, created by Ernie Higgins, the Norwood craftsman who made them for numerous NHLers in the ‘70s. Though collectors have offered large sums, Cheevers said, he will not sell. It hangs on the wall in the room of his grandson, Jon, at the Florida home of his daughter, Sherril.

The iconic decoration, the self-effacing Cheevers said, was borne of his desire to get out of a practice. One day, he took a soft up high (“it wouldn’t have cut me if I didn’t have my mask on”) and begged out due to injury. Sinden caught him in the locker room with the “racing form and a cigarette.” Forrestal, as a gag, painted an eight-inch scar on the mask, over the right eye, where the puck would have done its damage.

“That’s how it all started,” said Cheevers, whose mask steadily gained stitch after stitch. “We kept track. We embellished it a little bit.

“At times, I feel I was somewhat of a pioneer in hockey because I actually decorated my mask,” he said. “If you know goalies the way I do … none of them would probably be smart enough to put anything on their masks. If I didn’t do it, they might have all been white masks, and what good is that?”

Like the rest of the surviving members of the ‘70 team, Cheevers was eager to return to Boston for a reunion on March 24, now indefinitely postponed. With that crew back together, the stories would have soaked the room. Cheevers was a bit shy about spilling them to the public.

“Unfortunately, I have to go by the rule of what happens in Vegas, stays in Vegas,” he said. “On the road, we had to go for one beer, no matter if you had parents there or what. We had to go to the same spot for just one beer, just in case there was a little frustration, it gets finished. We were a close-knit team.”

That Cup-winning year, he said, they were “mostly all business … We got together and we played to win.”

His perspective on Bobby Orr’s famous goal: it saved him. 1184171 Boston Bruins

Bruins’ season opener in Prague is off as NHL postpones international events due to coronavirus

Matt Porter

May 8, 2020, 10:00 a.m.

The Bruins-Predators 2020-21 season opener in Prague is off because of the COVID-19 pandemic.

The NHL and the NHL Players Association have postponed all international events for 2020, they said Friday.

The Bruins were supposed to end their September training camp in Mannheim, Germany, with an exhibition against the pro club there (), and in Prague, Czech Republic, with Game 1 of 82 against Nashville at O2 Arena.

Before meeting the Bruins in Prague, the Predators were to report to Bern, Switzerland, and play SC Bern.

In November, the Avalanche and Blue Jackets were to play a two-game set at Hartwall Arena in Helsinki, Finland.

All of those trips are now scheduled for the 2021-22 season.

“The NHLPA and the NHL remain committed to maintaining and growing our international presence,” a statement read. “We hope that our fans overseas understand the need to postpone the 2020 games, but we look forward to being back with them in 2021.”

In their Stanley Cup season of 2010-11, the Bruins opened the season against the Coyotes in Prague, after tuning up in Belfast, Northern Ireland. They prepped for last season with a pair of exhibition games against the Flames in Shenzhen and Beijing, China.

Boston Globe LOADED: 05.09.2020 1184172 Boston Bruins A frustrated Bowman, noted Crisp, shouted something similar Orr’s way from the Blues bench.

“Scotty’s favorite expression would be, ‘Bobby! Hey, Bobby! Would you On May 10, 1970, the Bruins were ready to realize a dream. Bobby Orr give us the puck so we can play, too?’ ” recalled Crisp, now 76 and long made it come true a mainstay on the Nashville Predators broadcast team. “That was Scotty’s sarcasm, loud enough so we could all hear it on the bench and get the message: ‘Are you dummies going to get the puck from him?’ ” Kevin Paul In Game 4, the Blues turned in their best effort of the series, after May 8, 2020, 9:19 a.m. handing over the first three games by an aggregate 16-4. The only real test in the postseason for the mighty Orr et al had been the Rangers,

who stretched the opening round to six games. In Round 2, the Cup Their local residence was the dusty old , with its funky, semis, the Bruins polished off and the Black Hawks in four undersized sheet of ice, but the Bruins of a half-century ago held straight. property rights across virtually every inch of New England. They owned “We weren’t in the same class,” Bowman, 86, recalled last week from his the conversations of our family rooms, our classrooms, our boardrooms, home outside Sarasota, Fla. “We were fortunate to get into overtime. We and barrooms. had Jimmy Roberts following Orr everywhere for the first two or three Even the polished chrome parts of our Chevys and Fords were in their games, but we couldn’t handle [John] Bucyk and all the other guys. They clutches. were just too much, eh?”

“Jesus Saves!” read the omnipresent bumper sticker of the day. Bucyk, in fact, scored the 3-3 equalizer in Game 4 with 6:32 remaining in “Esposito Scores on the Rebound!” regulation to set the stage for overtime. The Chief artfully tipped the puck over goalie ’s shoulder off of Johnny “Pie” McKenzie’s dish They were Boston’s darlings, big and bad and beloved, swashbucklers from the right wing. Ricky Smith, who opened the day’s scoring off a adored as our moms’ favorites. There was Espo, Pie, Cheesie, and the patented sweep feed from Sanderson, picked up the other assist on the Chief. And of course Turk, the long-haired Derek Sanderson with his Bucyk goal. devilish grin and sublime hands that handled pucks nearly as well as they embraced every part of life away from hockey. “That’s a goal I remember,” Bucyk said. “We were down, 3-2, and that got us even. Then it’s OT, with Derek and Bobby and all that.” The best of the bunch wore No. 4, and we knew him simply as Bobby. On the afternoon of May 10, 1970, inside the sweltering and dusty old All that. barn on Causeway Street, it was the 22-year-old Robert Gordon Orr who The Garden was a pungent steam bath that afternoon, with the outdoor tucked home Sanderson’s return relay and delivered the Bruins their first temperature around 90 degrees. During the WBZ Radio broadcast, Fred Stanley Cup in 29 years, dating back to , Bill Cowley, Frankie Cusick and analyst Johnny Peirson repeatedly referred to how hot it was Brimsek, and the dark days of World War II. in the old building. The only semblance of air conditioning was the same On 5/10, time stopped precisely at 5:10 p.m., Orr’s feat frozen in time, as when the building opened in 1928 — generated by the game forever glorified and magnified by a black-and-white photo that caught programs that fans waved in front of their faces. him in flight above the ice, stick raised, eyes wide, face jubilant. It was “I don’t know about you, Fred,” Peirson mused late in the second period, the captured dream from which no one cared to be awakened. “but I’ve lost four or five pounds and I haven’t done anything physical.“ “We had a very strong bond with the fans,” Orr recalled Wednesday In 1970, Kevin Paul Dupont was 17 years old, listening to Game 7 of the morning, chatting from his winter home in Florida. “Our guys were out Stanley Cup Final on WBZ. He recorded the game using his then state- everywhere. Fans weren’t nervous to walk up to them, approach them. It of-the-art cassette player. Listen to some of it here: was a very, very special time for all of us. Globe Audio · "What could be better than that!" “We were in a position now to realize a dream — and that was to be on a Stanley Cup team. I don’t think we had any players on the team that had The strategy for overtime won a Cup, so it was very, very special for everyone." The game was on national television, shown in Boston on what was then We grew to accept, then take for granted that Orr could perform the WHDH, the CBS affiliate on Channel 5. When it headed into overtime, it impossible. Then on Mother’s Day in 1970, less than a year after man was cutting into the station’s coverage of the Red Sox-A’s game in first stepped on the moon, he took Isaac Newton’s law of gravity, turned it Oakland, but WHDH was committed to showing the rest of the action at inside-out, and tossed it aside. the Garden.

. . . In the Bruins dressing room, players wondered what line combination coach Harry Sinden would use to open overtime. The big line had Bobby Orr flew. No one expected less. Certainly not , the one- Esposito between Wayne Cashman and Ken Hodge, followed by the time Bruins prospect, then age 26, who watched from the St. Louis bench postseason’s most prolific trio that had between Bucyk on when Orr’s goal finished off the Blues and clinched the Cup 40 seconds the left wing and McKenzie on the right. into overtime of Game 4 of the Cup Final. “No way in hell were we going back to St. Louis,” recalled Esposito, “I was one of the guys in that series assigned to shadow Bobby, me and reached last week at his home in Tampa. “So I’m sitting between Chief Jimmy Roberts,“ recalled Crisp, working then under the eye of third-year and Derek, and I say, ‘Don’t worry about it, Turk, if my line starts, we’re Blues coach — and legend in the making — . “Sure, going to score right away.’ Turk says, ‘No, if we start, we’re going to watch Bobby. Yeah, OK, Scotty, really nice of you. Don’t open your shirt score right away.’ And then Chief says, ‘Hey, what happens if my line because your heart’ll fall out.” starts?’ ” Crisp knew Orr from their childhood days in Parry Sound, . He Sinden wasn’t sure that Bowman would open OT with his strength, the knew his pal’s speed, summoned in a flash, and he knew his No. 1 line that had with Larry Keenan on the left and Tim dumbfounding wizardry with the puck. He knew the patented Orr move at Ecclestone on the right. But he was certain that he didn’t want to give the the offensive blue line in which he would twirl away from a check, Blues the chance to strike early. He had a talented, eager team, only one maintain possession, race into the slot for a pass or shot. He knew the shot from winning the Cup. Poise mattered. frustration that came with trying to slow Orr, corral him, resist the unremitting force. “Great lines like Esposito’s line and Stanfield’s line, if there is a fault to them, it’s that they’ll once in a while get overexcited and take chances Boston goalie Gerry Cheevers once kidded that when Orr was on, and take risks,” Sinden, 87, said during a conference call Monday. “I owning the puck and playing keep-away from forecheckers, he would think that’s what I was thinking at the time.” holler to teammate , “Hey, Phil, I’ve got a Racing Form here if you’d like something to read.” Sure enough, Bowman went with his power line, centered by Berenson. It was a goal by Keenan (Cheevers’s teammate during junior hockey days in Ontario) that had staked the Blues to a 3-2 lead 19 seconds into the roll . . . and spin . . . and boom! So I look at the puck, and I look at the third period. referee [], and I say to myself, ‘No penalty. Perfect!’ ”

“I had a very weak game,” recalled Cheevers, 79, reached at his home ‘There was no one like Orr. No one had his speed, his gears.’ near Delray Beach, Fla. “We win, 4-3, and all that, but I let in two [expletive] goals. If not for those — and I like to kid Bobby about this — Then-Blues coach Scotty Bowman heck, it never gets into overtime and you might never have heard of him.” In the WBZ booth, an elated Cusick bellowed, “Bobby Orr from ‘We win, 4-3, and all that, but I let in two [expletive] goals. If not for those Sanderson. And what could be better than that?! As they beat St Louis, — and I like to kid Bobby about this — heck, it never gets into overtime 4-3. Orr to Sanderson back to Orr. And they go wild!” and you might never have heard of him.’ The goal was scored at the west end of the old Garden, in the direction of Bruins goalie Gerry Cheevers Cambridge Street. Scores of fans, most of them teenaged and twentysomething males, spilled over the short panes of glass along the Sinden ultimately called for Sanderson between Wayne “Swoop” sideboards and onto the ice, leading, in part, to the teams conducting a Carleton at left wing and the ever-steady Eddie Westfall on the right, somewhat hurried handshake line near the net where Orr scored. supported by a back line of on the left and Orr on the right. Kevin Vautour, 69, now a retired driving instructor for the MBTA, watched “It made sense, sure,” said Esposito. “Heck, we only cared we didn’t it all unfold from his season ticket location in the balcony at the east end: have to go back to St. Louis. This way we could party for another three Section 101, Row G, Seat 7. Cost: $5. days!” “I can’t say every player on both sides shook hands at the end,” he said. “I can tell you this,” Sanderson said. “Phil was bummed it wasn’t his line “It was a scraggly line, kind of stretched out from sideboard to sideboard. out there.” Before you knew it, no one was paying much attention and things began to congregate for the Cup ceremony at center ice.” The puck went down at 5:09 p.m., the Bruins immediately pressing in the Blues end of the ice and keeping it there until the job was finished. In the Retired Globe photographer Frank O’Brien, now 79, captured Orr’s goal final sequence, Orr pinched way down on the right wall, meeting up with on black-and-white film from his position at the face of the side balcony Keenan where the outer edge of the circle nearly kisses the boards. near center ice. O’Brien clicked off a seven-frame sequence of pictures, published frequently in the Globe over the last half-century, that details Not what Bowman wanted to see. He knew Orr played every other shift, the legendary defenseman’s approach and finish. often upward of 40 minutes a night, sometimes more. Bowman hoped that his Blues could maintain possession long enough and maybe strike “Bobby gets the puck, then he’s up and over and down, and then all his for the game-winner when Orr ducked off to the bench for a breather. teammates piling on,” recalled O’Brien, reached at his winter home in Fort Myers, Fla. “As soon as he gave the puck to Sanderson, I knew “But he stayed in,” recalled Bowman, who went on to coach nine Cup exactly what was going to happen because Sanderson can’t do anything winners, including four during the last Montreal dynasty (1976-79). “The with it where he is, nearly behind the net. puck went around the boards and Keenan was trying to fish for it. But Bobby got there. Even if he didn’t get there first, he got the puck. "No idea, of course, if Bobby’s going to score, but I knew he would get it back.” "He’d do that all the time, because he was so fast. Even if he didn’t get the puck, he was so fast, he’d get back and cover on defense. The party is on

“There was no one like Orr. No one had his speed, his gears.” In a hurried on-ice ceremony, NHL president Clarence Campbell handed the Cup to Bucyk, then about to turn 35 and the eldest of the club’s four Sanderson was behind the goal line, his rear end backed against the alternate captains. Chief hoisted the Cup with scores of fans still racing boards, about a stick-length from the right post as Orr advanced with the all over the ice and took it for a quick skate before hightailing it down to puck toward the goal line. Orr passed to Sanderson and broke on a the east end and into the Bruins dressing room. straight line toward the right post, where only defenseman stood guard. “We filled it with champagne” recalled Bucyk. “Most guys drank beer. I know I never drank champagne, but I did that day.” “Jean-Guy Talbot, the other defenseman, made a play for me in back," Sanderson said. “Mistake. Channel 5 dumped the CBS feed after only two minutes, switching viewers to the Sox game in Oakland, which by then was in the third “He leaves Bobby alone and comes to me. If he stays there, I have to inning. Irate viewers swamped the WHDH switchboard with complaints. carry it out. Once Bobby was clean, it was just a little flip out and . . . WBZ Radio stayed with the on-ice action and then, along with WSBK-TV bink!” (Channel 38), covered the raucous dressing room celebration.

Jubilation erupts Marvin Pave, a Globe sportswriter there that day who still contributes Talbot witnessed it all from behind the net, the definition of no man’s occasionally to the section, cranked out a sidebar on Doug Orr, Bobby’s land, as Orr shot. It was Picard, originally a Canadiens defenseman, who father. jammed his stick between Orr’s legs, lifted, and sent him airborne toward “What I remember most is the noise — everywhere,” recalled Pave, now the left faceoff circle. Every camera lens in the building was fixed on No. 75. “It was deafening in the building long after Orr scored, and in the 4. room. I could barely hear Bobby’s father as the two of us spoke in the “When I went across, I did see the puck go in, and I was jumping,” room. There were tears in his eyes.” recalled Orr. “Noel Picard did have his stick under my ankle. He did lift ‘It was deafening in the building long after Orr scored, and in the room. I me, yes, but I saw it go in and I was also jumping with joy.” could barely hear Bobby’s father as the two of us spoke in the room. Hall, 88, has kidded repeatedly through the decades that he thinks that There were tears in his eyes.’ must have been the only goal Orr ever scored. Otherwise, why would Marvin Pave, former Globe sportswriter fans always ask him to sign that wonderful picture, snapped by the Record American’s Ray Lussier, with the exuberant Orr flying through the Guy Mainella, the first host of daily sports talk radio in Boston, handled air? on-ice interviews for WBZ.

“Glenn’s other favorite line,” mused Crisp last week, “is that he was off “The Cup once again comes to Boston,” proclaimed the host of “Calling the ice, showered, and enjoying a beer by the time Bobby landed.” All Sports,” “and the quiet warrior John Bucyk moves away from center ice and skates around the rink, holding high the Stanley Cup.” Sanderson, who will turn 74 next month, wasn’t watching Orr’s flight path after his pal shoveled the puck between Hall’s pads. Instead, his eye was A hurried Orr thanked Mainella and said he would have to talk to him trained on the beautiful vulcanized rubber jewel that just got deposited in later. An elated Sinden, who would leave the team that summer to work the back of the cage. briefly in the modular home industry, was far more excited and chatty.

“The puck went in so fast, and I saw it hit the net,” he said. “I was actually “Isn’t this exciting? Wow!” Sinden, then 37, told Mainella. “I’m glad my pretty stunned. I stand there for a second, watch the puck land . . . and mother bought me a pair of skates 30 year ago.” The sellout crowd of 14,385 eventually streamed out to Causeway Street and packed tight into . The party was on in the old West End.

Globe news reporter Steve Kurkjian waded into the crowd for his man- on-the-street report of the celebration, and referred to one “mini-skirted lass” enjoying the party on Causeway Street. Times were changing.

“We’ve been waiting for this for a long time,” she told Kurkjian. “And we are not going to let it die down for a long time to come.”

Crisp said he was certain to shake Orr’s hand before leaving the building, kidding that failing to do so left him at risk of incurring his pal’s wrath when they returned to Parry Sound over the summer.

Homeboy or not, winner or loser, it’s best to leave on good terms with someone who can fly.

“I’ve never seen a player of Orr’s magnitude,” said Crisp. “He would go back, get the puck, lead the rush, make the play, and then go back and be the first one to defend.

"Who the hell does that? No one can do all that. So it must have been twins, that’s all I can figure.”

More than one Orr? If true, a half-century later, the second one has never been found.

Boston Globe LOADED: 05.09.2020 1184173 Boston Bruins and that’s what they got. We had a wonderful following. It was a great group of guys. I think that has a lot to do with it.

“People weren’t afraid of the players. They were comfortable coming up Everybody still talking about flying Bobby Orr, 50 years later to us and talking to us. That made a difference. And the game started to grow. Rinks were starting to be built [around Boston] and there were more fans around. We were just a fun group. We played and won a lot of Joe Haggerty hockey games. When you win, then you can have some fun.

May 08, 2020 9:23 PM "When you look at Phil, Johnny McKenzie and Derek [Sanderson] those are three characters. They were great fun. You guys [in the media] would

have loved this group. You wouldn’t have had any trouble getting quotes There’s now a generation or two of Bruins fans who don’t know what it’s from this 1970 group. I liked the press, but I wasn’t a big press guy. I like to live through an era when pro hockey players were rock stars in the knew Phil, and Derek and Eddie Westfall would all talk, so I wouldn’t city of Boston. have to say too much.”

That was the case 50 years ago in Boston when the Cup-winning Bruins It was certainly about the character and spirit of the group, but it was also were every bit as popular as the "Idiot" Red Sox of 2004, or as beloved about the players attaining hockey immortality by beating the Rangers, as the many Super Bowl-winning Patriots teams of the past 20 years. Blackhawks and Blues in the playoffs on the way to the Cup. It was about a magnificent, stereotype-busting 120-point campaign for Orr in 77 The Bobby Orr Era Bruins teams of the early-to-mid '70s were as popular games where he became the first NHL defenseman to win the Art Ross as any pro sports team has ever been in the Hub and it's coming up on Trophy. It was about 43 goals for Espo, who came one point short of exactly 50 years ago that the biggest Bruins moment ever took place on giving the Bruins a pair of 100-point scorers in that magical season. Mother’s Day, May 10, 1970. It was about Bucyk kicking in 31 goals of his own and Sanderson It was the day Bobby Orr flew majestically through the air in overtime bringing swagger and attitude along with his 118 penalty minutes. against the St. Louis Blues after scoring to cap a four-game sweep and Certainly, Turk won’t ever let Orr forget that it was his feed to No. 4 for give that core B’s group their first of two Cups in a three-season span. the most iconic goal in NHL and hockey history.

It was the first Stanley Cup for Boston in 29 years, dating to the famed Haggerty: Top 10 Bruins playoffs heartbreaks days of the “Kraut Line.” Arguably, those B's are the most beloved Boston title team of all time, with pretty stiff competition from Larry Bird’s Those Bruins players didn’t stay young forever, obviously, and the Celtics, Big Papi’s Idiots and the Brady/Belichick Patriots dynasty of the incandescent Orr was forced to retire well before his time because of past two decades. knee injuries.

I mean, who's better than the guys on that 1970 team? But the Mother’s Day image of Orr soaring through the air is still on the minds of Bruins fans all these 50 years later, and they'll be able to relive “I wore a tuxedo that night. We were playing St. Louis that night and we all of it in living color with a new group interview of Orr, Sanderson, knew they weren’t going to beat us,” a smirking Derek Sanderson said Esposito and goalie Gerry Cheevers sitting down together for the this week on a Zoom video conference call as he recalled the Game 4 documentary to talk about old, good times in Black and Gold. Cup clincher. “So, I wore a tuxedo to the Garden and the guy said ‘Oh, what are you doing?’ They had the Cup there and everything. That doesn’t include the running commentary from Bruins fans and [Teammate] Teddy Green said to me ‘What are you going to do if we lose Boston-area natives Denis Leary and Howie Long, and the odd story this?’ and I had never thought about that. I said I’ll just wear a sweatshirt from legendary Boston sportswriters Kevin Paul Dupont of The Globe or something. and ESPN’s Jackie MacMullan. The season was a special one to Boston fans of a certain generation and has become something of legend Haggerty: Cheevers fires jabs at Canadiens goalie passed down to those of us that weren’t lucky enough to be alive to experience it first-hand. “Bobby had an absolute Cinderella year that season. He did everything right. He was on another planet. So when Bobby got the goal? That’s Now, Bruins fans, old and new, can take it all in with a documentary that what I was happy about because he did everything for us that year. It lives up to the greatness of that 1970 Bruins' Stanley Cup-winning run was great.” that’s withstood the test of time as something to be cherished and remembered in and around the city of Boston. Can you imagine doing something like that before the clinching game of a Stanley Cup Final for the Bruins these days? It’s hard for some to believe that the Flying Orr goal turns is turning 50, but it’s easy to see why people are still talking about its place in Bruins The “Flying Orr” goal is the most iconic moment of all time from that playoff history all these years later. neverendingly entertaining hockey season in Boston, so it’s appropriate that it's been brilliantly captured in the new NHL Network documentary Comcast SportsNet.com LOADED: 05.09.2020 “1970 Bruins: Big, Bad and Bobby” that's set to debut on Sunday night at 8. For those keeping score at home, that’s the exact anniversary of the Orr goal heard ‘round Boston.

The documentary is narrated by Dropkick Murphy’s frontman Ken Casey with the exact proper amount of Bruins fan swagger describing one of the all-time best collections of hockey talent. The footage is vibrant and well- collected, from enthusiastic gallery god Bruins fans raving about their team to Sanderson hanging out with Joe Namath at his swinging '70s nightclub. And it’s a highlight reel tribute to the greatest hockey player to ever live, Bobby Orr, and the other key star on that team, Phil Esposito, who led the way with goal-scoring punch and B’s bravado to spare.

Orr maintains that a big part of what makes that 1970 team so memorable is the makeup of the group with approachable gentlemen such as himself and , and fun-loving firebrands Sanderson and Johnny “Pie” McKenzie that brought plenty of good-natured chuckles to the table.

“The characters on the team. We didn’t hide away. We were in the public. We had a lot of character. We had a lot fun. We played hard and the fans knew when they came to a game that they were going to get an honest effort from everybody,” Orr said on a Zoom video conference call this week to commemorate the 50th anniversary. “That’s what they expected 1184174 Boston Bruins

Milan Lucic tells awesome Tim Thomas story from Bruins' 2011 Stanley Cup run

Nick Goss

May 08, 2020 2:37 PM

Tim Thomas was the main reason why the Boston Bruins won the Stanley Cup in 2011.

The veteran goaltender dominated the playoffs with a .940 save percentage and a 1.98 goals against average, which helped earn him the as postseason MVP.

It turns out he helped inspire the Bruins off the ice, too.

Get the latest news and analysis on all of your teams from NBC Sports Boston by downloading the My Teams App

Former Bruins forward Milan Lucic spent five seasons as Thomas' teammate in Boston, including the 2011 title run. Lucic told a great story on Barstool Sports' "Spittin' Chiclets" podcast about a classic one-liner that Thomas would say during the 2011 playoffs.

"What was really funny was every time we had a lead or we were tied going into the third period, one of the superstitious things that was said was Tim Thomas always said, 'I guarantee if we win this period we’ll win this game,'" Lucic said. "And we all would kind of cheer. It was something silly that we would say and the guys would be like, ‘yeah, (expletive) right, Timmy! Let’s go!’ That was Timmy’s one-liner that he would always say on that playoff run. I remember when he said it in that second intermission, going out for the third period in Game 7 against Vancouver, and he pipes up and he said it, 'I guarantee if we win this period we're gonna win the game.' And all the boys were like, '(expletive) right, Timmy, let's go win this period.' Everyone was jacked up.

"The anticipation of him saying that, especially having a 3-0 lead, to go win the cup. I think he might have even said, ‘I guarantee if we win this period we’ll win the Stanley Cup.’ I think that’s exactly how he said it. When he said that everyone was so fired up to go out there to play the last 20 minutes and it all obviously was a dream come true after that."

Whatever works, right?

Thomas was brilliant in that Game 7 of the Stanley Cup Final. He shut out the with 37 saves on 37 shots in Boston's 4-0 championship-clinching victory.

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This Date in Bruins History: B's earn thrilling OT wins vs. Leafs, Canadiens

Nick Goss

May 08, 2020 12:23 PM

Few things in sports are better than overtime in the , and May 8 has seen the Boston Bruins play in a couple memorable games that required bonus hockey.

One of them came in 2013 against the Toronto Maple Leafs. The Bruins took a 3-1 series lead in the Eastern Conference quarterfinals with a 4-3 overtime victory over the Leafs at Air Canada Centre. The Leafs jumped out to a 2-0 advantage at the end of the first period, and then a flurry of goals in the second period resulted in a 3-3 score line entering the final period of regulation. After a goalless third frame, David Krejci won the game in overtime with a goal scored on Leafs netminder James Reimer. It was Krejci's second tally of the night.

The Bruins were expected to close out the series in Game 5 back in Boston, but it would take a historic comeback in Game 7 to send Boston to the second round.

Another exciting Bruins overtime win on May 8 came in 2014 against the rival . Bruins forward Matt Fraser, making his playoff debut, scored the winner in overtime to tie the Eastern Conference semifinals series at two games apiece.

The Bruins would go on to lose this series versus the Canadiens with a Game 7 defeat at TD Garden.

Boston has a 3-3 record on May 8, and it's played only three games on this date since 1995.

Here are some other notable Bruins games from May 8:

2009, East Semis: 4-1 loss at Hurricanes

1995, East Qtrs: 3-0 loss vs. Devils

1988, Prince of Wales Final: 3-1 loss at Devils

1979, Semifinals: 5-2 win vs. Canadiens

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2020 NHL season: Bruins-Predators season-opener in Prague postponed

Joe Haggerty

May 08, 2020 9:34 AM

The Boston Bruins had planned on opening up their 2020-21 NHL regular season overseas against the Nashville Predators in Prague as part of the NHL Global Series, but that plan to visit the Czech Republic has now been postponed.

The Bruins were going to finish their training camp in Europe, play an exhibition game in Germany and then face off against the Preds at the same O2 Arena in Prague where they opened up the 2010-11 Stanley Cup-winning season 10 years prior.

But the coronavirus outbreak has pushed the completion of the current 2019-20 season into the summer months, if possible at all, and next season will undoubtedly be pushed back at least a few months if that’s the case. With everything in flux currently, the has postponed its entire international slate for 2020 and will instead push those global games into the following hockey season.

That included a Bruins/Predators game in Prague and a Blue Jackets/Avalanche game slated for Helsinki, Finland.

Always-classy Bobby Orr gives stick tap to frontline workers

“The National Hockey League and National Hockey League Players’ Association today announced the postponement of its 2020 international games,” said the NHL and NHLPA in a joint statement. “The NHLPA and the NHL remain committed to maintaining and growing our international presence. We hope that our fans overseas understand the need to postpone the 2020 games, but we look forward to being back with them in 2021.”

At the time of the announcement, both Czech-born Bruins players, David Krejci and David Pastrnak, were pumped to open things up in Prague this fall with Krejci a focal point of the last visit to the Czech Republic 10 years ago.

"I remember driving to O2 Arena as a kid to go see the Bruins play the Coyotes back in 2010 for the NHL Premiere games,” said Pastrnak, back when the B’s season-opener in Europe was announced last November. “The passionate fans and atmosphere were something I'll never forget. I can't wait to feel that energy again from the ice in Prague and Mannheim."

Both Bruins forwards have been running under the assumption for a while that there would be a postponement for the upcoming season given the current circumstances, and the focus now is clearly on figuring out the logistics of finishing this season followed by a reasonably normal NHL regular season next year.

Comcast SportsNet.com LOADED: 05.09.2020 1184177 Boston Bruins Esposito: We did not want to go back to St. Louis. I can tell you that.

Orr: Do you remember who started the overtime? Nobody even talks about that, but that’s Harry. He said, “Hey, we’re going into overtime, that ‘When I went by, I was jumping’: The 50th anniversary of Bobby Orr’s first shift — it’s important that we have a solid shift. We don’t have to flight score that first shift. We just want to be solid.” So he put our solid guys out there — Swoop (Wayne) Carleton and Eddie Westfall and Derek.

Dan Robson Sinden: Esposito really wanted to start because he felt he could end it early.

Esposito: We were going into overtime and I sat between Derek and You don’t have to be a hockey fan to recognize the photograph of Bobby Johnny Bucyk. We were all on three different lines and I said, I think Orr flying through the air like superman after scoring the Stanley Cup- we’re going to start and you won’t even get on the ice. And Chief said no, winning goal in overtime on May 10, 1970. our line’s going to start. And Derek said no, no — if they start Berenson, my line is starting and you’re not going to get on the ice. Several photographers captured Orr’s flight, but the one that hung suspended in time was taken by Ray Lussier — with the 22-year-old Bowman: I think the reason he put them out was because the best player defenceman seemingly parallel with the crossbar, soaring while the on our team by far offensively was Red Berenson. He was the best Boston Garden erupted around him. offensive player for about three years in a row in the West Division.

It was an image that would hold the magic and mystique of Orr for Berenson: We were in an expansion division with St. Louis and we had generations. some success there. We got to the finals three years in a row. … But we didn’t have the game breakers that the had. When the Bruins captured their first championship since the 1940-41 season, Orr and the team of unforgettable characters were a rising NHL Sanderson: Scotty Bowman, smarter than the average hockey guy, he powerhouse. Orr led the league with 120 points that season. Phil picked veteran players. He had Berenson. Berenson was a great faceoff Esposito led the league in goals. The Bruins finished tied for first in the guy. He was a great team guy. He had the three Plager brothers old Original Six division and beat the New York Rangers and Chicago (Barclay, Bill and Bob). … They had a tough core to give you a what-for Blackhawks in the first two rounds to meet the St. Louis Blues for the at the end of the day. They had experience. And they had Glenn Hall. So Stanley Cup. It was the third straight trip to the finals for the Blues, who that carried them. had been the best in a lesser division of expansion teams. Sinden: Scotty had a unique tactic that he tried to use. He put a guy on The Bruins dominated the first three games of the series and looked to Bobby. It was unusual to shadow a defenceman. And he would stay with finish the Blues off at the Boston Garden on Mother’s Day. But young him no matter where the puck was. … It was a strange-looking sight, I’ll Scotty Bowman led a team of scrappy veterans that wasn’t about to roll tell you that. Orr was kind of perplexed at it himself. But he went along over. with it. Actually, it was probably his idea.

The Blues pushed the Bruins to overtime, tied 3-3 — setting the stage for Orr: I would go stand at the boards or I would stay in my end. Even on one of the most iconic Images in sports history. power plays, I would have someone standing with me.

Harry Sinden, Bruins coach: I can see it anytime I want. I just close my Bowman: Even when we had the puck, we had to have a guy close to eyes. him. I don’t know if people know how good this guy was. … He was virtually unstoppable. He was such a dominant force because of his Bobby Orr: We had pretty good odds to beat them. We were confident, skating. His skating, shooting and hockey IQ. He knew where to go. not cocky. We knew if everyone played their game, we’d win it. Orr: I was the only idiot who didn’t play like he was supposed to play. Phil Esposito, Bruins: We had a real solid hockey team. Terry Crisp, Blues: Jimmy Roberts and I were defensive players, so we Derek Sanderson, Bruins: Oh, yeah. There was nobody better than us. were in charge of Bobby. … I’m on the ice in overtime. The puck goes Scotty Bowman, Blues coach: Boston was a powerhouse because they into their end. Bobby, as usual, picked it up behind his net and came had a great offensive team. They could score goals. First of all, they had roaring up the right side. I thought I had a good angle on him. But you Bobby Orr. But they had Esposito, (Ken) Hodge and (Wayne) Cashman know Bobby, he had like five gears and he was only in his second gear. were a terrific big line. Then they had (Fred) Stanfield, (Johnny) He hit third when he went by me. I knew it was a losing cause to catch McKenzie and (Johnny) Bucyk. And they could score goals. Even in that him. So I signaled the bench to make an early change. I come off this series. Bobby Orr was at the prime of his career. He was 22. He was an end and Larry Keenan jumps off the other end, where Bobby was going. awesome player. He singlehandedly won games. … We were It was a good game plan. It just didn’t work. tremendous underdogs. , Bruins: That shift is exactly how the series played out. , Bruins: The last game was Mother’s Day, May 10. I think We dominated them. the temperature was probably about 90 to 95 degrees outside. It was Sanderson: They tried to clear it, but Don Awrey stayed back and really, really hot. So the ice was heavy. St. Louis came out really hard punched it into the corner, a great little poke check. Swoop got it to me. and forced the play. I think we were a little overconfident to start with. Then I shot it and hit the post, and it went around the boards to Bobby … Sanderson: I wore a tuxedo. Guys were fooling around, making plans. and Bobby had anticipated it. He always says, “Well, I knew you weren’t Stanley Cup is in the room — you know, champagne is on ice. And Harry going to score so I figured I better.” said, “You guys are not right for this. You think this team is just going to Larry Keenan, Blues: Orr was pinching in from the blue line. It was roll over for you and all you have to do now is just throw your sweaters coming around the boards and I moved back a little bit. Red Berenson on the ice? No, no, no. You’ve got to play hard.” was going up the boards on the other side of Orr. I had about a foot to tip Sinden: That team had a personality that I would say drew a lot of hate it by him to Berenson. around the league. But it was a hate they wished they didn’t have. They Berenson: I was low in the slot. I could see the play emerging. I could wished they had the team instead of the hate. It was indelible. see Orr jumping in and Larry trying to get the puck past him. And I took Red Berenson, Blues: People kept telling us, you’re not as good as off. If the puck got behind Orr, I was on a breakaway. Boston. Boston’s this and Boston’s that. We had to show up finally, Sanderson: Bobby did that all the time. And if it didn’t go in, he was the ourselves, and we did. first man back. Nobody was faster than him. He knew he could get back. Glenn Hall, Blues: We played well enough to force it into overtime. I know Orr: A lot of the things you do on the ice, you just react. I can’t tell you that the Boston Bruins weren’t real proud of the fact that an expansion what I was thinking. I played like that. I didn’t sit back. team was taking them into overtime. They must have been in their room after the third period saying, “We can’t go back to St. Louis. This is Sinden: You couldn’t put any restrictions on Bobby at that time of his embarrassing.” career. What you had to do was be aware of it, as our players were, and cover up for him. Bowman: It was just about impossible to get the puck out past Orr. He Esposito: I jumped up and I caught my foot on the top of the bench and could anticipate, plus he had the confidence. With him it wasn’t as big of went flying. It’s lucky I had my hands in front of me — or I would have a chance because he could get back so fast. landed flat on my face. I got so excited I caught my foot. And when I got to the pile, of course, it was a pile — and I wasn’t going to put my 270 Keenan: The puck went up and hit Orr high on the chest. pounds on top of those guys. I’d squash Bobby!”

Orr: I honestly thought I could keep it in, and I got lucky and I did. Sinden: The players on the bench all went over the boards — and I went Berenson: It was one of those things. Orr kept it in — and the rest is with them. I didn’t hesitate. I wasn’t very old at the time as a coach. I history. didn’t have the sophistication of a or someone like that. I ended up in the middle of the pile on the ice, just as if I was one of the Sanderson: Bobby threw me a pass. players.

Orr: And as soon as Derek got it, I just headed for the net. Esposito: The glass was short then, so people were climbing over the glass and everything else. It was bedlam. It was bedlam in our dressing Sinden: Bobby Orr was a fabulous give-and-go player. … And Derek was room. It was fabulous. It really was. a smart player too. He got relegated to what would be known as a third line today. But he was a tremendous offensive player. He could have Orr: I got up the next morning and have breakfast and my father was been a top-scoring player in this league had he not played behind there, and he had I think it was the Record American, the old newspaper Esposito and Stanfield. in Boston. He had the photo there. That was the first time I had seen it. … I never even thought about it. All I was thinking about was they’re Esposito: He darted towards the net and Derek put it on his stick. getting ready for our parade. Sanderson: Jean-Guy Talbot left the front of the net to come to me. Bobby Orr You’re not supposed to do that. You stay in front of the net. Noel Picard now is out in front of the net, and he’s stuck. And where am I going to go Sanderson: What people were amazed at was his face. The picture is with it? Well, I’m going to give it to Bobby. And bing, bam, boom … I had absolutely perfect. It catches his face. He’s about three feet off the ice, to cut it because Talbot came at me with a poke check, so I had to get it parallel — and his hands were above his head. over his stick and miss his feet. Esposito: It may be the greatest picture in hockey history. Esposito: Bobby anticipated, no doubt about it. When you think about the greatest players that ever played the game, they always were mentally Crisp: To this day, I’m mad at myself — because if I had stayed on the sharp. ice 10 seconds longer, I would have been posterized forever in the most famous picture. Sinden: I think their defence was in good position, but I don’t think they could believe that Orr could get in from the point that quick. He just went Carleton: My leg is in the photo. by them. Sinden: The picture of him after he scored. The fact that, at the time, he Hall: You always knew where Bobby was. The puck is back there — and was the greatest player in the game — and I don’t think anybody has the puck is coming back out front. If you were a goaltender and you didn’t come along to surpass that. There had been no player before him that know where Bobby was, you were in trouble. could play the game like him. He had a lot to do with people’s memories of that team. Carleton: I was right in the middle. I made my turn at the hashmarks. I was going towards the net as he was cutting in from the right side. And Marcotte: It was the perfect moment for him to prove that he was the the puck came right to Bobby. best. And he’s still the best I’ve ever seen.

Sanderson: I had to cut it so it would land flat so Bobby could handle it. Rick Smith, Bruins: Before the 40th reunion, they told Bobby they were He never handled, he just, boom. He just redirected it. He got rid of it so going put the statue up. Well, he didn’t like that. He said I don’t want a quick Hall couldn’t move. thing of me, because it wasn’t just me. It was the team. So I assume this was Bobby’s suggestion. At the base of the statue, it says: “The Goal” on Orr: I didn’t see his legs open. Unfortunately, when goalies move across one side. On the other side of the base, there’s — I get a little emotional they open their legs a little bit. I was just trying to get it on goal and it on this one — there’s a plaque with all of our names, which is pretty neat. went between his legs. It says: “As engraved on the Stanley Cup.” The base of the statue is an exact replica. There is only one person in the world who would have Sanderson: I watched the puck. When it hit the mesh, it dropped and it thought to do that. was spinning. I said, “That’s it. We just won the Cup.” Orr: We were a team and everybody should be there. Everyone had a Orr: When I went by, I was jumping. role to play in our championship — and I was a piece of the puzzle and Sanderson: I looked at Bobby and he was in the air. everybody else on the team were all pieces of the puzzle. They all should be there. … The photo of the goal is kind of different. But I think it’s as Carleton: I was right there when he scored. My friends said you could much the group. We were loved in the community and loved the have got the goal. I say no, the right guy scored it. community, people weren’t afraid of us. Our guys were out doing clinics and charity, so we were around the people a lot. Hockey was starting to Fred Stanfield, Bruins: And he went flying through the air. You couldn’t grow. Rinks were starting to be built so there were more fans. I think as ask for a better player to score that winning goal in overtime. I’m glad it much as the championship, it was the group that won the championship was him. also. I mean they were characters — you guys would have loved coming Orr: Everyone thinks it was Picard. Noel did help me. He was lifting my into our dressing room. You’d never worry about getting quotes (laughs). leg, but — but I knew it had gone in. As I went by, I saw it. Esposito: There were guys that I played with over the years that I didn’t Hall: I had showered by the time he landed. care for. But I can’t think of one from the 1970 team.

Orr: Glenn does say to me, “Is that the only goal you ever scored?” Orr: Just one thing. I feel funny celebrating anything right now. Here we are, celebrating a sporting event and with everything (the COVID-19 Sanderson: Then Bobby looked back and me, and he was lying down. So pandemic) that’s going on, I think this is a good time to celebrate — and I slid into him. thank — our first responders. All those organizations that are assisting health care workers. I think it’s very important that we celebrate them, we Stanfield: I was on the bench. It was just about the biggest thrill in my thank them. The sacrifices that these people are making every day, entire life. Growing up your dream as a kid is to win the Stanley Cup. saving lives, comforting so many people, it’s unbelievable. Let’s not That was a wonderful feeling. forget. They talk about athletes being heroes. No, no, no, no, no. We get Dick Irvin, CBC colour commentator: When the paid a lot of money to score goals, hit home runs, shoot baskets, score goal went in, somebody threw their beer up in the air, and Danny touchdowns. But these first responders, the front-line workers, it’s not a Gallivan (CBC’s play-by-play broadcaster) and I got soaked. … On my game. This is real life. We’ve got to remember to always show that broadcast call, I said it was a perfect ending to the year of Bobby Orr. respect that we’re showing right now, to always show that respect for them. Always. What they do is not a game. Ours is a game. The real Orr: I don’t think any of us had won a Cup. That was a first for all of us. heroes are those front-line workers. And first responders. Those are the real heroes. Not friggin’ athletes.

The Athletic LOADED: 05.09.2020 1184178 Boston Bruins

As Patrice Bergeron approaches 35, what does that mean for his production?

Fluto Shinzawa

May 8, 2020

To classify Patrice Bergeron as exceptional does not qualify as hyperbole.

Everybody knows the Bruins alternate captain as a leader, point producer and shutdown specialist. Gold from the Olympics, World Junior Championship and glitter alongside his Stanley Cup ring and four Selke Trophies.

Bergeron has 869 points in 1,089 games, giving him a 0.80 points-per- game average. Only 67 other forwards in NHL history meet or exceed Bergeron’s career achievements in all three categories. Forty-three of them are in the . Four of them, like Bergeron, are active: Alex Ovechkin (1,278 points/1,152 games/1.11 points per game), Jason Spezza (940/1,123/0.84), Eric Staal (1,021/1,240/0.82) and Joe Thornton (1,509/1,636/0.92).

There is a good chance the next time Bergeron plays in an NHL game, whether in a resumed 2019-20 season or in a new one, he will do so as a 35-year-old. Bergeron was born on July 24, 1985.

He is already of an age where consistent offensive production cannot be considered reliable. To this point, however, Bergeron has remained defiant in his fight against Father Time.

As a 34-year-old this season, Bergeron has 31 goals and 25 assists in 61 games. Within the 68-forward cohort with at least 869 points, 1,089 games and a 0.80 points-per-game average, only 32 exceeded Bergeron’s 0.92 points-per-game result in their 34-year-old season.

You may recognize some of their names. We’ve broken down these players into their 34-year-old seasons by their goals, assists, points, and points-per-game (PPG), and compared this elite group’s PPG to its own performance in their 35-year-old campaigns. A few exceptions were unavoidable due to work stoppages, for a player who moved to the , and for , whose 35-year-old season hasn’t quite happened yet:

The results, as a whole, are both unsurprising and discouraging.

Only six of the 32 forwards (Alfredsson, Esposito, Mikita, Ratelle, St. Louis and Selanne) had a higher point-per-game rate as 35-year-olds than they did when they were 34. Ratelle climbed by 13.91 percent, best of the bunch.

On the flip side, 24 of the 32 forwards — some of the best and most durable players in league history — declined by the points-per-game benchmark as 35-year-olds. Robitaille had the biggest year-to-year drop of the group, at 42.06 percent.

The odds, then, are against Bergeron playing better once he blows out 35 candles. Bergeron, however, has defied logic. He rallied from a career-threatening concussion. Under , Bergeron shifted from shutdown presence and penalty killer to goal scorer and power-play specialist.

The No. 1 center also has the pleasure of calling Brad Marchand and David Pastrnak his wingmen. At their ages, neither Marchand (32 on May 11) nor Pastrnak (24 on May 25) is likely to hit an offensive wall in 2020- 21.

It may be, then, that Bergeron will net 38 goals and 41 assists in 70 games next season, the projection devised by colleague Dom Luszczyszyn. In this model, Bergeron would average 1.13 points per game, a 22.83 percent increase over his 0.92 sum this season. This would be the highest year-to-year increase of any player of this cohort.

It would be a historic output. If anybody could do it, Bergeron would qualify.

The Athletic LOADED: 05.09.2020 1184179 Buffalo Sabres Linus Ullmark

34

The numbers behind the struggles of the Sabres’ goalies 164

0.839

Joe Yerdon 0.782

May 8, 2020 22.28

Carter Hutton

Goaltending is almost always the first position to be criticized when 31 things go south for a team. For the Sabres this season, it’s debatable whether that’s fair. Between Carter Hutton and Linus Ullmark (with a little 117 bit of Jonas Johansson mixed in), Buffalo’s goalies had the 11th-most 0.839 goals against (215) and tied for 22nd in team save percentage (.900) in the NHL. 0.767

Those numbers are bad. But, like so many other aspects to this Sabres 24.4 team, painting it with a broad brush isn’t completely fair. These problems Jonas Johansson start with the team penalty kill, so let’s put the numbers in context. The chart below shows how Ullmark, Hutton and Johansson performed in 6 five-on-five. I’ve included their standard save percentage, high-danger save percentage and average goal distance, (stats via 16 NaturalStatTrick.com). Johansson played in six games and nearly 327 0.833 minutes at all strengths, a small sample size. 0.714 Sabres goalies at 5-on-5 12 Linus Ullmark Among goalies with at least 100 minutes on the penalty kill, Hutton and 34 Ullmark’s matching .839 tied them with for seventh- 1628 worst in the NHL. Seeing Pekka Rinne and John Gibson ahead of them might offer some consolation, but it’s alarming that both goalies were in 0.93 the bottom 10.

0.797 What’s curious is their high-danger save percentage is in the middle of the pack despite allowing the ninth-most high-danger chances against. 17.52 That’s where the average goal distance is the key factor. Goalies are Carter Hutton getting beaten from farther out on the power play than they are at five-on- five. 31 At five-on-five with at least 1,200 minutes played, Hutton’s average goal 1488 distance was the shortest in the NHL; Ullmark’s was third. That, again, 0.916 points to the quality of chances faced. They were getting beaten in close more often than not. But when killing penalties, Ullmark was 21st and 0.81 Hutton was 36th out of 55 goalies with at least 100 minutes played. That points to issues in coverage elsewhere on on the penalty kill. 16.94 So what do we take from all this? The Sabres penalty kill has to be better Jonas Johansson for them to be successful. Detroit was worse than Buffalo was 6 shorthanded this season, and that’s not a club the Sabres want to emulate. 275 When it comes to the five-on-five game, however, eliminating more 0.899 quality chances should be next on Ralph Krueger’s checklist. He’s done a good job getting the Sabres to a respectable place in limiting shots and 0.833 shot attempts in general, but it’s the high-danger opportunities the 23.85 goalies must improve upon. Assistant coach Mike Bales’ work with Ullmark in that area will be vital to his growth. In Hutton’s case, it’s a Among goalies with at least 1,200 minutes played, Ullmark’s .930 save matter of better all-around play, which we know he’s capable of. But as percentage was sixth-best in the NHL, ahead of Vezina candidates the Sabres move on, be it with a restart this season or ahead into next Connor Hellebuyck and , although they played more season, giving Ullmark more of the workload would be beneficial. minutes. Hutton’s .916 was 33rd. According to Hockey-Reference.com, Sabres goalies had a .912 save percentage at five-on-five, which ranked The Athletic LOADED: 05.09.2020 11th in the league, tied with Chicago.

A statistic that stands out is how the Sabres goalies handled high-danger chances. All season the Sabres were adept at eliminating the number of chances in general, allowing the 10th fewest high-danger shots against at five-on-five, but the goalies struggled. Their .806 save percentage against high-danger shots was fourth-worst in the NHL. Ullmark’s .797 save percentage against them was sixth-worst in the league, and Hutton’s .810 was 15th-worst. Even Johansson’s .833 placed him just inside the top 25 in the NHL.

But the penalty kill woes really burned Buffalo. The Sabres had the second-worst penalty kill in the NHL, trailing only lowly Detroit. And the Sabres had the fourth-fewest shorthanded attempts in the league.

Sabres goalies when shorthanded 1184180 Calgary Sun: LOADED: 05.09.2020

Saddledome scrubbed clean for Flames' eventual return

Wes Gilbertson

May 8, 2020 5:35 PM MDT

'They are unbelievable,' says Flames GM of Giordano family's good deeds during COVID-19

There’s still no timeline for NHLers to get back to work, but whenever they receive the green light, the Calgary Flames will be returning to a locker room, weight room and other facilities that have been blasted with more cleaning solutions and disinfectants than you could count.

The player areas at the Saddledome are spotless.

There’s still no timeline for NHLers to get back to work, but whenever they receive the green light, the Calgary Flames will be returning to a locker room, weight room and other facilities that have been blasted with more cleaning solutions and disinfectants than you could count.

“You could probably eat off the floor. That thing has been scrubbed seven ways to Sunday,” said Flames general manager Brad Treliving on his weekly conference call with local media. “It’s amazing how the world has changed in seven weeks, quite frankly. Just all the machinery that has even gone into the dressing room to clean the air and balm the place … There are probably way more scientific terms than that, but there has been a lot of procurement of cleansing equipment, and that’s just going to be the new normal.

“Lots and lots of calories have been burned in terms of the preparation. And certainly, the sanitization is next level.”

Treliving believes there is “momentum building” for the NHL to resume the 2019-20 season after a lengthy pause due to COVID-19, but cautioned there is no firm plan.

There has been plenty of debate over whether regular-season games should be completed, whether the playoff format should be expanded to include more teams, when the NHL Draft should be squeezed onto the schedule.

That’s the fun stuff.

The more serious subject matter is how to ensure that the skaters, puck- stoppers and staffers remain safe and healthy once they return to the rink.

Ontario’s provincial government ruled Friday that professional sports teams can open their facilities, but the NHL won’t allow the Toronto Maple Leafs and Ottawa Senators to skate — even on a voluntary basis — until the rest of the teams can, too.

Alberta has a current ban on gatherings of more than 15 people, so the Flames would likely have to split into small groups for their initial on-ice sessions.

The NHL will have an opportunity to study — several soccer leagues in Europe and Asia are restarting, while some NBA teams are allowing players to use practice courts.

“I think we’re all trying to stay on top of the different sports and different leagues worldwide and the interesting thing for me is the coming-back part and all the regulations that are going to be involved,” Treliving said. “The people that have been working tirelessly on our side is the medical team, preparing for what could take place. It’s not going to probably just be open the doors and everybody come in. It’s whether you’re in small groups, what testing has to take place — not only before but on a regular basis — and how do you keep people separated, to a certain extent, prior to going on the ice. All those types of things.

“As we start to see people come back, it’s not going to be perfect, right? You’re going to learn from what goes well, what doesn’t go well, steal what information you can from around, and I think sharing information is going to be key.

“So certainly the league is paying attention to all of it, and hopefully we can make the best decisions when those decisions are made.” 1184181 Calgary Flames Both the Olympic and Paralympic competitions have been postponed to 2021.

“Some report a little bit of, ‘You know, I’m doing well generally, but What Calgary’s top mental coaches are telling elite athletes … and how it sometimes I have these days that I don’t feel it, don’t have the might apply to you motivation, don’t know what I’m going to do, don’t know what I’m supposed to be doing,” van den Berg said. “This is all very normal, because there is just so much uncertainty right now. How long is this Wes Gilbertson going to last? What is going to happen next? What happens to our sport and training and competition? All these questions are running through all May 8, 2020 4:42 PM MDT the time.”

There are, in these strange and unsettling times, more questions than Whether you’re an elite-level athlete or an average joe, you’ve likely been answers. dealing with many of the same feelings during this worldwide pandemic. As Brown pointed out, COVID-19 has people constantly thinking about This conversation starts, like they almost all do, with the standard the health and well-being of family and friends, about the economy, about exchange of Hellos and How-are-yous? what their ‘new normal’ might look like.

“I’m pretty good,” Matt Brown replies. “And I keep telling people, ‘Pretty “There’s just this perpetual stressor, so what we call our sympathetic good is the new great.’ ” nervous system is switched on all the time,” said Brown, who also works as a sports psychologist consultant at Edge School. “Basically, if I go out That’s an uplifting assessment, especially when you consider the source in the woods and I see a bear, my sympathetic nervous system — in — Brown is one of Calgary’s leading sports psychologists as mental response to that stress — is going to switch on. So it’ll make me just very performance coach for the NHL’s Flames. focused on the bear and it will cause a physiological response so that my energy goes up in order to respond to that. But then when I get safely As Mental Health Week wraps, it has been nearly two months since the away from the bear and it walks off into the woods and the stressor is Flames last hit the ice at the Saddledome, with the NHL pushing pause gone, then my system kind of comes back down. on March 12 due to the COVID-19 health crisis. “But the stressor we’re all faced with right now, it doesn’t walk back into Around that time, many companies ordered employees to work from the woods. It’s just there all the time. So we have this peaked home. Schools and university campuses were closed soon after, sympathetic nervous system or stress response that doesn’t ever fully switching to online learning. shut off, so now we’re seeing significant disruption in people’s sleep. So Whether you’re an elite-level athlete or an average joe, you’ve likely been people that were really good sleepers, all of a sudden they’re like, ‘Why dealing with many of the same feelings during this worldwide pandemic. can’t I fall asleep or why can’t I stay asleep?’ And then you have others saying, ‘Well, I’m sleeping 12-14 hours a night, and still waking up tired,’ Sadness. which takes us back to that grief response. Over-sleeping is a common thing when people are grieving. Frustration. “That’s why I say, if you’re doing pretty well right now, that’s great. Boredom. Because that emotional cocktail, it can be so disabling.” Fatigue. The Flames, anxious to help Calgarians cope, launched the United by “I think probably the most universal theme is that everyone, almost every Community site, an online resource centre that features everything from day, goes through some sort of low-grade grief, and the reason is just at-home workouts to kids’ activities, messages from the stars and links to that the emotion of sadness is always in response to loss,” Brown mental-health supports. explained. “If you look at our Flames players, for instance, the two things You can make fresh-squeezed orange juice — via video — with Milan that they love the most are playing hockey and being together. So both Lucic and his family or find a list of charities and organizations that you those things are taken away. Every day that you wake up, it’s another might be able to access or aid. day that you’ve lost those things, so it’s a bit of a groundhog day of grief right now. The Flames Foundation announced Friday another $265,000 in funding to its COVID-19 Community Support Program, boosting the total to $1.38 “As a result, what sadness does is it causes a drop-off in energy. And it’s million. Included in the latest donation is $100,000 earmarked for the by design. When we lose a loved one, for instance, our brain takes away Calgary Health Trust for the purchase of iPads to accommodate virtual our energy, slows everything down and makes it impossible to think visits for hospitals and seniors homes. about anything other than what we’ve lost, and it does that so we can process loss, so we can wrap our head around it. But that happens every “We see ourselves as leaders in the community,” said Candice Goudie, day right now. So what people find unnerving is that you get high- executive director of the Calgary Flames Foundation. “We have a broad functioning, very motivated people that suddenly have no energy. They number of stakeholders and fans and people who engage with us, and I know what they want to be doing. The conditions aren’t great to train, but think that when something bad happens like this or our community is in they know they should. So they’re trying to stay focused on those things. need, that we feel a real role in contributing to a significant improvement. But again, that grief response, it disrupts our focus. It puts our sights on Whether that’s through trying to help on the front lines, whether that’s what’s been taken away. So people find themselves less productive. through our $1.38 million in COVID-19 Community Support Program donations or whether that’s through the creation of United by Community “There are all these posts and things with people saying, ‘Well, you’ve and the content that lives on there, we feel an inherent need to ensure been given a gift of time — you should have learned a new language by that we’re improving the lives of Calgarians right now and doing whatever the end of this, or a new skill,’ ” Brown continued, chuckling at that idea. we can to support them in ways that we can make possible.” “People may have time, but they don’t have energy. So the day will end and they weren’t that productive and they were distracted and then they Olympians, too, are trying to lead by example. start to shame themselves for accomplishing less than they think would be their normal. That’s sort of the gopher hole that everyone is stuck in Through the ‘We Are All Team Canada’ campaign, they’ve been right now. encouraging everyone to do their part to stop the spread of the deadly virus that has put their gold-medal pursuits on hold. “If you start a conversation with an athlete with, ‘Are you feeling sad?’ Well, the response will be, ‘Browny, c’mon!’ But if you ask ‘How has your “Athletes, obviously they feel — and this is normal — that sport is the energy been?’ Right away, it’s, ‘Low. Every day, low. Some days, less most important thing in their lives,” said van den Berg, who is low, but always pretty low.’ That’s the indicator — people just dealing participating in a mental-health task force created by the Canadian with this sadness piece.” Olympic and Paralympic committees, Own the Podium and other major sports organizations. “But under these circumstances, everyone realizes Frank van den Berg has been having similar conversations. that it’s not the most important thing at the moment, and that is a bit of a shift from their normal mindset or their normal engagement, really. As the mental performance lead for the Canadian Sport Institute Calgary, Everyone understands that everyone has to contribute to get through this he works with a lot of athletes who were priming to peak at Tokyo 2020. crisis, and everyone needs to take part. Therefore, some of the messaging has been, ‘Maybe park your identity as an athlete for a little while as you’re taking care of yourself, your family and friends and the community. And maybe emphasize your role as a citizen much more now than ever before.’

“You know, usually athletes are role models for the community or citizens, but now you’re part of it.”

While you may never score a goal at the Saddledome or stand atop an Olympic podium, this is one experience we all share.

Sunshine helps.

Exercise can provide a boost.

As Brown put it, “lower the bar a little bit” so you don’t feel like a failure as you measure your productivity against what you might be accustomed to getting done in a day.

“The first part is just to respect the fact that those emotions you’re feeling, they’re not you coming apart. They’re you having what is a really natural response to a global pandemic,” Brown said. “That’s a big deal, so of course there’s going to be an emotional reaction to it. And once you give yourself permission to feel it, it loses its power over you.”

Van den Berg echoed that thought.

“There is a lot of concern and anxiety and uncertainty happening throughout,” he said. “That’s important to realize and acknowledge, and therefore we do not have to necessarily be the victim of this experience. We can manage these types of feelings and experiences, and that’s something really important to stress at the moment. We’re talking about, ‘How do you take care of yourself? What’s the psychological hygiene that you’re making part of your daily routine?’

“It’s really important to acknowledge that we do have those feelings and that they are very normal, albeit in a very abnormal situation.”

Calgary Sun: LOADED: 05.09.2020 1184182 Carolina Hurricanes for us. You’ll recall that Brind’Amour is notorious for spending forever on the ice, so sometimes this takes a while.

Dougie Hamilton looked at me and was like, “Are you guys just hanging Fist-bumping at PNC to Mrazek’s hats: What I miss about covering the out or what? Are you gonna ask a question?” Hurricanes I was like, “Dougie, I’ll go full Boston on you if that’s what you really want.”

Sara Civian In that moment, I remembered how rare it is for the majority of a beat to May 8, 2020 simply get along.

I miss watching Sebastian Aho and Teuvo Teravainen play hockey together. I’ve had something marinating in my drafts since the first week of this NHL pause, but it just wasn’t coming out right. Maybe everything was too I miss the thrill of watching Andrei Svechnikov develop into something fresh — or too surreal — back then. It was along the lines of the story none of us even know what will look like. Hurricanes website reporter Michael Smith wrote at the time. He nailed it, I miss Haydn Fleury’s perpetually sunny disposition and a lesson he so I left it alone. eventually taught us as he became a staple in the lineup: Frowns per 60 About two months into the lockdown, though, this way of life is becoming don’t matter. less surreal and more normal. I miss when Jaccob Slavin would make a mistake and then realizing the I’m probably a bit late to the party, but I finally have some semblance of a only reason I noticed was that he hadn’t done so in 25 games. daily quarantine routine. I’m willing to bet up to 50 percent of this routine I miss Jordan Staal’s goal-celebration face that looks like something from is simply doing the dishes. When I heard the phrase “global pandemic” “The Shining” and the fact that all of his brothers make the exact same back in the good old days, I never once thought about washing a single face. dish. I miss Petr Mrazek’s custom hats. What a fool I was. I miss Justin Williams’ return being exactly what we all knew it was going I take my stupid little walk, I do my stupid little exercises with my stupid to be. little resistance bands, I mix in an occasional shower. I miss James Reimer’s postgame interviews lasting 45 minutes. I am relearning the piano, but unlike my upstairs neighbor, I plug in my headphones. I miss catching Nino Niederreiter on a good day.

I am drinking far less coffee and far more White Claw. I miss the time when I realized, to my honest-to-God horror, that I cut Brock McGinn in the airplane line. That is not a good look. So it’s, like, 1 Above all else, I’m doing a lot of thinking. a.m. in Winnipeg and I’m desperately trying to explain to him that we I cannot believe the number of simple joys in such a privileged life that I need to switch places. He’s too Canadian to go through with it. had been taking for granted. I got so mad at myself about it a few weeks I miss the look on Tripp Tracy‘s face when he has a good story to tell me. into all this — people are sacrificing so much, and I couldn’t even acknowledge what I had when I had it. I miss the media bus that took us from the plane to the city on the road. Hurricanes host Mike Maniscalco picks a fitting song for every drive — So I started a running list titled “Things I won’t take for granted once I get sometimes he’ll take suggestions if you’re lucky. The people working them back.” When I read my colleague Craig Morgan’s story chronicling behind the scenes for the team you love are so great. everything he misses about covering the Coyotes, I thought I’d publish the Hurricanes-related items. I miss learning something from Brind’Amour every single day — whether it was about the game or life, sometimes both. I miss walking into PNC Arena with my headphones off, hoping I’d stumble into one of you. Those conversations are always day-makers, I even miss coming back to my car to not one but two notes telling me I and probably the only thing on this list I never actually took for granted. “park like a fucking dipshit” over the course of the 2019-20 season. No Not once. lies were told.

I miss fist-bumping all my favorite arena security employees on the way And as I take my stupid little walk around an empty arena where the best to the press elevator. If I timed it right, I’d ride the elevator at the same party in the league should be happening, I don’t even want to think about time as Stormy the Ice Hog, and we would fist bump, too. I wonder what how much I miss you all. all of that will look like in the future. The Athletic LOADED: 05.09.2020 I miss somehow always witnessing Warren Foegele’s solo pregame warmup. The man consistently looks like he’s gearing up to race Usain Bolt at the Olympics. It couldn’t be more “Warren Foegele.”

I miss my seat in the press box, and I remember how proud I felt the first day I got to sit there. To my left is Hurricanes media relations mogul Mike Brown and his new tradition of announcing the temperature at puck drop. I pray to God each day that we don’t miss a puck drop temperature of 69 degrees during this pause. To my right is NHL.com’s Kurt Dusterberg, who is always good for a laugh about a ridiculous play or a story about the Hurricanes before I started covering the team.

I miss instinctively looking to my right every time the arena plays the silly “Make some NOIiiISeE!” audio. Nine times out of 10, John Forslund is doing something hilarious in the booth when he hears it. Everyone knows he’s a legend based on his professionalism and skill alone, but the John Forslund I know is among the funniest people alive.

I miss Cory Lavalette’s steadfast dedication to grading the Siren Sounders, Adam Gold’s stories, Chip Alexander’s low-key hilarious one- liners that seem to come out of nowhere, Brian LeBlanc’s postgame questions and literally everything about Mark Armstrong. One time much of the media contingent was standing around the Hurricanes dressing room laughing about something, waiting for Rod Brind’Amour to be ready 1184183

Duncan Keith supports front line workers through Keith Relief charity

Matthew Rooney

May 08, 2020 2:29 PM

The COVID-19 pandemic has been a time for reflection for many, and Blackhawks defenseman Duncan Keith is no different. Keith took to Instagram on Thursday saying, "Thank you to everyone for doing their part. We are exploring ways through Keith Relief to support line workers. This life pause has given me time to reflect on my career, life, and family. I've used some of this time to re-connect with nature and spend some quality time with my son Colton. Stay safe everyone."

An update from @DuncanKeith on IG pic.twitter.com/tTH3NryOHy

— Blackhawks Talk (@NBCSBlackhawks) May 8, 2020

The Hawks alternate captain also posted on his Instagram story about the help his charity, Keith Relief, provided for the first responders during the pandemic.Thanks to Gibsons Italia, Keith Relief delivered food to first responders at the Ronald McDonald House at 211 E. Grand Ave.

During this time of uncertainty, Keith is doing his part for the community like he has for so many years as a member of the Blackhawks.

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Joel Quenneville reflects on 'spectacular' time as Blackhawks head coach

Slavko Bekovic

May 08, 2020 8:00 AM

Sometimes, you learn that superstar athletes and sports legends are just like us.

On the latest episode of the Blackhawks Talk Podcast, former Hawks head coach Joel Quenneville joined us to talk about life in quarantine and, of course, Chicago hockey. Turns out, he's been reliving the glory days just like the rest of us.

To pass time during the ongoing stay-at-home order, many of us have been rewatching classic games from those Stanley Cup-winning seasons. Well, Joel Quenneville joined the club and recently caught some old Blackhawks games on TV, too.

“Been amazing,” Quennevile said. “I haven’t seen any of the last games. When we win the Cup, I don’t see the game. I usually watch the games in the playoffs at least twice after, and you get a really good idea of what’s going on and prepare for the next game. But when it’s over, you’re just thinking about partying and having a fun time, experience jubilation across the board.”

There was plenty of jubilation during Quenneville’s tenure manning the bench for the Blackhawks, but when asked whether his time in Chicago was everything he expected it to be, Coach Q said it was “10 times better.”

“It was spectacular. The city was supportive. They love hockey. They love sports,” he said. “It’s a great city in all facets.”

Quenneville also added that, “Chicago’s a special place to play, and at least I was fortunate to coach here. I had to play in the building, which was fun. But it’s got everything you want. And that celebration from 2010, and then winning at home — and in between, winning in ’13 put it all together, and you couldn’t ask for a better run.”

Quenneville returned to Chicago a couple of weeks ago after beginning his self-isolation in Florida where he was “spoiled” by the weather.

“It’s a tough time. Different experience for everybody in the whole world,” he said. “You get a real appreciation for all the work that’s being done on the front lines, an appreciation for the people that are putting their lives at stake and helping the rest of us, and doing what we can to comply with the quarantine.”

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Blackhawks 2019-20 season in review: Calvin de Haan

Charlie Roumeliotis

May 08, 2020 6:00 AM

The NHL put its 2019-20 season on pause March 12 due to the COVID- 19 pandemic but remains hopeful to award the Stanley Cup at some point. Although it's unclear if or when it could return, NBC Sports Chicago will recap the season of each Blackhawks player to date in our "season in review" series. Next up is Calvin de Haan.

The Blackhawks were as active on the trade market as any team last offseason and Calvin de Haan was one of their more exciting acquisitions. He was brought in to provide some stability on the back end and play a top-four role, which he can do effectively when healthy.

But injuries have plagued de Haan throughout his career and he re- injured his right shoulder in December, forcing him to miss the remainder of the season after having major reconstructive surgery for the second time in seven months. It was unfortunate timing, too.

With Duncan Keith (groin) and Olli Maatta (illness) sidelined and Adam Boqvist still in Rockford, de Haan absorbed much of the responsibility on both ends of the ice. His ice time average quickly went from 19:46 to 25:12 before he exited in the first period against Vegas on Dec. 10.

De Haan registered only six points (one goal, five assists) in 29 games this season but his plus-10 rating ranked No. 1 on the team at the time and still does. He’s an important piece to the puzzle.

The Blackhawks are hoping de Haan can pick up where he left off whenever he’s cleared to return, but you have to wonder where the player’s head is at. Going through rigorous rehabs over and over again isn’t just physically taxing, it takes a mental toll as well.

There's no doubt the Blackhawks missed de Haan's presence during the second half of the season. If he returns and can regain his form, it would certainly make the blue line more formidable. But more importantly for both his sake and the team's, you just hope to see de Haan get through a full season without his body betraying him.

Comcast SportsNet.com LOADED: 05.09.2020 1184186 Chicago Blackhawks just do home games and just be on the ice for practices. If down the road if that’s something that the Hawks and Jeremy (Colliton) would want my intake, great. I’m never going to offer, but if they ask me, for sure, I’d love Powers Points: How a June draft could affect the Blackhawks to maybe light a fire again in that dressing room or on the ice in practice and stuff. We’ll see. I never rule anything out now.”

Chelios also slightly weighed in on McDonough’s firing. Scott Powers “I did talk to John and the only question I asked was, ‘Did it just happen May 8, 2020 suddenly?’, and it did,” Chelios said. “I didn’t know if it was expected or something. I didn’t want to get into it too much. There’s no question the

amount of respect he still has for and what a ride it was for Many teams around the NHL wouldn’t be happy with the NHL draft being John. I’ve known him for 25-30 years going back to the Cubs. We’ve held in June. been great friends. Things happen in sports, as you know. Not a knock against John. No one’s better at what he does and what’s he done. The Blackhawks would probably be one of them. Geez, what a great run with the Hawks that he had. I wish him nothing but the best. If he wants a job, he’s going to land a job so quick. You For one, the Blackhawks witnessed first-hand last year just how fortunate can’t question Rocky either. I guess it’s like a marriage — sometimes for a team can get when the lottery balls don’t bounce as expected. The whatever reason it goes south and sometimes you need a change. Blackhawks jumped from a probable No. 12 pick to No. 3. As of now, the What’s it going on three years that the Hawks might not have made the Blackhawks are ninth in points percentage. playoffs?” The inability to trade currently rostered players could also be a detriment 6. There has yet to be any official announcement on Andrew Shaw’s to the Blackhawks. We’ve seen Stan Bowman at work on draft days future. A couple sources recently said they’d be surprised if he played before. The Blackhawks’ upcoming financial decisions this offseason again, but no one seems to know definitively. Shaw seems to be in a could be simplified with the ability to move players with picks in the draft. better mental state. He’s been involved in the EA Sports’ NHL “The biggest problem I see is not necessarily the draft order or even the tournament and mentioned he was working out during a recent interview conditional picks, it’s that the draft has become the best time to re-shape on the NHL’s Twitter account. your team,” one team source said. “Teams will lose that opportunity.” I MISS THIS! HTTPS://T.CO/S8S99SOJ45 1. Regardless, all teams will be in a similar situation. There won’t be a — ANDREW SHAW (@SHAWZ15ER) MAY 5, 2020 draft combine or in-person interviews. The under-18 tournament usually helped make some decisions, too. 7. If the 2019-20 season resumes, there might be a possibility Calvin de Haan is able to play. He underwent surgery on his right shoulder on Dec. Just last season, the Blackhawks were able to really focus on some 27, 2019 and was expected to miss the rest of the season as he required players during various leagues’ playoffs. If they didn’t have that extra probably 4-6 months of recovery. viewing period for Kirby Dach, they might not have taken him. He excelled in the playoffs after riding more of a wave during the regular De Haan has now been through four months of rehab and you can season. probably tack on at least 2-3 more months before there’s any chance of the season resuming. De Haan is also technically cleared for contact “I know (the playoffs) was a big thing for us with Kirby,” a source said. right now, according to a source. “Watching him in the playoffs and how he responded to being challenged was a big part of why we decided to draft him. So the body of work for 8. Blackhawks goalie prospect Alexis Gravel said Thursday he still has each player will be a little smaller. But all the teams will be working with yet to hear whether he’ll be offered an entry-level contract. The the same information.” Blackhawks own his NHL rights until June 1.

2. When the draft is held and when the Blackhawks hire a full-time 9. Scrolling through Twitter recently, I saw a tweet from Josh Khalfin president could determine if some Blackhawks employees receive referencing his prospect model, and I noticed Ryan Shea ranked highly another contract. There are a number of front-office staffers and scouts among drafted prospects and ahead of some other Blackhawks whose contracts are up in June. defenseman prospects.

3. Blackhawks chairman Rocky Wirtz and interim president Danny Wirtz Shea is expected to become an unrestricted free agent in August and a spoke to the organization this week, according to a source. It wasn’t source has said the Blackhawks didn’t offer him a contract. It’ll be anything specific about the president search and was described as “more interesting to see down the road whether the Blackhawks made the right of a message to all employees of the Blackhawks.” decision.

4. One league source said this week it would be surprising if Danny Wirtz Here’s Khalfin’s full breakdown of Shea. ultimately became the permanent president. “It is seen that Shea has a positive GF%REL number to his team at “There’s so much going on with the liquor side of the business that’s he 2.06% which does seem impressive to me considering I believe that his really needed there,” the source said. “Anything can happen, but I don’t team may have issues preventing goals as seen with his GF bar being a expect him to be the president.” bit behind the black bar that represents GA right below but still having a positive GF%REL value,” Khalfin said. “We can also see that his NHLe Danny Wirtz is the vice chairman of Breakthru Beverage Group. He was value has been relatively consistent since starting slow and he has been previously the president and CEO of Wirtz Beverage Group and had hovering around 29-30 while not having an insane sh%. This NHLe puts many different roles within Wirtz Beverage. He is also the chairman of him in the 95th percentile among NCAA players in NHLe. There is Wine and Spirits Wholesalers of America. something to potentially be wary about and that is that if you are looking 5. It doesn’t sound like has any interest in the Blackhawks’ for him to be productive every minute, it does seem that last year his president job. During an interview with ESPN 1000 on Wednesday, production was primarily power play production as that production puts Chelios was asked if he’d like a larger role within the team’s hockey him at the 99th percentile among all NCAA players. which is super operations. impressive as a defenseman.

“No, I am looking for ways not to work,” Chelios said. “That’s my ambition “That said his even-strength numbers are a bit lower but then again the right now. I’m so happy with being an ambassador and glad that John percentiles include forwards as well. He seems like he should be a (McDonough) and Rocky brought me back to the organization. That was decent puck-moving defenseman and my guess is that if he makes the always my intent once my kids moved on and followed their pursuit and NHL could be a valuable player on the power play. People who would their careers.” have watched him can put the other parts of his game into context, but statistically it seems that he is the offensive go-to player on his team as a Chelios did mention he’d possibly like to do some coaching down the defenseman with a strong effect on the power play.” road. 10. I asked one league source about Shea, whom he’d seen plenty this “Would I love to coach? Yeah, but the grind and the travel. I was so lucky season. when I was in Detroit that they gave me a part-time coaching job where I “Shea is a good player, but I can’t see him stepping in anywhere next “I think sometime in June or July we’re going to get clarity with the season,” the source said. “He’s gonna take a few years.” college season,” Hardy said. “If the college season doesn’t start until January, it probably doesn’t make much of a difference for players 11. Rockford IceHogs captain Tyler Sikura announced earlier this week already drafted, but for the draft-eligible players like Owen Power or that IceHogs players had started a fund for health care workers. The Matthew Beniers, if they’re looking at a January start and junior hockey money will go towards expenses for Rockford emergency department starts in October, they should be exploring options where to play. We nurses, techs and aides who have become infected with COVID-19. selected Matthew Beniers in the 10th round of the draft for the sole “The helplessness is what I struggled with early on during the pandemic,” purpose of if Harvard doesn’t start on time.” Sikura said by phone on Thursday. “It really brings a sense of 15. Even further outside the box for the Steel was Matvey Michkov in the perspective. That helplessness didn’t sit well with me at the start of this. I 17th round. The 15-year-old is considered a future Russian star. He’s felt like I wasn’t doing anything, and there are people who are feeling real also pretty unlikely to ever play for the Steel. pressure who are not under the lights of the arena and have fans in the stands. People are putting themselves in life-and-death situations. “I was at the point of the draft where we got a goalie and got what we They’re putting their families and their own health at risk. If we can do needed for next season,” Hardy said. “In the 17th round, (Michkov) was anything to use the platform we have and do something good while being the best player in the world who had not been protected. Let’s throw a quarantined and have a sense of team and community whether or not we shot in the dark. I had not any communication with him. There’s next to hit our goal or not, that was the hope.” no chance him coming. But it just made sense. We have so much flexibility unlike the NHL. They have seven picks. We have two days of The IceHogs have already exceeded their goal of $2,000. The players 24. We had previously done a good job of stockpiling assets and filling contributed $1,000 and others have been adding to it. Sikura said he team needs the previous season, so you can get very creative. That was would keep the fund open probably for another week before giving a local one of the ways we were able to.” doctor access to the funds to distribute where needed. If you’re interested in contributing, you can find the donation page here. Hardy has since reached out to Michkov, but he has yet to hear back.

12. Sikura has been following the same news as everyone else about the The Athletic LOADED: 05.09.2020 remainder of the AHL season.

“I’m monitoring it very closely,” he said. “I’m training not only in preparation just in case but also out of sanity, honestly. We haven’t received any updates you haven’t gotten. I think the cards are probably stacked against us with the AHL resuming play this season, but we’re hopeful with some of the major leagues moving forward maybe that could result with a resumption in play for us.”

Sikura thought whenever play does resume it’ll be important for players to have the necessary amount of time to start skating again.

“I think that’s one of the main concerns from a players’ standpoint is having the ample time to get back into skating shape,” Sikura said. “It’s such a unique movement and unnatural for what your body can do. There’s definitely got to be a period to get into playing shape, get your mechanics and get used to taking contact again, quite frankly.”

13. If you follow the IceHogs on Twitter, Facebook or their website, you know they’ve been busy promoting a little bit of everything throughout the pause in play. There have been Facebook Live chats with IceHogs coach Derek King and players. There have been replays of old games, recipes, recognition of local heroes, giveaways, some funny and clever posts and much more.

It’s just like what many NHL teams have done during this time, but one major difference is the IceHogs have just one person doing everything.

Joseph Zakrzewski’s title is technically communications coordinator and broadcaster, but he’s taken on a lot more responsibility over the last few months. He’s doing it all from his home, too. He has a basement full of IceHogs stuff.

“It’s a little bit of everything,” Zakrzewski said on Thursday. “Thankfully I’ve had the experience of doing everything from A to Z in my ECHL days. It’s quite helpful to have that experience. It probably doesn’t look as clean as if we had 5-6 people, but as far as staying in contact with fans, which is ultimately the biggest challenge and keeping everyone excited for hockey, in my opinion, ultimately, I feel like we’ve accomplished that. I still think a lot of people have kept in touch with what we’re doing.”

Zakrzewski admitted the job has been at times exhausting and he was hopeful the shutdown wouldn’t last this long, but he’s also enjoyed finding ways to engage fans and has even more ideas he’d like to get to in the coming weeks.

“It has been challenging, but it’s kind of fun, too,” he said.

14. The USHL held its draft earlier this week, and the Chicago Steel made a few interesting picks, which I asked general manager, Ryan Hardy about.

One, the Steel drafted Matthew Beniers in the 10th round. He just played for the under-18 U.S. national team development program and is set to go to Harvard next season. He’s considered one of the top players in the 2021 draft. Hardy said they drafted him because of the uncertainty with the next college season. Just in case the USHL is playing and Harvard isn’t, Beniers would have the option to play for the Steel. 1184187 Colorado Avalanche

Avalanche 2020-21 games in Finland postponed

MIKE CHAMBERS

May 8, 2020 at 5:09 p.m.

The Avalanche’s two games against the Columbus Blue Jackets in Finland this fall have been postponed, the league said Friday. The 2020- 21 NHL schedule has not been released but the Avs were slated to play the Blue Jackets twice in the 2020 Global Series at Hartwall Arena in Helsinki.

The games might still take place next season.

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Coronavirus causes postponement of European games for Blue Jackets, other teams

Brian Hedger

May 8, 2020 at 4:05 PM

Helsinki will have to wait.

Another offshoot of the NHL’s pause for the COVID-19 pandemic affected the Blue Jackets directly Friday when the league and NHL Players’ Association announced the postponement of planned games next season in the Czech Republic and Finland.

The Blue Jackets were set to play two regular-season games, likely in November, against the Colorado Avalanche in Helsinki.

"We are disappointed by the postponement of our trip to Finland, but look forward to having the opportunity to play in front of Finland’s passionate hockey fans in the future," Blue Jackets general manager Jarmo Kekalainen said in a release issued by the team.

The games were to be played at Hartwall Arena, which is the home rink for two historic Finnish teams HIFK and that Kekalainen previously managed. He won the championship of the Finnish league (Liigue) with HIFK in 1998 and then hosted NHL games at Hartwall Arena from 2009 to 2011 as Jokerit’s GM.

He isn’t the Jackets’ lone Finnish connection, either.

Goalie is from Pori, a Helsinki suburb, while defenseman Markus Nutivaara is from Oulu in the northern area of the country. Korpisalo, who is riding out the pandemic in Finland, played in Jokerit’s junior system.

The Blue Jackets also have six players from Sweden, which shares a border with Finland, along with eight countries represented in their locker room. Playing in Helsinki was a trip they were excited to make.

"We have a lot of guys from Finland, a couple guys from Sweden, so it would be awesome to go over there and see where guys are from and play NHL games over there," defenseman Zach Werenski said in November, when the trip to Helsinki was announced. "I’ve heard good things about the NHL Global Series, so that would be cool if our team got a chance to do that."

Now, the Jackets must wait until at 2021-22, at the earliest, for that experience.

The same goes for the Boston Bruins and Nashville Predators, who were expected to finish their training camps and exhibition schedules in Germany and Switzerland before opening the regular season facing off in Prague.

Neither the league nor players’ association guaranteed the same teams and locations would be chosen for future international matchups, but that’s the implication with the term "postponed" rather than "canceled."

In the shorter term, the NHL and its players are still trying to hash out a plan to restart this season and play it out through the traditional awarding of the Stanley Cup. Nothing has been decided along that front, but most of the discussions that have made it out for public consumption have estimated the Cup won’t be awarded until late August or even September.

If so, that could push the start of 2020-21 to either November or December. Along with concerns about international travel, the delayed start for next season likely factored big into postponing international games.

Columbus Dispatch LOADED: 05.09.2020 1184189 Dallas Stars “Absolutely,” Bowness said. “I’m 65. In my life, I’ve had two health scares and I’m not looking to have a third. … Those are the obstacles the league is facing, and I’m sure they’ll be addressed accordingly.”

Catching up with Rick Bowness: Stars’ interim coach talks life at home, Bowness has looked at flights back to Dallas, but he will hold off until how Dallas can improve if NHL season resumes there is more clarity on when the Stars and the rest of the NHL can return to practice. Until then, you can catch Bowness in the yard.

Matthew DeFranks “Working the yard, I love it,” Bowness said. “Peace of mind.”

4:46 PM on May 8, 2020 Dallas Morning News LOADED: 05.09.2020

Nowadays in Nova Scotia, you can find Rick Bowness in the yard, tending the flower gardens as part of a three-acre property in Canada owned by him and his wife, Judy.

“There’s always something to do, which we love,” Bowness said. “We’re not people that sit around and do nothing and watch TV all day. That’s not us at all. We’re very active people. When you live in an apartment all winter like we have the last two years, we love getting home here and working the yard.”

The Stars’ interim coach is rarely at his northern home in April and May, but has been now for four weeks with the NHL season suspended due to the coronavirus pandemic. After the NHL announced its pause on March 12, Bowness drove to Phoenix to visit his son, Ryan, then to Denver to visit his son, Ricky, and back to his Plano apartment before flying up north.

The extra time has allowed Bowness and the Stars’ coaching staff to dive into video both of themselves and of other teams.

Bowness said he assigned five or six teams to each assistant coach to watch and break down video “to see if there’s anything they’re doing differently than us that we can implement into the way we play.” The teams covered came from both conferences, covering the Stars should a different playoff format include East vs. West, or in the event of a run to the Stanley Cup Final.

“Whatever the format looks like,” Bowness said, “we’ll be very well prepared.”

Over the last few weeks, Bowness has gone over the Stars and how they can improve their play should the 2019-20 season resume at some point. Stars general manager has said multiple times that Bowness and the current coaching staff would finish the season after taking over for Jim Montgomery in December.

“It’s no secret, we have to put the puck in the net a little bit more,” Bowness said. “We’ve just got to get more of a cohesive attack is what it comes down to. It’s not so much that because I’ve shown the guys a bunch of clips: we are doing what we say. We just don’t do it consistently. … That’s one area that we’re really going to focus on when camp opens is really just staying in a five-man, attacking as a five-man unit and doing it consistently and not as sporadic as we’ve been doing it.”

Bowness pointed to the final two weeks of play before the season was paused. The Stars scored four goals in Carolina, three goals in Boston and three goals in St. Louis, solid outputs against stingy opponents. Then one against Edmonton, zero in back-to-back shutouts against Nashville, and two third-period goals against the Rangers.

Bowness said the video review has included the breakouts, the neutral zone and the offensive zone.

“It’s all of that,” Bowness said. “We’re very good when we don’t have the puck. It’s why we’re one of the top defensive teams last couple years. That’s what wins in the playoffs. That being said, we have to improve. We have to score some goals when it’s tight.”

The adjustments will be incorporated into training camp when practices do resume, but conditioning will be the first obstacle the Stars — and likely many other NHL teams — will tackle when skating resumes.

“I know they’ve all been working out as best they can,” Bowness said. “Under the conditions, I’m very confident that our guys have been looking after themselves and when they’re isolated at home, doing the best job they can in terms of conditioning. We’ve been off two months now, so when we go back, it’s going to be a full-on training camp.”

While getting the players back in shape is one concern, so is the health of coaches, some of whom around the league are older than 60 years. Is Bowness concerned about proximity to players given his age? 1184190

AHL, with Grand Rapids Griffins, expected to cancel remainder of season

Ted Kulfan

The Detroit News

Published 3:47 p.m. ET May 8, 2020

Detroit – The NHL continues to hold out hope for resuming its season, but the is apparently done.

The NHL’s primary minor league, the AHL, paused its season March 12 – along with the NHL – and held a Board of Governors meeting Friday afternoon.

An official announcement from the AHL is expected Monday, with numerous reports indicating the AHL season will end.

That would include the Red Wings’ minor league affiliate, the Grand Rapids Griffins, who were in playoff position, third place in the Central Division, with a 29-27-7 record.

Too many obstacles, including the inability for teams to gather and practice, players having left their in-season cities to return home, and little runway left to begin a training camp and resuming a season, have hurt the AHL’s chances to return.

But what about the 2020-21 AHL season?

That topic will be closely watched in the months ahead by NHL executives, given many of hockey’s top young prospects play in the AHL. For the Red Wings that would include Moritz Seider and Joe Veleno on the Griffins.

The AHL is a gate-driven league – similar to minor league baseball – and until fans are allowed to gather in arenas, it’s difficult to imagine the AHL playing games again.

For economic reasons, it’s unlikely the AHL would play with no fans in the stands. Many of the major junior leagues are expected to be in the same situation, and are likely to delay the start of their seasons.

It’s expected the AHL could resume some time around December, around the same time it’s thought the NHL will begin the 2020-21 season.

Detroit News LOADED: 05.09.2020 1184191 Detroit Red Wings “There’s only one guy who is able to score 50 every year and that’s Ovi (Alex Ovechkin),” Mantha said. “Every other player needs to work super, super hard to line everything up and be able to score goals.

‘I want to be here’: Anthony Mantha hopes his big payday will be from “As soon as you start playing (in the NHL), you realize this league is Red Wings super hard. To get stats you have to make sure every detail is lined up to have any success in this league.”

Mantha will be a restricted after this season. He was on a two-year Ted Kulfan contract worth $6.6 million but stands to potentially double that in his new contract. The Detroit News With the incredible uncertainty around the NHL, it’s not surprising general Published 10:59 a.m. ET May 8, 2020 manager Steve Yzerman has not had contract discussions with any of his players.

Detroit – Count Anthony Mantha among the Detroit Red Wings who Mantha is confident a long-term deal – he could be an unrestricted free would love to see the regular season resume and finish out. agent in two years – can be reached this offseason.

The idea of simply playing hockey again – the coronavirus pandemic shut “I want to be here, I like it here,” Mantha said. “I know we’re rebuilding the NHL down March 12 – seeing his teammates, and leaving his right now but hopefully I can be part of the future. Hopefully things go Montreal house are some reasons. well and we can get a deal.

But for Mantha, it would also be an opportunity to put a cap on what was “I’m not stressed yet. The league is waiting to see if we’re going to finish a successful, albeit abbreviated, season individually. the season or what is going to happen. We have all summer to negotiate. If we don’t have a contract before the (next) season, then I’ll be a little It would be a chance to slightly answer the “what if” and “what could have worried. But we have so much time. I’m pretty sure we’re going to agree been” questions had Mantha not missed so many games with two on a deal.” injuries. Mantha wants to also get back into game action to try to erase the stench “For sure,” Mantha told The Detroit News, of whether he’d like to see the of what was a difficult Wings’ season. season restarted. “This season, I was really not lucky (because of injuries). But in the end, I felt when I was out there, I upped my game “It’s terrible, it’s not fun at all,” said Mantha of going through such a from last year. I did way better offensively, defensively. difficult season. “It was hard. The last two years have been the hardest seasons of my career. “Injuries are injuries. Obviously the big injury was terrible luck. But it’s hard to say (what could have been).” “We kind of finished strong last season and we had a good start this year. We surprised some good teams (early on). I know we’re capable of The “big injury” was a punctured lung suffered in a fight with Toronto’s it. We just need to do it every night. It’s not easy. Every team is good in Jake Muzzin on Dec. 22 that cost Mantha 20 games. this league. It’s hard to get a win.”

That, incidentally, occurred just four games after Mantha had returned Mantha has maintained his conditioning and thinks that with a three-week after missing eight games with a knee injury. training camp, returning this summer wouldn’t be a problem.

That’s 28 games missed in what was shaping to be a career-best season “At first it was hard because we didn’t see any talk of a possible return,” on some fronts. Mantha has 16 goals and 22 assists for nearly a point Mantha said. “Now, there’s slowly some talk of some possible dates of per game average (38 points in 43 games). maybe returning, and having a training camp, and starting the season.

Mantha’s target before the season was to reach the 30-goal mark for the “It’s weird times. Hopefully we can get back and finish the season and we first time. can all get back to our normal life.”

“I was shooting for 30, that was the number I really wanted to reach,” Detroit News LOADED: 05.09.2020 Mantha said.

So, from an individual perspective, Mantha would relish the chance to get back to playing and see how close he could come to that 30 number.

But even if the Red Wings’ season doesn’t resume, Mantha believes he still took a big step forward.

“In the games I was on the ice, I felt I was an impact player for the team,” Mantha said. “It’s the kind of player I want to be, and I showed everyone I could be that player this year.”

Playing on a line with Tyler Bertuzzi and Dylan Larkin, the unit was among the best in the NHL the final weeks before pandemic paused the season.

Mantha had 14 points (four goals, 10 assists) in the last 14 games, and was skating and producing as well as he had all season.

Mantha will be 26 in September, and the maturity and experience he’s gained in the NHL the last several years, he said, contributed to his growth on the ice this season.

“The experience goes with the maturity,” Mantha said. “A couple years ago I was a little kid. Now I’m about to be 26 and I know what this team needs out of me. I know how to play to that kind of role.”

Mantha scored 81 goals in 81 games (regular season and playoffs combined) his final year of junior hockey, but has realized he isn’t going to reach a number like that in the NHL.

Mantha admits it took a bit of time to learn that lesson. 1184192 Detroit Red Wings play their final 11 games since the NHL appears leaning toward jumping right into the playoffs if the season resumes.

He will have to make the best of it in North Carolina, where temperatures Evgeny Svechnikov ‘just needs a chance’ to show Red Wings he can are expected to reach the mid-80s next week. play “We’re training, working out, doing everything we can to stay in shape,” Svechnikov said. “We got everything in our apartment -- weights, elastics, bikes -- but of course a gym would help more.” By Ansar Khan | [email protected] It’s not all work.

“We go outside, spend time near the ocean with friends, hang out, go As record-low temperatures were expected to dip into the 20s Friday in fishing a lot, kind of like vacation,” Svechnikov said. “We play soccer, , Evgeny Svechnikov was happy to be soaking up sunshine in stickhandle outside, do roller-blading. North Carolina. “It’s a good spot to be, a lot of benefits with the weather.” That is where Svechnikov, the Detroit Red Wings’ top draft pick in 2015, is spending hockey’s hiatus during the coronavirus pandemic, bunking Michigan Live LOADED: 05.09.2020 with brother Andrei of the Carolina Hurricanes.

He is training the best he can without use of a gym, hoping his AHL season with the Grand Rapids Griffins resumes and preparing for a pivotal 2020-21 season with the Red Wings.

While subsequent first-round picks Dennis Cholowski (2016), Michael Rasmussen (2017) and Filip Zadina (2018) have had extended opportunities in Detroit, Svechnikov’s progression has been slowed by injuries and inconsistency.

Next season is make or break. He no longer is waiver-exempt and must earn a spot on the NHL roster.

“It’s very big for sure; it’s urgency for me,” Svechnikov said. “It’s going to be an important year. I just need a chance. I know I can play in this league. I know I have ability. I just need to get in there and establish myself and it’ll happen.”

The Red Wings selected Svechnikov 19th overall five years ago because of his size, strength and scoring ability. The 6-3, 208-pound right wing scored 32 goals in consecutive seasons with Cape Breton in the Quebec League (in 50 and 55 games) and fared well in his pro debut with the Griffins in 2016-17, with 20 goals and 51 points.

He is confident he can score at the NHL level, and do much more.

“I can score goals around the net with my wrist shot, I can be a playmaker,” Svechnikov said. “I can be physical, I think I’m pretty aggressive on forechecks, I can get the puck from the other team. I’m responsible. I can be strong down low, cycle the puck.”

It is crucial for his knee to feel better. He suffered a torn right ACL in a 2018 preseason game and missed the entire season following surgery. He felt it during what he described as an “up and down season” in Grand Rapids, when he tallied 11 goals and 14 assists in 51 games. He appeared in only four early-season games with the Red Wings (no points).

“I played with a lot of pain pretty much all season,” Svechnikov said. “There were games where my knee felt good but after I had a lot of pain. Back-to-back games were tough, a lot of pain after the first game and then we travel after the game for four hours, get there at 4 a.m., next morning get up and play again. I just had to manage it, do a lot of therapy and ice it a lot.

“But you get used to everything. It just makes you stronger. My trainers helped me a lot during the season. Now it feels a lot better. But we’ll see how it’s going to be next year, how it’s going to affect me.”

A wrist injury also hampered him the second half of the season.

“Every game was a lot of pain,” he said. “I didn’t know if I should continue playing but I did a lot of therapy and exercise. It still kind of bothers me.”

The Red Wings’ power play has been amongst the worst in the NHL the past few seasons. Svechnikov believes he can help.

“Power play was good for me. (Assistant coach) Todd Krygier helped me a lot,” he said. “I played on the left, the strong side, at the start of the season, did a really good job. I played the weak side for the one-timer. Second half of the year I was on the bumper, started scoring, tipping picks. I think I was real good on the bumper.”

As much as Svechnikov wants to play again in 2019-20, chances are the AHL season will be canceled and it’s highly unlikely the Red Wings will 1184193 Edmonton Oilers The Flyers always felt they were one goal away from putting Edmonton down for good. But Fuhr wouldn’t give up another one.

“Game 7 was the first game in the series where we scored the first goal,” 1987 Edmonton Oilers: I love the smell of Game 7 in the morning said Flyers winger Dave Brown. “We had momentum. And we had a couple of good chances, too, but Fuhrsy stoned us.

“If we would have cashed in and gone up 2-0, we would have been tough Robert Tychkowski to beat because we were so good defensively. It’s one those things that could have been, but it wasn’t.” Published:May 8, 2020 Once they settled down and began their attack, the Oilers became too Updated:May 8, 2020 2:33 PM MDT much for the Flyers to handle. Conn Smythe winner did what he could, but Brown recalls the final shot total (43-20 for Edmonton) and said Game 7 felt “like a waterfall coming down into our end.” With 106 points in the regular season and a 12-2 record through the first three rounds of the playoffs, the 1987 Edmonton Oilers tore through the Messier from Nilsson and Anderson in the first. Kurri from Gretzky in the NHL like Lethbridge cops at a Star Wars convention. second. Then Anderson from Huddy in the third. And it was all over.

Then came the Philadelphia Flyers. The first Game 7 of a Stanley Cup final since 1971 belonged to Edmonton. The result was an epic Stanley Cup final that culminated in the two most compelling words in sports: Game 7. “It was exciting,” said Coffey. “Stressful in a good way. That’s where you want to be. We won it and the rest is history.” Very few professional athletes ever get to experience the enormity of Game 7 for a championship, and the ones who were in Northlands Lowe couldn’t imagine what it was like to be on the wrong end of that Coliseum on that May 31 evening still get goosebumps thinking about it. game until the Oilers team he managed lost to Carolina in Game 7 of the 2006 final. That one still stings, and he has six rings. “The last time I was in a Game 7 situation, I was in front of my mom and dad’s house playing on the street,” said former Oilers winger Kevin “Initially, you are proud that you had a great season and went to Game 7 McClelland. “I remember sitting in the dressing room thinking, ‘What’s of the finals,” he said. “It’s only over time that you realize, ‘Geez, we were going to happen here?’ that close to a Cup and didn’t get it.’ Especially if you never end up winning one. It probably gets harder as time goes on.” What happened in that Game 7, which airs on SportsNet Saturday night at 5 p.m., was a turning point in Oilers history, where the enormously Edmonton Sun: LOADED: 05.09.2020 talented Boys on the Bus matured into a dynasty.

History barely remembers it, but the Oilers were reeling heading into Game 7. They had a 2-0 lead midway through Game 6 at the Spectrum, the Cup within their grasp, only to see Philly score three straight, including two late third-period goals 84 seconds apart, to force Game 7.

The Oilers were at a precipice. After being stunned by Calgary a year earlier and blowing a 3-1 series lead to the Flyers, they were one loss away from the uncertain future none of them even wanted to think about.

Fortunately, the schedule provided an opportunity to calm down and regroup.

“There was an extra day between games,” recalled defenceman Kevin Lowe. “Whether that helped us out because we were the older team or hyped up the Flyers because they had more time to think about coming back from 3-1 down, I don’t know. But we were glad we had it.”

The players remember game day as being tense, but kind of in a good way.

“It’s always nerve wracking playing Game 7 at home,” said defenceman . “We knew we had a good hockey club, but we also knew that if we didn’t play our best we would not win.”

McClelland looked around the room at Edmonton’s veterans and knew the Flyers were going to face something they hadn’t seen before.

“The guys were locked in and ready to go,” he said. “It helped with my gut feeling and my worries going into that Game 7, knowing that those guys were leading us. They weren’t going to be denied.”

Rather than running from the pressure, says the Oilers embraced and enjoyed it.

“As a kid, you dream of playing Game 7 in a Stanley Cup final,” said the Hall of Fame netminder. “Guys were excited to get that opportunity. Maybe a little too excited at the beginning, but at the same time we were also confident and relaxed. We knew we had a good hockey team, we just hadn’t played well.”

It got spooky in a hurry as (crosschecking) and Paul Coffey (holding) took penalties in the first 73 seconds and Philly made it 1-0 early on the two-man advantage. The Flyers had early blood and 1:32 of power-play time left.

“That’s where Grant came up large,” said Coffey. “He weathered the storm big time for us in the first period. We always knew that if we left our posts and we weren’t on our game early, Grant would be there for us.” 1184194 Edmonton Oilers JW: Both guys project as being top four defencemen, and maybe even complementary players in terms of playing style, but I’d agree there’s a gap between them. There’s also a gap between No. 2 and No. 3 on this list. Who are the Oilers’ top 10 prospects and where do they project in the NHL? No. 3: Raphael Lavoie

AM: I have Lavoie at No. 3 because he’s the best goal scorer in the system, and the more I’ve watched him, he does have a nice range of By Allan Mitchell and Jonathan Willis skills. He can win battles, his speed is fine, he’s more than a one-trick pony. I like Lavoie, long term, as a top-six right winger. May 8, 2020 JW: I think of him as a middle-six winger. A top-six career is certainly in

the range of possibilities. Three and four are really close on my list, but Many of the strides made by the Oilers in 2019-20 were directly caused the reason I have Lavoie ahead of Tyler Benson is that the range of by key graduations from their prospect pool. possible outcomes is higher. He might come in below Benson as a player, but he also carries more potential upside. Ethan Bear, Kailer Yamamoto, Caleb Jones and others stepped in over the course of the season, adding elements to Edmonton’s roster that No. 4: Tyler Benson weren’t necessarily visible on opening night. With the Oilers strapped for AM: I think he’s the most NHL-ready forward in the system. I think he has cap space, the development of those players allowed the team to top-nine ability, I don’t know his ceiling. I’m fairly certain he’s going to address problem areas that it couldn’t afford to fix via free agency. play in the NHL, I just don’t know where in the top-nine he’s going to A continual pipeline of young talent will be just as important to play. Edmonton’s future success. JW: Everybody worries about his speed. I can see it limiting him, but I On Thursday, we compared our versions of the Oilers prospect list, rating don’t see it keeping him from having an NHL career. He’s so smart and the team’s top 20 developing players and comparing their NHL upside on he’s so good along the boards. A lot of his teammates in Bakersfield the Oil Can podcast. Because many subscribers would rather read than have been very complimentary about how he thinks the game. A player listen, we’ve gone through the 10 most significant players on that list can get by with middling speed if he’s smart and diligent and Benson is here. that.

Answers have been edited for length and clarity. AM: The thing I like about Benson as a complementary player for some of the skill centres in Edmonton, is that he isn’t going to transport the No. 1: Evan Bouchard puck for 97, 29 or 93. Inside the zone, or in the neutral zone, passing the puck to the transporter, that is his strength. That’s one reason why I think Jonathan Willis: Because there’s some clear separation between he may eventually play a little higher on the depth chart than I’m Bouchard and the No. 2 prospect, I was wondering what we would talk projecting. I have him as a top-nine NHL forward. about with him. What I came up with was this: Where do you see his NHL upside? JW: Benson looked like a top-six forward in Bakersfield not this year, but last year. That’s still a possibility but a third-line career certainly seems Allan Mitchell: When I look at Bouchard, offensively he’s going to be fine. more likely. At the worst, third pair even strength and power play quarterback. He may score 40 points in a season where he’s third pairing at 5-on-5. I think No. 5: Ryan McLeod he has a higher ceiling than that. My outer marker for Bouchard is second pair, power play quarterback and 20-21 minutes a game. AM: I really like Ryan McLeod, and for me he scored more in the AHL than I expected him to, based on where he was going to play. He has JW: Is that your outer marker or median outcome? great speed, two-way ability, that’s going to have to be honed but he understand that side of the game. He disappointed offensively in the AM: I worry about him defensively, I don’t think he’ll be an outstanding OHL, but he scored 23 points (in 56 games) in the AHL. If you look at defensive player. Do you? where he’s playing on the depth chart, and his 18 even strength points, I JW: He’s got the size and strength. I don’t know that he has the instincts was pleasantly surprised and am stronger on him now than I was a year but he’s young. We’re talking about a 20-year-old defenceman. I don’t ago. worry as much about his defensive game as others do. Played with the JW: McLeod played on the penalty kill, he played centre and he played right partner, I can imagine him in a top-pairing role, though not as the wing this year in Bakersfield. For a rookie pro that’s a tremendous guy carrying the load defensively. validation of his two-way game. His offensive upside is the question, and For me, the median outcome is Justin Schultz or Justin Schultz-plus. It’s as fair as it is to project him as a third-line centre he might not have the too early to write him off as a top-pair defenceman. scoring to handle that job. He is strong, good defensively and fast, and in reality his scoring this year was not bad for a 20-year-old AHL rookie. AM: I think we mostly agree. Bouchard has the most potential of anyone in the system, he’s the most NHL-ready, and if they start him in AM: We see it the same way, I think he’ll be a bottom-six centre, likely Bakersfield it’s like having another bona fide top-six defenceman at the third line. I believe that speed will keep him in the league longer than ready. people might expect, he can wheel.

No. 2: Philip Broberg No. 6: Olivier Rodrigue vs. Dmitri Samorukov

AM: I like his speed, he was asked in the SHL and the WJC to play a JW: I have Olivier Rodrigue No. 6. He had a great back half to his more defensive game. I don’t think he’ll play a lot on an NHL power play, QMJHL season (11-1-0, .947 SV% after Feb. 1). His numbers at that but am not convinced he can’t reach 30 points as an NHL defenceman. I level at midseason weren’t great, but the way he finished the year was think he may have the potential because of his speed to play big minutes excellent. He finished the season 31-7-1 with a .918 SV%, and those are at 5-on-5. stellar numbers at any level.

JW: When we talked with SHL analyst Mike Zanier last week, Darnell The Oilers really liked him in 2018; they thought he was maybe the best Nurse was the comparison we settled on. He’s easy to imagine in a goalie in the draft. The season he just had is the kind of year an NHL second pair role, logging minutes on the penalty kill and 5-on-5. starter might have at that age and level, though of course there’s a lot of uncertainty with any goalie. AM: When Zanier mentioned Broberg could transport the puck but not having the creativity to get it to a good spot, there’s been a lot of that in AM: I have Rodrigue No. 9 but I like him, too. He faced more shots this Oilers history. Darnell Nurse, Tom Poti had that issue as well despite his year than he had in the past, while performing better. He has a quality reputation as an offensive defenceman. If that turns out to be the case, resume and I like the way he finished. It will be interesting to see where we’re looking at a guy who 10 years from now we look back on as a he plays first year pro, either ECHL or AHL. reasonable pick, but not a dynamite pick. I think he’s clearly No. 2 on the list, and there’s a little gap there from Bouchard to Broberg. My No. 6 player is Dmitri Samorukov, I liked his AHL season even though it was on the third pairing. He was protected quite a bit, even in a year where the Condors had injuries and probably needed to move him up. The coaches were very careful with him. I put him here because of his outer marker, due to his potential. He’s a big man, he’s a fast guy and he’s got a mean streak. I think he’s the guy who will end up with the third pairing, left side job in Edmonton.

JW: They really brought him along slowly in the AHL this year, but that’s normal for a first-year pro, as we’ve seen with prospects like Ethan Bear and Caleb Jones. I like Samorukov’s physical tools and experience on the right side, and had him seventh on my list; to me Nos. 6-9 are all really close.

No. 7 or 8: Ilya Konovalov

AM: I like Konovalov as the top prospect among the in the system for two reasons: First, he has played in the KHL for two years now, that’s a very good league. The second reason is how he finished the back half of this year, much like you mentioned with Rodrigue. I’m interested in his season coming up, if he dominates, he might be a guy the Oilers sign summer 2021 to compete for an NHL job.

JW: I had him No. 8 on my list. There’s nothing wrong with being a .912 save percentage goalie in the KHL at 21, and the only reason it feels like a downbeat is because he was so good at 20. He’s played a lot of hockey at a high level and mostly played it well. Between him and Rodrigue this might be the Oilers’ most promising prospect goalie tandem since Devan Dubnyk and Jeff Deslauriers.

No. 9: Filip Berglund vs. Joakim Nygard

JW: My last guy in the No. 6-9 cluster is Berglund. I like him a ton. He’s played major minutes in the SHL for several years and he generates offence. Everything about him looks good save that he’s not an especially fleet skater. A big right-shooting defenceman always has an advantage when it comes to carving out an NHL career.

AM: I have Berglund No. 12. I like his potential and most of my rankings value that highly. The things that worry me is foot speed as you mentioned and that he’s been in the SHL for some time and still playing second pair minutes. That may be due to the quality of his team. This year will be a big one.

My No. 8 guy is Joakim Nygard.

I have him here for two reasons: First is foot speed and second is he has an idea about how to play without the puck. We saw a little bit of that this year, when you and I talked to Riley Sheahan he mentioned that he liked to play with Nygard. Thirty-three games isn’t a lot, I think he’s a guy who might find a home here like Jaroslav Pouzar did in the ’80s where he comes in mid-career and carves out a five-year NHL run. I like him a lot.

JW: I had Nygard No. 10, but I think there’s a gap between him and Berglund at No. 9. The reason for that is upside. Looking at Berglund’s comparables, there’s precedent for an NHL career in a significant role.

I don’t see that with Nygard, just because of his age. He’s already past what we think of as peak years. His speed might mean he has a longer tail than a typical skater, but even if he sticks in the NHL long term it will probably be in a bottom-six role.

What about Cooper Marody?

AM: My No. 10 player is Cooper Marody. He is skilled, his time to make the Oilers was probably a year ago and yet I see him as having a window of opportunity this season. I look at his first AHL season, if he can recover to that level, the fact he’s right-handed and NHL-ready, I gave him the edge.

JW: I love Cooper Marody as a player and thought he did well during his NHL cameo. He’s very smart, and smart right-shot centres are hard to find. The issue is injury, and it’s why I have him well down my rankings. Ever since the Kale Kessy hit in last year’s playoffs it’s been one thing after another and I’m concerned that we’re never going to see what he could have been. I hope I’m wrong and that he has good health.

The Athletic LOADED: 05.09.2020 1184195 Los Angeles Kings Stanley Cup championships carry a lot of weight here. Ordinarily, it would be hard to pick against two-time Stanley Cup winner Drew Doughty, who also won the Norris Trophy in 2016 as the NHL’s best defenseman.

A to Z: Who are the kings of the Kings by letter? But it’s impossible to bypass . Dionne was the first King (player category) to make the Hockey Hall of Fame, in 1992. Dionne played 12 seasons with the Kings, and is No. 5 all-time in the NHL in goals (731) and No. 6 in points (1,771). By Lisa Dillman The famed Triple Crown line — Dionne, right wing Dave Taylor and left May 8, 2020 wing Charlie Simmer — helped keep hockey on the map in L.A. Dionne’s best season with the Kings came in 1979-80, when he led the league in scoring with 137 points (53 goals and 84 assists). There is one exercise fraught with more peril than our “can’t-miss” season predictions or various mock drafts: Listing a franchise’s top E — Gary Edwards players numerically, or in this case, alphabetically. One of four goaltenders on the list. The reason behind going alphabetically to list the top players in Los (The other three are pretty easy to guess.) Angeles Kings history is two-fold: simplicity and space. The Athletic has unlimited space, you say. Gary Edwards had a long and successful partnership with the legendary , and the duo came close to winning the Vezina Trophy in Well, yes. 1975, finishing second to the Philadelphia Flyers. In those days, the But my editors, while exceedingly patient, probably don’t want to read award was like the current Jennings Trophy, given to the team allowing even one paragraph debating why I picked Bob Jay or Sean McCosh for the fewest goals against. No. 50. If pressed, I’d probably go with McCosh’s four-game run with the Special consideration: Daryl Evans (Miracle on Manchester). Still so epic Kings in 1991-92 over Jay’s three games in 1993-94. you don’t even need to explain it. So, here is one view of the best 25 players in Kings history, F — Jim Fox alphabetically, since they joined the NHL in 1967. The Kings, and the NHL, are still waiting for the elusive X surname. This also happens to include outstanding broadcasters – Jim Fox, the Kings’ longtime TV analyst, and TSN’s , who played for the Please feel free to weigh in with comments. If you disagree and need to Kings from 1995 to 1999. find me, I’ll be at Home Depot looking for materials to build my underground bunker. Fox spent his entire 10-year NHL career with the Kings and is 11th on their all-time list in goals (186) and points (479). A — Derek Armstrong Honorable mention: Alexander Frolov. For pure effect, I could set off my mentions by naming Sean Avery, but my line about Home Depot really was a joke. G —

Derek Armstrong represented the Kings in an especially lean era (2002- G stands for the Great One. 09). He played 385 games with the Kings and 477 total, and unfortunately never got to appear in a playoff game. (If only all the selections were this straightforward…)

“Always came to the rink with excitement,” former teammate Rob Blake Wayne Gretzky, the man who brought Hollywood to hockey, understood said. “His enjoyment toward the game rubbed off on his teammates.” his responsibility. He wanted to bring a winning mentality to the Kings and certainly couldn’t have predicted the explosive growth in the sport in B — Dustin Brown Southern California and non-traditional hockey markets after his blockbuster trade from the Oilers to the Kings in 1988. This looked like one of the tougher calls. How can you possibly bypass Blake, a Hall of Fame defenseman? “From Luc (Robitaille) and Marty McSorley to Tomas Sandstrom, to Rob Blake and on and on,” Gretzky told me in a 2017 interview But you can when the choice is Dustin Brown, the franchise’s all-time with NHL.com, “these guys understood we were in a unique situation. We leader in games played (1,183) who also ranks sixth in goals (299) and had to do other things to help promote hockey, to get more people eighth in points (653). And who did hand the Stanley Cup interested in playing. All those guys understood that.” to when the Kings won their first championship in franchise history in 2012, and repeated two years later? Mission accomplished. And then some.

Brown, the captain. Honorable mentions: , Tony Granato and Marian Gaborik (playoff division). Plus, Brown gets bonus points for the classy way he handled the loss of his captaincy in 2016, a botched exercise all the way around. H — Kelly Hrudey

C — Jeff Carter The only Kings player I played tennis against, at training camp one year in Blue Jay, Calif. Do the Kings win the Stanley Cup in 2012 if they don’t make the late- season trade for Jeff Carter with Columbus? Could I get a shot past him at the net? Impossible.

He had 13 points in 20 playoff games in 2012, and almost a point per When the Kings acquired Kelly Hrudey from the on game in the Cup-winning effort in 2014, with 25 points in 26 games. The Feb. 22, 1989, it sent a signal that they were determined to upgrade their man could score in bunches: Carter had a hat trick in Game 2 of the goaltending even if it meant sending a “goaltender of the future” in Mark Western Conference final against Chicago in 2014 and one in Game 2 of Fitzpatrick to the Islanders. Hrudey played parts of eight seasons with the the Western Conference final against the Coyotes in 2012. Kings, highlighted by their Stanley Cup run to the final in 1993.

The Kings’ GM at the time, Dean Lombardi, used to show Carter video I — Alex Iafallo clips of fictional gunslinger, Josey Wales (played by Clint Eastwood in a 1976 movie), for inspiration. Later, I asked Carter about it. There is a sure-fire future Hall of Famer who finished his NHL career in Los Angeles. Said Carter: “I had no idea who it was. I do now.” Not so fast… Honorable mention: Jimmy Carson. The issue is, Jarome Iginla played a mere 19 games with the Kings, D — Marcel Dionne closing out the 2016-17 season. Rest assured that he is safely on the alphabetical list of the Calgary Flames. It’s close between Alex Iafallo (227 games and 101 points) and Ted An easy selection. In his 12 NHL seasons, Ziggy Palffy scored 30 or Irvine, a member of the Kings’ expansion team who played parts of two more goals six times, three of those seasons coming with the Kings. more seasons. Recency bias gives Iafallo the edge. Among all-time Kings goal-scorers, Palffy ranks 16th with 150 goals, two more than Granato, who played 69 more games with the Kings. J — Eddie Joyal Q — Nicknames may have been forced during the Kings’ expansion days at the behest of mercurial owner Jack Kent Cooke. Years ago, first-round draft choice Jonathan Bernier was touted as the Kings’ goalie of the future when he was picked 11th overall in 2006. Not But at least they were creative – instead of simply adding a “y” or “ie” to Jonathan Quick. the end of a player’s last name. Now, Quick holds every meaningful mark for Kings goaltenders. There And so, Eddie (The Jet) Joyal. are the two Stanley Cup championships, the Conn Smythe (playoff MVP) Why not pay homage to the speedy player who led the Kings in scoring in 2012 and two William M. Jennings trophies in 2014 and 2018. their first two seasons? At 34, Quick seems poised to reinvent himself one more time.

K — Anze Kopitar R —

Anze Kopitar, in a landslide. Again, this is one of the easiest choices. Hockey Hall of Famer Luc Three of the current Kings forwards on this list — Iafallo, Kopitar and Robitaille is the highest-scoring left winger in NHL history and is 13th on Brown — play on the same line. Kopitar has two Stanley Cup the league’s all-time list with 668 goals, and is the Kings’ all-time leading championships, two Selke Trophies and was a finalist for the Hart Trophy goal scorer (557) and ranks second in points (1,154) behind Dionne. in 2018. He is the multi-generational link when it comes to the Kings — starting Kopitar is fourth on the Kings’ all-time list in games played (1,073), goals his career with Dionne and Taylor, reaching the Stanley Cup final in 1993 (333), assists (617) and points (950), and his durability suggests he has with Gretzky, , Blake and Hrudey and, in his final two seasons, plenty more to give. He became the first Slovenian-born player to reach playing with a young Brown. the NHL, and the 2005 draft changed his fortunes and helped the Kings What also stands out is that he kept coming “home.” Robitaille’s 1,077 become Stanley Cup champions. games with the Kings covered three different stints, wrapping up with his L — Trevor Lewis retirement in 2006.

Trevor Lewis often gets overlooked, but not here. No one puts Lewis in Honorable mention: Mike Richards the corner, not with his two Stanley Cup championships. The totals, so S — Charlie Simmer far: 674 games, 163 points (70 goals, 93 assists) and the ability to never irritate former Kings coach Darryl Sutter. The birth of the famed Triple Crown Line occurred at the Olympia in Detroit on Jan. 13, 1979, and the chemistry was nearly instant. They Honorable mention: Ian Laperriere. combined for six points with Dionne scoring four goals.

M — Alec Martinez Charlie Simmer’s ascendancy was swift. The next season, Simmer Coincidentally, the highlight of Alec Martinez’s Cup-clinching goal against finished in a three-way tie for the NHL’s goal-scoring title. Simmer had the New York Rangers in double overtime of Game 5 in 2014 has been back-to-back seasons of 100-plus points with the Kings. A contract all over social media the past few days. dispute in 1984 led to his trade to the Boston Bruins.

It felt like a nudge: How could you think about picking anyone other than Honorable mentions: Tomas Sandstrom and Jozef Stumpel. “Jazz Hands”? T — Dave Taylor

Martinez played 597 games with the Kings, and his final game was at Air The consummate professional started his career in Los Angeles in 1977 Force Academy against the Colorado Avalanche. It was fitting that and finished it 1,111 games later in 1994. Dave Taylor was a coach’s Martinez, who was traded to the Vegas Golden Knights on Feb. 19, went dream — he gave a honest night’s work, never complained about doing out with a win against the Avalanche. the heavy lifting and the battling in the corners, and just kept putting up N — Bernie Nicholls points. He had back-to-back 100-plus point seasons, in 1980-81 and 1981-82, and scored 30-plus goals six times. One of the (many) byproducts of the Gretzky trade was watching Bernie Nicholls flourish. After Gretzky joined the Kings, Nicholls had his best He is second behind Brown on the Kings’ all-time list of games played, season, scoring 70 goals and 150 points. Maybe it was because they third in goals (431) behind Robitaille and Dionne, and third in points went to McDonald’s together every day after practice. (1,069) behind Dionne and Robitaille.

Nicholls had a dynamic presence on the ice. In 602 games with the U — Kings, he had 327 goals and 758 points, putting him fifth in both Garry Unger, a unanimous vote by the panel! categories on their all-time list. In 1,127 NHL games, he had 1,209 points. Never mind that there’s one player in team history with a surname starting with U. He only played with Gretzky one full season and was traded to the New York Rangers the next season at the time of the All-Star break. It’s too Unger’s Kings’ career consisted of 58 games in 1980-81, with 10 goals bad they didn’t get a chance to keep the partnership together a little and 20 points. longer. V — Rogie Vachon Honorable mention: Mattias Norstrom. Countless kids growing up in Southern California and those near the O — Sean O’Donnell Kings’ old home, the Forum in Inglewood, were drawn to hockey because of this charismatic goaltender with the chantable name. There are few choices among the Os. Four, in fact: Sean O’Donnell, Patrick O’Sullivan, Billy O’Dwyer and Ed Olcyzk. Eddie O’s Kings tenure Rogie, Rogie, Rogie. was not long, but was productive. He had 44 points in 67 games in the 1996-97 season. There wasn’t much to rally around before Rogie Vachon joined the Kings in 1971. The previous season, 1969-70, the Kings finished with 38 points. The nod goes to the defenseman, O’Donnell, a loyal and dependable foot He brought credibility to a young franchise and, a lot like Quick, gave solider. He had two turns with the Kings and gets extra credit here for them a chance to win almost every night. mentoring a young Doughty. His number 30 was the first number the Kings retired, on Feb. 14, 1985. P — Ziggy Palffy Unfortunately, it took more than 30 years after that for Vachon to get inducted into the Hockey Hall of Fame. This story by my former colleague Dave Stubbs is well worth reading, about Vachon and his family on Hall of Fame weekend in 2016.

W — Justin Williams

There are plenty of fine options here, but it has to be Mr. Game 7.

Justin Williams felt like the conscience of the team in its glory days, full of burning desire to win and a hatred of losing. There were two meaningful trades made by Lombardi to change the team’s culture — one to bring in center Jarret Stoll and defenseman Matt Greene from the Edmonton Oilers in June of 2008, and the other a three-team trade involving the Oilers and the Carolina Hurricanes in March of 2009, bringing in Williams.

In 2014, Williams won the Conn Smythe as the playoff MVP, scoring nine goals and 15 assists in 26 games. He had an impressive playoff beard but was typically self-deprecating during the Western Conference final. The Kings were staying at a Chicago area hotel, which happened to be holding a Star Trek convention. We joked about it and Williams noted, dryly, that the bearded players probably looked a little funny to the Trekkies, too.

Y — Vitali Yachmenev

Like the Os, the choices aren’t overwhelming here: Two , defenseman Dmitry Yushkevich and right wing Vitali Yachmenev.

Yachmenev played 149 games for the Kings from 1995-98, and, of note, played on Gretzky’s line in his rookie season. That, as it turned out, was the high point of his NHL career.

Z — Alexei Zhitnik

One of my favorite Kings seasons to cover was the memorable 1992-93 run, which was Zhitnik’s rookie campaign. He made the team out of training camp and played in the Stanley Cup final months later, when the Kings lost to the Montreal Canadiens.

He was second in scoring among NHL rookie defensemen with 48 points. Off the ice, there was no shortage of Zhitnik stories.

I still remember his agent, Ron Salcer, telling me about Zhitnik’s first car purchase, a Lexus. Salcer asked Zhitnik why he needed a voice- activated car phone, saying: “Who are you going to call?”

Zhitnik: “Now, I call nobody. One year from now, I call many people.”

The Athletic LOADED: 05.09.2020 1184196 Minnesota Wild Back to normal What’s also shaped Dubnyk’s perspective is what happened to Jenn.

When he rejoined the team in January, Dubnyk had “pretty good clarity” Wild goalie Devan Dubnyk's family life back to normal even if hockey on what Jenn was dealing with and now she’s doing well. topsy turvy “No concerns at the moment,” he said. “Just follow-ups as we go forward. Devan Dubnyk's family situation is no longer a pressing matter for him. They don’t expect to be seeing anything.”

Once the pandemic stalled the NHL, Dubnyk, Jenn and their three sons By Sarah McLellan — Nate, 6; Parker, 4, and Dawson, 2 — used the downtime to recalibrate as a family while Jenn was improving. Star Tribune “For a while it was difficult to go on the road and not be concerned about MAY 8, 2020 — 10:14PM things going on at home,” Dubnyk said. “Now I certainly know that that feeling won’t be there anymore. That will be a nice thing. The most

important thing was getting back to that normalcy we’re used to as a The bizarre turn of events since the Wild season started isn’t lost on family.” Devan Dubnyk. Their backyard is getting plenty of use as Dubnyk tries to keep the kids After a miserable 0-5 start, the veteran goalie missed about a month of entertained. While it’s difficult for them to be holed up at home, Dubnyk action to be with his wife, Jenn, while she dealt with a serious medical has relished hanging out with them. situation. “You love to see them all the time,” he said. Once he returned, Dubnyk eventually lost the starting job and then the Balanced approach NHL shut down because of the coronavirus pandemic. That mind- boggling journey led him to ask his wife, “What do you think you’d tell Getting ready for a potential return also has been on Dubnyk’s agenda. me?” if he predicted before the season this would be in store for him. Aside from being able to spread out on his Sport Court, Dubnyk has a “That pretty much sums up how ridiculous and crazy this season has gym setup and a Peloton bike. been and this whole thing,” Dubnyk said during a Thursday video conference call. “That’s been a lifesaver for me,” he said.

And it’s not over yet. Still, ramping back up to game mode if the season does resume will present a unique challenge. Dubnyk remains in Minnesota with his family while waiting to find out what’s next for the league, whether it completes the 2019-20 campaign Unlike the offseason when players have ample time to work out before that was halted in March or the plug is pulled for good. training camp, the lead-up to a possible restart is likely to be only a few weeks. Either way, the cliffhanger will steer Dubnyk in another unprecedented direction, and despite the adversity he has already faced, the 34-year-old Quality over quantity, however, could matter more for goalies, as Dubnyk is still eager to get back on the ice after a return to normalcy for his believes a tuneup like this will be regimented with structured practices family. rather than the laxer vibe of summer skates.

“Everything is good here,” he said. But being prepared also means having the right mind-set.

Tough times Although he still flashes back to the season and particular games — “That’s just the life of a hockey player,” he said — Dubnyk also has Like the Wild, Dubnyk struggled early in the season. striven for balance.

He was in net for the team’s first four losses and didn’t pick up his first “If you’re going to sit there and hammer tennis balls against the wall for win until after dropping a fifth game. His uneven play continued and after two hours a day because you’re worried we might return tomorrow and arriving back in the Twin Cities from a trip to Buffalo in mid-November, you’re not going to be ready, eventually that’s going to tip you over the Dubnyk left the team to be with Jenn. edge,” Dubnyk said.

While he didn’t reveal specifics about her condition, Dubnyk said Jenn “When it got stopped and you realized this was going to be longer than did require hospitalization and he ended up sitting out 14 games before anybody would like, mentally it’s important to step back.” playing again. Familiar priorities Although he was then back with the team on a mostly full-time basis, absent for only one more road game in January, Dubnyk’s appearances Prepping to revive a season when most of the league is usually idle started to become more sporadic. would be different, but so would a cancellation.

Backup Alex Stalock had gotten on a roll and usurped the crease, As the team’s representative for the NHL Players’ Association, Dubnyk is helping the Wild remain in contention for a playoff berth — a switch for up to date on the latest developments as the NHL brainstorms how it Dubnyk, who has usually been the one leading the Wild to the could reopen, but it’s tough for Dubnyk to mull over the various scenarios postseason. since so much remains uncertain.

By the time the NHL paused, Dubnyk had played only three times in the “We want to get back playing hockey,” he said, “but it’s hard to say if Wild’s previous 14 games. Overall, he was 12-15-2 with an .890 save that’s going to be possible or not.” percentage and 3.35 goals-against average — tallies that ranked among Even though the calendar is starting to creep up on the typical NHL the worst in the league for goalies who had logged at least as many offseason, this doesn’t feel the same to Dubnyk. During the summers, games (30) as him. players know the game is coming back “but when you have it taken “I’m as competitive as anybody, and I always expect to be in the net away,” Dubnyk said, “it’s certainly something that you miss.” every night,” said Dubnyk, who was actually in goal for the Wild’s last So, while he awaits a resolution, Dubnyk will focus on a familiar set of game before the league suspended play — a 5-4 overtime victory at priorities — the same ones he valued when he was in-season: hockey Anaheim on March 8. “But the reason we’re here is winning. And if we’ve and family. got a guy that was playing as well as Al was, I’m going to sit there and enjoy it and be with my team and enjoy winning and make sure that “Just stay in shape as best as you can,” he said, “and other than that do whenever I’m called on to play I’m ready to contribute. your best to enjoy the time you have with people that you don’t usually have this much time with.” “Also don’t give up on yourself and understand that I’m the same goalie that I’ve been for my entire career. And I certainly expect to be a starting Star Tribune LOADED: 05.09.2020 goalie.” 1184197 Minnesota Wild personally, I’m not interested in packing up and going away for that length of time away from my family. I can’t imagine that anybody else would, and I think it sounds like the NHL is sensitive to that and understands that, so we’re just going to have to wait and see how Wild’s Devan Dubnyk: NHL’s hub city restart idea is ‘a lot to ask’ of everything unfolds here.” players Still, Dubnyk said there is no point in players stressing themselves out too much because there are so many scenarios that change week to week in this new unknown world that we are all in. By Michael Russo “These are questions that can’t be answered right now, but … I mean, May 8, 2020 nobody with kids is going to want to be away for three or four months at a time,” Dubnyk said. “I think that’s a lot to ask out of guys.”

Devan Dubnyk thought it would be impossible to have a more trying The next phase in the NHL’s plan would be to open up NHL team season than the year before he got to the Wild. facilities for small group activities later this month, then open up training camps next month with play resuming likely in July. Remember, 2013-14 was the season in which the once-Edmonton Oilers first-round pick was traded twice, ended up in the minors in Hamilton, Dubnyk can’t imagine the number of steps and endless challenges there Ontario, and was nearly run right out of the NHL. are to make all of this happen.

But the Wild goaltender reflected Thursday on this still still-uncanceled “Everybody wants to come back and play. We wanted that from the NHL season and repeated a recent quip he made to his wife, Jenn: second it got stopped,” Dubnyk said. “It’s just hard to wrap your head “Could you imagine before the season started if I told you I was going to around different scenarios just because there’s so much up in the air still start the season 0-5, miss five weeks due to (your) health concerns and right now. So, it’s good to have a lot of good conversation and continue come back and lose my starting job only to have the season be canceled the dialogue and continue the communication with everybody so all the by a global pandemic, what do you think you’d tell me?” players could understand what’s on the table, what are the different options as they go. Dubnyk, with a grin, said, “That pretty much sums up how ridiculous and crazy this season has been and this whole thing.” “But really that’s not going to present itself clearly. Different options and different possibilities are just going to present themselves week to week. ALWAYS WELL-SPOKEN AND AFFABLE DEVAN DUBNYK DOING A It’s not like you can sit down right in this moment and pick one single ZOOM CALL WITH #MNWILD REPORTERS scenario and say, ‘Yep, this is going to work, this is what we’re going to PIC.TWITTER.COM/ENGURTWBSV do as soon” as local governments lift all restrictions.

— MICHAEL RUSSO (@RUSSOHOCKEY) MAY 7, 2020 “There’s just so much uncertainty right now on timing and what’s going to be allowed and when. So all you can do is continue to talk about it and The always-talkative Dubnyk held a wide-ranging Zoom call with local be as prepared as you can.” reporters Thursday. It has been a difficult season for Dubnyk, one in which he’s 12-15-2 with a 3.35 goals-against average and .890 save What’s Dubnyk’s gut feel as to whether the league really resumes this percentage. While he won the Wild’s final game in Anaheim way back on season? March 8, he largely lost his starting gig to Alex Stalock. “I feel like it changes so much,” he said. “It’s like one week you just feel It was also a season in which he had to take time away from the team like it’s not possible and then another week you feel like it’s certainly after returning home from Buffalo in November and discovering his wife possible. But it kind of comes and goes. It’s impossible to know. As having a serious medical episode. things open up, it seems like other issues arise. It’s certainly impressive the work that people are putting in. The NHL and the Players’ Association Dubnyk said his wife continues to be on the mend after surgery in are working extremely well together to do everything we possibly can to January to address the issue and is doing well. One of the most get back playing. emotional moments for the Wild this season came Dec. 19 in Arizona when Dubnyk returned to the net for the first time since mid-November “It’s really hard to say. Like I said, every single player is going to tell you and beat the Coyotes in a wild game. it’s exactly what they want to be doing. We want to get back playing hockey, but it’s hard to say if that’s going to be possible or not.” SO COOL, MARCUS FOLIGNO GETS THE HERO OF THE GAME HELMET AFTER TONIGHT'S WIN AND GIVES IT TO DUBNYK, The other interesting question is what’s the league going to look like if it SAYING, "WE'RE A FAMILY IN HERE." HTTPS://T.CO/XMJ9WFJLUR returns?

— MICHAEL RUSSO (@RUSSOHOCKEY) DECEMBER 20, 2019 It’s largely accepted at this point that there will be no fans in the stands.

Dubnyk, who turned 34 Monday, was his normal affable self with But how often will players and everybody around a team be tested for reporters Thursday, joking around about what his three kids have been COVID-19? How strict will the quarantine be if players are holed up at like during Minnesota’s stay-at-home order, opining on how long it will hub-city hotels? And in the rink, in a sport where it’s impossible to social take for goaltenders to return to being game-ready if the NHL resumes distance in a locker room, on the ice and on the bench, will players check this summer and telling how much he misses his teammates, the Wild as much, hug during goal celebrations, do bench fly-bys after scoring, staff and even reporters. shake hands after playoff series?

But the most interesting topic Dubnyk discussed was that potential “My hope and my belief is that I don’t know how long it’ll take — hopefully leaguewide return to action in the coming weeks. not too long — but I think we have to imagine life will get back to normal,” Dubnyk said. “And that is certainly my hope and my wish. Whenever that Dubnyk is the Wild’s NHL Players’ Association rep, so he’s on all the is, who knows? Who knows how long that takes? Obviously, we all hope calls with NHLPA executive director Don Fehr. All NHL players are that it’s shorter because that means good news on the health side of it. welcome to hop on these weekly meetings, but it’s Dubnyk’s job to But I just can’t imagine life not getting back to the way it was. It seems update his teammates if they miss calls or generally have questions or impossible to not at some point get back and not ripping seats out of concerns. buildings and whatnot. That’s obviously just what I hope, and let’s keep Like many people, Dubnyk is having trouble wrapping his head around all our fingers crossed for that.” that will require for the league to resume. The Athletic LOADED: 05.09.2020 The biggest concern from all players is what it will entail if players have to travel to one hub city and isolate themselves in hotels for several weeks or months away from their families. This is especially important to Dubnyk after what his wife and young family just went through.

“Guys with kids at home aren’t interested in shackling up somewhere for four months and being away from them,” Dubnyk said. “I know myself 1184198 MontrealCanadiens Canadiens would burn one year on his deal and that will have ramifications in the future regarding eligibility for arbitration and free agency.

Canadiens counting on Romanov's speed, puck-moving ability Milstein hedged when asked whether there was a contract clause that would allow Romanov to return to Europe if he didn’t make it in the NHL, but said: “He’s coming to Montreal on a one-way ticket.”

Pat Hickey Romanov said he would play in the AHL if that’s what the Canadiens want, but nobody expects that to happen. Montreal Gazette The conversation Friday left the impression that Romanov is coachable. Publishing date:12 hours ago The Canadiens are counting on his speed and puck-moving ability to give a boost to the offence, but he concentrated on defence in the KHL because that’s what head coach Igor Nikitin wanted. Who? Romanov was limited to 13 minutes a game with CSKA and Canadiens That was the question reverberating through the American Airlines assistant general manager Trevor Timmins said CSKA limited him Center in Dallas when the Canadiens selected Russian defenceman because they knew he was leaving. When asked if that was the case, Alexander Romanov with the 38th overall pick in the 2018 NHL Entry Romanov simply replied: “It was the coach’s decision and I did what the Draft. coach wanted me to do.”

The announcement sent reporters digging through their pre-draft Respect for coaches is probably in his DNA. His grandfather, Zinetula scouting reports for information about the rearguard and the question Bilyaletdinov, coached to two KHL championships. went from who? to why? Montreal Gazette LOADED: 05.09.2020 It would be an understatement to say Romanov flew under the radar. The NHL’s Central Scouting Bureau ranked Romanov 115th among European skaters. Most scouting services tabbed him as a late-round selection. The outlier was TSN’s Bob McKenzie, but even McKenzie had Romanov slotted for a selection late in the third round.

Since that day, Romanov has become a mythic figure for Montreal fans.

While toiling for CSKA Moscow, he was seen as the missing piece in the Canadiens’ puzzle, the left-shooting defenceman with the potential to lead the Canadiens back to Stanley Cup contention when — and if — he made the move to North America.

Montreal fans had a chance to see Romanov’s skills on display at the world juniors. In 2019, he was named the top defenceman and was on the tournament all-star team both years.

The uncertainty over Romanov’s status with the Canadiens ended Friday with the announcement that the 20-year-old had agreed to a three-year entry-level contract with the Canadiens. Romanov, whose two-year KHL contract expired on May 1, signed the deal Thursday.

Romanov, who spoke to the media during a conference call from Moscow Friday, said he was aware of expectations he will face in Montreal.

“He’s been following all the news and comments over the past couple of years,” said Daniel Milstein, Romanov’s -born agent. “He is extremely happy to hear all the warm comments and now he has to come to Montreal and prove that the fans and the media were right about him.”

Romanov tried to answer as many questions as possible in English, but often had to rely on Milstein as an interpreter. His grasp of English is already better than that of former Canadiens defencemen Andrei Markov or Alexei Emelin at a similar stage in their careers.

“I learned a little at school and I’ve been working with a teacher for one month,” said Romanov.

“He’s 20 and he’ll pick it up quickly,” said Milstein, who was speaking from experience. He was a youngster when his family moved from Ukraine. They settled in Michigan, where Milstein built a thriving mortgage business and started a hockey agency. His other clients include former Detroit Red Wings star centre Pavel Datsyuk and 2019 Hart Trophy winner of the .

Romanov is staying in shape with a training program provided by the Canadiens’ training staff. Milstein noted that Romanov, after signing his contract, celebrated by going to a gym.

Romanov said he plans to come to Montreal as soon as travel restrictions are lifted.

The details of the contract haven’t been disclosed because it has to be approved by the NHL. One question to be resolved is whether Romanov would be eligible to play if the 2019-20 season resumes.

One advantage would be to give him some experience on North American ice before his first full NHL season. The downside is that the 1184199 MontrealCanadiens

Russian defenceman Romanov signs with Canadiens

Pat Hickey

Montreal Gazette

Publishing date:19 hours ago • 1 minute read

The Canadians have reached an agreement on a three-year level contract with Russian defenceman Alexander Romanov.

Romanov, who was the Canadiens’ second-round draft pick (38th overall) in 2018, has been playing with CSKA Moscow in the KHL.

Because of the current pause of the NHL season, the start date of the contract has yet to be determined.

“We are very happy to confirm that we have come to an agreement with Alexander Romanov,” Canadiens general manager Marc Bergevin said. “Alexander is a young, solid, and very reliable defenceman who is determined to pursue his career in the NHL. He is part of our group of young prospects, and we strongly believe he will become an important asset of our defensive squad for years to come.”

Romanov, 20, amassed seven assists and a plus-21 differential in 43 games with CSKA Moscow. The Moscow native played 86 career games with CSKA since making his KHL debut in 2018-19. Romanov registered 11 points (one goal, 10 assists) and 26 penalty minutes, along with a plus-37 differential in 2018-19. He also appeared in eight career playoff contests, helping his team win the Gagarin Cup.

On the international stage, the 5-foot-11, 182-pound blueliner played for Russia at the world junior championship in 2019 (bronze medal) and in 2020 (bronze), and was named to the tournament all-star team on both occasions.

In his first appearance at the world juniors, Romanov was named the best defenceman of the tournament after leading all players in assists (seven) and differential (+12), and leading all defencemen with eight points (tied for third among players).

Montreal Gazette LOADED: 05.09.2020 1184200 MontrealCanadiens — SEAN TIERNEY (@CHARTINGHOCKEY) APRIL 26, 2020 Kulak is signed for two more years, and though he was terrible to start

the year, he’s got the bona fides to be an NHL regular. Claude Julien Roundtable reaction: Alexander Romanov coming to Montreal on a ‘one- seems inclined to play Ben Chiarot alongside Shea Weber on the top way ticket’ pair, even though they started taking on water as the season wore on.

So assuming the season resumes this summer, we’re left with a third pairing mix involving the likes of Romanov, Mete, Christian Folin, Xavier By The Athletic Montreal Ouellet, , a newly healthy Noah Juulsen and Cale Fleury.

May 8, 2020 Mete and Romanov couldn’t be more different stylistically, but it’s an intriguing idea to pair them together, although that involves putting one of

the two on their opposite side (likely Mete). Mete and Fleury were The Canadiens came to terms on a three-year entry-level contract with effective together for a time; there are worse outcomes than having one defence prospect Alexander Romanov on Friday, securing a player they youngster ushered into the NHL by an only slightly older youngster. hope will be a fixture on their blue line for the next decade. What about a Fleury-Romanov pairing? Tighten up your chinstraps. Romanov said on a conference call with reporters that he is willing to The Canadiens aren’t signing Romanov to park him in the minors, he’ll play wherever the Canadiens determine is best for him, whether that’s in get a look. The question is who loses their spot in the pecking order as a Montreal or Laval. result? “Yeah I’m ready to play in AHL, I’m ready to play in NHL,” he said. “I’m Mete is a restricted free agent this summer, so are Juulsen and Ouellet, ready to play in North America.” and Folin will be an unrestricted free agent at season’s end. His agent, Dan Milstein, added that Romanov is coming to Montreal on a As the expansion draft looms in 2021, the Canadiens’ front office will one-way ticket and downplayed any concerns about him going back to have some decisions to make. Romanov’s success or failure in the Russia if he’s not happy with his usage with the Canadiens. coming months will speed them along. “I need to prove it and I need to train so hard to prove to coaches that I It should be fun to watch. can play in NHL,” Romanov said. Arpon Basu: Alexander Romanov has played 86 games as a What does Romanov’s arrival mean? Sean Gordon, Arpon Basu and professional. He turned 20 on Jan. 6. Marc Antoine Godin of The Athletic Montreal share their thoughts. Those two facts make Romanov a somewhat unique defenceman, and Sean Gordon: And so the Canadiens and their third-best prospect, the most exciting prospect at that position the Canadiens have had since defenceman Alexander Romanov, have agreed to an entry-level deal. P.K. Subban made his NHL debut as a 20-year-old a decade ago. Actual news! What is unusual about Romanov is how the Canadiens have made no The retool/reset/definitely-not-a-rebuild takes another step forward, the effort to temper expectations in his case. In fact, they have done the first question most of you will have is probably this: How ready is he to opposite. The announcement Friday that he has come to terms on his make an impact? entry level contract included this quote from Marc Bergevin: “He is part of Well, he’s probably as ready as he’s going to be. Romanov played our group of young prospects, and we strongly believe he will become an against men for two seasons, albeit in a sheltered capacity on a strong important asset of our defensive squad for years to come.” team. The KHL isn’t the NHL, but it’s not junior either; the last time I saw Prior to that, we had assistant general manager Trevor Timmins compare Romanov in person was at the Canada-Russia challenge in late 2018, Romanov’s personality to Brendan Gallagher’s, nothing less. and he looked physically capable of playing in the NHL then. He’s not the tallest guy in the world, but he’s powerfully built. Also, his English was The Canadiens have high hopes here, and Romanov has done nothing perfectly fine then even if he preferred not to answer questions on to diminish them. Remember the negative buzz at the 2018 NHL draft camera. Language is pretty much a non-issue, which should make his about the Canadiens using the No. 38 pick to take Romanov, with many arrival smoother than, say, Alexei Emelin’s. considering it a reach, and some considering it downright irresponsible? He has proven to be worthy of that pick nearly every time he has taken Would playing one more season in Russia have helped his seasoning? the ice since. He was dominant at the last two world junior That’s certainly debatable, but he’s not being rushed in terms of his championships and while an emphasis has been placed on his limited ice physical readiness. time in the KHL, the fact he stepped on the ice at all with a powerhouse Assuming he cracks the roster, and the Canadiens’ frailties on the left CSKA club at his age is a testament to his potential. side of defence suggest that’s at least a notional possibility, he presents With all that said, Romanov’s biggest enemy right now might in fact be as a depth option at the very worst. his great potential, because potential creates expectations. An argument At best? Romanov is a masher in the corners and along the boards, he’s can easily be made that he is the most important prospect in the aggressive defensively in the neutral zone, he’s very mobile, he can Canadiens’ system because of the position he plays, left defence. Fans make a pass, and he shoots the puck well. have been salivating at the thought of him suiting up in a Canadiens uniform for more than a year. Some people in the Canadiens front office Let’s not get too far ahead of ourselves, but he projects as a top-four guy, were convinced he could have played in the NHL this season. maybe even a top-pairing player if he can iron out some of his offensive shortcomings. The odds of that happening this year are low, but the But, again, Romanov turned 20 in January, and while he has played 86 Victor Mete example indicates it can’t be ruled out entirely. games as a professional, none of them have been in North America, let alone in the NHL. Expectations need to be measured and reasonable. He So let’s pencil him into the lineup, for argument’s sake. will likely need time before he can make a big impact on the Canadiens’ blue line. He might play limited minutes at first. He might even need time Who drops out? According to Sean Tierney’s data visualizations, Brett in the AHL, if he’s open to it. He will make mistakes. Patience will be Kulak and Jeff Petry were the Canadiens’ most effective two-way pairing required, and freak outs about how his development is being managed in a limited sample this season. are guaranteed at some point. MTL PLAYED 8 DIFFERENT PAIRINGS FOR 100 MINS OR MORE. But this remains an important day for the Canadiens because Romanov 5 OF THOSE PAIRS POSTED HIGHLY POSITIVE QUALITY SHARES. is an important player. And now he’s here.

1 PAIR WAS ALMOST PERFECTLY AVERAGE. Marc Antoine Godin: Romanov coming to terms with the Canadiens should come as no surprise since it’s long been clear his intention was to THE DEFENSE GROUP AS A WHOLE WAS ON-ICE FOR SOME OF play in North America. Except there is an unprecedented grey area THE BEST RATES OF QUALITY CREATION IN THE NHL. created by the COVID-19 pandemic when it comes to players signing PIC.TWITTER.COM/LZ0RBCWGTK new contracts, so even though the two parties have agreed on terms, Romanov’s contract has not yet been filed with the NHL.

Romanov is one of roughly a half dozen or so players around the NHL who have recently come to terms on a contract where it is unclear when that contract will take effect.

The NHL has stated that no new contract could kick in for the potential resumption of the 2019-20 season, but the NHLPA is still negotiating that with the league. It would be unlikely to see the NHL change its stance on this, but just in case, Romanov and the Canadiens have basically agreed to two deals: one would begin as soon as the 2019-20 season is resumed, and another would kick in only whenever the 2020-21 season begins.

The timing here is interesting because there was talk Thursday that one concept still being considered for the resumption of play is to go straight to a 24-team playoff, a scenario which would include the Canadiens. Could Romanov also be included?

Romanov wants to play in the NHL as soon as possible, but he wasn’t playing a whole lot towards the end of the season with CSKA Moscow. He hasn’t played at all in more than a month and we don’t know how well he will transition to the NHL. Is it reasonable to believe he could play immediately in the top-six? In a playoff environment? We’ll see. But if it were to happen, it would benefit Romanov greatly because he would be able to burn one year off his entry level contract in the process whether he is in uniform or not.

The most likely scenario remains Romanov’s contract kicking in next season, which would mean Romanov will have to wait like everyone else for the 2020-21 NHL season to begin. If the KHL were to start up prior to the NHL, could Romanov be loaned to CSKA so he can get some ice time as long as he reports to Canadiens training camp on time? It would be worth looking into if the gap between the start of the KHL and NHL seasons is significant. Having said that, it’s hard to see why CSKA would have any interest in having Romanov for only part of the season.

When asked directly, Milstein tried to downplay the possibility that Romanov will play for anyone but the Canadiens organization.

It’s pretty strange to see an agreement like this without a signed and sealed contract coming with it. But we are living in pretty strange times, so it fits. My impression is there are still things that need to get settled before we see Romanov in a Canadiens uniform, even if I don’t doubt for a second that’s what he wants to do.

The Athletic LOADED: 05.09.2020 1184201 MontrealCanadiens squad games, with an expanded 30-player roster. At that point, start the playoffs. If they’re conducted in hub cities under the sort of “tournament” format the NHL imagines, scheduling is going to be far more efficient than in a normal playoff anyway. You’re not worried about building Duhatschek Notebook: The Answerman’s NHL return plan, Canadiens’ availabilities, only about playing games when they make sense. draft dilemma What happens a month into your playoff scenario?

That’s a critical turning point in terms of the long-range outlook. By the By Eric Duhatsche third round, only four teams remain in contention – the surviving Stanley Cup semifinalists. Twenty-seven teams are on the sidelines. Those 27 May 8, 2020 will get all of October and the first two weeks of November to prepare for the start of the 2020-21 season. That’s the 45-to-55-day offseason window that the league and the players association seem to have settled The Answerman returns to discuss the most sensible, plausible, on. reasonable options as the NHL ponders what to do next – about the 2020 draft, about the rest of this season and the start of the next one. The teams in the final four have a longer path in front of them and will face a shorter offseason. But look at it this way: They will also need far A pretty bold step, trying to provide answers at a time when almost less of a training camp to get up to speed again once play for the new everyone else just keeps asking a series of questions. What prompted season resumes. So, 27 teams return on Nov. 1 for a camp and the four this unprecedented reaction? semifinalists get to take as much time off as they want.

Partly because, for the past two months, everything just seems to be That’s a little bit outside the box, but OK – let’s go with it for now. Under going round and round in circles and then ends up right back at the start this scenario, when does the 2020-21 season begin? – pondering 16-team playoff scenarios; 20-team playoff scenarios; 24- team playoff scenarios; some regular-season games; no regular-season On Nov. 21, a Saturday night. From there, you play a shortened 70-game games. It’s been a divisive process – some people want the NHL to schedule (which is what the NHL played in 1966-67, or before expansion press on no matter what, while some want it shut down right now. After doubled the size of the league from six to 12 teams). If you eliminate the two months in limbo, what’s needed is a clear path forward. extraneous events – All-Star Game, bye week (which they’re talking about already) – you should be able to get a 70-game 2020-21 season, And you have a plan in mind? plus playoffs done by the end of June 2021. And then, more or less, you’re back on schedule. Yes. As of today, immediately dispense with the idea of playing any more NHL regular-season games. Just make the decision and notify all the That’s a lot to unpack – and assumes a level of normalcy returns by affected parties right away. That would provide clarity to every NHL September. player – and give them a good, long healthy period away from the game, to rest, recover and rejuvenate. Because ultimately, they’re going to need Yes, but every return-to-play scenario assumes some evolving “new” to have their batteries fully recharged when things get going again. normals. There’s no way to get around them. But by effectively announcing what amounts to an additional four-month shutdown, it gives And you see that happening when exactly? the real world more time to adjust to those evolving, new normals. When speaking publicly about its tentative plans going forward, the NHL is In September. Let’s begin by contemplating hockey as a sport before we careful to preface everything by saying, the pre-eminent concern is safety turn to the business side of the equation. By its nature, hockey is a winter – for players, staff, fans, everybody. OK, if safety is truly the goal, then sport. For years now, it has bled into the late spring and generally the prudent course of action is to allow a slow, gradual re-opening of the speaking, people really don’t love that development. Why is the first outside world – and not put players and staff unduly at risk by asking round of NHL playoffs so much better than the last round? Partly them to report to training facilities later this month or in early June to because it’s still hockey season. By the time you get to the Stanley Cup prepare for a possible summer start-up. final, yes, the people who cheer for the finalists are all still very excited, but a lot of casual fans have tuned out. June hockey pushes the That’s a big ask though, isn’t it? envelope. Playing hockey in July and August would shred the envelope entirely. Summer hockey flies against everything the sport is supposed to Yes, but it could be done. Just step up and say, we in professional stand for. hockey cannot be governed by what other sports may decide. We are a contact sport that relies on gate receipts as our primary revenue source. OK, you’re talking about sport, but you’ll have to concede that the NHL is To be as safe as possible, we will wait it out a little longer and do the a big business – and it makes decisions based on a business model. right thing, not the expedient thing – or the thing that may allow us to Presumably, if it wasn’t for the business side of the equation, the NHL salvage half-a-billion dollars in lost revenue. season would have been cancelled long ago, in the same way the minor leagues and the junior operators cancelled theirs long ago. If the end The business model is broken anyway and it’ll take a long time to fix. If game wasn’t to salvage some dwindling revenue from the NHL’s 2019-20 time is what’s needed, then take the time. The urgency to return to play season, would we even be having this conversation? games this summer makes little sense.

Of course not. But you raise a fair point. The NHL is a $5 billion annual I do understand that teams invested a lot of sweat equity into six months business today. Will it be a $5 billion business tomorrow? No, it can’t of the 2019-20 regular season and want a resolution. If it can be possibly be. But professional hockey doesn’t operate in a vacuum – and managed safely, they deserve an outcome. So, give it until September, it needs to be fueled by revenue streams. Accordingly: I propose the and if life feels a little more normal, get the playoffs in then. And if the following to salvage what can be saved of the 2019-20 season: world is still running scared, then acknowledge that you did the best you could, cancel it altogether and start anew in 2020-21. Freeze the standings as they are today and award playoff berths to the 16 teams(eight from each conference) that, on a percentage basis, Let’s say they go the other way and try to play playoff games this qualified before the NHL hit the pause button. This will be an unpopular summer. Is it a certainty that the revenues salvaged from TV and verdict in Winnipeg and Columbus, the ninth-placed teams in each sponsorship deals will provide a net financial gain, compared to the costs conference, and probably in Minnesota and Florida, who were 10th. But associated with a one-of-a-kind restart to the season? I’m no accountant, you know what? No matter what happens going forward, someone’s but the cost of testing players and staff, of disinfecting dressing rooms, of going to feel unhappy. Someone’s going to feel cheated. paying hotel bills, player per diems and otherwise putting an entire infrastructure in place to get the games played sure looks like it’ll be To summarize: the regular season is over, you’re not prepared to play expensive. Is it worth the cost, even if you’re evaluating the exercise games in the summer, but you still want to hold a 16-team playoff? purely on an economic basis? Scheduling-wise, how are you going to manage to do that? A really good question. And the answer is: I don’t know. But once you get By permitting the 16 playoff teams to open training camps in the final into the minutiae of pricing out all the costs you outline – heightened week of August, which is when players normally begin wrapping up their testing, constant dressing-room cleansing, isolating teams in hotels, summer vacations anyway. That gives you a solid two weeks to get paying for meals and other expenses – even my limited ability with ready for Labour Day Monday, which is Sept. 7, and play some intra- arithmetic suggests they’ll be high – will cut into whatever revenues you hope to generate or preserve. But it’s a fair question to ask: Do the costs Normally, a bye is considered a good thing. In this resumption of play of a restart justify the revenue you could potentially generate? Maybe. scenario, it could easily be a disadvantage – and disadvantaging a team Maybe not. that from October to early March, played well enough to get to the top of the conference, that’s just not right. I’d rather have the teams in the Circling back to a point you made earlier, do you think you can actually bottom half of the standings grumbling about how unfair life was than to sell the NHL on a 70-game regular-season schedule? unfairly penalize a team that did well for the first five months.

Why not? A 70-game schedule means each team loses six home dates. Let’s say NHL commissioner Gary Bettman has read along and thus far How much will forfeiting six home games genuinely affect the bottom line and hasn’t completely dismissed the plan out of hand. You’ve made your if social distancing measures are still in place, which would limit crowds case but now it’s time for final arguments. If the commissioner is the and gate receipts? It may well be you’re still playing in front of empty – or judge, what do you say in summary to coax him on board? nearly empty – buildings anyway, for safety’s sake. Two things primarily. First, focus on safety. The longer you wait, the The reality is, there’s long been talk of reducing the overall NHL schedule greater the potential availability of tests, the greater the possibility that anyway. This allows you to try it out. The problem with trying to cram in the curve will flatten on a more consistent basis all across North America 82 games, even with a late November start, is that one of two things and while it’s probably still a way off, the closer you get to a possible would surely occur: Either you put too much physical demand on the vaccine. players and the result is going to be a crazy, unprecedented string of injuries. Or you spill the end of the 2020-21 playoffs into July, and The second is practicality. Baseball, football and basketball (at the probably now, you need to play another full season to truly get back on a recreational level) all have an outdoor, warm-weather tradition. Hockey normal scheduling path. It makes no sense. Bite the bullet once – and doesn’t. Generally speaking, people’s thoughts turn to hockey once you then hope for the best in the future. get past Labour Day, the first Monday of September. Kids’ leagues have tryouts and/or start their season with some practices. NHL and other I go back and forth about trying to forecast what television ratings for professionals are on the ice, informally skating. Throughout their lives, hockey in the summer would look like – which is a crucial element in the hockey players – and hockey people – adhere to the same basic discussion. On the one hand, the appetite for live sports events could be schedule as school children do. The year starts in September and ends high, and thus the ratings could be really great. On the other hand, the in June. Summer is vacation time. If you alter that rhythm, expect a fair games would be played in empty buildings. So much of what makes bit of resistance. playoff hockey exciting is the atmosphere, almost all of which is created by the crowds. There will be zero atmosphere in an empty building. The Am I wrong? commissioner has talked about pumping in crowd noise, but that’s going to seem forced – like the laugh tracks they used on TV sitcoms. It won’t Bergy’s dilemma be the same as the real thing. Montreal Canadiens’ general manager Marc Bergevin was going to be No, it won’t be. Part of the attraction of playing games in the summer is the central figure of the 2020 NHL Draft, primarily for two reasons. For less competition for the sports fan’s interest. In the fall, there’ll likely be starters, Montreal was hosting the draft – and has a long-standing competition from baseball, the NFL, all the golf and tennis majors. The tradition of throwing the greatest parties ever – and secondly, he’d TV schedule could get crowded in a hurry. NBC has scheduling gaps in managed through astute wheeling-and-dealing to accumulate 14 choices the summer. In the fall? Not so much. But if restrictions are loosened this in the upcoming draft. According to CapFriendly, the Canadiens have summer and people have been locked in their houses for months, when one first-rounder, three seconds, two thirds, three fourths, two fifths, one things start to open up more, are they really going to want to sit in front of sixth and two sevenths. As crazy as it may sound, 14 picks is too many – their television sets? Or will they be outside, doing outside activities, and the expectation was Bergevin would use some of those picks to because they’ve cooped up long enough – and have watched enough trade for warm NHL bodies on the draft floor. If the league goes ahead television to last them a lifetime? with a June draft without cancelling the season, rosters will still be frozen and so, he probably won’t be able to do that. But the fix is actually pretty Recently, there’s been some momentum building for a 24-team playoff. easy. He can swap some of those extra picks in 2020 for choices in next Your model includes just 16 teams. Is that fair, given the current jumble year’s draft. Or he can package multiple draft choices for the opportunity in the middle of the standings? Connor McDavid, on one of the first NHL to move higher in the pecking order. Several teams have extra first- conference calls, described a fair season as a full season. rounders and might be willing to trade out of the first round if they can get additional picks in the later rounds. In a perfect world, McDavid is correct. But this is an imperfect world, with a lot of imperfect solutions. And so, the league will have to make some What about Jesse? difficult calls in pursuit of the greater good. In this case, the greater good is reflected in doing what’s best for the majority of teams. Of course, The other option for Bergevin is to see if he can cobble together a trade there’s no point in dragging back the six or seven bottom feeders that with the Edmonton Oilers for Jesse Puljujarvi. My understanding is that, have no mathematical shot at a playoff spot. They have no business, unlike players on a team’s current roster, Edmonton is in a position to based on performance, being in the playoffs anyway. At the opposite trade the rights to Puljujarvi because he played this past season in end, you have teams that are comfortably in the playoff mix. No issues Finland – and regained a little of the luster that made him the fourth there either. overall choice of the 2016 draft. Even at the time of his selection, scouts thought Puljujarvi would need more time than say countryman Patrik The problem rests with the bubble teams in the middle. If you awarded Laine to acclimate to the NHL; but in the end, he would eventually reach playoff berths strictly on percentages, you’re realistically left with five his potential. No one’s as sure of that anymore, but would there be a unhappy franchises: Winnipeg, Columbus, Minnesota, Florida and the temptation in Montreal to roll the dice on him? See if he can become a New York Rangers. Winnipeg would have arguably the greatest beef. possible building block alongside Jesperi Kotkaniemi going forward. The Jets had won four in a row, they were trending up and were in the Edmonton swapped picks at the deadline to land, among others, Andreas thick of the race. Currently, the Western Conference standings, from six Athanasiou and Mike Green. Trading the rights to Puljujarvi to a team to nine, are ridiculously close: Nashville at .565, Vancouver .565, Calgary with a surplus of draft choices would allow them to recoup some of those .564 and Winnipeg .563. picks.

Wouldn’t a play-in round be the fairest resolution? Rewriting the trade rules

On the contrary, a play-in round could create a level of unfairness for the If a June draft does go forward, one of the key issues is going to be: league’s very best teams, because it gives the teams in the middle of the What happens to all the conditional draft picks that were traded in the pack a chance to get some actual competitive games under their belt. past 12 months or so, many of which were contingent upon regular- Even after a bye week in a normal season, a team coming off of their season and/or playoff outcomes? There are roughly 15 deals that need extended break generally isn’t very good for a game or two. If they play a to be sorted out in some shape or form if the draft goes ahead while the team that has been playing, the result generally isn’t favorable. If a 10th season is still in limbo. And yes, while it’s a mess, it’s a delicious sort of place team knocked off a No. 7, I could see them getting the jump on a mess. In a memo to league executives circulated last Friday, reported by No. 1 seed in the next round because they’ve dusted off some of their our Pierre LeBrun and others, the league told teams it planned to give rust, while the top team has been idle. them two options: either rework the deal themselves over a seven-day period in a way that makes it mutually acceptable; or agree to the proposed solution presented by the NHL. If you can’t negotiate the former, then you’re stuck with the latter.

It’s a fascinating idea and not just because one of the themes internally this week at The Athletic has been do-overs – what would have happened if, at some critical juncture in an organization’s evolution, it had chosen a different path? My position usually is that while it’s all a great lark to ponder do-overs, the real world doesn’t actually allow them. Now, suddenly, you have a scenario where the NHL – briefly, on a one-time- only basis – is proposing to do just that. A chance for GMs to revamp the original terms of a trade? That doesn’t happen every day.

Ultimately, the question I want to be answered is this: How anxious are current NHL GMs to go back into the past and rework completed deals that have already been analyzed, criticized and otherwise beaten half to death in the public eye? It’s one thing to get it wrong once. What happens if you get it wrong twice?

The Athletic LOADED: 05.09.2020 1184202 Nashville Predators

NHL postpones Global Series, meaning Predators aren't going to Prague, Switzerland

Paul Skrbina

Nashville Tennessean

Published 11:11 a.m. CT May 8, 2020 | Updated 2:34 p.m. CT May 8, 2020

The NHL is staying home next season.

The league announced Friday it has postponed its Global Series for the 2020-21 season in the wake of the global COVID-19 pandemic.

The Predators were scheduled to open their regular season in Prague, Czech Republic, against the Bruins and finish their training camp with exhibition games in Switzerland, home of captain Roman Josi and defenseman . The Bruins were to finish their camp in Germany.

The Blue Jackets and Avalanche were scheduled to open with two games in Helsinki, Finland.

"The NHLPA and the NHL remain committed to maintaining and growing our international presence," the league said in a joint statement with the players' association. "We hope that our fans overseas understand the need to postpone the 2020 games, but we look forward to being back with them in 2021."

The 2019-20 NHL season has been on pause since March 12. The league intends to finish this season, whether it be with regular-season games or by going straight to the playoffs, but no plans have been finalized.

"We are disappointed by the postponement of the NHL Global Series but fully support the decision and appreciate all the thought and consideration invested in the postponement's handling," Predators president and CEO Sean Henry said. "At the appropriate time we look forward to playing in front of Europe's passionate Predators fan base."

Josi said in November how much he was looking forward to playing at his hometown arena in Bern, the one he and Weber played in as youths, and recalled looking up to Weber when the two were growing up in Switzerland.

"It's pretty special for me. My whole family is there," Josi said. "All my best friends I grew up with are there. ... It's going to be emotional."

Predators general manager David Poile called the trip a "once-in-a- lifetime memory."

"It will provide for some great team-bonding opportunities and will be super special for our captain Roman Josi and fellow Bern native Yannick Weber," Poile said in a statement.

Tennessean LOADED: 05.09.2020 1184203 Nashville Predators Knights’ choice had he been exposed? (Colton Sissons, for example, was coming off a breakout performance as the Predators’ fill-in No. 1 center when Johansen got hurt.)

What if the Predators had protected James Neal in the 2017 expansion Based on the premise that Neal would have produced the same numbers draft? with the Predators that he did with the Golden Knights during the 2017- 18 season, his underlying metrics at five-on-five were not much better than Jarnkrok’s. (Neal’s 0.24 five-on-five goals per game would have tied for the Predators’ lead, though.) By Adam Vingan Had both players appeared in 82 games that season, the Predators May 8, 2020 would have added around five goals to their total at five-on-five if they had kept Neal instead of Jarnkrok.

The mere mention of it still irritates Predators fans three years later. James Neal vs. Calle Jarnkrok in 2017-18

In June 2017, the pain of losing in the Stanley Cup final was still very Goals fresh for the Predators, but they had to get back to work. Less than a 0.24 week after the deciding game, protection lists for the upcoming Vegas expansion draft were due. 0.18

The Predators’ list was fairly easy to predict. Pekka Rinne had a no- Expected Goals movement clause. Their quartet of dynamic defensemen — Roman Josi, Ryan Ellis, Mattias Ekholm and P.K. Subban — was going nowhere. 0.21 Neither were Filip Forsberg, Ryan Johansen and Viktor Arvidsson, who 0.14 were in the beginning stages of becoming a dominant combination. Points That left one spot for two forwards. 0.41 James Neal had just reached the 20-goal mark for the ninth consecutive season. He scored six goals in the playoffs, half of which came after he 0.38 suffered a broken right hand at the start of the Western Conference finals. Slot Shots

THE FOLLOWING ACTIVE PLAYERS HAVE SCORED AT LEAST 20G 1.24 IN EACH OF THEIR FIRST NINE NHL SEASONS: 0.79

JAGR Inner Slot Shots

VANEK 0.41

OVECHKIN 0.32

KANE Time On Ice (EV)

TOEWS 14:42

NEAL 12:56

— ADAM VINGAN (@ADAMVINGAN) JUNE 21, 2017 Other than his knack for scoring goals, Neal is a Grade-A pain in the ass Calle Jarnkrok had a career-high 31 points in the first year of a six-year, who has never hesitated to push the envelope physically. In the second $12 million contract. He was 25 at the time, four years younger than round of the 2018 playoffs, the Predators were bullied by the beefier Neal, who had one season left on his $30 million deal. Winnipeg Jets and their cast of antagonists, headlined by Dustin Byfuglien. The Predators made the financially prudent decision by choosing Jarnkrok over Neal, who became an inaugural member of the Golden Would Neal have evened the odds, or at least closed the gap in that Knights. department? At one point in the series, replaced Kevin Fiala with Scott Hartnell, sacrificing skill for bulk. Neal would have “It came down to more of a business decision,” Predators general provided both. manager David Poile said at the conclusion of the expansion draft. “We signed Jarnkrok to a six-year deal last year. I think he’s an improving It would be too simplistic to assume that Neal alone would have altered player, plays multiple positions. I think his career is clearly on the upside. the outcome of the series. He would not have stopped Rinne from imploding in the first period of Game 7. But it is easy to imagine Neal “James had a much bigger contract, and he only had one year left before making a difference. (Maybe he would have cracked his stick across he was an unrestricted free agent. We didn’t have any negotiations, but Connor Hellebuyck’s mask?) there (were) no guarantees that we would be able to keep him. It really was a business decision. It was as simple as that.” In all likelihood, the Predators would not have re-signed Neal in the summer of 2018, when he was approaching 31. Ellis and Juuse Saros Record-wise, the Predators were fine without Neal. They won the were the team’s priorities. Jarnkrok has continued to be a steady and Presidents’ Trophy the following season with 117 points and were versatile contributor. seventh in the NHL in scoring. But it is interesting to wonder what kind of effect a hungry Neal in a Jarnkrok was on pace for around 40 points when he suffered an injury contract year might have had on the best team in franchise history. that sidelined him for the final few weeks of the regular season. Neal had 25 goals and 44 points for the Golden Knights and participated in the The Athletic LOADED: 05.09.2020 Stanley Cup final again.

“You just put your heart and your soul and everything you had into a team and tried to do everything you could to try to win a Stanley Cup,” Neal said before returning to Nashville with the Golden Knights in December 2017. “And a couple of weeks later, a week later, you’re on a new team.”

But what if the Predators had taken the risk of retaining Neal instead of Jarnkrok, who, by the way, might not have even been the Golden 1184204 New Jersey Devils round of the 2013 NHL Draft and announced one of the biggest draft-day trades in years. The Flames traded the No. 6 pick and goaltending prospect Leland Irving to the Canucks for Schneider and the No. 24 pick.

Alternate reality: Rewriting the Devils’ script of the past 7 years Longtime Flames star Miika Kiprusoff had his worst season in 2012-13, finishing with an .882 save percentage, and Calgary missed the playoffs for the fourth straight year. His contract is up and Schneider looks like a natural replacement. Schneider and were part of an By Corey Masisak ongoing goalie competition in Vancouver, but it was Schneider who May 8, 2020 started the team’s final two games in the first round of the playoffs after getting the nod in 30 of the 48 contests during the lockout-shortened season.

This is the second of a two-part series on one of the Devils’ “what if” The Flames made another blockbuster transaction about 15 minutes moments from the past 10 years: What if the Devils did not trade for after acquiring Schneider. Calgary sent picks Nos. 22, 24 and 67 to New goaltender at the 2013 NHL Draft? Part one looks back Jersey for the No. 9 selection and picked center Sean Monahan — the at the trade. player it appeared Vancouver was targeting by moving up to No. 6. The Canucks instead selected Bo Horvat, the 15th-ranked North American This is an alternate history of what the past seven years might have skater by NHL Central Scouting, ahead of Monahan, who was rated 10 looked like. spots higher. NEWARK, N.J. (April 30, 2013) — The man synonymous with building New Jersey’s GM Brian Burke dismissed any pressure to keep a top-10 the Devils into a Stanley Cup-winning franchise is gone. pick while his franchise hosted the draft, saying his plan was to move Three days after New Jersey finished in last place in the Atlantic Division back and accumulate extra picks. Nine days earlier, the Devils lost two and missed the playoffs one year after a surprise run to the Stanley Cup second-round choices when the NHL altered the punishment for Ilya final, owner Jeff Vanderbeek announced that team president Lou Kovalchuk’s cap-circumventing contract in 2010. Lamoriello was no longer with the club in a brief statement that offered Burke also said he was committed to restoring the Devils’ defense corps few details. to its “mighty Cup-winning glory” and each of the teams’ first three Multiple sources said Lamoriello and Vanderbeek clashed over the selections were defensemen — Shea Theodore at No. 22, Ian McCoshen direction of the franchise after a lockout-shortened season ended in at No. 24 and Brett Pesce at No. 65 after swinging a deal with the rival disappointment, both in the standings and the ledger. Since 2011, there Rangers to move up two spots. have been reports that Vanderbeek could sell the franchise. Losing star NEWARK (March 5, 2014) — This was a punctuation mark on a year of Zach Parise after the 2012 Cup final run only hurt the team’s ability to extreme change for the Devils. return to the playoffs. In the hours leading up to the 2014 NHL trade deadline, Devils GM Brian Lamoriello has been an authoritarian figure for the franchise since he Burke traded Jaromir Jagr to Pittsburgh, where he began his career and arrived in 1987, helping to steer the Devils away from the “Mickey nearly signed in his return to the NHL three years ago. Mouse” moniker bestowed upon them by Wayne Gretzky in the early ’80s. The Devils won the Stanley Cup three times with Lamoriello in Burke said he spoke with Jagr about an hour before the deadline and charge and were finalists five times between 1995 and 2012. gave him three options. The 41-year-old in the midst of a turn-back-the- clock campaign picked the Penguins. The Devils’ return is 2013 third- NEW YORK (June 14, 2013) — NHL commissioner Gary Bettman round pick Jake Guentzel, who is a freshman at Nebraska-Omaha, and a announced he has amended the punishment for the New Jersey Devils 2014 third-round selection. from the salary-cap circumvention in a contract signed by Ilya Kovalchuk in 2010. There were reports that Burke would consider trading franchise legends Martin Brodeur and Patrik Elias, given the Devils began the day in 28th The Devils were originally fined $3 million and stripped of two draft picks, place in the standings. That didn’t happen because the best offers for including a first-rounder of their choice between 2011 and 2014. New them were insulting, he said. Jersey will be allowed to keep its first-round picks, but now must yield a second-round selection in both 2013 and 2014. Jagr wasn’t alone in packing his bags. Burke made his second trade in eight months with the Bruins, sending free agent-to-be Marek Zidlicky to New Jersey had kept its picks in 2011 and 2012 and now holds the No. 9 Boston for a second-round pick in 2014. The Devils already own Boston’s selection a week from Sunday in the 2013 draft. It presents a big first-round pick in June, which was part of the package for Ilya Kovalchuk opportunity for Devils president and general manager Brian Burke, who in a trade last July. Kovalchuk had threatened to retire and stay home in at his introductory press conference in May said that appealing the Russia before Burke tempted him with a chance to play for the Bruins, punishment for a contract signed by his predecessor would be near the who had just played in the Cup final. top of his to-do list. The Devils also traded defenseman Anton Volchenkov, agreeing to eat A team source said the star of New Jersey’s meeting with Bettman and $2 million of his salary for the next two seasons, to Nashville for a fourth- other top NHL officials was Devils assistant general manager Kyle round pick as well as backup goaltender Johan Hedberg to Columbus for Dubas, who was handpicked by Vanderbeek to support Burke and a fifth-round selection. The trades leave the Devils with only three players assistant GM Pat Verbeek. Dubas was a relative unknown in some NHL over the age of 31 — Brodeur, Elias and captain Bryce Salvador, who circles after spending two seasons as GM of the Sault St. Marie like Elias has one more year left on his contract. Greyhounds in the OHL, but reportedly wowed the Devils with his knowledge of advanced hockey statistics, similar to the Sabermetrics Jagr was New Jersey’s only big addition in the offseason, despite rumors movement in baseball but not as widely accepted to date. that linked the Devils to other free agents like Michael Ryder, Dainus Zubrus and Ryane Clowe. Burke said at Jagr’s introductory press Dubas, the source said, argued that the economic impact of not having a conference that he would have added several other players were it not first-round pick in one of the next two seasons would be catastrophic for the mandate to rebuild. given the new regime’s commitment to rebuilding the roster through drafting and developing young players. Dubas’ case for allowing the new PHILADELPHIA (June 28, 2014) — Brian Burke hopes he came to the decision-makers to restore one of the league’s preeminent franchises of City of Brotherly Love and found a No. 1 center. the previous two decades swayed the commissioner, though a source close to Burke downplayed the young assistant’s impact on the The Devils selected Sam Bennett of the Kingston Frontenacs with the proceedings. No. 4 pick in the 2014 NHL Draft and expect him to be a centerpiece of the club’s rebuilding efforts. There was a report the night before the draft CALGARY (June 23, 2013) — Cory Schneider thought the matter was that Burke had tried to entice the to trade the No. 1 decided at the end of the regular season, and that he’d be the Vancouver selection because he coveted defenseman Aaron Ekblad, but it didn’t Canucks’ goaltender moving forward. happen. He was as shocked as everyone Sunday when commissioner Gary Bettman strode to the podium at the Prudential Center during the first Instead, the Devils hope to line Bennett up with 24-year-old Adam After missing out on a top-two pick yet again, New Jersey selected center Henrique and possibly second-round pick Ryan Donato down the middle Pierre-Luc Dubois at No. 3 in the 2016 NHL Draft. Most pundits expected in the years to come. The typically active Burke did not make any trades Finnish forward Jesse Puljujarvi to be the third selection after American this weekend, instead using eight picks to continue restocking the farm center Auston Matthews and countryman Patrik Laine. The Devils system. instead tabbed Dubois, a 6-foot-3 center from Cape Breton in the QMJHL. The Devils selected David Pastrnak, a right wing from the Czech Republic who played in Sweden last season, with its second first-round Dubas is known for his analytics-friendly approach, which has drawn pick. They also added a couple of other European wings in the third and criticism from some of the old-school pundits in the sport. Trading the fourth rounds, selecting Juho Lammikko of Finland at No. 63 and Viktor Devils’ second-round pick (No. 32) to Anaheim for wing Kyle Palmieri, Arvidsson of Sweden at No. 112. who has played well when the Ducks had injuries but otherwise was mostly a role player, was another surprise move. CALGARY (Jun 17, 2015) — This one was for Iggy. The Devils have missed the playoffs in four straight seasons and were The Calgary Flames defeated the Boston Bruins 1-0 in overtime of Game 29th in the standings for a second straight year in 2015-16, but Dubas is 7 of the 2015 Stanley Cup final, as franchise icon Jarome Iginla finally confident better days are ahead. Dubois could fill a big need for New won a championship in his first year back with the club. He left at the Jersey, especially since 2014 first-round pick Sam Bennett hasn’t shown 2013 trade deadline and spent last season with the Bruins, but returned yet that he’s capable of assuming No. 1 center duties. as a free agent in July. NEWARK (June 29, 2016) — What a day for the NHL. David Perron, a key trade addition in January, scored the Cup-winning goal. Cory Schneider made 32 saves for his second of the series Three significant transactions may have changed the landscape in the and finished the postseason run with an identical save percentage (.925) league in a matter of minutes. It certainly changed the direction of the as he had during the regular season. Devils. New Jersey traded defenseman Adam Larsson to Edmonton for Taylor Hall, a stunning decision by the Oilers to move on from one of Adding Schneider at the 2013 draft proved to be a pivotal moment in their former No. 1 overall picks. Calgary’s surge toward its second title in franchise history. The Flames reached the second round of the playoffs in 2014, then welcomed back The Montreal Canadiens also traded defenseman P.K. Subban to the Iginla, re-signed Mike Cammalleri and traded for Perron to give Calgary Nashville Predators for Shea Webber, and the Tampa Bay Lightning more offensive firepower in support of Schneider, a finalist for the Vezina signed Steven Stamkos to a huge contract, avoiding the possibility of Trophy for the first time in his career. losing him in free agency.

For the Bruins, it was more heartache. Boston became the first team to New Jersey has assembled an exciting collection of young talent, but lose three consecutive since the expansion St. Louis Hall could be a game-changer at the top of the lineup. The Devils have a Blues from 1968-70. stockpile of young defensemen, which made it easier to part with Larsson, the No. 4 pick in the 2011 draft. SUNRISE, Fla. (June 27, 2015) — Brian Burke stewed, but there wasn’t anything he could do about it. He watched as Edmonton and Buffalo PITTSBURGH (April 24, 2017) — The champs escaped, and their title selected two of the best NHL draft prospects in years, unable to convince defense continues. either club to trade with him. The Pittsburgh Penguins needed to summon all of their championship Burke’s Devils selected defenseman Noah Hanifin with the No. 3 pick in mettle to fend off the New Jersey Devils in the first round of the 2017 the 2015 NHL Draft, but he struggled to hide his disappointment at not Stanley Cup playoffs, scoring twice in the third period to claim a Game 7 being able to select Connor McDavid or Jack Eichel despite another long victory, 5-3. season in New Jersey. New Jersey, which surged from second-to-last in the NHL to 105 points, The Devils finished with just 59 points and the second-worst record in the won three straight after falling behind 2-0 in the series and had the league, but third-worst Edmonton won the draft lottery and moved ahead defending Stanley Cup champions on the ropes in Game 6 at Prudential of New Jersey and Buffalo. Center. But two late goals in the third period saved the Penguins, just like in Game 7. The Devils selected forward Christian Fischer from the U.S. development program with their first pick in the second round (No. 32), and then Burke The loss hurt in the moment, but a sense of hope pervaded the New traded three picks to move back into the round and tab Mackenzie Jersey locker room after the game. The Devils established themselves as Blackwood, a goaltender from Barrie in the OHL, at No. 42 overall. an emerging power in the NHL this season.

The Devils have amassed an impressive collection of prospects over the Trades for Taylor Hall in June and goaltender Roberto Luongo in past two seasons, but Martin Brodeur’s retirement in April highlighted November and breakout seasons from David Pastrnak and Viktor their need for a young goaltender. They addressed that this year. Arvidsson were critical to the team’s success. The development of young defensemen Shea Theodore, Brett Pesce and Noah Hanifin allowed GM NEWARK (July 10, 2015) — For the second time in three years, the to include former first-round pick Ian McCoshen in the deal Devils have experienced a stunning change at the top of the for Luongo, along with 2016 third-round pick Vitali Abramov. organization. Hall, Pastrnak, Arvidsson and Palmieri might be the best set of top-six Brian Burke, who became the club’s president and general manager in wings in the league, though Pittsburgh’s advantage at center with Sidney April 2013, resigned after clashing with the managing partners from Crosby and Evgeni Malkin became clear against New Jersey’s Adam Harris Blitzer Sports & Entertainment about the team’s direction. Burke Henrique, Travis Zajac and Sam Bennett. told TSN shortly after the announcement that he did not want to oversee another rebuilding year in New Jersey, believing it was time to start CHICAGO (June 23, 2017) — The Devils wanted another man in the spending and winning again. middle, and they finally found one.

The Devils were already short a body in Burke’s department after The Devils traded their first pick (No. 22) in the first round of the 2017 assistant GM Pat Verbeek left to become GM of the Florida Panthers in NHL Draft to Philadelphia, along with former first-round pick Sam late April. Bennett, for center Brayden Schenn and a fourth-round pick. GM Kyle Dubas hopes to add Schenn and the club’s first-round pick from a year HBS&E named Kyle Dubas, another of Burke’s assistants, as New ago, Pierre-Luc Dubois, to a depth chart that includes Adam Henrique, Jersey’s new GM. At 29 years old, he’s now the youngest GM in the Travis Zajac and a productive collection of scorers. NHL. The Devils will begin next season with a first-time GM and a first- time NHL head coach after hiring John Hynes from Wilkes-Barre New Jersey had sent a third-round pick to Vegas as an agreement not to Scranton in the AHL last month. take Bennett in the expansion draft, but the Devils ended up trading him two days later. Given the team’s improvement last season, newly minted BUFFALO (June 25, 2016) — Kyle Dubas’ first draft in charge of the Jack Adams Award winner John Hynes and the Devils might be the top Devils was a bold one. challenger of the two-time champion Penguins in the Eastern Conference next year. WASHINGTON, D.C. (April 23, 2018) — General manager Kyle Dubas New Jersey had won nine of its past 10 games and was rounding into had offered a warning at the trade deadline — young teams don’t always form as one of the favorites to win the 2020 Stanley Cup. Sophomore ascend in a straight line. goaltender Mackenzie Blackwood scuffled earlier in the season, with he and free-agent addition Cam Talbot tasked with replacing the retired The Devils were reminded of that again after losing to the Washington Roberto Luongo. Capitals in six games in the first round of the 2018 Stanley Cup Playoffs. New Jersey won the first two games of the series, but Washington roared Blackwood has been outstanding since the holiday break, and the Devils back to win four straight. have the best record in the NHL since January 1. Taylor Hall has shown no ill effects from knee surgery last season, or the pressure from signing The Devils lost four of their final five games of the regular season, in part an eight-year, $76 million contract extension in late July. because of a cluster of injuries, and slipped from second place in the stacked to fourth. That left them in the first wild- Hall, Pierre-Luc Dubois and David Pastrnak have been one of the most card spot and in a first-round series matchup with the division champs. productive top lines in the league. The high-powered offense has not slowed, even after GM Kyle Dubas traded center Adam Henrique to Finishing with more than 100 points in back-to-back seasons remains a Montreal for a second-round pick in the 2019 draft. The second line of great success after years of misery in Newark, but expectations soared Viktor Arvidsson, Brayden Schenn and Kyle Palmieri continues to this season. Dubas faces a new challenge this offseason, as several of produce, and Travis Zajac, Blake Coleman and Christian Fischer have the team’s top young players need new contracts. evolved into one of the league’s better shutdown lines.

The Devils could also use another top-flight defenseman and a Shea Theodore, Brett Pesce, Noah Hanifin and Damon Severson form a successor in net for Roberto Luongo, who had a fantastic season but just deep defense corps, while captain Andy Greene has spent the season turned 39 years old earlier this month. mentoring rookie Ty Smith on the third pairing. While Blackwood and NEWARK (July 2, 2018) — Kyle Dubas oversaw an expensive but Talbot have split games for much of the season, Blackwood has won necessary shopping spree. The Devils GM signed defensemen Shea seven straight starts and looks ready for his first Stanley Cup playoffs as Theodore, Brett Pesce and Noah Hanifin to long-term contracts, and they the No. 1 goaltender. join forwards David Pastrnak and Viktor Arvidsson as core players for The Devils have not been in the Stanley Cup final since 2012, but a long years to come. Theodore signed an eight-year contract ($5.5 million rebuilding process that started just before the 2013 draft has the AVV), while Pesce ($5 million) and Hanifin ($4.9 million) each signed for franchise well-positioned for a fourth straight trip to the playoffs and firmly six years. in contention to claim hockey’s ultimate prize.

All of the new contracts over the past 12 months could make it tough for Now we wait for the NHL to return. the Devils to add another impact defenseman, unless Dubas is able to trade one of his veterans, namely Adam Henrique, Travis Zajac or The Athletic LOADED: 05.09.2020 captain Andy Greene.

The Devils did replenish their defensive pipeline at the 2018 NHL Draft, selecting K’Andre Miller (No. 20) and Calen Addison (No. 51) with their first two selections.

TAMPA, Fla. (May 22, 2019) — It will likely be remembered as one of the great near-comebacks in NHL history, but that wasn’t much consolation for the Devils in the visiting locker room at .

New Jersey won three straight elimination games to force a Game 7 but couldn’t make it four against the Tampa Bay Lightning, who advanced to the Stanley Cup final with a thrilling 5-4 victory. The Devils fell one win short of reaching the Cup final for the sixth time in franchise history.

In early January, the Devils appeared to be in serious trouble when both Taylor Hall and Roberto Luongo were sidelined with potentially serious injuries. New Jersey was hovering around eighth place in the Eastern Conference and missing two integral players, but the Devils rallied behind rookie goaltender Mackenzie Blackwood to nearly win the Metropolitan Division. Both Blake Coleman and Christian Fischer became reliable scorers, giving New Jersey three productive lines.

Hall and Luongo both returned before the playoffs began. Hall’s decision to have surgery immediately after the injury proved to be the right one and, after missing 40 games, he finished the 2019 playoffs with a team- high 12 goals in 18 games.

Luongo was brilliant in Games 4, 5 and 6, holding the high-powered Lightning attack to just four goals across the three games. He has hinted a couple of times throughout this season that it could be his last, but he declined to comment about his future after Game 7.

The playoffs were also a breakout of sorts for defenseman Damon Severson. He has spent the past couple of seasons alternating between the second and third pairings with captain Andy Greene, who slid over to his off-side to play with Hanifin when Severson moved up. Severson scored game-winning goals in Games 4 and 6 of the conference final and led New Jersey’s defense corps in playoff scoring.

NEWARK (March 12, 2020) — The Devils have been one of the hottest teams in the NHL of late, but the coronavirus pandemic spreading across the world has halted play in sports leagues across America.

Commissioner Gary Bettman announced all games were canceled just hours before the Devils were set to host the Carolina Hurricanes at Prudential Center. Other sports leagues in Europe have been playing games with no fans in the stadiums and arenas as the number of infections rises rapidly. Once two members of the Utah Jazz tested positive for the virus, both the NBA and NHL decided to halt play. 1184205 New York Rangers

New York Rangers agree to entry-level contract with goalie Tyler Wall

Vincent Z. Mercogliano

NHL Writer

Published 7:06 p.m. ET May 8, 2020 | Updated 7:23 p.m. ET May 8, 2020

The New York Rangers have agreed to terms on an entry-level contract with goalie Tyler Wall, the team announced Friday evening.

The 22-year-old was a sixth-round draft pick (No. 174 overall) in 2016 and recently concluded his NCAA career with UMass Lowell.

Wall went 18-8-6 record as a senior with a 2.10 goals against average, a .931 save percentage and two shutouts, which earned him a third-team selection on the Hockey East Conference all-star team. He was also one of 10 semifinalists for the Award as the top collegiate goaltender.

The Leamington, Ontario native started 32 of UMass Lowell's 34 games this season, including all of their wins. He owns the UMass Lowell record for Division I wins with 58 and is expected to form a goalie tandem with Adam Huska for the Rangers' AHL affiliate in Hartford next season, which is when Wall's two-year contract will begin.

Bergen Record LOADED: 05.09.2020 1184206 New York Rangers A key will be learning to use his big body to his advantage and developing a bit of a mean streak, which might not come naturally for the soft-spoken kid from Alberta.

Analyzing the top 10 prospects for the NY Rangers: No. 7 Matthew "For me, it’s getting to guys quicker and taking away their time and space Robertson as quick as I can; anticipating plays so that I can shut them down early," Robertson said. "That’s kind of the biggest thing for me — having that edge and playing a little bit more physical. It’s something I’m trying to work on." Vincent Z. Mercogliano Part of that is "reading the situation that the play calls for at that time," NHL Writer according to Lauer. Published 11:59 a.m. ET May 8, 2020 | Updated 12:14 p.m. ET May 8, "These are areas in the game where your hockey instincts really have to 2020 take over," the 2019-20 WHL coach of the year said. "I think he’s grown, but he’s got to keep it going in that area."

With the 2019-20 NHL season on pause, we're taking time to analyze the The Rangers are confident that Robertson will continue to improve his top prospects in the New York Rangers' organization. Based on feel for situational hockey — so much so that they've already signed him conversations with players, scouts, executives and coaches at various to an entry-level contract. levels, we'll be releasing a series of reports on each of our top 10 overall He'll be too young to play for the Rangers' AHL affiliate in Hartford next players in the system, followed by in-depth positional rankings. Any season, likely returning to the Oil Kings for one more year before turning players who are 25 or younger and have played fewer than 25 NHL pro and starting the clock on his contract in 2021-22. But he will be games are up for consideration. invited to NHL training camp again. No. 7: Defenseman Matthew Robertson He made such an impression there last fall that the organization was Matthew Robertson was still catching his breath when he answered the convinced to sign him within a few months of being drafted. phone, having just finished working on his parents’ acreage outside of "He delivered, not only in the times that we saw him in Traverse (City) or Edmonton. Development Camp or Ranger training camp, but he also had a really That’s how he’s filled much of his time during the coronavirus pandemic, good year in Edmonton," Drury said. "We were excited to not mess patiently waiting for his fast-tracked hockey career to resume. around; just get him signed right away and continue to help him develop."

“There’s always something to do every day,” the 19-year-old defenseman Bergen Record LOADED: 05.09.2020 said. “We have a gym in my shop in my backyard, and I’m getting a workout in every day. Then I’m trying to stay busy, doing some yard work and helping out around the house.”

Robertson is unassuming, already developing what his WHL coach Brad Lauer calls the "habits to be a pro."

"Off ice, he’s dialed in," said Lauer, who coaches Robertson for the Edmonton Oil Kings. "He’s a very humble kid — very grounded. Good family; good parents. He doesn’t need to be the cool guy or anything like that. He works hard. He’s always one of the last guys to leave the rink."

.@M_Robertson15 getting his reps in! #HockeyAtHome#robocoppic.twitter.com/ul7TgtyL4C

— Edmonton Oil Kings (@EdmOilKings) April 24, 2020

That explains Robertson's commitment to building strength and fine- tuning his 6-foot-4 frame.

The lefty blue-liner has all the physical ability to turn himself into a top- four defenseman for the New York Rangers, who selected him in the second round (No. 49 overall) of last year's NHL Draft.

"We're really happy with the pick," Rangers assistant general manager said. "We definitely feel like he has a lot of tools you need to have success in the NHL."

Size is an obvious tool, but many scouts point to his mobility as a defining trait.

"His strength, for me watching him play, is his ability to skate," Lauer said. "He can skate the puck out of traffic. He can jump up in the rush and be in that second wave of attack."

Joining the rush has been a focus with the Oil Kings, which seemed to click at the midpoint this season and led to Robertson being named the team's MVP.

"The last half of the season, he was really a dominant player for us," Lauer said. "He brings a shot from the blue line. He’s strong enough that he can walk the line and he’s got a really nice wrist shot that he can get through traffic, that doesn’t get blocked, and he gets it on net."

The result was 47 points (13 goals and 34 assists) in 60 games, which Robertson said came from "being more aggressive with the puck."

He also noted increasing his focus in the defensive zone, which remains a work in progress. Drury described it as "evolving." 1184207 New York Rangers

Goalie Tyler Wall agrees to entry-level contract with Rangers

By Andrew Gross [email protected] @AGrossNewsday

Updated May 8, 2020 7:16 PM

Goalie Tyler Wall agreed to an entry-level contract with the Rangers on Friday that will begin with the 2020-21 season.

The 22-year-old Wall, a sixth-round pick of the Rangers in 2016, went 18- 8-6 with a 2.10 goals-against average and a .931 save percentage — ninth-best in the NCAA — this season as a senior at Massachusetts- Lowell. Wall was 58-34-10 with a 2.28 GAA and a .918 save percentage in four seasons of college hockey as he broke former NHL goalie Dwayne Roloson’s previous school record of 51 career wins. His 26 wins in 2016-17 broke the school’s freshman record set by Winnipeg Jets goalie Connor Hellebuyck.

Newsday LOADED: LOADED: 05.09.2020 1184208 New York Rangers gave Quinn a 7 or better, and another 9.8 percent a 6. There were 45 out of 1,535 who gave Quinn a rating of below 5.

I’m gonna go out on a big, wide, sturdy limb and say those are better We asked, you answered: The results to The Athletic’s Rangers fan numbers than the previous two coaches (John Tortorella, Alain survey are here Vigneault) would have produced despite having had much playoff success after two years.

Again, Rangers fans remain optimistic, perhaps unrealistically so in some By Rick Carpiniello cases: 98.7 percent think the Rangers will challenge for the chalice in the next five years. I think the most reasonable (73.5 percent) believe it will May 8, 2020 be two to three years, and 18.2 think three to five years is or realistic.

Seven percent think that will come next season – I agree that they will First and foremost, I want to take a minute to thank all of our readers for have a chance to be in the playoffs, but doubt they will be strong enough sticking with us through these hard times as we continue to strive to to play deep into the postseason. provide quality content. We very much appreciate you and thank you for I was a little surprised that only 12.2 percent thought it was too much taking part in this survey. money or term. Frankly, while I agreed with the 62.2 percent who said When I wrote the topper for the original survey, I said you guys were nuts the Rangers had to do it, it most certainly was not an easy decision as – and I meant that in a good way. Well, in a lot of ways you proved me the trade deadline approached. right. In a lot of ways you didn’t surprise, and didn’t fail to continue to I also agree with the other 25.5 percent who think the contract is/will be impress me with your passion. of good value, at least for the first five or six years of the contract. Also, the last question – about what we can do better here at The Athletic As you can see, some of those options were write-ins. The first three when it comes to Rangers coverage – provided a lot of food for thought options were the only realistic ones, I think. And of those, it’s very and some useful suggestions. We will take a lot of that to heart. unlikely they will trade Igor Shesterkin or Alexandar Georgiev (I thought I learned some lessons here, too, in that you should not allow write-in they might if they could get good value for Georgiev, but that wasn’t the only voting on some categories — which require me to go in and count, case). And there is virtually no chance they will start 2020-21 with three one line at a time, each of 1,500 votes in four categories. Thus there are goalies. no computer-generated pie charts on those questions. My bad. My The Rangers will continue to handle this carefully with Henrik Lundqvist. I really bad. don’t think they will try to convince him to retire or do anything he doesn’t Here now, the results of our inaugural Rangers fans survey: want to do. But a buyout would be the most likely scenario.

The power of the bandwagon: 25.9 percent of our pollsters said they I thought Mika Zibanejad’s volcano-hot finish (before the pause) might became Rangers fans during the Messier years, the Cup season of close the gap, and what he did in 57 games (41 goals, 75 points) was 1993-94 particularly. remarkable.

That’s not surprising … and in fact continues to make me wonder how But Artemi Panarin’s first season in New York was spectacular – career much that bandwagon might have grown if the NHL hadn’t locked out its highs of 32 goals, 63 assists and 95 points through 69 games. So players prior to the ’94-95 season or if the Rangers had been able to Panarin getting 72.6 percent of the vote (to Zibanejad’s 26.4) was not follow with another Cup with the same core of players. surprising. Together they split 99 percent of the vote (and some of the other one percent wrote in that they should be co-MVPs). Prices being what they are, 65.5 percent of you attend only one to 10 games a year and another 22.2 percent attend zero games. That second A landslide, and deservingly so. Adam Fox got 92.3 percent of the 1,539 stat is skewed because Rangers fans are scattered all over the globe votes. He won’t win the Calder Trophy as the league’s rookie of the year, and for many, attending a game is physically or logistically difficult if not but he will be in the conversation. impossible. His partner, Ryan Lindgren, had a stunning rookie season after his There are fans who once would have had season tickets or partial or original demotion to Hartford, and if Shesterkin had played more than 12 shared season tickets and are now prevented from doing so financially. games, he would certainly merit consideration. That has also transformed the noise level in the Garden. Just a sliver of According to our survey, Zibanejad would have won the prestigious Extra our participants said they attend 31 or more of the 41 home games per Effort award, named for the late NYPD hero, a second year in a row with season. 42.8 percent of the vote. The award is indeed voted upon by fans. This is the one that speaks to the fanbase’s loyalty: 58 percent watch The hard-nosed rookie defenseman Lindgren – and his repeatedly pretty much every game on television and another 21.2 percent say they stitched-up face – was second with 29 percent, followed by Jesper Fast see 41-60 games per season. Again, with fans everywhere, that often (who has never won it) and Panarin. entails buying some kind of TV or streaming package. Vitali Kravtsov, who had a controversial first pro season – he was The plan has been put in place, transparently announced, and executed assigned to Hartford, returned to Russia, then came back to Hartford and by the front office and new team president John Davidson, who was hired finished fairly strongly – is the choice with 53.1 percent of the vote. a year ago. Fans are buying it: 93.8 percent said the Rangers rebuild is Kravtsov is still the franchise’s top prospect. either going really well, way ahead of schedule, or almost finished. Virtually nobody called it a disaster. The Rangers have completely turned The likelihood of Kravtsov being the guy on opening night increases over their prospects cupboard – really almost twice since The Letter in when you consider that others such as Nils Lundkvist (21.6), K’Andre 2018 – and are widely seen around the league as a team on a rapid rise. Miller (13.1), and Morgan Barron (10.3) will likely get their feet wet in the AHL. I don’t happen to be in the camp of the 7.6 percent who think it’s almost finished. There remains a lot of work to be done, and many of the top I thought Ryan Strome had a fabulous year and certainly had chemistry prospects still have to prove they will be serious contributors in the future. with Panarin. But is he a legit first- or second-line center on a contending team? That we don’t know, but we also don’t know if the Rangers have a Progress makes perfect, and this ties into the previous question about center on the roster (Filip Chytil) or in the pipeline who would be a better the progress: 89.6 percent of those who answered gave the Davidson- option than Strome. Hence, 40.3 percent of you think a No. 1 or 2 center Gorton team an approval of eight or higher on a scale of 1-10. Only six is the biggest need. out of 1,539 rated them below 5. Next up is a top-six scoring winger (26.4 percent) (the incumbents are He didn’t score quite as highly as Davidson and Gorton, but his numbers Panarin, Kreider, Pavel Buchnevich and Jesper Fast), followed by a top- were still impressive. Of course Quinn takes regular heat from some fans pair defenseman (14.2) which I think is a bigger hole to fill given that for his tough love with certain popular players (Pavel Buchnevich and Brady Skjei, who played there last season, was traded. The Rangers Tony DeAngelo among them). That goes for every coach. But 83 percent have a lot of defensemen on the way, but I don’t think any of them should Who is your least favorite Ranger? be expected to be top-pair with Jacob Trouba next season. 1-Marc Staal (217 votes) 17.1 percent. Only two percent or fewer voted “poorly” and 85.7 said they are treated pretty well to great. 2-Brendan Smith (161 votes) 12.7 percent.

And why not? The Garden spends money on players (even with a salary 3-Micheal Haley (149 votes) 11.7 percent. cap, they use their financial might to buy out players or eat portions of 4-Tony DeAngelo (98 votes) 7.7 percent. contracts in trades) and isn’t averse to making big-splash signings or deals. No real surprise because the anti-Staal bias, nonsensical as it may be on many levels, exists. I mean, New Yorkers supposedly like hard-working, The Garden experience, though not as fiery, fanatical and passionate as blue-collar, loyal, home-grown players. So … I don’t get it. in the past, is generally a good and comfortable one. There was a singular (and very brief) fight in the stands last year, and I couldn’t Perhaps the surprises were DeAngelo (most who added commentary remember the last time we saw one of those. Plus the Garden puts on said it had little to do with his play on the ice); and more surprising: strong fan-friendly ceremonies featuring alumni and current players alike. Lundqvist received 22 votes, Kreider nine, Georgiev eight, Panarin four, Zibanejad three. So, yeah. Go figure. Also, the polarizing Buchnevich got This is a tricky question, particularly since the Rangers certainly could 47 votes. make the playoffs if the current season resumes at some point. Who is your favorite all-time Ranger? The point is, the Rangers can’t go all-in this coming season due to cap restrictions and the need to leave room for some arriving prospects in the 1- (307 votes) 21.6 percent. next few years. After 2020-21 they will have a ton of cap space, at least 2-Henrik Lundqvist (268 votes) 18.9 percent. theoretically, and a better idea where some prospects fit (and some will be traded to fill holes). So 2021-22 is the more likely go-for-it season. 3-Mark Messier (195 votes) 13.7 percent. Among voters, 79.3 percent said they’d be OK with that. 4- (160 votes) 11.3 percent. I think it’s pretty clear, given the way he was received and participated in the retirement ceremonies for the last two players honored – GAG Liners No surprises here at all, especially with a theoretically younger group of and – that ’s No. 2 (53.4 percent of voters on this site. None of the pre-1994 guys came close (Mike Richter the vote) will be next. and Mats Zuccarello were the next two). The GAG Line barely made a ripple, with , Jean Ratelle and Vic Hadfield each getting And I’m not sure any others will follow, other than Lundqvist whenever he around or below 3 percent of the 1,421 votes. hangs ‘em up. I do have some ideas and thoughts about this coming in a column in the near future. So stay tuned. Which player had the best career as a Ranger?

Fans certainly like to buy and own new jerseys, and that was proven in 1-Brian Leetch (684 votes) 49.9 percent. 54 percent of the voters saying “yes.” 2-Henrik Lundqvist (297 votes) 21.7 percent. But some are traditionalists (like me) and don’t see a need for another 3-Rod Gilbert (94 votes) 6.9 percent. uniform jersey, other than profit. Hence 46 percent voting “no.” I’m OK with a new design for a special event like a Winter Classic or Stadium 4-Mark Messier (65 votes) 4.7 percent. Series. But not OK with the Lady Liberty edition, for example. Landslide victory for the first U.S.-born player to ever win the Conn I was going to use the word “hate” but thought better of it. Nevertheless, Smythe Trophy as playoffs MVP (’94), and still the only Ranger to ever the Islanders and Flyers and enemies No. 1 and 2, followed by the Devils win it (first presented in 1965). and Penguins, but I was glad to see some distaste for the Capitals, Canadiens and Bruins, too. The B’s are just a traditional rival (and they Lundqvist was a distant second, but miles ahead of Rod Gilbert, who was have at least one unlikeable player), while the Capitals and Canadiens third and Mark Messier, who was fourth. Again, shockingly low numbers have climbed the ladder with some recent playoff history. As it should be. for the older guys who barely made a ripple, led by Ratelle with 15 votes, with five, and Frank Boucher with four I’m only going on the last 40 years or so, because I wasn’t around before each, Harry Howell with two. Maybe if this were a newspaper clip-and- that. mail poll …

We all know that Potvin Sucks in the Garden, or wherever the Rangers Thank you all, again, for taking part. play, and sure enough, Denis got 46.6 percent of the vote, even though the others on the list did much more heinous and more regular crimes The Athletic LOADED: 05.09.2020 against the Rangers. Plus – and this is my gripe other than that many of those who chant it never saw Potvin play – insists the leg injury that begat the chant in 1978-79 came from a clean hit by Potvin on which Nilsson’s skate caught a rut in the ice.

Vigneault’s first-year team that broke a lot of hearts by losing to Los Angeles in a five-game 2014 Stanley Cup final (losing three OT games, two of those in double-OT) is the runaway winner at 54.4 percent, followed by Tortorella’s shot-blocking, brawling ’11-12 team that started a string of serious contention for the Rangers.

The team that “did everything but win” of the early ’70s was third, followed by the Davidson-led ’79 team that made a surprise run to the Cup final.

Who is your favorite current Ranger?

1-Mika Zibanejad (425 votes) 30.0 percent.

2-Artemi Panarin (322 votes) 22.7 percent.

3-Henrik Lundqvist (244 votes) 17.2 percent.

4-Chris Kreider (206 votes) 14.5 percent.

I guess the only surprise here, for me, is how far Lundqvist has fallen during a terribly difficult season for an all-time franchise player.

Adam Fox (73 votes) will be on this list for a long time. 1184209 Ottawa Senators of the Montreal Canadiens have stated they’d rather not come back and focus on next season while Kings’ defenceman Drew Doughty also said publicly he doesn’t believe non-playoff teams should continue.

AHL's board of governors discuss cancelling the season while NHL plays Still, it has to be noted that this seems to change hourly, weekly and waiting game even monthly so don’t rule out the possibility of all 31 teams coming back one bit. The NHL may be leaning one way, but last week the league was looking at another way and nobody is really certain whether any of the ideas being kicked around will happen because the key to all of this is Bruce Garrioch that it’s safe to make a return in the first place. Published:May 8, 2020 If there’s no clearance from health authorities in Canada and the United Updated:May 8, 2020 8:32 PM EDT States then the league may have to cancel the season all together. Ideally, to try to avoid a loss in the $1.1 billion range by not having the playoffs, the NHL would like to finish the year in neutral sites in North America and that’s why they’ve establish a Return to Play committee to The will likely have to live by the familiar refrain wait discuss these matters regularly. until next year. The AHL may not be able to sit still any longer, but right now the NHL As the pause due to the threat of the novel coronavirus around the world wants to continue to play the waiting game before making a enters its ninth week, the American Hockey League’s board of governors determination. held a conference call Friday afternoon to discuss whether to the cancel the rest of the season and the playoffs or not. Ottawa Sun LOADED: 05.09.2020 No official announcement from the AHL is expected to be made until Monday morning, however, the belief going into the meeting was with the league on pause since March 12 was there wasn’t much sense in letting a decision drag on much longer because the reality is playing into the summer isn’t an option for the NHL’s top minor-league affiliates and the word is the call lasted less than 20 minutes.

While the NHL can return to empty rinks in July to help minimize the losses of not playing, it makes zero financial sense for the AHL to follow the same route. This is a gate-driven league and since the AHL wouldn’t be able to sell any seats that means it would be a costly to try to bring everybody back.

An NHL executive estimated to me earlier this week that 75-to-85% of the revenues for AHL teams are generated by ticket sales and the rest come in from sponsorships. There’s no big television money coming in so there’s nothing the AHL has to do to satisfy those agreements to cut down on the losses teams will already take by not having the post- season.

This will be a difficult hit for Belleville because the Senators were on the verge of making the playoffs for the first time since the club arrived in the city to start the 2017-18 campaign. Belleville was close to a spot in the post-season last year but was eliminated by the on the final day of the season and this year the Senators were sitting in the top spot in their division.

There are too many hurdles for the AHL to overcome, including getting players back from overseas. In the case of the Senators, for example, goalies Filip Gustavsson and Marcus Hogberg are back in Sweden along with defenceman Andreas Englund and centre Filip Chlapik is in Prague. Blueliner Erik Brannstrom is also back in Sweden but he’s recovering from surgery.

That doesn’t mean this season is over for all the Belleville players, however, since some could be brought back to make up a taxi squad if Ottawa does return to finish its season next month.

But, the big club isn’t sure if it’s going to be back, either. The NHL sent out a memo Thursday telling teams they likely wouldn’t be opening facilities until early June and that teams shouldn’t be making plans with the players in Europe to come back.

As stated in this space Tuesday, the NHL is studying all its options to bring teams back when it’s safe to do so and there’s indications now the leading scenario would see 24 teams return sometime next month for a shortened training camp before resuming the season sometime in July. Options for bringing all the teams and the 16 in the playoff picture are also on the table.

Under that scenario, the Senators, Detroit Red Wings, , Los Angeles Kings, Anaheim Ducks, New Jersey Devils and Buffalo Sabres would be done for the year. The speculation is under the 24-team return there would be a play-in round for the teams ranked from No. 16- to-No. 24 to decide which squads would go to the post-season that would get under way in early-August.

The Senators players that have spoken publicly since the pause got under way have maintained they’re staying ready in case the league does return but aren’t sure what’s going to happen. A couple of members 1184210 Ottawa Senators

Ottawa Senators release information for refunds or credits for ticket holders

Bruce Garrioch

Published:May 8, 2020

Updated:May 8, 2020 3:32 PM EDT

The Ottawa Senators are giving people holding tickets to their final four home games postponed by the novel coronavirus an opportunity to get their money back.

The Senators announced Friday afternoon that while the NHL hasn’t made any decisions on what’s going to happen with the pause, the club will offer season ticket holders options to put the money towards next year and Ottawa is also offering refunds to people who have seats for single games.

The club said in its news release:”The Ottawa Senators wish to assure our fans that they will not lose the value of the tickets they have purchased, whether those were individual tickets or season seats.”

It’s almost certain the Senators won’t play again at the Canadian Tire Centre this season and the club is one of the first teams in the league to address the situation.

“We are continuing to do everything possible to bring back Ottawa Senators hockey and welcome our fans back to Canadian Tire Centre,” said owner Eugene Melnyk in a statement.

“As we all continue to face extraordinary challenges related to COVID-19, and while the NHL continues to explore options for the remainder of the 2019-20 season, the Senators are grateful for the continued loyalty of our fans. As an organization, we want to show our appreciation by extending support for your unwavering faith.”

The club said fans who purchased seats through Ticketmaster can get refunds there while the box office at the rink will also handle those requests when its allowed to reopen.

“Members of the Ottawa Senators business team will be reaching out to our ticket holders starting next week to begin providing information on how ticket holders can enhance the value of their investment through credit towards their renewal for next season, or details about how refunds may be obtained,” the news release added.

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The Ottawa Senators and Toronto Maple Leafs will have to wait to go back to work

Bruce Garrioch

Published:May 8, 2020

Updated:May 8, 2020 2:32 PM EDT

The doors will be open to the Ottawa Senators and the Toronto Maple Leafs when the NHL allows them to return to the rinks.

Lisa MacLeod, a Nepean MPP and Minister of Heritage, Sport and Tourism in Ontario, confirmed Friday morning professional sports teams across the province _ including the NBA’s Raptors, the CFL’s Ticats, Argos and RedBlacks along with the Senators and Leafs — can return to their facilities for training.

“Beginning today in Ontario, professional sport training facilities will be permitted to reopen, provided their respective sports leagues have established health and safety protocols in response to COVID-19,” MacLeod said in a statement.

Though the Raptors will return to their facility Monday, the Senators and Leafs will have to wait until they get the green light from the NHL.

“It means they can reopen when we allow all teams to reopen,” NHL deputy commissioner Bill Daly told Postmedia in an email Friday morning. “We’re not there yet.”

The NHL is hoping to open its facilities for small-group training in late- May but there are no guarantees that’s going to happen because that may not be allowed in some areas of the and Canada.

“Each league is different and will adopt their own strict protocols,” MacLeod said in tweet in a response to Daly’s email. “The NBA is ready”

Ottawa Sun LOADED: 05.09.2020 1184212 Philadelphia Flyers year, he played as a 17-year-old No. 1 center going against the top guys in the league, but his second half, he really had a strong season.

"He can kill penalties, win faceoffs, he hits, he goes to the net, he 2020 NHL draft profile: Ridly Greig, son of Flyers scout Mark Greig, is a produced offensively. He looks like a really well-rounded player, I think center with 200-foot bite he’s a real solid prospect."

Greig finished the season on an eight-game point streak (six goals, five assists) and among North American skaters he went from an NHL By Jordan Hall May 08, 2020 2:15 PM Central Scouting midterm mark of 25th to a final ranking of 14th.

Ridly Greig is a prospect that grows on you. He is a feisty kid with a good set of hands to go with his wheels. The entire picture for the 2020 NHL draft remains cloudy with the ongoing suspension of the 2019-20 regular season because of the Fit with Flyers coronavirus outbreak. The Flyers will look to take the best player available during the first round Where will the Flyers be picking? When and how will the draft be held? but centers could be the overall focus or preference for the club. It's a Those questions are currently unanswered. premium position and last summer the Flyers drafted three defensemen, three wingers and a goalie. The Flyers hold seven total selections and, as of right now, are slotted with the 26th overall pick. The club also has a strong history of scouting and drafting WHL products. Over the past six drafts, the Flyers have taken eight WHL “I think it’s a decent draft — I don’t know if it’s top end," Flyers assistant players, four of which were selected in the opening two rounds. general manager Brent Flahr said April 25 in a phone interview with NBC Sports Philadelphia. "The top 10, 12 guys look like pretty high end. Greig is expected to be available in the Flyers' range of 26th overall. With There’s a bit of a drop-off, but there’s some depth to the draft for a couple the way he plays and his room for growth, he would be a real solid of rounds. We don’t know totally where we’re picking, but we have an addition down the middle to the organization's prospect pool. idea. We have some guys targeted we feel we would be very happy with in the top couple of rounds and then we still have some work to do to Comcast SportsNet.com LOADED: 05.09.2020 clean up the mid-to-later-round picks.

"Obviously you’d want the big, scoring, playmaking center, anybody does. We’re in a position where we’ll likely be taking the best player available.

"Realistically the players you draft now are two or three years down the road, best-case scenario. Some cases you get surprised. But by then, your team needs are different. We’ll do the best we can, we have an idea of where our holes are going forward and places where we certainly want to add depth to, whether it’s center or scoring winger or defense, we’ll see what happens. We’ll prepare, we weigh guys against each other, the pros and cons and we’ll do the best we can there.”

This month and into June, we'll continue to break down options for the Flyers at No. 26.

Ridly Greig

Position: Center

Height: 5-foot-11

Weight: 163

Shoots: Left

Team:

Scouting report

The Flyers should have a pretty good scoop on Greig. After all, his father is Flyers amateur scout Mark Greig, who has long watched the WHL.

In 2019-20, his son scored a team-best 1.07 points per game for the WHL's Brandon Wheat Kings. The 17-year-old center put up 26 goals and 34 assists in 56 games.

"His dad doesn’t even like us talking about him or reporting on him and all that," Flahr said with a laugh. "Terrific kid.

"He’s a hockey player, he plays center, he can play anywhere, he’s a real smart player, two-way, really detailed and he has an edge to his game."

Greig likes to get after it and when he really asserts himself, he's all over the ice, making a 200-foot impact. He brings a blend of straight-line energy and offensive instincts.

He was handed two suspensions during the season — one for a check to the head and the other for goaltender interference — but by no means is he a dirty player.

"He’s not a big body, he’s got to put on weight and get stronger — he’s athletic, but he’s going to take some time," Flahr said. "He’s got an edge to him, he’s been suspended a couple of times. We joke that he’s got his mother’s temperament rather than his dad’s. But no, he had a very strong 1184213 Pittsburgh Penguins (Video courtesy NHL) But presumably, the NHL’s hiatus for the coronavirus pandemic will offer

far more positives than negatives to Dumoulin as well as any other player Penguins A to Z: Brian Dumoulin continues to be underappreciated who was dealing with an ailment, or the aftereffects of one, in March.

Regardless, whenever the Penguins next take the ice, it’s a safe bet to expect two things of Dumoulin: SETH RORABAUGH | Friday, May 8, 2020 2:34 p.m. • He’ll be back on the top pair drawing the toughest assignments.

• And he won’t be fully appreciated. While the NHL is on hold because of the ongoing coronavirus pandemic, the Tribune-Review will offer Penguins A to Z, a player-by-player look at Tribune Review LOADED: 05.09.2020 all 55 individuals under NHL contract with the organization, from mid- level prospect Niclas Almari to high-profile trade acquisition Jason Zucker.

Brian Dumoulin

Position: Defenseman

Shoots: Left

Age: 28

Height: 6-foot-4

Weight: 207 pounds

2019-20 NHL statistics: 28 games, eight points (one goal, seven assists)

Contract: Third year of a six-year contract with a salary cap hit of $4.1 million. Pending unrestricted free agent in 2023

Acquired: Trade, June 22, 2012

This season: Even with a fairly severe injury, Brian Dumoulin probably was underappreciated. But that’s nothing new.

For seemingly any other team, losing a franchise pillar defenseman who logs more than 20 minutes on a regular basis to a skate cut on a ankle tendon that required roughly three months to convalescence would be a focal point of any success or failure.

But in the context of the 2019-20 Penguins, Dumoulin’s ailment was relegated to “Oh, and him too” territory.

With the analysis or debate over injuries of profile teammates such as Sidney Crosby, Evgeni Malkin, Kris Letang, Patric Hornqvist and, heck, even the departed Alex Galchenyuk taking up most of the oxygen, Dumoulin’s absence was easy to overlook.

But that’s kind of the story of Dumoulin’s career. Even as he has carved out a role as one of this team’s least replaceable components through two Stanley Cup runs, he often is overshadowed by his teammates.

But he might be their most consistent player when he’s able-bodied.

Bolted onto the top defensive pairing with Letang, Dumoulin is an “eraser” of sorts as he routinely draws ice time against the opposition’s top line, wiping out or limiting their freedom to create offensively. During the Penguins’ most recent game against the bitter rivals (and a potential playoff opponent), a 5-2 home loss to the Washington Capitals, Dumoulin logged 6 minutes, 25 seconds of common five-on-five ice time against all-star forward Alex Ovechkin, only surpassed by Letang’s (6:40) according to Natural Stat Trick.

Additionally, Dumoulin is one of the team’s top penalty-killers, having recorded 2:08 of short-handed ice time per game this season and is routinely one of the first over the boards to open a penalty kill.

Blessed with a long reach, a good stick (i.e. an ability to disrupt an opposing player’s puckhandling or to prevent shots or passes), more than adequate skating ability and some finely tuned gap control, Dumoulin is everything you want in a modern defensive defenseman.

He also has emerged as one of the team’s leaders, regularly offering guidance to younger teammates and, by many accounts, being a vocal presence in the dressing room.

The future: It’s fair to wonder where Dumoulin’s skating will be whenever the NHL resumes play. He’s played just five games in the past five months. And there were some signs he was still a bit rusty coming off his ankle injury as he lost a handful of one-on-one battles he normally would win. 1184214 Pittsburgh Penguins

Penguins defenseman Kris Letang makes donation to provide meals

SETH RORABAUGH | Friday, May 8, 2020 10:13 a.m.

The Penguins announced defenseman Kris Letang and his wife Catherine made an unspecified donation intended to provide meals to the Students and Families Food Relief Fund and the Knead Community Cafe, allowing both organizations to provide meals during the covid-19 pandemic.

The Students and Families Food Relief Fund was created in March by a $1 million donation from the PNC Foundation to the United Way of Southwestern Pittsburgh.

The Knead Community Cafe is a registered charitable organization based in New Kensington.

“As parents, my wife Catherine and I can’t imagine the hardship of children going hungry,” Letang said in a statement. “We knew that we wanted to give back to the Pittsburgh community during this difficult time and helping children secure a healthy meal and avoid hunger was the perfect fit for us.”

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Penguins offering refund options for season-ticket holders

Mike DeFabo:

With six home games left on the Penguins’ 2019-20 schedule and no word from the NHL on if, when or where those games will be played, the team is offering ticket holders a choice.

In an email sent to season-ticket holders Friday, the Penguins said fans can either have the money for those games rolled over and applied toward next season or have it refunded. The email reminded fans that the deposit deadline was pushed back, while also addressing the uncertainty of next season.

“Given the fact that we may be delayed in starting next season and the current challenges we are all facing, we will be completely flexible with payment options,” the email read.

The Penguins previously outlined their policy for single-game ticket buyers and group ticket buyers on the FAQ section of the website. It’s essentially the same as the policy for season-ticket holders.

Group ticket buyers should contact their Penguins representative to apply credit toward a future game or request a refund. Fans who purchased single-game tickets through the Penguins’ ticketing department can apply money from their purchase toward a future game or request a refund by emailing [email protected].

Single game tickets purchased directly from Ticketmaster or on the secondary market will be subject to their respective postponement policies.

Post Gazette LOADED: 05.09.2020 1184216 Pittsburgh Penguins Fair enough. But do not forget who is one of Lafferty’s chief backers among Penguins.

That would be coach Mike Sullivan, who said often during the regular Penguins’ player grades: Sam Lafferty season that Lafferty had shown NHL readiness before training camp.

Every time he spoke about Lafferty, Sullivan sounded as if he had penciled in the young forward as being part of the mix he wanted to move By Rob Rossi May 8, 2020 forward. It makes sense — Lafferty seems like Sullivan’s kind of player.

Go fast.

While the NHL remains on pause, The Athletic Pittsburgh will evaluate Go forward. Penguins who played in at least 10 games for the club during the 2019- 20 season. The series continues with Sam Lafferty. Go, go, go.

Over the early weeks of October, a Penguins rookie made playing in the Too often, rookies or players still trying to earn regular shifts for the NHL look far too easy. Penguins either chase the game or play it safe and look slow in the process. Far from perfect as a rookie, Lafferty almost always stood out That rookie wasn’t John Marino. because he aggressively attacked when on the ice.

And if there is no resumption of the 2019-20 season, the other rookie His mistakes were like his scoring chances in that they happened while who often did not look out of place taking regular shifts in Pittsburgh will he tried doing something. It’s a good instinct to have, if only because miss out on an opportunity to deliver one of those moments the hockey Sullivan would rather players’ errors come from looking to dictate rather gods seem to save for the Stanley Cup playoffs. The kind nobody dares than being dictated to. predict, but also nobody is surprised when it happens. Lafferty didn’t always do everything well as a rookie. He did do most Would anybody have been shocked had Sam Lafferty changed the things without figuratively looking over his shoulder or looking for a course of a postseason series by scoring in second or third overtime? teammate to take a shot, win a race to the puck, whatever.

Not me. Not at all. There were times when he was no different than 99 percent of all NHL rookies throughout history. His production was inconsistent. The same Lafferty showed during the regular season a lot of the attributes shared could never be said of his effort or manner. Most often, he was by other unexpected heroes who have altered recent springs in noticeable when in the lineup. Pittsburgh. That does not mean he will be the next Chris Kunitz or Nick Bonino, yet those players also kept things simple, moved straight ahead, Rookies tend to get noticed only when, like Marino, they perform at a darted into open spaces and used sneaky shots to score series-clinching level beyond their experience. Rookies who score three goals in their first goals in the 2017 and 2016 postseasons, respectively. four games but fail to match that total until playing in another 38 — well, those rookies had better bring more to the table if they want to stick Go back and watch some highlights of Lafferty with the Penguins. Then around, let alone stay in the lineup. tell me he doesn’t have some Kunitz- or Bonino-like qualities to him. Rutherford didn’t make the moves he did at the trade deadline because Lafferty might not have a future on a line Sidney Crosby or Evgeni he wanted to chance a possible Cup run on a roster with inexperienced Malkin, as Kunitz did in his final seasons, and he might not be destined players such as Lafferty. Then again, had there been a few more lesser- for the third-line center role, as Bonino was during his tenure in experienced players like Lafferty at the Penguins’ disposal, Rutherford Pittsburgh. But Lafferty belongs in the NHL. might not have made as many additions as he did. That makes the 2019-20 season a rare one where two rookies emerged Assessing any player’s season always means weighing performance and became fixtures for the Penguins. against expectations. Maybe Sullivan had expectations even before Marino has the makings of a top-pairing fixture on defense. Lafferty is training camp that Lafferty would be a contender to dress for the likelier to max out as a top-nine forward. Penguins in the playoffs. I sure didn’t.

Nothing wrong with that. Call it a scale. Call it a curve. I’m calling Lafferty’s rookie season a success. His grade: B. A dependable, versatile top-nine forward can make a big difference for a Cup contender. The Athletic LOADED: 05.09.2020

Max Talbot was a top-nine forward. So was Tyler Kennedy. Those players combined for 13 goals in the 2009 playoffs, including in Games 4, 6 and 7 of the final against the Red Wings.

Talbot and Kennedy eventually priced themselves out of Pittsburgh, which often is what happens with role players in a salary-cap system.

Happened with Bonino. Conor Sheary, too.

General manager Jim Rutherford never wanted to part with either Bonino or Sheary. Nor did his predecessor, Ray Shero, love the idea of bidding adieu to Talbot or Kennedy.

Alas, the life of a GM for a perennial Cup-chasing club is filled with tough decisions. Usually, the call becomes betting a cheaper, if not younger, forward can approximate the advantage that more established veterans had provided in previous crunch times.

Lafferty is 25 and set to become a restricted free agent whenever the NHL begins its next offseason. He can be expected to cost more against future payrolls than the $767,500 cap hit he would have carried had he played the entirety of 2019-20 with the Penguins.

He did not. He appeared in 50 games, scored six goals and 13 points, and averaged fewer than 10 minutes of ice time.

I suspect readers might consider any or all of those statistics and doubt the comparisons of Lafferty to the likes of Kunitz, Bonino, Talbot and Kennedy. 1184217 Toronto Maple Leafs

Leafs assistant coach Paul McFarland returning to head coaching job in Kingston

NEIL DAVIDSON

THE CANADIAN PRESS

Maple Leafs assistant coach Paul McFarland is returning to junior hockey, taking over the OHL’s Kingston Frontenacs for the second time as he continues his head coaching education.

The Leafs gave McFarland permission to interview with the Frontenacs after the club fired head coach Kurtis Foster last month. The NHL team says McFarland will stay with the Leafs for the duration of the 2019-20 season, currently on hiatus because of the global pandemic.

“My passion and ambition is to be a head coach,” McFarland told a media conference call Friday. “The only way to be a head coach is to gain that experience,“ he said, adding that he sees the CHL as one of the best development leagues for all of hockey, if not the best.

“That goes for players but also staff. For me when it comes to junior hockey, there couldn’t be a better place for myself and my family to be in than Kingston.”

A 34-year-old native of Richmond Hill, Ont., McFarland was head coach of the Frontenacs for three seasons from 2014 to 2017, before taking an assistant coaching job with the Florida Panthers. He spent two seasons with Florida before joining the Leafs’ staff under prior to the start of the 2019-20 campaign.

Current Leafs head coach said the NHL’s pause during the COVID-19 pandemic changed the timeline for McFarland.

“Normally this type of move would be done during the off-season, but given that these are far from normal circumstances, we are in full support of Paul’s desire to pursue this position in Kingston and gain more experience as a head coach,” Keefe said in a statement.

McFarland made the playoffs in all three of his years in Kingston, reaching the second round twice. The Frontenacs went 111-71-13-9 with McFarland as head coach.

“His record when he was here speaks to how strong his commitment is to the game, our team, and our players,” Kingston GM Darren Keily said in a statement

Kingston (19-39-2-2) was eighth in the 10-team Eastern Conference when the OHL season was suspended.

McFarland called it an “exciting group” with a lot of young talent.

“The goal for all of us is to bring a championship to Kingston,” he said. “Obviously if I didn’t believe that was possible, I wouldn’t be coming back.”

Prior to coaching Kingston the first time, McFarland served as an assistant coach with the Oshawa Generals from 2012 to 2014.

He played four seasons in the OHL for the Windsor Spitfires (2005-06) and Kitchener Rangers (2002-04), recording 113 points (50-63-113) over 246 games. He won the with Kitchener in 2003.

Following his OHL career, McFarland played four seasons for Acadia University where he was named an academic all-Canadian three times and served as captain for three seasons (2007-10).

The Paul McFarland Award was established in his honour at Acadia. It recognizes the combination of athletics, academics and community involvement.

Globe And Mail LOADED: 05.09.2020 1184218 Toronto Maple Leafs “My commitment is 100 per cent to the Leafs,” McFarland said. “And when this year is over, then I’ll transfer my responsibilities to Kingston. Both organizations are on the same page with the circumstances.”

Leafs assistant coach Paul McFarland returning to head coaching job in Toronto Star LOADED: 05.09.2020 Kingston

By Kevin McGran

Fri., May 8, 2020

Paul McFarland had only nice things to say about his former bosses, Mike Babcock and Sheldon Keefe, while talking about his upcoming departure from the Toronto Maple Leafs.

The assistant coach, who has been handling Toronto forwards and power play during this tumultuous season, announced Friday that he will return to the OHL as head coach of the Kingston Frontenacs once the Leafs’ 2019-20 season is over.

“Totally enjoyed my Leafs experience,” McFarland said on a conference call.

“Obviously, I was brought in by Mike and I learned a lot in our short time, together with him. Same goes with my experience with Sheldon. I have a lot of respect for him as a head coach and obviously have a great relationship with him, having spent the last number of months working side by side. Really, I have nothing but the utmost respect for both those guys and what they do.”

Asked about the key differences to their approaches, McFarland chose his words carefully.

“I'm not going to get into that today. I just think they're both obviously very good at what they do. Mike’s resumé speaks for itself and what he's accomplished in the game, and Sheldon has done a great job.”

It is pure speculation over who might replace McFarland. The Twitter crowd was pushing the affable Bruce Boudreau, a former Leaf who has been a head coach in Washington, Anaheim and Minnesota. Keefe would likely consider one of his former assistants with the AHL Marlies, including A.J. MacLean.

Assistant coaches with the Leafs are typically not allowed to speak to the media, per team policy, but McFarland’s future return to the junior ranks was an apparent exception.

McFarland didn’t give away any team secrets when talking about power play, which is sixth in the NHL with a 23.1 per cent success rate (though just 13.9 per cent in the 12 games before play was suspended).

“You always strive to improve,” he said. “If you had the best power play in the league, you're still going to be thinking about ways you can do things differently. We'll continue to work at it, if and when we do get back to playing. It was a great group of players to work with, they're all very coachable.”

McFarland said he blended his ideas with those of a group that includes Mitch Marner, Auston Matthews, , William Nylander and Tyson Barrie. “You're having constantly having little conversations with players. That's part of your goal is to build those relationships and be in a constant line of communication with them.”

McFarland, a 34-year-old from Richmond Hill, believes his path to an NHL head coaching job lies in being a head coach somewhere else and that he is “grateful for the opportunity” in Kingston. He coached the Frontenacs for three years before taking an assistant’s job with Florida in 2017. He joined the Leafs this season along with former Flyers head coach David Hakstol, who coaches the defence and penalty kill.

“Normally this type of move would be done during the off-season, but given that these are far from normal circumstances, we are in full support of Paul’s desire to pursue this position in Kingston and gain more experience as a head coach,” Keefe said in a news release.

McFarland will remain with the Leafs through the end of the season, including playoffs, before joining Kingston. It is possible the Frontenacs might have to start the 2020-21 season without him. 1184219 Toronto Maple Leafs up in Mannheim, Germany and Bern, Switzerland, respectively. Czech- born Bruins David Krejci and David Pastrnak were to be featured as was Bern’s Roman Josi.

Capitals waive Leipsic after misogynistic comments A Columbus-Colorado two-game series at Hartwall Arena in Helsinki was also scrubbed. That was a blow to Blue Jackets GM and native Finn Jarmo Kekalainen, goalie Joonas Korpisalo and Avs forward Mikko Rantanen. Lance Hornby “We are disappointed, but look forward to having the opportunity to play Published:May 8, 2020 in front of Finland’s passionate hockey fans in the future,” Kekalainen Updated:May 8, 2020 8:25 PM EDT said.

In a joint statement, the league and the Players Association said they remain committed to maintaining and growing an international presence. Former Maple Leaf Brendan Leipsic has paid a high price for his part in a social media group chat that went public, underlined by derogatory and “We hope that our fans overseas understand the need to postpone the degrading comments about women. 2020 games, but we look forward to being back with them in 2021.”

Leipsic was placed on unconditional waivers Friday by his current team, Toronto Sun LOADED: 05.09.2020 the Washington Capitals, “for the purposes of terminating his contract”.

The Winnipeg Sun reported Leipsic, former Toronto Marlie Jack Rodewald and other players who had ties as fellow graduates of the Winnipeg Minor Hockey system, including Leipsic’s brother Jeremy, conducted the chat several months ago, intending it to be private. But an anonymous Instagram user made it public, to inform the women they were being targeted and show them who had allegedly made the remarks.

“It’s very heartbreaking to see,” Winnipeg’s Chloe Giesbrecht, 24, said of being mentioned on the chat. “You see hockey on TV, (players) signing sticks and taking photos, but what are they doing behind all of that? They’re supposed to be role models and this is the exact opposite … of what you would want your son to be like.”

The chat referred to the players’ female conquests as “kills,” mocked their body shapes and boasted of Leipsic’s use of cocaine according to reports. There were also comments about the appearance of the wife of Vancouver Canucks forward Tanner Pearson, the girlfriend of Edmonton Oilers star Connor McDavid and even shots at Washington linemates Nic Dowd and Garnet Hathaway for not putting Leipsic on their podcast.

The NHL condemned the “misogynistic and reprehensible remarks”, prior to the Caps cutting Leipsic. He deleted his Instagram account Wednesday and issued an apology via Twitter.

The 25-year-old was in his third full season in the NHL. Drafted by Nashville and traded to Toronto, he was a Leaf emergency call-up who scored the game winner in his first NHL start in 2015-16, after his parents flew into Vancouver for the match. But he was claimed by Las Vegas in the expansion draft, the first of three teams he has since been moved to. The Caps signed him last summer to a one-year deal for $700,000 (US).

Rodewald came to the Marlies as an undrafted junior, later playing 10 NHL games with Ottawa before a trade to the Florida Panthers farm team in Springfield, Mass. Jeremey Leipsic, 23, was released from the University of Bisons on Thursday.

EX MARKS THE SPOT?

While Maple Leafs Sports and Entertainment Ltd. is deferring to the NHL on any talk of Toronto being a hub city to help finish the schedule, it could be the league is looking to Coca-Cola Coliseum, home of the AHL Marlies, as an option as well as .

As fans aren’t expected to be allowed inside any NHL rink at the start of play due to COVID-19 concerns, CCC’s small capacity (8,000 seats) wouldn’t matter much. It’s TV broadcast worthy, positioned away from the busy downtown core on the Exhibition grounds for social distancing purposes and there’s the spacious convention-style Enercare Centre next door for teams to utilize as well as the large Hotel X. Everything would be close to Billy Bishop Airport, too, if any teams and officials elected to come and go by prop planes.

NO EUROPEAN VACATION

With some NHL players already facing challenges returning from Europe to re-train for an uncertain conclusion to this season, it made little sense to keep the original dates for games planned back there in 2020-21.

So the league announced Friday the postponement of its Global Series. They included the headline season opener in Prague, Boston against the Nashville Predators. Both those NHL teams had exhibition games lined 1184220 Toronto Maple Leafs Ozhiganov played in 53 games with Leafs, more or less being given a spot that would have been, in hindsight, better used on , before returning to the KHL.

Lehtonen, Barabanov success would buck some of recent Leafs trend in Defenceman Teemu Kivihalme was signed the day after Mikheyev and European signings had an admirable season with the Marlies, working his way into the Leafs’ depth conversation.

Both Lehtonen and Barabanov seem to have the experience and the Terry Koshan talent to make an impact with the Leafs.

Published:May 8, 2020 While there is no risk in signing them, the Leafs probably would be fine with the notion that each brings somewhat more than what the majority of Updated:May 8, 2020 6:07 PM EDT European free agents have added to Toronto in recent years.

Toronto Sun LOADED: 05.09.2020 Perhaps Alexander Barabanov will become a consistent goal-scorer with the Maple Leafs.

Maybe Mikko Lehtonen’s ability to move the puck and play a heads-up style will be beneficial for the Leafs’ blue-line corps.

Anything is possible, but for the Leafs, there haven’t been many diamonds to come from the European rough in the past several years.

The signings of Barabanov in April and Lehtonen this week bring the Leafs to a total of 10 free-agent additions out of Europe, going back to the signing of defenceman Nikita Zaitsev in May 2016.

Nary a star has emerged, though it could be that forward Ilya Mikheyev, who was signed to a one-year contract last May and will be a restricted free agent once the 2019-20 season officially is over, winds up being the best of the group.

Before he suffered a lacerated wrist against the New Jersey Devils on Dec. 27, Mikheyev was developing into a fine two-way player, recording 23 points in 39 games and earning the staff’s trust in killing penalties.

Zaitsev showed promise in his first season in the NHL in 2016-17, recording 36 points in 82 games while finishing behind only Morgan Rielly in ice time among Leafs. The reward — a seven-year, $31.5-milion US contract in May 2017 from , then the Leafs’ general manager — wasn’t matched by a higher level in Zaitsev’s overall performance. A trade request by Zaitsev last spring eventually was granted when he was shipped to the Ottawa Senators in a deal that included Connor Brown, with Cody Ceci and Ben Harpur coming to Toronto.

Between the Zaitsev and Mikheyev signings, the Leafs convinced five other players in Europe to put their signatures on a contract.

None made what you would call a lasting impact, though we suppose there remains some hope for defenceman Calle Rosen.

Signed in March 2017, centre Miro Aaltonen was solid the following season — for the Toronto Marlies. Mike Babcock chose to go with Dominic Moore at fourth-line centre to start 2017-18, and Aaltonen never did play for the Leafs, instead putting up 43 points in 64 games for the Marlies before recording 13 points in 20 playoff games in the march to the . When it became clear an NHL shot in Toronto was not going to come, Aaltonen returned to the KHL.

Rosen and fellow defenceman Andreas Borgman were signed two months after Aaltonen, and unlike the Finn, each got a shot during 2017- 18. Rosen played in four games, all in October; Borgman played in 48 games, but has appeared in none in the NHL after Feb. 1 that season. Borgman never was able to find a consistent place with the Leafs despite bringing a physical style that was in short supply. Traded to St. Louis last year for defenceman Jordan Schmaltz, Borgman was with San Antonio of the American Hockey League when the COVID-19 global pandemic halted play.

Rosen was reacquired from Colorado after being sent to the Avalanche last summer with for Tyson Barrie and Alex Kerfoot, and is viewed as a depth piece.

A year after Rosen and Borgman signed, the Leafs inked centre Par Lindholm and defenceman Igor Ozhiganov on May 17, 2018. Lindholm scored one goal in 61 games before he was traded to Winnipeg last February for and earned a spot with the Boston Bruins this past season. 1184221 Toronto Maple Leafs

Leafs assistant coach McFarland departing to take job with Kingston of the OHL

Terry Koshan

Published:May 8, 2020

Updated:May 8, 2020 5:52 PM EDT

The Maple Leafs announced on Friday that assistant coach Paul McFarland will leave the club at the conclusion of the 2019-20 National Hockey League season, whenever that will be in the wake of the COVID- 19 global pandemic, to take the job as head coach of the Kingston Frontenacs of the to start the 2020-21 season.

“My commitment is 100% to the Leafs and when this year is over, I will transfer my responsibilities to the Frontenacs,” McFarland said during a conference call when the possibility that the Leafs might be finishing at the same time that the Fronts get started was raised.

“Both organizations are on the same page. We don’t know how it’s going to play out, but I’m excited to hopefully get back playing sometime soon (with the Leafs).”

McFarland coached the Frontenacs from 2014-17 and spent two years as an assistant with the Florida Panthers before the Leafs hired him last May.

Why leave Toronto? McFarland, 34, said he had the “utmost respect” for Leafs coach Sheldon Keefe and Mike Babcock, and wants to be an NHL head coach one day. With McFarland’s impending departure, Keefe will be able to add to his staff with an assistant of his choosing.

“I’m motivated to hopefully get the opportunity of being a head coach in the NHL and the only way to gain more experience as a head coach was to go back to junior,” McFarland said.

With McFarland running the power play, the Leafs were sixth in the NHL at 23.1% when the league went on pause on March 12.

“It’s an area we will continue to work at, if and when we do get back to playing,” McFarland said. “It was a great group of players to work with, a lot of good knowledge and insight.”

Toronto Sun LOADED: 05.09.2020 1184222 Toronto Maple Leafs If the NHL follows through on its concept of ‘hub cities’ with multiple teams settling in to complete the 2019-20 regular season, Ford was asked about conducting COVID tests for so many players in the course of several days, as well as hundreds of support staff and whether that Leafs, Raptors can start using Toronto practice facilities would detract from testing meant for regular Ontarians.

“What I understand is all tests will be supplied by MLSE and the costs will be absorbed by MLSE or the NHL when they set it up,” he said. “They’ll Lance Hornby actually donate some of the time and the testing area to the public, which Published:May 8, 2020 was very thoughtful of them.”

Updated:May 8, 2020 5:24 PM EDT MLSE has not commented on anything pertaining to the hub idea, as it’s a league matter.

In making her Friday announcement, MacLeod said “while it is imperative Their games remain on hold, but two of Toronto’s premier pro sports to do everything we can to stop the spread of COVID-19, we need to teams have a cautionary green light to prepare for a return to play. carefully and cautiously begin to re-open the economy. (Pro sports) is a critical sector for Ontario as sport represents more than $12.6 billion to Almost two months after the Raptors and Maple Leafs had their regular Ontario’s economy and thousands of jobs across the province.” seasons halted due to COVID-19 concerns, the Ontario government has approved joint plans for both clubs’ practice facilities to have limited re- A return to public recreational sports such as golf and tennis was was openings starting early next week. also broached and Ford acknowledged golf enthusiasts want him to move faster towards full play after giving the go-ahead to prepare But there’s a difference in how fast the hoopsters intend to proceed courses. Some suggested to him they’re willing to abandon the close versus their more cautious Maple Leafs Sports and Entertainment Ltd. quarters of a cart to walk the course or use a contraption that pops the brethren. The Raptors’ OVO Athletic Centre on the Exhibition grounds ball out of the hole to avoid too many players handling the flag. and the rinks at in are good to go, but the former will allow just one player and a coach on court at once and “They’re lobbying hard,” Ford said. “They have a pretty good case. I’ll the latter is still keeping everyone off the ice for now. take it back to our team. But we have to just listen to the Chief Medical Officer. Eventually they’ll be able to get back on the course, based on While both teams are optimistic after Friday’s announcement by Minister safety.” of Heritage, Sport, Tourism and Culture Industries Lisa MacLeod, the Leafs are awaiting approval to ramp up to workouts in step with all 31 “For tennis, there’s two separated people on different sides of the net,” clubs. NHL Commissioner Gary Bettman has forecast practicing in small Ford said. “I’ll go to the table for those two issues. I understand people groups by mid to late May. want to get a little fresh air and exercise and God knows I need a little bit of exercise myself.” So at this stage, only injured Leafs who have been re-habbing significant injuries, such as Jake Muzzin and Ilya Mikheyev, can return to FPC if Toronto Sun LOADED: 05.09.2020 desired. FPC was open at the start of the league’s COVID-19 postponement for players, but later shuttered as the team moved any major re-hab cases to Scotiabank Arena.

Friday’s move could be the signal for NHLers and NBAers now waiting out the pandemic in the United States and Europe to make plans to return. They’ll just have to follow isolation procedures.

“(Athletes) who aren’t in the country right now, if they do come back they’re going to have to be quarantined like everyone else for two weeks,” Premier Doug Ford said in his daily media briefing. “I know the players want to protect themselves. They’re going to be be playing in empty stadiums when that comes. Everyone wants to see a little bit of sports. But those rules will apply for all those teams. There isn’t going to be an exception.”

A statement by the Raptors assured “strict protocols” will be in place when OVO opens Monday, the thrust of their access plan meant to encourage drills such as shooting that can’t be done at home. Symptoms and temperature checks will also be conducted on personnel who come in.

“With approval from public health and our own doctors, internal resources (and) infectious disease experts, this is where we came out that we felt comfortable,” General Manager Bobby Webster said on a conference call.

Players and staff must also wear masks when not practicing and only team training and medical staff will be allowed to work with the Raptors.

“We thought it allowed our guys to start moving and getting out of their apartment a little bit and at least, maybe more for mental health, for them to start shooting and doing things like that,” Webster said.

Asked if he preferred those players in the U.S. remain there or return to Toronto, he said “it’s a little too early to tell. This is all voluntary, so it’s nothing where they have to come back. So I think it will be more of a case-by-case scenario … is it worth it to each individual as they make that analysis.”

The court is the only area to be used by players and coaches, with locker rooms, medical facilities and offices still off-limits. The public and media are still barred from entering. The Raptors added that all work spaces and equipment, basketballs included, will be sanitized before and after sessions. 1184223 Toronto Maple Leafs a copy of the Star on his desk and pointing to the article on the front page of the sports section.

According to Franson, Wilson questioned whether voicing his concerns Cody Franson on ‘regrets’ and the lucrative Maple Leafs extension he through the media would lead to success in Toronto. Franson concedes passed up the article “makes me sound like I’m calling out the coach.”

“Beeker,” says Franson, remembering the advice of Belak, “was bang on.” By Joshua Kloke May 8, 2020 Calling out Wilson was never his intention. But the damage had been done.

In early July 2011, Cody Franson was sitting with friends at breakfast the “That put me in the doghouse,” Franson says. morning after a wedding, feeling understandably a little foggy. Suddenly, his phone rang with a call from a Nashville number he didn’t recognize. Once he began playing regularly, Franson didn’t make the impact he’d hoped he would. He averaged only 16:11 of ice time in 2011-12, sixth “Cody, it’s Mr. Poile” is how Franson recalls Nashville Predators general among Leafs defencemen. manager David Poile introducing himself before bluntly informing him he had just been traded to the Toronto Maple Leafs. But following a late-season coaching change that saw take over for Wilson, Franson felt optimistic about his future with the club. “You try and snap out of it real quick and become attentive,” Franson says, chuckling at the memory. “I don’t think you could really find a GM or a coach outside of Mr. Wilson that had an issue with me,” he says. The NHL being the business it is, the trade came with little warning. The then-23-year-old defenceman had just finished his second NHL season. With the start of the 2012-13 season delayed due to a lockout and He believed he was going to be in Nashville for years to come. Franson still an unsigned restricted free agent, he signed on with Brynäs IF Gavle in the Swedish Elite League. Franson played well in Sweden. “I did not see it coming,” Franson says. Six days before the start of the shortened 2012-13 season, he signed a one-year, $1.2 million deal with Toronto. Still, with one year left on his entry-level deal, Franson was excited. He and his father had grown up as Leafs fans. He was determined to make it work in Toronto.

“It’s always been a dream of mine to play there,” he says. And in the shortened 45-game regular season he did just that, putting up 29 points, eighth-best among NHL defencemen. His production But as Franson would soon discover, the business side of the game can supported his promising possession numbers. have just as big of an impact on a player’s career as what happens on the ice. And as he made clear in a recent conversation with The Athletic, His strong season culminated with six points in the Leafs’ first-round it’s Franson’s memories of what transpired off the ice in Toronto that playoff series loss to the Boston Bruins. He scored twice in Game 7’s gnaw at him the most. epic collapse and averaged over 22 minutes of ice time for the series.

Throughout Franson’s first two seasons in Nashville, he picked the brain “That’s the pinnacle of my career,” says Franson. of Predators teammate and former Leafs defenceman Wade Belak about life in Toronto. Belak’s advice was simple: “It all depends on how you Facing another summer as an RFA, Franson and his camp made the choose to handle your situation.” decision not to go to arbitration. Despite leading Leafs defencemen in scoring during the 2012-13 season, he remembers a concern over the The late Belak — who passed away in August 2011, a month after fact that he had logged only the fifth-most minutes among the team’s Franson was traded to Toronto — would tell Franson how some Maple defencemen and how that might hurt his arbitration case. He and his Leafs players would sour under the constant media attention. It was representatives believed not filing for arbitration was thought to be the those players, in Belak’s estimation, who generally struggled. He warned “safest way to go” at the time, according to Franson. Franson about how words can sometimes be twisted in the media. “That ended up being a huge mistake,” he says now. “We lost all our “‘I’m going to approach people with respect,'” Franson remembers negotiating rights.” thinking. The two sides had reportedly discussed a longer deal, but when they And yet Franson’s Leafs tenure still got off to a rocky start. Throughout couldn’t agree on the dollars, they settled on a one-year, $2 million training camp in 2011, he says then-Leafs coach Ron Wilson “didn’t like contract. Franson had missed the start of Leafs training camp during the me, for some reason, right through camp.” negotiations and joined them on Sept. 26 after signing the deal.

When Wilson told him he wouldn’t be in the lineup for the season opener, “I was always like a one-year-contract guy putting up numbers and never Franson opted to keep his head down and his mouth shut. really meeting market value,” Franson says. “And it was really frustrating.” “There was no problem,” Franson says. It’s easy to construct an inspiring narrative and say Franson continued to Ahead of the third game of the 2011-12 season, Franson spoke to the bet on himself in the hopes of eventually hitting a larger payday. Franson Toronto Star. He said he wanted to play. He remembers being asked says he was continually advised by his agent, Gerry Johannson, who about the differences between playing for Predators head coach Barry was part of Ritch Winter’s The Sports Corporation agency, to indeed bet Trotz and Wilson. He remembers making it clear that there’s no right or on himself. The hope was that eventually, his next deal would break the wrong approach and that the onus was on the player to adapt to the bank. coach as Wilson tried to ensure players earned their spots in the team’s lineup. “You take on a lot of stress when you continually bet on yourself,” Franson says. “It’s disheartening.” “It gives you an uncertain feeling that nobody likes,” Franson said of Wilson’s style in the article. “In one sense, it doesn’t allow you to get And throughout his time with the Leafs, Franson opted to heed the advice comfy, and that’s kinda what they’re going for. They want guys to have to of his representation. He never wanted contract matters to interfere with compete every day to try and keep their job. But I don’t know. I think his play. Agents had more experience with contracts than he did, so why there’s good things to that, and I think there can be some repercussions would he believe he knew something they didn’t? to that, too. “I basically just stepped back from it and let them do what they wanted to “Trotz was very straightforward. There was no wondering with him. If you do,” Franson says, “and just said yes to whatever they wanted to do.” were playing good, you knew. If you were playing bad, he let you know.” Attempts to reach Johannson for this story were unsuccessful. Franson arrived at the Leafs practice rink the next morning and was promptly summoned into Wilson’s office. He hadn’t read any newspapers In July 2014, Franson and the Leafs avoided arbitration by agreeing on that morning, but Wilson had. Franson remembers Wilson slapping down yet another one-year deal, this time for $3.3 million. Franson was finally set to become an unrestricted free agent at the end Had he re-signed in Toronto in 2015, it’s hard not to imagine Franson’s of the 2014-15 season. His big payday was in sight, provided he time working out well. He could have provided a veteran voice to a continued to perform. young, rebuilding Leafs team and filled a hole on the right side of the blue line that has long been gaping. And again, throughout a tumultuous and miserable 2014-15 Maple Leafs season, Franson held up his end of the bargain, leading the team’s With even fewer options in 2017, Franson signed a PTO with the defencemen in scoring for the third year in a row. In January 2015, as the Chicago Blackhawks. He played his way onto the team and signed trade deadline neared, rumours about Franson’s future with Leafs another one-year deal, this time worth $1 million. He was paired with became a hot topic. Duncan Keith and posted a five-on-five expected goals percentage of 55.87 on a bad Blackhawks team that season but sustained an upper- On the Jan. 31 edition of “Hockey Night in Canada,” body injury on Dec. 8, 2017. reported that the Leafs and Franson were unable to agree on a multiyear contract that would pay him $4.6 million per season. Friedman was After returning from injury, the Blackhawks eventually placed Franson on hesitant to state that Franson rejected the offer. waivers. He cleared and was demoted to the Rockford IceHogs. He has not played in the NHL since Jan. 5, 2018. “It always goes back and forth, but at least in the short term, that’s not going to get it done,” says Friedman. “I felt like I had a lot of good hockey left in me, but nobody really cared enough to look into that. So I started looking into going to Russia,” says Franson exhales when asked about that report. “Sadly, it is quite Franson. accurate,” he says. Franson says his contract in two seasons playing for Avangard Omsk in Franson recalls being called into the office of then-Leafs GM Dave Nonis the KHL has been good enough that he’s recouped some of what he left and being offered a three-year contract worth $4.5 million per season. It on the table through his NHL career. was the multiyear deal he’d long coveted, and it would have kept him with the team he loved. He thought about accepting the deal right then Franson is now back home in . He is a free agent. and there. Despite intentions on returning to play in Russia when the KHL resumes, the 32-year-old has already begun to think about the next stage of his “It’s not like the offer was insulting,” says Franson. “I was hoping to come life. in at around 4.5 or 5.” Throughout his career he’s kept notes in his phone of tactical elements of But Franson’s agent told him he’d do even better in free agency and that the game and coaching approaches that have resonated with players he should not accept the offer. should he pursue coaching. But there’s another path he might go down.

“And that’s one of my biggest regrets — probably the biggest regret of “In all honesty, with all the financial situations that I was put in,” says my career,” he says. Franson, “I’ve also got a pretty keen passion for the financial world as Though his dad had often tried to stay out of his contract negotiations, it well.” wasn’t easy in this case. But Franson wants to make it clear: Johannson was a good agent for “He’s like, ‘Are you crazy? Take that!'” Franson remembers. him. He still maintains a good relationship with him. He just wishes he landed the long-term deal he wanted. “It’s one of those situations where you look back and you wish you would have known more or had some different advice,” says Franson. “I think “Unfortunately, my time never really came,” says Franson. that probably would have changed a lot of how the rest of my And that’s why he wonders if he could help players manage their negotiations went from then on.” finances well. The career of an NHL player can be short, after all.

Rather than risk losing him in free agency without compensation, the In Franson’s case, far too short. Leafs dealt Franson back to the Predators. Nonis told him they’d explore bringing him back in the summer. The Athletic LOADED: 05.09.2020

In Nashville, the Predators already counted Shea Weber, Ryan Ellis and Seth Jones among their right-shot defencemen.

“Where do I really fit in here?” Franson remembers thinking to himself. “Why did you guys make the trade for me? I don’t understand your need.”

The experiment in Nashville didn’t go as planned. Franson scored just four points in 23 games. His hopes of returning to Toronto cratered when the Leafs fired Nonis immediately after the season.

As free agency inched closer, some teams told him the long-term deal he sought was not outlandish. Other teams told him dominoes had to fall before they could make a serious offer.

On July 1, 2015, Franson’s phone did not ring.

Meanwhile, some of his comparables had quickly secured long-term deals. Andrej Sekera signed in Edmonton and Jeff Petry signed in Montreal, both for six years and $33 million. Two teams that once seemed like good fits for Franson were no longer in the market for him. He could only sit and watch.

The summer dragged on, and Franson didn’t have many options. Finally, he took a two-year deal with the Buffalo Sabres for $6.65 million.

The Sabres remained bottom feeders in his two seasons in Buffalo. Franson’s points per 60 minutes in each of his two seasons were the worst full-season totals of his career.

He continued to wonder what could have been in Toronto.

“When things go south so bad the way they did it, it’s hard not to have a lot of regrets in that situation, to the point where you wish somebody would have just shook you and said, ‘Why don’t you just try and extend the term on that deal with Toronto?’ I’d be an absolute liar if I said I wish that wouldn’t have been the way I was advised,” Franson says. 1184224 Vegas Golden Knights The format of a 24-team tournament is unclear, but the NHL has looked into using centralized hub cities to host games without fans in the arena. MGM Resorts acting CEO Bill Hornbuckle said in the company’s first quarter earnings call it pitched Las Vegas as a potential host. Golden Knights GM Kelly McCrimmon stays neutral about June draft “Safety of the fans, safety of the players is first and foremost before we ever start to have a discussion about a restart,” McCrimmon said. “But these are unprecedented times. We are doing everything to be prepared David Schoen for what lies ahead. We have no more insight to what exactly that will be May 8, 2020 - 2:25 PM than anyone else does. But when that landscape is solidified, we’ll be ready to react to whatever the NHL has put in front of us.

“I have a lot of confidence in our coaching staff, and that our medical and Ever since NHL Commissioner Gary Bettman floated his “trial balloon” of training staff would have our team very well prepared.” holding a virtual draft in June, quality arguments have come from both sides of the issue. The Golden Knights, however, largely stayed out of McCrimmon did not have anything new to report on contract negotiations the discussion. with forward Jack Dugan of Providence College or goalie prospect Jiri Patera. Connor Corcoran, Xavier Bouchard and Jordan Kooy remain “We weren’t a team that had a strong opinion when the notion was first unsigned from the 2018 draft and normally would be eligible for the 2020 floated,” general manager Kelly McCrimmon said. “I know that there were draft if they aren’t under contract by June 1. some teams that were outspoken about wanting it sooner rather than later, or vice versa. We’re fine with whatever decision the NHL makes. “Just with the reality, with the landscape, with the pandemic, there’s a lot of dates that will need to be re-evaluated and determined as critical dates “The one reality is this draft isn’t going to be like any other draft, whether that the NHL will take care of,” McCrimmon said. “That’s as much as I we have it in June or we have it following the conclusion of the ’19-’20 can speak to on that.” season. This is going to be a stand-alone anomaly with respect to the amateur draft.” One move that will not happen if the season resumes is the Knights naming a captain. The NHL received pushback from teams after deputy commissioner Bill Daly sent a memo stating the case for holding the draft prior to the Coach Pete DeBoer said last month during his appearance on the team’s conclusion of the season. Bettman spoke Monday about the draft with podcast that he is a “believer in a captain,” but McCrimmon is not the Board of Governors. prepared to have that conversation during the pause.

With the season paused since March 12 due to the coronavirus “We would take input from the coaching staff on any of these decisions pandemic, the league would like to provide content to its broadcast related to our team. I think how we do our business in very general terms partners. The NFL drew record ratings for the first round of its virtual is quite collaborative,” McCrimmon said. “I think as the team evolves we’ll draft. always ask along the way what you might do differently. But those are discussions that will happen in the offseason, not while the season is still The Knights’ amateur scouting staff held its year-end meetings via video on. Those discussions will happen down the road, if they’ll happen at all.” conference this month and continued its work in anticipation of a draft announcement from the league. LAS VEGAS REVIEW JOURNAL LOADED: 05.09.2020

McCrimmon said the team is conducting video interviews with prospects and compiling its draft board as it normally would. The draft was scheduled for June 26 and 27 in Montreal but was postponed.

The Knights would pick No. 24 in the first round of a June draft if the selection order is based on points percentage.

“We’ve had a process in place that’s very similar to what we would have done last year in preparation for the draft, what we would do in any ordinary year for the draft,” McCrimmon said. “We’ve got more meetings lined up for all of the next two weeks, for example. We’ve still got preparation that needs to take place in advance of the draft, and we don’t know when the draft is. We will be more than prepared when that time comes.”

One of the speed bumps to a June draft is settling conditional trades. The Knights are among the teams that will seek clarification from the league.

The Knights received a 2021 fourth-round pick from Winnipeg in exchange for center Cody Eakin that becomes a third-round pick if the Jets make the playoffs or he re-signs before July 5.

“The conditions are on a pick in 2021, so that gives that particular situation a little more runway to unfold than it ordinarily might,” McCrimmon said. “The league will provide clarification on all trades that have any conditions relative to this year’s draft, relative to performance, all of those different variables.”

In addition to their draft preparations, McCrimmon said he continues to hold daily video conferences with the pro scouting staff and coaches breaking down other NHL teams.

Phase Two of the league’s restart plan, which would open team facilities for small group skates, could begin later this month if local government restrictions ease. The NHL has not indicated whether testing for the coronavirus would be required to reopen.

While the plan for resuming the season changes frequently, multiple reports have identified a 24-team postseason (and no more regular- season games) as the latest possibility. That would leave seven teams eligible for the draft lottery, 1184225 Vegas Golden Knights

Golden Knights roster review: Max Pacioretty

Ben Gotz

May 8, 2020 - 9:29 am

The Review-Journal presents its “Roster Review” series, which will examine in alphabetical order each Golden Knights player’s production and outlook. Saturday: Left wing Max Pacioretty.

Background

Max Pacioretty’s summer in 2018 was stressful.

The longtime Montreal Canadiens captain knew he was likely on the move. He just didn’t know when or where. So instead of returning to his native Connecticut for workouts — his typical offseason routine — he stayed in Montreal so he could be ready to pack up his life at a moment’s notice.

Pacioretty remained in place until the Knights traded for him Sept. 9. Training camp opened just four days later. Not a lot of time for Pacioretty or his family — which at the time included his three sons and pregnant wife — to adjust.

He finished with 22 points and 40 goals, subpar numbers for a player about to begin a four-year, $28 million contract. His playoff performance (11 points in seven games) was excellent. But more was needed.

Performance

A stress-free summer, by contrast, did wonders for Pacioretty’s game. He got back to his normal routine and focused more on hockey.

“Last year, I would rush out of the rink (in training camp) and either look at houses, check out the schools or go do whatever I had to do to make sure when my family came they were comfortable,” Pacioretty said before the season. “It’s nice I don’t have to deal with that pressure. At the time, you don’t think about if that takes a toll on you, but it probably does.”

He arrived at his second Knights training camp looking more like the player who had five 30-goal seasons in Montreal. Better, in fact.

Buoyed by a simpler offseason and a great wing partner in Mark Stone, Pacioretty has enjoyed a renaissance season. He’s scored a career-high 0.93 points per game. He leads the team in goals (32) and points (66).

His skating has been sharper. His shots have been crisper. His confidence has seemed limitless.

Take a shot from a March 3 game against the New Jersey Devils, for example. Early in the second period Pacioretty wound up a short-side wrister in transition from the top of the left circle against promising goaltender Mackenzie Blackwood. Shots from that distance and angle have roughly a 2 percent chance of going in the net, according to the website MoneyPuck.com.

Pacioretty scored. That’s the fearless sniper the Knights were hoping they acquired in 2018.

Goals like that are the reason Pacioretty represented the Knights at the 2020 All-Star Game. He and Stone became arguably the two most valuable forwards on the team.

Not bad for a guy adjusting to his surroundings a year ago.

Future

Pacioretty isn’t moving again anytime soon. He still has three seasons left on his contract that has a $7 million annual cap hit.

His charge is to prove this year is his new normal and not just an outlier. Since he’s by no means ancient at 31 years old, there’s reason to believe that could be the case.

LAS VEGAS REVIEW JOURNAL LOADED: 05.09.2020 1184226 Vegas Golden Knights

Capitals waive Brendan Leipsic following misogynistic remarks

David Schoen

May 8, 2020 - 9:35 am

The Washington Capitals placed forward Brendan Leipsic on unconditional waivers for purposes of terminating his contract Friday.

The move came two days after Images of a private Instagram group chat involving Leipsic were leaked on social media. The onetime Golden Knights forward made several vulgar remarks in the conversation that the NHL termed “misogynistic and reprehensible.”

He deleted his Instagram account Wednesday and released a statement apologizing for the comments.

Leipsic signed a one-year, $700,000 contract with the Capitals in July and played in 61 games with 11 points before the NHL season was paused March 12 because of the coronavirus pandemic.

The 25-year-old was selected by the Knights in the expansion draft and played 44 games during the team’s inaugural season before being traded to Vancouver for minor league defenseman on Feb. 26, 2018.

LAS VEGAS REVIEW JOURNAL LOADED: 05.09.2020 1184227 Vegas Golden Knights Alex Tuch Road William Carrier Road

Brayden McNabb Street Marc-Andre Fleury Road? North Las Vegas getting Golden Knights- themed community Erik Haula Court

Malcolm Subban Street

Jesse Granger Tomas Nosek Street

May 8, 2020 David Perron Street

Jon Merrill Street

Ever wanted to live on Golden Knights Way? Deryk Engelland Road

How about at the corner of Marc-Andre Fleury Road and Ryan Reaves Cody Eakin Road Street? Ryan Carpenter Road That will be a real possibility soon, according to construction and planning documents obtained by The Athletic. A housing developer Pierre Edouard Street currently building in North Las Vegas is taking a unique approach to Colin Miller Road street naming. Tomas Tatar Court Developer Taylor Morrison is in the early stages of constructing the Palmer Ranch community, which will be built on 30 private streets — all Oscar Lindberg Street with Vegas Golden Knights-related names. It will be located on the north end of the Las Vegas Valley, just shy of the 215 Beltway near Centennial Brad Hunt Road Parkway and Losee Road. Oscar Dansk Road

The main street upon entrance will be named Golden Knights Way, Nick Suzuki Street followed by dozens of streets named after players, coaches and management from the team’s inaugural season that ended with a trip to Maxime Lagace Road the Stanley Cup final. Luca Sbisa Street You can relive William Karlsson’s brilliant between-the-legs goal to clinch a Pacific Division title while strolling down William Karlsson Street. If you The Athletic LOADED: 05.09.2020 prefer Vegas’ dramatic double-overtime win in the first round of the playoffs, you can head over to Erik Haula Court. Fancy the buzzer- beating game-winner to top the Tampa Bay Lightning? Shea Theodore Road.

Are you still upset they didn’t re-sign some of the original Golden Misfits? You can live on David Perron Street, Tomas Tatar Court or Luca Sbisa Street. They’re all there.

“We wanted to capitalize on all the excitement that the Golden Knights bring to the city, and especially in northern Las Vegas,” Taylor Morrison division president James Gomez said. “The community has been such an integral part of our growth and so supportive of our opening. The idea to name the streets after players’ names has created quite a buzz and we’ve already had a lot of interest from different prospects on what street they will buy on, based on their favorite players.”

The development is expected to include 405 homes, potentially going on sale as early as late summer.

“The community is set to open in June 2020. It’s our first Taylor Morrison product in Las Vegas, and we couldn’t think of a more fitting way to honor the city,” Gomez said.

Workers are currently laying asphalt and concrete for the roads and sidewalks. Model homes could be built as soon as late June, with houses going on sale shortly after. According to the developer’s website, the houses will be priced in the high $200,000s.

Here’s a full list of every street name in the development:

Golden Knights Way

George McPhee Road

Gerard Gallant Street

Marc-Andre Fleury Road

Nate Schmidt Road

William Karlsson Street

Marchessault Road

Shea Theodore Road

Ryan Reaves Street

Reilly Smith Street 1184228 Washington Capitals “Leadership, respect and integrity are core values of our Bison Sports community and as a result of this situation, we have taken the action to release the current student-athlete from the Bison program.”

Capitals waive Brendan Leipsic after his vulgar remarks on social media Washington Post LOADED: 05.09.2020

Samantha Pell

May 8, 2020 at 1:46 PM EDT

The Washington Capitals placed Brendan Leipsic on unconditional waivers Friday for purposes of terminating his contract after Images of his messages in a private Instagram group chat circulated Wednesday night. Leipsic’s comments included misogynistic, vulgar, demeaning and profane language.

Those screen shots displayed conversations regarding multiple women, NHL players and their significant others. It also appeared in one of the Images that Leipsic made an insulting comment about his linemates, and other Images included references to illegal recreational drugs. The conversations also included Jack Rodewald, a player in the Florida Panthers’ system.

The Capitals, who deliberated the decision within all levels of the organization, from ownership to staff to players, announced the decision Friday. Leipsic is expected to clear unconditional waivers Saturday, after which the Capitals will terminate his contact.

Once the Capitals confirmed the Images of Leipsic’s remarks were authentic, the organization no longer wanted to be associated with him.

Barry Svrluga: Brendan Leipsic is sorry he got exposed. It’s hard to know what else he’s sorry for.

On Wednesday night, shortly after the screen shots were circulating on social media, the Capitals released a statement to The Washington Post, stating the team was looking into the matter and it would be handling it internally.

Leipsic apologized shortly after the Capitals’ remarks, with a statement posted to Twitter. In his apology, Leipsic said that his friend’s Instagram account was hacked and an individual circulated Images that “are representative of private conversations” he was a part of.

“I fully recognize how inappropriate and offensive these comments are and sincerely apologize to everyone for my actions,” Leipsic wrote. "I am committed to becoming a better person by taking time to determine how to move forward in an accountable, meaningful way. I am truly sorry.”

The NHL also released a statement Wednesday night, saying the league would address the matter with the Capitals and Leipsic: “The National Hockey League strongly condemns the misogynistic and reprehensible remarks made by players Brendan Leipsic and Jack Rodewald in a private group chat that has surfaced on social media. There is no place in our League for such statements, attitudes and behavior, no matter the forum.”

Leipsic, 25, was on his fifth team since 2015-16. The 5-foot-10, 182- pound forward signed a one-year, $700,000 contract with the Capitals in July. In 61 games with Washington, the Winnipeg native had three goals and eight assists and skated mainly on the fourth line. Before the NHL season was suspended March 12 because of the novel coronavirus pandemic, Leipsic was a healthy scratch for seven straight games. His contract termination means he will immediately become an unrestricted free agent.

Leipsic debuted in 2016 with the Toronto Maple Leafs and spent time with the Vegas Golden Knights, Vancouver Canucks and Los Angeles Kings before signing with Washington.

Leipsic’s brother, Jeremy, who also was involved in the group chat that was leaked, was released from the University of Manitoba team Thursday, according to a statement from Athletic Director Gene Muller.

“Bison Sports was extremely disappointed to learn of the highly offensive comments made by a group of prominent hockey players in a private group chat that has emerged online," he wrote. "One of the athletes involved was a Bison Sports player on the 2019/2020 roster. We condemn these reprehensible remarks and attitudes, and express unequivocally that they have no place in sport or in our programs. 1184229 Washington Capitals level. But, simultaneously, elevate the potential for injustice or dumb luck to the roof.

“This was the greatest game in our history,” David Poile, the Capitals’ The Capitals-Islanders Easter Epic showed all that’s right and wrong honest and understated general manager, said in defeat. “Have you ever about playoff hockey seen a game where there were so many great scoring chances and so few goals? I mean ever in one game.” What We’re Missing: Stanley Cup playoffs The Washington Post’s hockey writer back then, the late Bob Fachet, who loved the NHL more than you love air, thought that appraisal might be correct. But perhaps all those wild chances were, in part, due to an Thomas Boswell unusual circumstance that Bob told us, in real time, was about to happen May 8, 2020 at 1:22 PM EDT as the third period began: There probably won’t be any more penalties called in this game, no matter what.

To quote my game column, which finally made it into Monday’s paper: The most ridiculously exciting sports event I ever covered was the Easter “For all intents, the referees left early in the third period. Neither team Epic in 1987. Or should I say it was the most exciting ridiculous sports had a power play for the last 89 minutes 42 seconds — almost a normal event I ever covered? Okay, it was both. game and a half. No-sins-barred hockey. Perhaps 100 penalties went uncalled — dozens of them flagrant tackles and slashes. Everybody That’s why the New York Islanders’ four-overtime Game 7 win over the caught the spirit. Death before dishonor. A half-dozen brawls ended from Washington Capitals at the old Capital Centre was at that time — and exhaustion, not intervention. Acts that would bring a jail term anywhere remains to this day — the epitome of the sublime and the fluky that else on a Saturday night were overlooked as afterthoughts.” collide, perfectly and preposterously, in the Stanley Cup playoffs. I have never seen any game, in any sport, played so far outside the rules Pat LaFontaine scored the winner in the Islanders’ 3-2 victory at 1:58 on or for so long. To a degree that certainly inhibited scoring. But because Easter morning, 6 hours 18 minutes after the puck first dropped. play was so wild and unconventional, with men constantly out of position, Afterward, LaFontaine sought out , the goalie he had beaten gambling for a game-ender or making a desperate dive to steal the puck — on a long, screened shot the Capitals player never had a chance to because there wouldn’t be a whistle, it seemed that the combo of glimpse — and said, “I’m sorry.” mayhem and increasing lactic acid produced countless odd-man rushes That’s all. Just “I’m sorry.” Because in a game with 127 saves, in a or loose-puck-in-the-crease alarm bells. marathon in which Mason had stoned the Islanders on 36 previous shots That’s where the NHL’s unpredictable thrill and its puck-luck flaw collide. in overtime, the season in the balance on each, the men on the ice, Don’t tell me that either team really won that Easter Epic in our normal whose bodies and brains ached in a way none had ever experienced, felt use of the term “win.” After tied the score at 2 with about that victory, wonderful as it was, almost felt like a felony, too. five minutes left in regulation, the Caps hit the post behind Islanders “I never worked this hard in my life,” Caps star defenseman Scott goalie Kelly Hrudey at the end of the first overtime, and the Islanders Stevens said. “Maybe we should have stopped and had another game” were denied by iron in the second OT. Even the final LaFontaine goal another day. clanged off the post to Mason’s left — a winning margin of an inch. The Islanders made a dog pile on the ice, not by jumping for joy and falling The endless shifts, encompassing 128 minutes 47 seconds of play — but just by collapsing on one another. more than two full games — “felt like a bad dream you couldn’t wake up from,” Caps speedster said. Sometimes I felt so drained that I sat back, took a deep breath and thought: “Oh, hell, let either of ‘em win. I can’t stay this intense for this “Eventually, I didn’t feel anything,” said Caps winger Kelly Miller, who long.” And I was young then and at that point only watching. reached a new existential plane. “Something really must kill the pain. I couldn’t feel my body. It was moving without me.” When it ended, you had to see the postgame damage to believe it. Sugar Ray Leonard had just beaten Marvelous Marvin Hagler for the You show up to play a hockey game, and six hours later, you’re climbing middleweight title 12 days before in Las Vegas. As I wrote at the time, Iwo Jima in skates. Stevens, the Caps defenseman, had far more bruises on his face than What the 18,000 fans experienced on that night was merely a modified- those two fighters combined. for-mortals version of what the players felt. Which is tougher: standing “It just doesn’t seem right,” Stevens said. “When we were up three almost continuously into a seventh period of hockey or sitting for brief games to one, I never thought it would come to this." moments of rest only to jump out of your seat as if from an electric shock for what seemed like 150 scoring chances, about half of them possible To this day, that Caps-Islanders insanity in the semifinals game-enders? is the longest Game 7 in Stanley Cup playoff history. There wasn’t a longer series-deciding playoff game until 2008 — by 16 seconds — but When the Easter Bunny arrived at midnight, hardly a seat was empty. As that was “only” a Game 6. 1 a.m. passed, concessionaires had nothing but peanuts in the shell and frozen pretzels. With every print deadline blown and no Internet to post “It’s a shame one team has to lose,” Pollin said around midnight. to, reporters in the press box packed their equipment — and just stayed After it ended, Caps coach Bryan Murray flipped that phrase into a to share the experience. But the stands were still so chock full of perfect postmortem malaprop: “Everybody tried so damn hard. It’s a chanting, white-towel-waving zealots that owner might have shame somebody had to win.” scored a public relations coup if he had just ordered pizza-to-go for 12,000. What are we missing this spring? The chance to watch the most ridiculously exciting event in pro sports: the Stanley Cup playoffs, Every sport has its moments of power that attract fans, then meld them to especially a Game 7. the game for life, just as every sport has its inherent flaws, much as you wish it would be perfect. And, just once, until 1:58 in the morning.

That Easter Epic captured hockey’s power and its flaw. There is no other Washington Post LOADED: 05.09.2020 big event in team sports that keeps fans standing, hearts in throats for so long — even until 2 a.m. is about to arrive — for such exhausting, hair- pulling, voice-croaking, palm-bruising marathons. Other sports have overtime and extra-inning games, but none of those sports are so intense, terrifying and exhilarating for such a high percentage of the time. And none leave its stars so close to terminal battle fatigue by the end.

When such an event arrives in a Game 7, when either team’s season could end or advance within seconds, then the whole affair, especially after it reaches sudden death, feels like what football, basketball or baseball would be if you could square or cube the tension to a higher 1184230 Washington Capitals

Capitals waive Brendan Leipsic in light of sexist social media messages

Adam Zielonka

Friday, May 8, 2020

Brendan Leipsic’s career with the Washington Capitals has come to an embarrassing end.

The Capitals announced Friday they have placed Leipsic on unconditional waivers for the purpose of terminating his contract, two days after several social media messages leaked that showed the 25- year-old using foul and sexist language to degrade women as well as taking shots at his own teammates.

When screenshots of the vulgar comments made the rounds on social media Wednesday and Leipsic deleted his Instagram account, a team spokesman said the team was aware of the issue and called the comments “unacceptable and offensive.”

Michigan barber defies Gretchen Whitmer, reopens shop: 'I don't need the governor to be my mother'

Leipsic signed with Washington last offseason on a one-year deal, making the Capitals his fifth NHL team in five years. He spent most of the season on the fourth line with Nic Dowd and Garnet Hathaway — about whom he said, “(Expletive) they’re losers,” in one of the leaked messages.

Jack Rodewald, a winger in the Florida Panthers’ system, was also linked to the group chat Leipsic was in. The NHL released a statement Wednesday responding to the content of the leaked messages.

“The National Hockey League strongly condemns the misogynistic and reprehensible made by players Brendan Leipsic and Jack Rodewald in a private group chat that has surfaced on social media,” the statement said. “There is no place in our League for such statements, attitudes and behavior, no matter the forum. We will address this inexcusable conduct with the clubs and players involved.”

Leipsic later confirmed he’d written the messages and issued an apology in which he said he was “committed” to becoming a better person.

“Yesterday my friend’s Instagram account was hacked and an individual circulated Images that are representative of private conversations I was a part of,” Leipsic wrote. “I fully recognize how inappropriate and offensive these comments are and sincerely apologize to everyone for my actions. I am committed to learning from this and becoming a better person by taking time to determine how to move forward in an accountable, meaningful way. I am truly sorry.”

Leipsic fell out of the regular lineup after the Capitals acquired Ilya Kovalchuk and before the 2019-20 season was suspended due to the coronavirus. In the event that the season resumes, the Capitals still will have 13 forwards without Leipsic.

Leipsic’s younger brother Jeremy also participated in the group chat and was kicked off the University of Manitoba hockey team for using similar language.

Washington Times LOADED: 05.09.2020 1184231 Washington Capitals

Capitals' Greatest Hits: How to watch Troy Brouwer's game-winning goal in 2015 Winter Classic

Eric Myers

May 08, 2020 4:38 PM

On Jan. 1, 2015, the diamond at Nationals Park was covered with a hockey rink that served as the middle of a star outline. It was the first time the Winter Classic came to D.C., and the Capitals were looking to come out on top.

Troy Brouwer was the eventual hero in that game, scoring a game- winning power-play goal with 12.9 seconds remaining to lift the Capitals over the Blackhawks.

On Monday night, as part of the Capitals' Greatest Hits series, Brouwer will be a special guest during a replay of that outdoor game.

After Washington built a 2-0 lead behind goals from Eric Fehr and Alex Ovechkin, Chicago battled back with a pair of goals. The score was level for nearly the entirety of the third period before Brouwer's goal ensured the game wouldn't extend into an extra session.

Here's everything you need to know to watch the replay this Winter Classic that was, in fact, a classic.

How to WATCH: Capitals’ Greatest Hits

Who: Washington Capitals vs. Chicago Blackhawks — Jan. 1, 2015

When: May 11 at 7 p.m. ET

Where: NBC Sports Washington (channel finder)

Guest: Former Capitals right winger Troy Brouwer, who played in Washington from 2011 to 2015.

Comcast SportsNet.com LOADED: 05.09.2020 1184232 Washington Capitals The hockey world was watching to see if the Caps took this seriously or not and on Friday, the team responded.

Comcast SportsNet.com LOADED: 05.09.2020 Terminating Leipsic's contract was not just the right decision, it was the only decision

J.J. Regan

May 08, 2020 6:10 PM

In the wake of Brendan Leipsic's offensive comments that leaked from an Instagram group chat, the Capitals made the right choice -- and really, the only choice -- on Friday by placing him on unconditional waivers for the purpose of terminating his contract.

The comments were derogatory toward his teammates, women and drew nearly instant condemnation from the league and the team.

When he clears waivers on Saturday, and there is no reason to think he won't, he will be an unrestricted free agent left to ponder his NHL future.

While to most, terminating his contract was a move the team absolutely had to make, the public reaction to it was not unanimous when it was revealed the comments were actually from a private group chat. Former Capitals forward Dustin Penner voiced a dissenting opinion on Twitter Thursday in the wake of Jeremy Leipsic's dismissal from the University of Manitoba's hockey team for being a part of the group chat.

PRIVACY IS DEAD. This is the world we want? To chase people around the village with torches? He without sin cast the first stone. I don’t defend what he said but defend the RIGHT to say it! Especially in private conversation. Y’all f king HYPOCRITES https://t.co/1bJJ9c7EMq

— Dustin Penner IG-DD2527 (@Dustinpenner25) May 7, 2020

There is certainly something unsavory about judging someone for comments made in private that were never meant for public consumption. Having said that, this is a lesson that has been learned over and over again by leaks from conversations thought to be private. Nothing posted to social media - even in private channels - can be guaranteed to be private. And once it's out there, arguing that it wasn't meant for public consumption won't lessen the sting.

Whenever there is a controversy like this out there, there is always someone ready to argue about the right to freedom of speech, much like Penner does in his tweet. Penner is right, everyone on that group chat does have the right to say what they did and that's why they won't be punished by the government for it. That's what protection is offered by the first amendment. What it does not mean is that someone's words are without consequence or that different standards can be set by corporations, teams, polite society and any other group.

Now look, I'm not naive. Of course, this decision was made easier by the fact that Leipsic was a depth player on a one-year contract who had been relegated to a healthy scratch the last seven games. From a completely cynical point of view, Leipsic was more trouble than he was worth the moment this happened. Washington is not going to win or lose a Stanley Cup because of his presence on the roster. What would have happened if these comments were from the Instagram account of Alex Ovechkin or Nicklas Backstrom? That would have been a much tougher decision to make. But it is because this decision was so easy that the team had to make it.

Leipsic could not remain with the team. Period. He couldn't for trash- talking Nic Dowd and Garnet Hathaway, who are not only his teammates but his linemates as well. And don't dismiss this as fun ribbing between friends because, remember, this happened on a private chat that neither Dowd nor Hathaway were ever meant to see. How could any player in the locker room expect Leipsic to have their backs after seeing him badmouth current and former teammates?

Leipsic could not remain with the team because of his comments regarding drug use. This is a team that made headlines for drug use less than a year ago when Evgeny Kuznetsov was banned four years by the IIHF for testing positive for cocaine. And, most of all, Leipsic could not remain with the team because of his outrageous, misogynistic comments because they are just plain wrong and there is no place for that in hockey - or anywhere else. 1184233 Washington Capitals

Capitals to terminate contract of Brendan Leipsic for offensive social media comments

J.J. Regan

May 08, 2020 11:10 AM

The Capitals have chosen to terminate the contract of forward Brendan Leipsic for his offensive social media comments, the team announced on Friday.

Leipsic has faced criticism from around the NHL when a private Instagram group chat containing offensive comments was made public on Wednesday. Tarik El-Bashir of The Athletic reported that general manager Brian MacLellan spoke to Leipsic on the phone Wednesday and was planning to meet with him face-to-face when the team reconvened. MacLellan ultimately decided not to wait that long to hand down punishment.

The Washington Capitals have placed Brendan Leipsic on unconditional waivers for purposes of terminating his contract.

— CapitalsPR (@CapitalsPR) May 8, 2020

Leipsic came to Washington as a free agent on a one-year deal. After a strong start to the season on the fourth line, his production tapered off significantly. While it shouldn't matter, the team's decision to terminate his contract was likely made easier by the fact that he had been relegated to being a healthy scratch with the acquisition of Ilya Kovalchuk at the trade deadline. That, and the fact that linemates Nic Dowd and Garnet Hathaway were one of the subjects of Leipsic's comments. Leipsic had three goals and eight assists in 61 games for Washington.

Leipsic's brother, Jeremy, was removed from the University of Manitoba's hockey team on Thursday for taking part in the group conversation as well.

Comcast SportsNet.com LOADED: 05.09.2020 1184234 Washington Capitals Sloan's NHL career lasted 99 games and he played every one of them with Washington.From the blue line, he scored four goals and 13 assists.

90: Joe Juneau The best Capitals player to wear each jersey number: 81-99 Juneau scored one of the biggest goals in franchise history, the 1998 overtime goal that advanced the Caps to the Stanley Cup Final for the first time in franchise history. Even with the huge goal, he was more of a J.J. Regan set-up man than a goal-scorer and recorded over 400 assists in his career. May 08, 2020 10:00 AM 91: Sergei Fedorov

Fedorov was an absolute elite superstar when he was in his prime with Say No. 8 to a Capitals fan and every one of them will know exactly who the Detroit Red Wings. He won the Hart Trophy in 1994, two Selke you are talking about. Some players with their play can essentially claim Trophies, three Stanley Cups and was inducted into the Hall of Fame. a number within a franchise. There have been several players who have While he was past his prime when he came to Washington, he still worn the numbers 5, 8, 12 and 19 for the Caps and yet, there is only one played a significant role with the team and scored the Game 7 overtime player that comes to mind for the fans for each of those numbers. Other winner over the New York Rangers in 2009. numbers, however, are not as obvious. 92: Evgeny Kuznetsov With that, let's go through the history of the Capitals and determine which player is the best to ever wear that number for the team. is the better player overall with over 1,100 games and 952 total points in his career. Only 13 of those games, however, were with Check out previous lists here: Washington. Considering the impact Kuznetsov has had on the franchise 1-20 -- leading the team in points in the 2018 postseason run, scoring the Game 6 overtime goal to finally defeat the Pittsburgh Penguins -- I had to 21-40 go with Kuznetsov just barely over Tocchet.

41-60 94: Sergei Berezin

61-80 Berezin played only nine games with Washington, but he scored five goals and four assists in those nine games. That's also more games than Traditionally most players kept low numbers in the earlier days of the Nicolas Deschamps (3) who is the only other player to wear Nol. 94 for NHL so the higher you get, the fewer choices you have. In fact, no player the Caps. has worn the Nos. 86, 93, 95, 97, 98 and, of course, 99 for the Caps. Here are the top players for the remaining numbers from 81 to 96. 96:

81: Dmitry Orlov Housley spent two seasons of his Hall of Fame career with Washington, helping the team advance to the Stanley Cup Final for the first time in Before he was No. 9, Orlov was the only player in franchise history to franchise history. wear No. 81. Though he can be criticized for turnovers, he has established himself as a very good top-four defenseman over his eight Comcast SportsNet.com LOADED: 05.09.2020 NHL seasons.

82: Zach Sanford

Sanford began his NHL career with 26 games for Washington before he was traded to the St. Louis Blues. He won a Stanley Cup there in 2019.

83: Jay Beagle

A fan favorite, Beagle climbed all the way from the ECHL to the AHL to the NHL where he spent 10 seasons with Washington, helping the team win the Stanley Cup in 2018.

84: Mikhail Grabovski

Grabovski spent one season with Washington and scored a hat trick in his Capitals debut. Unfortunately, that first game was pretty much the highlight of his time with the Caps. He was a good player overall, though, with 534 NHL games and 296 points.

85: Mathieu Perreault

Role players can be hard to find and Perrault has made a career out of being a strong role player primarily with the Winnipeg Jets. He spent the first four seasons of his NHL career with the Caps who drafted him in the sixth round in the 2006 draft.

87:

Everyone knows Brashear for his fists, but he was a much better player than most give him credit for. He played in over 1,000 NHL games and recorded 205 total points. He was more than just a goon even if that was his primary responsibility.

88: Nate Schmidt

Schmidt was a player who looked like he had a long and bright future in Washington. Just when he was poised to crack the team's top-four on the blue line, he was whisked away by the Vegas Golden Knights in the expansion draft. It seems to have worked out for both the player and the team though as Schmidt has a significant role with Vegas' defense and the Caps immediately won a Cup in 2018.

89: Tyler Sloan 1184235 Washington Capitals response to this? "Well, don't go." Bombay tells him he can't pass up this opportunity and tells him he knows what he's going through. Charlie responds, "No, you don't understand. You obviously don't have a clue." He says this to the guy who's dad died when he was a kid, who has Why 'D3: The Mighty Ducks' falls well short of the bar set by the original mentored him through pee-wee, helped him get on the national team, coached them to a gold medal and has gotten him a scholarship to this

school. Within the first five minutes of the movie, you already know that J.J. Regan Charlie is a real piece of work.

May 08, 2020 6:00 AM I think this movie is assuming we have seen the first two when it comes to Charlie. If you have, you can cut Charlie a little bit of slack. His dad left when he was young so maybe there are some abandonment issues here. Hockey and Bombay are really all he had growing up. If you are With live sports on pause and most people stuck at home due to the coming into his movie without watching the other two, then Charlie will coronavirus, hockey fans have to find other ways to pass the time. just come off like the biggest brat in the world. Also, let's say Bombay did Watching a good hockey movie can certainly help, but the fact is some of want to coach them. There's no guarantee the school would even hire us haven't seen the "classic" hockey movies since we were kids. him. So how good are they really? Do they actually hold up? With nothing but Here is a list of the most egregious things Charlie says in this movie: To time on our hands, let's find out. Bombay, "But you can dump us, right? You're dumping us in some stupid Every Friday during the pause, I'll have a hockey movie review in which I school." Saying to his new coach the first time he meets him, "You've got will watch a movie the night before, take notes and provide those notes to be kidding me, right? I mean, you're the rookie here. We've all been and a grade for each movie just to see how good they really are. together for four years." To the girl he is supposedly flirting with, "You're just like the rest of those snobs." To his coach, "A washed-up pro who You can check out the past reviews here: has to show off to a bunch of kids." To Bombay about Orion, "You left us "Happy Gilmore" with a real jerk." Then Charlie learns Orion walked away from the NHL to be with his handicapped daughter. Charlie's the real jerk! "The Mighty Ducks" Why would Eden Hall give the entire team a scholarship? I had the same "D2: The Mighty Ducks" problem with the second movie too. OK, so the Ducks won the state championship. Why would they take the entire team and make them This week's movie: "D3: The Mighty Ducks" Team USA? And at least in that one, they added a handful of players to The third chapter of the Mighty Ducks trilogy takes the Ducks to high bolster the roster. In this movie, they are giving the full team a school. The team has received scholarships to the prestigious Eden Hall scholarship and...that's it. That's the team. No one else is added, there Academy to play on the freshman hockey team. Emilio Estevez reprises are no tryouts, no nothing. I guess you have to have the team back his role as Gordan Bombay yet again, but he is not the main character together for the story's sake, but still. For a school that takes hockey as and has a very small role in the movie. Instead, the focus moves to seriously as Eden Hall, they don't really do much vetting. This also has Charlie Conway. He and the team have to navigate a new school in the added problem of giving varsity a valid beef with the Ducks. In the which they feel they do not belong, a bullying varsity team and a new first interaction between the Ducks and varsity, one of the varsity players coach. says his little brother lost his spot on the freshman team because of them. You know what? That's a valid reason to not like the Ducks. My perception of this movie has changed a lot over the years. I saw it when I was little and thought coach Ted Orion, played by Jeffrey Eden Hall has won 10 consecutive state championships. Nordling, was a big meanie and I completely understood why there was I knew as soon as we saw the ant farm in the dean's office and it would so much tension between him and Charlie. As soon as I learned anything come up at some point in the movie. I was right. about hockey, I flipped, thought Charlie was a brat and disliked this movie because I thought it was vilifying the coach for wanting to do Abraham from the walking dead is a player on varsity. things like play defense. Upon watching it again, it's slightly more nuanced than that. Charlie's first impression of coach Orion is that he doesn't like him because he won't let them just lasso each other for practice and he wants Charlie is a brat, but he is told he is a brat by almost everyone throughout them to play defense? Grow. Up. the movie. Orion isn't really vilified at all, it just takes a while for Charlie to understand where he's coming from and that's the point. The revelation I Greg Goldberg has been a terrible goalie for the entire trilogy. Thank you, had watching it is that this movie is really a coming of age movie thank you for finally addressing this and naming Julie Gaffney the starter. disguised as a Mighty Ducks movie. There's actually not that much The fact that she barely played in the second movie was garbage. hockey in it. There are a few practices, then we see one game, one dawn Charlie goes to complain to Hans about Orion. "He doesn't exactly seem "scrimmage" with the varsity, then the climactic varsity showdown. That's like he's open to new learning experiences." Hans replies, "The question it and that's because hockey is not so much the focus as it was in is, are you?" Later in the movie, Hans says, "You're not a little boy previous movies. This time the focus is Charlie. anymore. Please stop acting this way."Thank you, Hans.

Having said that, Charlie's still a brat and I'll have much more to say on Orion's speech on confidence is great and just goes over the head of that in the notes. teenage angsty Charlie. Seriously, he is the fifth Harry Potter movie level Here are my notes from watching: of bratty.

I hate stereotypes in movies. To me, it's a signal by the writer that the Any argument the Ducks may have had about not needing or wanting to writing is not good enough to show us who these characters are so it play team defense goes out the window in their first game when they give leans on easily recognizable and overused tropes. It's lazy writing. In this up a 9-0 lead in the third period. Nine goals in one period. They have case, it is the snobby prep school kids and the bully jocks. I can excuse horrible puck management in the defensive zone and Charlie is a puck the snobby stereotype somewhat because, as we saw from the first hog. Do they come back to the locker room and say, Orion was right! No, movie, rich kids vs. poor kids is a major theme throughout the trilogy. Charlien pretty much blames everyone else. Characterizing the varsity team as the big, dumb, arrogant jocks, The scene in the locker room after the tie is an important one because it however, makes no sense considering the Ducks are there on athletic shows that Charlie is the one being selfish and his teammates know it scholarships. They're the jocks too. and come after him for it.

Charlie has issues and I thought so in the second movie too. They are Now on the third Mightly Ducks movie, we can see the formula. The team playing for Team USA and Charlie is upset they can't be the USA Ducks plays hockey, the main character gets distracted, the main character gets or wear their Duck colors instead of red, white and blue. At the start of a pep talk, learns a lesson, gets focused and the team has success. this movie, Bombay tells Charlie he is not going to be their coach Really, when you think about it, the Hawks, Team Iceland and varsity are because he has been offered an incredible opportunity where he is all secondary villains to the personal issues the characters face. essentially in charge of pee-wee hockey worldwide. Charlie's initial David Shelby plays the dean and boy does he butcher one of the most important scenes of the movie. While the team is on the bus waiting to leave for an away game, the dean comes on the bus. He plays it very and buddy-buddy...while telling them that the school is withdrawing their scholarships. He does this while smiling. There is not a single ounce of understanding the severity of what he is telling those kids at all.

The team is going to lose its scholarship for not performing up to the standards of the school. Bombay is brought in by the team as legal counsel and says scholarships are binding and that he will sue the school if they are revoke ...but I'm pretty sure he's wrong. I believe most scholarships are good for one year and can be revoked by the school so I'm not sure that threatening would have done much good. Then again, I don't know why that decision would need to be made in the middle of the hockey season rather than at the end of the school year.

The climactic game the movie builds up to is an exhibition game between the freshman team and varsity. After the Ducks get to keep their scholarships, there is some trash talking back and forth. During this, varsity says the Ducks can have Adam Banks back. Banks was promoted to varsity since he's the Ducks' best player. They also say if the Ducks win, they will change their name from Warriors to Ducks. I would have loved it if the coach were there. "Hey guys, I couldn't help but overhear. No, I'm not giving up Banks just because you are trash-talking each other. He's really good. Also, let me check with the dean, hey dean? Are we going to change our team name based on this exhibition?" "What?! Heck no!" "Yeah, that's what I thought. No, we're not doing that." Neither of those things would be allowed to happen. The name change is set up once in five seconds of dialog when there is a petition to change the team name Otherwise, it's not brought up again. Then suddenly this exhibition game is all about changing the team name.

In practicing for varsity, Orion says they get a lot of garbage goals (goals in front of the net) so he decides they are going to clean up the garbage. He then dumps a trash can on the ice. As a metaphor, I get it, but then they start drilling with the trash. That drill is, in a word, garbage.

Seriously, they need to get over the "Ducks." I get that this is a movie franchise, but it's ridiculous. In the second movie they give up their USA jerseys for Duck jerseys in the gold medal game and in this exhibition game, they wear their Ducks jerseys instead of the school's. You know, that school that is giving them scholarships and that they play for? That's the one! They're not Ducks anymore! Accept it!

No referee in this entire trilogy understands what interference is because it happens all game, every game and is never called.

It wouldn't be a Mighty Ducks movie without making light of a concussion. This time it's Averman. He takes a big hit, you hear the birds tweeting, he's carried to the bench and says, "It's so pretty out there." What does Orion tell him to do? Sit on the bench. He doesn't even leave the game.

Of course Portman shows up after the first two periods, he has randomly signed his scholarship and has decided he's going to play. No, stop. You haven't been in this entire movie, why suddenly insert him just for the third period? He gets a penalty, starts throwing his gear into the crowd and stripping in the box. You're not "Slap Shot." Stop. And what if varsity had scored on the power play? He would be screwed because he doesn't have his gear.

The Ducks are trying to kill a two-man advantage and suddenly the coach who has preached defense through the entire movie is advocating going for the shorthanded goal.

Final Grade: C

This movie is really asking you to see it in the context of the trilogy. If you don't, Charlie might be enough to ruin this movie for you. He's that bad. Though not as childish or as devoid of any real message as D2 was, really this movie tries to disguise easy rich kid stereotypes as a continuation of the rich vs. poor commentary that we saw in the first movie. It doesn't really stick. Instead of focusing on what a scholarship to this prestigious school may mean to these kids who, from the original team, came from the poor district of Minneapolis, it instead focuses on Charlie and his teenage angst. Because of that, whatever message this movie may have had gets lost in a shallow, made for kids coming-of-age movie with some hockey thrown in.

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Capitals put Brendan Leipsic on waivers after ‘completely unacceptable’ comments

Tarik El-Bashir

May 8, 2020

The Capitals parted ways with Brendan Leipsic on Friday morning, two days after offensive comments the winger made in a private group chat on Instagram surfaced on social media.

The decision does not come as a surprise.

The situation exploded publicly on Wednesday as screenshots of Leipsic’s posts were shared in internet forums and on Twitter. In the comments, Leipsic directed disparaging comments at women, referenced illicit drug use, and made attacks against former and current teammates, including a shot at his own linemates in Washington.

Leipsic apologized in a statement on Wednesday saying, “I fully recognize how inappropriate and offensive these comments are.” He also said that his friend’s Instagram account had been hacked and that “an individual circulated Images that are representative of private conversations I was a part of.”

In the Caps’ statement announcing Friday’s move, the team only made mention of the transaction: “The Washington Capitals have placed Brendan Leipsic on unconditional waivers for purposes of terminating his contract.”

Behind the scenes, club officials found Leipsic’s comments to be “completely unacceptable” and, after doing their due diligence, quickly came to the conclusion that there was no path forward with the player and he needed to be removed from the organization, a team source said.

The question now is what becomes of Leipsic’s NHL career?

“It’s going to be incumbent on him to prove that he’s learned from the mistakes that he’s made,” a source outside of the organization said. “That this is not who he is, that the actions he took were inappropriate and misguided, that he’s sorry for it and that he’s capable of change like others have.”

The fourth-liner who will turn 26 later this month signed a one-year deal for the NHL minimum of $700,000 last offseason with the Caps, his fifth team in five years. And though he got off to a strong start on the team’s revamped fourth line, he struggled to produce offensively, and by the time the season was paused due to the COVID-19 pandemic, he had been scratched for seven consecutive games.

In 61 contests, Leipsic amassed three goals and eight assists. He’ll become an unrestricted free agent upon clearing waivers.

Leipsic’s younger brother, Jeremey, who was also part of the group chat, was kicked off the hockey team at the University of Manitoba, according to a statement from the athletic director.

The Athletic LOADED: 05.09.2020 1184237 Winnipeg Jets When pressed on if it would be fair to describe him as racist, Hull reportedly replied: "I don’t give a damn. I’m not running for any political office."

Hull's off-ice actions more deplorable than Leipsic's, but Golden Jet Then came a damning 2002 documentary on ESPN, which profiled his scored 50 a season long history of alleged spousal abuse, among other issues. His first wife, Joanne, described several incidents of Hull physically beating her during their relationship, including once with a steel-heeled shoe.

Mike McIntyre Their daughter, Michelle, who is now a lawyer who works with victims of domestic crimes, described ugly scenes growing up in the home. 05/8/2020 8:00 PM "A lot of bad memories stem from how my dad acted when he was

drinking. When he had been drinking, you’d just know that you didn’t Go ahead and applaud taking down a group of boorish hockey "bros" for want to be around here," she said. Upon hearing what her father had told their despicable behaviour. But you might want to hold off on a full- the Russian paper a few years earlier, she replied "that’s exactly like fledged victory lap. him."

Brendan Leipsic said some terrible things and is now a pariah in hockey Hull was also arrested in 1986 when his third wife, Deborah, called police circles, his NHL career in flames and an outcast in his hometown of to report domestic trouble. Hull tried to throw a punch at a Chicago officer Winnipeg, where the pitchforks and torches are out in full force. and was ultimately convicted of assault and given a fine and probation.

Bobby Hull said — and did — some terrible things and is still widely Hull, along with former World Hockey Association linemates Anders celebrated in hockey circles, his NHL career treated with reverence while Hedberg and Ulf Nilsson, were the first entrants into the Jets’ 2.0 Hall of his name and number hang from the rafters at Bell MTS Place. Fame in 2016. Hull missed the induction ceremony, citing "personal reasons," but stood at centre ice three months ago as Randy Carlyle and Anyone else see a problem here? The hypocrisy, not to mention the Thomas Steen were welcomed into the club. irony, is pretty thick. He soaked up the standing ovation from the sold-out crowd at the The Washington Capitals placed Brendan Leipsic on unconditional downtown rink. waivers to terminate his contract after disparaging comments he made about women and teammates in a private social media chat were made Sport is littered with examples of athletes who were given second (or public. more) chances, including the NHL.

The Washington Capitals placed Brendan Leipsic on unconditional Austin Watson returned after pleading no-contest to domestic assault. waivers to terminate his contract after disparaging comments he made was accused of rape, then cleared after an investigation. about women and teammates in a private social media chat were made Ryan O’ Reilly was charged, then later acquitted, of drunk driving after public. crashing into a Tim Hortons restaurant. has been the subject of numerous accusations and lawsuits. Former Jets goaltender Just hours after Hull was named to TSN’s all-time Winnipeg Jets team as Ondrej Pavelec was convicted of drunk driving in Europe. Former Jets part of an ongoing series on Friday morning, Leipsic was given his defenceman Dustin Byfuglien admitted to careless boating (reduced from walking papers by the Washington Capitals, placed on unconditional impaired boating) and got a fine and community service. waivers for the purpose of terminating his contract. The 25-year-old, with 187 NHL games under his belt, is unlikely to play a 188th. Heck, Ray Lewis went on to win a Super Bowl after he was charged in a double murder, then cut a deal to plead guilty to obstruction of justice and Leipsic’s sins have been well-documented, as his participation in a vile, testify against his co-accused. Lewis, now retired, is widely regarded as misogynistic and at times racist series of private group chats with other one of the greatest NFL linebackers in history. local hockey players became public this week. Justice was swift, severe and rather predictable. Leipsic, a fourth-line fringe player at best making Unlike all of the above, Leipsic is not accused of breaking any laws, but US$700,000 per year, was easily expendable. rather using terrible judgment, which included making disparaging remarks about some former and current teammates. Knowing the Do you think a superstar player caught up in the same type of scandal mindset of many pro sports outfits, you wonder if that was actually his would have received the same punishment? Not a chance. There would biggest mistake in their eyes. be crisis management teams and tearful on-camera apologies and talk of counselling and treatment and righting a wrong and using this as a Any chance of redemption in the hockey world likely won’t happen in the teachable, learning moment for young players everywhere. NHL. Leipsic’s case is rightfully being used as an example of the toxic culture that still exists, and he will be seen as toxic for the foreseeable Not so with Leipsic, who could be made an example out of without any future. Easy come, easy go for a replacement-level player whose great loss to his team, or the league. This is not to suggest he is in any absence won’t be missed outside of his increasingly shrinking inner way a victim here, or that he should get a pass for his inexcusable circle. conduct. These are all very much self-inflicted consequences he’s going to have to live with. Meanwhile, the accolades and cheers keep coming for someone like Hull, who has never apologized for a past that puts Leipsic’s to shame. But what about Hull, whose sins have also been well-documented? Most But he was so much better at putting the puck in the net, you see, so hockey fans don’t seem to give a lick. And that is especially true in that’s apparently all that really matters. Winnipeg, where True North Sports & Entertainment has seemingly turned a blind eye to his dark off-ice past while continuing to honour his Winnipeg Free Press LOADED 05.09.2020 on-ice accomplishments. That included rolling out the welcome mat for the now 81-year-old for their annual Hall of Fame game in February.

All of Hull’s transgressions came long before social media was around. But that doesn’t make them any less real. Yes, it’s a much different world a young Leipsic is living in than the one a young Hull was living in. I’ll let you be the judge on whether time should, indeed, heal all wounds.

There was the 1998 interview the Jets’ legendary scoring star did with a Russian newspaper in which he was quoted as saying, in the words of the , "that Nazis were not without merit, that the black population of the United States was growing too fast and that genetic breeding was a worthy idea."

"Hitler, for example, had some good ideas. He just went a little bit too far," Hull told the Moscow Times. 1184238 Winnipeg Jets It’s awesome. Growing up playing hockey, knowing I would have somewhere to play in college was a good feeling, of course. But there was always that doubt about when I was done college, would I have a place to play or would I have to hang up the skates? It’s cool there’s a Q&A: Kayla Friesen on going No. 2 in NWHL Draft, falling in love with league and they’re working on making it better and whatnot, I know hockey again there’s a little bit of a feud between the two sides (NWHL and the PWHPA) right now. Hopefully, in the future they can come to terms and

hopefully the NHL can help out and bring a light to the girls side of things Ken Wiebe for all of the other girls that want to continue playing after college.

May 8, 2020 When did you know that playing professional hockey could be a real possibility for you?

Once I transferred (to Clarkson), I knew I had a chance. At St. Cloud, Kayla Friesen didn’t have an opportunity to hug her parents before things weren’t really developing the way that I wanted them to, so I was a walking on stage to pull on a Connecticut Whale jersey. In fact, Friesen little bit skeptical. Growing up, I always wanted to continue playing as didn’t even get to tune in virtually to see and hear WNBA star Jasmine long as I could, so I knew that I needed somewhere that would give me Thomas of the Connecticut Sun announce her as the second overall that growth, so I could get that opportunity. Thankfully, Clarkson gave selection in the NWHL Draft last week. that to me.

But for good reason. What was it like to make the decision to transfer schools, given that you were the team captain at St. Cloud and you only had one more year of “I wasn’t actually watching online, I had a meeting with one of my eligibility remaining? professors at the time, sadly,” said Friesen, a Winnipegger who played at St. Mary’s Academy and recently completed her senior season at That decision was very tough, very emotional. I went back and forth for a Clarkson University after spending her first three years of eligibility at St. long time. I had lots of conversations with the coaches at St. Cloud, the Cloud State. “I got some texts after. A bunch of friends and coaches players and my family here. Also my high school coach who has really reached out and then, of course, Connecticut reached out too. We talked become a friend. I just came to (the conclusion) that I didn’t want to settle about the past season and talked about their style of hockey, living anymore. I needed to take that risk and if it worked out, great. If it didn’t, situations and contracts and whatnot.” at least I could say that I tried. Once I got to Clarkson, it was a full 180, with my development, the coaching, the structure there. It was everything The NWHL did a great job in televising its draft for the first time via social that I needed for hockey, for sure. media. It was still an extremely special moment for Friesen, even if she didn’t get to fully enjoy it in real time. So you found it rejuvenating in a lot of ways?

Women’s hockey continues to create quality players and is gaining Absolutely. I kind of fell back in love with the sport again, which is what I exposure, but many high-level players still require full-time jobs outside of was hoping for. I had kind of lost that (at St. Cloud), which was sad hockey in order to play. There’s a large and vocal group of players who because I grew up loving the game so much. To lose that was upsetting, think more needs to be done and there’s also a lot of tension surrounding but thankfully, Clarkson gave that back to me and that’s something that the women’s professional game, with many high-profile players in I’m very grateful for. Canada and the U.S. still boycotting the NWHL. With the benefit of going through it, what was it like to go through the While the NHL Draft is making preparations for the possibility of a virtual process of falling out of love with hockey? draft, many of those future first-round picks are in line for significant signing bonuses and eventually, a massive increase in their respective I don’t know. I definitely fell into a little bit of a rough patch and I didn’t bank accounts. know how to get out of it. The one thing that I looked at was, “what could I change?” Nothing is really changing in my situation, so clearly I need to For the sake of comparison, Friesen is back at home in Winnipeg do something different and make that bold change and chase that dream working a landscaping job and trying to decide whether she’s going to with passion again. Thankfully, it worked out and I couldn’t be happier head overseas to play (probably in Sweden) or make the jump to the with my year, my teammates, my coaches and everything that they gave NWHL, which has six teams after the addition of an expansion club in me. Toronto. Your dad Rob played professionally in Europe and in the minors, but “I’m looking at all of my options,” said Friesen, who expects to make her when did you first fall in love with hockey? decision over the course of the next few weeks. “I have to do what’s truly going to be the best for me over the long haul, not just hockey-wise but He had a great career and I was actually born in the States (in Monroe, for my personal career as well. Looking at everything to truly realize Louisiana) when he was playing there. So luckily, I have dual citizenship. what’s going to make me happiest.” Honestly, I threw the skates on when I was 3 and I never looked back. My dad was always out there with me, teaching me. Growing up, we built If Friesen joins the Whale, there will be another Manitoba connection, a rink in the backyard. My family was always out there late at night and I since former NHLer Colton Orr is the head coach. definitely got some frostbite. I would get my dad to put on the pads or call a friend and just rip pucks at them. “I actually grew up with his nephew here in Winnipeg,” said Friesen. “I talked with (Orr) and he relayed his style of hockey, his coaching style For some of the people that haven’t seen you play, how would you and what type of players he looks for and what he thinks the upcoming describe your playing style? season will look like.” I like to score goals, that’s always good. But I was always more of a Here’s a condensed version of the rest of our conversation. playmaker growing up. At Clarkson, I gained a lot of confidence with my scoring ability and that kind of shed a new light on that. So I would say Although you weren’t able to fully experience it, what did you think of the I’m a playmaker who isn’t scared to shoot the puck. I love to score and I creative way the NWHL handled the virtual draft, with many high-profile love to see my teammates score as well. individuals announcing the picks? You got a taste of things with Canada’s national program at the U18 It was incredible. I’ve never seen anything like that. It was cool that they level, do you still have goals of playing in the Olympics one day? were using all of their resources and other empowering women to raise awareness toward the league and to bring light to it, because it’s kind of I think I’ll always have that dream in mind. I don’t know if it will ever been in the dark for a little bit, with everything that’s going on with the become a reality. But I won’t settle or give up. I will always have that in PWHL. I thought they did a really good job and I think it made a huge the back of my head. I’m just focusing on developing still and enjoying statement. the game as much as I can. I don’t know how much longer I will be able to play. So I’m trying to enjoy everything right now. What’s it like to be a high-level women’s hockey player, considering everything that is going on with the sport itself these days? What was the process like for you leading up to the NWHL Draft and what were your expectations like going into it? I honestly didn’t know how it all would happen. When our (college) season got cut short, I didn’t know what I needed to do or if I needed to reach out to teams or not. They (the Whale) thankfully contacted me and I had a couple of conversations with them about what it might look like.

What was it like to go so high in the draft?

I was definitely shocked. I didn’t expect that. It was very humbling, for sure. It’s a big honour. Connecticut is a building team and that’s kind of what St. Cloud was when I got there. Nothing ever scares me. It would be cool to be part of a process to kind of change and reshape programs like that. That would be awesome.

Winnipeg Sun LOADED 05.09.2020 1184239 Vancouver Canucks eclipsed 20 minutes per game during the 45 contests he was healthy and was just as dominant in controlling play.

SKATR viz via Bill Comeau Rebuilding the Canucks’ defence: Young blueliners to target in a trade The left side represents Weegar’s performance this season while the right depicts last year. The bottom-two bars illustrate that he was regularly matched up against the other team’s top players and fed with a Harman Dayal heavy dosage of defensive zone starts in 2019-20. Despite that, he was one of the NHL’s most underrated play drivers – helping push a 53.3 May 8, 2020 56 percent share of shot attempts and a 54.7 percent expected goal differential with the Panthers outscoring opponents 41-36 with Weegar on the ice. Last summer The Athletic Vancouver brought you Project Petey – a three-part plan that outlined aggressive, outside-of-the-box moves to In examining the Ottawa native’s strengths, he’s quick and efficient on expedite the Canucks’ rebuild. As part of that series, we highlighted five breakouts and makes life difficult for opponents who want to advance top six forwards that the Canucks could target in a trade. Four of the five play through the neutral zone – it’s no wonder why his two-way numbers players have since been moved and two of them (J.T. Miller and Tyler are so strong. Toffoli) belong to Vancouver. That series was a fun and practical thought A3z viz courtesy CJ Turtoro experiment which foreshadowed some of the players that would eventually don blue and green. The difficulty from Florida’s perspective in potential retention is that Weegar is an arbitration-eligible RFA in line for a sizeable raise after We’re kicking off a similar four-part series for the 2020 offseason, this setting career-highs across the board in ice-time, goals and points. This time solely focused on revamping the Canucks’ blue line for the short and poses difficulties for a Panthers roster that already has $13 million long term. committed to Aaron Ekblad and Anton Stralman on the right side in Assessing what type of defencemen the Canucks need addition to expensive tickets attached to Keith Yandle ($6.3 million) and Mike Matheson ($4.875 million). This doesn’t even take into account the Vancouver’s priority in shoring up their back end has to be to address the rumour that ownership has instructed management to cut payroll after a right side. Chris Tanev is likely to walk in free agency as a cap casualty year where the club spent to the cap. For these reasons, Weegar is and Troy Stecher’s future is also uncertain as an arbitration-eligible RFA. someone who might be available for the right price. This leaves Tyler Myers as the Canucks’ only right-handed defenceman locked up for next year in addition to the unproven Brogan Rafferty. With At 26-years-old, Weegar is in the midst of his peak years, as opposed to Jett Woo as the organization’s only right-handed defence prospect of “young,” but his age still aligns with the team’s contention arc. significance, it also stands as their biggest long-term need. Caleb Jones, Edmonton Oilers (LD) The glaring right side need shouldn’t take away from the urgency for an Age: 22, 2019-20 stat line: 43 GP, 4G-5A-9P eventual Alex Edler succession plan. You would have hoped for Olli Juolevi to eventually get there, but watch him in the AHL and you The Oilers have a logjam on defence, particularly on the left side. become less and less optimistic on his upside after the myriad of injuries Edmonton has Oscar Klefbom and Darnell Nurse as top-four mainstays, and missed development time he’s suffered through. Caleb Jones who split the year between the AHL and NHL, Kris Russell and have more help coming in the form of top prospect Philip Broberg The 34-year-old Edler has just one year left on his contract and while he and Dmitri Samorukov. had an impressive year, on the whole, there are signs that the workload caught up to him as the season wore on. As colleague Thomas Drance Jones played well for the Oilers upon getting called up, but Klefbom and pointed out, Edler’s shot differential was the worst among Canucks Nurse block his path to the top-four, and in Broberg, there’s a third lefty defenceman in the final 20 games of the season after performing at the of a higher pedigree. The expansion draft will force Edmonton’s hand too level of a top-pair stud for the first 30 games of the season. as they’ll presumably protect Klefborm, Nurse and Ethan Bear, all of which point to Jones an appealing trade candidate. If the Canucks can find a left-handed defenceman with top-four upside, it would give Edler a chance to bump down the lineup and log less than the The 22-year-old doesn’t have a ton of offensive upside but is an excellent 22 and a half minutes per night he averaged in 2020-21. This would skater who’s reliable at getting the puck out of the defensive zone with provide a short-term solution for a third-pair that was outscored possession and assertive defensively. Here’s our Oilers beat writer, significantly while giving the team a long-term building block as well. Jonathan Willis on Jones’ game:

In other words, while right-handed help is the top priority, the Canucks “What makes him so intriguing is the dynamic quality he showed. He’s an need top-four help regardless of which handedness it comes at for the exceptional skater, far better than the majority of the Oilers’ depth intermediate future. With that context added, let’s dive into some of the options. He’s incredibly aggressive defensively, and at times it gets him names that Vancouver could realistically target. into trouble, but more often than not it gives the opposition problems, and his mobility allows him to recover if they’re able to handle it. He is not MacKenzie Weegar, Florida Panthers (RD) averse to playing physically along the boards, at either blue line or in Age: 26, 2019-20 stat line: 45 GP, 7G-11A-18P front of the net.”

When you acquire a bottom-pairing defenceman who’s delivered Jones’ two-way impact after adjusting for contextual factors like admirable results in a sheltered capacity, you’re rolling the dice. teammates was above-average across the board and it translated to a positive 29-27 goal differential at 5-on-5. Some like Nate Schmidt and Michal Kempny blossom and don’t skip a beat upon playing higher stakes, more leveraged minutes. These players Adjusted shot metrics via Evolving-Hockey provide exceptional value for their acquisition cost. Others like Colin He may not be ready for a top-four role right away, but Jones projects to Miller just can’t take the next step when they’re moved up the lineup for slot somewhere in the No.3 to No.5 defenceman range in the near future whatever reason. It can be hit and miss. depending on how rapidly he continues improving. There’s a good Before this season, MacKenzie Weegar fit that profile – a defenceman chance he could be a solid second-pair lefty behind Quinn Hughes for who excelled in his third-pair role and suggested he had further upside years to come and he’s dirt-cheap making just $850,000 for two seasons but was yet to be battle-tested in a more prominent role. He had excellent after this one. shot metrics, very encouraging numbers transporting the puck up ice and Erik Cernak, Tampa Bay Lightning (RD) preventing forwards from doing the same, but had yet to average more than 17 minutes per game. A potential diamond in the rough, he was Age: 22, 2019-20 stat line: 67 GP, 5G-7A-12P someone we mentioned as a target last offseason. Consider an attempt at acquiring Erik Cernak as an endeavour to create What Weegar proved this year was that he doesn’t fold against a larger the defenceman version of the J.T. Miller trade. workload and tougher competition. The 6-foot, 201-pound blueliner Initially acquired from the Kings in the trade two years ago, a 104-70 (59.7 percent) goal advantage, which included an off-the-charts Cernak is a mean 6-foot-3, 233-pound beast who uses his size and stick 58 percent control of expected goals in 2018-19. His 53.1 expected goal to rapidly close time and space and decisively snuff plays out. He’s not differential led the Blues again this year. It doesn’t matter whether you the strongest skater, but he’s smart on both ends of the ice and has good look at shots, scoring chances or actual goals – Dunn gives the Blues a enough hands to be trustworthy with the puck on his stick. huge advantage when he steps over the boards.

He’s coming off a year that wasn’t as impressive as his stellar rookie Adjusted shot metrics via Evolving-Hockey campaign, but Cernak represents the contemporary NHL’s new-breed of top-four defensive defenceman and it shows in his solid underlying This comes with the caveat, of course, that he’s accomplished this under profile, particularly on the defensive side. sheltered minutes, but Dunn is just bursting at the seams for a bigger role and boasts legitimate top-pair upside. If he remains without a path to a Adjusted shot metrics via Evolving-Hockey bigger role, Vancouver should do everything they can to knock on St. Louis’ door before they realize just how valuable he could be in a larger The Canucks would have to pony up and make a substantial offer to pry capacity. Cernak free, but he’s not untouchable given how precarious Tampa Bay’s cap situation is as they sit with $76.2 million committed and just 15 Henri Jokiharju, Buffalo Sabres (RD) players signed for next season. This means they have roughly $5.3 million total to re-sign Mikhail Sergachev, Selke candidate Anthony Cirelli Age: 20, 2019-20 stat line: 69 GP, 4G-11A 15P and Cernak. And even after re-signing those RFAs, they’d only have 11 With Rasmus Ristolainen, Brandon Montour, Colin Miller and Henri forwards and five defencemen under contract. This explains why it’d be Jokiharku on the right side, the Buffalo Sabres are also stuck with a an attempt to replicate the Miller trade – you’d have to pay a steep, but logjam. Ristolainen’s name has been bandied in trade rumours forever fair price for a high-quality player that the Lightning may not be able to but the attractive name to me here is Jokiharju’s. The Finnish defender is afford to bring back for financial reasons. still just 20-years-old after being Chicago’s first-round pick in 2017 and You won’t get him for nearly as cheap as some of the other names on yet he’s already suited up in 107 games. He hasn’t chewed a ton of this list, but if there’s one defenceman worth pushing your chips in for, it minutes, but he’s been exposed to second-pair quality competition and might just be Cernak who could be a long-term answer as Hughes’ has had a steady diet of defensive zone starts – coming out relatively partner. unscathed in that ice-time.

Nick Jensen, Washington Capitals (RD) Jokiharju’s results are pretty average, but the fact that he hasn’t been a flat-out liability in non-sheltered minutes at this young of an age is Age: 29, 2019-20 stat line: 68 GP, 0G-8A-8P encouraging.

Nick Jensen doesn’t really qualify as a young defenceman and he’s Adjusted shot metrics via Evolving-Hockey unlikely to be anything more than a No. 4 option, but he’s an effective plug-and-play alternative that would probably be inexpensive relatively He’s very much an unfinished product and it could take him time to fulfill speaking, to acquire. The 29-year-old is a late bloomer who remarkably his ceiling, but Jokiharju has top-four upside. Similar to Weegar, the 20- held his own in a top-pairing role on a dreadful Red Wings team last year year-old provides his value in transition as a top-quality puck-mover, before getting flipped at the 2019 trade deadline to Washington. although with more offensive punch as a potential PP2 quarterback one day. Jensen has quick feet that support solid transportation skills and he’s generally smart defensively without the puck; albeit a bit undersized and It’s too early to read too much into Jokiharju’s NHL results, but they’re overpowered by more imposing forwards. At his best, Jensen plays a encouraging and his junior resume (as well as his 17 points in 30 games quiet, understated game bred on efficiency and possession. With the AHL stint last year), which includes a couple of really good World Junior Capitals in a state of cap flux, Jensen and his $2.5 million cap hit could Championship performances, is strong too. be something that Washington unloads for the right price. Jokiharju’s more of a project and far less established than someone like The 29-year-old’s battled consistency issues and hasn’t meshed since Cernak, but is more reasonably attainable and has arguably just as high coming over to the Capitals, but if he can rebound and show the type of of a ceiling. He’s worth considering if he’s someone the Sabres would form he did in Detroit, he could represent a bargain. In those 60 games move given their RD depth. last year, Jensen provided legitimate top-pair value by keeping Detroit The prospect tier: Nils Lundkvist and Jake Bean afloat in a matchup role alongside Danny DeKeyser – the pair controlling almost 55 percent of scoring chances as opposed to just a 44.1 percent There are a pair of intriguing close to NHL-ready prospects that the share when it was just DeKeyser. Canucks could pursue on clubs that have tremendous defensive depth.

Even a performance that lands between the excellent season he had in Let’s start with Jake Bean, who’s a left-shot defenceman for the Carolina Detroit last year and the rather underwhelming one he just had in Hurricanes. The 21-year-old put up 48 points in 59 AHL games and is Washington, would be a nice addition for a Canucks team that again, big-league ready according to our resident prospect expert, Scott only has Myers signed on the right side. Wheeler:

Vince Dunn, St. Louis Blues (LD) “Bean’s already an NHL player. He isn’t in the NHL but he’s definitely an NHL player, regardless of the logjam in front of him. I can’t imagine he Age: 23, 2019-20 stat line: 70 GP, 9G-14A 23P loves the wait but he continues to play like a top prospect — and one of It remains to be seen what the St. Louis Blues do with Alex Pietrangelo. the better defensemen in the AHL.” It’d be tough for a team in the heart of it’s Cup window to let its Stylistically, Bean has all the tools one could imagine offensively. He’s undisputed No.1 defenceman walk in free agency, but the Blues are well confident and smooth-skater with impressive vision and passing skills. situated with Colton Parayko and Justin Faulk as other right-handed Most importantly, his defensive game has improved drastically over his options. General manager Doug Armstrong has said re-signing full two years in the American League. Jeremy Davis’ pGPS system, Pietrangelo is his top priority, so we don’t know for certain which way this which looks at a player’s size and production-based NHL comparables, ordeal is going to play out. gives Bean a 41 percent chance of developing into a top-four If Pietrangelo returns, he could very well play on the Blues’ left side again defenceman. like he did this season. After that, would presumably be Marco Scandella, Why would the Hurricanes consider trading him? It comes down to the who had a sharp showing since being acquired at the deadline and was depth chart once again. Carolina boasts an embarrassment of blue line rewarded with a hefty four-year extension that pays him $3.75 million riches with Jaccob Slavin, Brady Skjei, Jake Gardiner and Haydn Fleury annually. This could once again leave the perenially underrated Vince all as left-handed options. There isn’t an NHL opportunity for Bean as it Dunn stuck in a more limited role on the Blues’ third-pair. stands and this could mean he’s potentially expendable for the right This scenario is one where the Canucks could try stepping in with a price. For Vancouver, he could represent a long-term fixture behind significant offer. Hughes on the second-pair.

Dunn is mobile, uber-talented with the puck and has wreaked havoc on Nils Lundkvist, meanwhile, is an even more highly-touted prospect and is teams when deployed. St. Louis has crushed its opponents to the tune of currently in the New York Rangers’ system. Lundkvist is a 19-year-old right-shot defenceman who dominated the top-tier with a record-breaking 11 goals and 31 points in 45 games and was electric with eight points in seven games at the world juniors. He skated over 20 minutes a game in the SHL and his two-way play was almost as impressive as gaudy offensive numbers – outscoring opponents by a near 2-1 ratio (39-20) at even-strength.

He’s elite with the puck given his high-end handling ability, precision passing and deft feet. All told, he’s one of the best prospects outside the NHL and in normal circumstances, he’d be untouchable. The Rangers, however, aren’t in normal circumstances. They have two right-handed defencemen with top-pair ability in Jacob Trouba and Adam Fox, plus Tony DeAngelo who broke out with 53 points in 68 games as one of the NHL’s premier offensive defencemen.

Lundkvist still might be off-limits, but if there’s ever a situation where the Rangers might listen to an offer it could be this one. It’d take a ransom, to be clear, to acquire him but if the scouting staff is sure about his upside it could be a gamble worth exploring.

Using right-wing depth as an asset

You’re going to have to give to get when it comes to defencemen. Regardless of a team’s situation, it’s never going to be cheap to acquire one with top-four upside. The Canucks don’t have a lot of tradeable assets, but one area that could emerge as a strength is their pool of right- wingers. If the club can extend Tyler Toffoli, for example, Vancouver would have Toffoli, Brock Boeser and Jake Virtanen in their top-nine. They’d also have top prospects, Vasili Podkolzin and Kole Lind.

In this type of situation, the Canucks could re-sign Josh Leivo for cheap and then try creating a package around a right-winger like Virtanen. This type of package would preclude you from the upper-echelon tier of Lundkvist, Cernak and Dunn, but it’s easy to see a scenario where it could do the trick for someone like Jones. I’m sure Edmonton, who’s quite weak on the right-wing, would be enticed by the possibility of Virtanen’s speed on Connor McDavid’s wing. It’d be tough to gift that to a divisional opponent, but if it means having a potential No. 3 or No. 4 defenceman for cheap for the long term behind Hughes, that could well be worth the cost. For his part, our Oilers beat writer Jonathan Willis believes Virtanen could be very attractive to Edmonton and he guesses that the Canucks could swing a Jones+ return.

That’s just one example and I don’t mean to pick on Virtanen, in particular (the team could very well also shop Boeser if it means a top- flight RD coming back) but it shows you how the right wing can be weaponized as a surplus to address the team’s need for back end help.

The Athletic LOADED: 05.09.2020 1184240 Vancouver Canucks doesn’t exist too often in today’s NHL, a lot of speed, a lot of skill. Do you still enjoy the game the way its played now?

Yeah, it’s a lot of fun to watch how much skill and how fast the guys are. Gino Odjick talks his health, Micheal Ferland and finding Pavel Bure in These guys are stallions, they train 12 months a year. They get out there Moscow and they just fly.

Certainly, I miss the role. I enjoyed going to games, divisional games and knowing there was going to be some rough stuff and Thomas Drance someone would put on a show. I miss that part of it, but the game is a lot of fun to watch with these young guys, how quickly they become stars May 8, 2020 and how they perform – it’s just amazing.

What’s your sense: is fighting being phased out of hockey? Without equal, Gino Odjick is the most beloved enforcer in the history of Yeah, for sure. They’re phasing it out. the Vancouver Canucks. Ryan Reaves does a really good job, doing a lot of hitting. Tom Wilson Among Canucks fans, you don’t even need to use his full name. You can does a good job too. Milan Lucic has slowed down a bit in his career now just say Gino. but he’s still a guy that is able to get some hits. That honour – a ubiquitous, iconic level of familiarity – is usually reserved These guys are still able to be relevant in the game and that’s good to for the types of players whose numbers hang from the rafters: Henrik, see. Daniel, Pavel, Trevor, Stan. But in Vancouver, Gino matters. Always. I wish there was more of it but I think going forward there is going to be On Thursday, Gino joined The VANcast to discuss his health, his less and less. experience mentoring Micheal Ferland and the pride he feels whenever a First Nations player makes the NHL. He also told an absolutely epic story Gino, we have to ask you about the story Pavel Bure told us at The about the time he travelled to Russia to participate in a charity game, but Athletic in the fall – about you going to Moscow to see him, and you visit Slava Fetisov forgot to send a car to pick him up and so he set out in the KGB headquarters, knocking on the door and demanding they take downtown Moscow to find Pavel Bure and ended up at KGB you to Pavel. Can you walk us through how that day went? headquarters. Well, Slava Fetisov was organizing a game and he wanted to surprise For those who would rather read than listen, here is an extended Q&A of Pavel and bring me down to Moscow. We would meet up before the highlights from the conversation. The questions and Odjick’s answers game and it would be a big surprise for Pavel. So Pavel didn’t know have been edited for length and readability. anything about me coming down.

Gino, six years ago the outlook didn’t look that promising for you. There So I flew from Montreal to New York, and New York to Moscow. And I get were people rallying for you outside Vancouver General and everybody to Moscow and I’m waiting, Fetisov forgot about me! He didn’t send was concerned that we were going to lose Gino. Now you’re here going anyone to pick me up! strong, you’re at the rink for most of the Canucks home games. How are you doing? So I waited there for a couple of hours and then thought, geez, I better go find Pavel here. I’m doing great, everything is in remission. They say it’ll come back, but hopefully it will come back in 20 years when I’ve had a full life and I get to I didn’t realize how big Moscow was. I think there’s 12-13 million people. enjoy it. I’m really happy I was able to pull through. So I ask a cab driver, “Do you know where Pavel Bure lives?” He’s like “… no?” You were involved in some of the 50th anniversary season events. How much fun was it for you not just to be at the games, but involved from And he didn’t speak English very well. So I gave him $100, said take me time-to-time this year? to downtown Moscow, we’ll see what’s going on.

It was awesome. All the guys that were involved were really proud to be So there was a documentary of Pavel and a guy he knew in their offices, part of the organization for the 50th anniversary. so I remembered what the hotel looked like. So I recognize the hotel and I went there. And I said, “Is Pavel here?” And they said, “You just missed I spoke with Darcy Rota and I know it was the thrill of a lifetime for him to him!” And I’m like “Aw Jesus!” get out there on the ice and be recognized! Just a lot of fun, the team did a great job. So, I didn’t know what to do. I didn’t know where else to go!

Gino, when you consider the battle of your life with your health and then But I knew from Pavel telling me that the KGB they always know what’s you get to the point where you’re able to put on the old black flying skate going on. So I told the cab driver, bring me to the KGB office. He’s like jersey and skate out on ’90s night. What did the fan reaction mean to “no, no, no, you don’t want to go there!” I said, “Bring me to the KGB you? office!”

It meant the world. To be able to get out there and skate with Babych and So I knock on the door and they open the door and they have a machine Ronning and Lumme. Just a lot of fun. Greg Adams was there, came gun stuck in my face, they’re like “What do you want!?” I’m like “I’m down from Phoenix. Just so much fun meeting up with the guys, having a looking for Pavel Bure, we’re playing a charity game against the Red good conversation before we out. Having a couple brewskies afterwards! Army!” I told them the story about Fetisov not sending anybody to pick The boys were really happy. me up.

And the other big involvement you had in the 50th anniversary: you got to Within 15 minutes they send me to the hotel where everybody was and I punch a zombie for the Canucks’ opening video. How did they approach meet up with Pavel! you, what was it like to film on that day and did you get to see the Pavel wasn’t too happy with Fetisov, to tell you the truth. reaction when that played in-arena the very first night? When you were in junior hockey in the CJHL, you played for the It was awesome, Dave Tomlinson was the one organizing everything. He Hawkesbury Hawks for Bob Hartley. Fast forward through your playing was telling me some of the guys like Greg Mueller, who was the big, bad career, locally you’re retired here, and Bob Hartley puts you in touch with guy on the other team. He was telling me it took him six hours to get his a young Micheal Ferland who was early in his career. Can you talk us makeup on to get out there every day! through some of your experiences mentoring Ferland when he was a They were filming 14-15 hour days! I got there, I got dressed up and I young member of the Abbotsford Heat? think I was only there for 45 minutes! They were able to get it in the first Well, Bob called me and said he had this young guy who was really couple shots and I was really happy with it. They did a great job. talented. He thought he could help the Flames play against Edmonton What do you make of the state of the game now? We know how you and in those types of games. played the game, your role within the game. Obviously that kind of player He was really high on him. but Micheal at that time was young. He showed up a bit out of shape, a little heavy and he was drinking a lot. So management was really mad at Mike, so Bob says “Come and talk to him.”

So I had a good talk with him. I told him “This is a once in a lifetime opportunity. It’s not going to come up often where you have a chance to make an NHL team. I told him Bob Hartley, the coach, is really high on you.” I told him to make sure, y’know, the one when I played I wasn’t the most talented guy, but I made sure I was one of the fittest guys on the team – to give myself a chance to get some ice time and to play.

So I told him, “You need to be in shape, you need to be the most fit player on the team. You need to take this opportunity that you have and make a life for yourself, for yourself and your family. You can set yourself and your family up for life if you take this opportunity!”

To his credit, Mike quit drinking and he started working out. I think he lost 35 pounds or something.

He made a career out of it and he’s doing pretty well. He was hurt this year, but he’s a guy that can get you 20 goals and can protect your stars and finish his checks. I don’t think the Canucks want him fighting, just want him finishing his checks and protecting Pettersson and these types of players.

Gino, when you see Micheal now, he’s got a family, he posted on Instagram recently that he’s been two years sober. Have you been in touch with him and what sense of pride do you have to see the progress he’s made over the last several years?

I’m really happy whenever a First Nations player makes it to the NHL. It gives the younger guys coming up the belief that if they work hard, and they have the talent that they’ll be able to play too. So I’m really proud anytime there’s a First Nations player.

Peter Leech was my friend, he was my agent when I played. He keeps in touch with Micheal and they talk to each other. I guess Micheal said if the season would start now, he’d be ready to go, which would be a big surprise because everybody thought he was done for the season.

Hopefully we do get a chance, and we have a little playoff run here in Vancouver. It would be so much fun.

Gino, we think in Vancouver of 1994 as the year the Canucks went to the final, but that ’94 season for you personally: 16 goals, 297 penalty minutes. Do you know how much guys are paid who put up those numbers today?

Yeah! You know, but we got paid in my era too.

We didn’t get paid as much as they’re getting paid today, but the cost of living was cheaper back then too. So I have no complaints about the amount of money I made. If I would’ve negotiated harder I would’ve made more money, but I wanted to stay in Vancouver. I really enjoyed playing the game of hockey. It gave a chance for me and my family to be set up financially for the rest of our lives. I’m really proud how the union fought for us when I played. They did a great job.

What do you recall about the events that led to 16 goals for you that season? What went right in the goal scoring department?

Well, I worked out with Pavel and his dad that summer. Pavel’s dad’s workouts were just brutally hard.

Six or seven of us started the summer working out with Pavel’s dad. By the end of the summer it was just me and Pavel! That’s how hard it was. His dad was his personal trainer and came from a background of Olympic swimming. So you can imagine, the workouts were really hard.

Ended up being in great shape, started the year on Pavel’s line and just got a lot of goals going down the wing, going to the far post and getting either a rebound or a pass for an empty net from Pavel.

You were back in the building for the 50th anniversary, you always hear those “Gino! Gino!” chants. There’s that special bond. What does it mean to you to know that people still care all these years later?

It’s amazing. I got to Vancouver in 1990, 30 years ago. And I finished my career in Vancouver in 1998. That’s 22 years ago. And people still remember. It amazes me that they still remember after all those years.

The Athletic LOADED: 05.09.2020 1184241 Websites

The Athletic / NHL’s Global Series 2020 becomes first event for next season canceled

Aaron Portzline

May 8, 2020

COLUMBUS, Ohio — Jarmo Kekalainen’s triumphant return to Finland will have to wait.

On Friday, the NHL and NHL players’ association announced the postponement of the international games that were scheduled for next season, making the 2020 Global Series the first event from the 2020-21 season impacted by the global coronavirus pandemic.

Boston and Nashville were set to open the 2020-21 season in Prague, Czech Republic, making the fourth consecutive season the NHL has played games in Europe. The two teams were going to spend their final week of training camp abroad, too, with the Bruins training in Mannheim, Germany, and the Predators in Bern, Switzerland.

The Blue Jackets were scheduled to play two games against Colorado in Helsinki, Finland. The games were tentatively set for late October in Hartwall Arena.

The league’s release suggested the games could be pushed to the 2021- 22 season. A source told The Athletic that the games would be rescheduled if the 2021-22 season can be played without delay or interference from the virus.

“The NHLPA and the NHL remain committed to maintaining and growing our international presence,” read a statement in the joint release. “We hope that our fans overseas understand the need to postpone the 2020 games, but we look forward to being back with them in 2021.”

It’s been nearly two months since the NHL “paused” the 2019-20 season with less than one month remaining after state governments began prohibiting mass gatherings.

But these are the first events on next season’s calendar to be affected. The NFL last week canceled its six international games — five set for London and another to be played in Mexico City — because of the pandemic.

It is widely expected that the start of the NHL’s 2020-21 series will be delayed — perhaps as late as December — as the league scrambles to find a safe and equitable way to complete the current season and award the Stanley Cup.

Thus, the Blue Jackets’ second European road trip will have to wait.

Helsinki has hosted NHL games on numerous occasions, but these games would have carried special meaning for Kekalainen, a native of Kuopio, Finland, and the NHL’s first and only European GM.

Blue Jackets goaltender Joonas Korpisalo and defenseman Markus Nutivaara also are from Finland, as are Colorado forwards Mikko Rantanen and Joonas Donskoi.

“We are disappointed by the postponement of our trip to Finland,” Kekalainen said, “but look forward to having the opportunity to play in front of Finland’s passionate hockey fans in the future.”

The game in Prague between the Bruins and Predators had extensive local ties, too. Boston forwards David Pastrnak, David Krejci and Ondrej Kase are from the Czech Republic.

The Athletic LOADED: 05.09.2020 1184242 Websites Esposito: We did not want to go back to St. Louis. I can tell you that. Orr: Do you remember who started the overtime? Nobody even talks

about that, but that’s Harry. He said, “Hey, we’re going into overtime, that The Athletic / ‘When I went by, I was jumping’: The 50th anniversary of first shift — it’s important that we have a solid shift. We don’t have to Bobby Orr’s flight score that first shift. We just want to be solid.” So he put our solid guys out there — Swoop (Wayne) Carleton and Eddie Westfall and Derek.

Sinden: Esposito really wanted to start because he felt he could end it Dan Robson early.

Esposito: We were going into overtime and I sat between Derek and Johnny Bucyk. We were all on three different lines and I said, I think You don’t have to be a hockey fan to recognize the photograph of Bobby we’re going to start and you won’t even get on the ice. And Chief said no, Orr flying through the air like superman after scoring the Stanley Cup- our line’s going to start. And Derek said no, no — if they start Berenson, winning goal in overtime on May 10, 1970. my line is starting and you’re not going to get on the ice. Several photographers captured Orr’s flight, but the one that hung Bowman: I think the reason he put them out was because the best player suspended in time was taken by Ray Lussier — with the 22-year-old on our team by far offensively was Red Berenson. He was the best defenceman seemingly parallel with the crossbar, soaring while the offensive player for about three years in a row in the West Division. Boston Garden erupted around him. Berenson: We were in an expansion division with St. Louis and we had It was an image that would hold the magic and mystique of Orr for some success there. We got to the finals three years in a row. … But we generations. didn’t have the game breakers that the Original Six had. When the Bruins captured their first championship since the 1940-41 Sanderson: Scotty Bowman, smarter than the average hockey guy, he season, Orr and the team of unforgettable characters were a rising NHL picked veteran players. He had Berenson. Berenson was a great faceoff powerhouse. Orr led the league with 120 points that season. Phil guy. He was a great team guy. He had the three Plager brothers Esposito led the league in goals. The Bruins finished tied for first in the (Barclay, Bill and Bob). … They had a tough core to give you a what-for old Original Six division and beat the New York Rangers and Chicago at the end of the day. They had experience. And they had Glenn Hall. So Blackhawks in the first two rounds to meet the St. Louis Blues for the that carried them. Stanley Cup. It was the third straight trip to the finals for the Blues, who had been the best in a lesser division of expansion teams. Sinden: Scotty had a unique tactic that he tried to use. He put a guy on Bobby. It was unusual to shadow a defenceman. And he would stay with The Bruins dominated the first three games of the series and looked to him no matter where the puck was. … It was a strange-looking sight, I’ll finish the Blues off at the Boston Garden on Mother’s Day. But young tell you that. Orr was kind of perplexed at it himself. But he went along Scotty Bowman led a team of scrappy veterans that wasn’t about to roll with it. Actually, it was probably his idea. over. Orr: I would go stand at the boards or I would stay in my end. Even on The Blues pushed the Bruins to overtime, tied 3-3 — setting the stage for power plays, I would have someone standing with me. one of the most iconic Images in sports history. Bowman: Even when we had the puck, we had to have a guy close to Harry Sinden, Bruins coach: I can see it anytime I want. I just close my him. I don’t know if people know how good this guy was. … He was eyes. virtually unstoppable. He was such a dominant force because of his Bobby Orr: We had pretty good odds to beat them. We were confident, skating. His skating, shooting and hockey IQ. He knew where to go. not cocky. We knew if everyone played their game, we’d win it. Orr: I was the only idiot who didn’t play like he was supposed to play. Phil Esposito, Bruins: We had a real solid hockey team. Terry Crisp, Blues: Jimmy Roberts and I were defensive players, so we Derek Sanderson, Bruins: Oh, yeah. There was nobody better than us. were in charge of Bobby. … I’m on the ice in overtime. The puck goes into their end. Bobby, as usual, picked it up behind his net and came Scotty Bowman, Blues coach: Boston was a powerhouse because they roaring up the right side. I thought I had a good angle on him. But you had a great offensive team. They could score goals. First of all, they had know Bobby, he had like five gears and he was only in his second gear. Bobby Orr. But they had Esposito, (Ken) Hodge and (Wayne) Cashman He hit third when he went by me. I knew it was a losing cause to catch were a terrific big line. Then they had (Fred) Stanfield, (Johnny) him. So I signaled the bench to make an early change. I come off this McKenzie and (Johnny) Bucyk. And they could score goals. Even in that end and Larry Keenan jumps off the other end, where Bobby was going. series. Bobby Orr was at the prime of his career. He was 22. He was an It was a good game plan. It just didn’t work. awesome player. He singlehandedly won games. … We were tremendous underdogs. Wayne Carleton, Bruins: That shift is exactly how the series played out. We dominated them. Don Marcotte, Bruins: The last game was Mother’s Day, May 10. I think the temperature was probably about 90 to 95 degrees outside. It was Sanderson: They tried to clear it, but Don Awrey stayed back and really, really hot. So the ice was heavy. St. Louis came out really hard punched it into the corner, a great little poke check. Swoop got it to me. and forced the play. I think we were a little overconfident to start with. Then I shot it and hit the post, and it went around the boards to Bobby … and Bobby had anticipated it. He always says, “Well, I knew you weren’t Sanderson: I wore a tuxedo. Guys were fooling around, making plans. going to score so I figured I better.” Stanley Cup is in the room — you know, champagne is on ice. And Harry said, “You guys are not right for this. You think this team is just going to Larry Keenan, Blues: Orr was pinching in from the blue line. It was roll over for you and all you have to do now is just throw your sweaters coming around the boards and I moved back a little bit. Red Berenson on the ice? No, no, no. You’ve got to play hard.” was going up the boards on the other side of Orr. I had about a foot to tip it by him to Berenson. Sinden: That team had a personality that I would say drew a lot of hate around the league. But it was a hate they wished they didn’t have. They Berenson: I was low in the slot. I could see the play emerging. I could wished they had the team instead of the hate. It was indelible. see Orr jumping in and Larry trying to get the puck past him. And I took off. If the puck got behind Orr, I was on a breakaway. Red Berenson, Blues: People kept telling us, you’re not as good as Boston. Boston’s this and Boston’s that. We had to show up finally, Sanderson: Bobby did that all the time. And if it didn’t go in, he was the ourselves, and we did. first man back. Nobody was faster than him. He knew he could get back.

Glenn Hall, Blues: We played well enough to force it into overtime. I know Orr: A lot of the things you do on the ice, you just react. I can’t tell you that the Boston Bruins weren’t real proud of the fact that an expansion what I was thinking. I played like that. I didn’t sit back. team was taking them into overtime. They must have been in their room Sinden: You couldn’t put any restrictions on Bobby at that time of his after the third period saying, “We can’t go back to St. Louis. This is career. What you had to do was be aware of it, as our players were, and embarrassing.” cover up for him. Bowman: It was just about impossible to get the puck out past Orr. He Esposito: I jumped up and I caught my foot on the top of the bench and could anticipate, plus he had the confidence. With him it wasn’t as big of went flying. It’s lucky I had my hands in front of me — or I would have a chance because he could get back so fast. landed flat on my face. I got so excited I caught my foot. And when I got to the pile, of course, it was a pile — and I wasn’t going to put my 270 Keenan: The puck went up and hit Orr high on the chest. pounds on top of those guys. I’d squash Bobby!”

Orr: I honestly thought I could keep it in, and I got lucky and I did. Sinden: The players on the bench all went over the boards — and I went Berenson: It was one of those things. Orr kept it in — and the rest is with them. I didn’t hesitate. I wasn’t very old at the time as a coach. I history. didn’t have the sophistication of a Toe Blake or someone like that. I ended up in the middle of the pile on the ice, just as if I was one of the Sanderson: Bobby threw me a pass. players.

Orr: And as soon as Derek got it, I just headed for the net. Esposito: The glass was short then, so people were climbing over the glass and everything else. It was bedlam. It was bedlam in our dressing Sinden: Bobby Orr was a fabulous give-and-go player. … And Derek was room. It was fabulous. It really was. a smart player too. He got relegated to what would be known as a third line today. But he was a tremendous offensive player. He could have Orr: I got up the next morning and have breakfast and my father was been a top-scoring player in this league had he not played behind there, and he had I think it was the Record American, the old newspaper Esposito and Stanfield. in Boston. He had the photo there. That was the first time I had seen it. … I never even thought about it. All I was thinking about was they’re Esposito: He darted towards the net and Derek put it on his stick. getting ready for our parade. Sanderson: Jean-Guy Talbot left the front of the net to come to me. Bobby Orr You’re not supposed to do that. You stay in front of the net. Noel Picard now is out in front of the net, and he’s stuck. And where am I going to go Sanderson: What people were amazed at was his face. The picture is with it? Well, I’m going to give it to Bobby. And bing, bam, boom … I had absolutely perfect. It catches his face. He’s about three feet off the ice, to cut it because Talbot came at me with a poke check, so I had to get it parallel — and his hands were above his head. over his stick and miss his feet. Esposito: It may be the greatest picture in hockey history. Esposito: Bobby anticipated, no doubt about it. When you think about the greatest players that ever played the game, they always were mentally Crisp: To this day, I’m mad at myself — because if I had stayed on the sharp. ice 10 seconds longer, I would have been posterized forever in the most famous picture. Sinden: I think their defence was in good position, but I don’t think they could believe that Orr could get in from the point that quick. He just went Carleton: My leg is in the photo. by them. Sinden: The picture of him after he scored. The fact that, at the time, he Hall: You always knew where Bobby was. The puck is back there — and was the greatest player in the game — and I don’t think anybody has the puck is coming back out front. If you were a goaltender and you didn’t come along to surpass that. There had been no player before him that know where Bobby was, you were in trouble. could play the game like him. He had a lot to do with people’s memories of that team. Carleton: I was right in the middle. I made my turn at the hashmarks. I was going towards the net as he was cutting in from the right side. And Marcotte: It was the perfect moment for him to prove that he was the the puck came right to Bobby. best. And he’s still the best I’ve ever seen.

Sanderson: I had to cut it so it would land flat so Bobby could handle it. Rick Smith, Bruins: Before the 40th reunion, they told Bobby they were He never handled, he just, boom. He just redirected it. He got rid of it so going put the statue up. Well, he didn’t like that. He said I don’t want a quick Hall couldn’t move. thing of me, because it wasn’t just me. It was the team. So I assume this was Bobby’s suggestion. At the base of the statue, it says: “The Goal” on Orr: I didn’t see his legs open. Unfortunately, when goalies move across one side. On the other side of the base, there’s — I get a little emotional they open their legs a little bit. I was just trying to get it on goal and it on this one — there’s a plaque with all of our names, which is pretty neat. went between his legs. It says: “As engraved on the Stanley Cup.” The base of the statue is an exact replica. There is only one person in the world who would have Sanderson: I watched the puck. When it hit the mesh, it dropped and it thought to do that. was spinning. I said, “That’s it. We just won the Cup.” Orr: We were a team and everybody should be there. Everyone had a Orr: When I went by, I was jumping. role to play in our championship — and I was a piece of the puzzle and Sanderson: I looked at Bobby and he was in the air. everybody else on the team were all pieces of the puzzle. They all should be there. … The photo of the goal is kind of different. But I think it’s as Carleton: I was right there when he scored. My friends said you could much the group. We were loved in the community and loved the have got the goal. I say no, the right guy scored it. community, people weren’t afraid of us. Our guys were out doing clinics and charity, so we were around the people a lot. Hockey was starting to Fred Stanfield, Bruins: And he went flying through the air. You couldn’t grow. Rinks were starting to be built so there were more fans. I think as ask for a better player to score that winning goal in overtime. I’m glad it much as the championship, it was the group that won the championship was him. also. I mean they were characters — you guys would have loved coming Orr: Everyone thinks it was Picard. Noel did help me. He was lifting my into our dressing room. You’d never worry about getting quotes (laughs). leg, but — but I knew it had gone in. As I went by, I saw it. Esposito: There were guys that I played with over the years that I didn’t Hall: I had showered by the time he landed. care for. But I can’t think of one from the 1970 team.

Orr: Glenn does say to me, “Is that the only goal you ever scored?” Orr: Just one thing. I feel funny celebrating anything right now. Here we are, celebrating a sporting event and with everything (the COVID-19 Sanderson: Then Bobby looked back and me, and he was lying down. So pandemic) that’s going on, I think this is a good time to celebrate — and I slid into him. thank — our first responders. All those organizations that are assisting health care workers. I think it’s very important that we celebrate them, we Stanfield: I was on the bench. It was just about the biggest thrill in my thank them. The sacrifices that these people are making every day, entire life. Growing up your dream as a kid is to win the Stanley Cup. saving lives, comforting so many people, it’s unbelievable. Let’s not That was a wonderful feeling. forget. They talk about athletes being heroes. No, no, no, no, no. We get Dick Irvin, CBC Hockey Night in Canada colour commentator: When the paid a lot of money to score goals, hit home runs, shoot baskets, score goal went in, somebody threw their beer up in the air, and Danny touchdowns. But these first responders, the front-line workers, it’s not a Gallivan (CBC’s play-by-play broadcaster) and I got soaked. … On my game. This is real life. We’ve got to remember to always show that broadcast call, I said it was a perfect ending to the year of Bobby Orr. respect that we’re showing right now, to always show that respect for them. Always. What they do is not a game. Ours is a game. The real Orr: I don’t think any of us had won a Cup. That was a first for all of us. heroes are those front-line workers. And first responders. Those are the real heroes. Not friggin’ athletes.

The Athletic LOADED: 05.09.2020 1184243 Websites “He wanted to have a beer and wanted to discuss him coaching and would we, the Oilers guys, be OK with it,’’ Coffey said. “He said, ‘Will you guys work for me?’ I looked at him and said, ‘Mike, 100 percent.’ Mark, Wayne, me: We’re about winning. You’re the boss.’’’ The Athletic / LeBrun: Gretzky and Lemieux on the best series ever – the ’87 final “I do remember going over to see him,” Keenan said. “It was such a great, intense rivalry we had in ’85 and ’87. I wanted to make sure everybody was on board for Team Canada.’’

Pierre LeBrun Coffey added with a chuckle: “I remember Mike asking to make sure if there was any animosity about the ’87 Stanley Cup final and I said, ‘Mike, May 8, 2020 not on our part. We won!’ True story.’’

Keenan also had a clever idea, pairing Flyers and Oilers players, one of is not one for hyperbole. each, together as training camp roommates.

But when I mentioned to him this week it was the best hockey I had ever It’s important to note that this was a different era. seen in my life, No. 66 quickly chimed in. “The game was different then. You weren’t buddies with guys on the “That’s for sure,” Lemieux told The Athletic. “All 6-5 games. The pace other team,” Coffey said. “I can remember that summer, at a bar in was pretty quick for back then, too. It was certainly a great experience to Toronto, seeing Rick Tocchet from a distance and not even going near be part of it.’’ him. Or he wouldn’t go near me.’’

The 1972 still ranks at the top in Canada for historical Today, they’re best friends. Before that tournament? Not so much. significance. The 1980 is arguably the most dramatic “I remember seeing him at the airport before the ’87 Canada moment in the sport. The Golden Goal at the 2010 Olympics will never tournament,” Coffey said. “We were flying to Montreal (for the start of be forgotten. camp). He had his head shaved. I looked at him and snickered. He said, As for the best hockey ever played, I’m sorry to say there’s no debate. ‘I have to make this team.’ I said, ‘Buddy, short hair ain’t going to put you The three-game final in the stands alone. on the team. If you ain’t a good player, you ain’t making it.’’’

Sept. 11, 1987, Soviet Union 6 Canada 5 (OT), Coffey still laughs at that exchange today.

Sept. 13, 1987, Canada 6 Soviet Union 5 (OT), Copps Coliseum, “Anyway, Keenan put Tocchet and I together as roommates. And that’s Hamilton, Ontario been a lifelong friendship ever since.’’

Sept. 15, 1987, Canada 6 Soviet Union 5, Copps Coliseum, Hamilton, The barbecue Ontario In 1987, the world was still in the throes of the Cold War. Pure magic. In lockstep with the Soviet team during the ’87 Canada Cup was another When I found out last week that TSN was going to re-air the entire final team – the KGB. starting with Game 1 on Friday at 7:30 p.m. ET, one of my first thoughts “Walter Gretzky came to my room after we beat Canada 9-4 in an was the number of hockey fans under the age of 40 who didn’t get to exhibition game (Aug. 22 in Hamilton) before the tournament, I think experience the spectacle in real-time. Mario scored all four goals,” Larionov said. “Walter comes to the hotel, What better time than now to dive into the series to provide some context knocks at my door and says: ‘Igor, Wayne has been asking if you guys for a younger generation and bring back to life the best hockey ever can come over to have a barbecue.’ I thought it was a fantastic idea. But played. I didn’t think we could go.

Wayne Gretzky has told me a few times over the years it was the best “But I said to Walter, ‘We better ask coach if we can go. Because we got hockey series he ever played in. a KGB guy with us.’ I didn’t think we can sneak out this time,’’ Larionov said. “No question,’’ No. 99 reiterated a few weeks ago. (Larionov had snuck out of his hotel during the ’84 Canada Cup in “100 percent,’’ Paul Coffey echoed to me this week. Calgary to have a drink with some Team Canada players).

Gretzky, Lemieux, Coffey, , Mark Messier led a who’s who So off to head coach Viktor Tikhonov’s hotel room they went, Larionov of NHL stars on a stacked Team Canada. and Mr. Gretzky.

Vladimir Krutov, and Sergei Makarov – the KLM line – with “He was in a good mood,’’ Larionov said of the demanding Tikhonov. Slava Fetisov and on the blue line completed the “We had just beat Canada 9-4. So he was happy. I said, ‘This is Mr. Green Unit (Makarov, especially, was electrifying in that series, leading Gretzky, Wayne’s father. He would like to invite you and the five of us to the Soviets with 15 points in nine games). go to his house, visit his trophy room, have a BBQ.’’’

The three games produced poetry on ice. Larionov still chuckles at the whole sequence of events. Tikhonov agreed but only if he, as well as the KGB officer, joined them. “It was special,” Larionov said from Moscow last week. “That was a stage. You have a chance to put the game at the next level. We played “So seven of us went to the Gretzky house for dinner,’’ Larionov said, the game, and they played the game, too. That’s what it’s all about, skill with Tikhonov joining the five members of the Green Unit, plus the KGB against skill. There were no restrictions.’’ agent.

Paul Coffey was having a cold one at a bar in the Muskoka cottage area “The Big 5 all came for a barbecue late on a Sunday afternoon before the two-plus hours north of Toronto in July 1987 when an unexpected visitor tourney started,’’ Gretzky recalled. “They weren’t allowed to come unless joined him. Tikhonov came.’’

“I get a tap on my shoulder and it’s ,’’ Coffey recalled. Former Flyers captain Dave Poulin, who was Gretzky’s training camp roommate, was also invited to the Gretzky family home in , Ont. Coffey’s Oilers and Keenan’s Flyers had just played their second Stanley Cup final in three years. Game 7 of the thrilling ’87 final took place on “That was quite an evening, it was almost surreal,’’ Poulin said, who May 31. Team Canada’s training camp was set to open Aug. 3 in would end up being one of the last two players cut from Team Canada Montreal. (more on that later).

Keenan drove an hour north from his cottage with the specific purpose of “The night began with all of the conversation going through the finding Coffey. interpreter,” Poulin added. “But then when we separated them and got a few of them downstairs in Gretzky’s trophy room, Igor suddenly is speaking perfect English.’’ Larionov laughs as he recalls the Soviet players being offered a drink. Lemieux called the experience at the ’87 Canada Cup “probably the best time of my life.’’ “There was beer on the table. Walter says, ‘Have a beer, guys.’ We said, ‘No, no, no, we don’t drink,’’’ Larionov said. “I was 21, just to have a chance to play with Gretz and Messier and Coffey and Ray Bourque, and really have a chance to practice with “Walter said to me quietly, ‘There’s beer in the fridge downstairs.’’ them,” Lemieux said. “I think training camp was like three weeks long, I The Soviet star players took turns going downstairs to the “washroom’’ really learned a lot by watching these guys and seeing how hard they but made sure to drink some beer on the way each time. worked in practice, the dedication they had for the sport.

“That was a fantastic experience,’’ chuckles Larionov. “I learned so much and I was able to take that back to Pittsburgh and eventually win two Stanley Cups with the Penguins, because of learning How the pairing of No. 66 and No. 99 came to be from those guys.’’

Here’s a thought, let’s put the two best players in the world on the same The famous Team Canada cuts line. Famous as in, imagine what Team Canada’s B squad could have looked “Yeah, it worked out pretty good. That was fun,’’ Lemieux said. like had it iced a second team in that tournament.

“When Mike put Mario and Gretz together … that was a smart idea. The Cut from Team Canada’s camp were the likes of Steve Yzerman (which best should play with the best,’’ Larionov added. is still crazy), Poulin, , Patrick Roy, Al MacInnis, , Dino Ciccarelli, Kirk Muller and Wendel Clark. Except head coach Mike Keenan didn’t put Lemieux and Gretzky together as regular linemates until late in the tournament. “I probably cut about 10 Hall of Famers,’’ Keenan said.

Which was on purpose, it turns out. Poulin was the last cut, along with Stevens.

“I sat on my deck at the cottage in July and I thought of that,” Keenan “I didn’t play very well. I was really banged up,” Poulin, now a TSN said of putting both superstar centres on a line, but not until the end of colleague of mine, said. “I played with three broken ribs in that Stanley the tournament. Cup final. From a health standpoint and a play standpoint, it was the right move.’’ “And I kept it to myself. I didn’t discuss it with anyone, not the other coaches, not the managers, not the players. I said to myself, ‘I’m not Classy, as always, but it sure hurt at the time. Especially when you going to show it early.’ Because I wanted something extra in the end. I consider how well Poulin had played in Rendez-Vous ’87 about six didn’t want the Soviets to pre-scout us and have that knowledge.’’ months earlier when he was matched up against the KLM line in those two games in . Lemieux and Gretzky had the occasional 5-on-5 shift together during the tournament, and of course power-play time together, but it didn’t become And well, there’s the fact Poulin was Keenan’s captain in Philadelphia. a permanent fixture until Game 2 of the final. “I wasn’t easy. It was very, very difficult,” Keenan said. “He was the last “I can still remember Tikhonov looking over at me and looking like he’s cut. And I did keep a number of the Flyers. But Poulie played centre and saying, ‘What’s going on? What are you doing, what are you doing?’ He look at how deep we were at centre. Dougie Gilmour ended up playing was surprised,’’ Keenan said. left wing on that team. That was tough. Because I had to have Poulie come back and support me in the fall. Which he did. He took it like a real Lemieux ended the tournament with 11 goals in nine games, including pro.’’ the game-winning goals in Game 2 and Game 3 of the final. Gretzky led the tournament with 21 points including 18 assists, assisting on both of First team meeting Lemieux’s game-winners in the final. To top it off, The Great One was named tournament MVP. Keenan wanted to set the tone early and did so in their first team meeting. “Playing with Wayne, I knew how he played, all I had to do was get open,” Lemieux said. “Especially on odd-man rushes and 2-on-1s, we “I assembled the group. I said to them, ‘Guys, how many minutes in a scored a few 2-on-1 goals throughout the tournament. hockey game?’ They looked at me like I was cuckoo,’’ Keenan said.

“Basically, my job was to give him the puck and get open. And he’d find Larry Murphy, according to Keenan, responded: “Everybody knows it’s me every time.’’ 60 minutes.’’

Mario’s coming out party “I said, there’s six of you on the ice so it’s 360 minutes that you share if we’re penalty-free.’’ By 1987, we were all well aware that Lemieux was a special player. He had already taken the NHL by storm and had three seasons under his Take out the goalie, Keenan continued, that’s 300 minutes for the belt by the time he showed up at the ’87 Canada Cup. remaining skaters.

But during that tournament, he raised his game to another level. “Then I said, ‘Wayne usually plays 27 minutes a game, do you guys mind if I give him 25 minutes?’ Everyone said of course not,’’ Keenan said. “That was a total coming-out party for him,” Coffey said, who remembers a 21-year-old Lemieux soaking all of it in at that event. “And Mario and Mark and so on, the answer was ‘of course not.’ I kept going, ‘What about these great defensemen like Paul Coffey and Ray “Mario was a study,” Coffey said. “He sat and watched. Wayne being like Bourque, do you mind if I give them each 25 minutes a game, they won’t Wayne is, he brought Mario into his world. He wasn’t worried about Mario get 30 minutes, but how about 25?’ being the heir apparent or winning the scoring championship next year, Wayne’s philosophy always was, ‘If he’s that good, he’s going to make “So I’m doing the math and I keep going. Now it’s . He me better.’’’ had like 140 points in Winnipeg. I got him down to 15 minutes. And kept going down the lineup.’’ Larionov had caught a glimpse of a 19-year-old Lemieux two years prior at the 1985 IIHF World Championships in Prague. Until, Keenan says, Rick Tocchet got up in the room.

“Mario was big and lanky and really skilled, but was kind of slow,” “Tocchet says, ‘There’s only five minutes left of ice time, do you mind if I Larionov said. “Because I think it was his first year in the NHL and it was have it?’’’ Keenan recalled. “I said, ‘Tock, only if it’s penalty-free. So stay big ice at the world championships. But you could see his tremendous out of the box you guys or else Tock won’t get on the ice.’’ talent. Usually, when you talk about Canadian players you talk about Keenan chuckles at the memory of it all. toughness and determination, but I remember his skill and IQ. The way he read the game, made plays, that was a sign of greatness was coming. “But right away, everyone understood they wouldn’t be getting their normal ice time. That’s how I approached them on the first day. They’re “And in ’87, it came full throttle, the way he played, the way he was bright guys. They figured it out.’’ decisive in terms of scoring big goals.’’ Said Hawerchuk: “Yeah, I do remember him doing that. Mike did a good “I remember thinking going to Game 2, ‘Gosh wouldn’t this have been job. He was involved when he needed to be, and he backed off when he really nice if we were playing in .’ Because I loved needed to as well. Maple Leaf Gardens, it was my favourite arena,” Gretzky said. “To me it was the hockey church of the world, right? And after the first shift of “Sometimes Mess would give him that look, ‘Not now, Mike.’’’ Game 2 in Hamilton at Copps Coliseum, I remember thinking ‘Wow, this “Mike was awesome,” Coffey added. “Once he figured out he was the is the loudest arena I’ve ever been in.’ And the emotion just picked up boss and that the likes of Wayne and Mess would respect him, he was and picked up and got stronger and bigger. The players, you could just great.’’ feel it, the players started to rally around it.’’

Soviets take Game 1 at the Forum Early shocker in Game 3

Let’s jump past the round-robin and get to the championship final. “We were down 3-0 before anyone got into their seats,” Coffey said.

Alexander Semak’s overtime goal 5:33 into the first extra period gave the Indeed, just eight minutes into Game 3, Canada was facing a three-goal Soviets a 6-5 win in the final opener and they were full value for it. deficit.

The Soviets were euphoric. Funny thing is, they weren’t used to playing And at this point, Keenan is muttering to himself. series. When you think of Olympics and world championships, this was a “Honest to God, I remember talking to myself on the bench saying, team used to one-game knockouts. ‘Mike, you better figure out something really quickly, because if you don’t But the Canada Cup final was a best-of-three series. win this game, you’re going to walk directly to the parking lot, get in your vehicle, drive to the cottage, get in your boat, drive to the island and “We didn’t really have much experience with that,” Larionov said. “But we never be heard from again,’’ Keenan said while laughing. won the first game. We’re one win game away from winning the Canada Cup.’’ Two things to remember here:

They could taste it. First, Keenan resisted the urge to pull Fuhr.

Team Canada? You could hear a pin drop on the flight from Montreal to “Credit to Mike again. He was known for pulling goalies all the time, but Hamilton. he kept Fuhrsy in there,” Coffey said. “Because Grant was the type of guy that Mike knew, that (being down 3-0 early) wouldn’t rattle Grant. “I remember getting on the team bus and Mike Keenan had allowed And Fuhrsy went the last 50 minutes or whatever only letting in two some of the guys who had moms and dads there to hop on the team goals. Nothing flustered him. But again, good for Keenan for letting him plane, and I remember on the bus ride to the airport my dad told me it stay in there.’’ was my fault that we lost and that my shift was too long and that was why they scored (the tying goal in the third period),” a laughing Gretzky Second, despite being down 3-0, Keenan decided to give his top players recalled a few weeks ago with myself and Scott Burnside on our “Two- a bit of a rest and played his bottom-six guys for several shifts, who in Man Advantage” podcast. turn gave Canada a spark.

“And I remember thinking, well, the whole country’s upset right now. I “Wayne turned to me and said, ‘Mike, I need a breather. Just give me a don’t need you telling me how bad I was.’’ few minutes here just to sit,’’’ Keenan said.

It was no joke, though. Team Canada was feeling the heat. There was no “We were really tired. Messier, myself, Mario — we had played so much room for error. hockey in Games 1 and 2,’’ Gretzky said. “Mike kind of sat us down eight minutes into the first period down 3-0. And I remember sitting there for a “That goes back to talking to Mike Keenan at the bar in July,” Coffey said. little bit, maybe four to five minutes, which is a lot in Mike Keenan’s eyes. “I said, ‘Mike, we know what’s at stake. It doesn’t matter what we did with But Propp, Tocchet, Gilmour, those guys rose to the occasion, got us the Edmonton Oilers in winning the Stanley Cup. We’re representing our back in the game and all of a sudden it was 3-3.’’ freakin’ country.’ And I do remember that plane ride (after Game 1) being deathly quiet. But there was also an air of confidence. Tocchet and Propp each scored before the end of the first period. The game was back on. “We’re probably not having this story if we lose the next game.’’ “I put out our grinders. Again Tikhonov looked over and at me and was Canada rebounds in Game 2 thriller wondering what was going on,” Keenan said.

A lot of people who covered this series believe the Game 2, 6-5 overtime “It took the pressure off the big guys a little bit, and of course, the big win by Canada at Copps Coliseum, was the best game in the series for guys finished it off.’’ pure entertainment. ‘No, you take it’ The shifty tied it at 5-5 late in the third period for the Soviets, before Gretzky to Lemieux ended it in double overtime. With less than two minutes left in the third period of Game 3, tied at 5-5, there is a faceoff in Canada’s zone to the left of Fuhr. Gretzky may have played the greatest game of his career, putting up five assists. But of course, he mentioned almost everyone but himself. Keenan sends Lemieux, Gretzky and Hawerchuk over the boards at what is now a deafening Copps Coliseum. “Game 2 was one of those games that was so remarkable because Mario was so good, Paul Coffey was just a machine that night,’’ Gretzky said. “So I’ve got Gretzky and Lemieux, two centremen,’’ Hawerchuk recalled. “Guys like Doug Gilmour and Rick Tocchet and Dale Hawerchuk and, of “I go ‘Gretz, you want to take the draw?’ He says, ‘Not a chance.’ And he course, Mark Messier were so good. Guys were so determined. But we kind of chuckles.’’ didn’t have 20 guys that played as much as the Russian team. They were Hawerchuk said that Lemieux then tells him it’s his wrong side for the four lines and three sets of defense and (Slava) Fetisov was at his best faceoff since he’s a right shot. and the KLM line was so good. But we knew the one thing that we had over them was that our goalie was going to make the big save at the key “I guess I’m taking it,’’ Hawerchuk said. time and that’s what happened in the series. Grant Fuhr just, when it was 5-5, shut the door. We’d seen it so many times.’’ Lemieux confirmed the tale. No. 66 and No. 99 each passed on taking what ended up being one of Canada’s most famous won faceoffs ever. For the Soviets, an opportunity lost. “Yeah. But it worked out good,’’ chuckled Lemieux. “I remember we had a glorious chance in overtime in Game 2,” Larionov said. “Grant Fuhr was making spectacular saves. We were close to “I said to Mario before I took the faceoff, ‘Look, I’m going to tie him up,’’ closing the page and bringing that Canada Cup back to Russia.’’ Hawerchuk said. “Which means for the inside winger to come in and pick up the puck. And he did a hell of a job of that.’’ What’s evident is how Team Canada fed off of the raucous crowd in Hamilton. Lemieux, with his long reach, poked the puck along the wall past a pinching at the point. “Igor Kravchuk, who later played for me in Chicago, he made an untimely Looking back, the real winners in that ’87 Canada Cup were the sport pinch,” Keenan said. “But it was also because of Mario’s great reach that and the fans. he was able to tip it by him.’’ “It wasn’t about who wins, it’s about hockey itself,” Larionov said. “The Added Hawerchuk: “I played with Kravy (in St. Louis), he said to me, level of hockey. We sent a message across the world, that was the ‘That was the worst pinch in my life. Tikhonov let me know for quite a propaganda: good hockey.’’ long time.’’’ Added Coffey: “Igor is bang on, the fans won.’’ Lemieux called it the “perfect play.’’ It’s a series that impacted the game forever. “Maybe a little interference from Hawerchuck at the end where he hooked (Viacheslav) Bykov, to let me go in and score the goal,’’ Lemieux “That series really changed hockey,’’ Hawerchuk said. “When I came said. back to training camp (in Winnipeg), every guy on our team came up and said, ‘Man, that was the best hockey I’ve ever seen. You guys changed Yes, that did seem like interference from Hawerchuck on Bykov in the the game.’’’ neutral zone, which kept it a 3-on-1 break for Team Canada. The Athletic LOADED: 05.09.2020 “Yeah, people make a lot of that,’’ Hawerchuck said of the interference play. “If you watch that game, there was so much hooking and holding. And he spun around kind of like a dive.’’

(Great to hear from Hawerchuk this week, by the way. What a year it’s been for the Hockey Hall of Famer who was diagnosed with stomach cancer last summer, had surgery and then chemotherapy over the past several months. But now he’s out of the hospital and he’s eating food. “I’m getting my strength back here,’’ he said. All our best to Dale.)

‘He shoots, he scores. Mario Lemieux with 1:26 remaining’

The legendary voice of the late still resonates.

And there’s was zero doubt Lemieux wasn’t shooting after getting the drop pass from Gretzky despite Super Mario having a wide-open Larry Murphy on his right.

“I knew that the puck was coming back to me. Wayne had it,” Lemieux told me. “And actually, I didn’t see Murph until the end because I was focusing on Gretz and the defenceman and the goalie at the same time. Our scouting report was to go top shelf on the glove side. I had made up my mind that if I got the puck, that’s where I was going.

“I got a pretty good shot off and it hit the top corner and went in. It was an amazing feeling,’’ Lemieux said.

Coffey had the best view in the house, trailing the play when Lemieux rifled it home.

“I said to Mario and I only said it to him once, ‘Mario, when Wayne gave you that puck and Murph was wide-open, had that have been me, would you have moved it?’ He looked me right in the eye and said, ‘We’ll never know,’’’ a laughing Coffey said.

Well, that is a good question, how did Murphy end up on that 3-on-1 instead of Coffey?

“We always kid Coff, ‘How did Murphy beat you up the ice?’’ laughed Hawerchuk. “That was the only time in the whole series.’’

Come on, Coffey says.

“I love Murph to death, great hockey player. He couldn’t beat me up the ice on my worst day,’’ Coffey said while chucking. “But Murph was such a smart player, he would anticipate. I was on the boards, I came in from behind to protect the D zone after the faceoff – imagine me doing that – so Murph took off. Which made Larry special all those years, the way he could anticipate.’’

Another thing to remember, Coffey said, look at the players Keenan deployed for that game-winning shift.

“You look at that last faceoff on the winning goal, this is Keenan again: Gretzky, Hawerchuk, Lemieux, Coffey, Murphy,” Coffey said. “In today’s game, when are you going to put Coffee and Murphy on the point and the faceoff in your zone. Mike was like, ‘We’ll get the puck and we’ll go score a goal.’’’

Yup.

“We were going to play to win,” Keenan said. “I had a lot of history with Dale, I coached him in Oshawa (Jr. B), and he was winning every faceoff. So I put him out, and of course the two big guns. We were playing to win. I wasn’t going to put out a defensive strategy at that point. I had confidence in them.’’

The real winners 1184244 Websites Or they could stop insisting on Bettman being the league’s public face at these sorts of events. Or they could just shrug, accept it, view this year’s draft as a rare chance to skip the hostility, and just announce the picks.

The Athletic / DGB Grab Bag: A request for a June draft, roster puzzle But if somebody suggests forcing Bettman into an “aw shucks” comedy answers and a donut delay routine he’d hate every second of, maybe read the room and take a pass.

The last few weeks’ of comedy

Sean McIndoe The third star: Kyle Dubas – You’ve probably seen the ongoing series where TSN is picking all-time rosters for the Canadian teams, based on a May 8, 2020 series of overly complicated ground rules. Needless to say, I’m on board. But when it came time to try to put together a Maple Leafs roster that the

franchise’s notoriously chill fan base would be good with, the current GM Be It Resolved had thoughts.

The debate over the NHL draft continued this week, and all signs point to PIC.TWITTER.COM/4DQO8LDHFC the event being held in June, before the season is over. That will be — KYLE DUBAS (@KYLEDUBAS) MAY 3, 2020 strange, but so much of all of this is strange, and maybe this is just the league making the best of a bad situation. The second star: Gritty – You guys know I’m a sucker for a trick shot video. But whether the draft is held in June or a fall offseason or somewhere in between, it’s almost certainly going to be very different from previous I’M NOT BORED PIC.TWITTER.COM/LZJZKTJH0B versions. Instead of being held in an arena full of fans, with all of the prospects, media and top front office faces in the same room, we’ll get — GRITTY (@GRITTYNHL) APRIL 16, 2020 some sort of online version. The NFL held their draft a few weeks ago, STILL NOT BORED PIC.TWITTER.COM/3YDQSIPBGY and while the ratings were through the roof, not everything they tried worked. — GRITTY (@GRITTYNHL) MAY 6, 2020

We can learn from that; Max Bultman and Sean Gentille did a great job The first star: Ben Hutton – The defenseman is in his first season with the breaking down some of the lessons that the NHL should be taking note Kings and he recently confessed that he was behind quite possibly the of. But I want to focus on one in particular, because it’s important. greatest troll gift in Secret Santa history.

Be it resolved: Under no circumstances should the NHL get cute with THE MYSTERY OF DREW DOUGHTY'S SECRET SANTA fans virtually “booing” Gary Bettman. "GIFT" FROM FROM MATTHEW TKACHUK WAS SOLVED ON "POINT BREAKAWAY" WITH KINGS The NFL tried this, sort of. Before commissioner Roger Goodell read DEFENSEMAN BEN HUTTON. each pick, a screen behind him would show a selection of fans of the team that was picking. They could cheer, boo, or react to the moments LISTEN NOW: HTTPS://T.CO/DRED7IFJ1H before and after the pick. STORY BY @REALLISA HTTPS://T.CO/KVLMZGQCTB Did it work? Not really, but you could see what they were going for. They wanted to find a way to include the fans in a process that might feel — THE ATHLETIC L.A. (@THEATHLETICLA) APRIL 25, 2020 sterile without them, which at least makes sense on the surface. And you just know the NHL is thinking about trying the same thing. NHL roster puzzle answers

Specifically, you know they’re toying with the idea of having some online Earlier this week, we had some fun with an NHL puzzle. I posted four all- fans somewhere who carry on the tradition of booing Bettman before time rosters and asked you to try to figure out what rules they were every pick. And you know that would involve Bettman playing along, even based on. And lots of you did, with varying degrees of success. (Also, egging the fans on. You can hear him already, right? “Come on, I thought thanks to everyone who replied with the same “people who’ve never you’d be louder, is that the best you’ve got?” been in my kitchen” joke. All seven hundred of you. Great stuff, truly.)

No. Do not do this. It would be awful. If you missed the piece the first time around and it sounds like something you’d want to take a crack at, go check it out now before you read any First of all, Bettman doesn’t have anywhere near the charisma to pull it further. Otherwise, here come the answers … off. Goodell kind of tried, with predictably cringey results, and his stage presence looks like Frank Sinatra next to Bettman’s. Team 1

But more important, fans booing Bettman isn’t some gimmick to be Plenty of you guessed that this team had something to do with draft winkingly co-opted. It’s something that’s been happening for 25 years position (since there were a lot of first and second overall picks) or the now, making it one of the few organic hockey traditions to spring up in salary cap (since most of these guys carry a big hit). Nope. Instead, it the modern era. Do some fans do it these days without even knowing was something simpler: A roster built out of stars who’ve played for every why? Sure. But plenty more do it because in an era marked by lockouts NHL team, but with each team represented only once. I figured that Ryan and loser points and low scoring and litigation, it’s their one chance to Miller would be the giveaway here, and for a few of you he apparently personally let the boss know that they’re not happy customers. was.

And it clearly gets to Bettman, even after all these years. That’s part of Team 2 the point. Sure, he tries to awkwardly joke about it from time to time, This one was a bit trickier, especially since it contained 25 names. That usually with the same tired line about warm welcomes. But he still gets should have been a hint, especially combined with the note about there rattled, and it shows. also being “one unavoidable exclusion.” That clued a few of you into So of course, this is the part where some consultant will step in and realizing we were dealing with a category of 26, which led to the suggest that the NHL can see this draft as an opportunity to control the alphabet. Some of you noticed that the last names covered every letter message and own the moment or whatever else, by having a few fan except X, but that didn’t go far enough. The answer is that each letter of plants on a Zoom call that Bettman can playfully interact with. See, they’ll the alphabet shows up once and only once in both the first and last be saying, we’re in on the joke! Please clap. initials of the names listed. (Except for X, because no player with a last name starting with X has ever appeared in the NHL. An unavoidable “ex”- Don’t do this. It will be a) lame and b) a transparent attempt to smash a clusion, get it?) corporate stamp onto what’s still largely a grassroots message and c) so, so lame. Team 3

Fans boo Gary Bettman because they don’t like him. Fair or not, right or This one was straightforward, and from the sounds of it was the easiest wrong, that’s why it happens. If the NHL doesn’t appreciate that, they of the four. If you were looking for a clue, you might find it in the fact that could try actually listening to some of their customers from time to time. the roster is almost entirely guys from the league’s earliest era and then mostly skips ahead to the ’80s and ’90s, plus Ilya Kovalchuk. It’s the best roster I could come up with featuring players who played for teams that By the way, that last link includes an interesting nugget I’d never seen no longer exist. before: That the Devils’ appeal was based on an argument about a previous suspension to . Let’s add that to the pile of Team 4 supporting evidence to my theory that Shanahan shows up as a central And finally, the toughest roster – both in terms of making it (which was a character in every ugly hockey moment because he is secretly a super- nightmare) and solving it (which a few of you did). There was a big clue villain. right in the description, where I mentioned “starting with the one forward So back to May 8, 1988. It’s game time, only there’s no game. What’s who’s playing out of position.” That was literally what you had to do: Find going on? the guy who was out of position – Phantom Joe Malone, a center who was slotted in at right wing – and start with him. We’ll find out in a moment, but first we get a dramatic pan across various fans. Tag yourself, I’m the bored lady eating ice cream. Special shoutout From there, you could use teammate connections to link your way to the one fan who waits until the exact moment her husband is on live through NHL history. Malone played with Newsy Lalonde in Montreal, television to lean over and pick something out of his eyebrow. who played with Big Train Conacher in New York, who played with Babe Siebert for the Maroons, and so on. Each new player played with one We then cut to the only two people who could be trusted to explain the (and only one) more, with the connections always moving forward situation to a confused and frightened Canadian public: and chronologically. . They’re about to engage in an age-old television tradition known as “winging it to kill time.” But you probably figured all that out on your own. I miss the days when being a sports broadcaster meant wearing an Obscure former player of the week awkward headset that featured a big red clown nose on the end.

Did you catch that part in the last section about there not being any X Harry tells us about New Jersey fans lining up to buy tickets to the final. players in NHL history? You know we can’t let something like that go Remember, this is 1988, back when the Devils were considered a joke – without mining it for an obscure player. No, there hasn’t been an X they were only a few years removed from Wayne Gretzky calling them surname in the NHL (although there have been a few to make it in junior, Mickey Mouse, and this was the first year they’d ever made the playoffs, college and Europe). But what about first names? Surely, there has to let alone a deep run. We all thought it was funny that they were even still have been an Xavier or two? around. This scarred the entire organization so much that they vowed to Yes, actually – one or two. One if you’re looking at the league right now, get their revenge by eventually developing an impenetrable defensive where Xavier Ouellet has already staked his claim as the best X-man in system that would ruin hockey forever. hockey history. And two if you’re willing to reach back a couple of Bob tries to build off Harry’s point by noting that the area’s other two decades for this week’s obscure player, Xavier Delisle. teams, the Islanders and Rangers, are already out. It makes sense, kind Delisle was a center who made his name with Granby in the QMJHL, of, before he gets sidetracked by a story about a figure skating show including a breakthrough 120-point season in 1995-96. That caught the featuring Katarina Witt. Look, it was 1988, we were all sidetracked by eye of the Lightning, who took him in the sixth round of the epically weird Katarina Witt. 1996 draft. He went back to junior, where his numbers dropped but Harry pretends to pay attention, but if you watch closely you can see him stayed impressive, then spent a season in the AHL before debuting in going through his mental Rolodex of Edgar Allan Poe quotes to find one Tampa with two games late in the 1998-99 season. He barely played, but that fits. He can’t, and instead decides to ramble a bit about what the did earn his first NHL shot on goal against Martin Brodeur, which was actual Prince of Wales might think. He strikes a casual pose while he kind of cool. does, and shifts his footing a bit, which leads to the highlight of the entire It was back to the minors for 1999-2000, after which the Lightning didn’t clip. extend his contract. He signed on with the Canadiens and made the Bob completely no-sells Harry’s joke, instead staring at the floor. For a team to start the 2000-01 season, dressing for the opener against the second you think he may have just zoned out due to boredom, but no. It Devils and beating Brodeur for his first NHL goal. In all, he’d play 14 NHL turns out Harry has been stepping on his headset cord, leading Bob to games that season, recording three goals and five points. threaten to hire somebody to beat him up. This is live television, by the That would be it for his brief NHL career; he’d spend a few more years in way. I love these two and would pay extra money for a channel where the minors and then head to Germany, where he’d play until 2006. In they were still broadcasting games together to this day. addition to being the first X-name in NHL history, he’s one of just three Bob gets us back on track by passing on the good news that the league players (along with Brandon Davidson and Chris Higgins) to wear No. 88 says the game will start in five minutes, then immediately calls B.S. on for the Canadiens. He doesn’t appear to be involved in hockey anymore, that. He’s apparently right, because in the background we can hear the but might be able to sell you a house. public address announcer say something that results in all the fans Classic YouTube clip breakdown immediately booing. I can’t make it out, but it’s either “The game is delayed” or “Hey let’s all practice what we’re going to do to Gary Bettman Today is the anniversary of one of the strangest nights in NHL history. It in seven years.” was 32 years ago that hockey fans settled in to watch Game 4 of the Wales Conference final between the Bruins and Devils. It had been a “So if you don’t have any more jokes or stories, Colie, this is going to turn good series so far, with the upstart Devils trailing 2-1 after a controversial into a very boring – ” and then our clip cuts off, which suggests that Colie Game 3 that had seen coach chase referee Don indeed did not have any more jokes or stories. Koharski down the hallway in a postgame tirade. What would Game 4 The epilogue here is that the game did eventually take place. And it have in store? began with what became an iconic scene: A replacement referee taking It took longer than expected to find out. With thousands of fans in the the ice, followed by two amateur linesmen wearing yellow jackets instead building and many more at home, the scheduled start time came and of stripes. They’d take a lap to a chorus of boos, almost colliding at one went. We waited. And waited some more. It quickly became apparent point. The game turned out to be a bit of a gong show, although the that something was very wrong. And TV viewers in Canada waited for replacement officials got through it without any disasters. The Devils won somebody to explain what was going on. the game but the Bruins went on to take the series.

Our clip begins with a disturbingly young Ron MacLean in midsentence. Be it resolved: If the NHL stays on pause for another few weeks or He’s been talking to fans, and presumably had to deliver some bad news: months or longer, let’s make Harry Neale and Bob Cole go on live TV We don’t have any referees. The assigned officials have just walked off and just ad lib through the whole thing until it’s over. the job and the league is scrambling to find replacements. The Athletic LOADED: 05.09.2020 Yes, it’s the Yellow Sunday game, although the yellow part is getting ahead of ourselves. But what you’re watching is the confusing fallout of the infamous Have Another Donut incident that saw Schoenfeld berate and (maybe) bump Koharski. I broke that one down in this space years ago, but it led to two days of appeals, legal wrangling and an AWOL league president. It was a whole thing. 1184245 Websites people as well. And I think I have a lot of passion for trying to help these kids grow.

“Being a younger guy with younger family, I felt like it was the right time Sportsnet.ca / Why Maple Leafs assistant coach Paul McFarland is for me to make this change.” returning to the OHL Sportsnet.ca LOADED: 05.09.2020

Luke Fox

May 8, 2020, 4:58 PM

One step back, two steps forward.

That is the approach Paul McFarland took Friday, when it was announced he will be leaving the silent spotlight of Toronto Maple Leafs assistant coach to reassume the head-coaching position with the Ontario Hockey League’s Kingston Frontenacs, a post he already held in three winning seasons from 2014-15 to 2016-17.

Smart, young and driven, the 34-year-old McFarland makes clear his ultimate goal is to become an NHL head coach. Frankly, he wasn’t about to usurp Sheldon Keefe anytime soon.

“In any career, you’re constantly thinking about how to best go about your own development,” McFarland explained on a conference call Friday.

“My passion and ambition is to be a head coach, and I think the only way to be a head coach is to gain that experience. And the CHL for me is, if not the best, one of the best development leagues for all hockey.”

McFarland counts himself lucky to have picked the brains of five different coaches with NHL head-job experience during his two seasons with the Florida Panthers and one in Toronto, where he helped improve the Leafs’ power play from eighth overall (21.8 per cent) to sixth overall (23.1 per cent).

Those close to the situation say McFarland’s personality and way of thinking better suit him to running a bench than to assist on one.

“He’s wired to be a head coach. He really is,” one source said. “This is all self-interest and all Farley’s doing. He doesn’t want to be a career assistant coach.”

Added Keefe in a statement: “Normally this type of move would be done during the off-season, but given that these are far from normal circumstances, we are in full support of Paul’s desire to pursue this position in Kingston and gain more experience as a head coach.”

McFarland said he is grateful to Keefe and Leafs general manager Kyle Dubas for allowing him to sign a five-year pact with Kingston that will run through the 2024-25 junior season.

All parties agree that McFarland will remain with the Maple Leafs through the uncertain conclusion of the 2019-20 playoffs — even if that means missing the start of the Frontenacs’ 2020-21 campaign.

Kingston GM Darren Keily’s firing of coach Kurtis Foster on April 29 after a disappointing 19-39-2-2 effort and second straight losing season prompted McFarland’s interest, and the deal came together quickly.

“We greatly appreciate the support of Kyle Dubas and the entire Toronto Maple Leafs organization for their co-operation through this process,” Keily said. “Paul is a very key piece of our ultimate goal of winning a championship, especially in how he brings a passion and commitment that will no doubt be infectious to our players.”

The time and place feel right.

McFarland is taking over a promising young core in a familiar city where he’s already enjoyed multiple playoff series victories.

In Kingston, McFarland adopts 16-year-old superstar Shane Wright, who exploded for 39 goals and 66 points as an OHL rookie granted exceptional status. Surely, turning the cellar-dwelling Frontenacs into a Memorial Cup contender over the next half-decade would jolt McFarland’s stock among NHL executives.

“It’s going to give me another chance to take on that role and hopefully continue to grow and develop,” McFarland said. “Ultimately, the beauty of junior hockey is you’re going there not just to develop the players but the 1184246 Websites him at the Canadiens’ European combine in 2018. "Not only that, but being a team guy cheering on the other draft prospects that took part in our European combine that year — it was really impressive."

Sportsnet.ca / Canadiens' Romanov comparable to Kings' Doughty, says What Romanov has done since has been nothing short of impressive. Eastern Conference exec First on the international stage, where he won bronze and silver medals and was named to the all-tournament team at the last two world junior championships, and second as one of the youngest players in the KHL over the last two seasons. Eric Engels We know the five-foot-11, 185-pounder’s numbers — Romanov scored May 8, 2020, 2:22 PM just one goal and added 10 assists over 86 games with CSKA Moscow — certainly don’t jump off the page.

MONTREAL — It’s official: “The Destroyer” has agreed to terms on a But this comment from an Eastern Conference executive we spoke to on three-year, entry-level contract with the Montreal Canadiens. Cue his Friday certainly will: music, roll out the red carpet and prepare the merchandise. "He’s more of a Drew Doughty type. At the world juniors, a lot of the GMs The Canadiens reached out to clarify that the management team and AGMs were comparing him to… they said he plays the way Drew doesn't refer to Alexander Romanov as 'The Destroyer'. Doughty plays," the executive said. "To hit the nail on the head, the comparison with Doughty is to say Romanov wants to take command of Turns out I was misinformed on that name a few weeks back. the game. He wants to be involved in every facet of the game, and he can be with his skating ability." They call him 'The Assassin'… When we suggested Romanov has been compared by some to former "Because he kills all the plays," they said. https://t.co/JpuWDo1mCJ Canadiens defenceman Alexei Emelin in that he doesn’t shy away from — Eric Engels (@EricEngels) May 8, 2020 the physical game, that comparison was quickly dismissed.

We’re not entirely sure when Alexander Romanov will first step foot on "He’s much better than Emelin," said the executive. "Way better skater, Canadian soil, or when he’ll first grace the ice in a Canadiens uniform, much better gap control. His gap control is his best asset, and he has but his KHL deal with CSKA Moscow ran its course on April 30 and his way more offence than people realize." new deal, with the NHL team that drafted him 38th overall in 2018, will When we interjected — saying we don’t have much evidence of that commence as soon as possible. outside of the world juniors, where Romanov amassed two goals and 14 Meaning, if the NHL decides to resume the 2020 season and allows points in 14 games over the last two tournaments — the executive prospects to sign and play immediately, Romanov will burn the first year doubled down on his assertion. of his new deal immediately. And if the NHL decides against that, the 20- "I think he’s got way more offence to offer than what you see reflected in year-old Muscovite’s contract will begin in the 2020-21 season. his KHL numbers," the executive said. "You release him and let him be Regardless, the plan — as agent Dan Milstein relayed it on a 20-minute involved, and I think he’s really going to surprise. I can’t say for sure, conference call with Canadiens reporters on Friday — is for Romanov to because we haven’t seen it in the KHL, but we saw it at the world juniors. leave Russia as soon as borders reopen. "At the world juniors, he was always involved in the offence because he "He’s coming to Montreal on a one-way ticket," said Millstein. makes his pass — and it doesn’t matter if it’s a first pass or a transition pass out of his own zone or neutral zone — as soon as he makes that "I’m ready to play in the AHL, I’m ready to play in the NHL, I’m ready to pass, he’s up in the play right away supporting the offence all the time. play in North America," Romanov added — and in reasonably-spoken He’s always moving his feet, he’s always up in the play, and he makes English. plays."

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For as much as the Canadiens want to manage expectations — and they Get the best of our NHL coverage and exclusives delivered directly to have every reason to do that with a 20-year-old kid who’s never played your inbox! an NHL game — general manager Marc Bergevin has already gone on record to say that Romanov should immediately be able to fill a role on It won’t be long before we see Romanov making them with the the team’s bottom pair. Canadiens.

It was in an interview with La Presse back on Feb. 29, Bergevin said, When the kid was asked on the call what made him decide to leave the "He’ll be a defenceman who, at 23, 24 years old, will give us 24, 25 KHL at this stage, he responded, "Because it’s my dream to play in the minutes against the best opposing lines, the type of defenceman who NHL, it’s my dream to play in Montreal." we’ll put on the ice to protect a lead or play the last 30 seconds of a There’s no turning back now and, in an ideal world, Romanov would power play when you know the opposing team is coming with their big realize his dream as early as this summer, should the NHL resume its line." current season and allow for it. "But we have to give him time," Bergevin cautioned before adding, "I’d But, as he put it, he’ll wait if he has to. say a defenceman like him is just as important as one who can give you 60 points." "I’ll be waiting, I’ll be training so hard," said Romanov. "I just want to play my first game and play in the NHL. I will be training so hard, and I will To say the Canadiens are cautiously optimistic about the player’s abilities wait." would be completely understating it. Sportsnet.ca LOADED: 05.09.2020 It was Millstein who made us aware of Bergevin telling Romanov at a dinner in Moscow that the management team refers to him as “The Destroyer.” And it was Canadiens assistant general manager Trevor Timmins who, on a conference call on April 9, was raving about Romanov’s off-ice attributes.

"One thing I want to tell you is that after he signed the contract late last night, he went straight to the gym to celebrate."–Milstein on Romanov.

— Eric Engels (@EricEngels) May 8, 2020

"He just blew us away with his personality (and) his competitiveness in doing some of the fitness testing," Timmins said about what impressed 1184247 Websites The Ontario government eased restrictions on professional sports teams Friday, allowing them to open their training facilities.

Alberta has yet to follow suit. Sportsnet.ca / Korean soccer gives NHL first glimpse of what return could The Raptors will open their athletic facilities with limited access Monday, look like following in the footsteps of MLS, which already opened the door for individual player workouts outdoors.

Eric Francis The NBA’s guidelines for practices allow only four players at a time in the building, while the Raptors will only allow one. May 8, 2020, 3:53 PM Treliving has said his club is fully prepared to adhere to provincial safety guidelines and protocol allowing no more than 15 people to gather at any time. Calgary city officials have decreed that ban will stay in place until at The credo that players aren’t to shake hands with one another before or least the end of August. after a game is an easy one for the NHL to adopt. Flames goalie Cam Talbot just drove his family from Alberta to Ontario But no spitting or talking at close proximity to one other? for the summer, giving an indication of how unlikely many feel the league Live, televised pro sports returned to action Friday with Korea’s top can cobble together a summer conclusion. soccer league kicking off with a series of rules, restrictions, additions and Once given clearance, players would start to return to the cities in which omissions the NHL is sure to be taking note of for the possibility of an their teams are situated and start skating in small groups of five or 10. unlikely return this summer, if not the fall or a year from now. Of course, anyone returning to Calgary from overseas or the U.S. would The seats at Jeonju World Cup Stadium were empty, covered by flags of be subjected to a 14-day quarantine first, as pointed out by Prime support, and a message for television viewers that read, ‘Stay Strong.’ Minister Justin Trudeau. Recorded crowd noise was piped in at times to break eerie silence Again, chances of a conclusion to this season are a long shot. previously disrupted by the occasional shouts of players. A lone broadcaster called the game from an off-site studio, unable to provide Yet, the league’s prerogative is to continue to look at models that could much in the way of insight. see them play in August, September or October, pushing the start of next season to as late as December. Team-branded face masks were worn by the substitute players, coaches and a fourth official on the sideline. Elliotte Friedman reported the NHL and NHLPA agree 45-to-55 days will be needed between the end of the playoffs and the start of the 2020-21 No one wore masks on the pitch. season. Fist-bumps replaced handshakes at the conclusion of the stilted, 1-0 win Sportsnet.ca LOADED: 05.09.2020 by Jeonbuk.

No, Calgary Flames GM Brad Treliving did not tune in for the world’s first glimpse at sports’ new reality, but suffice it to say, there’s plenty of interest in the return to action in various sports.

“Certainly the league is paying attention,” said Treliving.

“We’re all trying to stay on top of all the different sports and leagues worldwide to see all the regulations involved in coming back. As you see people coming back, it’s not going to be perfect. You’re going to learn from what goes well and what doesn’t go well. Steal what information you can and share it.”

Treliving said last week he believes the key to any return for the NHL will be testing – something that needs to be more widespread before anything can move forward.

All 1,100 K League staffers and players were tested and cleared last week, followed up by players having their temperatures taken before kickoff.

If the NHL is somehow able to adopt the hub-city playoff formula it’s contemplating for resumption of the season this summer, players would have to be regularly tested.

At this point, it’s far from a possibility given the priority the public healthcare system takes over allowing specialized groups to secure rampant access to testing.

North America lags behind Korea in that capacity. Korea’s testing capacity has limited the country to fewer than 300 fatalities due to the novel coronavirus. In the U.S., more than 1,000 are still dying daily, which is why there is still plenty of time between now and when the NHL could possibly resume.

In the meantime, Treliving is optimistic the NHL’s member clubs are getting closer to allowing their facilities open for small groups of players to start skating and working out.

“Our medical team is preparing for what could take place,” said Treliving.

“It won’t be, ‘open the doors’ and everyone comes in. Whether you’re in small groups, it’s ‘what testing has to take place?’ Not only before, but on a regular basis. How do you keep people separated to a certain extent prior to going on the ice.” 1184248 Websites Bergstrom compared Yu’s tool to forensic analysis. Only, in this case, it is being performed on a model rather than a crime scene.

“It’s been a very useful resource to … get a better sense of what [the Sportsnet.ca / How a hockey analyst is helping experts in the fight IHME model is] going to be good at predicting and what it’s not going to against COVID-19 be good at predicting,” said Bergstrom, who studies infectious diseases and misinformation. “It turned out [the model was doing] a reasonably good job of — better than I was expecting — predicting the peak of the curve in most U.S. states, for example, but it did a dismal job of Mike Shulman predicting what happened after that.” May 8, 2020, 11:29 AM In particular, the COVID Projections Tracker made it plain that the IHME model projected deaths to decrease as quickly as they rose when the virus spread initially — even though that hasn’t been and isn’t likely to be It’s an understatement to say there can be a lot of noise online. the case. That’s a troubling fact given how prevalent the model has been Disinformation and misinformation flood the social media channels we’ve to date. become increasingly dependant on in a socially distant world. “Just based on how much the White House and (U.S. President Donald But amid the cacophony, sometimes the founding collaborative spirit of Trump’s) administration cites this model, clearly, they go to it as a source the Internet reemerges. of truth for their outlook on the future,” said Yu.

David Yu — team lead of hockey analytics at Sportlogiq, a Montreal- Now, Yu’s tool has helped people see the need to stop over-relying on based, AI-driven advanced stats company that works with most NHL the IHME model — which researchers have recently updated to better teams — is the author of one of those recent precious moments. account for its faults — and start looking to others.

He isn’t an epidemiologist. Nor is he an expert in infectious diseases. “It just helped us see clearly that the model was getting things wrong in a systematic, understandable way,” he added. “And so I think it gave me a But the soon-to-be 33-year-old hockey analyst has created a powerful lot more confidence to be critical of that model’s ability to predict what tool, the COVID Projections Tracker, which has provided those in the happens after the curve.” field a way to find flaws in the model widely used by U.S. health care providers, media outlets and government bodies — including the White 1. A short thread about symmetric death curves curves and the House — to make crucial decisions related to the novel coronavirus @IMHE_UW model. pandemic. Throughout, I'll use a great new tool from @yuorme: The website tracks the daily changes in projections of cases and deaths, https://t.co/FUHfJCr9qq among other metrics, produced by the aforementioned University of Washington’s Institute for Health Metrics and Evaluation (IHME) model, This allows us to look at how the predictions of the IHME model have as well as that of the Los Alamos National Lab. changed since it was released in late March.

Yu — who moved from China to Winnipeg when he was six and whose — Carl T. Bergstrom (@CT_Bergstrom) April 15, 2020 partner’s family hails from Wuhan — was inspired to pitch in when cases It’s a feat of remarkable data wrangling and coding from an unexpected of the virus started to spike in Italy. source in a moment when experts need all the help they can get. He initially used his abilities to create the online platform VolunteerAtlas, “I think it’s a really great example … like this is a situation where there’s which aimed to connect Canadian volunteers with those in need — such so much talent out there and we need all hands on deck, and we’re as the elderly or immunocompromised — so they can get supplies or learning in real-time how if we get all hands on deck, we can collaborate groceries. and not talk over each other and make forward progress,” said But when he realized there were others with more software development Bergstrom. “And this was one of those cases where it really worked expertise working on similar offerings, he shifted his efforts. beautifully.”

“I’m really trying to just make it easier for the people that are on the Sportsnet.ca LOADED: 05.09.2020 frontlines of — whether it’s epidemiology or volunteer co-ordination — for them to do their jobs,” said Yu, who completed five years of a PhD in biology before changing focus. “I could have maybe tried to build models and things like that, but I think (experts are) actually inundated with people that are helping, but not really helping. And so my goal was always to, rather than to try and build something that was better than theirs, build something that would help them do their jobs.”

And that’s exactly what he’s done with the COVID Projections Tracker.

After doing some initial graphing of the data, which was publicly released in late March, Yu noticed that some of the hardest-hit U.S. states had seen their projected death counts drop suddenly. He then reached out via Twitter to prominent University of Washington biologist Carl Bergstrom — who is not affiliated with the IHME model.

The sudden shift in projected death counts was something Bergstrom hadn’t seen before, and he encouraged Yu to keep looking into it. So the long-time Winnipeg Jets fan — who is used to analyzing aspects of hockey such as pace of play, faceoffs and passing — leveraged his data- science and data-visualization talents to develop a platform that could help Bergstrom and other experts make definitive assessments.

It's been all COVID all the time for a while, but excited to present our comprehensive analysis of pass difficulty, value and tendencies in hockey at #ISOLHAC this Saturday

Team effort with @pauly_p14 @ConnorJungle & @SamForstner

Kudos to @alyssastweeting for organizing https://t.co/BwcT4wbvi0

— David Yu @ (@yuorme) May 5, 2020 1184249 Websites The view below illustrates what Barber’s referring to, as you see Crosby pull his elbow up high before moving through the motion of the shot.

“Watch as he keeps that elbow at around 90 degrees, and as he releases Sportsnet.ca / Sidney Crosby’s one-handed backhand beauty | Inside the it he extends the arm. We don’t have much strength with one hand so Highlight Reel making sure you release it at the exact point you need to is so important to get some power and elevation on this shot.”

A few other foundational aspects of Crosby’s overall style of play aided Sonny Sachdeva his ability to pull this one off though, as Barber points out.

May 8, 2020, 11:52 AM “It also helps that he’s incredibly low and has some speed coming into the play. Also worth noting that straighter blades allow you to release the

puck higher up which is why guys like Datsyuk, Kane and Crosby opt to Each week, stickhandling specialist Pavel Barber and Sonny Sachdeva have straighter curve patterns with their lethal backhanders.” will go Inside the Highlight Reel to break down one of the silkiest moves For those honing their skills at home and looking to add Crosby’s one- from the NHL’s best, dissecting it to explain why it’s so dangerous and handed backhand beauty to their arsenal, we asked Barber to demonstrating how to master it yourself. demonstrate the mechanics of the move, how to ensure you can pull it off It’s been nearly two months since the NHL paused its 2019-20 season. with maximum effectiveness, and one drill that’ll help build the skills to do And in those accumulating days and weeks, the hockey world has shifted it. from game nights at the rink to stickhandling drills in the basement, Sportsnet.ca LOADED: 05.09.2020 shooting on half-busted nets in the driveway, and any other means of fine-tuning skill-sets while we await the end of these quarantimes.

That being the case, we called on stickhandling specialist Pavel Barber to share his expertise. The YouTube phenom-turned-skills coach has made his name dissecting the finer points of offensive wizardry — while amassing half a million followers online, the Toronto native has trained NHLers like and Jake Virtanen, and recently linked up with Bo Horvat and the Vancouver Canucks to coach some local Vancouverites.

Each week, Barber and I will break down one highlight-reel move from one of the game’s best, giving aspiring danglers what they need to master these game-breaking moves themselves.

This week? We’ve got that ridiculous one-handed, top-shelf, backhand flick shot Sidney Crosby unleashed on the Buffalo Sabres a little while back.

Crosby breaking out his backhand to jaw-dropping effect is nothing new — No. 87’s is the stuff of legend at this point, drawing praise from teammates and opponents alike for much of his career.

Bringing in the added wrinkles of going end-to-end, splitting the D, and whipping the puck top shelf off his backhand — with only one hand on his stick — was a new development.

In fact, that one-handed aspect — and what exactly Crosby’s other hand is doing — is at the core of what makes this particular technique so effective, according to Barber.

“Crosby is well known for his backhand shot but this one-handed backhand shot is ridiculous, especially considering how far out he is,” Barber says, “and how he’s blocking the defender on his side with the free hand throughout the shot.”

Viewing the goal from the netminder’s perspective, as below, offers a better look at the impact of Crosby’s free hand — the Penguins captain first swats away the prying stick of Ryan O’Reilly to allow himself entry into Buffalo’s zone, and again uses the free hand to ward off a potential poke check from Zach Bogosian as he gets closer to the cage.

The danger of the shot lies mostly in its unpredictability, the fact that it originates from a position few would ever be expected to shoot from at all, let alone top shelf. That it also leaves one hand free to deal with meddling defenders’ sticks is a key added bonus.

In terms of the actual shot itself, the one-handed flick that wired the puck up over Robin Lehner’s glove, it all comes down to mastering the mechanics of the move, Barber says, even if it seemed more like a display of No. 87’s absurd strength.

“The one-hander is often thought of as a move where you need a lot of forearm strength, but it is actually far more about technique than strength,” Barber says. “Crosby has the puck near the heel and as he pushes it forwards he times when he flicks the wrist, which allows him to get under the puck.

“But the most important leverage point on this shot is the top hand elbow.” 1184250 Websites “What went through my mind was, ‘This is a fairytale ending for Lanny,’” said Crisp, 76, whose club won three games in a row after going down 2- 1 in the series.

Sportsnet.ca / How Lanny McDonald got his fairytale ending during “All the years he put in and the tough season he had. Wow.” Flames' '89 Cup run The common belief is that McDonald’s goal was the Cup-winner. Not so, as Doug Gilmour and Rick Green traded goals late in the third period before Gilmour scored his second into an empty net to start the official Eric Francis celebration of Calgary’s first and only Cup triumph.

May 8, 2020, 10:29 AM “That that was his time,” said Gilmour when asked if he’s bothered by the widely-held belief McDonald got the decisive goal.

“I know I scored it, but it doesn’t matter. It was such a special year for Shortly after Lanny McDonald woke up, he went to a local Montreal him — his 500th goal — he was so calm and uplifting as a leader. I church and lit a candle in prayer. learned so much from him.” Meanwhile, Terry Crisp walked the town, struggling to decide which of his When McDonald was summoned by league president John Ziegler to three captains he’d dress for the biggest game of all their careers. take the Stanley Cup, the classy kid from Hanna, Alta., thought That night was Game 6 of the 1989 Stanley Cup Final (to be aired Friday immediately of his fellow captains who had jumped onto the ice in their night on Sportsnet at 7:30 p.m. MT/9:30 p.m. ET), and given the depth of street clothes. a team with five (arguably, seven) Future Hall of Famers at his disposal, “I didn’t accept the trophy until I called Pep and (Hunter) over because if I the Calgary Flames coach knew two proud veterans would have to watch was the guy sitting out I would hope they would have called me over at from the dressing room as his team played for the Stanley Cup. the same time to hold the trophy together,” said McDonald. “Toughest decision of my career,” said Crisp from his Nashville home, 31 As they did, the capacity crowd at the Montreal Forum gave the Flames years later. “I agonized, honest to God – I still do, to this day. And when I an ovation none of the players will ever forget. say, ‘I know how they felt,’ it’s because it happened to me in Buffalo.” It was the first time an opponent had raised the Cup in Montreal, yet the A two-time Stanley Cup-winning centre himself with the Philadelphia fans stayed throughout the on-ice celebration to applaud what was Flyers, Crisp was scratched for the final game of the 1975 Cup run by clearly the NHL’s best team that year. coach Fred Shero, breaking his heart. Inspired by Jean Beliveau’s decision years earlier to cut his career short Fourteen years later, the Flames’ second-year coach had to decide by going out a winner, McDonald decided to retire later that summer, between Lanny McDonald, Tim Hunter and , who all shared ensuring his final goal put an exclamation mark on a career that tri-captaincy of the club. ultimately ended with his enshrinement in the Hockey Hall of Fame — a Although McDonald had scored his 500th goal and 1,000th point earlier hallowed institution he now oversees as chair of the board. that season, the 36-year-old had yet to score in 14 playoff games and Sportsnet.ca LOADED: 05.09.2020 was a healthy scratch the previous three games.

“It was never said out loud, but once the playoffs got going it was maybe Lanny’s last year and I think that theme resonated through the dressing room with the guys,” said Crisp of the former 66-goal scorer who only had 11 that year.

“The older guys could empathize with Lanny and the young guys just loved him and respected him. That was something we could lean on.”

Calgary Flames’ Lanny McDonald hugs the Stanley Cup in dressing room in ’89. (Hans Deryk/CP)

As the nation tuned into the (last) all-Canadian final, pitting the league’s top two squads together, McDonald had become the sentimental favourite of fans who hoped the former Maple Leafs star would win his first Cup.

After consulting with assistants Tom Watt and Doug Risebrough, Crisp decided to put McDonald back in the lineup, summoning Risebrough to dispense the news to all three.

Legendary trainer Bearcat Murray remembers listening in on the meeting with McDonald and relaying the news to Joe Nieuwendyk and Gary Roberts, who had poked their heads into the doorway “like gophers” to learn of their hero’s fate. A thumbs up from Murray sent the two youngsters running back to the dressing room cheering.

It set the stage for McDonald’s legendary capper to a Hall of Fame career, which saw him jump out of the penalty box early in the second period to snap a 1-1 tie with a goal over Patrick Roy’s glove forever etched in the memory of Flames fans.

“When the puck went in, it was like, ‘Holy Crap, blow the buzzer and let’s get this thing over with — we want to go home with the Cup,’” chuckled McDonald of his reaction.

“For him to score that goal… unbelievable,” said Al MacInnis, who hoisted the Conn Smythe Trophy an hour later. “He sat out three in a row and I can’t imagine how devastating that was for him. Putting him back in the lineup was the right thing to do, 100 per cent.”

Crisp said his first thought after seeing McDonald beat Patrick Roy didn’t revolve around vindication. 1184251 Websites SN: You were double-shifting against the Red Wings in that series. Was that something new for you at that time?

Gilmour: Burnsy just looked and said, “OK, I’m gonna throw you out there Sportsnet.ca / Maple Leafs legend Doug Gilmour talks ’93 lucky charm, on the fourth line sometimes. If you’re out there on the fourth line, we bond with teammates might get something happening, get some chances.” That whole playoff round was crazy. Seven games in 13 nights. Travel wasn’t too bad, but the games take a lot out of you.

Luke Fox SN: How did Pat Burns go about motivating you guys?

May 8, 2020, 8:50 AM Gilmour: After (losing) Game 2, you get up in the morning and you’re disappointed. He didn’t look ahead. He said, “Let’s just focus on Game 3,

guys.” Preparation was intense. He had us ready. Plus, we were at Doug Gilmour is sitting in his backyard. home. If we could win one, maybe we could change the momentum a bit. That’s how his thought process was. We end up winning that game. Keeping him company is the fresh air, a little propane fire and a small Game 3 was the most important game in that series, other than Game 7. television. SN: You racked up 12 points in seven games. You were a plus-5. Both “It gets me out of the house anyway, so that’s good,” says Gilmour, when were the best marks on the team. Personally, what was clicking so well? we dial him up. “Not much to do.” Gilmour: Playoffs are a different breed. I learned a long time ago that it The TV usually airs one of his wife’s shows or — increasingly, these days doesn’t matter what you do in the regular season. It matters what you do — replays the greatest performances of Killer’s Hall of Fame career, in the playoffs. If you had a half-decent year and then you got beat out in triggering a volcano of standard-definition memories. the first round, you had a bad year. We don’t get paid anymore in the playoffs. Everybody’s at the same point. I’m tied in scoring before that These are heroic, gritty efforts the 56-year-old centre lived through, lived first playoff game with Felix Potvin. So, it’s a thought process when you for, but is finally watching for the very first time decades later. The go in, “OK, let’s get ready for this. You gotta be hungry for this.” Again, differences between hockey then and now are easy to spot. More Burns kept us up. whistles. Less speed. More chip-ins. Less possession. Blame the red line. SN: You mention Potvin. This guy had no NHL playoff experience, only 52 games total in the show. You look at his save percentage in that But Gilmour loves how aggressive the game was 30 years ago. “You had series — .863 — and it isn’t very good. What allowed a young guy to win to compete,” he says, injecting the word with the same ferocity he played. four games under such pressure? During our half-hour chat about Toronto’s opening-round epic against the Gilmour: Dino Ciccarelli was in his face all the time. They tried to get Detroit Red Wings in 1993, Gilmour explains why he wanted to quickly under his skin a little bit, but Felix had a lot of composure for a kid. We break away from the Maple Leafs days before the series began, the saw it during the regular season. He didn’t say much. He just focused on devious tactics of Scotty Bowman and why that particular roster is what he had to do. He was one of the playoff MVPs for us. He made bonded for life — ’93 till infinity. saves when it counts. That’s the biggest thing with him. You look at all Sportsnet: Have you caught any of these classic games Sportsnet is the Cups that Edmonton won. You look at all the saves Grant Fuhr made. running these days? The score might’ve been 5-4 or 6-5, but when they needed that save, he was there. That’s how Felix was. He really stepped up when we needed Doug Gilmour: I never watched highlights like this before. I’ve seen a him. couple things, like the high stick, but I’ve never watched a game from start to finish. And the way it is now, there’s really no commercials and SN: When people remember that ’93 roster, they think of you and stuff. It’s quick. I’ve been watching like, “OK, I don’t really remember… Wendel Clark, and that Dave Andreychuk trade was big. But who gets Oh, I do remember that now!” overlooked?

To have these classic games on, and for us to be in lockdown, it’s fun to Gilmour: You have some guys with playoff experience: , watch for me. Calgary’s (1989 Stanley Cup) game was on the other day, Mike Krushelnyski, Mike Foligno up front. Look at guys on the back end: and I was talking to some buddies and said, “You guys watching this Dave Ellett, Bob Rouse, Todd Gill. It was a pretty good setup for us. We game right now? Twenty bucks, I’ll take Calgary here.” They laughed: just needed the game to be close. “You’re an a——.” SN: Describe the mood in the two buildings, the Joe and Maple Leaf SN: OK, 1993, Round 1. What was the mood heading into that Red Gardens. Home ice played a big role, at least in the beginning of the Wings series as underdogs? series.

Gilmour: You know what happened? We went to Collingwood, Ont., to Gilmour: Oh, big time. Our fans were awesome. Detroit fans are the train about three or four days before the series. And my grandfather same. Scotty Bowman has his own tactics, right? The day we’re coming passed away. So, I asked Burnsy (coach Pat Burns) if I could fly to in for the game, he’d make sure there was new paint in the visitors’ Kingston, Ont., real quick — just one day and come back. He more or showers, or he’d have one stall built like at least 20 feet by 10 feet. So, less said no. So, I called mom and dad up, and I said, “You know, I can’t we get in there and we’re sniffing paint. Like, c’mon. They said they had make it. We’re starting playoffs.” And they said, “We don’t want you here. to do it ’cause they wanted it to look clean and everything. Yeah, OK. Don’t worry about it. We know you’re busy.” Good one.

So, they sent me four or five of my grandpa’s T-shirts. We wore pyjamas SN: That’s hilarious. How much does a stunt like that throw you off? pretty much under our hockey equipment in those days, right? Long Gilmour: Well, you gotta stand outside. You can’t even stand in the underwear. I would change my shirt after every period because it was dressing room because you’re sniffing paint that was painted that soaking wet and heavy. But over top of that I had my grandfather’s shirt morning. We were pretty quiet in the dressing room, too, because we on as well. Just for his memory. I think he brought us luck. I had those on were getting a little crazy, thinking, “OK, they’re bugging us in here. for all three playoff rounds. They’re listening to what we’re saying.” You get paranoid (laughs). They SN: Tell me about your grandfather. What kind of man was he? want to know everything that we’re gonna do. Back in those days, you’d Watch video on power play, penalty kill and 5-on-5 — that’s about it. So, Gilmour: Jack, his parents were from England. He married my meetings weren’t too long. We knew how good they were, we knew what grandmother, Annie. Jack was probably a six-foot guy. He was in the they had, so we had to contain them in different ways. army. He moved here as a kind of a salesman, but he always had jokes. Like, when I was in St. Louis back in the day, they would send me a SN: Game 7, you score the tying goal with under three minutes in cassette every year at Christmastime with jokes. That was my gift from regulation, then help set up Nikolai Borschevsky’s OT winner. What do them. Great people. What can I say? It was hard not to say bye, but at you remember from that four-point night? the same time, we had to work. Gilmour: We got back into it. I was worried about going offside, I made a pass to Glenn Anderson and he scored (the opener). The tying goal, I was coming through the slot, the puck came out, I took a shot quick. It went underneath ’s glove. It was a late celebration by me because I didn’t know if he stopped it or it went in. I saw it go in and put my hands up. We get back in the dressing room, and it’s “Shoot the puck from anywhere — you never know! Make sure you get the puck in! Don’t make bad changes!” All that stuff that you say to get ready for overtime.

In overtime, I came over the blue line, gave it back to Bob Rouse. Rouse made a great play to Nicky high in the slot, and it’s over. I think everybody remembers Burns looking up to Cliff (Fletcher in the GMs’ box) and (trainer) Brian Papineau spraying the water bottle.

SN: What does that feel like? Elation? Relief? Or do you quickly think, “Oh, no, this is just Round 1”?

Gilmour: You’re hugging everybody. You get in the dressing room. It’s exciting. But at the same time, you get on the bus and get back on the plane. You’re mentally drained from the first series, now we’re getting ready for the next one.

SN: Dave Andreychuk told me he still feels an incredible bond with that ’93 team, like nothing else. Why did you guys gel so well?

Gilmour: For sure. You look at our checking line with Zez (Peter Zezel), (Bill) Berg and (Mark) Osborne. Bergy was a pain in the butt, Ozzy was a pain in the butt, Zez was a strong faceoff guy, just a shutdown guy. When we had a reunion seven, eight years ago, maybe it was longer than that, Burnsy went through his first bout with cancer. He came in, and he said, “Know what? Winning the Cup, it’s unbelievable.” He’d won it in Jersey. But he goes, “This is my favourite team, by far.” I think we all felt that way.

Just all the friendships that we had, the run, how everybody paid their dues to get to the next round. That was Burnsy’s thing. We all talk about it all the time, Dave Ellett, Wendel, me, the guys that come around here. It was so much fun. The excitement. Obviously, we lost to L.A., but what a year. It’s not about what you did during the season. It’s what you accomplish in the playoffs. It was a pretty good run. Andy’s right there. We’re a team that’s bonded forever together.

SN: When did that lesson first sink in for you — that the regular season doesn’t matter much?

Gilmour: Brian Sutter was my roommate for five years in St. Louis, and he was our captain. He was probably the most intense guy I’ve ever played with. He taught me how to compete. Yeah, you take the game home with you sometimes. You take losing home sometimes. But you just had that gut feeling for the playoffs, “This is something special.” I lived for that, honestly. It was so much fun. Good times, bad times, but to me, it was the best hockey. You heard (Flames GM) Brad Treliving say the other day, “What the hell were the rules back then?” Obviously, he’s watching the (classic rerun) games.

Nobody knows. Like, we don’t even know now. How much can you hook? How much interference can you get away with? How much slashing is too hard? How much can you cross-check in front of the net? Back in the days, playoffs were like Hudson Bay rules — anything goes. That excitement. That adrenaline when you get onto the ice and that first game starts.

SN: Awesome.

Sportsnet.ca LOADED: 05.09.2020 1184252 Websites The two southern California teams, the Kings and Ducks, may have different restrictions in place (scheduled to expire on May 15) than the Sharks up north in Santa Clara County (scheduled to expire May 31).

TSN.CA / NHL still not at ‘acceptable mass’ to open team facilities The Tampa Bay Lightning likely would have been permitted to open their practice facility on Friday, but across Alligator Alley, the Panthers are facing tougher restrictions in Broward County. Also, Philadelphia has extended stay-at-home restrictions through June 4, but the Flyers’ Frank Seravalli practice facility is located across the Delaware River in New Jersey, where different restrictions may be in place.

The National Hockey League is keeping track of the local government The NHL has also not yet outlined for teams the specifics that would be restrictions impacting each of its 31 clubs by way of a master chart. required to safely enter Phase 2. The NBA said no more than four players may be in a team’s facility at one time, players must be kept 12 It’s one that deputy commissioner Bill Daly says is “dynamic and changes feet apart for the voluntary workouts, and no head coach or front office virtually every day.” member may be present, among other details. Some teams, like the Dallas Mavericks, play in a city that would allow the facility to open, but The NHL’s two Ontario-based teams – the Toronto Maple Leafs and owner Mark Cuban said they would not gather until everyone could be Ottawa Senators – moved into the clear on the league’s chart on Friday, tested. when Minister of Heritage, Sport, Tourism and Culture Industries Lisa MacLeod announced that all professional teams in the province are The NHL has not yet secured testing for players and staff members, permitted to reopen their respective practice facilities. according to sources, and it is unclear whether the league would require testing to first reopen facilities. But that doesn’t change anything for the Leafs, Sens or the NHL as a whole because the league has not allowed teams to progress to Phase 2 To date, the NHL has also not formally instructed players to travel to their of its return-to-play protocol, which calls for teams to open facilities for club cities, where significant border restrictions – between both Canada players to train in small groups. and the United States, as well for players at home in Europe – may delay or even make regrouping impossible for now. The NHL still hopes to move to Phase 2 in the “mid-to-later portion of May,” as stated to teams in a league-wide memo last week, but that will Until then, the NHL will continue to monitor and update its master chart – be subject to “potential competitive concerns between disparately which is trending in the right direction – with the hopes of moving forward situation markets.” soon.

In other words, the NHL doesn’t plan to take the next step until a fair TSN.CA LOADED: 05.09.2020 majority of its clubs will be permitted to open their facilities to avoid a competitive imbalance.

Ontario’s move on Friday did not tip the scales.

“Still not an acceptable mass,” Daly wrote in an email. “But moving in the right direction.”

According to data compiled by TSN from local and international media reporting, approximately half of the NHL’s markets would have been permitted to open team facilities as part of Phase 2 on Friday.

That number could shift to approximately 22 clubs by May 15, when local restrictions are scheduled to be eased in Arizona, California, Minnesota and Nevada.

Daly said the NHL has not determined yet what would constitute that “acceptable mass” and it likely won’t be a set number. It will depend on “direct communications with local health authorities.”

Daly said that could include “alternative plans” being made available to teams located in markets that are not in position to open.

Indeed, it may be a while longer before all markets are allowed to open practice facilities. Quebec has limited indoor and outdoor gatherings in Montreal to no more than two people and those restrictions are scheduled to be in place until May 25.

The league’s chart is nuanced and complicated. For instance, Calgary mayor Naheed Nenshi has called for the same level and stiff restrictions province-wide, even though his city accounts for more than 75 per cent of all of Alberta's cases of COVID-19.

The Oilers, meanwhile, continue to engage with the government on both the hopes of opening their facility for Phase 2 and hosting games in a potential season restart as a hub city.

“We continue to have very positive and collaborative conversations with the Alberta government, and they are open to working with us to allow the return of NHL players and staff to Edmonton as a part of Phase II, following provincial health protocols,” Oilers Entertainment Group spokesman Tim Shipton said on Friday.

Different teams in the same state or province also face different restrictions. For instance, New York governor Andrew Cuomo said he planned to lessen restrictions on upstate business – where the Buffalo Sabres are based – before doing so in the area, where the Rangers and Islanders call home. 1184253 Websites threat all the time. He's a terrific hockey player. He's a London [Knights] boy and loves playing here. I'm happy that he's part of the Leafs. When you live in Toronto and see the Leafs a lot, it's nice to see a guy like Mitch Marner." TSN.CA / Eric Lindros praises Toronto Maple Leafs' Morgan Rielly and Mitch Marner, relives Hall of Fame Game Auston Matthews didn't score in this game. It was actually his eighth straight game without a goal in what ended up being a 13-game drought, the longest of his NHL career. As a first-overall pick who faced big-time pressure to produce, how did you deal with dry spells? Mark Masters "They're hard. You take it personally. It's tough. It's just doing the extra

little stuff. A lot of times you're just not finishing in practice as well as you Eric Lindros will get a chance to take a stroll down memory lane Friday might think, whether it's a two-on-one rush or three-on-two rush. Bearing night when TSN4 airs the game between the Philadelphia Flyers and down in practice is a big deal. You do it in practice and it will carry into Toronto Maple Leafs from Nov. 11, 2016. games when it comes to finish. And, you know, let's not kid ourselves, there's some luck involved and bounces that don't go your way. There's It was the annual Hockey Hall of Fame Game and, as part of the class of deflections and what not. Droughts happen. It happens. The more you 2016, Lindros was among the honoured guests. shoot, then sooner or later you'll break out. He's got such an amazing shot, so to even think of that word 'drought' when you think of Auston Lindros says the night was a blur, but he recalls how all the Flyers wore Matthews doesn't really feel correct." No. 88 sweaters with his name on the back during warm-up. And he certainly remembers the general sense of warmth in the building, Does Matthews remind you of anyone you played with? especially during the pre-game ceremony. "I wouldn't say anybody. He's very talented, extremely talented. He's a "I live in Toronto, so to be on the ice and head out for puck drop ... It was scorer. He's a pure scorer. He'll use his body to benefit puck possession. a fantastic experience,” he said. “I loved it." He skates well and if he wants to play physical, he's got the body to do it. I think he's a very talented, offensive player." Rogie Vachon, Kallie Quinn representing the late , Eric Lindros and Sergei Makarov drop the ceremonial puck pregame. Wayne Simmonds scored twice for the Flyers in this game. As a Toronto #TMLtalk pic.twitter.com/jZBSSbRtxo guy, Simmonds always seemed to be pumped to play against the Leafs. What do you remember about playing as a visitor in Toronto? — Toronto Maple Leafs (@MapleLeafs) November 12, 2016 "You were jacked up. I mean, it didn't happen all that much. Depending Lindros and fellow inductees Sergei Makarov and Rogie Vachon were on the schedule you got in maybe two times a year, so those were big interviewed by TSN host James Duthie during the broadcast, which will games. If you were a Toronto Marlie growing up you got a chance to be included in Friday's replay. The other inductee, the late Pat Quinn, skate at Maple Leaf Gardens in the mornings and then the pro teams was represented by his daughter, Kalli, who also spoke with Duthie. would go out for a morning skate and then the Junior A team would come The game itself featured an impressive performance by Toronto out at 1 p.m. and then the Leaf game was at 7 p.m. The rink was just defenceman Morgan Rielly, who delivered the first four-point night of his jammed for the whole day and I remember everything about going career. Mitch Marner's enthusiastic response to a goal by Rielly went through that time, including the Fresca machine that was available for viral on social media. Lindros had high praise for both Leafs stars during drinks. I haven't seen Fresca in a while, but every time I see it, it reminds a wide-ranging Zoom interview with TSN this week. me of Maple Leaf Gardens."

The Big E also made it clear he had big expectations for what the Flyers Fantastic set up by Coots on Simmonds short handed goal could do in the playoffs this year, while revealing why his young son Carl pic.twitter.com/EcWHeVWSG9 is such a big Carter Hart fan. The following is an edited transcript of the — Broad Street Hockey (@BroadStHockey) November 12, 2016 conversation. Travis Konecny scored a nice goal for Philadelphia in this game. He's Rielly had a goal and three assists in this game. What is your perspective also a London, Ont. native. What stands out about him? on his skill set? Does he remind you of any defencemen you played with? "I'm not sure what's going to happen come July, August and what not, but when you think of the East you got Washington, Boston, Pittsburgh's "Morgan is everything. I think he's a fantastic player. When you look at really good, but I thought the Flyers were one of those teams that was the personalities in that dressing room, he's a real leader in there. I would going to surprise a lot of people – not just by getting to the second round, relate him to a guy that I played with in Eric Desjardins, who was kind of but by possibly representing the East. They were on a roll; they were like Mr. Everything. So, a really good first pass, strong skater, good getting great goaltending and I thought there was a chance something defensively, but doesn't surprise you if they score 12, 15 goals a year great could come of it." because they have the shot and they're on the power play making great plays. You know, he's the real deal." — TSN (@TSN_Sports) May 2, 2020

After Rielly's goal, Marner kind of skipped toward him in glee. His You mentioned goaltending has been a key part of Philadelphia's run. I teammates were really giving him a hard time afterwards. He's kind of an was interviewing Carter Hart last week and he said your son Carl wants Energizer Bunny kind of guy. Did you have any teammates like that? to be a goalie. Is that true?

"In terms of keeping people on their toes with a little bit of humour and "Carl loves goalies. Carter was fantastic with him and so was some jokes here and there, Keith Jones comes to mind. He always had for that matter. We get into town every once in a while, and he loves to just that dry sense of humour and something up his sleeve. There's a go and check out the pads and watch the goalies. He plays as a player, bunch. There are always a couple practical jokers. Daniel Lacroix also but in the basement he has fun stopping the tennis balls and playing that comes to mind. He was very artistic, and he'd go to the chalk board and way. He's enjoying it. There was one game where the Flyers were would do some really good cartoons and make fun of some situations playing Ottawa and [Craig] Anderson was warming up just outside the within our team and organization. That's what keeps you going. You get dressing room and Carl was doing exactly what Anderson was doing and into those long days in February and it's not quite the playoff push and there was a little chuckle there. He loves goalies and has his Carter Hart you just want to stay healthy and keep the team winning and it's great to goalie stick in his room and the jersey, and he loves Carter Hart." see some humour and have guys that are having fun." Are you on board with Carl becoming a goalie one day? good ol' Skipping Mitch Marner. pic.twitter.com/gkL1Ku73dJ "I shoot high on my son [laughs]. He'll do what he wants to do. He's — No Context Blinn (@NHLBlinn) November 12, 2016 enjoying some goaltending. When I played, and I think it still stands true, if we had a really good goalie, they were probably one of the best skaters What do you think of Marner’s game? on our team. So if you're not a great skater you can't be really good at "He's got amazing hands. It's one thing to stickhandle – a lot of guys can goal. So that's where we're at now." stickhandle – but he can do it at crazy speed with agility. His East-West game is fantastic. He's so agile and his change of pace is there, so he's a Carl Pierre meets @GrittyNHL !!@NHLFlyers @XfinityLive pic.twitter.com/tVSHWH0xT1

— Eric Lindros (@88EricLindros) February 22, 2019

What did you make of the Leafs this season? They had a strong stretch after the coaching change, but inconsistent overall. Did you think they could make a run?

"It was up and down ... it never helps when you lose 44 [Rielly] and 16 [Marner to injury], those are big people to miss. I mean, it sounds obvious, but when you look at the salary structure of any team and start crossing off two of your top five guys, or whatever the case may be, those are big holes. I believe everyone was mostly healthy by the time the season was suspended and they seemed to like the coach, so who knows?"

What's the biggest difference between playing in Philadelphia and playing in Toronto?

"It's not diluted here in Toronto the way it is in Philadelphia. When I say that I mean they have the [NFL's] Eagles, which is a big pull. But the Flyers have sincere and knowledgeable fans the same as here in Toronto. Everything here is Maple Leafs. There's a lot of similarities. Both sides are knowledgeable, passionate. Philadelphia is almost like an Original Six city. There's not as many suits in the crowd in Philadelphia, I'll say. It's a different crowd, a little more rough and tumble, a little more vocal about some things."

The Hall of Fame weekend, of course, culminates with the induction ceremony on the Monday night. You ended your speech by calling up your brother Brett. You never got to play together in the NHL, but that was a moment you could share. When did you think of doing that?

"Well, his career was short, and he only played a year and a half. He was a first-round draft pick and concussions got the better of him and we wanted to play together. If your brother is in the league it makes it easier in the summer if you’re on the same side, so that was always kind of the plan. It came to mind weeks prior and [I] just kind of did it.

"What a great weekend. What a fantastic time. It's a weekend when you look back and you're just so thankful. It starts with your parents and the sacrifices they made and even your siblings from time to time. And then you got your coaches and trainers and what not, those are people that aren't being paid when you're in junior or minor hockey so they're donating their time, they're donating their heart, they’re donating their energy. There are great teammates. There's just so many great people. Hockey's a pretty special environment. That Hall of Fame weekend is one of the times when you think back and feel pretty lucky."

New HHOF inductee Eric Lindros with brother Brett: "I'd like to close this chapter with you beside me." https://t.co/flmwh6tw7W #TSNHockey pic.twitter.com/kb4VvrfLW1

— TSN Hockey (@TSNHockey) November 15, 2016

TSN.CA LOADED: 05.09.2020 1184254 Websites □ Last cuts by position are exactly as advertised, the players who just missed selection to the all-time team

Goalie Joe Daley TSN.CA / The All-Time 7: TSN's Winnipeg Jets All-Time Team Manitoba native Daley was a two-time WHA all-star, holds league all-time records for regular season and playoff wins and won three Avco Cups, two of them as the goalie of record. Steve Dryden Goalie Connor Hellebuyck

The 2019-20 Vezina Trophy frontrunner already was a second all-star in TSN Hockey introduces the All-Time 7 Project. We are naming all-time 2017-18 and is tied for most goalie games (244) the past four seasons. teams – 21 players, a head coach and GM - for each of the seven Canadian NHL clubs. Today, we continue with the Winnipeg Jets. LD Phil Housley – RD Dustin Byfuglien

Three teams in one. Housley’s 97 points in 1992-93 are the most ever by a defenceman playing for any of the Jets’ teams and nothing speaks to the duality of That’s what it amounts to for the Winnipeg Jets’ all-time team. Byfuglien as much as the four-year period (2013-17) during which he compiled the fourth most points by a defenceman (206) and the most Blending the WHA Jets with the NHL Jets 1.0 and 2.0 results in a penalty minutes (446). powerful aggregation of players from Bobby Hull to Dale Hawerchuk to present day stars Connor Hellebuyck, Blake Wheeler and Mark LD Randy Carlyle – RD Fredrik Olausson Scheifele. Two Jets 1.0 defencemen leaders are joined at the hip: Carlyle played If you add in Dustin Byfuglien who didn’t play a single game this season, the most games (564) and Olausson earned the most points (335). but did not officially part company with the Jets until mid-April, Winnipeg has more 2019-20 players (four) on its all-time team than any other LD Dave Babych – RD Canadian NHL franchise. Shutdown Pair: 1980 No. 2 overall pick Babych may have been a potent The WHA roots of the franchise are represented by six players – Hot Line offensive force but he was also an excellent defender and a good fit members Hull, Ulf Nilsson and , left winger Morris beside the inestimable Numminen for whom numbers could never Lukowich, goalie Joe Daley and foundational player Lars-Erik Sjoberg. capture his overall value.

The Jets 1.0 have 10 representatives, while the Jets 2.0 has five. LW Bobby Hull – C Ulf Nilsson – RW Anders Hedberg

Of course, the all-time team is actually four teams in one. Three all-timers The Hot Line delivered regardless of the time of year. Each of them - Wheeler, Byfuglien and Andrew Ladd – were part of the Atlanta averaged at least a point and a half per regular season game. Hull is the Thrashers, who were relocated to Winnipeg in 2011 in a case of all-time leader in WHA playoff goals and Hedberg, third; Nilsson is first turnabout is fair play. all-time in assists.

The first iteration of the NHL Jets was relocated to Phoenix in 1996 when LW Keith Tkachuk – C Dale Hawerchuk – RW Teemu Selanne famously told fans, “wherever this team ends up, when this A first round line of Tkachuk (19th in 1990), Hawerchuk (1st in 1981) and team wins a Stanley Cup, it’s coming back to Winnipeg.” Selanne (10th in 1988) is the ultimate first line, all scoring 50 goals in Jet Olczyk, for all his 201 points in 214 games with the Jets, missed out on blue. being eligible for the all-time team because he didn’t play the requisite LW Morris Lukowich – C Mark Scheifele - RW Blake Wheeler 225 regular season games. Lukowich led the WHA-NHL Jets in goals three straight years (1979-81) Don’t worry, though, the all-time Jets have no shortage of firepower. while one of Scheifele and Wheeler has led Winnipeg in points each of On the wings, they have a 77-goal scorer (Hull), a 76-goal scorer the past five seasons. (Selanne) and a 70-goal scorer (Hedberg). LW Andrew Ladd - C Thomas Steen – RW At centre, they have a six-time 100-point scorer (Hawerchuk) and Checking Line: The defensive conscience of the forwards is a another who scored 14 goals over 17 playoff games in one postseason combination of terrific two-way players Ladd, Steen and Christian all of (Scheifele). whom served the Jets with distinction and as captains. And at defence, they have a blueliner (Phil Housley) who collected an Foundational Player LD Lars-Erik Sjoberg astounding (and league-high) 259 points in 232 games over a three-year period in the 1990s. ‘The Little General’ was an exemplary player and person over six seasons in the ’Peg, winning top defenceman honours in the WHA and The high-flying all-time Jets, indeed. higher honours for the way he conducted himself with the Jets. TSN All-Time Team Eligibility Criteria Head Coach □ Team: two goalies, six defencemen, 12 forwards and one foundational Maurice’s seven seasons represent the longest run of any Jets’ coach player and his .579 point percentage over 516 regular-season games is a □ Members must have played at least 225 regular season games with testament to his success. the WHA and/or NHL Jets. General Manager □ At least one member of the all-time team must be from the 2019-20 It’s hard to discern precisely where all the credit belongs for building the Jets revolutionary WHA Jets, but one thing is for sure – Hall of Fame builder □ Players are slotted in positions they played with the Jets Rudy Pilous was the GM of two Avco Cup championship teams.

□ One line must be comprised of defensive standouts, aka a checking THE LAST CUTS line All final decisions are challenging but two players from the Jets 1.0 stand □ One pair must be comprised of suffocating defenders, aka a shutdown out as particularly tough last cut calls. First is left defenceman Dave pair Ellett, who was first in career regular season goals by blueliners and scored one of the biggest goals in all Jets’ history, the double OT decider □ Lines and pairs are put together because they fit together, not because in Game 4 of the 1990 playoff series versus Edmonton. Second is Paul they are necessarily the first, second and third best at their positions MacLean, who stands third in all-time goals.

□ Foundational players are defined as players part of the fabric – the G: , 1988-94 DNA – of a franchise LD: Dave Ellett, 1984-90

RD: Jacob Trouba, 2013-19

LW: Doug Smail, 1980-90

C: Alexei Zhamnov, 1992-96

RW: Paul MacLean, 1981-88

Who is the biggest omission from the Winnipeg Jets’ all-time team?

GOALIES W L T/OTL GAA CUPS

Joe Daley (WHA) 167 113 13 3.37 3*

Connor Hellebuyck 148 85 20 2.64 0

DEFENCEMEN GP G A PTS CUPS

Dustin Byfuglien 528 102 261 363 0

Frederik Olausson 496 86 249 355 0

Dave Babych 390 73 248 321 0

Randy Carlyle 564 80 226 306 0

Teppo Numminen 547 53 212 265 0

Phil Housley 232 64 195 259 0

Lars-Erik Sjoberg (WHA/NHL) 374 32 196 228 3*

FORWARDS GP G A PTS CUPS

Dale Hawerchuk 713 379 550 929 0

Thomas Steen 950 264 553 817 0

Bobby Hull (WHA/NHL) 429 307 341 648 3*

Blake Wheeler 687 207 427 634 0

Ulf Nilsson (WHA) 300 140 344 484 2*

Anders Hedberg (WHA) 286 236 222 458 2*

Mark Scheifele 519 180 264 444 0

Morris Lukowich (WHA/NHL) 511 233 211 444 1*

Teemu Selanne 231 147 159 306 0

Andrew Ladd 348 110 136 246 0

Keith Tkachuk 308 144 145 289 0

Dave Christian 230 79 130 209 0

* - The WHA Avco Cup

TSN Hockey's All-Time 7 Canadian Teams

Monday, April 27 – Montreal Canadiens

Wednesday, April 29 – Calgary Flames

Friday, May 1 – Edmonton Oilers

Monday, May 4 – Toronto Maple Leafs

Wednesday, May 6 – Ottawa Senators

Friday, May 8 – Winnipeg Jets

Monday, May 11 – Vancouver Canucks

TSN.CA LOADED: 05.09.2020 1184255 Websites

USA TODAY / Ex-NHL player Georges Laraque, who contracted COVID- 19, says it makes 'no sense' to resume season

Mike Brehm

Former NHL tough guy Georges Laraque dealt with fevers and pneumonia in both lungs after being diagnosed with COVID-19 last week.

So he speaks from experience when he says it makes "absolute no sense" to play the rest of the NHL season amid the coronavirus pandemic.

One possible scenario that the NHL could adopt to resume a season that was suspended on March 12 is to set up a bubble in four cities and play without fans.

"To be asking guys to be tested and be quarantined for two to three months away from the family during this crisis is unfair and inhuman," Laraque, who played 12 NHL seasons and had 131 fights, told Canada's TSN. "Am I going to be forced to be away from my family and be scared of what’s going to happen when I’m not there? And what if something happens when I’m playing and my wife gets sick and I want to go back home?"

Laraque, who is out of the hospital, says he knows the only reason the season might resume is to hang on to TV revenue, which plays a role in setting next season's salary cap. But he says playing without fans is like playing hockey at training camp.

"The players already know that even if they finish the season, it’s not going to be a true Stanley Cup because the conditions that they are going to be putting on to do this is not going to be like winning the hardest trophy in professional sports," he said.

USA TODAY LOADED: 05.09.2020

1184256 World Leagues News "Show everybody how to do it safely. Give people who have to stay home some entertainment so they're not bouncing off the walls."

"From there, we can figure out how we get people back to work and how Ronaldo Souza's positive coronavirus test hangs over controversial UFC we get kids back to schools," he added. return He said by going first, he hoped other leagues might also reopen.

White attempted to avoid California's lockdown measures when he STAFF planned the April 18 event on Indian casino land, but Walt Disney Co -- owner of UFC broadcaster ESPN -- later asked him to postpone.

Florida governor Ron DeSantis opened the door when he gave "essential Miami (AFP) - The controversial mixed martial arts card scheduled for services" status to employees at pro sports and media productions with a Saturday in Florida will go ahead as planned despite one of the national audience. undercard fighters testing positive for coronavirus. LOADED: 05.09.2020 Ronaldo 'Jacare' Souza was dropped from the Jacksonville event after he was diagnosed with COVID-19 on Friday. He arrived in Florida earlier in the week.

Two of Souza's cornermen also tested positive.

"UFC's medical team examined Souza and his two cornermen and found them to be currently asymptomatic, or not exhibiting the common symptoms of COVID-19," organizers said in a statement late Friday night.

"All three men have left the host hotel and will be self-isolating off premises."

Middleweight Souza, of Brazil, was scheduled to fight Uriah Hall on the undercard of the televised Ultimate Fighting Championship 249 event which is being held without spectators.

Souza attended the weigh-in wearing a protective mask and was kept at a distance from Hall who also had a mask and gloves on.

Although Souza -- who is not showing symptoms -- will not fight, the other 11 bouts will go ahead. Officials said the other 23 fighters on the card have tested negative.

"Brother I know it sucks. I'm sorry you have to go through this. I am beyond devastated for the missed opportunity," Hall tweeted on Friday night.

The card is UFC chief Dana White's attempt to drag the mixed martial arts series out of coronavirus quarantine.

White, who has also announced cards for May 13 and 16 in Jacksonville, insisted before Souza tested positive the production won't put anyone at risk.

"Listen, we have families, too," White told CNN Sport. "I have a family; I don't want to hurt my family. I don't want to die.

"This isn't just some crazy, this is a well thought-out plan. We've had very, very smart people, doctors and people that have been involved with the UFC for a very long time working on this thing non-stop since it started.

"We believe that we have this thing in a place where it can be as safe as it can possibly be."

White's controversial plans to stage a fight card in April on an Indian tribal reservation in California were thwarted.

But he got the green light in Florida to hold bouts without spectators from Veterans Memorial Stadium in Jacksonville, headlined by an interim lightweight title bout between Tony Ferguson and Justin Gaethje.

Both fighters made weight on Friday at a weigh-in where media members and most UFC staff were kept at a distance, those closer to the fighters wore masks and the scale was sanitized.

Bantamweight champion Henry Cejudo and former champ Dominick Cruz both made weight for their title bout as well.

With the National Basketball Association, Major League Baseball, the National Hockey League and all on hold -- along with the US PGA Tour and LPGA -- White touts the return of UFC as a step toward normalcy and a boon for sport-starved fans.

And he said US President Donald Trump would be watching, in a conference call with US sports league leaders back in April.

"The president's take on it was we have to get live sports back first," White told the Los Angeles Times. 1184257 World Leagues News 'I still believe I can win world title' Ricciardo is out of contract at the end of this season and has a decision

to make as to whether to stay with Renault - whose performance in his Daniel Ricciardo: First race after coronavirus break will be 'chaos' first season with them last year after leaving Red Bull was a disappointment - or look elsewhere, with potential openings at Mercedes and Ferrari, among other teams.

By Andrew Benson Ricciardo said: "My basic target with this whole journey was not just get into F1. It was to leave a world champion. Chief F1 writer "Was I excited to get to F1? Absolutely. Do I love it? Yes. I haven't got 9 May there yet. But am I still enjoying it? Absolutely.

"But if it ended today would I be disappointed? A big part of me would be Renault's Daniel Ricciardo expects the first race of the season to be because it's something I really believe I am good enough to achieve, so I chaotic after the long break enforced by the coronavirus crisis. would feel it has left smelting on the table.

The Australian, 30, believes the length of time since drivers were last in "That is the ultimate goal. The day I stop believing I'm able to get that any cars will lead to mistakes and incidents. more it is the day you'll probably see me walk away from the sport, but I certainly still believe this can happen." "(It will be) some form of chaos, hopefully in a controlled manner," Ricciardo told BBC Radio 5 Live. "I am not really referencing cars The decision is made more complicated by the fact that a major everywhere. But there is going to be so much rust, a combination of regulation change is due to come in for 2022, which is aimed at closing emotion, excitement, eagerness." up the grid and could shake up the competitive order.

F1 bosses are planning to start the season in Austria on 3-5 July, by "It's frustrating that the sport is driven quite a lot by being in the right which time it will be four months since drivers stepped out of their cars at equipment in the right season," Ricciardo said. "But it's what I signed up the end of pre-season testing. for. And that in itself is an exciting part of the sport.

"Everyone is going to be ready to go," Ricciardo said. "The challenge is to position yourself with the best team at that moment and when rule changes come in, it’s, like, is that still the right team to be "You are going to get some guys who perform on that level of adrenalin with, or are we missing something? Do we need to try to build on what and others who might not. So you're going to get some bold overtakes, we've got here? some miscalculated ones. You're going to see a bit of everything, I'm sure." "It’s kind of like chess a lot of the time. I wish it was black and white and everyone had the same and we could go and see who was the best, but The seven-time Grand Prix winner believes the more experienced drivers that is not how it works. But I do feel that the best will always find a way might be at an advantage at the start of the season. to make it to the top."

Asked if it would take his body time to get used to driving again, LOADED: 05.09.2020 Ricciardo said: "If this was my first year or two in F1, if I was still not completely adapted to it, my answer would be yes.

"But winter testing is normally a good reference point. My first few winter testings, day one always felt like a bit of a shock to the system again. And the further my career has gone on, the less of a shock that has been.

"The rookies, the first-year, second-year guys, will feel it a little bit more."

Working out on the farm

Ricciardo has been spending his enforced break on his farm near Perth in Western Australia, with only his trainer and another close friend for company.

But he says it has been an effective environment in which to spend lockdown because he has plenty of space and has been able to work effectively on his physical conditioning.

"I’m quite fortunate in this whole situation," Ricciardo said.

"In general, Australia has been pretty good throughout all this and being able to be home and out on the farm has been nice, having so much space and a little bit of freedom as opposed to kind of being locked in a small apartment or something.

"I'm certainly an active kid. I would have struggled in a few other places. This has been really quite nice to get some time here. I haven't had this since I left Australia in 2007, so it's really rare for me.

"We have the space out here on the farm and (can) set up a real training programme, which you never really get.

"Well, you get it at the start of the year but once you get back to Europe and the travelling starts it is so hard to get any routine and consistency.

"Now, we have been able to build an eight-week block and we are starting to see some real good improvements.

"The icing on the cake on that is we haven't been jumping time zones, or locked in pressurised cabins three days a week up in the air, and the benefit is going to be really nice.

"Because it is so unique it was important to maximise this. And who knows? It might give me a bit more longevity in my career." 1184258 World Leagues News “The stakes are so high for Associates countries,” Campbell says. “We would pick the team up and go wherever we can as long as it’s safe and the cricket is good.

Smaller Cricket Nations Are Feeling The Financial Pain During The “We need to, we have a lot to play for. The U.K. has been affected Coronavirus Crisis harshly (by the coronavirus pandemic) but if travel restrictions get lifted, we would catch the train across to play against the counties. We will find a way but it’s hard to plan.”

Tristan Lavalette Off-beat locations could be an option. Sources have told me that Malaysia, which has hosted international cricket previously, could SportsMoney emerge as a cricket hub if the situation continues to stabilize there, while Campbell said Hong Kong might be another option having successfully contained the spread of the virus thus far. Scotland v Netherlands - T20 International Tri Series “Hong Kong is another place we would consider,” says Campbell, who International cricket has a rather archaic hierarchical system. Only 12 coached and played in Hong Kong before moving to the Netherlands. countries are allowed to play Test cricket – the sport’s longest and most “They know how to deal with pandemics and I know the Hong Kong prestigious format. national team are training, so could be an opportunity.”

These teams – deemed the best cricket countries – are categorized as ICC Twenty20 World Cup: Zimbabwe v Hong Kong Full Members, according to the International Cricket Council’s (ICC) rather elitist structure. The crisis is hoped not to derail the momentum in Dutch cricket with the national team boasting depth marked by a potent bowling line-up led by It is tough to gain full membership. Only three countries - Bangladesh, captain and left-arm spinner Pieter Seelaar. The success of the national Afghanistan and Ireland - have been granted the coveted status in more team has started to fuel wider mainstream interest in the Netherlands – a than 25 years. Teams below the top tier are Associate member nations – country with a rich cricket tradition but a sport totally overshadowed by they get less funding than the elite 12 and fewer opportunities to play soccer. against the best. The cancellation of a blockbuster home season – New Zealand were also Only 20 teams currently hold One-Day International status and a mere 10 meant to tour – is an undoubted setback. "So important for us to bring the teams featured in last year’s World Cup. Those not qualifying missed out elite teams to the Netherlands so people can see their heroes on their on a windfall – a prime example being Scotland losing out on the $1 own turf,” Campbell says. million qualifying fee and potential sponsorship funds of $200,000- 300,000. “To get media rights onto pay TV is going to help too, so kids can see that Dutch cricket is strong and that there is a pathway to become Associates cricket is cut-throat. Magnified during the tumult of the professional.” coronavirus pandemic, which has thrown the sport into chaos and exposed the grim finances of supposedly wealthy cricket nations. There is prevailing fear that Associates cricket – whose development has been emphasized by a more inclusive ICC in recent years – could be For 12th ODI ranked Netherlands, a leading Associates nation and the somewhat neglected amid the wreckage. best cricket country on mainland Europe, it has been a bitter pill to swallow. This year promised so much marked by being part of the 16- “We (Associates) don’t have a massive voice in the ICC,” Campbell says. team T20 World Cup starting in October in Australia, which is now under “Hopefully common sense prevails in the ICC and self-interests don’t see a cloud. off the Super League.

Ireland v Netherlands - T20 International Tri Series “The ICC want cricket to be the most participated game on the planet...we need to keep pushing the boundaries of cricket. They were supposed to be playing in the new 13-team ODI Super League, the qualifying tournament for the 2023 World Cup, as the sole “The Associates is the future of cricket.” Associates team having won the World Cricket League Championship www.forbes.com LOADED: 05.09.2020 three years ago.

Their upcoming home summer was highlighted by a lucrative three- match ODI series against Pakistan in August, which has been cancelled. As has all their other home matches, which also included games against the U.S, with sport banned in the Netherlands until September 1.

“It’s a massive financial loss,” Netherlands coach Ryan Campbell tells me. “Pakistan coming for three ODIs, you’re talking about at least 6000 people coming. We’re not used to having those big games coming every year.

“The Super League was our opportunity to sell our media rights.”

Scotland v Netherlands - T20 International Tri Series

Fortunately, the Netherlands governing body has not been forced into drastic cost cutting measures due to government support. But the nine contracted Dutch players will feel the financial pinch without the kicker of match payments.

It underpins the less glamorous world of cricket beyond powerhouse countries. “Events are so important for Associates cricket,” says Campbell, the former long-time Western Australia batsman/wicketkeeper. “It’s not about just winning or losing, it’s about do you have a job tomorrow. That’s what we have to keep in mind.”

Whenever normality returns, wherever that may be, the Netherlands will be eager to restart. The Pakistan series could be resurrected by playing in Pakistan with international cricket slowly returning to the strife-torn nation in recent years. 1184259 World Leagues News Players have a nearly 50% stake in those local revenue streams, so they would be affected right along with team owners. Teams almost certainly would be far more careful with their money, especially because their expenses wouldn’t go down during this rough stretch and might even go With the prospect of empty stadiums, how will the NFL move forward? up.

“Are we going to see a year when there’s a really small number of players who are either signed or extended?” Banner said. “Because the By SAM FARMER strain on cash flows in many of the markets will be really consequential.” MAY 8, 202010:11 AM He gave an example.

“The Browns are talking about re-signing Myles Garrett,” Banner said, Fourth in a series of articles about the 2020 futures of major sports referring to the defensive end taken No. 1 overall in 2017. “In a year leagues. when you have depressed revenue with equal or increased costs, that’s a big step to lay out a signing bonus, even if you defer a big chunk of it.” Preposterous. Unthinkable. A science-fiction movie. How could meaningful pro football games be played in cavernous NFL stadiums “I sure as hell know the broadcast feeds off it. That’s just a constant filled with oceans of empty seats? noise that’s under our voices that, if you take it out of the equation, I just think it makes the broadcast flat.” Steve Young knows how. Teams also have to consider the enormously lucrative sponsorship and “I’ve lived it,” said the Hall of Fame quarterback who began his career naming-rights deals, which are loaded with requirements and with the Los Angeles Express of the USFL. “I played in the Coliseum in expectations from companies that sometimes pay tens of millions of front of 10,000 people. It’s so quiet I had to whisper in the huddle. I dollars for them. actually had to move the huddle back. Defensive guys were like, ‘I think he said flanker drive.’ ” Said Banner: “If you’re Pepsi and you bought a sponsorship, and you paid $2 million for it, and it includes weekly TV shows and game When it comes to easy answers about how to restart the NFL in the age signages that you assume 70,000 or 80,000 people are seeing, and now of COVID-19, the silence is deafening. it’s only 20,000, do the teams have to go back and give them a refund or a credit, or deferred payments? Unlike other leagues that have stopped cold, the NFL has tried to cobble together some semblance of a normal offseason. It didn’t postpone free “Every one of those deals has a very clear list of all the benefits you get. agency or move the draft, instead turning that into an entirely virtual And, by the way, it includes a suite, club seats, stadium signage. Those event with commissioner Roger Goodell running it from his basement, things may not exist.” and coaches, general managers and prospects live streaming from their homes. It was an overwhelming success. The league already is bracing for the economic impact. Goodell has voluntarily forfeited his salary until league operations resume. Furloughs How are major sports leagues adjusting to the new normal of and pay cuts are underway at NFL Network and NFL Films. All team coronavirus? facilities are closed, although the league issued protocols Wednesday in advance of the safe and phased reopening of those venues. On Thursday, the NFL released its 2020 schedule, operating under the tentative assumption that a full season of games can be played, even as Meanwhile, the networks are trying to figure the best way to present stadiums in L.A. and Las Vegas are still under construction that has been games played in empty stadiums, including weighing the merits of slowed by the pandemic. augmenting broadcasts with artificial crowd noise. Fox play-by-play announcer Joe Buck said that noise is an essential element. “When the NFL puts out its schedule, it’s doing the right thing by starting with the hypothesis that you can start as though there were no delay to “I think these players feed off that a little bit, as corny as it sounds,” Buck the season,” said Frank Supovitz, the NFL’s former senior vice president said. “I sure as hell know the broadcast feeds off it. That’s just a constant of events. “But my experience with the National Football League was noise that’s under our voices that, if you take it out of the equation, I just they study every contingency. They are not leaving anything to chance.” think it makes the broadcast flat.

Truckloads of questions are unanswered. “I have the crowd noise as loud as I can in my headset because I don’t want to over-talk. If people are at home experiencing crowd noise, it “There is no way they are opening the season with 60,000 people in a brings them into the stadium. If you take that out altogether and it’s just building,” said Joe Banner, former president of the Philadelphia Eagles an announcer talking, you could be watching C-SPAN and it would be the and chief executive of the Cleveland Browns. “That in my mind is a zero same thing.” possibility.” Green Bay Packers running back Aaron Jones celebrates with his A realistic best-case scenario involves games being played in either teammates after scoring a touchdown against the Dallas Cowboys in empty venues or before greatly reduced crowds with social-distancing October. guidelines enforced. Not everyone would advocate for simulated crowd noise. The Miami Dolphins have proposed “capacity” crowds of 15,000 at Hard Rock Stadium, which normally can seat 80,120 and played host to this “Could you do that? Yes. Is it the right thing? I don’t know,” said Supovitz, year’s Super Bowl. The ambitious plan reportedly features spots on the now president of New York-based Fast Traffic Events and Entertainment. sidewalk at entry gates to keep fans at least six feet apart, and people “Every camera shot is going to show an empty stadium, so what’s the ordering food at their seats then going to pick it up rather than forming point in that? I think it makes it inauthentic, and the one thing about lines at concession stands. American football is its authenticity.”

The potential revenue losses are staggering, even though the 32 teams NBC, for one, is investigating different technologies that could use crowd each received $255 million in TV money last year. noise — piped into the broadcast, although not necessarily the actual stadium — generated remotely by fans. It’s been done before, one Kansas City Chiefs fans in Arrowhead Stadium. example being for a Tunisian soccer team that had to play in empty “The economic consequence is very significant,” Banner said. “It is gate stadiums in 2013, when no public gatherings were allowed amid fears of [ticket sales revenue], which, depending on what city you’re in, is from violence. something significant to something huge. That’s all your club seats and Fans of the team used an app on their phones and other devices that your suites and everything else. It’s not just your general admission. It’s allowed them to simulate claps, cheers and boos with a push of a button. parking revenue, concession revenue. Every element. Put all those Those collective sounds were pumped through speakers on the field for things together and add it to the gate, and it’s very sizable.” the players to hear. Like a boulder dropped in a pond, the resulting ripples would extend far “It would be authentic because it would be generated by viewers,” said and wide. Fred Gaudelli, executive producer of NBC’s “Sunday Night Football.” “We are in the early stages of trying to figure out how we could do that. … I like fan engagement and I like authenticity. There’s myriad problems that would have to be worked out and solved for that to happen, but that’s what we’re looking at right now.”

In order to prepare for games without crowds, Gaudelli and his crew have been studying broadcasts of NFL preseason and Alliance of American Football games “to try to get a sense of, hey, what’s going to have to change in terms of our coverage?”

In some cases, networks have used tighter camera shots and lower angles to avoid showing empty stands.

From the perspective of players, the lack of crowd noise might be strange but not entirely unfamiliar.

“I feel like players would adjust to that pretty well,” Rams tackle Andrew Whitworth said. “From an energy standpoint and for people working around it, it could be weird. But for us, scrimmages and practices we hold all the time. We practice for 2½ hours. So when we go out in camp, once it shuts down to the public, that’s pretty similar to what we’re doing.”

In some ways, he said, it would level the playing field.

“You look at New Orleans and Seattle, and that home-field advantage has been significant for them,” Whitworth said. “Tough places to go in. Eliminate some of that, and that’s a massive thing.”

But for Whitfield — and the NFL as a whole — the biggest question isn’t about empty stadiums or piped-in sound or lost revenue. It’s how can you reliably stage games with the very real possibility that one infected player could take down the entire league?

“The truth is, if we still live in a world where you’ve got to have 14-day quarantines, then as players we’re still human beings,” he said. “One guy gets it, and you’re done for two weeks. Then every single guy on the team, every team you’ve played, every person you’ve contacted …

“One player in the huddle gets it, that entire huddle’s gone now. So what do you do in the NFL when you only have 53 guys on a roster and you’ve just lost your entire starting offense? I don’t understand how you can even operate like that.”

It’s like pulling a loose thread on a sweater. It’s very easy to imagine the whole operation unraveling.

“What if it’s a Sunday night or Monday night game when there’s no other game on and a team is infected?” Banner said. “Is there just no football that night? You just have a window that’s vacant? There’s a zillion questions that the NFL has teams of people looking at. Those people are putting together all the scenarios they possibly can, and then coming up with at least a plan.

“Once the NBA canceled their season, I’m willing to bet anything that the NFL started having all these meetings about all the hypotheticals that could possibly come up. We’ve never seen this kind of uncertainty.

“It’s very scary. Nobody wants to get sick. Everybody is trying to do the right thing.”

Los Angeles Times LOADED: 05.09.2020 1184260 World Leagues News

Canadian amateur sport gets C$72 million in coronavirus relief funding

Friday, May 08, 2020 2:10 p.m. EDT by Thomson Reuters

TORONTO (Reuters) - Canada's amateur sport system will receive C$72 million ($51.72 million) in coronavirus relief funding from the federal government, the country's Heritage Minister said on Friday.

The funding was announced after a number of the country's national sports organisations, who each manage teams and high-performance programs, were forced to cancel events because of the coronavirus outbreak.

The Canadian Olympic Committee (COC) and Canadian Paralympic Committee (CPC) said they were sincerely grateful for the investment into the country's sport sector.

"National Sport Organizations are facing significant obstacles, including limited cash flows, layoffs and uncertainty," the organisations said in a joint statement.

"Along with this funding package, the COC and CPC will fully support the NSOs and broader sport community. We remain committed to playing our role in COVID-19 relief and recovery in concert with our partners at the Government of Canada."

The emergency support for amateur sports announced by Canadian Federal Heritage Minister Steven Guilbeault was part of a broader C$500 million commitment that also includes arts and culture in the country.

"We recognize that the Canadian culture, heritage and sport sectors, in all their diversity, strengthen the development of our communities and our national identity," Guilbeault said in a news release.

"They are also major contributors to the Canadian economy. I want to thank the artists and athletes who have dedicated time and energy to bring Canadians together in meaningful ways during these uncertain and unprecedented times."

WKZO LOADED: 05.09.2020 1184261 World Leagues News matchups. MLB is also looking at adding teams to the postseason. Depending on how long the regular season lasts, the playoffs may be held in warm weather cities.

The sports world starts to climb out of its coronavirus quarantine All of this is still hypothetical. The pandemic will eventually be the main determinate of the feasibility of the plan. We can only hope some kind of baseball season will indeed happen.

MAY 8, 2020 And in an even sooner starting date than baseball, NASCAR is expected to resume its schedule in a little over a week. On May 17, Darlington will AL STEPHENSON host a Cup race as well as another one the following Wednesday. Charlotte Motor Speedway will host the 600 mile race on the Sunday before Memorial Day — its original date — and another three days later. When the high school winter sports season was cut short, my heart went Four races in 11 days simply has to excite motor sports fans! out to all the athletes, particularly seniors. At least they got to take part in the majority of the season, whereas the spring sports people would get There will be some changes for both these sports. The biggest one will no opportunity at all. be the fact that fans will not be able to attend the events in person. Though that will be heartbreaking for some of the more serious fans, It was sad for all athletes, but more so for seniors. When I wrote a those of us that enjoy watching most of our sports on TV are looking column a few weeks ago about the three point line in basketball, forward to ending this long draught of live games. reference was made to my high school team. I quoted statistics from that special season, my senior year, and it was done by memory. No All of this is subject to change as we all know. Hopefully racing and research was necessary. baseball will just be the beginning of the sports world reopening. More importantly, life as we are accustomed to can return. Many people have That’s because you remember your final go round. I don’t know if I could died from this pandemic and more will, but let’s hope the return of sports tell you much about my junior year, yet I could tell you stories for hours means we are heading in the right direction. about my last season of games. This year’s seniors won’t have those memories and I feel bad for them. Until next week: be smart and stay safe.

The alternative was not good, however. Protecting lives outweighed Advertiser-Tribune.LOADED: 05.09.2020 sporting opportunities and always will. Most high school athletic contests are watched in person by parents and grandparents. If those folks contract the virus, their lives would be in danger.

I think most high school athletes understand that concept. Forgoing one’s senior season is a small price to pay for the health and safety of loved ones. Nonetheless, I sympathize with those kids that didn’t get to experience that final adrenaline rush. The thrill of competition brings that and more. They won’t have the memories that I, to this day, recall vividly.

Now it appears – ready or not – states are starting to reopen. That means people going back to work, businesses opening again and yes, sports making a comeback. It’s too late for some sporting events, but we will soon once again be able to resume watching our favorite teams compete. That will be a welcome sight when it comes to the new normal of life.

Let’s start with the bad news. We lost many sporting events to the virus in addition to high school sports. There was no March Madness in 2020. There will be no this summer, though there is hope for holding them next year. If the Little League World Series was something you enjoyed, or getting up in the middle of the night to watch the early tee times from across the pond at the British Open, that will not happen this year.

If you enjoyed watching tennis from Wimbledon… sorry, but there will be no action on the grass courts this year for the first time since World War II.

These events have been cancelled. Other sporting events — or seasons — have been postponed. You MAY still get to witness the NBA Finals, or the Stanley Cup Playoffs. Those leagues are on hold.

Still other events have been rescheduled. The first Saturday in May has always been set aside for the Run for the Roses at Churchill Downs in Louisville. The current date for that event is September 5. It will seem strange, but it’s better than canceling. The Masters Golf Tournament from Augusta National has always been a staple for the month of April, but now is expected to be held in the fall.

In the more near future, baseball is looking at a July 1 start to its season. Originally, a plan was considered that would have games being played in Florida, Texas and Arizona only. That seems to have been scrapped and the intention is to allow teams to play in their home parks.

This current plan will also feature realignment on a geographic basis to cut down on travel. In the West you would see the following teams: Dodgers, Padres, Astros, Angels, Giants, A’s, Rangers, Diamondbacks, Rockies and Mariners. The East would include the Red Sox, Yankees, Mets, Phillies, Orioles, Nationals, Marlins, Rays, Pirates and Blue Jays.

As for our local teams… the Central Division would include the Indians, Reds, Tigers, Cardinals, Braves, Brewers, White Sox, Twins, Cubs and Royals. It will be different if this idea prevails, but it has some interesting 1184262 World Leagues News The 2020 Big East Tournament also was canceled on March 12. The Big East is looking at alternative scheduling models for its six fall

sports, including the possibility of a regional model that Ackerman said Big East already has its eye on how the coronavirus could affect the new would be for this season only. basketball season “We’re looking at health and safety concerns, travel efficiencies, and cost reductions if they make sense,” she said. “Everything is kind of on the table.” by Joe Juliano, Philadelphia Inquirer LOADED: 05.09.2020

Without football, the Big East Conference doesn’t have the headaches currently being felt by commissioners of the Power 5 schools trying to determine when would be a safe time to start preparing for what they hope will be the regularly scheduled start to the football season in September.

However, while the start of basketball season might be six months away, Big East commissioner Val Ackerman has started wondering about her league’s dominant moneymaker and what contingencies can be developed in case the coronavirus pandemic affects getting the 2020-21 year underway.

“Obviously basketball is at the top of the mind for everybody in a conference like ours,” Ackerman said Friday in a conference call with reporters. “I will say the focus of the NCAA right now mostly has been on fall sports.

“Just as an organization, I don’t believe we’re as far along as we need to be in terms of thinking out contingencies around the basketball season. But we are proceeding right now as if it’s business as usual.”

Ackerman said the conference would have to wait until sometime around Sept. 1 to take action on how to proceed with the season. Among the factors involved would be setting up travel and “whatever protocols would be needed to get practices going and getting your venues ready for games," she said.

Another consideration would be teams that play in NBA arenas, and how scheduling would be affected if pro teams have to adjust with the pandemic. Georgetown and Marquette play full home schedules in NBA venues, and Villanova (Wells Fargo Center) and St. John’s () each have a slate of games.

“We need to know what our building availability is for those schools,” she said. “If the NBA season is disrupted or it affects what they do next year and the timing of their decisions about their schedule for next year, I can sort of preview that that’s going to add a little bit of complexity to the Big East as well.”

Ackerman also mentioned a “domino effect” if there’s a delay in the football season especially given scheduling on Fox Sports, which televises a vast majority of Big East games. Fox also owns rights to Big Ten and Pac 12 football as well as NFL games.

“I think that whatever happens in football can and will have ramifications for many of the leagues and could affect the basketball season in particular,” she said.

With the return of Connecticut to the Big East next season as an 11th team, each member will play 20 conference games. Teams also will compete in the Gavitt Tipoff Games versus Big Ten schools, and in The Battle with Big 12 opponents.

Ackerman said no fall sports would be played if students are unable to get back on campus. She added, however, that if some campuses open ahead of others, basketball players and other student-athletes would be allowed to work out and practice.

“We haven’t taken a formal vote on it,” she said, “but based on discussions with our [athletic directors], I think the mindset would be, let’s look at the welfare of the student-athletes first. If their campuses are safe and they’re lucky enough to be able to get back into the welcoming embrace of their coaches and their administrators, then let them have at that and not hold them back if the others of us aren’t quite there yet.”

In talking about the heavy losses schools suffered because of the cancellation of the 2020 NCAA men’s basketball tournament, Ackerman revealed that the Big East had insurance that covered pandemics. Together with financial reserves that were established when the league relaunched in 2013, “we were able to access that to a degree to help mitigate some of the damage,” she said. 1184263 World Leagues News

49ers examining training camp outside of California due to coronavirus

By Matt Maiocco May 08, 2020 1:44 PM

The 49ers’ schedule was released Thursday, but plenty of questions about the 2020 season remain unanswerable.

During a normal year, NFL training camps would open in approximately two-and-a-half months. But there is nothing normal about this time, as day-to-day life around the globe has been altered due to the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic.

Some states are beginning to loosen restrictions. But California, among the first states to enact stay-at-home orders, is likely to be among the last to allow larger groups of individuals to convene.

The 49ers have been looking at alternative sites out of the state for training camp, general manager John Lynch said this week on the "49ers Insider Podcast."

"We’re trying to prepare ourselves for just about anything,” Lynch said. “I wish I could tell you, 'Here's how it's going to go.' No one knows that right now, and we're all kind of eagerly awaiting information.”

Listen and subscribe to the 49ers Insider Podcast:

If the 49ers are in a position to seek a one-year relocation for training camp due to California regulations, they will not be alone. The 49ers, Los Angeles Rams and Chargers could all be in competition for summer training facilities outside of the state. The Raiders, ahead of their first season in Las Vegas, intended to continue holding training camp in Napa.

"You always have to be prepared for everything," Lynch said. "And I think this pandemic that we're going through, there's so much unknown. And it changes day to day, so, yes, you have to prepare for everything. We're in great talks with our state and local officials, trying to learn as much as we can. But you have to prepare for everything, the unknowns.”

The NFL’s offseason has moved forward with few interruptions, including the release this week of the regular-season schedule. While teams are not allowed to meet, virtual offseason programs have started around the league.

The 49ers are continuing to prepare as if the preseason will kick off with a mid-August game at the Denver Broncos. The 49ers' first regular- season game is on the calendar for Sunday, Sept. 13, against the Arizona Cardinals at Levi’s Stadium in Santa Clara.

“(We’ll) continue to prepare in every aspect -- mentally, physically, as a team, but also the people that put together training camp, the logistical team and all that,” Lynch said. “We've got to prepare for a bunch of different scenarios."

Comcast SportsNet California, LOADED: 05.09.2020 1184264 World Leagues News The canceling of the Chicago race is an ominous sign for workers at the track in Joliet, Illinois. The track staff was hit this week with a second round of layoffs by NASCAR since the pandemic.

The Latest: Reno Rodeo canceled because of coronavirus The NHL and NHL Players’ Association have put their plans to play outside of North America on ice for the rest of the year.

The league and union announced the postponement of its 2020 The Associated Press international games, adding they look forward to taking teams overseas again next year. The Chicago Blackhawks and Philadelphia Flyers were May 8, 2020, 6:52 PM previously scheduled to open this season in Prague as part of the NHL’s Global Series.

The century-old Reno Rodeo has canceled the 10-day event in June The Buffalo Sabres and Tampa Bay Lightning had been slated to play because of the coronavirus pandemic. two games in Stockholm.

Reno Rodeo President Craig Downie said in a letter to the rodeo’s board The 19 Swiss-based employees of United World Wrestling have had their of directors that canceling the event scheduled for June 18-27 was salaries cut 50 percent, and external staff have received a reduction in necessary to ensure the safety of participants, fans, vendors, sponsors work and monthly service fees. and volunteers. The international governing body for the sport says the reductions would General Manager George Combs said it was a difficult decision, made in be in force indefinitely. consultation with health experts as well as the Professional Rodeo “From the postponement of the 2020 Olympic Games to the cancellation Cowboys Association. Billed as the “Wildest, Richest Rodeo in the West,” of domestic and international tournaments, the sports world has felt the the event attended by 140,000 people annually celebrated its centennial pain of this virus/outbreak,” UWW says. “Even as we assess the rest of in 2019. the 2020 calendar, there is uncertainty around the return to competition.” The University of Minnesota athletic department is projecting a $4 million The UWW says its development team has launched a webinar series to deficit for the fiscal year ending on June 30. That’s out of a $123 million address concerns of national federations, athletes and stakeholders. budget that ranks as the eighth-largest in the Big Ten conference. Turkish soccer team Trabzonspor says its players have started to train as Minnesota AD Mark Coyle presented the financial picture at a Board of a team following the federation’s decision to resume league games on Regents meeting conducted by video conference on Friday. In February, June 12. before the virus outbreak caused the cancellation of the NCAA basketball tournaments and a sharp decrease in revenue, the Gophers were The Turkish club is based in the Black Sea coastal city of Trabzon. The forecasting a $1 million surplus thanks in part to a surge in football ticket team’s players had previously been training in groups of three in line with sales and fundraising related to a strong 2019 season for the team. social distancing guidelines.

For the next budget cycle covering the 2020-21 school year, the athletic Turkey’s health ministry has said it was not involved in the decision to department is bracing for a $75 million loss of expected revenue in the restart games and added that the federation would be responsible for any worst-case scenario of no fall sports and thus no televised football consequences. games. Games played without fans admitted projects to a $30 million drop in revenue. The best-case scenario of campus reopening in the fall Istanbul club Fenerbahce said Thursday that it “understands” the and sports played as scheduled would bring an estimated $10 million hit. federation’s decision but raised questions about the fate of the season if Those figures don’t account for reduced expenses in travel and other a team needs to be quarantined and the legal implications if a player areas due to the pandemic. were to sustain lasting damage after becoming infected.

— Dave Campbell reporting from Minneapolis Spanish soccer teams have resumed individual training after nearly two months of confinement because of the coronavirus pandemic. Real Madrid says striker Luka Jovic has a broken bone in his right foot and will not be able to return to practice with the rest of the team next Barcelona, Sevilla, Villarreal and other clubs have returned to action after week. the Spanish government loosened some of the lockdown restrictions that had been in place since mid-March. The club did not disclose the recovery time but Jovic is likely to be sidelined for at least a few weeks. Atlético Madrid is set to resume its activities on Saturday and Real Madrid’s players will be back on the field on Monday. Madrid players are expected to return to individual training on Monday after nearly two months of confinement because of the coronavirus Barcelona’s players were practicing at different parts of the team’s pandemic. training camp to avoid contact with each other. Coach Quique Setién was wearing gloves and a mask as he watched from afar as players ran their Spanish media say Jovic was hurt while exercising at home. drills. Players had their regular training uniforms but no masks or gloves while on the field. Teams are being allowed to resume practicing as the Spanish government begins to ease some of the lockdown restrictions that have Lionel Messi was seen juggling the ball by himself at one point. been in place since mid-March. All players, coaches and club employees were tested for COVID-19 NASCAR has canceled races at Richmond Raceway, Chicagoland before being allowed to practice. The league has not yet released results Speedway and Sonoma Raceway in California, as it revises its schedule but some local media reports said three yet-to-be-named players tested to restart the season. positive. The information has not been independently confirmed.

NASCAR plans to race at Darlington Raceway in South Carolina on May Soccer teams will be allowed to use two extra substitutes per match to 17 and May 20. Since those races weren’t originally scheduled, NASCAR protect players during a backlog of games caused by the coronavirus forfeited events at its Richmond and Chicago tracks. Richmond was pandemic. originally scheduled for April 19 and Chicagoland was scheduled for June 21 The International Football Association Board says competition organizers can now approve teams making five changes with a sixth in extra time. Speedway Motorsports traded its road course race in Sonoma scheduled for June 14 for a Cup race at Charlotte on May 27. IFAB says the temporary rule is available to “competitions which have either started or are intended to start, but are scheduled to be completed NASCAR is attempting to race at tracks within driving distance of its by Dec. 31.” North Carolina-based teams as it resumes competition following the sports shutdown due to the coronavirus pandemic. It has only announced Leagues which typically end in May face a congested program into July races through May. and August to complete their season. A further IFAB decision is needed to extend the rule into next season’s competitions and national team games in 2021.

Rafael Nadal says Novak Djokovic will need to be vaccinated to keep playing if tennis bodies make coronavirus shots obligatory once they become available.

Nadal tells Spanish newspaper La Voz de Galicia this week that Djokovic and all players will have to follow the rules when tennis eventually returns to action.

Nadal says no one can be forced to take the vaccine and everyone should be free to make their choices but all players will have to comply if tennis officials require “vaccination to travel” and to “protect” everyone on the tour.

Djokovic recently said he was against taking a vaccine for the coronavirus even if it became mandatory to travel. He later said he was open to changing his mind.

Nadal says “Djokovic will have to be vaccinated if he wants to keep playing tennis at the top level.”

He says that “if the ATP or the International Tennis Federation obligates us to take the vaccine to play tennis then we will have to do it.”

Inter Milan players can resume training at the club’s Suning Center after everyone from the first team tested negative for the coronavirus.

Inter had to delay the resumption of training earlier in the week because not everyone on the team had been tested for COVID-19.

The club says all tests have now come back negative and that “optional individual training sessions will begin this afternoon.”

AC Milan has also reopened its training center for its players.

Most of the other Italian league clubs had already resumed training on an individual basis this week before full team training restarts on May 18.

Manchester City defender Kyle Walker has complained about being “harassed” and says his family has been “torn apart” after admitting to breaking social-distancing rules again during the coronavirus pandemic.

British newspaper The Sun reports that Walker breached regulations three times in a 24-hour period this week by visiting family members and going on a cycle ride with a friend.

The England international apologized last month for hosting a party at his home during the lockdown.

Walker posted a long statement on Twitter saying he feels he is being followed constantly while also raising mental health concerns.

Walker writes “this is no longer solely affecting me but affecting the health of my family and my young children too.”

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NHL postpones all 2020-21 international games amid coronavirus pandemic

Chris Bengel

@CBengelCBS

May 8, 2020 at 12:35 pm ET

The NHL has announced that the league is postponing all of its international games in 2020 in the wake of the coronavirus pandemic. The Boston Bruins and Nashville Predators were scheduled to open the 2020-21 NHL season in Prague, Czech Republic in October.

"The NHLPA and the NHL remain committed to maintaining and growing our international presence. We hope that our fans overseas understand the need to postpone the 2020 games, but we look forward to being back with them in 2021," the NHL and Players' Association said in a statement.

The Bruins and Predators were also slated to hold their respective training camps in Germany and Switzerland prior to the season getting underway. The Bruins were supposed to face Adler Mannheim in a preseason game while the Predators were scheduled to take on SC Bern in a preseason contest.

In addition, the Colorado Avalanche were scheduled to take on the Columbus Blue Jackets in a pair of matchups in Helsinki, Finland later in the season.

"We are disappointed by the postponement of our trip to Finland but look forward to having the opportunity to play in front of Finland's passionate hockey fans in the future," Blue Jackets general manager Jarmo Kelalainen said in a statement.

The 2019-20 season got underway in Prague this past season when the Chicago Blackhawks faced the Philadelphia Flyers.

CBS Sports LOADED: 05.09.2020 1184266 World Leagues News company said its revenue is concentrated in the fall for baseball's postseason and college and NFL football seasons.

Content delays Media companies expect a tough quarter for TV advertising, with no live As content production cancellations endure, that means some networks sports and spending delayed are left with unfinished projects that aren't ready for air.

For instance, AMC Networks CFO Sean Sullivan said results in the PUBLISHED FRI, MAY 8 20202:10 PM EDT second quarter will be impacted by the delays of the season finale of "The Walking Dead" and the debut of the series "The Walking Dead: Megan Graham World Beyond." He said the company anticipates ad revenue in the second quarter will be down in the range of about 30% year over year.

Discovery, which owns networks like HGTV and the Food Network, said KEY POINTS it's seeing success with at-home content creation, like an episode of "The Many media companies gave a glimpse inside the TV ad market during Kitchen: Quarantine Episode" on Food Network, which the company said their earnings this week, including Disney, AMC Networks and drew nearly 3 million viewers, the most highly rated episode of the show ViacomCBS. ever.

TV advertising is being hit as marketers pull spend or are delaying Though that sort of at-home content is novel for now, Benes said people campaigns until later in the year. might soon grow tired of it.

Issues like content production stoppages, no live sports, and more "I don't know how long it can last before that seems gimmicky," he said. flexible advertiser relationships will affect ad revenue for the companies. Political spend could pick up later this year Bob Bakish, CEO, Viacom Some companies called out the expected bump of political advertising to Scott Mlyn | CNBC help during an otherwise tricky time for advertiser demand. CBS said it continues to expect a benefit from political advertising later in 2020. As TV networks start to run out of content to air and big advertiser draws like live sports are tabled, those companies are warning about severe Fox, on its previous earnings call, had mentioned that it appeared it advertising declines ahead. would be a robust political ad cycle for its local markets. But because of the contraction of the field of presidential candidates and the In recent days, companies including ABC and ESPN parent Disney, Fox postponement of primaries, the company said it's seeing a slowdown in Corp., AMC Networks, NBCUniversal parent Comcast, ViacomCBS and the active political ad spend it saw last quarter. However, it expects to Discovery reported earnings that showed how TV is trending as see the category "intensify" again as November approaches. advertisers are pulling spend or postponing campaigns until later in the year. Tough on local

With many consumers stuck at home, TV viewership is up — traditional Fox said the most immediate impact has been on ad revenue at its local TV is expected to add 8.3 million U.S. viewers this year, the first time TV stations, "where inventory is sold essentially on a spot basis and viewership has seen positive growth since 2011, eMarketer said in a new many of our advertising partners operate in sectors most displaced by forecast this week. Covid-19." It expects local advertising to be down in the quarter by 50% year-over-year. But, just like with online advertising, increased engagement isn't equaling dollar signs. CBS said as companies rebound to business, it overwhelmingly serves national advertisers, which should rebound first. "At a time when lots and lots of companies are slashing their ad budgets, or at least pausing them, now the supply of viewing time or ad inventory Forrester principal analyst Jim Nail told CNBC it makes sense that local exceeds the demand from advertisers to fill it," eMarketer analyst Ross advertisers, like car dealerships for instance, would be pulling back right Benes told CNBC. "It's great to get people to watch your show, but each now, since many of those businesses have been so disrupted. He said viewer is being monetized much lower than they were months ago." there is typically an instinct of marketers to think national-first rather than coordinating hundreds of buys locally. Here are some of the big-picture trends the networks shared in their earnings: But the recovery looks likely to be "extremely localized," Nail said. That provides a strong argument for national advertisers to shift spend into Impact of missing live sports local advertising. "Locally typically has shorter lead times and more generous cancellation policies, and things like that." With sports cancelled or delayed, associated ad revenue has evaporated in the near term. Upfronts canceled, budgets uncertain

Some networks are working with advertisers to delay rather than cancel Typically, advertisers commit a large amount of their yearly TV spending that spend, while networks like ESPN are trying to serve up heavy hitting in deals during the spring "Upfronts" season, when the networks throw content for fans in the meantime. ESPN said its "The Last Dance" docu- glitzy presentations and parties to show media buyers their programming, series on Michael Jordan and the Chicago Bulls, which will air through audience data and ad tools. May 17, is its most-viewed documentary ever, and its NFL Draft saw a record 55-million plus viewers. Those in-person events were canceled this year, and the deals are likely to be more staggered than usual. But ESPN's linear ad sales are still pacing "significantly" below this time last year, its parent Disney said when reporting earnings earlier this week A new survey from Advertiser Perceptions released this week polling — a result of the lack of live sports inventory and limited advertiser agencies and brands found that advertisers have cut their planning demand. Total ESPN ad revenue was down 8% in the second quarter as horizons significantly, and are on average committing to media less than "higher rates were more than offset by lower average viewership." three months out. Though it's typically TV upfront commitment season, that's taking on very different form as TV companies say they're having NBCUniversal said its advertising results at both cable and broadcast much more flexible conversations with advertisers. networks were impacted at the end of the first quarter because of the postponement of sports. It said it anticipates ad revenue will "materially "When a brand doesn't know quarter-to-quarter, month-to-month, even weaken" even further as sports continue to be postponed. The company week-to-week what's going on, there's no way on earth a network can will also see delayed ad revenue due to the postponement of the expect them to make a commitment for the next year," Forrester's Nail Olympics. said. "Media like digital is much more flexible. [Over-the-top streaming] is much more flexible than traditional linear television. I think linear is going Fox, which receives more than 40% of its annual ad revenue from sports, to have to develop those more flexible approaches. They can't expect to said little of that revenue has been impacted so far by shutdowns. The lock in budgets for the next year," when brands don't know what that year is going to look like, he said. Fox said though it's not holding its traditional Upfront, it's in "constant dialogue" with its advertisers to give them flexibility. That flexibility, the company said, will "certainly be reflected in reduced advertising revenues in the current quarter" but said it should help preserve long-term relationships and help those businesses and brands endure.

AMC Networks said it's in conversations with partners "week-to-week" and "day-by-day," which has helped ensure that money moving away from the second quarter has been able to stay on the network in the second half of the year.

Discovery said it's seen higher cancellations and deferrals in the second quarter, and that based on preliminary results April is down 20% year- over-year, with May and June looking slightly better. But the company reminded this is a very "fluid marketplace" with lots of cancellations rolling month-to-month.

Moving to streaming

As advertisers pull back from traditional TV, players like Roku and The Trade Desk say they're seeing benefits of some of that spend shift to connected television.

The Trade Desk's CEO Jeff Green said in the first 20 days of April, it estimates connected TV spend increased 20% year-over-year in the first 20 days in April, then accelerated "even more" in the last 10 days.

"CTV is getting what linear is losing from the expectedly weak upfronts," he said on the company's earnings call Thursday. "It's one main reason why CTV spend has been steadily increasing. We are winning incremental spend that would have historically been committed in the upfronts."

He said that doesn't mean traditional TV broadcasters aren't adapting quickly with AVOD platforms, just that it's partnering with many of those companies like Disney and Hulu or Comcast with Peacock.

Roku echoed those sentiments when it reported its first-quarter earnings on Thursday.

"While our advertising business has seen higher than normal cancellations as overall advertising budgets have declined, this has been partially offset by ad-spend that has moved to Roku from traditional TV budgets," the company said in a statement. "Despite the likelihood that total U.S. advertising expenditures will decline in 2020, we believe Roku is relatively well positioned based on the effectiveness of our ad products and the trend towards streaming."

Pivotal Research analyst Michael Levine said in a note he's more bullish around connected TV's breakthrough next year.

"To the extent there is a meaningful pullback by marketers in the TV upfront participation in favor of more activity in the scatter/spot market, we think programmatic TV will be poised to deliver on the value proposition," he said. "We suspect the ability to deliver higher CPMs to media companies via better targeting will make TTD an even more welcomed partner to these companies who are already under pressure."

CNBC LOADED: 05.09.2020 1184267 World Leagues News

German football 'on parole' in return from coronavirus pause - DFL chief

7:21 AM ET

Stephan Uersfeld

German Football Association (DFL) chief Christian Seifert has said the Bundesliga is playing "on parole" following the announcement the top two tiers will return to action on May 16 after a suspension caused by the coronavirus pandemic.

The Bundesliga had been suspended since March 13 and games will be held behind closed doors, with a ban on mass gatherings in Germany in place until at least Aug. 31.

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The German government gave professional football in the country the all- clear to return to action after the DFL took great efforts to present a plan on how to play in a near risk-free environment.

The league presented a detailed 51-page medical plan for match operations to return and after minor adjustments it was passed by the political decision-makers. Keeping in mind that football is a contact sport, the plan has been put in place to avoid infected players taking to the pitch.

"Everyone in the league must be aware that we are playing on parole and every match day is a chance to prove that we deserve the next one," Seifert told a news conference on Thursday.

"We can't relieve anyone of this responsibility, and I wish for everyone to fulfil this responsibility -- just like thousands of other workers and employees do in other branches every day.

"If you do not have the virus, you can not spread the virus. And you must do all you can to avoid getting the virus."

Earlier this week, Hertha Berlin forward Salomon Kalou livestreamed a video of events inside the German club's training facilities. He greeted teammates with physical contact, most of the players shown did not observe the social distancing rule and he burst in on a teammate's coronavirus test. Kalou was suspended by the club and later apologised.

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Dan Thomas is joined by Craig Burley, Shaka Hislop and a host of other guests every day as football plots a path through the coronavirus crisis. Stream on ESPN+ (U.S. only).

Bundesliga players have, in general, welcomed the return of football and public opposition has been nominal so far. Cologne's Birger Verstraete last weekend had voiced criticism in his native Belgium, but later backtracked in quotes released by the Bundesliga club.

On Thursday, Union Berlin defender Neven Subotic, 31, told BBC World Service returning to full team training felt strange and the return might come too soon.

"It's just going to be a lot of risk management and trying to get a finished season with the fewest casualties," Subotic, a two-time Bundesliga- winner with Borussia Dortmund, said. "I am critical of how everything's been managed but we understand that it's a difficult situation for everybody.

"No matter when we start, it will be too soon. If we start in a few weeks, it will be too soon. Even if we start in a few months it may be too soon."

All Bundesliga teams must go into a seven-day quarantine training camp prior to the restart of the season next weekend. Hertha became the last club to resume full team training and clubs have been training in small groups from early April onwards. espn.com/LOADED: 05.09.2020 1184268 World Leagues News

CFL commissioner thinks canceling 2020 season ‘the most likely scenario’ amid coronavirus pandemic

Ryan Young·May 7, 2020, 11:02 PM UTC

With the COVID-19 pandemic still raging, commissioner Randy Ambrosie said on Thursday that he believes canceling the upcoming season is “the most likely scenario,” according to the CBC.

The first preseason game was initially scheduled to start later this month, though the league has suspended operations due to the coronavirus.

“Unlike large U.S.-based leagues, our biggest source of revenue is not TV — it’s ticket sales,” Ambrosie said while testifying to a House of Commons committee, via the CBC. “Governments coping with COVID-19 — for reasons of public health that we totally support — have made it impossible for us to do what we do.

“Our best-case scenario for this year is a drastically truncated season. And our most likely scenario is no season at all.”

There were more than 3.7 million confirmed cases of the coronavirus in the world as of Thursday afternoon, according to The New York Times, and more than 267,000 deaths attributed to the virus. Canada had nearly 64,000 confirmed cases, a majority of which were in both Quebec and Ontario.

The CFL’s future is ‘very much in jeopardy’

The CFL requested up to $150 million in financial assistance from the federal government last week amid the pandemic, per the report.

With no games being played, Ambrosie believes that the future of the league in general — which played its inaugural season in 1958 — is “very much in jeopardy.”

Even though the league’s brand and nine teams are well established, the teams collectively “lose between $10 million and $20 million a season.”

“We are currently operating on the money our fans, and to a lesser extent our broadcasters and sponsors, pay us in advance for games,” Ambrosie said, via the CBC. “The day is fast approaching when we will have to cancel several games and perhaps the season. And then our fans and partners will have every right to demand their money back.

“At that moment, our financial crisis will become very real and very big.”

While his statements paint a dark and gloomy picture for the league’s future, Ambrosie is still optimistic.

He also knows how much their next Grey Cup — the league’s equivalent to the Super Bowl — will mean whenever it does finally come.

“We want our next Grey Cup, Canada’s 108th, to be the place where we can all celebrate that we did get through this,” Ambrosie said, via the CBC. “And that Canada is back.”

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