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SPORT-SCAN DAILY BRIEF NHL 12/11/2020 Canadiens 1196789 Back for another year, Jordan Gross hoping for more 1196813 Best trades in Canadiens history: Dryden deal set Cup opportunity with Arizona Coyotes dynasty in motion 1196814 Élise Béliveau 'always beside' Canadiens legend Jean Béliveau, 'not behind him' 1196790 Report: B's could be in division with these teams as part of 1196815 Unique mentality makes Mattias Norlinder enticing to 2020-21 realignment Canadiens 1196791 Doc Emrick: Bruins' window isn't closed yet 1196792 BHN Puck Links: NHL Trade Rumors, Bruins Get Hosed In Realignment! 1196816 Nashville Predators announce partnership with sportsbook 1196793 Boston Bruins Hit Billion Dollar Club in NHL Valuation DraftKings ahead of NHL season 1196794 Kraken expansion mock draft 5.0: Who could the Bruins lose? 1196817 Devils’ franchise value takes big hit in year of pandemic 1196795 Linus Weissbach 'not really' focused on earning contract with Sabres 1196818 ‘I need help’: How friends saved former NHL All-Star Mark Parrish Flames 1196819 Life Doesn’t Get Easier for Islanders in Realigned 1196796 Defence prospect Valimaki set for return to Calgary DivisionsPublished 15 hours ago on December 10, 2020 1196797 expansion mock draft 5.0: Who could the Flames lose? 1196798 How we’d run the Flames: Time to take the next step 1196820 Rangers will benefit from perilous path toward playoffs 1196821 NY Rangers 2021 season preview: Igor Shesterkin's time has come in deep group of goalies 1196799 Seattle Kraken expansion mock draft 5.0: Who could the 1196822 It is 2023-24. It is the 30th anniversary season of the Hurricanes lose? Rangers’ last Stanley Cup (and the 84th anniversary se 1196800 Denis Savard. Steve Larmer. Troy Murray. All 3 were 1196823 Cracks of Don: Coaching Sweden at WJC could lead to drafted in 1980 — and kept the Chicago Blackhawks another great career for Alfredsson interest 1196801 When Blackhawks' training camp could start Flyers 1196802 How Blackhawks prospect Brandon Hagel regained his 1196824 Flyers must answer key questions about Scott Laughton in hockey groove in Switzerland final year of contract Red Wings 1196803 prospects Moritz Seider, Jonatan 1196825 Penguins say project at former Civic Arena site remains Berggren continue strong play in Sweden on track 1196804 Despite being awful, Detroit Red Wings still one of NHL's 1196826 Penguins A to Z: Persistence paid off for free-agent most valuable teams acquisition Josh Currie 1196805 Players in the NHL bargain bin who might interest the Red 1196827 Paul Zeise's sports chat transcript: 12.10.20 Wings 1196828 URA rejects Penguins' deadline extension to buy land for former Civic Arena development 1196829 Forbes Says Penguins Franchise $$$ Steady as NHL 1196806 Increased Oilers roster certainly on table with condensed Revenues Fall NHL schedule coming 1196830 Dan’s Daily: Division Alignment, NHL Trade Talks Warm 1196807 Oil Spills: Oilers-Flames rivalry would heat up an NHL Canadian Division 1196808 Lowetide: The 2020-21 Oilers finally deploying elite talent 1196831 Emrick believes Dubnyk will make 'big difference' for in the right places Sharks 1196832 Sharks trade tiers: Who could end up getting dealt before the 2021 deadline? 1196809 Updated COVID Realignment Puts Panthers in Central, 1196833 Shin Larsson: From Olympic Hero to Sharks Scout Swaps Out Others 1196834 LOCKED ON SHARKS Tristen Robins: “I’m going to make 1196810 Panthers Finnish Prospects Thriving With Loans it a hard decision for them to send me home.” 1196835 LINKSSheng’s Daily: Sharks to Hold Training Camp in Arizona? 1196811 The Kings are in tough no matter how new NHL divisions play out Seattle Kraken 1196838 LeBrun: NHL start for Seattle Kraken about much more Wild than hockey 1196812 ‘I need help’: How friends saved former NHL All-Star Mark Parrish St Louis Blues 1196839 To the chagrin of some fans, Blues could be headed West in NHL realignment 1196840 What I’m hearing about the Blues potentially playing in the ‘Pacific’ Division 1196841 How Lightning prospect Gage Goncalves got on Team Canada’s world juniors radar 1196842 Over the past four years combined, and the Maple Leafs have played Canadian teams at a stunnin 1196843 How a waffle and the ‘awful’ 2010 Maple Leafs cooked up a decade of jokes 1196850 Ben Kuzma: Green knows how to push the right buttons at Canucks' camp 1196851 Canucks’ Quinn Hughes is the best D-man in Canada: 5 Canadian Division hot takes 1196844 Trading Pacioretty would leave Golden Knights with scoring void 1196845 Bill Foley Denies Max Pacioretty Trade Rumors, More 1196846 Tom’s Daily: Pacioretty Rumors, Alleged Alignments and Pushback 1196847 How will Kuznetsov play under Laviolette? Websites 1196852 The Athletic / ‘I need help’: How friends saved former NHL All-Star Mark Parrish 1196853 .ca / Maple Leafs' Rasmus Sandin stronger than ever after extended off-season 1196854 Sportsnet.ca / Canadiens lineup projections: Versatility highlights much-improved depth 1196855 Sportsnet.ca / Disney announces return of 'Mighty Ducks' franchise in new series 1196856 Sportsnet.ca / Five pressing issues for NHL, NHLPA to resolve ahead of new season 1196857 Team Canada goalies named with help from mom and dad 1196848 Jets in holding pattern 1196849 ‘Hustler’ Paterson returning to airwaves months after suffering terrifying spinal cord injury SPORT-SCAN, INC. 941-284-4129 1196789 Arizona Coyotes

Back for another year, Jordan Gross hoping for more opportunity with Arizona Coyotes

Jose M. Romero

Arizona Republic

The call up from AHL Tucson just before Christmas last year was a dream come true for Jordan Gross.

The Arizona Coyotes defenseman made his NHL debut on December 22 against the Detroit Red Wings, and assisted on one of five Coyotes goals for his first career . He played the next night at Nashville, then returned to the Roadrunners.

Those two games — totaling about 32 1/2 minutes of ice time -- told Gross he belongs in the NHL. The 25-year-old from Minnesota, re-signed to a one-year contract in October, will get his chance to make the Coyotes' roster when training camp starts for Arizona.

That has yet to be determined, as the NHL moves toward a possible mid- January start with training camps to open in the first couple of days of January, according to reports.

Gross has been working in groups of players who are working out, skating and playing mini-games at Gila River Arena to get in shape for the upcoming season. He was among the first group of players to report.

"Those two games, where you get to finally make it and you always dream about it as a child, I felt pretty good in those two games I played and it's definitely a lot of motivation for working hard and trying to be full- time with the Coyotes," Gross said, acknowledging the importance to him taking part in voluntary workouts with the Coyotes veterans. "You can see how seriously you have to take it to be a full-time guy."

Gross got to practice with the Coyotes as they prepared for the postseason bubble this past summer. At Tucson last season, he proved to be a defenseman with offense to his game, scoring 10 goals with 17 assists in 56 games.

Gross finished tied for first among Tucson defensemen in goals, and second in points with 27.

Gross is glad to return to the Coyotes, but making the team out of training camp will be difficult with all defensemen back from last season, not including 19-year-old former first-round pick Victor Soderstrom should he be invited. Gross has a two-way contract, which means he could spend a lot of time in Tucson again, but could also see NHL action with what might be an expanded roster due to a condensed 2021 schedule.

"Arizona's a great place to play. I was thrilled to sign an extension for another year," Gross said. He's already beaten the odds of a player making it to the NHL despite not being drafted.

"It definitely comes with a little chip on your shoulder," Gross said. "I think it ended up working out very well for me. Being a free agent coming out of college (Notre Dame), I could pick where I wanted to go, and I was thankful Arizona had interest in me at the time."

The ongoing pandemic changed his offseason plans, but he was home in Minnesota when he signed his new contract. Gross has enjoyed playing in Tucson and credits the Roadrunners' coaching staff and collection of quality individual players for the team's recent success.

"I personally am ready for the season to start tomorrow," he said late last week.

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Report: B's could be in division with these teams as part of 2020-21 realignment

BY NICK GOSS

The NHL is going to look different in several ways during the 2020-21 season, and one of them is the makeup of the four divisions.

Travel restrictions stemming from the COVID-19 pandemic are expected to force the league to put all the Canadian teams in one division. This would leave the 24 franchises located in the in the other three divisions.

Brand new NHL Power Rankings before 2020-21 season

The league has not yet announced an official layout of the divisions for the upcoming season, but TSN's Pierre LeBrun reported Wednesday what they look like right now.

Not finalized yet, and still subject to change, but the 2020-21 four-division re-alignment currently looks like this according to sources:

The Boston Bruins would be in one of the most competitive divisions.

Boston's division includes the teams that finished first (Bruins), fifth (Capitals), sixth (Flyers), seventh (Penguins) and 14th (Islanders) in the overall standings last season. Two of the other teams -- the Sabres and Rangers -- made significant improvements in the offseason.

Another downside to this alignment for Bruins fans is the absence of rivalry games with the Toronto Maple Leafs and . That said, this division presents an opportunity for the Bruins to rekindle old rivalries with the Flyers, Rangers and Penguins.

Doc Emrick: Bruins' Stanley Cup window isn't closed yet

The Tampa Bay Lightning also move out of the Bruins' division under this format. The defending Stanley Cup champions headline what looks like a Central division, which, on paper, is the weakest of the four groups.

These division realignments would only be for the 2020-21 season. The league and NHLPA reportedly are targeting a Jan. 13 start date for the upcoming campaign.

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Doc Emrick: Bruins' Stanley Cup window isn't closed yet

BY JUSTIN LEGER

When the Boston Bruins were eliminated by the Tampa Bay Lightning in this year's , many believed their championship window was slammed shut.

If you ask legendary broadcaster Doc Emrick, however, that window is still ajar. He shared an optimistic take on the Bruins' 2021 chances on Thursday.

Cassidy supports Rask '100%' despite goalie's uncertain future

"I think they're still fine," Emrick said. "If you take a look up the middle -- when we assess teams, we assess goalie, we assess defense and we assess up the middle. And if you have [Patrice] Bergeron, [David] Krejci, [Charlie] Coyle, [Sean] Kuraly, that's OK.

"And the defense that [the Bruins] have, I realize Torey Krug is [with the St. Louis Blues], he's with the enemy. ... But as long as you have some of the stabilizers back on defense, that will help greatly. And you have the Coach of the Year and a wonderful, uniting human being who paces that bench. And I can't say enough about [Bruce] Cassidy."

The Bruins still have the talent to win a fair share of games in 2021, but their core players aren't getting any younger. Bergeron is 35 years old, Krejci is 34, is 32 and while it remains to be seen whether Zdeno Chara returns, he's 42.

Fortunately, there is some young talent with David Pastrnak (23) coming off a season in which tied for the NHL lead with 48 goals, Charlie McAvoy (22) continuing his development, and Jake DeBrusk (23) looking to prove himself after signing a two-year contract extension. Krug's departure hurts, but fellow defenseman Brandon Carlo (23) has shown promise.

Will all of that be enough to propel the B's to another Cup title before their window officially closes? Only time will tell. But if you ask Emrick, it isn't time to count them out just yet.

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BHN Puck Links: NHL Trade Rumors, Bruins Get Hosed In Realignment!

Published December 10, 2020

By Jimmy Murphy

NHL Trade chatter is picking up and Vegas Golden Knights winger Max Pacioretty finds himself in a myriad of rumors. However, Knights owner Bill Foley insists that the Vegas winger is not being shopped on the NHL Trade market.

Did the Boston Bruins get hosed in the reported realignment setup?

Are the Bruins really on a decline?

What would get if he sold the Bruins right now?

All of that and more in the latest Boston Hockey Now Puck Links!

My partner in crime Joe Haggerty and I caught up with our mutual buddy Ed Berliner (formerly of CN8 in Boston) and talked some puck. As we always do when we catch up, we were bouncing around the ice with different topics, NHL Trade rumors and strong opinions. ‘Rock On True Believers!’ (The Man In The Arena)

What are the Boston Bruins worth in the middle of a pandemic? You’d be surprised how much Bruins owner Jeremy Jacobs can still get and what other NHL teams are still worth. (Forbes)

Just over two years removed from being dealt away from the Montreal Canadiens, the team he captained, to the Vegas Golden Knights, it appears winger Max Pacioretty could be on the move again. With the Knights trying to unload salary numerous reports say they’ve decided Pacioretty will be the cap casualty and he is on the NHL Trade market. What teams could Pacioretty end up playing for if he’s dealt? (Boston Hockey Now)

After I wrote that report on Pacioretty, Golden Knights owner Bill Foley told a Vegas News station that Pacioretty isn’t being shopped Thursday morning. Amazingly pigs weren’t flying over his head! (News 3 LV)

Note: I just called both sources I spoke to for that Pacioretty trade rumors report, and they once again confirmed what they told me. This another case of, after a team shops a player and doesn’t like the NHL Trade market they discovered, an owner or GM denies the NHL trade rumors to save face with the player.

Haggs breaks down the potential 2020-21 Boston Bruins lineup and answers all your Bruins questions in the latest ‘Hagg Bag’ (Boston Hockey Now)

If the reported realignment of NHL divisions is correct, the Bruins will be getting a regular dose of their Daddy, the Capitals. Thankfully, goalie Braden Holtby is gone but still, based on recent history, the Capitals could sweep the regular season series and one in the playoffs. (TSN)

Prior to becoming a hockey reporter, I took a job out of college with the New York Islanders working as a postgrad intern on their game night media relations staff. It was a great networking experience because I got to meet players, coaches, management, and plenty of hockey media. I also met some great people and one of them was Mark Parrish who always had time to shoot the breeze and talk hockey. Parrish recently came out publicly via Wild beat reporter and NHL puck scribe Mike Russo about his battles with alcoholism. I commend Mark for his courage to do that and more so to get help. Sending good vibes from Boston! (The Athletic)

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The Bouncing Souls came out with a new album recently and in the humble opinion of this music fan, it’s absolutely brilliant! Your Murph’s Music Pick Of the Day is the stream of Simplicity!

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Boston Bruins Hit Billion Dollar Club in NHL Valuation

Published December 10, 2020

By Joe Haggerty

The Boston Bruins might have taken a conservative approach to this offseason due in part to the COVID-19 impact on the hockey economy, but none of it seems to have hurt their overall franchise value. The Boston Bruins hit the magical $1 billion mark in the latest NHL franchise valuations done by Forbes, something the business periodical does on an annual basis.

The Bruins were No. 5 on the overall list that included the New York Rangers ($1.65B), Toronto Maple Leafs ($1.5B), Montreal Canadiens ($1.34B), Chicago Blackhawks ($1.085B) and the Black and Gold at the exclusive $1 billion or more club. Those five teams accounted for nearly a quarter of the NHL’s entire revenue, and without them the NHL would have lost a massive $50 million last season, which underscores both that the NHL is a league of “the haves and the have nots” and that the league desperately needs a more lucrative TV deal in the next couple of years.

The overall mark underscores the excellent financial position that the Boston Bruins are in even as the entire league faces the difficult challenge of empty arenas at the start of a prospect 2020-21 NHL season next month. Clearly, the Boston Bruins have come a long way from the franchise that Jeremy Jacobs bought for a cool $10 million 45 years ago and have consistently spent to the salary cap limit over the last two decades since the NHL instituted the salary cap following the 2003-04 NHL season.

That’s the case again this year with the Bruins sitting with just $3.6 million in cap space currently with roughly a month prior to the planned (but-not-yet-approved) start to the new NHL season in mid-January. There have been reports that Jacobs was among a of NHL owners contemplating whether the league would be better off skipping an upcoming season that’s going to be challenging to say the best, but it appears the NHL and NHLPA have moved beyond haggling over the dismal financials.

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Forbes pegged the Bruins overall revenue at $170 million with $27 million in operating costs, nearly half of each of the other four NHL franchises over the $1 billion valuation mark. On the other side of the list, both the Florida Panthers and Arizona Coyotes were valued at under $300 million with a combined $46 million in losses over the last year.

Boston Hockey Now LOADED: 12.11.2020 1196794 Boston Bruins Trent Frederic: Perhaps Frederic’s future is as a bottom-six forward. But he’s a former first-rounder (No. 29, 2016) with size and feistiness.

Nick Ritchie: Big body, former first-round pick, relatively inexpensive. The Seattle Kraken expansion mock draft 5.0: Who could the Bruins lose? ex-Duck, who will be 25 by the time of the , could be headed back to the West Coast.

By Fluto Shinzawa Jakub Zboril: The upcoming season will help determine whether the 2015 first-rounder is a legit NHL defenseman or long-term project. If it’s the Dec 10, 2020 former, the Kraken will be interested.

Had the Bruins re-signed Torey Krug, their format for the upcoming The Athletic LOADED: 12.11.2020 expansion draft would have changed from 2015. With Krug, Brandon Carlo, Matt Grzelcyk and Charlie McAvoy under contract, the Bruins would have had to consider protecting eight skaters and one goalie.

But once Krug signed with St. Louis, the Bruins’ path to protecting players from the Seattle Kraken in the 2021 expansion draft became clear. In all likelihood, it will be the 7-3-1 template they used when the Vegas Golden Knights entered the league. That year, Vegas made Colin Miller a member of their inaugural roster.

Below are the 11 players projected to be protected, followed by targets in Seattle’s crosshairs:

Forwards (7)

Patrice Bergeron: Requires protection because of no-movement clause.

Jake DeBrusk: Left wing will be 24 years old and entering the sweet spot of his career.

Charlie Coyle: Requires protection because of no-movement clause.

Ondrej Kase: Bruins have high expectations for the shoot-first 25-year- old wing.

Brad Marchand: Requires protection because of no-movement clause.

David Pastrnak: Duh.

Craig Smith: Bruins didn’t sign Smith to a three-year deal to lose him after one season.

Defensemen (3)

Brandon Carlo: Right-side fixture for many, many years.

Matt Grzelcyk: Krug’s replacement will be 27 years old, well within his most productive years.

Charlie McAvoy: Duh.

Goalie (1)

Tuukka Rask: As a free agent-to-be, Rask does not require protection. But for the sake of this discussion, let’s say the Bruins sign Rask to an extension beyond 2021. He would then be protected.

Notable exempt players

John Beecher: The Michigan sophomore, like all unsigned collegians, does not require protection.

Jack Studnicka: Will be considered a second-year pro at the conclusion of the 2020-21 season. Only players with three or more years of pro experience need protection.

Jeremy Swayman: The former Maine goalie is entering his first pro season and is thus exempt.

Urho Vaakanainen: Because Vaakanainen signed as a 19-year-old, his contract was subject to an entry-level slide. As such, he will have one year remaining on his deal after the 2020-21 season, clearing him from protection requirements.

Likely targets

Anders Bjork: Still under development at 24 years old, but difficult to project whether he’ll be a full-time top-six forward. Seattle may give him that opportunity.

Connor Clifton: Right- defensemen are always attractive commodities, as Vegas proceeded with Miller. Clifton, who’ll be 26, is a plus skater and a willing combatant. 1196795 Buffalo Sabres “Obviously, anyone who follows NHL hockey or the draft knows he’s a good player, he‘s an offensive player like myself,” Weissbach said of Caufield, who was drafted No. 15 overall by Montreal in 2019. “But I think Linus Weissbach 'not really' focused on earning contract with Sabres we’ve been able to find each other pretty well. … We kind of see the game the same way and we like to make plays out there and be creative.”

Lance Lysowski “I'm going to do everything I can on my end to make sure that he's ready for that opportunity (to play professionally)," Granato told the Wisconsin Dec 10, 2020 Updated 15 hrs ago State Journal. "But it's up to him. And from what I've seen and from what his teammates have seen for the first couple of months since he's been back, he's all in." Linus Weissbach doesn’t wonder how his talent compares to that of players in the . Weissbach, the program’s active leader in career goals (27) and points (84), delivered four multipoint games in November. He’s also rounded out Weissbach, a 22-year-old former seventh-round draft pick of the Buffalo his game by successfully adapting the physical nature of college hockey Sabres, saw that for himself during each of his on-ice sessions this and becoming reliable away from the puck. summer in Gothengurg, Sweden, where he trained with several elite players, including Rasmus Dahlin. It’s an impressive maturation considering where Weissbach was three years ago when he was selected No. 192 overall by the Sabres. At the “Being on the ice shooting on Henrik Lundqvist, trying to beat John time, he had played only one season in North America, a 19- year Klingberg one-on-one or battling in the corner with Rasmus Dahlin, even with Tri-City of the United States Hockey League, and scouts viewed him though it’s not a full team practice, it helps you measure yourself as you as more of a one-dimensional prospect who could skate well. want to take that next step,” Weissbach, a left wing, told The Buffalo News. “It gives you an idea of where you’re at and some of the things Weissbach, though, had a strong foundation from his time with Frolunda, you have to work on. Some of the things you’re really, really good at you the same Swedish hockey program that produced Dahlin. Weissbach need to use to get to that next level.” won an Under-18 national championship as Dahlin's teammate and totaled 48 points in 44 games during his only Under-20 season. The ice time at Frolunda’s facility, as well as an extended offseason of strength training, has Weissbach feeling “faster this year than ever Though Weissbach’s focus is on having a successful senior season, he’s before.” The results are showing this season as Weissbach, a senior at consciously developing his own game for a professional career. the University of Wisconsin, was named the Hockey Commissioners “My skating was my biggest asset,” Weissbach said. “Now, going through Association's men’s hockey player of the month for November after the college game and seeing how tough it is, how physical it is, knowing leading the NCAA in goals (5) and points (10) in eight games. how hard it is to score, has prepared me to take that next step. Being The impressive start, and Weissbach’s marked growth on the ice, come able to take on different roles and finding ways to contribute is the during a season in which he must perform well to earn an entry-level biggest thing. Not being that one-dimensional player. Contributing any contract with the Sabres. Yet, Weissbach isn’t dwelling on what’s at stake way you can on a team is going to be important moving on, whether it’s during his final season of college hockey. scoring a goal or killing a or being a hard-checking guy. That’s going to give you options in the long run to play.” “That’s obviously something that’s around the season, I guess, but not really,” said Weissbach of the potential to earn a contract. “For me, just to be able to win something with Wisconsin (is my focus). I’ve been here for Buffalo News LOADED: 12.11.2020 three years now and there have been some ups and downs but getting that one last chance to do something special with the team we have here. The City of Madison and the university here are definitely special. That’s been the main focus for me, trying to get something going here and making the most of my last year.”

Consistency will be key for Weissbach. He totaled 26 points in 34 games as a freshman at Wisconsin, only to see his production drop during an injury-shortened sophomore season.

Weissbach was then outstanding at the start of 2019-20, totaling 16 points in 15 games while playing a top-six role on a roster that included a pair of first-round draft picks at forward: Cole Caufield and Alex Turcotte. Weissbach, though, finished the season with only six points in his final 20 games as he was moved to the fourth line and had his ice time diminished.

When the coronavirus cut Weissbach’s season short, he returned to Sweden to begin a strength training program he estimates helped him gain 12 pounds – he’s listed by Wisconsin as 5-foot-9, 177 pounds – and pondered his future because the college hockey season seemed to be in jeopardy. Communication with the Sabres’ development staff was less frequent as the organization was amid a regime change that included the firing of former General Manager .

“Maybe it wasn’t the same type of communication we had the past few years, but definitely understandable with what’s going on there,” Weissbach said. “My focus was getting ready for whatever was going to come.”

Weissbach considered joining a team in Europe for the 2020-21 season, but the opportunity to complete his college studies and play for one of the top programs in the NCAA led him to return to Wisconsin.

Wisconsin coach Tony Granato, whose brother, Don, is an assistant on Ralph Krueger’s staff with the Sabres, elevated Weissbach to the top line this season and paired him with Caufield. Weissbach also was trusted to quarterback the Badgers’ top power play. 1196796

Defence prospect Valimaki set for return to Calgary

Wes Gilbertson

Publishing date: Dec 10, 2020

As momentum builds for a mid-January puck-drop in the NHL, Juuso Valimaki will soon be returning to Calgary.

The Flames’ top defence prospect had been on loan to Tampereen Ilves in Finland’s Liiga.

Valimaki missed all of the 2019-20 campaign while recovering from knee surgery, so this stint with his hometown team — he was raised just 20 minutes away in Nokia — was a valuable rust-reducer.

The 22-year-old produced at a point-per-game clip with Ilves, notching a pair of goals and 17 assists in 19 games. In fact, Valimaki was the top- scoring in Finland’s pro league when his loan was ended.

He also posted a plus-15 rating and, perhaps most important to the Flames, logged a heavy workload — 23:12 per night. Valimaki will likely begin this season on Calgary’s third pairing.

“Juuso Valimaki proved to be a completely exceptional player on the (ice) and in our daily lives, as well as a natural competitor and leader,” said Timo Koskela, the sports director for Tampereen Ilves, according to a translation on the team website.

While the NHL and NHLPA continue to work on the details of a return-to- play package, the latest reports suggest training camps will open around Jan. 3.

Several of the Flames’ key contributors, including first-line forward Elias Lindholm and prized goalie signing Jacob Markstrom, have recently returned to the city.

Calgary Sun: LOADED: 12.11.2020 1196797 Calgary Flames This is where the real-life decisions will likely be made, so let’s examine their cases individually, because all three players started from very different places.

Seattle Kraken expansion mock draft 5.0: Who could the Flames lose? Bennett was chosen fourth overall in the 2014 draft, one spot behind the Oilers’ Leon Draisaitl and has been a maddeningly inconsistent presence almost ever since. When he’s dialed in, as he almost always is in the By Eric Duhatschek playoffs, Bennett can be a force — a nasty, physical player, with a reasonable skill level. Bennett is also versatile. He was drafted as a Dec 10, 2020 but has predominantly played as a winger throughout his NHL career.

Normally slotted as a bottom-six forward, there is a school of thought that suggests Bennett should get a chance to play in the middle for a stretch Offseason arrivals and departures — plus the progression of some of the of games, just to see how he adjusts to an upgraded role. In last year’s organization’s younger players — has shifted the thinking from the last playoffs, Bennett, Lucic and Dube were a consistent, collective force for time we projected the Calgary Flames’ protected list for the 2021 Seattle the team, especially in even-strength situations. At some point, the expansion draft. Flames need to decide what exactly Bennett is — and where he fits in.

The Flames will almost certainly adopt a 7-3-1 protection model — seven Despite his inconsistencies and propensity to take ill-timed penalties, forwards, three defencemen and one goalie. Let’s dive in with our Bennett’s upside is so tantalizing that making him available to Seattle as projected protected list right off the start and then get into an explanation an unprotected player seems fraught with risk. Who knows? Bennett of how we arrived at it. could become a fixture at centre for Seattle if he ever got the chance.

Forwards: Matthew Tkachuk, Elias Lindholm, Sean Monahan, Johnny Dube is 22, chosen 56th overall in the 2016 draft, and over the past Gaudreau, Sam Bennett, Dillon Dube, Andrew Mangiapane season, gradually worked his way into a full-time NHL role. He is a skilled player with size, and looks as if he could be a productive, hard-to-play- Defence: Noah Hanifin, Rasmus Andersson, Mark Giordano against, middle-of-the-roster talent for years to come. And he’s still on his : Jacob Markstrom entry-level contract, which, in a flat-cap era, creates value beyond everything he’s doing on the ice. Let’s start with Markstrom, who signed a six-year, $36 million contract and is now the clear-cut No. 1 goaltender in the organization. David Mangiapane was the 166th player chosen in the 2015 draft and mostly Rittich drops to No. 2; he’s unsigned beyond this season, but could be an played a top-six role last season for the Flames, producing 32 points option for the Kraken, if they’re looking for a budget backup — or a (and 17 goals) in 68 games. Of those points, only one came on the goaltender that they could use in a tandem. power play. That sort of even-strength production is significant — and valuable. Technically, though, Tyler Parsons will be the signed goaltender that meets the expansion draft criteria. More importantly, Seattle will have lots Now 24, Mangiapane recently signed a two-year contract extension for a of other excellent options in goal — and as a result, will likely be more reasonable price: $2.425 million per season. The reason he could be the interested in one of the forwards or defencemen that the Flames make forward that slips through the cracks is his size; he’s listed at 5-foot-10, available. 184 pounds. Presumably, the Flames are not just assessing their own projected lists, but everyone else’s too. They may conclude that Seattle Up front, not much has really changed at the top of the list, where four could have lots of players, similar to Mangiapane, at its disposal, and names — Tkachuk, Lindholm, Monahan and Gaudreau — are locked in. thus, might go in a different direction.

Technically, the Flames are obliged to also protect , who has But there’ll be a hard call to make here at forward. Things could get a full no-move clause in his contract, unless he agrees to waive that clarified in the 2020-21 season — if there’s a fall-off in Backlund’s play, protection for purposes of the expansion draft. for example, or a significant uptick in Dube’s, Mangiapane’s, or Bennett’s. But if you had to make that call today, it would a challenge. Even though the team is not in a position to say so publicly, it’s logical to We’ll make Backlund available, based strictly on two factors: His contract assume that when the Flames originally made the trade to acquire Lucic and the number on his birth certificate (he’ll be 32 by the expansion from Edmonton in exchange for James Neal, they reached some sort of draft). Seattle will have a lot of cap flexibility. But do they want to burn a gentlemen’s agreement with the Lucic camp, to waive that no-move substantial amount on a 30-something forward, earning over $5 million protection, on the grounds that Seattle wouldn’t be interested in a player per season for three more years? Maybe not. at his salary level ($5.25 million annually for three additional years) and diminishing production (20 points in 68 games last season). The questions on defence are far less complicated than before, because the Flames will get an exemption for promising defenceman Juuso The reality is, unless they make a pre-arranged deal with Seattle Valimaki, who missed all of last season, recovering from surgery. management — which might be a possibility — they will lose a forward they really don’t want to part with. From among the remaining forwards With Valimaki exempt, the Flames can protect both 23-year-old Noah beyond the sure things, four names stand out above the rest: Backlund, Hanifin (signed for four more years at an AAV of $4.95 million) and 24- Bennett, Mangiapane and Dube. The Flames can only protect three. year-old Rasmus Anderson (signed for six more years at an AAV of $4.55 million). Backlund is the oldest of the four at 31, and earns the most money (signed for four more years at $5.35 million). They could take a Their third protected player will be either their 37-year-old Mark calculated risk that Seattle wouldn’t want to commit to that sort of salary Giordano ($6.75 AAV) or free-agent acquisition Chris Tanev (30 years and term, given that part of their building strategy will be taking on bad old, signed for a four-year contract, averaging $4.5 million. Tanev contracts from other teams, in exchange for draft choices and other received a modified no-trade clause, but that doesn’t prevent him from considerations. possibly being exposed in the expansion draft.

On the other hand, it would be a risky play, given how valuable Backlund It’s hard to imagine Seattle would have much interest in Giordano, at this is to the team. Backlund is the unofficial leader of the team’s Swedish late stage of his career and while Tanev is the sort of quality stay-at- “posse” — a group that includes Lindholm, Rasmus Andersson, Oliver home defenceman that helped Vegas thrive in its inaugural season, the Kylington, plus newcomers Markstrom and Joakim Nordstrom. In addition Kraken should have better (and cheaper) defensive options than him at to his contributions to leadership and chemistry, he is one of their more their disposal. On the other hand, Giordano won the Norris Trophy in important and productive players, someone who approaches the 50-point 2019 and has been the face of the franchise for close to a decade, so plateau regularly, despite playing primarily on the second power-play they may not want to take even the chance that Seattle would grab him unit. for his ability to create a proper dressing-room culture. As much as the Flames like Tanev, if they lost him, there’s likely other 2021 UFA The problem with protecting Backlund is that — unless you make a pre- defencemen who’ll come available at roughly the same price point if they arranged deal with Seattle — you will almost certainly lose one of the eventually need a replacement. other three. It may well be that of all the available Flames’ defencemen, Oliver Kylington (still unsigned and currently an RFA) is the most attractive commodity, because of his age (23) and the fact that he’ll come cheaply.

For the Vegas expansion draft, the Flames didn’t have to do a lot of maneuvering to cover off all the players they wanted to protect; the team simply wasn’t as deep then as it is now. (In the end, Vegas selected a pending unrestricted free agent from Calgary’s available list, defenceman Deryk Engelland) and then signed Engelland to a contract themselves). If the cost to retain Backlund — or one of the other bubble forwards — is to surrender to Seattle their extra third-round draft choice (acquired from Edmonton in the Neal-Lucic trade) and in exchange, have them agree to select Kylington, then that’s an outcome that could potentially satisfy both sides.

The Athletic LOADED: 12.11.2020 1196798 Calgary Flames much longer he can stay there. With all due respect to Rasmus Andersson and Noah Hanifin, there isn’t much of a succession plan.

Everything the Flames are doing should be maximizing these next two How we’d run the Flames: Time to take the next step seasons because they won’t nearly be as strong without Giordano. Calgary made a lot of interesting moves but they still look more like a regular playoff team as opposed to a contender. They were still only a By The Athletic NHL Staff middling 5-on-5 team under Geoff Ward last year and their best forwards struggled immensely. Dec 10, 2020 This season will be very interesting in determining Calgary’s direction as

it all depends on whether Gaudreau can return to being elite. He looked As an extension of the NHL Future Power Rankings, which look ahead to like a near MVP candidate in 2018-19 but fell off last season. His on-ice how teams will stack up three seasons from now, we are diving into what shooting percentage was in a funk, dropping below 8 percent (he was each team can expect and what moves it can make to produce the best closer to 10 percent the previous two seasons), so some positive outcome. regression could provide a boost. The question remains whether he can get it done in the playoffs, though. The Athletic will break down what each team needs to do to, or should do, to take the next step toward contention. James Mirtle will give advice The Flames are without the biggest piece on the Cup Checklist, an elite based on the salary cap situation. Dom Luszczyszyn will dive into the center, but could fill that void with two wingers at that level. Gaudreau analytics and look at what each team has on his Stanley Cup checklist. bouncing back would be a big help and the Flames were smart not to Scott Wheeler and Corey Pronman will answer four key questions about trade low on him. the team’s prospects. And Eric Duhatschek will propose a game plan for But if last season was a sign of things to come and this season is a bust, the general manager. A beat writer will put it all in perspective with a the 2021-22 season might need to be a transition year, one where the reality check. team considers trading Gaudreau and Giordano, and tanks for one Coming off a disappointing season, the Flames spent big money on a season for a hopefully quick re-tool. There should be enough that a full star goalie and padded out the roster with other useful contributors. But rebuild isn’t necessary, but it’s important to be mindful about the current with their best defenceman aging and questions about their core window centring around Giordano. A 2.5-win defender is very hard to forwards, time is running out for the Flames as currently constructed. If replace. — Dom Luszczyszyn they can’t go on a run this season it might be time to go in a different The Prospect Pipeline direction. When will our players get here? The Cap Situation The state of the Flames’ prospect pool is such that most of their young The Flames are definitely tight this season, without much room to talent has already arrived, or are about to. Players like Dillon Dube, maneuver once Oliver Kylington is signed. That’s the price of adding two Matthew Phillips, and Juuso Valimaki have represented the best of their big free agents via Vancouver in Jacob Markstrom and Chris Tanev for a prospect pool for a few years now and they’re at the NHL breaking point combined $10.5 million annually. as everyday options. That has left a once-strong pool a little thinner. Calgary also has $2.67 million in dead space thanks to buyouts that went How good will they be when they get here? to Troy Brouwer and Michael Stone, along with the $5.25 million dedicated to Milan Lucic. This is not, however, a roster loaded with bad Valimaki, loyal readers will know, is one of my favourite young players contracts or fat to trim, and they have the potential for a couple big and looks to have saved an otherwise-unremarkable 2018 draft (he looks bargains if players like Josh Leivo and Juuso Valimaki rebound from good in Liiga, folks). I expect he’ll be more than a depth piece, the kind of injuries. player who has a good career as an all-situations top-four defender — and is potentially dominant in his prime. I also expect to be Any trades the Flames make this season are going to have to be dollar the exception to the small goalie rule as a 1A/1B who is a consistent out for dollar in, which limits their flexibility. More than anything, what backup or a low-end starter. they need is for their big guns like Johnny Gaudreau and Sean Monahan to exceed the value of their contracts. In time, I expect Connor Zary will become a second-line player, Emilio Pettersen may carve out a niche as a complementary playmaker in the And the $6 million Markstrom bet to pay off, after going cheap in goal a middle six, and Jakob Pelletier should do the same. The rest — Dmitry year ago. Zavgorodniy, Ryan Francis, Jérémie Poirier, and company — are lottery Calgary’s cap situation looks more favourable by 2021-22, with David balls where the Flames should be happy with the success of one-in- Rittich (expensive for a backup) and Derek Ryan both coming off the three. books. If they go cheaper in goal, that would set up the Flames to be a What positions do they play, and do we have excesses or deficiencies? player for a big-name forward in free agency in 2021, as they attempt to contend in the final years of Mark Giordano’s career. — James Mirtle The Flames’ pool isn’t particularly heavy or light at any one position. I wouldn’t say there’s a glaring need they need to address, other than to The Analytics continue to target talent so that a pool now comprised of less talent than The Stanley Cup Checklist is based on research done earlier this year it was a couple of years ago can continue to sustain the NHL club looking at the average value for players at every position from the past through whatever their next era looks like. 10 Cup champions. It’s based on the best-of-the-best each year, making What does our prospect pool tell us about where we are in a competitive it a high bar to clear and it means no team will have every box checked cycle? off, but the more holes a team has filled, the closer they are to being a Cup contender. A name in a specific box means he’s in the right ballpark For my money, the Flames have done a good job at each of the last six for projected value compared to past Cup winners, with some on the drafts. And while it hasn’t included the top-five picks that put a prospect lower end and some on the higher end. Using an age curve, we made pool into the upper echelon of the league (though Tkachuk at sixth was note of what each team already has on their roster signed for each of the close), it has helped give them some pretty consistent talent insulation — next three seasons. and I think it has revealed a sound overall process and approach within their scouting department. Let’s take a look. They got three NHLers without a first-round pick in 2015. They landed The Flames’ biggest problem is depth outside their core. They tick a lot of Dube in the second round and Phillips in the sixth in 2016. I love that boxes on the Cup Checklist, but the bottom six and defensive depth they took swings on Pettersen and Zavgorodniy with their final two picks remains an issue. That’s what the team needs to solve over the next two in 2017, even if I didn’t like what they did with their first three at the time. seasons before Gaudreau and Giordano’s contracts expire. Pelletier and Wolf were tidy bits of business in 2019. And I think they did It’s the latter deal that’s of utmost importance as those two years also a good job with what they had in 2020, propping the pool up when it likely represent the last of Giordano’s effective years as an elite badly needed it with the Zary, Poirier, Francis, and Rory Kerins choices defenceman. He’s still at that level, but at his age it’s hard to figure how in particular. Is it a great group, at this point, given all of the recent graduations and the fact that the Flames didn’t pick in the first three rounds in 2018? No, it’s not. It’s likely in the league’s bottom half. But there are some decent prospects coming, they’re beginning to see the rewards of some of those other picks, and I generally like what they’ve done with the picks they have had. But the Flames’ clock has started to tick with their recent graduations and now it’s incumbent on them to contend with some of those players on cheap deals before they eventually get paid. — Scott Wheeler

The Game Plan

Despite external pressures to change the team’s mix at forward — with both Gaudreau and Monahan, in the crosshairs of an increasingly disenchanted fan base — both are still around for 2020-21. The only significant moves made up front were three short-term, inexpensive hires (Dominik Simon, Joakim Nordstrom, Josh Leivo) designed to buy time and help the Flames sort out who they really are; the 107-point team that finished tied for second overall two seasons ago or the team that barely would have squeaked into the playoffs last season in a normal year.

Ultimately, the big decision revolves around Gaudreau, 27, with this year and next remaining on a contract worth $6.75 million annually, and that also includes a modified no-trade clause beginning in 2021-22. It means the clock is ticking on Gaudreau and a decision will have to be made on his organizational future, likely in the next 6-9 months. If Gaudreau is traded, the most logical landing spot would be Philadelphia, where he would almost certainly agree to sign an extension. (Gaudreau is a local boy who’s made good, a homebody at heart, with a close relationship to his family and his best college buddy, Kevin Hayes, is signed long-term with the Flyers). If the Flyers were prepared to part with Travis Konecny, and a helpful blue line piece, that might be the bones of an impact trade that would rattle the foundation at its core. — Eric Duhatschek

Calgary had the sort of offseason that removes any and all possible excuses from their core group. Having added an elite goaltender in Markstrom, as smart a shutdown defender as you’ll find in Chris Tanev and some useful forward depth, it’s now get it done time for a group that hasn’t won a playoff series in five years.

Whether they can or not will depend on a lot of factors, and a lot of luck because it’s hockey, but it feels like the Flames’ core has run out of patience. This has the feeling of a pressure-packed season.

And a season in which the longer-term outlook of the franchise will be determined. One could easily see the club going in a radically different direction if the club underwhelms in 2021.

Luckily, I think Calgary is very well positioned, especially in an all- Canadian division, to make some noise. Markstrom is a workhorse, capable of stealing games behind permissive defensive teams — and the Flames aren’t typically a permissive defensive team. There’s no telling what he might be able to do in a more favourable environment, but it could be frightening for Calgary’s opponents.

Ultimately, though, it feels like this upcoming season will be a referendum on the Monahan/Gaudreau portion of the Flames core.

There’s too much talent on this Flames roster — I’m banking on a Dillon Dube breakout season, it’s time for him to take that next step — for the club to continue to underachieve. And if they do, one suspects it’s Calgary’s top of the lineup pieces that will face the toughest questions from the media and the most pointed fingers from the fan base.

Meanwhile, one can easily see the franchise radically altering their direction next offseason if this group doesn’t prove that they’re ready to take that step from good, consistent playoff team to serious contender. — Thomas Drance

The Athletic LOADED: 12.11.2020 1196799 Carolina Hurricanes Sebastian Aho, Jordan Staal, Teuvo Teravainen, Nino Niederreiter, Vincent Trocheck, Jesper Fast and Martin Necas.

Who will most likely get re-signed? Seattle Kraken expansion mock draft 5.0: Who could the Hurricanes lose? If owner Tom Dundon telling me and other local media dozens of times that he wants Andrei Svechnikov in a Hurricanes uniform for life isn’t enough, maybe the comically large, multi-story pillar at new practice By Sara Civian facility Wake Competition Center will do the trick.

Dec 10, 2020 I’d also put Jordan Martinook and Warren Foegele in a similar, albeit pillar-less category.

So, let’s assume the Hurricanes take the traditional 7-3-1 approach. The Hurricanes front office has worked up to respectability by spending money on free agents who actually move the needle and taking on bigger Jordan Staal gets immunity with his no-move clause, then I’d protect contracts via trade to actually improve the team. What a concept. Now, Svechnikov, Aho, Teravainen, Trocheck, Fast and a Foegele type player. they are entering the 2020-21 season with about $1 million in cap space I mentioned money off the hop because some of these decisions at and Andrei Svechnikov, Dougie Hamilton and goaltending contracts forward are such close calls that they end up coming down to contract looming. flexibility. Niederreiter didn’t have an awful season, but his 2020-21 The Canes have no doubt built up this depth — particularly on defense regression and his $5.25 million AAV are basically an expansion draft — with the Seattle expansion draft in mind. The downside of that is cocktail. obviously that they are more likely to lose a quality player than when they Those last two forward spots are the most up-for-debate of all the lost Connor Brickley in the Vegas expansion draft, but I guess it’s better Hurricanes’ potential protected players, and it’ll come down to whatever to have loved and lost to have never loved at all. Best case scenario happens this upcoming season. But the strategy of exposing a player could be Seattle taking a larger contract off the Hurricanes’ hands to free with a more expensive contract can be a sort-of win-win: The Canes free some cap space, even if the talent goes with it. up $5.25 million for 2021-22 (to help sign Svechnikov and Hamilton and We’ll also need to remember the Hurricanes are at a unique mystery goalies of the world), or the Kraken don’t touch Niederreiter and disadvantage with former GM being able to pick from a team the Canes keep a good player. with some enticing players he drafted himself. If we’re being honest with “Foegele type player” is a cop out, but it was intended to get the real ourselves, common sense would cause one to consider that this is part of point across — the Hurricanes will be making money moves, and they’ll the reason why Martin Necas didn’t get much of a chance to prove be keeping those moves in mind long before they re-sign certain players. himself at the NHL level until last season. Francis was always (rightfully) A “Foegele type” could be any third-liner who either has a great 2020-21 extremely high on him. Now, per the expansion draft rule that first- and or is willing to sign for cheapest, ya know? second-year NHL players are exempt, Necas is safe. There’s also what you’ve likely been waiting for: The Kraken will probably But who isn’t safe, and what might Francis and the Kraken do about that? pick from the Hurricanes’ 5,000 options on defense, some of which their A refresher on the basic rules: GM chose in the draft and has a relationship with.

Teams have the option of protecting seven forwards, three defensemen That’s why I think the Hurricanes will have an easier time exposing and one goalie, or eight skaters and one goalie. someone like Martinook or rising center Morgan Geekie.

Any player with a no-movement clause has to be protected. Defense

First- and second-year pros along with unsigned draft picks are exempt A few weeks ago I toured the Hurricanes’ amazing aforementioned from the process. practice facility, Wake Competition Center. I’m not pumping anyone’s tires, by the way — I’ve been to roughly 85 percent of all the NHL Teams must make at least one defenseman and two forwards available practice facilities at this point and it’s easily top five. who played 40 games the previous season (or 70 combined in the previous two). Anyway, I was told a story I will relay to you as discreetly and to the point as I possibly can. One goalie must be made available. 1. The hot tub room (Yeah, this ain’t Raleigh Center Ice) did not originally have TVs in it.

It’s tough to project what might happen here when the Hurricanes have 2. A certain defenseman toured the facility, and mentioned something no goalies signed after 2020-21, but we do know they will need to make along the lines of how this would be a perfect place for a TV. *To be at least one goalie available and can only protect one. We also know that clear*, he said this in passing/as a joke/please do not interpret this as at some point there will have to be something inside the net resembling a him being rude because that was not the tone of the interaction at all. starting goalie, so let’s say they re-sign Petr Mrazek and/or sign the goalie of your dreams — that person will be protected. Alex Nedeljkovic 3. A certain owner told a certain architect to put TVs in the hot tub room. will be an RFA, so let’s say the Hurricanes reach an agreement with him. 4. There are some pretty nice TVs in the hot tub room. They’ll have to expose him and whoever they sign as a backup goalie (assuming they do so) and just hope for the best. This upcoming season It would be sort of hilarious if this ends up being Dougie Hamilton’s is important for Nedeljkovic’s future with the Canes for that reason — legacy in Raleigh, but for some odd reason it made me more confident perhaps he could make an impression on Francis (the man who drafted than ever that the Hurricanes are going to get an extension done. him) with an outstanding showing and earn a fresh start in Seattle, or there’s a slim-but-existent chance the Kraken draft Carolina’s mystery We will jot Hamilton and the hot tub TV room down as signed and backup and Nedeljkovic slides into that role. protected.

Regardless, the amount of uncertainty at this position in Carolina, paired Do we really need to go over Jaccob Slavin? Easiest protected player with the team’s strength at other positions and what other teams have to decision on the roster. offer in net (Jake Allen, anybody?) makes me believe it’s unlikely Seattle The Canes have been (rightfully, IMO) unwilling to move Brett Pesce for will pick a Hurricanes goaltender. a top-six forward ever since Leafs Nation tried to force this into being a (Author’s note: We got through this without even one David Ayres joke. thing. They aren’t about to give him up for nothing. Please clap.) So, will the Kraken pick , Brady Skjei, Jake Bean or Jake Forwards Gardiner out of the Hurricanes defensemen?

First off, who do the Hurricanes have signed through the 2021-22 Unsatisfying answer: We’ll need to know more about their strategy. season? If Francis wants some affordable revenge he’ll snag a now-flourishing Fleury. If he wants to show 13th overall pick Bean that he still believes he can be a top-four NHL defenseman one day — which Bean sure can — he can do that. If the Kraken want to go for familiarity and general above averageness instead, Skjei and Gardiner are there.

My gut says Bean because he still has the potential Francis once saw in him, and it would be as chip-on-the-shouldery as Vegas once was.

Chaos mode

What if the Hurricanes let Dougie Hamilton become a free agent until, like, the day after the expansion draft so they don’t have to expose him? I think that would be hilarious but risky. I also sort of feel like Hamilton would encourage this sort of thing in theory. But in reality, this is his life and the biggest opportunity to make money that he has. But it would be hilarious, and consider this: hot tub TVs. I don’t think this will happen but I pray to all of our gods that it does.

Or, what if Jordan Staal waives his no-move clause to be the Seattle veteran? Eh. I doubt this will happen. Just let the man finally have his day as a league-best third-line center with Trocheck now providing 2C duties.

The Athletic LOADED: 12.11.2020 1196800 Chicago Blackhawks Savard, “which was just an abomination by the Montreal Canadiens,” hockey historian Liam Maguire said.

Savard said his father had an inkling based on team interviews and Denis Savard. Steve Larmer. Troy Murray. All 3 were drafted in 1980 — braced his son for the possibility. and kept the Chicago Blackhawks interesting on and off the ice. “He felt that Montreal was not going to draft me,” Savard said. “My dad came back with, ‘It will be OK. Wherever you go, you want to play and By PHIL THOMPSON you want to have an opportunity.’ And obviously the next two teams that were coming up were Winnipeg and Chicago. And he felt that with the CHICAGO TRIBUNE interviews that we did, he felt that Chicago, if they come around, they’re going to be drafting you. DEC 10, 2020 AT 7:00 AM “So that’s pretty much what happened with my situation.”

It worked out for the Hawks. The Hall of Fame center played 13 seasons If Chicago Blackhawks fans are looking for reassurance that the team in Chicago and surpassed 100 points in five of them. can rebuild a Stanley Cup contender quickly through the draft, a look at what the organization did four decades ago might provide hope. 3. They were the Party Line and the Clydesdales, and the nicknames described their styles. One could make the case that the Hawks’ 1980 draft class, which produced Denis Savard, Troy Murray and Steve Larmer, is the team’s Denis Savard and SteveLarmer settled into the Party Line with Al Secord, most successful from top to bottom — literally. and Troy Murray teamed with and Curt Fraser to form the Clydesdale Line. “I always love that they grabbed Dan Frawley with their last pick, 204th,” said Liam Maguire, a hockey historian and author of “The Real Ogie!” Savard and Larmer have no idea what inspired their line’s nickname or and “Next Goal Wins!” “He was the captain in Pittsburgh before Mario whom it came from. Lemieux. (Frawley) was a pretty tough dude when he played; he didn’t take any (bleep) from anybody.” “It definitely wasn’t any reference to what went on off the ice,” Larmer said, laughing. Other Hawks picks from 1980 who reached the NHL were Jerome Dupont, Steve Ludzik, Carey Wilson and Don Dietrich. He should have gotten his story straight with Savard beforehand.

“It’s not that they all had a key role with Chicago, obviously, but nine guys “Of course we went out and had our beers, no question about that,” he is, I believe, going back to 1963 when the draft started, a Chicago said. “Not so much Al. Al trained every day. It was crazy.” personal record,” Maguire said. Blackhawks forward Denis Savard, right, and teammate Steve Larmer But it was Savard, Murray and Larmer who helped form a nucleus that celebrate Savard's second-period goal against the Red Wings on Feb. reached the playoffs every season from 1982-83 to 1989-90 (though 17, 1985, at Chicago Stadium. Savard started in 1980-81) and advanced to the conference finals five It was the opposite with Murray, who credited play-by-play announcer Pat times. Foley with coining the Clydesdale name.

The trio reflected on their circumstances entering the draft, the reasons Murray wasn’t exactly thrilled about the name at first but saw the humor they didn’t win the Stanley Cup and the impact they had on the franchise in it: “ ’What do you mean the Clydesdale line? They’re big and clunky and each other. and slow.’ We kind of laughed at it, but it stuck.

1. Steve Larmer found himself in a draft pool — and a swimming pool. “We did a lot of the tough sledding. Curt Fraser was tough as nails, I had To hear those ’80s players reminisce about draft day, one would believe a two-way game and Eddie was just a natural goal scorer.” they learned of their selection via the Pony Express. Larmer said the Party Line “had a combination of everything.”

The Montreal Forum hosted the event — the first time it was staged at an “With Denis’ speed and puck handling, his creativity was second to none NHL arena — and it wouldn’t be televised to a national audience for at that time,”Larmer said. “Al was a great goal scorer and went to the net another four years. hard and created a ton of space for Denis and myself. It’s funny, Al “You’re going way back to a day when there’s no social media,” said Troy Secord might be the last guy to score 50 goals in the league and Murray, a center selected in the third round. “Your exposure to hockey in probably have 30 to 35 fights in the year. There was something to be Canada was the Saturday ‘’ game. You might said about that back in that time.” have heard these names in the paper; you didn’t even have computers Savard said he felt his line was a microcosm of the roster: a shifty goal back then.” scorer in himself, a willing passer and master of nuance in Larmer and a He recalled one of his classmates at Paul Kane High School in St. Albert, hard-nosed, on-ice protector in Secord. , heard it on the radio. “We had a team that could play the type of game you want to play,” “I was at school when I was drafted,” Murray said. “And then later on that Savard said. “You want to skate? We could skate with you. If you want to night, (coach) Keith Magnuson had called. And (general manager) Bob play gritty, we’ll be able to play gritty with you.” Pulford had called. He welcomed me to the Black Hawks.” 4. ‘Grandpa’ Steve Larmer is held in high esteem by former teammates Steve Larmer, a sixth-round steal, was building sweat equity when he got who feel he deserves a Hall of Fame nod. picked and didn’t know it until later, when he got a call from Chicago. “His nickname was ‘Grandpa’ because he was so laid-back,” Troy Murray “I was a working for a gentleman that put swimming pools in in the said. “He looked like he was moving in slow motion.” summer — before they had Bobcats and skid-steer (loaders),” he said. “I tell you this,” Denis Savard said, “he was the smartest player I ever As a surefire top-three pick, Denis Savard attended the draft at the played with by far. He was calm. He was the type of player that made Forum, just 15 minutes from his hometown of Verdun, . good decisions with the puck but never be rushed. ... He always had that composure like no one.” “I remember the suit I wore,” he said. “It was a beige suit.” Blackhawks player representative Steve Larmer briefs the media on labor 2. The Hawks took Denis Savard at No. 3 after the hometown Montreal negotiations on March 30, 1992, at Chicago Stadium. Canadiens passed on him with the top pick. But it takes more than composure to sway the Black Hawks forward Denis Savard celebrates after scoring against the selection committee. on Nov. 13, 1985, at Chicago Stadium. Marian Hossa and Doug Wilson, who also starred for the Hawks in the It’s not on the level of Sam Bowie over Michael Jordan, but it still stings 1980s, were named inductees this summer. Meanwhile, Steve Larmer’s Habs fans that Montreal chose over native son Denis wait has lasted 22 years. Most of Larmer’s advocates point to his gifts as a two-way player, the “It seemed (like) every time we went to the playoffs, we always lost to the Stanley Cup championship with the New York Rangers in 1994 and his team that went on to play in the Stanley Cup,” Larmer said. streak of 884 consecutive games played, the third-longest stretch in NHL history and the league record for consecutive games played for the same Savard wondered what would have happened if the nucleus had more team. time together when they were younger before taking on the legendary tandem of Gretzky and Mark Messier. But his contributions go beyond the numbers, Savard said. “But the Oilers, let’s face it, are one of the best teams that ever lived,” “When we left each other to play for other teams, I was never the same Savard said. “They were gritty, they were skilled — they had the whole player. Part of it is not playing with (Larmer),” Savard said. “He was able package.” to get me the puck in situations where I had time and space. 7. The Hawks were comfortable around a young Troy Murray. Maybe a “In today’s game, we talk about players that are good around the boards, little too comfortable. that type of thing. He was the best in our era by far. I don’t know anybody that was better along the boards to get the puck. Troy Murray, the 1985-86 Selke Trophy winner, was a year younger than Denis Savard. But when Murray got the call to join the Hawks for good in “When I watch a game, of course I looked at who was going to score the 1982-83, Savard had been in the league two seasons. goal and who’s going to make a play, but I watch the details of the game too. How good is that guy on the wall? How’s he on faceoffs? Little Savard invited him to move out of a hotel and live with him, which Murray details. And Larms was one of the best who’s played the game on those thought was “pretty cool” at the time. The locker room, which was filled details stuff.” with veterans, was equally welcoming.

5. Could the Hawks have done more to preserve Steve Larmer’s streak? However, “one thing that struck me as being completely off the charts was something I’d never seen before: how many players back in those Former Canadiens center holds the NHL record with 964 days smoked cigarettes,” Murray said. consecutive games played. Blackhawks forward Troy Murray in 1989. Steve Larmer, in third place, was just 80 games behind, and he could’ve broken the record by playing a full season in 1993-94. “We had ashtrays built in our stalls in the old Chicago Stadium. Before the game, in between periods, after the game, it was not uncommon for But the summer before that season, Larmer let Hawks management people to be sitting there smoking in the dressing room, then tapping out know he wanted out of Chicago. Denis Savard and Al Secord were gone your cigarettes and tying up your skates and going out and skating. by then, though Troy Murray was still there. “Savvy was a smoker, and I was like, ‘Wow, how can this guy be so good Larmer said his desire for a change of scenery took priority over the and be smoking cigarettes at the same time?’ ” streak. It probably comes as no surprise then that the Hawks didn’t have a “I always thought that was never fair,” he said about staying just to preseason fitness test at the time. preserve the streak. “I never wanted to be the guy in the dressing room that was the uncommitted one. ... The first 13 or 14 games of the year, “Players put their skates in their trunk when they left, and when they it’s like that’s all anybody (would be) talking about.” came back, they took them out of their trunk,” Murray said.

Black Hawks forward Steve Larmer tries to elude the ' Mike Zuke on Oct. 28, 1984, at Chicago Stadium. Chicago Tribune LOADED: 12.11.2020 The Hawks didn’t accommodate his trade request right away, so Larmer missed the first 13 games before he was dealt to the Rangers, via the Hartford Whalers, on Nov. 2, 1993.

Savard lamented the missed milestone, knowing the sacrifices his teammate made behind the scenes.

“I’ve seen Larms play hurt a lot,” Savard said. “And to end that way without him being in control is kind of sad in a sense because he probably would have continued and he would’ve broken the record, no question.

“His knee was blown up and he played. He would say, ‘It’ll be all right, just tape it.’ ”

Larmer said he has no regrets, though he admits the gesture would’ve been nice.

“I wished the trade thing would’ve worked out a little bit sooner, but it didn’t and we’re all good,” he said.

6. Edmonton was too high a mountain to climb.

They called “The Great One” for a reason. Well, many reasons.

After the sun set on the New York Islanders dynasty in 1982-83, the Edmonton Oilers won five championships between 1983-84 and 1989- 90, some of the prime years for Denis Savard, Steve Larmer and Troy Murray.

“Those are the years that I really thought that if Edmonton would’ve not been there, we would’ve won a few Cups,” Savard said. “Nobody knows that (for sure), but we had a team built for that.”

Blackhawks forward Steve Larmer, center left, Denis Savard, center right, and Wayne Presley, No. 17, celebrate a goal against the Maple Leafs on April 2, 1989, at Chicago Stadium.

And if it wasn’t the Oilers getting in the way, it was the Calgary Flames. Between 1983 and 1990, those Hawks teams lost three conference finals to the Oilers and one to the Flames. 1196801 Chicago Blackhawks

When Blackhawks' training camp could start

BY SCOTT KING

On Tuesday, it was reported that the NHL and the NHL Players' Association's dispute on finances was settled and that the league was targeting a Jan. 13 start to the 2020-21 regular season.

On Thursday, TSN's reported that the NHL was focusing on training camps starting on Jan. 3 for teams that made it to the 2020 postseason, like the Blackhawks. The seven teams that didn't make the playoffs would have the option of beginning camp on Dec. 31, if they wish.

Related — Report: NHL divisional realignment starting to crystallize

Once a plan for the season is finalized, both the NHLPA's Executive Board and the NHL's Board of Governors will have to approve it.

Comcast SportsNet.com LOADED: 12.11.2020 1196802 Chicago Blackhawks spots at the right times. I think adapting that way is going to really, really help me going back as it won’t take me as much time. Just staying in game shape, being used to being hit and stuff like that, nine, 10 months, How Blackhawks prospect Brandon Hagel regained his hockey groove in however long it’s going to be, is a long time for a lot of us.” Switzerland Hagel’s end to the NHL season was bittersweet. He was flying high, having played well in his NHL debut, and then the season was put on hold due to the pandemic. With some players returning from injury before By Scott Powers the playoffs, Hagel was one of the odd players out. He was with the team in Edmonton, but he just practiced and hung out. Dec 10, 2020 Hagel was pleased with the way he played in Rockford this past season

after signing with the Blackhawks as a free agent out of the WHL. He led With the NHL schedule in limbo this fall, playing in Europe sounded good the IceHogs with 19 goals and had 31 points in 59 games. He played a to Brandon Hagel. solid two-way game and was praised by IceHogs coach Derek King after the season. His last true game experience was his NHL debut for the Blackhawks on March 11. He joined the Blackhawks in the bubble for the Stanley Cup Hagel’s focus in Switzerland has been to return to that form. Playoffs, but he never appeared in a game. It made sense to get back on “Working on things-wise, kind of playing my game, trying to stick to what I the ice as soon as he could and begin preparing for his next shot at did last year,” Hagel said. making the Blackhawks. Hagel knows the Blackhawks would like him to add more strength to his He had never been to Europe, so he was open to anything. game. There has been a hurdle with that with Thurgau, though. “I had no idea where I was going, to be honest, until a week before I was “Their gym is outside,” Hagel said. “It’s like in an outdoor rink with a roof going,” the 22-year-old Hagel said by phone recently. “Like I said, yeah, over the top of it, I guess. It’s starting to get a little cold outside. Like, it that’s just how it came out.” snowed today.” The destination was Weinfelden, Switzerland. HC Thurgau, a team in the So that part may have to wait. country’s second division, lost one of its two import players to injury and was looking for a replacement. Hagel’s agent Allain Roy had a From Thurgau’s perspective, it’s happy to have Hagel. connection with Thurgau and talked to Blackhawks general manager Stan Bowman about the opportunity. That’s how Hagel found himself on “He did a good job for Thurgau and helped the team,” Thurgau sports a plane to Switzerland in October. manager and director of player development Gody Kellenberger wrote in an email. “He is a leader. We were very impressed by his overview, his “I think overall it’s been a good move,” Roy said. “We knew it wasn’t speed, his agility in tight spaces and his net drive. He has many good going to be a long-term move, but if you’re going to live in a country, qualities to become a good player.” Switzerland is not a bad place to pick.” Hagel will soon leave Switzerland and return home to Canada. He said Hagel would agree with that after two months in Switzerland. He still finds he’d spend Christmas with his family before joining the Blackhawks for himself doing laps in the grocery store because he can’t understand training camp in Chicago. German, but he’s adapted otherwise. There is a Swiss food dish, which includes pasta and potatoes, which is one of his local favorites. He’s not Aside from what Hagel couldn’t control, this past season was all he sure of the name, though. hoped it would be. Now, he’s intent on making next season even better.

“It’s beautiful,” Hagel said. “I don’t even really know how to describe it. “I definitely surprised myself,” Hagel said. “Coming in as a free agent, I It’s super green, if that even makes sense. The views and everything, it’s didn’t know what to expect. I definitely didn’t expect to play my first NHL different, it’s hard to explain, but I’ve really been enjoying it.” game, that’s for sure. I thought I did what I could last year. But coming into this year, it’s a new year. I think I got to keep pushing forward to get Hagel had to quarantine for 10 days. After hitting up Rockford IceHogs to my main goal, to be a full-time player in the NHL.” teammate Philipp Kurashev, a Switzerland native, Hagel discovered his Xbox’s power cord wasn’t going to work in the outlets. That made quarantining a different experience. The Athletic LOADED: 12.11.2020 “(My girlfriend and I) just got a little apartment, which is perfect for us, what we need right now, but during the quarantine, there’s not much to do,” Hagel said. “I had to buy a new Xbox because the plugins are different here, so I didn’t have one the whole quarantine. It was wake up, Netflix, try to figure out something to do. They were nice enough to bring over a bike and a few things, so I was able to do that throughout the day, but you can only bike for so long, I guess.

“Since coming back from Chicago, quarantined there for 14 days, and then coming here, quarantining here for 10 days, and then when I go back, probably another quarantine, so getting sick of that life, for sure.”

The quarantining was worth it for the hockey in Thurgau. There was no easing Hagel in. He was given a lot of ice time and opportunity from the start, and he’s run with it. He’s averaged 20-22 minutes a game and has seven goals and seven assists in 13 league games.

Hagel did find it was somewhat of a challenge to play hockey after so much time off. He wasn’t in sync at first. Plus, he had to learn how to play the European style of game on the larger ice. He thought he might have more time and space, but he just found the defense collapsed more.

Not everything Hagel’s doing in Europe will transfer over to when he returns to North America, but he feels like he’s playing hockey again. The feel part was a priority when coming over.

“It’s definitely going to help being in game shape,” Hagel said. “From not playing for eight months, nine months, when I came here, it’s almost like I remembered how to play hockey, but I didn’t at the same time. Everything was just like so slow, trying to figure out being at the right 1196803 Detroit Red Wings

Detroit Red Wings prospects Moritz Seider, Jonatan Berggren continue strong play in Sweden

Helene St. James

Detroit Free Press

Moritz Seider continues to breathe hope into the Detroit Red Wings’ rebuild.

The defense prospect is dominating in the Swedish Hockey League and Thursday his team, Rögle, faced off against Skellefteå, home to another top Wings prospect. His success is a good sign Seider is ready to join the NHL next year.

Seider, who was loaned to Rögle in lieu of being able to play in North America, where COVID-19 has pushed the start of the NHL to mid- January and the AHL to early February (for now). The SHL has had to postpone numerous games because of the pandemic, recently forcing Rögle to take a two-week pause. But Seider has been a good story, considering he’s 19 and playing in a men’s league.

In his most recent outing, Seider had an assist and drew a penalty to help Rögle win, 5-2. In 14 games, he has two goals and eight assists, averaging .72 points per game in roughly 20 minutes of average ice time. For comparison, the top-scoring defenseman on the team — 29-year-old Eric Gelinas — has 15 points in 20 games, an average of .75.

Detroit Red Wings defenseman Moritz Seider (53), of Germany, gets ready for a faceoff in the second period of a preseason NHL hockey game against the New York Islanders, Friday, Sept. 20, 2019, in Detroit.

Seider, drafted sixth overall in 2019, was ’s first pick after being named general manager of the Wings.

Skellefteå is home to Jonatan Berggren, a second-round pick from 2018.

He’s one of the leading scorers in the SHL, with 24 points in 22 games. Thursday he made a nice play in the first period, going end to end with the puck, and assisted on Skellefeå’s second goal.

The Wings loaned numerous players to teams in Europe, including Joe Veleno (Malmö, SHL), Michael Rasmussen, (Graz, Austria) and young NHL players Filip Zadina (HC Ocelari Trinec and defenseman Filip Hronek (Mountfield HK) — both in the Czech Extraliiga.

Jonatan Berggren participates in the Detroit Red Wings 2019 development camp at on Wednesday, June 26, 2019.

In order to loan players to the SHL, NHL teams had to agree to leave them there for the season, so neither Seider nor Veleno are eligible to be recalled in time for training camp, which is expected to commence after Christmas. Seider’s team is in first place, but Veleno’s is in last, so he could be free in March, pandemic allowing.

There’s a chill in the air; Halloween’s jack-o’-lanterns have given way to cornucopias and twinkling lights while stores push deals nonstop. This can only mean one thing: The holidays are upon us.

Considering they’d have not been playing otherwise, Seider and company are in good spots. Seider seems ready to challenge for a spot on the Wings in 2021-22, at which point he’ll be 20 and have played three seasons of pro hockey spread across Germany’s DEL, the AHL and the SHL. Veleno made good strides last season in the AHL working on the defensive side of the game, and that’s what his readiness for the NHL will be judged upon. He has eight points in 19 games with Malmö.

Detroit Free Press LOADED: 12.11.2020 1196804 Detroit Red Wings

Despite being awful, Detroit Red Wings still one of NHL's most valuable teams

Helene St. James

Detroit Free Press

The Detroit Red Wings were the worst team in the NHL last season, winning just 17 games — and four of those were against one opponent.

They’re still one of the most valuable franchises in the league, according to Forbes writers Mike Ozanian and Kurt Badenhausen.

Forbes does an annual analysis of each franchise's value, and this year’s report showed a drop in revenue, which was to be expected after COVID- 19 forced a shutdown in March. When the NHL staged the 2020 playoffs in August and September, it was without fans in the stands.

The Wings have not played since losing to the Carolina Hurricanes on March 10, ensuring a last-place finish with a 17-49-5 record.

When the Detroit Red Wings lost at home to Carolina on March 10, it ensured the Wings finish in last place.

At the time of the shutdown, the Wings were the only team mathematically eliminated from the playoffs.

Still, being an Original Six team with a passionate fan base helps. Forbes had the Wings valued at $775 million, which ranks eighth in the NHL.

Mike Ilitch bought the Wings in 1982 for $8 million.

According to Forbes, everything that encompasses fan attendance — ticket and suite sales, in-arena food and beverage purchases, etc. — makes up around 70% of revenue for teams.

Forbes estimated the Wings’ revenue dropped 3%. The breakdown for revenue to operating costs was $157 million to $31 million.

The New York Rangers – who were part of the playoff bubble and then got the no. 1 pick in the 2020 draft – came in first, valued at $1.65 billion. The top five spots were all Original Six teams, with the Toronto Maple Leafs ($1.5 billion) and Montreal Canadiens (1.34 billion), Chicago Blackhawks ($1.085 billion) and Boston Bruins ($1 billion) followed the Rangers.

The Wings beat Montreal four times, and Boston, twice.

The Stanley Cup champion Tampa Bay Lightning was in the bottom third. The franchise is valued at $470 million, ranking 21st. The Arizona Coyotes finished in 31st place, valued at $285 million.

Detroit Free Press LOADED: 12.11.2020 1196805 Detroit Red Wings cap hit, and so the Wings don't seem to be a fit. But the former Michigan star is expendable for the cap-strapped Golden Knights, and would strengthen a team's lineup.

Players in the NHL bargain bin who might interest the Red Wings ►Mikael Granlund, F, Nashville: Granlund, 28, scored 17 goals but that’s off from his 20-goal seasons in Minnesota, and there are fears this free agent is beginning the downside of his career. TED KULFAN | The Detroit News ►Andreas Athanasiou, F, Edmonton: The Wings aren’t likely to revisit Athanasiou, who they dealt to Edmonton (one goal in nine games) at the trade deadline. The Oilers didn’t re-sign Athanasiou, 26, who is simply The anticipation is building. looking to resurrect his career. Some organization could get lucky with a As the NHL crawls to establishing a report date to training camp and a motivated Athanasiou. start to the regular season, there is a sense Red Wings fans will actually ►Sami Vatanen, D, Carolina: Vatanen, 29, is still a top-four defenseman get to watch some games beginning next month. for many teams, but being injury-prone is a concern. Again, if you’re the Games in which the Wings look to be far more competitive this season. Wings, or a contender, a short-term deal for low money could be an intriguing option. They upgraded the roster significantly during the start of unrestricted free agency, increasing the overall talent level, along with acquiring ►Andy Greene, D, N.Y. Islanders: Greene, 38, has only played in New defenseman Marc Staal in a salary-dump trade from the New York Jersey or New York, but you wonder if the Trenton native would like to Rangers. come home for a few months, then be flipped to the East Coast at the deadline? Greene also has ties to coach from college (Miami But is general manager Steve Yzerman done signing free agents? of Ohio). Greene could further stabilize the Wings’ defense.

“There are a lot of players still on the free-agent market,” Yzerman said last month. “We have a lot of bodies right now (but) I do think there’s room potentially to add and I would consider it as we go along, or we get Detroit News LOADED: 12.11.2020 closer to knowing when we’re going to start (the regular season).”

The Wings have approximately $9.5 million cap space, with 22 of 23 roster spots accounted for.

There’s also the trade market, where salary-cap strapped teams (Tampa, Vegas, New York Islanders, among others) are likely to include draft picks or prospects as “sweeteners” to unload a contact.

“Certainly we’d be open to listening,” Yzerman said.

So, who are some of the players available with the season close at hand?

Here are 10 players the Wings could pluck in the days ahead:

►Tyler Johnson, F, Tampa Bay: The top three players on this list will be Lightning property, the three most likely to be dealt, as the Stanley Cup champions need to get rid of two likely to get under the salary cap. And with Yzerman having been GM of the Lightning, and now having some cap flexibility in Detroit, it makes so much sense there could be some sort of trade.

Let’s start with Johnson, who has a $5 million cap hit for four more season. Johnson, 30, has seen his production drop each of the last three seasons, (31 points in 65 games last season, and seven points in 25 playoff games). If the Lightning attach picks or prospects, the Wings could be interested in acquiring Johnson, then exposing the Spokane native in the expansion draft next summer to Seattle.

►Alex Killorn, F, Tampa Bay: Killorn, 31, is an assistant captain, and scored a career-high 26 goals last season. With three more years at a manageable $4.45 million cap hit, Tampa could get decent value for Killorn, though the Wings may not be an ideal fit. A playoff contender might be interested, if it has some cap space. Killorn, with his leadership ability and playoff success, might be a good acquisition for a team closer to the Stanley Cup than the Wings.

►Yanni Gourde, F, Tampa Bay: You might be doing Tampa a big favor taking Gourde’s contract off their books. Gourde, 28, has five more seasons at a $5.166 million cap hit, after falling to 10 goals and 30 points last season (though he did have a good playoffs, with 14 points in 25 games.) The production drop is a concern, but some scouts feel Gourde would be a good addition for many teams. Certainly, the Wings have the cap space to do it.

►Mike Hoffman, F, Florida: A free agent, Hoffman, 31, isn’t likely eyeing the Wings, but rather a contender. But acceptable offers haven’t come Hoffman’s way, despite scoring more than 25 goals five of the last six seasons. Columbus or Boston would be good fits on a short-term deal.

►Anthony Duclair, F, Ottawa: Another free agent who has found the market rough going. Duclair is only 25 and coming off a 23-goal season. He could prove to be a quite a nice gamble for the Wings.

►Max Pacioretty, F, Vegas: In a different era, the Wings would be all over this one. But Pacioretty, 32, has three more seasons at a $7 million 1196806 Edmonton Oilers With fellow right-shot defenceman Tyson Barrie signing, maybe they’re wondering if Bear will get anywhere near those 22 minutes of ice-time this season. Maybe he doesn’t always play with Nurse. Maybe Barrie Increased Oilers roster certainly on table with condensed NHL schedule does. Maybe Bear plays right side with Caleb Jones and Adam Larsson coming and Kris Russell are another pair.

“I don’t know if w e can have all three right defencemen playing 20 minutes. If Barrie is on the power play, which stays out for 1:30, and Jim Matheson • Edmonton Journal Larsson is our No. 1 penalty-killer, maybe Ethan’s minutes are reduced,” said Holland. “You can say the Myers contract is a comparable, and I can Publishing date: Dec 11, 2020 look at Ryan Graves (Colorado), who led the league in plus-minus at plus-40 and had arbitration rights and negotiated a three-year deal, giving up a UFA (unrestricted free-agent) year with an average of $3.1 So, will NHL teams be carrying an extra forward line, a third goalie and a million. Graves had nine goals and 26 points. Bear had five goals and 21 seventh and eighth defenceman on expanded rosters because of a points,” said Holland. crammed schedule and border-crossing issues with farm team call-ups due to COVID-19? “This past year, (Tony) DeAngelo was coming off a 25-point season and he signed in New York for one year at $925,000. Travis Dermott just Rosters could be 26 players, up from a maximum of 23. And maybe signed for one year at $874,000 in Toronto.” others on contracts as black aces. At forward, maybe Alex Chiasson, Joakim Nygard and Gaetan Haas as 13th, 14th “Last time I talked to his agent, J.P. Barry, two weeks ago, Oscar was and 15 forwards for sake of argument, William Lagesson and Evan seeing somebody and he’d had some relief but was entertaining surgery. Bouchard as No.7 and No. 8 defencemen, and Anton Forsberg or Stuart From talking to T.D. (Forss, Oilers trainer) and Dr. (Dhiren) Naidu (head Skinner as a third netminder. of Oilers medical staff), he feels, at the very least, he has to give this shoulder issue six to nine months. He’s shooting for next September,” The Oilers will keep their AHL farm team in Bakersfield, like the Flames said Holland. in Stockton and Vancouver in Utica, N.Y., rather than move them for the 2020-21 season to their own respective cities since it wasn’t Holland started as an NHL bird-dog with Detroit, so it’s natural he pays economically feasible. Ottawa, Montreal, Toronto and Winnipeg have attention to draft picks and he’s all over the early goal-scoring splurge their affiliates in Canada already. (six goals in five games and seven points) by Carer Savoie, their freshman at the University of Denver. “In terms of size of the roster, most of this is media speculation. We haven’t had a general managers’ call on that number,” Oilers GM Ken “I watched his game the other day against North Dakota and he had two Holland said of the increase to 26 players. “My stance is give me the or three chances and on the winning goal, he snapped it into the top transition rules and we’ll live by them. We want our farm teams in the U.S corner, under the crossbar. He’s off to a fabulous start, we’re thrilled. for various reasons. He’s still got a long ways to go, but you can’t teach people how to score. It’s not like he was an average scorer in junior A (Sherwood Park), and “Certainly, with the border situation and health concerns in the provinces this is just a hot-streak. He scored 50 goals,” said Holland. with regards to quarantining, a taxi squad would be beneficial.” This ‘n’ that: Connor McDavid, Kyle Turris, Barrie and goalie Dylan Wells The Oilers have 17 forwards on one-way contracts, including Patrick have joined the small group of Oilers skaters here (Leon Draisaitl, Russell and Alan Quine, and farm winger Tyler Benson, currently on loan Chiasson) … Nygard has six points in his last six games in Farjestads in to a Swiss team, is certainly in the mix but on a two-way deal. On Sweden, breaking out of his funk after further hand surgery. defence, an increased roster would help Bouchard, playing in Sweden on loan. Obviously, the Oilers are up against the $81.5 million cap ceiling, so they’re not sure how adding players would work. Edmonton Sun: LOADED: 12.11.2020 “There could be a lot of games in a short period of time, but for every positive there’s a negative. We don’t want players just sitting around. We’d rather they play in Bakersfield because they’ll only be playing games within their division and busing in and out for road games,” said Holland, with the AHL possibly going to a 44-game schedule starting Feb. 5 and ending in May.

If you’re in Bakersfield, you could be there for the long haul. No look- sees.

“Having our farm team in Edmonton doesn’t make sense for a number of reasons. You have to fly them across the country (if there was a Canadian AHL division) and you’ve got hotel rooms to pay for. There’s more expense, and the COVID concern,” he said. “That said, recalling somebody from Bakersfield could be tough with the quarantine.”

But Bouchard may not see Bakersfield again.

“At some point, we have to see what he can do,” said Holland.

The Oilers have to get players back from Europe and the U.S. in the next two weeks for quarantine issues if camp were to open Jan. 3. Where they skate with the world junior championships taking over Rogers Place and the Downtown Community Arena is a question. TSN’s Jason Gregor tweeted they might use NAIT.

If you’re thinking the new ’ contract for defenceman Philippe Myers (three years, averaging $2.55 million) might be a comparable for Ethan Bear, who had a terrific rookie season, think again.

The Oilers have leverage; Bear has no arbitration rights. So a short-term deal with a small raise off last year’s $720,000 is more likely. If Bear, who averaged 22 minutes with Darnell Nurse as his partner, continues with his arrows up, he’ll have arbitration rights in 2021-22, and the upper-hand in negotiations. 1196807 Edmonton Oilers

Oil Spills: Oilers-Flames rivalry would heat up an NHL Canadian Division

Craig Ellingson

Publishing date: Dec 10, 2020

A heated provincial rivalry is nothing new to the Edmonton Oilers and the Calgary Flames.

It’s been the case for the two NHL teams for more than 40 years, ever since the Flames relocated to Calgary from Atlanta in 1980, a year after the Oilers joined the league from the .

Every time the two teams square off — no matter how good or bad the squads have been over the years — it’s on.

So to have them as even-more regular sparring partners in an all- Canadian Division than they are already in the Pacific Division would be very welcome.

I talk to NHL beat writers Jim Matheson, Rob Tychkowski and Derek Van Diest about what we could expect from a return to a - level of competition between the Oilers and the Flames.

Edmonton Sun: LOADED: 12.11.2020 1196808 Edmonton Oilers Only Oscar Klefbom could be included in a conversation with Pronger (and Spacek) from 14 years ago, but even that’s a stretch. Klefbom when healthy is a fine NHL defenceman but isn’t in the same realm as Lowetide: The 2020-21 Oilers finally deploying elite talent in the right Pronger’s complete skill set. What’s more, there’s no obvious player on places the list who can take over Klefbom’s power-play minutes (general manager Ken Holland signed Tyson Barrie in free agency to address the issue).

By Allan Mitchell Can the Oilers win a Stanley Cup without a Chris Pronger? Yes. Edmonton won five Stanley Cups with a Hall of Fame shutdown Dec 10, 2020 defenceman (Kevin Lowe) and three with one of the best offensive defencemen in the history of the game (). Quality two-way defenders Huddy and Gregg, along with defence-first Jackson and The 2020-21 NHL season looks like it will get underway in just over a Fogolin were enough to get those teams over the top due to strengths month, meaning long suffering hockey fans are in the home stretch of elsewhere on the roster. what has been a meandering and difficult offseason. McDavid and Draisaitl As the weeks stretched to months, television networks began falling back on tried and true ways to keep viewers focused on the NHL. Classic The Oilers as an organization took an important step forward in January games are a popular option and earlier in December I caught a 2006 2020, as Kailer Yamamoto joined Leon Draisaitl and Ryan Nugent- playoff game involving the Edmonton Oilers and Detroit Red Wings. Hopkins on a line. The trio stormed through the rest of the season and erased some bad memories from the first half. In the game, Chris Pronger seemed to be on the ice (or in the penalty box) the entire time. I looked it up — he played 28 minutes plus took two In 27 games together (according to Natural Stat Trick) the line outscored minor penalties, so it’s safe to say he was a major factor in the game. opponents 28-8 and had 53 percent of the shot share. It gave Tippett two From the early minutes, it became a struggle for Edmonton to keep fearsome lines to use as a hammer. Music! Detroit from adding to a 2-0 advantage, until Ales Hemsky (who was at Back to that Dryden book, and some prose from the author: “Gretzky and the peak of his powers, age 22 and healthy) could hammer two past Red Messier were a great partnership — two centres, back to back. Survive Wings goalie Manny Legace for the Oilers victory. The final goal, set up Gretzky, good luck with Messier; make it through Messier, good luck with on a gorgeous pass by Sergei Samsonov, is embedded in the memory of Gretzky.” Oilers nation. The Oilers have exactly two elite players: McDavid, Draisaitl. Playing The current Oilers have the top end skill, but the impact defenceman them on the same line, now that Draisaitl has proven he can push the eludes them. Is that a necessary piece to this team’s Stanley Cup river, is no longer an option. puzzle? Or is this version of the club more similar to the glory years? Since arriving, Holland has been building through the draft and free The past agency (almost no trades). No Pronger on the roster, nor in the pipeline, Edmonton won five Stanley Cups in seven years with a fairly set but Philip Broberg has two-way talent and brilliant speed if not an defensive group. In the Ken Dryden book “Scotty: A Hockey Life Like No enforcer’s heart. Dylan Holloway may provide two-way acumen on the Other,” the NHL coach with the most career wins in the history of the scoring lines, something the organization badly needs. Raphael Lavoie game (Scotty Bowman) described the 1980s Oilers’ defence: and Carter Savoie are scoring forwards who are matriculating.

“(Kevin) Lowe played with Lee Fogolin. He didn’t have a lot of natural Dominik Kahun was added in free agency to help solve the situation on ability but he had a lot of desire. He had toughness.” left wing (Edmonton needs another Nuge). Edmonton needs the top two lines to win possession and outscore opponents five on five. “Paul Coffey was a terrific offensive player. In some games he was so good. But he was high-risk, there’s no other way to say it.” No Pronger

“Charlie Huddy was solid. Huddy, Gregg, Jackson, and Fogolin weren’t Based on reporting from various sources, the Oilers pursued Jacob really top notch guys but they got a lot of hockey out of them.” Markstrom and finished just shy of landing him. He checked down to Mikko Koskinen and Mike Smith after checking out other options. That’s a fairly accurate description of the group, with a couple of quibbles. First, Lowe led his QMJHL team in points during his draft year Holland signed a puck mover in Tyson Barrie with some of the leftover but was never going to get power-play time ahead of Coffey. Second, I Markstrom money; Kyle Turris was added and Kahun, too. would argue that both Huddy and Gregg were highly intelligent He accomplished three out of four and perhaps opportunity arrives at the defencemen and that aided their performance. Finally, I can’t let these deadline. At least his coach is happy entering training camp and that has descriptions go without pointing out that Fogolin set the tone for the value. group and taught sacrifice to Lowe and the others. I’ve never seen a more dedicated defender than Fogolin. What does it all mean?

What did Pronger do? Holland and Tippett are going to make use of what is available and build depth around them. A complete defenceman would be a massive help; At his best, and he was certainly that in Edmonton during 2005-06 and perhaps Broberg will be that player someday. A true No. 1 goaltender the postseason, Chris Pronger cut the game in half. He also contributed would make a big difference and the search continues. to the Oilers impressive possession numbers that season (53.8 percent of shots, 52 percent Corsi for percentage 5-on-5) but the team’s regular Placing Draisaitl at centre means the Oilers are a more difficult opponent. season goaltending (88.4) was a major drag on a championship calibre The McDavid-Draisaitl lines could be championship quality and should hockey club. (Source: Sunil Agnihotri). help the team win enough games to make the playoffs in 2020-21.

Perhaps the best way to show how much impact Pronger had on the I believe the team has made progress since Connor McDavid said he 2005-06 Oilers is the actual time on ice in each of the three game states: wasn’t happy with missing the playoffs. I believe the Oilers are closer to a Stanley Cup than they were when Holland took over. Spacek was an in-season acquisition who helped out in all three areas, but even his presence can’t obscure the massive contributions of The roster Edmonton will bring to the 2020-21 Canadian Division isn’t Pronger. He played against the other team’s elite personnel and calmed what Holland imagined. The goaltending did not improve; Oscar Klefbom the waters. Oilers fans who remember his one season on the roster will is not available. recall the big man suppressing all manner of opposition rushes with seeming ease. On the bright side, the team has two scoring lines that should turn into outscoring lines in the season to come, and a rush of young defencemen Let’s compare those numbers with the team’s defence in 2019-20, working to find their way to the NHL. Barrie to McDavid, Bear to Drasiaitl looking for players who had an impact in all three game states. and at some point this season possibly Evan Bouchard threading cherry passes to the impact centres. Edmonton can win the Stanley Cup with Connor McDavid and Leon Draisaitl centering two separate lines and with six defencemen who bring a variety of skills without being complete players.

The 2020-21 season will be the first full season with the formidable 1-2 punch deployed nightly. This is as close as I’ve seen to balance for an Oilers team since Pronger roamed the great white north.

The Canadian Division is going to be remarkable. The Edmonton Oilers will be a strong contender.

The Athletic LOADED: 12.11.2020 1196809 Florida Panthers

Updated COVID Realignment Puts Panthers in Central, Swaps Out Others

Published December 10, 2020

By Dan Kingerski Florida Panthers, NHL Division realignment

It won’t be an ideal division realignment for any team, except those clustered in the Northeast. On Wednesday, the league shared the proposed NHL division realignment with players and the Board of Governors. It seems the Florida Panthers could have some new rivals, at least temporarily.

The NHL apprised its Board of Governors of the proposed realignment in a 4 p.m. conference call. The proposal differed significantly from the one seen a few weeks ago. The necessity of the all-Canadian division forced the realignment. The Boston Bruins, Buffalo Sabres, and even the Pittsburgh Penguins have been shuffled around.

The Panthers proposed new division includes some geographic rivals, some laborious travel, and later start times. The division alignment is:

Panthers-Tampa Bay Lightning, Carolina Hurricanes, Nashville Predators, , Detroit Red Wings, Chicago Blackhawks, and the .

“Not everyone walks away (from the proposal) totally happy,” TSN reporter Frank Seravalli said during his televised report. “There was certainly some lobbying for teams to be moved around and positioned properly.”

The NHL originally placed Pittsburgh in the Central Division. However, it appears the Pittsburgh lobbying efforts were successful. In the latest draft, the NHL returned Pittsburgh to the Eastern Division and replaced them with Carolina in the Central.

“The Pittsburgh Penguins wanted to make sure they stayed in the East. The Minnesota Wild wanted to be with the Central teams. Same with the ,” Seravalli reported. “…but they wanted to have three divisions of eight in the U.S., and it’s all still subject to change.”

The Central and Western Division alignment does leave something to be desired. The league separated Minnesota and Chicago from St. Louis and Colorado. In fact, the NHL placed Dallas and St. Louis in the Western Division.

The NHL return has accelerated since last Friday when the NHL owners officially abandoned their pursuit of additional revenues from the players. The league decided to affirm the CBA agreement signed last June and focus on the season’s framework instead.

A 56-game schedule that begins on Jan. 13 remains in the proposal stage but still unofficial. Training camps are rumored to begin on Jan. 3.

As a result of the compressed timeframes, NHL trade talks and rumors are also heating up.

Florida Hockey Now LOADED: 12.11.2020 1196810 Florida Panthers It’s clear that these young men have exactly what it takes to succeed at a professional level. While this may not translate to playing a great game in the NHL, it definitely shows hope for the future of the Panthers. In Panthers Finnish Prospects Thriving With Liiga Loans addition, Lundell, Saarela and Luostarinen will have excellent young teammates in Barkov, Jonathan Huberdeau, and Aaron Ekblad to help them shape their game.

BY JOEY GANZI They will also receive wise words and wisdom from veteran players that have seen it all, including deep playoff runs, such as Brett Connolly, DECEMBER 10TH, 2020 Anton Stralman, Alexander Wennberg and Noel Acciari. Furthermore, they’re going to be learning from a decorated in , who can easily toughen them up for a Stanley Cup run in On Dec. 2, the top professional hockey league in Finland, Liiga, the near future. For these young players, their ceiling is very high and will announced that the season would be suspended starting Dec. 3 until hopefully have an easy NHL transition with many factors to assist them. Dec. 19 due to new COVID-19 regulations in the Scandinavian country. These were put into place to combat the surge of new virus cases, which have been hitting hard throughout the world. The Hockey Writers LOADED: Unfortunately, it means that we won’t be seeing Florida’s Finnish prospects lighting the lamp for a couple of weeks. With that being said, it is interesting to take a closer look into how Aleksander Barkov’s fellow countrymen were performing throughout their time in Liiga so far this season.

Anton Lundell

As a Panthers fan, it is getting harder and harder to stop talking about Lundell and the way he’s been playing in Liiga doesn’t help me shut up about how excited I am.

As of right now, he is currently tied for second in the league in goals with his future NHL teammate, Aleksi Saarela, with 12, and has sole possession of second place in points with 20 through 17 games. Additionally, he is currently the top point scorer among all Liiga players that are under 20 years of age. Plus, the Finnish center currently owns a golden helmet when playing, indicating he is the leading point scorer for his team, HIFK Helsinki. With that, his team currently sits at fourth overall in the league standings.

With the NHL season inching nearer, his ability and skill have shown he has what it takes to play with the big boys.

Aleksi Saarela

Out of all the players to be covered on this list, Saarela is the only one to have NHL experience so far, tallying four points (2 goals, 2 assists) in nine games last season, and having one playoff game appearance in the 2018-19 season. Originally coming from Carolina, he is showing why the Canes should’ve tried to keep him.

With Liiga, the Helsinki native has been on an absolute tear. He’s currently tied for second in the league in goals with 12 with Lundell, and the most goals for his team, Lukko. Additionally, he is eighth in points with 18 points in 18 games, averaging a point a game so far. A little unfair that Florida owns the rights to two of the top five Liiga goal scorers right now, don’t you think? Furthermore, his team is currently tied for first overall in the Liiga standings.

However, unlike Lundell, Saarela does not currently dawn a golden helmet. He is only one point behind center Eetu Koivistoinen for the team lead in points. So when the season resumes, I would imagine he would have no problem getting it back

Eetu Luostarinen

Much like Saarela, Luostarinen was originally a Carolina prospect. The only difference is that he came to Florida as part of the Vincent Trocheck trade back on Feb. 24. which also gave the Panthers Erik Haula, Chase Priskie and Lucas Wallmark.

Eetu Luostarinen, Carolina Hurricanes (Carolina Hurricanes Media Archives)

Luostarinen may not have golden helmets or is currently in close ties with other top Liiga players, but that does not mean he isn’t doing well. He has 15 points (5 goals, 10 assists) through 17 games played with his current team, KalPa. With that, he is tied for 20th in points with eight other players and second on his team, so he is very close to being given the golden helmet. While he is not that flashy, he’s showing that he can get the job done and can do massive damage in the NHL when his name is called up.

What’s Next for these stars? 1196811 Los Angeles Kings That would allow them to fully take stock at the end of the season and figure out what external moves they might need to make to start climbing the ladder. One more asset — as in another lottery pick — would assist The Kings are in tough no matter how new NHL divisions play out the rebuild as it moves to the next phase.

This past season, St. Louis was an especially tough matchup for the Kings. They lost both meetings and were outscored 9-3. Dallas won its By Lisa Dillman only game against the Kings last season. Against the Big Four, the Kings fared better against Vegas, winning three of four games, and they won Dec 10, 2020 two of three versus the Avalanche, including the outdoor game in Colorado Springs, Colo., in February.

To put it bluntly, it looks like the haves and the have-nots. The hopes are that the regular season will start by mid-January and a shortened season (anywhere from 48 to 56 games) could feature some Specifically, it is what would be the newly configured (temporary) division compelling hockey within the yet-to-be-named division. Arguably, the top consisting mostly of teams based in the West and two Central Time Zone four teams in the division have a legitimate shot at winning the Stanley friends, the Dallas Stars and St. Louis Blues. Cup championship in 2021. Dallas came close in October. The Blues are only a year-plus removed from winning it all. Colorado is getting better (*Obligatory note of caution. While the proposed plan was discussed on and better as its young defensemen mature, and Vegas has pushed the Wednesday’s Board of Governors call, Athletic colleague Pierre LeBrun chips in on expensive veterans and will be looking for results this season. reported that the proposed four-division realignment was still subject to change.)

That has been our mantra. In fact, if you just keeping repeating that The Athletic LOADED: 12.11.2020 “nothing is set in stone” — not the start date for training camp, the regular season, or the number of games — you won’t get caught by surprise when things inevitably change.)

Keeping that in mind, there are two immediate questions. What does the revised division and play only within in the division mean for the Los Angeles Kings? And how difficult would the division become with the Blues possibly joining instead of a team in transition like the Minnesota Wild?

Considerably more demanding.

The presence of St. Louis would create more of a divide between the top and the bottom.

First off, the three California teams in the division — the Kings, the , and the San Jose Sharks — missed the playoffs the past season and have not become demonstrably better during the offseason. The Kings and the Ducks have been in the lottery the past two seasons. San Jose would have had the third overall draft pick in October but that selection went to Ottawa, a piece of the Erik Karlsson trade in 2018.

The Arizona Coyotes, which lost Taylor Hall, remain in a state of flux and chaos, depending on the day of the week.

Then you have the Stars, a Stanley Cup finalist in 2020. The Blues were the Stanley Cup champion in 2019 and the are the trendy dark-horse pick to be the next team that emerges as a Cup contender.

And not to be forgotten are the Vegas Golden Knights, who have gone all-in on this upcoming season.

Border issues created the need for an all-Canadian division. In March, the Canadian border was closed and remains closed to non-citizens and non-essential traffic in response to the global pandemic.

The old Pacific Division — which featured the three California teams, the Coyotes, the Golden Knights, the Calgary Flames, the Edmonton Oilers, and the Vancouver Canucks — was considerably weaker and the Kings could have conceivably stayed in the playoff race.

You might have been able to say the same thing when it looked like Minnesota was going to be grouped with the California franchises and the three other teams. After Vegas, Colorado and Dallas, a shot at the final playoff spot didn’t seem out of the question.

Now it doesn’t appear doable in the new configuration for the Kings, Sharks, or Ducks.

But, really, does it matter for the Kings?

Probably not.

For the rebuilding Kings, this has long been viewed as a season of transition, in which they planned to test younger players and focus on development, to get better and learn the system and let their Grade A prospects mature. 1196812 Minnesota Wild Lawton, the No. 1 overall pick in the 1983 NHL Draft, became an agent after his playing days.

He recruited Parrish as a client in 1994, when the 17-year-old was ‘I need help’: How friends saved former NHL All-Star Mark Parrish lighting it up at Bloomington Jefferson High School in Minnesota and later at St. Cloud State. He was front row and center during most of Parrish’s 12-year NHL career, until Lawton became a Tampa Bay Lightning executive and eventually their GM in the summer of 2008. By Michael Russo That was a month before Parrish was bought out of the final three years

of his five-year, $13.25 million contract with his home-state Minnesota It’s 9:45 a.m. on March 10, and Brian Lawton’s pounding on the door of Wild, hastening his downward spiral. Room 332 at the Residence Inn in Secaucus, N.J. Parrish was already drinking too much at that point. But after two rocky Bang. Bang. Bang. years with the Wild, the humiliation of being publicly kicked to the curb in a place where he was once a homegrown hockey hero, sent Parrish onto Nothing. a destructive path.

Then, louder, and still no answer. He was embarrassed and despondent and became more dependent on alcohol to relieve his pain, depression and anxiety. He was prescribed Lawton’s panicking now. medication by a neurologist to help with his anxiety and pounding head, The night before, Lawton had knocked on the same door, and just like but he quit taking those pills because alcohol did the trick. He kicked a now, no answer. He called the room. No answer. He texted and texted. heavy painkiller addiction not long after his close friend and former No reply … until just before 10 p.m. when Mark Parrish, his fellow NHL teammate Derek Boogaard died from an accidental overdose of alcohol Network analyst, finally texted back. and oxycodone in 2011.

Parrish vowed then that he was fine, merely tired. He was going to bed But for years, family and friends, especially Lawton and former early and the two would have breakfast the next morning to talk things teammates and longtime pals Ben Clymer and Bret Hedican, tried to out. intervene. Parrish’s alcohol consumption was often the main topic of conversation during their get-togethers. Lawton was worried. He had an uncomfortable, heated conversation with Parrish hours earlier. “It was really hard to watch. You’re losing a friend,” says Hedican, a Minnesota native and Florida Panthers teammate during parts of The dispute started after a worrisome pre-production meeting two hours Parrish’s first two years in the NHL. “I remember saying to Ben one time, before airtime. After the meeting, Lawton confronted Parrish and told him ‘I just don’t want to have us get that call,’ that call that says, ‘Mark died,’ he wasn’t fit to be on the broadcast. Lawton ordered an Uber that picked and we didn’t do anything about it.” up Parrish at the studio and took him back to the hotel. By the time Lawton was dumping out the last of Parrish’s vodka in that “No matter what, you call me when you wake up,” Lawton wrote in a text. New Jersey hotel room, the mood had shifted. “If you wake up at 5 a.m., you call me. I have my phone on.” “Lawts, I need help.” Lawton woke up at 6 a.m., and he waited for the call. “Are you asking me for help?” By 7, there was no call or text. Same at 8. At 9, Lawton called and still, no answer. He texted. No reply. “Yes, I’m telling you, Lawts … I need help.”

So now, after Lawton marches 100 yards down the hallway from his “OK,” Lawton says, “Here’s what I’m going to do.” room, Room 302, he’s beating on the door to Parrish’s room. Lawton tells Parrish to clean up, jump in the shower. That he’ll be back in After three or four minutes, Lawton’s mind is racing. He fears what he’s a bit with a plan. going to discover on the other side of the door. And then he hears a Lawton had already put a lot of people on alert. noise. His first call was to Dan Cronin, the director of counseling for the “Mark!” Lawton yells. NHL/NHLPA Substance Abuse and Behavioral Health Program, who The door opens and there stands Parrish. His T-shirt is soaked with helped get Parrish admitted into a rehab facility in Arizona. sweat. His hands are shaking. His eyes are bloodshot. Lawton asked the NHL Network to change Parrish’s return flight to Relieved that Parrish is alive, Lawton walks in and looks around. Minnesota. He called Clymer, who bought Parrish a connecting flight from Minnesota to Phoenix and also booked himself a ticket in the seat “Where is it?” Lawton asks. next to Parrish. Clymer called Parrish’s wife, Nicholle, and asked her to Lawton searches the room. He looks under the bed. Behind the couch. In pack a bag with her husband’s clothes and bring it to his office. the fridge. In the bathroom. After a cold shower, Parrish called his wife and broke down. He “I didn’t sleep a minute last night,” Parrish says. “I felt like I was going to remembers “feeling relieved and exhausted.” die. I had to have a sip of vodka every 20 minutes.” When Lawton returned to Parrish’s room, he laid out the plan: Uber to “Where is it?” Lawton asks again. Newark airport. Flight to Minneapolis. Meet Clymer there. Take 6:02 p.m. connecting flight to Arizona. Drive to rehab facility. “It’s in the freezer.” But Parrish pushes back. I can’t go home? I can’t kiss my wife goodbye? Lawton opens the freezer and pulls out the 750-milliliter bottle. I can’t explain to my kids why Dad is leaving? He’s bargaining now.

It’s almost empty. How can anybody drink this much? he remembers But Lawton and Clymer had gotten close to convincing Parrish to seek thinking. help in the past. They worried he’d back out if his family tugged on his heartstrings. They held firm. This is the way it has to be. Lawton pours what little is left of the vodka down the sink. He drops onto the couch exasperated, then looks at the sad sight of this 43-year-old In the basement of Parrish’s home in a western suburb of Minneapolis, former NHL All-Star sitting in the desk chair next to him. there is all sorts of memorabilia from his playing days.

Mikko Koivu, Mark Parrish, Marian Gaborik An All-Star Game jersey from 2002 when he scored 30 goals for the New York Islanders. His 2006 Olympic jersey. A Kodak picture he once took Parrish isn’t only Lawton’s television colleague. with . The puck from his first NHL goal during the 1998-99 He loves him like a “little brother.” Panthers’ season opener. Parrish scored twice that night, including the winner over the cross-state rival Tampa Bay Lightning. And there’s an enormous bar with a couple of Northland vodka bottles Lawton ordered Parrish an Uber, sent him back to the hotel and told the still on the shelf. producers Parrish wasn’t feeling well. They arranged to have analyst E.J. Hradek, who worked an earlier show, stay and fill-in for Parrish. During Parrish is one of four partners in the Minnesota-based vodka company. the Uber ride back to the Residence Inn, Parrish tried to convince himself His wife boxed up the rest of their alcohol and gave it to a friend. And that this was “a one-time thing.” those Northland bottles? Filled with water because “it seems silly to have a bar with no bottles.” You just made a mistake today. Get a good night’s sleep, come back tomorrow and prove your worth, just like after a bad game. A wine cellar next to the bar is padlocked. Only Nicholle, who works in the wine industry, knows the combination. She needs a place to keep Parrish ordered a steak to his room and says he didn’t drink a drop of wine, plus Mark needs some Northland bottles for giveaways and alcohol. He didn’t hear Lawton at his door a little later and responded to signings. his texts by replying that they’d talk in the morning. He went to bed around 10. How Parrish began drinking such a “grotesque amount of alcohol” that “I was literally liquifying my brain” is a story familiar to many alcoholics and A little after midnight, Parrish woke up. He had a tingling sensation up family members of alcoholics. and down his arms and across his chest, like pins and needles. His heart was racing. Maybe a panic attack? “I guess the jig is up. I’m busted.” As “We’re spectacular liars, alcoholics,” Parrish says. “I got to learn firsthand the pain intensified, so did the anxiety. how powerful the disease is. I’d keep telling myself, ‘Don’t make another drink,’ then I’d be making that drink and would tell myself, ‘Don’t make it He thought if he didn’t get a good night’s sleep, he’d possibly lose a job so stiff.’ It’s like my hand wouldn’t listen. The hardest part for me, my he loves. parents (Barb and Gene) taught me to be a good person, and I’ve been so proud of how honest I was for the majority of my life, that I was a man He paced around his suite and then went outside and walked around the of my word and could be trusted and relied upon. courtyard. When he returned to his room, that tingling sensation and racing heart didn’t let up. Then he remembered that bottle of vodka. “But I’ve told so many lies. You don’t realize the emotional toll that it takes on everyone else when you’re so wrapped up in it.” I’ll just have a couple drinks to calm this panic down.

He suddenly pauses: “I had no idea how far down I was. Where to start? In the midst of the second drink, he fell asleep. … Where do I even start?” Three hours later, at 4:30 in the morning, he woke up again.

Start on March 9, the day before he entered rehab. Parrish’s flight landed The pins and needles had turned into nails, daggers even. His bed was in New Jersey late the night before, and like “any good alcoholic,” he soaked with sweat, his heart was racing. He contemplated calling 911. stopped at a liquor store on the way to the hotel for his customary 750- milliliter bottle of vodka. What did him in, he says, was lunch across from Parrish grabbed his phone to call his wife, but it was 3:30 a.m. in the hotel at Houlihan’s. He rounded out that meal with “four or five” Minnesota and he didn’t want to spook her and the kids. doubles. “And, of course, I’ve got the rest of that unfinished drink from earlier A few hours later, he stumbled into the conference room at NHL Network sitting on my nightstand,” Parrish says. “I remember, I had my phone in studios for a pre-production meeting with a dozen people, bumped the one hand and I picked up the drink with the other. I took one sip, and the back of Lawton’s chair, and spilled Lawton’s 31-ounce iced green tea all pain just, man, it just stopped like that. That was my spiritual moment, my over the table. aha moment … that God shot, as they call it in AA.

Initially, Lawton thought the spilled tea was merely an accident. “Clean it “I just remember looking at my left hand and looking at the drink and up. No big deal. Sit back down.” saying, ‘Oh shit, it’s you.’ It dawned on me right then and there that I needed help. That I obviously couldn’t do it alone.” This is the meeting where analysts contribute ideas so the production staff can plan the upcoming show. They discuss that evening’s docket of Nicholle, his wife of 16 years, had been asking Parrish to slow down his games and provide topics they’d like to talk about on air. drinking for a couple of years at that point. He often considered going cold turkey but always found an excuse not to. “As I’m sitting there, Mark was struggling with his comments. It was a red flag to me,” Lawton says. “Mark didn’t really say a ton. When he did, it “I was lying to her about taking days off when I never would,” Parrish wasn’t what I would call his best stuff as an analyst. That started to get says. “Never, until this moment, did I actually really think I had an issue, me concerned. We’re sitting next to each other, and at some point I yet I drank more than the average bear.” realized that I could smell alcohol. This is about 4 o’clock, and we’re Like Nicholle, his friends were not surprised Parrish had hit bottom. going on national TV at 6. Clymer, a year younger than Parrish and a friend since their high school “I don’t really get super nervous, but I started to get hot flashes. The days at Bloomington Jefferson, had gotten close to sending Parrish to meeting goes on and my temperature rises to about 102.” rehab a year or two ago.

When the meeting ended, Lawton hustled to the door to intercept Parrish. But nothing in their past friendship could prepare Clymer for what he saw He asked Jamie Hersch, who was hosting that night’s show, to stay, too. when he met Parrish after his flight from New Jersey landed in Minnesota. Lawton asked Parrish what was wrong and Parrish became instantly defensive, saying he was tired from a long week of broadcasting the From the moment Parrish passed through security at Newark, he started Minnesota high school state hockey tournament. drinking. By the time he got to Minneapolis, he looked broken. His hands were shaking uncontrollably. He was sweating so profusely that he had “Mark was super emotional,” Lawton says. “And I’m super uncomfortable to change out of the shirt he was wearing and into … a Northland Vodka because we’re very good friends. I keep thinking to myself, ‘I’m doing him T-shirt, which matched his Northland Vodka hat. a service.’” Parrish was going to rehab looking like a vodka advertisement. But as things got increasingly contentious, Lawton started to worry, “Am I misreading it? Maybe (spilling) the drink was an accident. Maybe I really He had already had plenty to drink, but he ordered more at the airport in didn’t smell alcohol. Maybe he really is just tired.” Minnesota.

Parrish yelled back, “I can’t believe you’re stabbing me in the back like It was almost like “my last hurrah,” Parrish admits. “Like, if I’m going to this.” rehab … I’m going drunk.”

“I look at Jamie, and her eyes are welling up, and I started crying, too,” Clymer called the facility in Arizona to ask if he should try to stop Parrish Parrish says. “Lawts (never) actually said he knew I was drinking. He from drinking. They told him, while they’d obviously like him as sober as kept saying, ‘You seem off, Parry, you seem off, you’re sick, yeah, I think possible, to not worry about it now. Clymer guesses Parrish had 16 units you’re sick.’ … Go have a nice dinner, get some sleep and make sure of vodka while he was with him. this is only a 12-hour flu and not a 24-hour flu.” “He was pretty low, super embarrassed about having to do this,” says Clymer, 42. “I kept telling him I was proud of him and that ‘the biggest way you could disappoint people would be by not going through with this Every morning was a roll of a dice as to whether I’d wake up OK or my and by continuing what you’re doing.’” anxiety was off the charts.”

What boggled Clymer’s mind, the more Parrish drank on that flight to The simplest tasks became too much to handle. Parrish figured one drink Arizona, the more sober he seemed to get. couldn’t hurt. That’s not enough to get him drunk. But then, “One drink turns into two. … If I had to pick up the kids, my brain’s telling me to have “He was not well when I first saw him,” Clymer says. “His skin color a drink. I started to have a couple drinks before picking up the kids.” wasn’t proper. And then when we were getting off the plane, he was totally normal.” When his wife found out, she was horrified. “All of a sudden, Nikki’s picking up the kids and she’s driving everywhere,” Parrish says. As Parrish and Clymer walked to the rental car shuttle, they walked past a bar. At one point a few years ago, after an alcoholic episode, Mark’s older brother, Geno, was so worried, he actually lived in the house four days a “I want to have my last drink with you,” Parrish said. week for more than a month.

Clymer teared up. Parrish used to coach high school hockey at Orono. He says he resigned “I wanted it to be his last drink, too,” Clymer says. in part so he could keep drinking and not get in trouble. When he worked on the broadcasts of state high school tournament games, he says he They rented a car, then Clymer drove Parrish to the Meadows facility in never drank on the air but always had one waiting for him afterward. Wickenburg, Ariz. They arrived just before 10 p.m. In October 2018, Parrish was arrested for drunk driving. It never made it In the parking lot, Clymer made Parrish change out of his Northland shirt. into the public airways, so other than Nicholle, Parrish hid the arrest from most of his family and friends until recently. But instead of the incident “I’m like, ‘Dude, I’m not bringing you into rehab wearing a vodka shirt,’” being a wake-up call, he says the guilt sent him into a downward spiral. Clymer remembers saying. “When I look back at all the times Nikki tried to help me, tried to slow me Clymer felt like he was dropping one of his kids off for camp. But he felt a down … she just couldn’t because I didn’t believe (I had a problem),” tinge of guilt as he left because he and Lawton hadn’t been completely Parrish says. honest about one major detail. There’s a red, 25-ounce CamelBak water bottle that Parrish still has. It’s Parrish thought he was going to be in Arizona for a few days, maybe a a reminder about how far off track he got. Before almost any drive, “I’d week, not 45 days. prepare myself a drink.” “It felt like a shitty thing to do to a friend, but I’m thinking, ‘Maybe now’s The bottle held the same amount of liquid as one of his 750-milliliter not the time to tell him he’s not coming home in a week,’” Clymer says. vodka bottles, so he’d fill the water bottle to the top, half water, half And part of it was hope. vodka.

“It felt weird driving away, knowing that my life was going to continue on, The “Power Trip” airs from 5:30-9 a.m. weekdays. Parrish is on the entire and his life was going to take an absolute U-turn,” Clymer says. “I was 3 1/2 hours Wednesday, the final two hours Friday. really happy he was doing it, but I knew the fight that was ahead of him.” Parrish loves doing the show and has become close friends with each of In the 25 hours before arriving at Meadows, Parrish figures he drank the hosts. But like everything else in his life, it causes anxiety. enough vodka to fill more than two 750-milliliter bottles. “On the days that I would go into KFAN, the last couple years, that water “I don’t remember what my blood alcohol was, but I kind of wish I do,” bottle would pretty much be gone,” Parrish said. “I mean it’s a 15-minute Parrish says. ride that early in the morning, and that thing would be gone by the time I got into KFAN.” After taking a number of tests upon arrival, Parrish was led to his room. The crew from the morning show suspected it wasn’t water in that bottle “I just slept,” Parrish says. “I just remember being so tired and I don’t that never left Parrish’s side. And the look in his eyes sometimes told know, obviously it had a lot to do with the amount of alcohol, but just Hawkey, “He wasn’t completely there with me.” mentally shut down.” The first time Parrish checked in with Lawton and Clymer from rehab, Three or four days later, when Parrish was more alert after coming off they couldn’t believe how much better and happier he sounded. some heavy withdrawal drugs, he worried about how obvious it would be to the world that he suddenly went missing. “It took me awhile to make some phone calls,” Parrish says. “For some reason, my brother was the hardest one to call. I don’t know why. It took Clymer set up a meeting with Parrish’s partners at Northland to explain me a couple weeks till I called him, and he definitely let me know he was what was going on, and Nicholle emailed The Athletic’s Islanders beat not happy.” writer, Arthur Staple, to let him know, without getting into details, that Mark would be out of the loop for a while. The two co-hosted a twice-a- What Parrish didn’t realize until he talked to Lawton the first time was that week podcast. roughly 36 hours after he arrived at rehab, the COVID-19 pandemic caused the NHL to suspend its season. Another of his concerns was his radio duties. On Wednesdays and Fridays, Parrish appears on the “Power Trip,” the No. 1-rated morning That meant no viewers would wonder why he wasn’t on NHL Network show in Minnesota, on KFAN, one of the highest-rated sports radio anymore. When he wouldn’t be on KFAN the next few months, the stations in the United States. pandemic could be an easy excuse.

Clymer met with the show’s hosts, Cory Cove, Chris Hawkey and Paul “I was there five or six days when I realized I was staying 45,” Parrish Lambert to fill them in. The three were relieved. They knew Parrish had a says, laughing. “One of the therapists was like, ‘OK, you’ve got 39 days severe drinking problem. left.’ And I was like, ‘Wait, what?’ I just thought, ‘Lawts, Clymer, those sons of bitches tricked me!’” Since retiring, Parrish says vodka, and the occasional whiskey, helped him fight off severe anxiety. All joking aside, the first week was tough.

“I’d wake up in the morning and my to-do list would be, ‘Go to the Parrish was put on major withdrawal drugs and was heavily sedated for laundromat, go to the dry cleaner, call Mike’ — four or five nothing things much of that time. that should be no big deal for a retired guy in his 30s,” Parrish says. “And It wasn’t until the second week that the nurses and doctors told Parrish I couldn’t even decide which one to do first. I would just spin. I would be that he had been dubbed, “Miracle.” walking in circles and finally Nikki would be like, ‘Why don’t you just take a shower?’ “They couldn’t believe with the lab tests, everything that I had, where my body was at, what my numbers were, that I was still alive,” Parrish says. “I’d take a shower and come out and I’d be just as anxious. She’d have to walk me through just the simplest things. And it started wearing on me. The biggest concern other than his liver was evidence of wet brain, something doctors were able to diagnose with an MRI. “It’s basically cell death,” explains Dr. Marvin Seppala, an addiction out all the stuff like, ‘My knees and my hip and my ribs and my …’ All treatment expert and the chief medical officer at Hazelden Betty Ford in these excuses. Center City, Minn. “Anytime we drink even one shot, one beer, one glass of wine, we’re killing brain cells. But we have so many of them that for “So the summer I lived with him was really eye-opening.” people who don’t drink heavily, the social drinkers, you kill a few, it’s no Parrish surmises that he got hooked on painkillers while playing for the big deal. Not going to notice. If you really have a severe alcohol use Islanders in the early-2000s, but things got a lot worse during the 2004- disorder, you can develop wet brain, but we hardly ever see that 05 lockout and magnified after the Wild bought out the final three years of anymore. It’s a rare situation.” that five-year contract in 2008. He was humiliated.

Seppala said it’s an extremely serious condition that can cause “Did I need the painkillers for the pain? At times, maybe,” he says. “But difficulties with cognition and memory and eventually severe dementia. primarily, it was just to kill the frustration, the heartache, the He has never treated Parrish, but because Parrish was told that the type disappointment of what happened here in Minnesota.” he had was reversible, Seppala assumes Parrish was run through a battery of cognitive and memory testing. His ego took a hit as he spent the final four years of his career playing mostly in the minors after hundreds of games in the NHL. He played 62 “During the course of treatment, what you see with people that have games during that stretch with Dallas, Tampa Bay and Buffalo, but cognitive damage from alcohol use is that in the first month, they get a lot “mostly played the Reggie Dunlop (‘Slap Shot’) role” for AHL teams in of it back,” Seppala says. “Then the next five months, there’s a slow Bridgeport, Norfolk, Portland and Binghamton. return of memory. After six months, you got what you’re going to have, basically.” One day at rehab, Parrish decided to sit in on a Narcotics Anonymous meeting. He says he had the epiphany, “Holy crap, I was a fricking While at Meadows, Parrish attended “family” group meetings, met daily painkiller addict. I raised my hand and I shared my story and it felt with a therapist and started AA meetings in the evenings. He has been amazing to admit it. It wasn’t even something I realized I was hiding.” stringent in attending all of his meetings since, albeit virtually because of COVID-19. Between AA, large group meetings and a couple of special When Boogaard died, Parrish says for the most part he was scared meetings that include current and former pro athletes, mostly NHLers, straight. During a painstaking, very difficult “summer of hell,” Parrish says Parrish has meetings Monday, Wednesday and Thursday nights and he went cold turkey off of painkillers. He admits he has used them since Tuesday and Wednesday mornings. after some surgeries, like one on his shoulder, but he says he’s always made sure to get off of them. On the “Power Trip,” one of the most popular things they do occurs every Friday morning. It’s called the Initials Game, and it’s not easy. Lambert, He says he’s lucky to be alive because he often dangerously mixed Hawkey, A.J. Mansour, Parrish and other contributors act as contestants, alcohol with painkillers. That’s what ended his friend’s life. and let’s just say that for the longest time, Parrish wasn’t doing well. “I got a horseshoe and about 8,000 four-leaf clovers jammed up my ass, I Soon after returning to the show, Parrish won his first Initials Game in a think,” Parrish says. calendar year. He has won the contest two of the past five weeks. Parrish has been sober 135 days. If you’re doing the math from March “The joke is my brain’s working again,” Parrish says. 11, his first day of sobriety in rehab, you may sense something’s not Parrish learned a lot of life lessons in rehab, and thought a lot about his adding up. past. On July 28, about 30 minutes after someone dropped off some bottles of How did he fall so far? vodka for Mark to sign, he got into an argument with his wife … and he drank. His brother, Geno, 45, who also played hockey at St. Cloud State, said the irony is in college, he was the party animal and it was Mark and “I had been around alcohol so many times since (rehab), but whatever former Huskies teammate Matt Cullen who used to come to house snapped that day, I just remember being upset about something and next parties and drink cranberry juice and water. thing you know, I was sitting on the couch with half a bottle of vodka in my hand,” he says. Mark says he didn’t have his first taste of alcohol until his 20th birthday. Nicholle texted Clymer. Clymer told her to take the kids and leave, that It wasn’t until he turned pro that he started to drink more often. he’d be right over.

He then became addicted to painkillers. When Clymer arrived, Parrish handed him the vodka with a look of He actually remembers breaking his leg at age 15, being put on shame and Clymer took away Parrish’s recovery coins and sobriety painkillers and liking them immediately. medallions.

His rookie year, he had his wisdom teeth removed and was reminded A little while later, Geno and their parents arrived and, soon after, Parrish how much he liked what the painkillers did to him. And as more and more began violently throwing up. His mom called an ambulance and Parrish injuries and aches and pains occurred along his NHL career, he got was taken to the hospital. hooked. Parrish says he hasn’t had a sip of alcohol since. But he knows he’s not Parrish’s voice gets somber as he brings up Boogaard, who died in magically cured. Minneapolis 9 1/2 years ago during his first night home after leaving For one thing, his anxiety issues remain. rehab in Malibu. One of his first nights out in public after returning from rehab was June “It tears me up. I was running side by side with Boogey,” Parrish said. “I 18 for his 16th wedding anniversary dinner at a restaurant in think about that all the time. How that beast of a man lost the battle … Minneapolis. and how somehow I survived it? … I was doing way more painkillers than he was.” As soon as they arrived, he wanted to leave. “But it was our anniversary. I was just terrified. White as a ghost, I was almost shaking, sweating,” he One summer while Mark still played for the Islanders, Geno lived with his says. “The restaurant was almost empty, but that did nothing for me. But brother. I got through it, and I remember getting back in the car and I was just One night, Geno noticed Mark nodding off while driving the two of them wired. I was so excited that I made it through.” to the marina. “Halfway there, we were going over the yellow line in the Parrish keeps track of his days of sobriety on his phone. middle of nowhere, and I look over, and his eyes are almost shut,” Geno says. “I grabbed the wheel and was like, ‘What’s wrong with you?’” His AA sponsor recently told Parrish to stop counting days like he’s trying to reach some kind of athletic milestone. If he gets to 1,000, he’s not Geno took the keys from his brother and drove home later. After that, going to earn a silver stick (or vodka bottle) from Alcoholics Anonymous. Geno noticed lots of signs of addiction. Fatigue, asking the same questions over and over again, a poor memory. He also discovered his “You never heal. You’re just in recovery,” Parrish says. “Because of brother was not only getting painkillers prescribed by doctors, but also COVID, nobody’s going to bars, but I’ve gotten pretty good in through the mail. He confronted his brother, and Mark “starts throwing restaurants. I ask for their best kiddy cocktail or what one of Nikki’s friends makes me, Lemadine.” That would be lemonade and grenadine. “There’s a lot of people that are battling this, a lot more than people realize,” he says. “And I think I’m in a fortunate position to give them a One elephant in the room? The vodka company. Parrish still owns a voice. But mainly, just honesty. I just want to be honest. I’m tired of being piece of it and doesn’t plan to sell his share. uncomfortable around people.

In his first week of rehab, Parrish met with a psychiatrist. He also likes waking up every morning with a clear head, “not being “What do you do?” she asked. hungover and not trying to figure out where I can go sip a bottle of vodka without anybody noticing,” he says. “I like the responsibility now. I get to “Well, I own a vodka company.” be the driver.”

“You’re not serious,” she said, while laughing. The Athletic LOADED: 12.11.2020 “I actually am. And my wife sells wine.”

Parrish says he spent much of the 45 days in rehab “mentally preparing” to be able to live life while still owning a piece of the company. His avatar is a Northland bottle.

“I’m not around the alcohol on a day-to-day basis. I like what the company has to offer, the business model, what we do for the community,” he says. “Do I still get nervous? Yes. I’ve actually canceled a few appearances because of fear. But every time I’ve just sucked it up and gone, I’ve been fine.”

And Nicholle is happy he’s working toward being a better man, father and husband.

“When he finally admitted he needed help, I felt a million pounds lifted off my shoulders that I didn’t realize I was carrying,” she says, tearing up. “It’s just nice to be able to rely on him again. … He’s a bigger participant in our kids’ lives again. They can tell he’s just more present.”

Geno tried to urge his brother to go to rehab countless times, as much as anything for his kids, 12-year-old Gianna and 10-year old Turner. “I have repeated year after year after year, ‘Mark, you’re not going to regret what you did to your friends. You’re not going to regret what you did to your family. You’re not going to regret the money that you blew, the opportunities that you blew, the jobs. You’re going to regret not remembering raising your children.’”

Mark Parrish with daughter Gianna, son Turner and wife Nicholle. (Photo courtesy Nicholle Parrish)

Geno may not have thought so, but Mark was taking that to heart all these years.

“They were so young when I really started to have a drinking problem,” Mark says. “They don’t even know their father sober. That hit hard. It still does. There’s still days where I wake up and the depression gets me on that one.

“I want to be an example for them and we’ve been honest with them and if I can’t make it to Turner or Gianna’s practice cause Daddy’s got to get on one of his calls to make sure he stays sober, they understand. I’ve had talks with both of them. There’s been a lot of apologizing.

“But you know, they don’t seem to really care so much about the apology. It’s just that Daddy doesn’t drink anymore. And, of course, Turner goes, ‘That’s good, Dad. You know what? I’m never going to drink, too.’ I just said, ‘Thanks, son. I appreciate the support. But this is Daddy’s issue, not yours.’”

Geno says he’s grateful Lawton was there to intervene that night at the NHL studios.

“If Brian Lawton had not been there at the perfect time, the perfect place, the perfect vulnerable state in my brother’s life, we might not be talking about this right now,” he says.

And Lawton is thankful Mark was willing to listen. “People do get broken, but they get fixed, too,” Lawton says. “I always believed that this is a chance for Mark to have a really great life. I feel he’s got a path to a great future now. And I was losing hope.”

Parrish is a Minnesota hockey hero and public figure, so at times he wonders if he’s walking around town wearing a big neon sign on his forehead that says, “Alcoholic.”

“I don’t believe Mark likes holding secrets,” Hawkey says. “I think this is going to be such a relief for him. I’m sure it’s embarrassing and I’m so sorry he’s going to have to go through that. But I think this is going to be such a cleansing for his soul, for his life.”

Parrish doesn’t want to hide anymore. He doesn’t want to lie anymore. And he doesn’t want to feel like garbage anymore. 1196813 MontrealCanadiens Élise Béliveau 'always beside' Canadiens legend Jean Béliveau, 'not behind him'

Reid never played beyond junior, but he did get a chance to play a part of Best trades in Canadiens history: Dryden deal set Cup dynasty in motion one season as Bobby Orr’s teammate with the Oshawa Generals. He didn’t learn that he had originally been drafted by the Canadiens until 38 No. 2: Habs land future Hall of Fame goalie in 1964 draft day deal with years later. Boston that kick-started a run of six Stanley Cups during the 1970s. Dryden was playing for the Canadiens when he learned about the trade from team scout Ron Caron.

Pat Hickey• Montreal Gazette Publishing date:Dec 10, 2020 • • 3 The Canadiens had to wait for this trade to pay off. Dryden went to minute read where he compiled a 76-4-1 record and one NCAA championship. (One interesting bit of trivia: The year after Dryden left,

Cornell compiled the only undefeated season in NCAA history, going 29- This week we’re looking at the five best trades in Canadiens history. 0 with 5-foot-6 Brian Cropper replacing the 6-foot-4 Dryden.) Today, No. 2: Dryden spent a year with Canada’s national team before agreeing to turn How much would the history of the Canadiens have changed if pro with a deal that allowed him to attend law school at McGill University. goaltender Ken Dryden had been playing for the Boston Bruins during Dryden skated away from the game in 1979 after winning his fourth the 1970s? consecutive Stanley Cup. He appeared in 397 regular-season games The Canadiens and Dryden dominated the decade with six Stanley Cups. with a 258-57-74 record, 2.24 goals-against average and a .919 save Dryden, whose Hall of Fame career lasted only eight seasons, was percentage. He won a as playoff MVP (1971), the between the pipes for all of those Cup victories and, along the way, he Calder Trophy as rookie of the year (1972) and the Vézina Trophy as the beat the Bruins in four series, including the Cup finals in 1977 and 1978. top goaltender five times (1973, ’76, ’77, ’78, 79).

The Bruins’ frustration was compounded by the fact that, for about two Montreal Gazette LOADED: 12.11.2020 hours on June 28, 1964, Dryden’s rights belonged to Boston.

Before the NHL instituted the entry draft in 1979, teams started scouting players as young as peewees and signed them to A, B and C forms, which bound them to a team. Each of the six NHL teams had affiliated junior teams, which served as the gateway to a professional career.

Dryden’s older brother, Dave, took the traditional route to the NHL, playing junior for the St. Mike’s Majors and progressed through the OHA Senior League to the NHL. Ken Dryden had his sights set on playing U.S. college hockey and never signed a form. That meant he wasn’t bound to an NHL team.

That changed when the NHL introduced what it called the amateur draft in 1963. In its second year of operation, the Bruins selected Dryden, a 16-year-old playing for the Junior B Humber Valley Packers, with the 14th overall pick.

Two hours later, the Bruins traded Dryden’s rights to the Canadiens. Because the amateur draft attracted little attention from the media and fans, the deal flew under the radar. In fact, it was years and, in one case, decades, later that the players involved learned they had been traded.

The details of the trade are lost in history, but the Bruins were reportedly interested in Guy Allen, a Junior B defenceman. When the draft came to to a close, the Canadiens sent Allen and winger Paul Reid to Boston in return for Dryden and winger Alex Campbell.

That 1964 draft produced a handful of NHL players, including Tim Ecclestone, Mike Pelyk, Jim Dorey and Syl Apps Jr., but Dryden was the first prize.

None of the other players in the trade came close to the NHL.

Campbell played at St. Lawrence University, where his teammates included future NHL head coach . Campbell was among the leading scorers on the team and played one season in the International Hockey League after graduation.

Allen played four seasons of junior hockey with the Bruins-affiliated , the Toronto Marlies and the followed by four seasons in the minors.

Best trades in Canadiens history: Bergevin pulls off heist of Hawks

The Canadiens acquired from the Detroit Red Wings on Jan. 13, 1971, in exchange for Mickey Redmond, Guy Charron and Bill Collins.

Best trades in Canadiens history: Pollock clipped Wings for Mahovlich

Élise Béliveau witnessed the Montreal Canadiens' victory over the Vancouver Canucks on Dec. 9, 2014, the day before Jean Béliveau's funeral. 1196814 MontrealCanadiens The lesson Éthier takes from Béliveau’s life is “that she was always beside her husband, not behind him.”

She believes we feel reassured when we still see her at Canadiens Élise Béliveau 'always beside' Canadiens legend Jean Béliveau, 'not games. behind him' “To see her, you say: ‘OK, everything’s going to be all right, she’s there.’ An inspiring interview with the widow of the Habs icon premières It’s part of our folklore,” said Éthier. Thursday on the website femme.hockey. Éthier still vividly remembers the night of Dec. 9, 2014, the day before the funeral for Jean Béliveau, when Élise sat beside her husband’s empty seat and the crowd at the Bell Centre erupted with an emotional salute to Brendan Kelly Montreal Gazette her late husband and then to her when she appeared on the big screen.

So to sit down with Béliveau was a dream come true for Éthier.

When Élise Couture met her future husband Jean Béliveau in 1950, she Montreal Gazette LOADED: 12.11.2020 was not a hockey fan.

“I didn’t know anything about hockey at the time,” Élise Béliveau says in a new half-hour interview that will première Thursday on a website devoted to women and hockey.

“I didn’t go to see hockey games,” she says. “My mother was a hockey fan, but in terms of me going out or being friends with a hockey player, she had her doubts. But when she met Jean, she changed her mind. She changed her opinion.”

Jean Béliveau was one of the greatest players to ever don a Montreal Canadiens jersey, winning 10 Stanley Cups while playing for the team. He died in 2014.

In the new interview, Élise Béliveau also mentions that her husband of 61 years wasn’t averse to helping out in the kitchen.

“He liked doing that,” she says. “He liked doing the dishes. But he preferred to wash them. He liked washing, not drying them.”

The interview will première Thursday at 6 p.m. on the website femme.hockey and its associated YouTube channel. The site is the brainchild of Isabelle Éthier, a passionate hockey fan who felt there was a need for a platform in French to discuss the place of women in the world of hockey. Éthier, who has her own marketing company, woke up one night early in the pandemic and thought she had do this.

“I realized there was no platform talking to and about women involved in hockey,” she said. “There are some platforms in English in the U.S. for hockey moms. There are some for women hockey players. But there’s not one for all the women (in the hockey milieu) and not at all in French.

“For me, it’s very important to acknowledge the place of women in hockey. Because hockey is not only on the ice. It’s also in our lives. If you are the mother or wife of the hockey player or coach or the volunteer or you work in the business or you’re the girlfriend, hockey is part of your life. Women like to watch hockey and be involved, but mostly it’s not in the same way that men like to do it. So I thought: Why not highlight the place of women in our favourite sport?”

Since debuting in early June, Éthier has aired interviews with female hockey players, journalists and National Hockey League players, including three-time Olympic gold medallist/goalie Kim St-Pierre, former Tampa Bay Lightning star , ex-Canadiens Stéphane Quintal, Guillaume Latendresse and Georges Laraque, current Canadiens executive France Margaret Bélanger, and RDS reporter and host Chantal Machabée.

When Éthier talks to NHL players like Lecavalier and Quintal, they don’t talk about goals and championships.

“We talk about their story, the human side of it,” she said. “What was the role of your family in it? What was the role of your mom or sister or wife?”

The interview that goes online Thursday is with both Élise Béliveau and her daughter Hélène.

“She’s authentic,” Éthier said of Élise Béliveau. “She’s real. She doesn’t want any bulls—. She loves you or she doesn’t. And she likes people. But she doesn’t need to be in the spotlight. She doesn’t like interviews. It makes her sad to talk about Jean, but she decided to do it because it’s for a good reason. She wants to be more private right now.”

Oh, and Béliveau put in her two cents on the current Habs. “She said, ‘It’s about time to have a Stanley Cup now. It’s been too long since we had one.’ ” 1196815 MontrealCanadiens This is what we mean by mentality. Norlinder scored his second goal of the season later in this same game against Rögle on Saturday, tying the game in the third period, and just look at where he is positioned with the puck deep in the offensive zone. Unique mentality makes Mattias Norlinder enticing to Canadiens Sometimes, however, this mentality can cost him.

This has always been known about Norlinder, that he is a dynamic By Arpon Basu Dec 10, 2020 offensive player and his offensive mind is what makes him special. We recently wrote about Alexander Romanov and noted that in his games in

the KHL, he is difficult to notice unless you are looking for him. Norlinder Canadiens director of player development Rob Ramage was on a video is the opposite; if you don’t notice him, it means you’re simply not paying conference with reporters in late October when he was asked to give his attention. impressions on defence prospect Mattias Norlinder. This offensive skill set and mentality, however, has not translated into A little grin came across his face as he said his name, and then points in Norlinder’s first season playing in the Swedish Hockey League, Ramage’s answer began not with a word. with two goals and two assists in 16 games. But what’s important in terms of his eventual transition to the NHL is his evolving play in his own It began with a sound. end.

“Oof,” Ramage said, that grin still sitting on his face. “He’s fun to watch.” Norlinder’s constant search for offence might suggest to some that he is an uninterested defender, and that is certainly not the case. He has We watched a number of his recent games for Frölunda in the Swedish clearly worked on that element of his game and it shows. He has an Hockey League in an attempt to get our own sense of what Norlinder is active stick, good instincts and can play the body when needed. like, and we can safely report that Ramage’s initial response is quite accurate. Our friend at Habs Eyes on the Prize, Patrik Bexell, interviewed Frölunda’s defence coach Kristofer Näslund on the Habsent Minded “Oof” is a bang on assessment. He is very fun to watch. podcast earlier this week – I highly encourage all of you to check out If I had to pick one clip that encapsulates that level of fun, I would choose Habs EOTP’s Top 25 under 25 series if you haven’t yet – and asked this one. Defensive zone draw, Frölunda wins it, Norlinder gets the puck, about Norlinder’s development in this area of the game. takes a half-second to assess the situation, find a lane and boom, he’s “To be honest I’m a little surprised he’s doing so well, especially his gone. game without the puck,” Näslund told Bexell. “We thought of him more as It takes exactly seven seconds from the drop of the puck deep in their a real offensive weapon and (thought) we’d have to work so much with own zone for Frolünda to get a very decent scoring opportunity. his defensive skills, but that’s not the case.”

This, in a nutshell, is Mattias Norlinder, a defenceman who is constantly Watch in these two clips how quickly Norlinder is able to transition from looking to push the pace up the ice. The word constantly can’t be defence to offence. Again, there’s no hesitation in the decision-making stressed enough. As soon as there is a change of possession in the process. There’s a change of possession, and Norlinder is off on the defensive zone, if an opportunity to either join or lead the rush is there, attack. Norlinder will immediately identify it and attempt to exploit it. That This one would get the attention of Canadiens coach Claude Julien decision-making process is what is so impressive when watching because it involved Norlinder doing what Julien loves best, killing a play. Norlinder, because it is lightning quick. There is very little hesitation and, more often than not, he properly assesses the situation and takes the “His reads are so good, he’s so quick in all the reads, both offensively opportunity only when it is there. Not always, but most of the time. and defensively,” Näslund told Bexell. “When you work as a coach it’s really nice to have a player like that where you don’t have to teach him While Norlinder’s skill set, most notably his tremendous skating ability, is about the reads, because that’s a hard thing to improve, being quick on reason enough for Ramage and the Canadiens to be excited about his the reads. He’s really, really quick, both offensively to see when there’s a arrival, it is really the combination of that skill set and Norlinder’s brain chance to join the rush or go for offence, or on defence, he knows which that makes him so appealing. guy he has right away. His check ID is great.” Or, put another way, it is his mentality and his ability to act on that Now, a disclaimer: Norlinder still has a lot to learn. His defensive game mentality. can still be further refined. He still tends to drift out of position and get “He’s a humble guy, he’s quiet, but there’s a confidence within him,” caught puck watching, or get stuck out there for extended shifts, both of Ramage said. “When he’s on the ice, you see that confidence come out. which happened on this play in the middle of an interminable three- I’m really excited about this guy.” minute shift.

How’s this for confidence? Norlinder has time to learn these things. He is only 20 and has another year left on his contract with Frölunda after this one, so the earliest he This is a 50-50 puck in his defensive zone, but rather than approach the will likely be in Montreal is the 2022-23 season. At that point, at age 22 situation passively, Norlinder (No. 6 in white) attacks the puck. He’s not and having benefitted from Frölunda’s long history of properly developing looking to simply neutralize the situation. He is looking to exploit it. And prospects, Norlinder could be ready to step right into the Canadiens then, when the puck gets turned over in the offensive zone, he is able to lineup. use his strong skating to get back and help in the defensive zone. It is indicative of how deeply Norlinder understands the flow of a game, when For their part, the Canadiens can’t wait. it’s appropriate to go and when it isn’t, though it should be noted how his “I don’t want to oversell it at all because it’s his first year in the SHL, teammates need to be acutely aware when Norlinder is on the ice that there’s going to be some growing pains,” Ramage said. “But he’s very they need to be available to help out in situations like this. determined, a hard worker, he’s a rink rat. I’m hoping we see him over Or this, with Norlinder (No. 6 in red) heading back to retrieve a puck. here sooner than later.” Watch what he does afterwards. He simply keeps going. And going. The Athletic LOADED: 12.11.2020 Or this, where Norlinder identifies a potential opportunity in the offensive zone and dives back door, just in case.

That last one is not necessarily an extraordinary play – defencemen do that all the time – but it is indicative of the way Norlinder plays when the puck is in the offensive zone. He is constantly drifting in and out of dangerous areas, looking for holes, or gaps in coverage where he could get a shot off. He drifts in and out, back and forth constantly, like the tides. Watch here as Norlinder appears on screen, then he’s gone, and then he’s back in again. 1196816 Nashville Predators

Nashville Predators announce partnership with sportsbook DraftKings ahead of NHL season

Cassandra Stephenson

The Nashville Predators announced a multi-year partnership Thursday with Daily Fantasy Sports company and sportsbook DraftKings.

DraftKings, which was among the first four sportsbooks to launch in Tennessee in November, will be the official Daily Fantasy Sports provider and sports betting operator of the team.

The news comes ahead of the National Hockey League's 2020-2021 season, which was postponed due to the COVID-19 pandemic but is anticipated to begin in January.

"One of our biggest announcements within Tennessee has been this partnership, which is going to be a really deep integration," DraftKings President and Co-Founder Matthew Kalish said. "You'll see DraftKings and the Preds all over the place around Tennessee as the NHL season starts off."

DraftKings branding and content will be featured on dasher boards and virtual signs in Bridgestone Arena as part of the deal, and DraftKings sports betting lines will be prominently featured in pre-game and in-game radio spots, according to a news release. DraftKings content will also appear on the arena's Lexus Lounge LED screen during the team's regular and postseason home games.

Predators fans can also expect to see DraftKings content on the team's social media accounts, homepage and newsletters.

"Through this multi-year agreement, Predators fans across the state will have access to the GOLD STANDARD of sports betting information technology, which provides a competitive, reliable and responsible platform," Nashville Predators EVP and Chief Revenue Officer Chris Junghans stated in the release. "We look forward to entering this new era of Tennessee sports fandom together and also to seeing everything that this partnership will bring to our state and to our fans.”

To commemorate the deal, DraftKings is offering a deposit bonus of up to $1,000 to those who download the DraftKings mobile app and sign up with the DraftKings sportsbook. The company and team plan to partner on additional social media giveaways in the future.

DraftKings is not the first sportsbook to ink a partnership with a Tennessee team. BetMGM announced a partnership with The Tennessee Titans in September, and Daily Fantasy Sports platform and sportsbook competitor FanDuel announced a partnership with the Memphis Grizzlies on Nov. 2, one day after online-only sports gambling launched in Tennessee.

Tennessean LOADED: 12.11.2020 1196817 New Jersey Devils 2002: $175M, 11th of 30 teams 2001: $163M, 10th of 28 teams

2000: $163M, 10th of 28 teams Devils’ franchise value takes big hit in year of pandemic 1999: $135M, 14th of 28 teams

1998: $125M, 11th of 28 teams By Randy Miller Star Ledger LOADED: 12.11.2020

2020 can’t end fast enough for a lot of people, the Devils included. They missed the playoffs again even though the pandemic upped the playoff field from 16 to 24 teams, they didn’t get lucky in the Draft Lottery and, like most every other businesses big and small, they aren’t worth as much as they were before the world heard COVID-19.

The Devils’ franchise value dropped from $550 million in 2019 to $530 million this year, according to Forbes, which revealed its annual NHL franchises rankings on Thursday. The Devils’ 4% reduction was double the league average in a year 24 of 31 franchises dropped in value.

This was just the second time that the Devils’ value dropped since current owners Josh Harris and David Blitzer purchased the franchise for $320 million in August 2013 from Jeff Vanderbeek.

The Devils were valued at $163 million in 1998 when Forbes began charting what NHL franchises are worth.

The seven franchises that didn’t drop in value this year — Boston Bruins, Chicago Blackhawks, Montreal Canadiens, New York Islanders, New York Rangers, Tampa Bay Lightning and Toronto Maple Leafs — all stayed the same.

The Devils’ losses were amongst the most in the league.

The San Jose Sharks, Columbus Blue Jackets, Florida Panthers, Arizona Coyotes, Nashville Predators took a league-high 5% loss, while the Devils were among eight teams dropping 4% along with the Anaheim Ducks, Buffalo Sabres, Calgary Flames, Dallas Stars, Edmonton Oilers, St. Louis Blues and Winnipeg Jets.

The 2% average franchise to $653 million was the league’s first drop since 2001.

The Rangers led NHL franchises in value for the sixth year in a row at $1.65 billion, followed by the Maple Leafs ($1.5 billion) and Canadiens ($1.35 billion).

Buy Devils gear for the holidays: Fanatics, NHL.com, Lids

Here’s the Devils’ franchise value through the years, according to Forbes:

2020: $530M, 15th of 31 teams,

2019: $550M, 15th of 31 teams

2018: $455M, 19th of 31 teams

2017: $400M, 21st of 30 teams

2016: $320M, 22nd of 30 teams

2015: $330M, 21st of 30 teams

2014: $330M, 21st of 30 teams

2013: $320M, 20th of 30 teams

2012: $205M, 19th of 30 teams

2011: $181M, 20th of 30 teams

2010: $218M, 11th of 30 teams

2009: $223M, 10th of 30 teams

2008: $222M, 10th of 30 teams

2007: $195M, 13th of 30 teams

2006: $148M, 18th of 30 teams

2005: $181M, 19th of 30 teams

2004: No report; lockout season

2003: $145M 14th of 30 teams 1196818 New York Islanders Lawton, the No. 1 overall pick in the 1983 NHL Draft, became an agent after his playing days.

He recruited Parrish as a client in 1994, when the 17-year-old was ‘I need help’: How friends saved former NHL All-Star Mark Parrish lighting it up at Bloomington Jefferson High School in Minnesota and later at St. Cloud State. He was front row and center during most of Parrish’s 12-year NHL career, until Lawton became a Tampa Bay Lightning executive and eventually their GM in the summer of 2008. By Michael Russo That was a month before Parrish was bought out of the final three years

of his five-year, $13.25 million contract with his home-state Minnesota It’s 9:45 a.m. on March 10, and Brian Lawton’s pounding on the door of Wild, hastening his downward spiral. Room 332 at the Residence Inn in Secaucus, N.J. Parrish was already drinking too much at that point. But after two rocky Bang. Bang. Bang. years with the Wild, the humiliation of being publicly kicked to the curb in a place where he was once a homegrown hockey hero, sent Parrish onto Nothing. a destructive path.

Then, louder, and still no answer. He was embarrassed and despondent and became more dependent on alcohol to relieve his pain, depression and anxiety. He was prescribed Lawton’s panicking now. medication by a neurologist to help with his anxiety and pounding head, The night before, Lawton had knocked on the same door, and just like but he quit taking those pills because alcohol did the trick. He kicked a now, no answer. He called the room. No answer. He texted and texted. heavy painkiller addiction not long after his close friend and former No reply … until just before 10 p.m. when Mark Parrish, his fellow NHL teammate Derek Boogaard died from an accidental overdose of alcohol Network analyst, finally texted back. and oxycodone in 2011.

Parrish vowed then that he was fine, merely tired. He was going to bed But for years, family and friends, especially Lawton and former early and the two would have breakfast the next morning to talk things teammates and longtime pals Ben Clymer and Bret Hedican, tried to out. intervene. Parrish’s alcohol consumption was often the main topic of conversation during their get-togethers. Lawton was worried. He had an uncomfortable, heated conversation with Parrish hours earlier. “It was really hard to watch. You’re losing a friend,” says Hedican, a Minnesota native and Florida Panthers teammate during parts of The dispute started after a worrisome pre-production meeting two hours Parrish’s first two years in the NHL. “I remember saying to Ben one time, before airtime. After the meeting, Lawton confronted Parrish and told him ‘I just don’t want to have us get that call,’ that call that says, ‘Mark died,’ he wasn’t fit to be on the broadcast. Lawton ordered an Uber that picked and we didn’t do anything about it.” up Parrish at the studio and took him back to the hotel. By the time Lawton was dumping out the last of Parrish’s vodka in that “No matter what, you call me when you wake up,” Lawton wrote in a text. New Jersey hotel room, the mood had shifted. “If you wake up at 5 a.m., you call me. I have my phone on.” “Lawts, I need help.” Lawton woke up at 6 a.m., and he waited for the call. “Are you asking me for help?” By 7, there was no call or text. Same at 8. At 9, Lawton called and still, no answer. He texted. No reply. “Yes, I’m telling you, Lawts … I need help.”

So now, after Lawton marches 100 yards down the hallway from his “OK,” Lawton says, “Here’s what I’m going to do.” room, Room 302, he’s beating on the door to Parrish’s room. Lawton tells Parrish to clean up, jump in the shower. That he’ll be back in After three or four minutes, Lawton’s mind is racing. He fears what he’s a bit with a plan. going to discover on the other side of the door. And then he hears a Lawton had already put a lot of people on alert. noise. His first call was to Dan Cronin, the director of counseling for the “Mark!” Lawton yells. NHL/NHLPA Substance Abuse and Behavioral Health Program, who The door opens and there stands Parrish. His T-shirt is soaked with helped get Parrish admitted into a rehab facility in Arizona. sweat. His hands are shaking. His eyes are bloodshot. Lawton asked the NHL Network to change Parrish’s return flight to Relieved that Parrish is alive, Lawton walks in and looks around. Minnesota. He called Clymer, who bought Parrish a connecting flight from Minnesota to Phoenix and also booked himself a ticket in the seat “Where is it?” Lawton asks. next to Parrish. Clymer called Parrish’s wife, Nicholle, and asked her to Lawton searches the room. He looks under the bed. Behind the couch. In pack a bag with her husband’s clothes and bring it to his office. the fridge. In the bathroom. After a cold shower, Parrish called his wife and broke down. He “I didn’t sleep a minute last night,” Parrish says. “I felt like I was going to remembers “feeling relieved and exhausted.” die. I had to have a sip of vodka every 20 minutes.” When Lawton returned to Parrish’s room, he laid out the plan: Uber to “Where is it?” Lawton asks again. Newark airport. Flight to Minneapolis. Meet Clymer there. Take 6:02 p.m. connecting flight to Arizona. Drive to rehab facility. “It’s in the freezer.” But Parrish pushes back. I can’t go home? I can’t kiss my wife goodbye? Lawton opens the freezer and pulls out the 750-milliliter bottle. I can’t explain to my kids why Dad is leaving? He’s bargaining now.

It’s almost empty. How can anybody drink this much? he remembers But Lawton and Clymer had gotten close to convincing Parrish to seek thinking. help in the past. They worried he’d back out if his family tugged on his heartstrings. They held firm. This is the way it has to be. Lawton pours what little is left of the vodka down the sink. He drops onto the couch exasperated, then looks at the sad sight of this 43-year-old In the basement of Parrish’s home in a western suburb of Minneapolis, former NHL All-Star sitting in the desk chair next to him. there is all sorts of memorabilia from his playing days.

Mikko Koivu, Mark Parrish, Marian Gaborik An All-Star Game jersey from 2002 when he scored 30 goals for the New York Islanders. His 2006 Olympic jersey. A Kodak picture he once took Parrish isn’t only Lawton’s television colleague. with Mario Lemieux. The puck from his first NHL goal during the 1998-99 He loves him like a “little brother.” Panthers’ season opener. Parrish scored twice that night, including the winner over the cross-state rival Tampa Bay Lightning. And there’s an enormous bar with a couple of Northland vodka bottles Lawton ordered Parrish an Uber, sent him back to the hotel and told the still on the shelf. producers Parrish wasn’t feeling well. They arranged to have analyst E.J. Hradek, who worked an earlier show, stay and fill-in for Parrish. During Parrish is one of four partners in the Minnesota-based vodka company. the Uber ride back to the Residence Inn, Parrish tried to convince himself His wife boxed up the rest of their alcohol and gave it to a friend. And that this was “a one-time thing.” those Northland bottles? Filled with water because “it seems silly to have a bar with no bottles.” You just made a mistake today. Get a good night’s sleep, come back tomorrow and prove your worth, just like after a bad game. A wine cellar next to the bar is padlocked. Only Nicholle, who works in the wine industry, knows the combination. She needs a place to keep Parrish ordered a steak to his room and says he didn’t drink a drop of wine, plus Mark needs some Northland bottles for giveaways and alcohol. He didn’t hear Lawton at his door a little later and responded to signings. his texts by replying that they’d talk in the morning. He went to bed around 10. How Parrish began drinking such a “grotesque amount of alcohol” that “I was literally liquifying my brain” is a story familiar to many alcoholics and A little after midnight, Parrish woke up. He had a tingling sensation up family members of alcoholics. and down his arms and across his chest, like pins and needles. His heart was racing. Maybe a panic attack? “I guess the jig is up. I’m busted.” As “We’re spectacular liars, alcoholics,” Parrish says. “I got to learn firsthand the pain intensified, so did the anxiety. how powerful the disease is. I’d keep telling myself, ‘Don’t make another drink,’ then I’d be making that drink and would tell myself, ‘Don’t make it He thought if he didn’t get a good night’s sleep, he’d possibly lose a job so stiff.’ It’s like my hand wouldn’t listen. The hardest part for me, my he loves. parents (Barb and Gene) taught me to be a good person, and I’ve been so proud of how honest I was for the majority of my life, that I was a man He paced around his suite and then went outside and walked around the of my word and could be trusted and relied upon. courtyard. When he returned to his room, that tingling sensation and racing heart didn’t let up. Then he remembered that bottle of vodka. “But I’ve told so many lies. You don’t realize the emotional toll that it takes on everyone else when you’re so wrapped up in it.” I’ll just have a couple drinks to calm this panic down.

He suddenly pauses: “I had no idea how far down I was. Where to start? In the midst of the second drink, he fell asleep. … Where do I even start?” Three hours later, at 4:30 in the morning, he woke up again.

Start on March 9, the day before he entered rehab. Parrish’s flight landed The pins and needles had turned into nails, daggers even. His bed was in New Jersey late the night before, and like “any good alcoholic,” he soaked with sweat, his heart was racing. He contemplated calling 911. stopped at a liquor store on the way to the hotel for his customary 750- milliliter bottle of vodka. What did him in, he says, was lunch across from Parrish grabbed his phone to call his wife, but it was 3:30 a.m. in the hotel at Houlihan’s. He rounded out that meal with “four or five” Minnesota and he didn’t want to spook her and the kids. doubles. “And, of course, I’ve got the rest of that unfinished drink from earlier A few hours later, he stumbled into the conference room at NHL Network sitting on my nightstand,” Parrish says. “I remember, I had my phone in studios for a pre-production meeting with a dozen people, bumped the one hand and I picked up the drink with the other. I took one sip, and the back of Lawton’s chair, and spilled Lawton’s 31-ounce iced green tea all pain just, man, it just stopped like that. That was my spiritual moment, my over the table. aha moment … that God shot, as they call it in AA.

Initially, Lawton thought the spilled tea was merely an accident. “Clean it “I just remember looking at my left hand and looking at the drink and up. No big deal. Sit back down.” saying, ‘Oh shit, it’s you.’ It dawned on me right then and there that I needed help. That I obviously couldn’t do it alone.” This is the meeting where analysts contribute ideas so the production staff can plan the upcoming show. They discuss that evening’s docket of Nicholle, his wife of 16 years, had been asking Parrish to slow down his games and provide topics they’d like to talk about on air. drinking for a couple of years at that point. He often considered going cold turkey but always found an excuse not to. “As I’m sitting there, Mark was struggling with his comments. It was a red flag to me,” Lawton says. “Mark didn’t really say a ton. When he did, it “I was lying to her about taking days off when I never would,” Parrish wasn’t what I would call his best stuff as an analyst. That started to get says. “Never, until this moment, did I actually really think I had an issue, me concerned. We’re sitting next to each other, and at some point I yet I drank more than the average bear.” realized that I could smell alcohol. This is about 4 o’clock, and we’re Like Nicholle, his friends were not surprised Parrish had hit bottom. going on national TV at 6. Clymer, a year younger than Parrish and a friend since their high school “I don’t really get super nervous, but I started to get hot flashes. The days at Bloomington Jefferson, had gotten close to sending Parrish to meeting goes on and my temperature rises to about 102.” rehab a year or two ago.

When the meeting ended, Lawton hustled to the door to intercept Parrish. But nothing in their past friendship could prepare Clymer for what he saw He asked Jamie Hersch, who was hosting that night’s show, to stay, too. when he met Parrish after his flight from New Jersey landed in Minnesota. Lawton asked Parrish what was wrong and Parrish became instantly defensive, saying he was tired from a long week of broadcasting the From the moment Parrish passed through security at Newark, he started Minnesota high school state hockey tournament. drinking. By the time he got to Minneapolis, he looked broken. His hands were shaking uncontrollably. He was sweating so profusely that he had “Mark was super emotional,” Lawton says. “And I’m super uncomfortable to change out of the shirt he was wearing and into … a Northland Vodka because we’re very good friends. I keep thinking to myself, ‘I’m doing him T-shirt, which matched his Northland Vodka hat. a service.’” Parrish was going to rehab looking like a vodka advertisement. But as things got increasingly contentious, Lawton started to worry, “Am I misreading it? Maybe (spilling) the drink was an accident. Maybe I really He had already had plenty to drink, but he ordered more at the airport in didn’t smell alcohol. Maybe he really is just tired.” Minnesota.

Parrish yelled back, “I can’t believe you’re stabbing me in the back like It was almost like “my last hurrah,” Parrish admits. “Like, if I’m going to this.” rehab … I’m going drunk.”

“I look at Jamie, and her eyes are welling up, and I started crying, too,” Clymer called the facility in Arizona to ask if he should try to stop Parrish Parrish says. “Lawts (never) actually said he knew I was drinking. He from drinking. They told him, while they’d obviously like him as sober as kept saying, ‘You seem off, Parry, you seem off, you’re sick, yeah, I think possible, to not worry about it now. Clymer guesses Parrish had 16 units you’re sick.’ … Go have a nice dinner, get some sleep and make sure of vodka while he was with him. this is only a 12-hour flu and not a 24-hour flu.” “He was pretty low, super embarrassed about having to do this,” says Clymer, 42. “I kept telling him I was proud of him and that ‘the biggest way you could disappoint people would be by not going through with this Every morning was a roll of a dice as to whether I’d wake up OK or my and by continuing what you’re doing.’” anxiety was off the charts.”

What boggled Clymer’s mind, the more Parrish drank on that flight to The simplest tasks became too much to handle. Parrish figured one drink Arizona, the more sober he seemed to get. couldn’t hurt. That’s not enough to get him drunk. But then, “One drink turns into two. … If I had to pick up the kids, my brain’s telling me to have “He was not well when I first saw him,” Clymer says. “His skin color a drink. I started to have a couple drinks before picking up the kids.” wasn’t proper. And then when we were getting off the plane, he was totally normal.” When his wife found out, she was horrified. “All of a sudden, Nikki’s picking up the kids and she’s driving everywhere,” Parrish says. As Parrish and Clymer walked to the rental car shuttle, they walked past a bar. At one point a few years ago, after an alcoholic episode, Mark’s older brother, Geno, was so worried, he actually lived in the house four days a “I want to have my last drink with you,” Parrish said. week for more than a month.

Clymer teared up. Parrish used to coach high school hockey at Orono. He says he resigned “I wanted it to be his last drink, too,” Clymer says. in part so he could keep drinking and not get in trouble. When he worked on the broadcasts of state high school tournament games, he says he They rented a car, then Clymer drove Parrish to the Meadows facility in never drank on the air but always had one waiting for him afterward. Wickenburg, Ariz. They arrived just before 10 p.m. In October 2018, Parrish was arrested for drunk driving. It never made it In the parking lot, Clymer made Parrish change out of his Northland shirt. into the public airways, so other than Nicholle, Parrish hid the arrest from most of his family and friends until recently. But instead of the incident “I’m like, ‘Dude, I’m not bringing you into rehab wearing a vodka shirt,’” being a wake-up call, he says the guilt sent him into a downward spiral. Clymer remembers saying. “When I look back at all the times Nikki tried to help me, tried to slow me Clymer felt like he was dropping one of his kids off for camp. But he felt a down … she just couldn’t because I didn’t believe (I had a problem),” tinge of guilt as he left because he and Lawton hadn’t been completely Parrish says. honest about one major detail. There’s a red, 25-ounce CamelBak water bottle that Parrish still has. It’s Parrish thought he was going to be in Arizona for a few days, maybe a a reminder about how far off track he got. Before almost any drive, “I’d week, not 45 days. prepare myself a drink.” “It felt like a shitty thing to do to a friend, but I’m thinking, ‘Maybe now’s The bottle held the same amount of liquid as one of his 750-milliliter not the time to tell him he’s not coming home in a week,’” Clymer says. vodka bottles, so he’d fill the water bottle to the top, half water, half And part of it was hope. vodka.

“It felt weird driving away, knowing that my life was going to continue on, The “Power Trip” airs from 5:30-9 a.m. weekdays. Parrish is on the entire and his life was going to take an absolute U-turn,” Clymer says. “I was 3 1/2 hours Wednesday, the final two hours Friday. really happy he was doing it, but I knew the fight that was ahead of him.” Parrish loves doing the show and has become close friends with each of In the 25 hours before arriving at Meadows, Parrish figures he drank the hosts. But like everything else in his life, it causes anxiety. enough vodka to fill more than two 750-milliliter bottles. “On the days that I would go into KFAN, the last couple years, that water “I don’t remember what my blood alcohol was, but I kind of wish I do,” bottle would pretty much be gone,” Parrish said. “I mean it’s a 15-minute Parrish says. ride that early in the morning, and that thing would be gone by the time I got into KFAN.” After taking a number of tests upon arrival, Parrish was led to his room. The crew from the morning show suspected it wasn’t water in that bottle “I just slept,” Parrish says. “I just remember being so tired and I don’t that never left Parrish’s side. And the look in his eyes sometimes told know, obviously it had a lot to do with the amount of alcohol, but just Hawkey, “He wasn’t completely there with me.” mentally shut down.” The first time Parrish checked in with Lawton and Clymer from rehab, Three or four days later, when Parrish was more alert after coming off they couldn’t believe how much better and happier he sounded. some heavy withdrawal drugs, he worried about how obvious it would be to the world that he suddenly went missing. “It took me awhile to make some phone calls,” Parrish says. “For some reason, my brother was the hardest one to call. I don’t know why. It took Clymer set up a meeting with Parrish’s partners at Northland to explain me a couple weeks till I called him, and he definitely let me know he was what was going on, and Nicholle emailed The Athletic’s Islanders beat not happy.” writer, Arthur Staple, to let him know, without getting into details, that Mark would be out of the loop for a while. The two co-hosted a twice-a- What Parrish didn’t realize until he talked to Lawton the first time was that week podcast. roughly 36 hours after he arrived at rehab, the COVID-19 pandemic caused the NHL to suspend its season. Another of his concerns was his radio duties. On Wednesdays and Fridays, Parrish appears on the “Power Trip,” the No. 1-rated morning That meant no viewers would wonder why he wasn’t on NHL Network show in Minnesota, on KFAN, one of the highest-rated sports radio anymore. When he wouldn’t be on KFAN the next few months, the stations in the United States. pandemic could be an easy excuse.

Clymer met with the show’s hosts, Cory Cove, Chris Hawkey and Paul “I was there five or six days when I realized I was staying 45,” Parrish Lambert to fill them in. The three were relieved. They knew Parrish had a says, laughing. “One of the therapists was like, ‘OK, you’ve got 39 days severe drinking problem. left.’ And I was like, ‘Wait, what?’ I just thought, ‘Lawts, Clymer, those sons of bitches tricked me!’” Since retiring, Parrish says vodka, and the occasional whiskey, helped him fight off severe anxiety. All joking aside, the first week was tough.

“I’d wake up in the morning and my to-do list would be, ‘Go to the Parrish was put on major withdrawal drugs and was heavily sedated for laundromat, go to the dry cleaner, call Mike’ — four or five nothing things much of that time. that should be no big deal for a retired guy in his 30s,” Parrish says. “And It wasn’t until the second week that the nurses and doctors told Parrish I couldn’t even decide which one to do first. I would just spin. I would be that he had been dubbed, “Miracle.” walking in circles and finally Nikki would be like, ‘Why don’t you just take a shower?’ “They couldn’t believe with the lab tests, everything that I had, where my body was at, what my numbers were, that I was still alive,” Parrish says. “I’d take a shower and come out and I’d be just as anxious. She’d have to walk me through just the simplest things. And it started wearing on me. The biggest concern other than his liver was evidence of wet brain, something doctors were able to diagnose with an MRI. “It’s basically cell death,” explains Dr. Marvin Seppala, an addiction out all the stuff like, ‘My knees and my hip and my ribs and my …’ All treatment expert and the chief medical officer at Hazelden Betty Ford in these excuses. Center City, Minn. “Anytime we drink even one shot, one beer, one glass of wine, we’re killing brain cells. But we have so many of them that for “So the summer I lived with him was really eye-opening.” people who don’t drink heavily, the social drinkers, you kill a few, it’s no Parrish surmises that he got hooked on painkillers while playing for the big deal. Not going to notice. If you really have a severe alcohol use Islanders in the early-2000s, but things got a lot worse during the 2004- disorder, you can develop wet brain, but we hardly ever see that 05 lockout and magnified after the Wild bought out the final three years of anymore. It’s a rare situation.” that five-year contract in 2008. He was humiliated.

Seppala said it’s an extremely serious condition that can cause “Did I need the painkillers for the pain? At times, maybe,” he says. “But difficulties with cognition and memory and eventually severe dementia. primarily, it was just to kill the frustration, the heartache, the He has never treated Parrish, but because Parrish was told that the type disappointment of what happened here in Minnesota.” he had was reversible, Seppala assumes Parrish was run through a battery of cognitive and memory testing. His ego took a hit as he spent the final four years of his career playing mostly in the minors after hundreds of games in the NHL. He played 62 “During the course of treatment, what you see with people that have games during that stretch with Dallas, Tampa Bay and Buffalo, but cognitive damage from alcohol use is that in the first month, they get a lot “mostly played the Reggie Dunlop (‘Slap Shot’) role” for AHL teams in of it back,” Seppala says. “Then the next five months, there’s a slow Bridgeport, Norfolk, Portland and Binghamton. return of memory. After six months, you got what you’re going to have, basically.” One day at rehab, Parrish decided to sit in on a Narcotics Anonymous meeting. He says he had the epiphany, “Holy crap, I was a fricking While at Meadows, Parrish attended “family” group meetings, met daily painkiller addict. I raised my hand and I shared my story and it felt with a therapist and started AA meetings in the evenings. He has been amazing to admit it. It wasn’t even something I realized I was hiding.” stringent in attending all of his meetings since, albeit virtually because of COVID-19. Between AA, large group meetings and a couple of special When Boogaard died, Parrish says for the most part he was scared meetings that include current and former pro athletes, mostly NHLers, straight. During a painstaking, very difficult “summer of hell,” Parrish says Parrish has meetings Monday, Wednesday and Thursday nights and he went cold turkey off of painkillers. He admits he has used them since Tuesday and Wednesday mornings. after some surgeries, like one on his shoulder, but he says he’s always made sure to get off of them. On the “Power Trip,” one of the most popular things they do occurs every Friday morning. It’s called the Initials Game, and it’s not easy. Lambert, He says he’s lucky to be alive because he often dangerously mixed Hawkey, A.J. Mansour, Parrish and other contributors act as contestants, alcohol with painkillers. That’s what ended his friend’s life. and let’s just say that for the longest time, Parrish wasn’t doing well. “I got a horseshoe and about 8,000 four-leaf clovers jammed up my ass, I Soon after returning to the show, Parrish won his first Initials Game in a think,” Parrish says. calendar year. He has won the contest two of the past five weeks. Parrish has been sober 135 days. If you’re doing the math from March “The joke is my brain’s working again,” Parrish says. 11, his first day of sobriety in rehab, you may sense something’s not Parrish learned a lot of life lessons in rehab, and thought a lot about his adding up. past. On July 28, about 30 minutes after someone dropped off some bottles of How did he fall so far? vodka for Mark to sign, he got into an argument with his wife … and he drank. His brother, Geno, 45, who also played hockey at St. Cloud State, said the irony is in college, he was the party animal and it was Mark and “I had been around alcohol so many times since (rehab), but whatever former Huskies teammate Matt Cullen who used to come to house snapped that day, I just remember being upset about something and next parties and drink cranberry juice and water. thing you know, I was sitting on the couch with half a bottle of vodka in my hand,” he says. Mark says he didn’t have his first taste of alcohol until his 20th birthday. Nicholle texted Clymer. Clymer told her to take the kids and leave, that It wasn’t until he turned pro that he started to drink more often. he’d be right over.

He then became addicted to painkillers. When Clymer arrived, Parrish handed him the vodka with a look of He actually remembers breaking his leg at age 15, being put on shame and Clymer took away Parrish’s recovery coins and sobriety painkillers and liking them immediately. medallions.

His rookie year, he had his wisdom teeth removed and was reminded A little while later, Geno and their parents arrived and, soon after, Parrish how much he liked what the painkillers did to him. And as more and more began violently throwing up. His mom called an ambulance and Parrish injuries and aches and pains occurred along his NHL career, he got was taken to the hospital. hooked. Parrish says he hasn’t had a sip of alcohol since. But he knows he’s not Parrish’s voice gets somber as he brings up Boogaard, who died in magically cured. Minneapolis 9 1/2 years ago during his first night home after leaving For one thing, his anxiety issues remain. rehab in Malibu. One of his first nights out in public after returning from rehab was June “It tears me up. I was running side by side with Boogey,” Parrish said. “I 18 for his 16th wedding anniversary dinner at a restaurant in think about that all the time. How that beast of a man lost the battle … Minneapolis. and how somehow I survived it? … I was doing way more painkillers than he was.” As soon as they arrived, he wanted to leave. “But it was our anniversary. I was just terrified. White as a ghost, I was almost shaking, sweating,” he One summer while Mark still played for the Islanders, Geno lived with his says. “The restaurant was almost empty, but that did nothing for me. But brother. I got through it, and I remember getting back in the car and I was just One night, Geno noticed Mark nodding off while driving the two of them wired. I was so excited that I made it through.” to the marina. “Halfway there, we were going over the yellow line in the Parrish keeps track of his days of sobriety on his phone. middle of nowhere, and I look over, and his eyes are almost shut,” Geno says. “I grabbed the wheel and was like, ‘What’s wrong with you?’” His AA sponsor recently told Parrish to stop counting days like he’s trying to reach some kind of athletic milestone. If he gets to 1,000, he’s not Geno took the keys from his brother and drove home later. After that, going to earn a silver stick (or vodka bottle) from Alcoholics Anonymous. Geno noticed lots of signs of addiction. Fatigue, asking the same questions over and over again, a poor memory. He also discovered his “You never heal. You’re just in recovery,” Parrish says. “Because of brother was not only getting painkillers prescribed by doctors, but also COVID, nobody’s going to bars, but I’ve gotten pretty good in through the mail. He confronted his brother, and Mark “starts throwing restaurants. I ask for their best kiddy cocktail or what one of Nikki’s friends makes me, Lemadine.” That would be lemonade and grenadine. voice. But mainly, just honesty. I just want to be honest. I’m tired of being uncomfortable around people. One elephant in the room? The vodka company. Parrish still owns a piece of it and doesn’t plan to sell his share. He also likes waking up every morning with a clear head, “not being hungover and not trying to figure out where I can go sip a bottle of vodka In his first week of rehab, Parrish met with a psychiatrist. without anybody noticing,” he says. “I like the responsibility now. I get to “What do you do?” she asked. be the driver.”

“Well, I own a vodka company.” The Athletic LOADED: 12.11.2020

“You’re not serious,” she said, while laughing.

“I actually am. And my wife sells wine.”

Parrish says he spent much of the 45 days in rehab “mentally preparing” to be able to live life while still owning a piece of the company. His Twitter avatar is a Northland bottle.

“I’m not around the alcohol on a day-to-day basis. I like what the company has to offer, the business model, what we do for the community,” he says. “Do I still get nervous? Yes. I’ve actually canceled a few appearances because of fear. But every time I’ve just sucked it up and gone, I’ve been fine.”

And Nicholle is happy he’s working toward being a better man, father and husband.

“When he finally admitted he needed help, I felt a million pounds lifted off my shoulders that I didn’t realize I was carrying,” she says, tearing up. “It’s just nice to be able to rely on him again. … He’s a bigger participant in our kids’ lives again. They can tell he’s just more present.”

Geno tried to urge his brother to go to rehab countless times, as much as anything for his kids, 12-year-old Gianna and 10-year old Turner. “I have repeated year after year after year, ‘Mark, you’re not going to regret what you did to your friends. You’re not going to regret what you did to your family. You’re not going to regret the money that you blew, the opportunities that you blew, the jobs. You’re going to regret not remembering raising your children.’”

Geno may not have thought so, but Mark was taking that to heart all these years.

“They were so young when I really started to have a drinking problem,” Mark says. “They don’t even know their father sober. That hit hard. It still does. There’s still days where I wake up and the depression gets me on that one.

“I want to be an example for them and we’ve been honest with them and if I can’t make it to Turner or Gianna’s practice cause Daddy’s got to get on one of his calls to make sure he stays sober, they understand. I’ve had talks with both of them. There’s been a lot of apologizing.

“But you know, they don’t seem to really care so much about the apology. It’s just that Daddy doesn’t drink anymore. And, of course, Turner goes, ‘That’s good, Dad. You know what? I’m never going to drink, too.’ I just said, ‘Thanks, son. I appreciate the support. But this is Daddy’s issue, not yours.’”

Geno says he’s grateful Lawton was there to intervene that night at the NHL studios.

“If Brian Lawton had not been there at the perfect time, the perfect place, the perfect vulnerable state in my brother’s life, we might not be talking about this right now,” he says.

And Lawton is thankful Mark was willing to listen. “People do get broken, but they get fixed, too,” Lawton says. “I always believed that this is a chance for Mark to have a really great life. I feel he’s got a path to a great future now. And I was losing hope.”

Parrish is a Minnesota hockey hero and public figure, so at times he wonders if he’s walking around town wearing a big neon sign on his forehead that says, “Alcoholic.”

“I don’t believe Mark likes holding secrets,” Hawkey says. “I think this is going to be such a relief for him. I’m sure it’s embarrassing and I’m so sorry he’s going to have to go through that. But I think this is going to be such a cleansing for his soul, for his life.”

Parrish doesn’t want to hide anymore. He doesn’t want to lie anymore. And he doesn’t want to feel like garbage anymore.

“There’s a lot of people that are battling this, a lot more than people realize,” he says. “And I think I’m in a fortunate position to give them a 1196819 New York Islanders NYI Hockey Now LOADED: 12.11.2020

Life Doesn’t Get Easier for Islanders in Realigned DivisionsPublished 15 hours ago on December 10, 2020

By Christian Arnold NHL Division New York Islanders

On the bright side, the New York Islanders won’t have to travel very in their realigned division for the 2020-21 NHL season, but that doesn’t mean it will be any easier on the ice for them.

On Wednesday, Pierre LeBrun reported that the possible realignment that was presented during an NHL Board of Governors meeting included the Islanders playing in a rather tough division. If the divisions that were reported are in fact the ones the NHL adopts for next season the Islanders would find themselves in the same division as Washington, Pittsburgh, Philadelphia, The New York Rangers, New Jersey, Boston and Buffalo.

Not finalized yet, and still subject to change, but the 2020-21 four-division re-alignment currently looks like this according to sources:

Bos-Buf-NJ-NYI-NYR-Pha-Pgh-Was

Car-CBJ-Det-Chi-Fla-Min-Nas-TB

Ana-Ari-Col-Dal-LA-SJ-STL-VGK

All-Canadian teams

— Pierre LeBrun (@PierreVLeBrun) December 9, 2020

The New York Islanders would not have Carolina or Columbus to deal with. but adding Boston into the mix is a frightening exchange. The Islanders went 1-1-1 against Boston during the 2019-20 season, with their final matchup being a 4-0 drubbing at the Nassau Coliseum on Feb. 29.

Boston has gone 15-3-1 against the Islanders dating back to January 27, 2014, and they have finished with 100 or more points in the standings for the past three seasons.

Add to the equation teams like Washington, Pittsburgh and Philadelphia, which are all traditionally tough opponents in the and are constantly battling for a playoff spot. All three finished above the Islanders in the standings last year.

And don’t forget to add the New York Rangers to the conversation. The Islanders’ midtown Manhattan rival was a point away from catching the Isles in the standings before the COVID-19 pandemic brought the season to a halt.

The rest of the divisions would look like this:

Carolina-Chicago-Columbus-Detroit-Florida-Minnesota-Nashville-Tampa Bay

Anaheim-Arizona-Colorado-Dallas-Los Angeles-Las Vegas-San Jose-St. Louis

Ottawa-Montreal-Toronto-Winnipeg-Edmonton-Calgary-Vancouver

Several owners are not happy with the way the divisions are realigned, according to TSN’s Frank Seravalli. It’s hard to imagine the Islanders or any of their new division mates are in that camp.

The New York Islanders would remain essential in the Northeast of the United States which keeps their travel down and hopefully limits their exposure to any COVID-19 associated risks. The NHL still needs to hammer out COVID-19 protocols with the NHL Players Association before a proposal is approved.

The positive momentum has continued, though, with hopes that they can have a vote on a proposal by the end of next week.

Teams have also been making preparations to play in their home rinks. The New York State Department of Health confirmed to NYI Hockey Now that the state has been in contact with all three NHL teams based in the Empire State, as well as the NHL, about potential plans for a new season. 1196820 New York Rangers average finish of 12th-overall with one qualifying round series victory and four playoff round wins.

The division featuring Cup champion Tampa Bay, Florida, Carolina, Rangers will benefit from perilous path toward playoffs Columbus, Chicago, Minnesota, Nashville and Detroit — you could call this one, the Gerrymandered Division — had an average finish of 17th- overall with four playoff series victories (all by the Lightning) and three qualifying wins. By Larry Brooks December 10, 2020 | 4:38pm | Updated The western one with Anaheim, Arizona, Colorado, Dallas, Los Angeles,

San Jose, St. Louis and Vegas had an average finish of 16th overall, with Rangers NHL 2020-21 season six playoff round victories and one qualifying round triumph.

The Rangers will benefit from the daunting task ahead of them.Paul J. The Canadian Division including Montreal, Toronto, Ottawa, Winnipeg, Bereswill Calgary, Edmonton and Vancouver had an average finish of 19th-overall, with one playoff round and three qualifying round victories. Yes, it will be significantly more difficult for the Rangers to make the playoffs under 2020-21 realignment and the anticipated playoff format The Maple Leafs get away from the Bruins and Lightning. The Lightning under which the top four teams in each division will qualify for the get away from the Bruins and Maple Leafs. The Bruins get away from the tournament than under the traditional setup that features conference wild Lightning and Maple Leafs. The ‘Canes and Jackets get a reprieve from cards. the Metro meat grinder and get a softer landing.

For it will be a rumble in the jungle with the Rangers set to compete The Rangers? It does not appear as if they are going to be able to get against the Islanders, Devils, Penguins, Flyers, Caps, Bruins and Sabres away with anything. Big picture, what else would you want? in a 56-game, self-contained, interdivisional schedule in which opponents New York Post LOADED: 12.11.2020 will face off eight times apiece.

This, of course, will be subject to Board and union approval, but that is expected once the NHL and the NHLPA establish all-encompassing guidelines and rules of engagement for the season that is tentatively set to open on Jan. 13.

But there is a benefit to the rigorous competition the Blueshirts should expect to face coming off a season in which the club finished 18th-overall (37-28-5) and thus earned an invite to the 24-team Stanley Cup tournament before suffering a humbling three-game sweep by Carolina.

For the bar will be set high for a franchise that is building to become a perennial Cup contender, not one that is hoping to finish eighth and become one of the teams that wins because, “anything can happen.” The Rangers will be required to elevate their game in order to succeed. That is a good thing.

Plus, eight games against, in particular, the Bruins, Caps and Islanders, will force the team to develop more of a regular-season grind mentality than would otherwise be necessary in a traditional go-round. The Rangers won’t be able to lean exclusively on their elite skill and dance through the schedule, only to be gobsmacked in the mouth come playoff time.

The need to play with more grit and adopt more of a north-south, forecheck, drive-to-the-net, small-space mentality will be necessary beginning with Game 1 of the season, not of the tournament. The faster the Rangers get there, the better not only this year but over the long haul.

The Candy Canes, who in turn were thrashed by the Bruins in the playoffs’ official first round, drop out of the Blueshirts’ division as do the Blue Jackets, replaced by Boston and Buffalo. Otherwise, it is more or less ye olde’ .

Without fans in arenas, will Rangers-Islanders be as intense? Or will the increased exposure and -like series expected to be a feature of the schedule organically elevate emotions? Speaking of which, how much emotion will be attached to Henrik Lundqvist facing the Blueshirts in an empty Garden?

There is obviously an added element of the unknown to this upcoming season, just as when the NHL entered into its bubble over the summer. Different teams adapted differently. Veteran teams that had won before and were not quite considered favorites, such as the Caps and Blues, were early fodder. Now, there will be a short camp, perhaps without exhibition games, and a sprint to the finish line.

The shortened schedule would seem to act against the Rangers. Older teams like the Bruins and Caps should be at an advantage playing fewer games, though if the schedule is condensed, maybe not quite so much. The Islanders, who grind every night, should also benefit from a shorter schedule, though the same disclaimer applies.

Of the four redesigned and yet unnamed divisions, the one with the Rangers appears the most powerful. Boston (1), Washington (5), Philadelphia (6) and Pittsburgh (7) finished among the top seven teams in last season’s overall standings. The division’s eight teams had an 1196821 New York Rangers Adam Huska Keith Kinkaid

Tyler Wall NY Rangers 2021 season preview: Igor Shesterkin's time has come in deep group of goalies goalie Adam Huska (35) practicing with his team at the Champion Skating Center in Cromwell, CT Jan. 22, 2020. The Wolf

Pack are the New York Rangers' minor-league affiliate in the American Vincent Z. Mercogliano Hockey League.

Beyond the clear-cut top two, the Rangers have a trio of goalies under contract. While we still don't know exactly when the 2021 NHL season will begin, the hope remains that hockey games will be played early in the new year. It'll be nearly impossible to get them all consistent ice time, particularly with their ECHL affiliate in Maine opting not to play this season. The AHL And since the New York Rangers' roster is essentially set, we can take season is tentatively scheduled to begin Feb. 5, but even if that goes off this time to analyze where they stand at each position. without a hitch, the Rangers' affiliate in Hartford will have to prioritize between the three. SEASON PREVIEW: Right-handed defensemen provide options I doubt they'd have an issue limiting Kinkaid, a 31-year-old veteran who SEASON PREVIEW: How soon will left-handed prospects be ready? was brought in mostly for the purpose of fulfilling their expansion draft In an effort to examine their depth, I've broken each group into tiers for a requirements next offseason. The priority is developing Huska and Wall. extended series. Huska got off to a good start for Hartford in the 2019-20 season, but his Do they have a true star at that position? How will they fill other spots in level of play trailed off later in the year. The 23-year-old finished with a the lineup? Who's next in line in the event of an injury? And what could 3.03 GAA and a .894 SV% in 28 games. the future bring? Meanwhile, Wall's stock has been rising steadily for years. The 2016 With forwards and defensemen in the books, we'll turn our attention to sixth-round pick finished his collegiate career at U-Mass Lowell as one of goalies. 10 semifinalists for the Mike Richter Award, which recognizes the best goalie in the NCAA. A true No. 1 Now that Wall is signed, expect him to compete with Huska for ice time in Igor Shesterkin Hartford — and for the position as the Rangers' de facto No. 3 goalie. In the event of injury or trade, whichever one of the two is playing better New York Rangers goaltender Igor Shesterkin warms up for the team's would likely be recalled. NHL hockey game against the Colorado Avalanche on Tuesday, Jan. 7, 2020, in New York. Shesterkin is set to make his NHL debut. Prospect depth

You could argue it's premature to anoint Shesterkin based on only 12 Dylan Garand NHL starts (plus one in the qualifying round), but there's little doubt around the league that the Rangers have a very capable successor after Olof Lindbom 15 years with Henrik Lundqvist. Hugo Ollas His performance at every level has been stellar. Shesterkin, who will turn Goalie Dylan Garand, pictured playing for the Blazers in the 25 on Dec. 30, was dominant in the KHL, which is considered the WHL, was selected in the fourth round of the 2020 NHL Draft by the New second-best league in the world. He finally came to North America last York Rangers. year and did the same thing in the AHL, which prompted the Rangers to promote him in January despite already having two healthy goalies. With Shesterkin graduating to the NHL and Wall graduating college, the Rangers added some youth to their goalie prospect pool in this year's We all know what happened from there. Shesterkin caught fire in New draft. York, going 10-2 with a 2.52 goals against average and a .932 save percentage. That cemented his status as Lundqvist's heir apparent. The headliner is Garand, a fourth-round pick who could end up starting for Team Canada in the upcoming World Junior Championships. He's Shesterkin will enter 2021 as perhaps the Rangers' biggest X-factor. lauded for his work ethic and fits the profile of recent Rangers' goalies Good goaltending can mask blemishes for a young team. He'll be the who rely more on technique than size. favorite to win the Calder Trophy for rookie of the year, and if he can sustain his high level of play from last season, he should soon be in the Ollas, on the other hand, stands at 6-foot-8 and is more of a conversation as one of the better goalies in the NHL. developmental project as a seventh-round pick.

A capable starter As for Lindbom, who was a second-round pick in 2018, the Rangers will remain patient. He's yet to take off in the way they'd hoped, but he's also Alexandar Georgiev dealt with injuries. The 20-year-old is currently playing for Mora IK in The Lundqvist buyout brought on a slew of emotions for fans, but as far Sweden's Allsvenskan, where he's 5-5 with a 3.31 GAA and an .890 as the current goaltending situation, the Rangers remain in a strong SV%. position. Bergen Record LOADED: 12.11.2020 Their collection of goalies who are 25 or younger is the envy of many teams around the league. We'll get to the prospects in a moment, but having a Shesterkin-Georgiev tandem is quite the luxury for the NHL squad.

In the past two seasons, Georgiev has proven himself as a goalie the Rangers feel very comfortable with. They showed that by giving him 32 starts last season — the most of any goalie on the team — in which he went 17-14-2 with a 3.04 GAA and .910 SV%.

The plan will be to give Shesterkin the majority of the starts, but Georgiev will get his fair share. If all goes well, figure he'll end up starting 25-30% of the time. And in the event of an injury — which we saw twice with Shesterkin last season — the Rangers would be confident handing the reins to Georgiev.

AHL depth 1196822 New York Rangers – otherwise the rebuild will have gone terribly off the rails, which is even less likely.

By then they will have had to have emerge, or have had to obtain, a legit It is 2023-24. It is the 30th anniversary season of the Rangers’ last No. 2 center, and by then maybe they will have to replace Zibanejad, too. Stanley Cup (and the 84th anniversary season of the one before that). That’s a tall task. I’ve written several times about the Jack Eichel fantasy, where he forces his way out of Buffalo and the Rangers surrender a bunch of their young assets to add Eichel’s $10 million a year cap hit (which will have only three years remaining in ’23-24). If that should By Rick Carpiniello Dec 10, 2020 44 become reality – again, fantasy at this point – the sting of letting Zibanejad go will be lessened. And for whatever period of time they have both Eichel and Zibanejad, the Rangers would have been in a great The Rangers’ rebuilding process, which began in 2017-18, is mostly place at the center position. Clearly, to turn the corner, the Rangers will complete. The kids are mostly all here, though some are still to come. need to have two legit top centers. Could one of those eventually be Chytil? We ask that question now, in 2020. By ’23-24 we will have the And while there has been excitement in the collection of prospects and answer. Long before then, actually. assets, of seeing an organization tear it down to the studs, start over and re-stock, only now do the Rangers have the elite-level talent and ability to For argument’s sake, let’s say the Rangers have cap space (without really compete for the silver chalice. knowing the number). By ’23-24 it will be time to fill holes on a contending roster. That might mean adding a free agent, or trading for a Last week some of The Athletic’s NHL writers at took a stab at the power more veteran player, or even renting one at the deadline, for a playoff rankings for 2023-24. The Rangers ranked third behind Toronto (really?) run. and Colorado, with a 9.3 rating (out of 10) for their under-25 players and prospects. They would have been higher if not for their projected salary These are the unknowns. What we do know is that the roster should be cap position (5.8 out of 10). mostly made up of players on the team now and/or prospects in the pipeline. So what will that team look like? Let’s take some flying stabs. So, up front it means Panarin and Kreider, Zibanejad or a suitable I’m gonna start here, and just throw this out there … and then duck. By replacement for Zibanejad, plus Lafreniere, Kakko, Kravtsov, Barron. 2023-24, Mika Zibanejad may no longer be a Ranger. There, I said it. Lafreniere, Kakko and Kravtsov should be counted on to become top- Zibanejad, who was absolutely stolen from Ottawa in 2016, has turned sixers at worst, star scorers at best. himself into a legit No. 1 center, one of the best in the NHL. In his tenure Then the maybes/probablys: Gauthier, Howden, Brendan Lemieux, as a Ranger, he became the best center the franchise has had since Richards, Karl Henriksson, Lauri Pajuniemi and Will Cuylle. Remember, Mark Messier’s first tour of duty (or at times, Wayne Gretzky’s brief stop there will have been three more drafts worth of picks between now and in New York), and perhaps the best captain, too. then. But Zibanejad becomes an unrestricted free agent after the 2022-23 We don’t know if Pavel Buchnevich will still be around (doubtful), and season, and yes – believe this — there is the possibility that the Rangers we’re pretty certain Ryan Strome will be gone, unless he proves to the will not want to spend another, say, $10 million a year for seven years on Rangers that he can be one of their top two centers (and then that they a player who will be 30 by then, no matter how terrific and valuable he can somehow afford to re-sign him in the summer of 2022). had been. They will need some gumption among that skilled bunch of forwards – The Rangers have three players signed for 2023-24, and all of them have some wingers who will go get the puck, who will do some of the dirty no-trade protection. The three of them – Artemi Panarin, Chris Kreider work to complement the talent. There are some candidates listed above and Jacob Trouba – will account for a cumulative cap hit of $26,142, 857. to do that. Panarin tuns 32 in October 2023; Kreider will already be 32; Trouba turns 30 in mid-season of ’23-24. Defense is a major question going into the 2021 restart.

By then, we can only hope and pray, COVID will be way the hell out of The Rangers, as of right now, don’t have a legit first-pair left here, and things will be back to normal – fans in the stands, revenue defenseman, unless they break up Lindgren and Fox to see if Lindgren soaring, and the Rangers will pray the salary cap will no longer be flat. can handle that assignment with Trouba on the right. If Lindgren can and Further, they pray, it will actually go up rather significantly with an does, then they have to fill the second-pair left D spot with Fox. expected new league TV deal, as had been hoped pre-COVID. By 2023-24, they will have a good idea what Miller’s high ceiling actually When they made the big splash to sign Panarin and to acquire and sign is. Could he be a first-pair left D? With his physical gifts, his work ethic Trouba in 2019, as well as to re-sign Kreider long-term at the trade and his coachability, there’s reason to think he could be. Lundkvist will be deadline in 2020, they were counting on a shiny new salary ceiling, which relatively seasoned by then, and if he hits his ceiling, could be a big didn’t happen. contributor on the right. If Trouba-Fox-Lundkvist are 1-2-3 on the right side, then DeAngelo, who could try the left, will probably be gone – By 2023-24, all of the Rangers’ bought-out players – Dan Girardi, Ryan especially if Miller, Lindgren, Robertson, Hajek, Reunanen, Zac Jones, or Spooner, Henrik Lundqvist and Kevin Shattenkirk – will be completely off one of their many other left-siders emerge as advertised. Schneider, the books. So no dead cap space, barring future buyouts (those numbers another righty, should also be ready by then, adding an element of are nearly $13 million in 2020-21, just over $4 million in ’21-22 and $2.5 nastiness combined with skating and skill. million in ’22-23). But I think by then the Rangers will have packaged some assets to get a Lundqvist, bought out in the offseason of 2019-20, will have retired after young-ish first-pair defenseman, too. Or gotten one via free agency. trying to win a Cup with Washington. By this point, his uniform No. 30 will be raised to the Garden’s ceiling and he’ll be back working in the team’s Whatever the mix looks like, the Rangers are going to have plenty of front office in 2023. puck-movers and offense-makers among their defense, and they should have some legit size, too, in Miller, Robertson and perhaps Schneider Of course, the Rangers will have to use up a ton of their cap space by (plus Lindgren, who plays big, and Trouba). then, no matter what the cap number actually is, in order to just fill out a roster. In goal, though the Rangers would love it to be Shesterkin-Georgiev for the better part of a decade. Should Georgiev continue to grow, it might Depending on which are still here, goalies Igor Shesterkin, Adam Huska be better to trade him (depending on the return) and allow Wall or Huska and Tyler Wall, forwards Alexis Lafreniere, Filip Chytil, Kaapo Kakko, (or another in the growing list of goalie prospects) to back up Shesterkin, Vitali Kravtsov, Julien Gauthier, Brett Howden, Justin Richards and who will be playing the lion’s share of the games as the No. 1 goalie. Morgan Barron, and defensemen , Ryan Lindgren, K’Andre Miller, Matthew Robertson, Libor Hajek, Yegor Rykov and Tarmo And who, ultimately, will be making all the difficult decisions by then? Reunanen will all be into their second contracts by then. Team president John Davidson isn’t going anywhere, nor should he, and Will all of those be on the opening night roster in 2023? Not much chance Jeff Gorton, who planned and executed the rebuild, should still be here of that. But many of them will be, and some of them will be crucial pieces for a long time after 2023-24. His assistant, may have departed by then as a coveted potential GM in the league.

Will it be behind the bench? Well, Quinn’s mission statement was to develop and teach through the rebuild, and he will have done that. But this coming season is his third as Rangers coach, and 2023-24 would be his sixth season. Do you know the last Rangers coaches to make it beyond five full consecutive seasons? Frank Boucher (1939-48) and (1926-39). Quinn’s predecessor, , was the first since Boucher to make it through five full consecutive seasons.

So while Quinn has given us no reason to think he won’t be coaching when the Rangers’ rebuild is complete, there are historical reasons to create doubt that he will be, even in this era of stability with only three head coaches since late in ’08-09 and three GMs since 1989.

And though he carried out his mission statement, we don’t yet know if Quinn can or will be successful with a true Stanley Cup contender. We sure don’t know that he can’t be.

Fortunately for the Rangers, they have three full seasons to make all these calls, and many more. Fortunately for the Rangers, the corner they will eventually turn isn’t on the immediate horizon, so they can continue to build.

But they ought to be in darn good shape by then.

The Athletic LOADED: 12.11.2020 1196823 Ottawa Senators weeks before the first game. And Alfredsson, a first-time coach, still gets applauded for trying to bail it out while doing his patriotic duty.

And if the team wins, the legend of Alfie grows. Cracks of Don: Coaching Sweden at WJC could lead to another great Why could it be a life-altering decision? career for Alfredsson Alfredsson may very well be enjoying his retirement, and feeding his

competitive fire in tennis games with Karlsson and golf with brother Don Brennan Henric.

But there’s also a chance that’s not enough.

As he sips a cold Carlsberg while celebrating his 48th birthday on Friday, If Ottawa’s NHL team had different ownership, Alfredsson would almost Daniel Alfredsson might consider what could be a life-altering decision. certainly be involved in some capacity. GM, president, coach, something. As it is, he has only stepped in the arena once since leaving, and that Or maybe he’s already made it. was for Karlsson’s first game back with the San Jose Sharks.

According to a report in the Swedish newspaper Sportbladet, the greatest Alfredsson would probably be holding a significant job with another NHL player in the history of Ottawa’s NHL team is the top candidate to replace team, but his kids were born in Ottawa and everything — their friends, Tomas Monten as Sweden’s coach at the World Junior Championships teams, schools — is here. this month in Edmonton. But they’re also getting older, and there’s probably less of the “family Monten and assistant coaches Anders Lundberg, Nizze Landen (goalies) time” Alfredsson enjoyed when he hung up the blades. and Adam Almvqvist (video) tested positive for COVID-19 and will not be allowed in the bubble. Maybe he steps behind the bench, on a big stage with lots of pressure, and find he just loves it. Maybe he feels that fire burn again. The other name on the Swedish Association’s radar is Andreas Karlsson, whose been an assistant coach with the OHL’s There are many reasons he should be a great coach. for the last three seasons. For one, he’s a smart hockey man. When you’re a fifth round pick, you Yup, an Alfredsson and a Karlsson — and there appears to be a need for don’t become a borderline Hall of Famer without learning and knowing both. the game, inside and out.

“We can not go out with names that are relevant before we get the go- You also don’t accomplish what he did without a lot of hard work. You all ahead from the health authority over there to take them into the bubble in saw his effort level in games. Greater than the rest. And all those stories the province of Alberta,” national team manager Olof Ostblom told about him usually being the last player off the ice at practice? Not myth. Sportsbladt. “To enter Canada, the person must be quarantined for two When he spoke as captain in the dressing room, players listened. Why weeks.” would it be different as coach? And if the person is already in the country, he must only be isolated for a Individual sports get the blood going, even when you’re only making week before entering the bubble. three-footers to take a few bucks from your brother or buddy. Sweden is scheduled to play an exhibition against Canada on Dec. 21 But some guys were made to be leaders of men. Coaching Team and then its first tournament game versus Czech Republic on Boxing Sweden at the world juniors may remind Alfredsson of his calling. Day. Here’s hoping. The game misses Alfredsson. Now we’ll see how much Alfredsson and Erik Karlsson were recently spotted playing tennis in he misses it. Canada’s capital, a city both call home. CONNECTING THE DOTS Alfredsson’s 18-year NHL playing career ended in 2014, shortly after which he was groomed for a job in management by Ottawa GM Bryan ESPN’s Buster Olney says the Cleveland Indians “are prepared to listen, Murray. On Canada Day, 2017, 11 months after Murray passed away, aggressively,” to offers for star shortstop Francisco Lindor. Does that Alfredsson, unhappy with the direction the team was going, abruptly left mean sitting somebody down and sticking your ear in their face? Olney his post as senior advisor of hockey operations. He’s been out of the also identifies the Jays, Yankees and Mets as teams with interest. As game ever since. good as Lindor is, I still think the Jays should pass, let Bo Bichette develop into a great shortstop and “aggressively” pursue free agents His only coaching experience to date is behind the bench of his sons’ George Springer and Trevor Bauer … Zach Pop, a 24-year old right- minor hockey teams in Ottawa. handed pitcher from Brampton, was selected by the Arizona But Alfredsson’s international experience as a player is lengthy and Diamondbacks as a Rule 5 pick, which means if he survives spring includes gold and silver medals at the 2006 and 2014 Winter Olympics. training cuts, he’ll be the 11th Canadian in the majors. In 2019 there were six. In 2011, a record 26 ballplayers from north of the border played in He was Team Sweden’s alternate captain at three Olympics and its the bigs. captain at the 2012 World Championships. REMEMBERING THIS DATE He was also an advisor to Swedish coach Rikard Gronborg at the 2016 World Cup. Exactly 39 years ago Muhammad Ali climbed into the ring for the 61st and last time, losing a 10-round decision to Trevor Berwick in Nassau, So why would Alfredsson, as inexperienced as he is, take the job of a Bahamas. Over his career, it’s said “The Greatest” absorbed 200,000 hits team he’s probably never even seen play in person? … Exactly 35 years ago the Oilers defeated the Blackhawks 12-9 in the highest scoring game in modern day history. Interesting note from this Because as well as being a Canadian citizen, he is also a very loyal and one — Wayne Gretzky didn’t score. But he did have seven assists, as proud Swede who has always answered a call from his homeland. Jari Kurri and Glenn Anderson each had a hattrick for The Oil. Denis Would he be in over his head? Savard, Steve Larmer and Al Secord, who formed one of the great lines in ‘Hawks history, were each minus-7 … Sports birthdays include former Probably up to his eyes, but he’s also sharp enough to let the members Leafs centre (56), former Pirates infielder Jay Bell (55), of the coaching staff who are still around do a lot of the work. former Jays outfielder Derek Bell (52), former Patriots linebacker Willie McGinest (49), former Oilers centre Ralph Intranuovo (47), former Habs Alfredsson would likely make some decisions, provide the leadership that defenceman Mark Streit (43) and Teri Garr (76), a former favourite guest has been his trademark for years, and serve as a tremendous inspiration of Dave Letterman’s who was rather sporty in her own right. to kids who know him as one of Sweden’s all-time greats. Ottawa Sun LOADED: 12.11.2020 He’d also have much more to gain than to lose. If the team has a bad tournament, well, what do you expect? It had a major crisis a couple of 1196824 Philadelphia Flyers ability to move up and down the lineup and between positions whenever necessary gave head coach Alain Vigneault enviable lineup flexibility. Laughton was a very valuable piece of what turned out to be a very good Flyers team. Flyers must answer key questions about Scott Laughton in final year of contract The ‘luck’ element

Laughton absolutely had a strong season. But should he now be viewed as the Flyers’ most efficient true-talent scorer at five-on-five? By Charlie O'Connor Dec 10, 2020 Well, not quite.

Point production on a year-over-year basis is pretty fluid for non-star There’s no greater compliment that can be given to Scott Laughton than players, especially when the samples are small, as they were in to say that his NHL career is now more interesting than the unorthodox Laughton’s case because of injuries and the shortened season. In path he took to establishing it. addition, based on the available data, it doesn’t appear he improved dramatically as a playmaker or as a creator of scoring chances. He After all, the story of Laughton’s emergence as a full-time NHL player is ranked 10th among regular Flyers forwards in primary shot contributions fascinating. Taken in the first round by the Philadelphia Flyers in 2012, per 60 minutes — shots and passes that led directly to shots by a Laughton immediately earned a five-game audition with the big club, teammate — per Corey Sznajder’s dataset, and dead last by scoring quickly establishing himself as one of the best prospects in a then-barren chance contributions/60 (the same concept, limited to scoring chances system. He was back with the Flyers in his first professional season, and created). seemingly turned himself into an every-night starter the following year. Then, a reset: Dissatisfied with his development, then-general manager The quality and volume of his own chances didn’t improve much either, and the Flyers parked Laughton in the AHL for the entire according to Evolving-Hockey’s public expected goal metric. Take note of 2016-17 season, tasking him with a full-scale adjustment in on-ice how closely his “expected” scoring at five-on-five lined up with his actual mentality as they asked him to shed what was left of his offense-first scoring — until this season. approach and accept the demands that came with the bottom-sixer NHL role the organization felt he would best fill. So what happened? Laughton just finished on a lot more of his chances in 2019-20 than usual. And that doesn’t mean he was “lucky” to score Laughton obliged. He made the Flyers out of training camp in 2017, and those goals. Perfect shot placement, pre-shot deception, an ability to in what was something of a second rookie season, filled the role of locate loose pucks and rebounds — those are achievements, not flukes. bottom-of-the-lineup forward admirably, potting 10 goals and 10 assists in 81 games and re-establishing himself as a useful NHLer. He had put But even if the individual plays weren’t lucky, Laughton’s full-season the work in and made it back to the Flyers. It was the kind of career path results probably were. He finished on 17.6 percent of his shots, in a that sparks think pieces about the importance of sacrifice and the league where the average shooting percentage was 9.48 percent, and willingness to adjust in order to achieve one’s goals. Laughton’s career rate heading into the season was 7.99 percent. Especially with the knowledge that the quality of Laughton’s scoring Except a funny thing happened on the way to Laughton’s 10-year career chances didn’t go up, it’s a near certainty that he isn’t actually an 18 as a solid fourth-liner: The offense returned. percent shooter. After all, ’ career rate is 16.89 percent, and he’s a generational shooter. Scott Laughton is a versatile player, but Forced back up the lineup in 2018-19 because of injuries and trades, he’s not Steven Stamkos. Laughton’s scoring touch re-emerged as he finished with 32 points in 82 games. But that was only a taste of what was to come in 2019-20. On a So no, Laughton hasn’t magically become the Flyers’ most efficient far deeper Flyers team, Laughton continued to regularly carve out a spot scorer. Most likely, his finishing talent will regress back to normal rates. for himself on scoring lines, and nearly matched his point total from the year before in 33 fewer games. Fourth-liner Laughton looked anything Lucky doesn’t mean bad but. The (viable) argument that Laughton was a bit lucky with his finishing in Now, with Laughton’s contract set to expire at the end of the 2020-21 2019-20 had led to other, more suspect conclusions, particularly from season, the Flyers have to ask (and answer) important questions about stat-oriented fans. Namely, the position that Laughton isn’t actually a very the 26-year-old homegrown forward. Just how good is Laughton? Was good player, and once his shooting percentage comes crashing back to his strong 2019-20 season a fluke, or a sign of things to come? And in a earth, he’ll resemble the easily replaceable player that he is. flat cap world with a prospect pool teeming with potentially viable bottom- It’s easy to see where that argument originates: Laughton’s “basic” of-the-lineup players, does it makes sense to bring back Laughton after advanced stats. this season? Evolving-Hockey has Laughton below the 50 percent mark by five-on-five Let’s start with a simple fact: Laughton had a really good year. on-ice shot differential (Corsi) and quality-adjusted differential (xG) — His raw point total of 27 might not be eye-catching at first glance, but 47.26 percent by Corsi and 49.73 percent by xG. Natural Stat Trick is Laughton reached the mark in just 49 regular-season games (he missed even less complimentary per its “relative” metric, noting that the Flyers time with finger and groin injuries), good for a 45-point pace over an 82- drove play 5.85 percentage points worse by Corsi and 7.37 percentage game slate. It’s even more impressive when accounting for the fact that points worse by its xG model when Laughton was on the ice versus on Laughton barely received any power-play time and averaged 15:22 per the bench. Yikes. As for Laughton’s five-on-five scoring rates, sure, they game. That’s scoring efficiency. were impressive, but only because of the “lucky” shooting percentage. Based on this argument, Laughton is a poor play-driver and a mediocre In fact, no Flyers player — not , not Sean Couturier, not scorer, and therefore isn’t anything special at all. even Travis Konecny — was a more efficient scorer at five-on-five than Laughton, who posted a stellar 2.51 points/60 minutes rate in the The problem with this interpretation is that the best public advanced situation. And despite a rough stretch in the Montreal series, Laughton metrics paint a much more positive picture of Laughton. was one of the few Flyers players who didn’t underachieve from a point Let’s start with his play-driving “issues.” Traditional relative metrics — production standpoint in the playoffs, finishing tied for second on the measuring how a team drives play with a player on and off the ice — team with nine points in 15 games. were once the backbone of advanced stat player analysis. Now, they’re Laughton did it while bouncing back and forth between center and wing antiquated, pushed to the dustbin in favor of far better, more complete — 19 games in the middle, 30 flanked outside. Per Dom Luszczyszyn’s metrics. Game Score Value Added (GSVA) model, Laughton was better on the Why? For starters, relative metrics do a very poor job of accounting for wing, but he was effective in both spots: He performed like a high-end linemate quality. Here’s a quick thought experiment: Who is the best second-liner at wing (1.8 GSVA) and a low-end second-liner at center play-driving forward on the Flyers? Your answer is probably Couturier, or (1.3 GSVA). Regardless of where he played, he delivered second-line- maybe Oskar Lindblom. Well, Laughton spent a grand total of 15:26 all caliber value. season on a line with Couturier at five-on-five, and 3:30 with Lindblom. Laughton’s impact went beyond scoring. He stood up for teammates. He So of course the Flyers are going to drive play better with Laughton off improved dramatically as a penalty killer. And his “Swiss Army Knife” the ice — because for a big chunk of the time he’s sitting on the bench, Couturier’s line is racking up shots and chances. Unlike most of the other are so good, after all; having a third line full of second-liners and a fourth Flyers forwards, Laughton didn’t receive the benefit of Couturier’s line comprised of middle-six-caliber forwards is how championships are presence on his line. won. The problem, of course, is what that kind of depth eventually causes: a cap crunch, like the one the Lightning are dealing with right That’s why the analytics community has moved to metrics that better now. And with the cap ceiling unlikely to rise in the near future, might isolate ability. RelTM was first, and now there’s RAPM — regularized- Laughton be a luxury the Flyers simply can’t afford? With a pipeline adjusted plus/minus — on Evolving-Hockey as well. RAPM takes into chock full of talented young forwards champing at the bit for an NHL account basically everything that can impact play-driving ability, including shot, Laughton very well could be. and especially teammate effects, and spits out a single number that estimates the player’s overall impact on the team’s on-ice differentials, The elephant in the room, however, is the possibility of contract deflation absent any other outside factors. as a result of the stagnant cap, and the effect it might have on Laughton’s next deal. Middle of the lineup players aren’t cashing in right And once outside factors are taken out? Surprise! Laughton grades out now; bottom-of-the-lineup guys are getting squeezed even more. Craig fine. Smith, a player with much better stats than Laughton, just got a $3.1 Rather than being a liability, Laughton basically is the epitome of a break- million cap hit; Jesper Fast (more or less Laughton’s equal) ended up even play-driver, someone who neither hurts nor helps his team outshoot with a $2 million average annual value; Nick Cousins (basically and outchance the opposition. And that’s fine! Obviously, in an ideal Laughton-lite) could muster only a $1.5 million cap hit on the open world, a team would have 12 play-driving forwards who also put the puck market. Those aren’t exactly favorable comparables for Laughton and his in the net. But not every player is going to be an even-strength superstar, quest for an extremely lucrative contract. and even Laughton’s biggest fans wouldn’t argue that he is. Normally, Laughton would be the type of guy that some team might Now, let’s turn to Laughton’s scoring. Is he a 2.51 points/60 guy from a overpay in free agency: a versatile player with high-end intangibles and true-talent standpoint? Of course not. But it’s not like his track record as supposed untapped potential if used higher in a lineup. Even in the a scorer is entirely driven by the elevated shooting percentage in 2019- current environment, it still takes only a couple of teams to fall in love 20, either, as his results over the past three seasons prove. with a player for him to get paid. But maybe, in what would be an unfortunate set of circumstances for him, Laughton isn’t going to end up During that span, the Flyers scored on 8.12 percent of the shots with getting much of a raise at all. Laughton on the ice — a fairly normal, non-inflated rate, considering the league-average shooting percentage was 7.95 percent. And over those If that proves to be the case, it just comes down to whether the Flyers three seasons, Laughton posted a 1.71 points/60 rate, which is still quite want him back — I believe they do — and whether they can fit a good. reasonably priced contract for No. 21 on their books beyond 2021.

How good? Well, in the past three seasons, it would have ranked 160th, The Athletic LOADED: 12.11.2020 166th and 144th among regular NHL forwards. And if you operate under the assumption that there are 93 “first-line” forwards in a given season (31 teams, three forwards per first line), that means 1.71 is right in the mid-to-lower tier second-liner level.

In other words, Laughton is a break-even play-driver who can be expected to score at second-liner efficiency, even without the benefit of “lucky” percentages. That’s a pretty valuable forward.

And there’s an argument that characterization might even be underselling Laughton. After all, he’s spent the bulk of the past three seasons in the bottom-six (most common linemates: Michael Raffl, Wayne Simmonds, Jori Lehterä), and while RAPM accounts for that, points/60 certainly can’t. He’s also bounced back and forth between center and wing for the good of the team, rather than having the luxury of staying at wing, which seems like his superior position (2.06 points/60 at wing over the past two seasons).

Laughton is clearly a good player. In fact, the most optimistic view of his talent level is that he’s a stealth second-line-caliber winger functioning as a luxury “Swiss Army Knife” bottom-sixer on the Flyers. But at the very least, by the numbers that matter, he’s a solid bottom-sixer who can also help out as a secondary penalty killer and provide intangible value.

Should the Flyers re-sign Laughton after next season?

The truly intriguing question isn’t whether Laughton is actually a poor player (he’s not), or whether he’s merely fourth-line caliber (again, he’s not). It’s whether, in a flat cap world, Laughton is valuable enough that the Flyers should prioritize re-signing him before his contract expires at the end of the 2020-21 season.

Even with Philippe Myers taking a slightly lower cap hit than projected, it won’t be easy to fit Laughton under the $81.5 million cap ceiling in 2021- 22 without moving another piece out to accommodate him, as we broke down last month. Plus, Laughton will likely push for a raise on his $2.3 million cap hit, and a big part of his value to the Flyers is his relatively inexpensive contract. How much should they be willing to pay a really good bottom-sixer?

One could argue Laughton isn’t a bottom-sixer from a true-talent standpoint, but even if the Flyers do re-sign him, he’s not likely to carve out a full-time role as a second-liner on this club — it’s just too deep up front. Instead, he’ll probably remain a super bottom-sixer, playing on the first or second line only for short hot streak-driven stints or because of injuries to teammates.

In theory, there’s nothing wrong with playing a second-line-caliber player on the fourth line. That’s how teams such as the Tampa Bay Lightning 1196825 Pittsburgh Penguins

Penguins say project at former Civic Arena site remains on track

TOM DAVIDSON | Thursday, December 10, 2020 1:21 p.m.

The latest snag in the delayed project to redevelop the former Civic Arena site in Pittsburgh’s Lower Hill District shouldn’t impact plans to start construction on the site next year, Pittsburgh Penguins Vice President and General Counsel Kevin Acklin said Thursday.

“This is a technicality related to the interruptions all businesses are facing with the covid-19 pandemic and has no impact on the development,” Acklin said.

The city’s Urban Redevelopment Authority denied a request for an extension of a deadline the Penguins faced to acquire about 6.5 acres of land in the area by Oct. 22. That deadline was in the option agreement the team has with the URA to redevelop the site.

“The penalty for missing this deadline is that 20% of the parking revenues generated within the project area will be held in escrow pending certain catch-up provisions contained with the option agreements,” URA Executive Director Greg Filsram said.

First National Bank is set to locate its headquarters in a $200 million, 24- story tower that will be the anchor for the development.

A 90,000-square-foot entertainment venue is also planned on the site in a partnership with Live Nation that was announced in March.

“We will be under construction on schedule in 2021 on the FNB tower, parking garage and Live Nation music venue and first phase of housing,” Acklin said.

The project will create thousands of jobs, he said. “The next development deadline is October 2023 and we expect to remain fully complaint with the option agreement,” Acklin said.

Tribune Review LOADED: 12.11.2020 1196826 Pittsburgh Penguins During the pandemic-shortened 2019-20 campaign, Currie became the only AHL player to reach the 20-goal mark in each of the past four seasons and once again led the Condors in scoring.

Penguins A to Z: Persistence paid off for free-agent acquisition Josh The future: Currie is by no means a prospect. At 28, he’s a 4A player. Currie That’s to say he’s good enough to be a star at the AHL level but probably not good enough to be a regular NHLer.

Regardless, the Penguins made him a priority for their AHL operation SETH RORABAUGH | Thursday, December 10, 2020 12:09 p.m. and extended him a contract with an AHL salary of $350,000, more than double what he made with Bakersfield ($160,000) in 2019-20.

If the AHL season begins on Feb. 5 as scheduled, Currie, who can play While the NHL is on hold because of the ongoing coronavirus pandemic, center, will likely be at the top of Wilkes-Barre/Scranton’s depth chart for the Tribune-Review will offer Penguins A to Z, a player-by-player look at right wingers. He also figures to be a prominent member of the AHL all 48 individuals under NHL contract with the organization, from mid- Penguins’ power play as he led Bakersfield last season with nine goals level prospect Niclas Almari to high-profile trade acquisition Jason on the man advantage. Zucker. And in the event the NHL club has injuries or absences on the right wing Josh Currie or center, Currie will be among the first candidates for a potential recall. Position: Right winger A responsible player in all three zones who has a strong shot off the Shoots: Right rush, Currie, an alternate captain the past two seasons, will likely be one of the Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins’ top players next season and a Age: 28 major reason they will potentially return to the postseason after a two- year absence. Height: 5-foot-10 Tribune Review LOADED: 12.11.2020 Weight: 172 pounds

2019-20 AHL statistics: 56 games, 41 points (24 goals, 17 assists)

Contract: One year, two-way contract with a salary cap hit of $700,000. Pending unrestricted free agent in 2021

Acquired: Unrestricted free agent signing, Oct. 9, 2020

Last season: It would be a generous application of the term to label Currie as an “NHLer,’ but the fact that he even has an NHL contract is nothing short of remarkable.

First, he’s from Prince Edward Island, a small chunk of land in the Gulf of St. Lawrence that is not renowned for producing NHLers. Canada’s smallest province (by population and landmass), Prince Edward Island can claim only 35 native sons who have ever played in a single NHL game in the 100-plus years the league has existed.

Second, Currie’s journey as a professional has taken him on a long, winding road that has seen him play on each coast of the continent.

A prolific player in his final overage season with the Prince Edward Island Rocket of the Quebec Major Junior Hockey League, Currie went undrafted and turned professional in 2013. Signing an AHL contract with the Portland (Maine) Pirates, Currie never played for that team as he was assigned for the entire 2013-14 season with the ECHL’s Gwinnett (Ga.) Gladiators.

After putting up a solid but hardly spectacular 31 points (15 goals, 16 assists) in 70 games with Gwinnett in 2013-14, Currie moved across the United States to join the Bakersfield (Calif.) Condors on an ECHL deal.

When the AHL realigned and established teams on the West Coast to benefit western NHL franchises in 2015, the Condors were moved across the continent (along with Currie) and became the Norfolk Admirals.

After opening the 2015-16 campaign in the ECHL with the Admirals, Currie was signed to an AHL professional tryout contract midway through that season by the new Bakersfield Condors team, the Edmonton Oilers’ AHL affiliate. When that deal expired, Currie was signed to another AHL deal to finish out the season.

In the 2016 offseason, the Condors signed Currie to a one-year AHL deal and he rewarded that trust with a 22-goal season. By the 2017 offseason, he re-signed with Bakersfield on a two-year contract and led the team in scoring in 2017-18 with 46 points (20 goals, 26 assists).

By this point, Currie’s output had caught the attention of Oilers management, which signed Currie to a two-year, two-way contract in the 2018 offseason.

Currie’s persistence paid off in 2017-18 when he made his NHL debut with the Oilers, appearing in 21 games and scoring five points (two goals, three assists). 1196827 Pittsburgh Penguins Zeise: Tackling in general is terrible, guys don’t wrap anyone up any more. Nobody knows how to tackle because they don’t do it at practice ever

Paul Zeise's sports chat transcript: 12.10.20 Mick: Hi Paul, I realize that Pitt won't fire Narduzzi (even though they should!) because of his contract. Do you think he'll make any changes to his staff? In my opinion, Mark Whipple has been terrible and I can't see the offense being any better next year with Pickett and other starters By Paul Zeise / Pittsburgh Post-Gazette graduating.

Zeise: I do think there will be staff changed Zeise: Welcome back my friends to the show that never ends!!! That’s Zeise: changes but that’s it. Pat Narduzzi will be back and he should be not my line by the way but I’ll steal it anyway... Let’s get started back. Making a change now would be lunacy Nick from VA: Was it just me, or did everyone look very tentative on TPhunter: Watching the Steelers for the past month is like watching a 57 Monday night? Snell hesitated every time he got the ball, so did McCloud Chevy try to win the Daytona 500. Parts are flying off all over the place on just about every return he actually attempted. Also, a couple of the and the mechanics can't do much to fix it. Did this team peak around Ebron drops looked to me like he was afraid of getting hit, which he week 6? almost immediately was on every one of those short throws. Zeise: Ahhhh the “peak too soon” stuff! I don’t buy that. I think teams Zeise: I just think It was a bad day for some guys. I mean don’t forget have sort of figured out the Steelers offense and it has been a problem they were up 14-0 and looking like it was gonna be a blowout for the Steelers as they have to adjust some things. But they haven’t had Nick from VA: On Snell's last attempt to score from the 1 yard line, it a lot of continuity of personnel in a few weeks. So now everyone is looked to me like he left the ground about 3 yards to soon, was I seeing seemingly back it is up to the Steelers to make some adjustments and things or did he attempt to go airborne way too early? get back on track

Zeise: Yes I thought he jumped a little too early. He might have scored PAMMY WHAMMY: What similarities do you see in comparing Josh had he taken one more step before he dove for the pile Allen to mobile QBs we've seen this year like Watson & Jackson? Does the D have the personnel left to slow him down? Guest: Hi Paul- Everyone keeps obsessing on the Steelers issues on offense, but im more concerned with the Defense. With the long and Zeise: Those are good comparisons actually, he is very mobile and his short term injuries we look like half of a pre-season unit out there. And ability to run is a game changer. The thing is he has professed as a with Bush and Bud gone for good that takes our Defense from Elite to passer now so he is even more dangerous. I liked the Steelers chances just pretty good when the other guys are there. Our team was desinged more before Dupree went down but I do think they can slow him down this year to have the #1 Defense in fooball and an offense with Ben back and keep him in front of them that can do enoght to win. Am I being too worrisome or do you share the PAMMY WHAMMY: For the love of all that's right in the world, when do same fears that due to these big injuries on D maybe we are just a the Steelers start lining up Derek Watt as a true FB in their goal line decent team not a SB contender? sets? You can still run everything from a FB dive to play action from the Zeise: Well I don’t know how you can’t be worried about the defense with big boy formation! the injuries. I mean I don’t know what will happen with Haden but you will Zeise: Didn’t we go through this with Rosie Nix? No disrespect to Watt play Buffalo with no Dupree, No Bush or his backup, no Haden. This isn’t but he is the biggest waste of money ever. They are paying him like $4 an offense you want to be short handed. I know “next man up” but guys million to be a special teams guy - and while those are valuable, they are who are starters are starters for a reason also fairly easy to find. And you can get them for a lot less. Ben Melanie: Paul can you see the Steelers with a win this weekend? Injuries Roethlisberger doesn’t want to be under center, he doesn’t want a in bunches, lethargic offensive game plan, game after game they just fullback on the field and he doesn’t want to run the ball. So why go sign a don’t improve offensively.. just hope Tomlin don’t have another pathetic fullback? closing season like the last 2. We really need the one seed this year? TPhunter: Interesting last-second hoops win by Pitt last night vs. What can you comment in all of these, thanks Northwestern. The beginning of big things for the Panthers? Zeise: Can I see them with a win this weekend? Yes absolutely. Do I Zeise: It could be. A young team needs to learn how to win and that was think they will win? No. I just think Buffalo is playing really well and the a great example of finding a way. But by the same token I would be Steelers are going to be a little short handed on defense careful because Northwestern stinks and couldn’t have choked that game Alan in Nashville: The Steelers have an opportunity to turn one of the away worse if they tried. most promising seasons in history into what others would call “another” TPhunter: Will the regular-season finale at Cleveland be the game that collapse. If they lose 3/4 going forward and lose the first playoff game, decides the AFC North? we won’t ever hear the end of it. What do you think the chances are of this nightmare happening? Zeise: No. I think the Browns will finish 11-5 and the Steelers will finish 14-2. I think the Ravens smack the Browns around Monday Zeise: I thin they will lose this weekend and finish 14-2 so I’m not worried about a collapse at all. It is hard to win all your games in the NFL Paolo: Mr. Paulie, don’t you think this Sunday night game will dictate how the season will play out for our team? I have a feeling that if they lose Run game 0: Paul, that’s the second time PIttsburgh turned down a field then it was a mirage, an illusion start of the season.. they are not goal to win it. The other one was Dallas. When kickers like Tucker in BAL convincing anyone just yet.. your view? are towards splitting 60 yarders why is the team so opposed to attempting field goals especially with this Edsel of a red zone offense? Zeise: No it is one game on the road against a really good team. The Steelers are actually underdogs. It doesn’t matter more than one game Zeise: It was a special circumstance this week. Mike Tomlin even said as much - if Chris Boswell was healthy they would have kicked the field goal marty v: Why did we get rid of Wisniewski? Hoffhauer misses blocks to take the lead regularly, and as bad as our OL is this year in run blocking, #61 would have been an upgrade. Just shows how important Pouncy is to the OL. Jock Sutherland: Hockey season going to happen? Would think the season could start as late as start of Feb. Zeise: I guess they thought Wisniewski was done and didn’t have much to offer. That happens from time to time - guys get old and just don’t have Zeise: Yes and I think the first games will be about the third week of as much value even with their experience January and we will have 56-game season or so. That’s what all of the reports are saying from those who cover the league Munkeefist: Any word on possible extension talks between the Pirates and Ke'Bryan Hayes or Mitch Keller? These 2 would be my choices to Run game 0: Why does Minkah Fitzpatrick attempt shoulder tackles? We extend. Thanks!! all know what Carnell Lake would do. Zeise: I would say Ke’Bryan Hayes would be a fool to take one of those Maurkice: Paul, I'm on track to be be a HOFer. How have I have fooled team friendly deals to buy out some of his free agency years. He is going so many people, everyone except those to get paid handsomely when his time is up. Keller, I think the Pirates need to see a little more before getting married to him long term Zeise: You are on track to be a HOFer?

Run game 0: Have the Steelers OL ever run the stretch play for a running PetePeterson: Are the Pirates going to make a trade? play that you remember in the last few years? Baltimore and Denver did Zeise: Yes but I’m not sure who it will involve. I would think Adam Frazier it a lot. You hardly ever see the Pgh OL pull guards either for running will be gone and probably Joe Musgrove as well plays. My question is...drumroll...Why is the OL running scheme so pre- season like? Personnel or preference or stubbornness? Utah Jim: I get building an offense around a HOF quarterback but since when does that mean you completely ignore being able to run the ball at Zeise: They are always in shotgun and their running game is almost all least a little? They don’t seem employ any techniques or schemes that RPOs and thats because it is what quarterbacks facilitate the run. It’s 100% pass focused and it’s been that way since Run game 0: Paul, I may be being facetious, but can you give a list of 2018 at least and it’s dumb. Steeler assistant coaches under consideration for one of the many Zeise: They definitely have to find a balance. And I don’t mean a balance upcoming head coaching positions in the NFL? If there are none, then of 50/50 split. I mean they need to value the run game as much as they this is a hard question but why would that be? do the passing game. Part of their issue is they just don’t seem to value Zeise: I would say none. Maybe Terryl Austin, who has been on the run game interviews before. He may be the only one who has a chance Barry J.: Nice game by Justin last night! I think that if he had a true point Eric E: Paul, why are yinzers surprised at my drops? I've consistently guard, like Craig Meyer, then he would average at least 25 a game! shown questionable hands everywhere I've been. I cant really block Zeise: Craig Meyer would average 15 assists a game on this team! He is anybody either. Nobody's perfect..... a dime machine!!!

Zeise: I agree. When you came here writers and broadcasters from Your Darnell: Any idea when the NCAA will decide on Nike Adande’s former stops all said “he is incredibly thin skinned and he drops too many eligibility? Why is this particular case seemingly taken so long for a passes” and well, here we are..... decision? Thanks.

Run game 0: Paul, keep up the good work. I really enjoy your work and Zeise: It is supposed to be today from what I have read. I hope they just how you say what everyone is thinking. set him free

Zeise: Thanks for the kind words and for participating Zeise: OK thanks so much for joining in and let’s do it again next week at Igor Larionov is Back Baaabeee: Big pauly! How u like that j.shampenny the same time!!!! emphatic jam to cap a great comeback. They was down 8 with 30 secs Post Gazette LOADED: 12.11.2020 left and still beat

Zeise: That was a great win for Pitt

Zeise: It started out ugly but got better and better

BigBenCherington: Should we pull the trigger on Taillon and Bell to Yankees? Who could we get in return?

Zeise: It would all depend on what the return is. And I think they would be looking for prospects or guys on team friendly deals with a lot of control left on their contracts. The thing is I don’t know what a package of Taillon and Bell will bring in return

EricEbron: Am I in Coach Tomlin’s doghouse?

Zeise: If you drop a few more passes you will be!!!

Jim: Hello Paul,

Zeise: Hello Jim

Jim: Do you think the Steelers will come out on Sunday intent on establishing a run or should we expect more of the same against Buffalo?

Zeise: I don’t think they will try and “establish the run” but I do think they will do a lot during the week to try and improve their running game. They don’t have to run more just more efficiently

Buzzard Bill: Hi Paul, it appears that some Pitt players could be skipping tonight's game against Georgia Tech to avoid the potential for injury. I get it that they are worried about an injury affecting their potential NFL careers, but don't they have a responsibility to their team mates who may not get NFL contracts but work just as hard and want to win?

Zeise: I would normally agree and say players should stay to the end of the regular season before moving into NFL prep mode. I don’t mind guys skipping bowl games but I think they should finish the regular season. But this is a different year and with all that is going on in the world and all the protocols and all that, I don’t know how anyone can blame players who say they are ready to move on. This can’t be a fun season and players need to move on if their heart isn’t in it any more

J Layne: Paul, think anybody has noticed that I appear to be an unwilling tackler at times? Some of our guys are willing but miss a lot, but sometimes I'm just not into trying. Your thoughts?

Zeise: I thought you played reasonably well though. But yes let’s work on becoming a more physical tackler 1196828 Pittsburgh Penguins

URA rejects Penguins' deadline extension to buy land for former Civic Arena development

By Mark Belko / Pittsburgh Post-Gazette

The city’s Urban Redevelopment Authority has rejected a request by the Pittsburgh Penguins to extend the deadline to April 30 to buy the land needed for the first projects at the former Civic Arena site.

With the decision, the team could lose 20% of the revenue it generates by parking cars on the 28-acre lower Hill District tract unless it is able to develop 10.75 acres over the next three years.

The Penguins had requested the extension after missing an Oct. 22 deadline for taking control of the land needed for the new First National Bank headquarters, a live music venue, and a parking garage. They blamed the COVID-19 pandemic for the delay.

In a statement Wednesday, Greg Flisram, executive director of the URA, which owns part of the site, said the request had been rejected. Under the option agreement that governs the land, the Penguins were required to buy 6.45 acres by the October deadline.

Mary Conturo, executive director of the city-Allegheny County Sports & Exhibition Authority, which also owns part of the lower Hill site, said the SEA was in agreement with the URA not to extend the deadline.

In response, Kevin Acklin, the Penguins’ chief operating officer, said the team fully expects to make up the ground and have the first wave of development started early next year.

“This is a technicality related to the delays all businesses are facing with the COVID pandemic and has no impact on the development,” he said.

“We will be under construction in 2021 on the FNB tower, parking garage and Live Nation music venue, and first phase of housing, and creating thousands of badly needed construction jobs to help our city recover.”

The next deadline under the option agreement is Oct. 22, 2023. By then, the team must have 10.75 acres under their control. The Penguins, Mr. Acklin said, “expect to remain fully compliant” with the terms of the agreement.

Under the agreement, if the team hasn’t developed that much land by then, it could have to forfeit up to 40% of the parking revenue.

As it stands, 20% of the revenue it produces in parking will be held in escrow between now and October 2023, Ms. Conturo said. If the Penguins are able to catch up on their requirements in three years, the money will be returned to them, she said.

The Penguins, who won the development rights to the land in the 2007 deal to build PPG Paints Arena, have until Oct. 22, 2025, to develop all 28 acres.

Anchoring the redevelopment would be the proposed 26-story FNB tower, where the bank will take more than nine floors of space. The office and retail complex is to be built at the lower west end of the site closest to Downtown.

The indoor-outdoor music venue and the 850-space parking garage would be built more toward the middle of the site. The first 288 units of housing are to be constructed on the upper part of the property near Crawford Square.

Despite the pandemic, team officials and developer Buccini/Pollin Group recently announced that they had secured the last piece of financing needed for the $230 million office tower. https://pittsburghhockeynow.com/ 1196829 Pittsburgh Penguins

Forbes Says Penguins Franchise $$$ Steady as NHL Revenues Fall

By Dan Kingerski

Athletes and professional sports franchises often lament the Forbes Magazine annual valuations and revenue projections. Teams often refute the high value, but recent team sales across all sports also lend credibility to the magazine’s work. In the annual accounting of professional sports, the Pittsburgh Penguins value has soared, even as NHL revenues have declined.

According to the Forbes Magazine Business of Hockey feature, the Penguins franchise is now worth $650 million. That is a slight 2% drop since last year, but given the economic climate in which we all exist, that’s within the margin of error.

NHL revenues took a hit as each team lost approximately 10 regular- season games and most playoff income.

The Penguins are the 11th most valuable franchise in the league but well behind the 10th ranked Vancouver Canucks, worth $725 million (U.S.). The most valuable team in the NHL is, of course, the New York Rangers, who are worth $1.65 billion.

According to Forbes, the Penguins rank eighth in revenues with $159 million and rank 10th with $14 million in operating income. There were 15 teams in the NHL with negative income, and the Calgary Flames reportedly just crossed into the red with only $400,000.

Of course, values should rise in the coming year not only as sports leagues return to normal, but the NHL will sign a new television deal after this season. A new U.S. TV deal is rumored to include ESPN and perhaps Fox, in addition to NBC. The NHL’s current deal with NBC paid the league $1 billion over 10 years.

By contrast, the Canadian TV deal paid the league nearly five times that figure.

For comparison, the closest Pittsburgh Penguins rivals play in much larger markets but don’t necessarily generate equal revenues. The Philadelphia Flyers and play in substantially larger media markets, and the franchise values reflect that.

The Flyers rank seventh in overall value at $800 million, as the Capitals are ninth at $750 million. However, both generated operating income just under $8 million.

Attendance and fan support matter, and the ever-growing Pittsburgh Penguins fan base clearly makes a significant difference.

Pittsburgh Hockey Now LOADED: 12.11.2020 1196830 Pittsburgh Penguins

Dan’s Daily: Division Alignment, NHL Trade Talks Warm

December 10, 2020By Dan Kingerski

The last month of the NHL offseason has seemed more like herding cats than anything else. The NHL season is now all but a certainty and the general managers are revving up their hockey ops departments. NHL trade talks reflect the offseason’s scrambled nature, and we even have a report of Pittsburgh Penguins trade talks.

We’ll start with the Penguins trade scuttle. A team source confirmed to PHN the Penguins did “circle back” on Max Pacioretty (Pittsburgh Hockey Now)

It looks like the Penguins are not the only team sniffing around on Pacioretty. The LA Kings and a few other teams have an interest, too. Our boys in Boston have the full scoop (Boston Hockey Now)

Perhaps the Pittsburgh Penguins escaped the Central Division? The original COVID-19 divisional alignment had the Penguins in the Central. Now, it appears, Carolina has been shoved to the Central, and the Penguins will stay with their natural rivals. Maybe (Sportsnet)

The NHL updated its Board of Governors at 4 p.m. on Wednesday. Cautious optimism followed (Ottawa Sun)

However, not everyone is happy about the division realignment. TSN’s Frank Seravalli discussed (YouTube)

Without the Penguins, the Central Division is…weak. Mixing Central teams like St. Louis, Dallas, and Colorado with the western teams? Yikes.

I think we’ll see another round of realignment or two. The lobbying will get more intense.

Is the Colorado Avalanche tough enough? It’s a question we asked of the Penguins, and now Adrian Dater is asking it of Colorado (Colorado Hockey Now)

Why does COVID thrive in hockey? (Washington Post)

It should be no surprise that the coming NHL season could be affected by local rules. The state officials and expanding COVID rules could really affect the New York Islanders (NYI Hockey Now)

So, enjoy the rollercoaster of the next few days. We should have hockey any moment now.

Pittsburgh Hockey Now LOADED: 12.11.2020 1196831 San Jose Sharks

Emrick believes Dubnyk will make 'big difference' for Sharks

BY ALEX ESPINOZA

The 2021 NHL season is ripe with uncertainty, with an expected divisional realignment coming soon.

The Sharks didn’t make the playoffs out of the Pacific Division last season and their road back to the playoffs might be even harder this year if they are placed in the league’s toughest division, as expected.

According to hockey broadcasting legend Doc Emrick, San Jose’s postseason chances lie with the depth of their team, starting between the pipes with veteran goalie Devan Dubnyk. The Sharks acquired the 34- year-old from the Minnesota Wild this offseason to push Martin Jones, who showed some signs of wear and tear last year.

“The role players are the ones that don’t get as much [playing time] but have to contribute so much,” Emrick told NBC Sports California last week. “That’ll make the difference, I think, whether they’re in [the playoffs] or whether they’re out. But I think adding Dubnyk will make a big difference.”

Gone is Aaron Dell, who signed a one-year deal with the Toronto Maple Leafs. Dubnyk has plenty of experience under his belt but struggled last season before losing his starting spot to Alex Stalock down the stretch.

Likewise, Emrick said the team’s backup forwards also need to produce.

“The real difference that separates the team at the top and the team that’s fourth, or maybe a couple points out, is those depth players at forward,” Emrick said.

But when you look at the Sharks’ top line, Emrick said the team appears to be in good shape.

“The fact that you have Timo Meier, who was the leading point-getter, and Evander Kane, who was the leading goal-scorer, on the same line, with Logan Couture, probably, will make a big difference,” Emrick said.

Comcast SportsNet.com LOADED: 12.11.2020 1196832 San Jose Sharks pick. He has a three-team limited no-trade clause, though, making it even less likely he’ll be dealt.

Kane’s contract would probably be considered a fair one for a player of Sharks trade tiers: Who could end up getting dealt before the 2021 his caliber, as he was on pace for a second straight 30-goal season in deadline? 2019-20 on a team that just wasn’t very good offensively, which might make him seem like a potential trade option at first glance. But Kane also has a three-team limited no-trade clause, and after some incidents earlier in his career in other locations, it’s fair to wonder what Kane’s reputation By Kevin Kurz is around the NHL. Remember, it didn’t take much for the Sharks to pry Dec 10, 2020 him out of Buffalo at the trade deadline in 2018 as Sabres GM Jason Botterill admitted later that the interest just wasn’t there.

The ‘potential 2021 trade bait’ tier The 2021 season was already going to be difficult enough for the Sharks, but the NHL’s latest division alignment proposal could make it a Devan Dubnyk nightmare. Stefan Noesen According to colleague Pierre LeBrun, the new “Pacific” Division could Matt Nieto feature the Sharks and regular participants Anaheim, Los Angeles, Vegas and Arizona. But joining them will be arguably the three best When you’re a team that has a fair amount of untradeable contracts, it’s teams in what is usually the Central Division — Colorado, Dallas and St. good to at least have some pending unrestricted free agents with veteran Louis. experience on the roster. That’s what the Sharks possess with these three. If there is no inter-division play this season, it’s difficult to envision the Sharks finishing among the top four in a group that features a handful of Dubnyk will be determined to show he’s still one of the league’s better legitimate Stanley Cup contenders. If that’s the case, remaking the roster goalies, and not the guy who struggled through 2019-20 in Minnesota. If for 2021-22 and beyond could happen sooner than later. he performs well or supplants Martin Jones as the No. 1, he could very well be of interest to a playoff team looking for an experienced backup, We do know it’s very unlikely the Sharks can hold a proverbial fire sale. an important position now as evidenced most recently by Anton There are just too many long-term contracts on the books, many of which Khudobin leading the Stars to the Stanley Cup Final. have some sort of trade restrictions build into them. Doug Wilson has expressed confidence that the team’s core is still strong and can return Noesen was re-signed to a one-year contract and he’ll likely be back on the team to the postseason, but really, he has to say that. The general the Sharks’ fourth line when the season begins, while Nieto, also back on manager just doesn’t have the ability to blow it all up because of their a one-year contract, was pushed out on a deep Colorado team. Either existing contract situation. one of them could add some value to a playoff team that might be looking for a little extra depth, and Wilson probably had that in mind when he Still, Wilson has been at this now for more than 17 years. He’s pulled off signed them to their respective deals. a few surprising deals in his career, and could always have a few tricks up his sleeve. According to CapFriendly, Wilson has made a grand total The ‘getting older, wants to win now, and still has value’ tier of 143 trades. He’s made a trade involving at least one player with every NHL franchise other than the Vegas Golden Knights. Brent Burns

That in mind, let’s take a closer look at the notable players in the Sharks Patrick Marleau organization, what kind of trade value each may have, and the likelihood Burns will turn 36 in March. Marleau is 41. Neither has won a Stanley they could be dealt somewhere else between now and the TBD 2021 Cup, and time is getting short. trade deadline. Marleau, of course, left last season for a chance to chase the Cup with The ‘every team would take their call’ tier Pittsburgh, and it didn’t go well for him or the Penguins. There’s a chance Timo Meier that situation repeats itself if Marleau shows he can still be effective. At the same time, Marleau sits 45 games away from ’s all-time There’s simply no one in the organization with more trade value than games played mark. There’s a chance he wouldn’t be on schedule to Meier, who is young (24 years old), can score, with a 30-goal season break that record until after the deadline. Considering how much that already under his belt in 2018-19, and who is signed to a reasonable record and the Sharks mean to him, would he rather simply finish out his contract, earning $6 million AAV over the next three seasons. He’s still a career here this season? restricted free agent under team control at the end of that deal, too. Burns was the focus of our latest expansion draft piece, because I Of course, that makes him valuable to the Sharks, too. The only way that believe there’s a real chance he ends up with the Seattle Kraken. But as Meier gets dealt is if the Sharks decide they’re going into a full rebuild, we also mentioned in that breakdown, perhaps the potential of ending up which they’ve never given any indications they’re willing to do, and that with an results in Burns — who has a three-team limited they might not be able to do anyway for reasons mentioned earlier. But no-trade clause — being more open to be traded somewhere else. even if they did decide to rebuild, Meier would still likely be viewed as Interest might be a bit limited with four years at an $8 million AAV left on part of the solution. Burns’ contract, but an offensive defenseman of his caliber would still intrigue at least a handful of teams. Meier would garner a ton of interest if he was ever put on the market. But don’t expect that to happen, at least not this season. The ‘has value, but still has to prove worthy of his new contract’ tier

The ‘has value, but limited flexibility’ tier Kevin Labanc

Tomas Hertl Radim Simek

Evander Kane It’s likely that Wilson envisions Labanc and Simek as being part of the team’s future no matter what happens this season. Both were signed to Hertl is probably a close second to Meier in terms of trade value. His four-year extensions that kick in this season, and both are considered $5.625 AAV contract over the next two seasons is one of the only team- internally as players who will continue to grow. friendly deals the Sharks have at the moment. Still, Hertl is coming off of yet another major knee surgery, this one to his left knee, and it’s difficult Still, Labanc and Simek both had up-and-down seasons in 2019-20. Both to tell how that will affect him in the future. Further, Hertl is viewed of their contracts are a result of Wilson and team brass projecting bigger internally as a future leader, as he was an alternate captain for the first and better things to come. time last season. The only way it makes sense for the Sharks to trade the 27-year-old is if the upcoming season really goes off the rails and there’s Labanc didn’t produce as much offensively as he did the season before, a team willing to overpay in the form of a top prospect and first-round and far too often he found himself in the penalty box or in the wrong spot on the ice. Simek’s year began late after he tore up his knee in March 2019, and he wasn’t nearly as consistent as he was when he solidified begins, though, or he could end up getting flipped for a mid-to-low round the team’s defense as a rookie prior to that major injury. draft pick in order to make room for someone else.

While these could prove to be good deals in the future, it’s no sure thing I don’t believe Suomela has much of a future here, but maybe if he plays at the moment. From a trade perspective, other teams out there might well for the Barracuda (assuming there’s an AHL season), perhaps the not be willing to take a chance with these guys, depending on what their Sharks can get a sixth- or seventh-round pick for him at some point. internal scouting reports say. The ‘keep him to expose to Seattle’ tier The ‘untradeable contract’ tier Dylan Gambrell Erik Karlsson Despite his struggles to lock down a roster spot full-time, Gambrell is on Martin Jones a one-way contract next season so the chances are decent that he’ll be on the Sharks’ opening night roster. It’s an important time for the former The header says it all. Fair or not, Karlsson is generally viewed as a second-round pick in 2016, because this season could be his last chance player already in decline, at 30 years old and with seven years at $11.5 here. If Gambrell plays well enough to stick around, which the Sharks million per season left on his contract. In no situation could I see another would surely welcome, they could re-sign him to a cheap one-year deal team taking on that deal, regardless of how Karlsson plays in 2021. He and use him as one of the two forwards they are required to expose in also has a full no-movement clause. the summer expansion draft.

Jones has been arguably the NHL’s worst No. 1 goaltender for two The ‘only if another young player is coming back’ tier seasons running now. Perhaps he plays better this season after working extensively with goalie consultant Adam Francilia, but even if he does, I We could be in line for a season in which the Sharks give numerous can’t envision any team taking on what will be three more seasons after young players a chance to show their stuff at the NHL level. None of this one at $5.75 million. Oh, and Jones also has a three-team limited no- these players listed here is a surefire NHL player (Gregor is close), but trade clause. each of them has the potential to be a solid depth piece at the very least.

The ‘almost untradeable contract’ tier In that sense, it probably makes the most sense for the organization to give each of these players a full 2021 season (whatever that looks like) of Logan Couture pro hockey — either with the Sharks, or the Barracuda — before deciding Marc-Edouard Vlasic what the next step is in each of their respective careers. The last thing the Sharks want to do now is trade a young piece only to see him turn Couture and Vlasic have two things in common — they each have long into a solid NHL player somewhere else. contracts, Couture’s running through 2026-27 and Vlasic’s through 2025- 26; and they both enjoy playing in San Jose and have expressed a desire The ‘if they play well, maybe they garner interest at the deadline’ tier to finish out their careers here. Joel Kellman

I wouldn’t term Couture’s contract with seven more seasons at $8 million It’s unlikely there are any NHL teams desperately pining at the moment AAV as necessarily bad, just that he has more value to the Sharks for either Kellman or Middleton, who could both be in line to start on the organization than he would anywhere else. Young players in the Sharks’ roster. Neither of them is all that young (Kellman is 26, while organization should be looking up to the now 31-year-old for the way he Middleton is 24). But, perhaps if they give the team effective minutes competes on a nightly basis. There’s a reason he’s the captain. over the first few months of the season, someone comes calling to offer Vlasic’s contract with six more seasons at $7 million AAV, on the other the Sharks some sort of modest return. hand, is much more problematic. He’s been wildly inconsistent for the past two seasons, and has a full no-trade clause, so the team can’t even expose him in the expansion draft. Even if Vlasic wanted to play The Athletic LOADED: 12.11.2020 elsewhere, it would be difficult for Wilson to accommodate him.

The ‘makes more sense to keep him unless it’s a blockbuster deal’ tier

Ryan Merkley

Mario Ferraro

Ryan Donato

There’s a decent chance that at some point over the next few years, Merkley/Ferraro is the Sharks’ top defense pair. The former is still the Sharks’ top prospect, while the latter had an impressive and surprising rookie season in which he established himself as a full-time NHL player who has “future team leader” written all over him.

Donato is someone the Sharks are very high on, proclaiming right away after he was acquired from Minnesota that they expect the forward to take the next step in his career in a top-six role.

For a team that is in transition, it doesn’t make much sense to deal any of these guys unless it’s part of a much larger transaction.

The ‘little value, but maybe swap him for a draft pick’ tier

Marcus Sorensen

Antti Suomela

Maybe it’s not fair to group Sorensen, who has played nearly 200 NHL games, with Suomela, who has been a disappointment since joining the organization in 2018. But that speaks to how much Sorensen’s stock has dropped, after he was nowhere to be found for much of the 2019-20 campaign.

Fortunately for him and the Sharks, Sorensen is playing well in the second-tier Swedish league, Allsvenskan, with 24 points in 14 games. He’ll have to show he’s still worthy of playing in the NHL when camp 1196833 San Jose Sharks

Shin Larsson: From Olympic Hero to Sharks Scout

Published December 10, 2020

By Sheng Peng Sharks scouts Shin Larsson & Karel Masopust (courtesy: Larsson)

It’s a book about a boy who became a gnome that led scout Shin Larsson to the San Jose Sharks.

Growing up in Tokyo, Larsson’s mother was fascinated by Swedish novella The Wonderful Adventures of Nils. This fascination led her to study in Sweden, where she met Shin’s father.

Shin Larsson is now entering his 13th year as San Jose Sharks scout and fourth as Supervisor of European Scouting. In this role, he’s perhaps best known for helping to identify and recruit key European free agents Joonas Donskoi, Melker Karlsson, Marcus Sorensen, Joel Kellman, and Fredrik Handemark, to name a handful.

But as his unlikely origin story suggests — would Shin Larsson have fallen in love with hockey if he had grown up in Japan instead of Sweden? — Larsson is a lot more than just a San Jose Sharks scout.

He’s an Olympic hero. He was the general manager of a hockey team in China. He’s probably the first NHL scout of Asian heritage.

San Jose Hockey Now caught up with Larsson to trace a career arc that’s taken him through Leskands, Quebec, Tokyo, Nagano, France, Manchester, Tomakomai, Beijing, Atlanta, and finally, San Jose.

We also touched on the state of hockey in Japan, 22 years after Nagano, and a lesser-known Sharks prospect who’s really impressed him this season.

San Jose Hockey Now LOADED: 12.11.2020 1196834 San Jose Sharks

LOCKED ON SHARKSTristen Robins: “I’m going to make it a hard decision for them to send me home.”

Published December 10, 2020

By JD Young Tristen Robins

Kyle, Erik, and JD continue their discussion with San Jose Sharks’ second-round pick Tristen Robins. In case you missed it, check out yesterday’s chat here! Today, we talk about his timeline to make the San Jose Sharks, who his favorite NHL player is, and what it would be like to line up against him (4:00). We also get to know Tristen off the ice, including his favorite hobbies (11:00), his top shows to watch, and how he spent every Tuesday pre-pandemic (15:00). We finish with his pre- game rituals and his thoughts on people who don’t wear socks with their skates (20:00). Check out the podcast on Twitter, Instagram, and Facebook.

San Jose Hockey Now LOADED: 12.11.2020 1196835 San Jose Sharks

LINKSSheng’s Daily: Sharks to Hold Training Camp in Arizona?

Published December 10, 2020

By Sheng Peng Credit: Gord McKenna (CC BY-NC-ND 2.0)

San Jose Hockey Now reported on Tuesday that Oakland Arena could be a temporary destination for the San Jose Sharks. Yesterday, we checked in on Chase Center and the Cow Palace as possibilities:

BREAKING: Chase Center Won’t Host Sharks, Cow Palace “Would Love for Them” to Call

The Locked on Sharks guys had a nice chat with San Jose Sharks prospect Tristen Robins. This is Part 1 of a two-parter:

Tristen Robins: “I did read quite a few articles on myself.”

This is training camp, will the San Jose Sharks also play regular season home games in Arizona? For what it’s worth, the Coyotes play in Phoenix and practice in Scottsdale.

Hearing that if the Sharks are not able to hold training camp in San Jose/Santa Clara County, then somewhere in the Phoenix/Scottsdale AZ area is the likeliest relocation scenario.

Jake McGrew has been assigned to the Allen Americans. He joins Zach Sawchenko and Joe Garreffa in the ECHL. (ECHL)

Per Forbes, the Sharks lost $14.7 million dollars last year and lost five percent of their overall value in 2019-20. They were the fifth-biggest money losers in the league.

San Jose Hockey Now LOADED: 12.11.2020 1196836 Seattle Kraken Sebastian Aho, Jordan Staal, Teuvo Teravainen, Nino Niederreiter, Vincent Trocheck, Jesper Fast and Martin Necas.

Who will most likely get re-signed? Seattle Kraken expansion mock draft 5.0: Who could the Hurricanes lose? If owner Tom Dundon telling me and other local media dozens of times that he wants Andrei Svechnikov in a Hurricanes uniform for life isn’t enough, maybe the comically large, multi-story pillar at new practice By Sara Civian facility Wake Competition Center will do the trick.

Dec 10, 2020 I’d also put Jordan Martinook and Warren Foegele in a similar, albeit pillar-less category.

So, let’s assume the Hurricanes take the traditional 7-3-1 approach. The Hurricanes front office has worked up to respectability by spending money on free agents who actually move the needle and taking on bigger Jordan Staal gets immunity with his no-move clause, then I’d protect contracts via trade to actually improve the team. What a concept. Now, Svechnikov, Aho, Teravainen, Trocheck, Fast and a Foegele type player. they are entering the 2020-21 season with about $1 million in cap space I mentioned money off the hop because some of these decisions at and Andrei Svechnikov, Dougie Hamilton and goaltending contracts forward are such close calls that they end up coming down to contract looming. flexibility. Niederreiter didn’t have an awful season, but his 2020-21 The Canes have no doubt built up this depth — particularly on defense regression and his $5.25 million AAV are basically an expansion draft — with the Seattle expansion draft in mind. The downside of that is cocktail. obviously that they are more likely to lose a quality player than when they Those last two forward spots are the most up-for-debate of all the lost Connor Brickley in the Vegas expansion draft, but I guess it’s better Hurricanes’ potential protected players, and it’ll come down to whatever to have loved and lost to have never loved at all. Best case scenario happens this upcoming season. But the strategy of exposing a player could be Seattle taking a larger contract off the Hurricanes’ hands to free with a more expensive contract can be a sort-of win-win: The Canes free some cap space, even if the talent goes with it. up $5.25 million for 2021-22 (to help sign Svechnikov and Hamilton and We’ll also need to remember the Hurricanes are at a unique mystery goalies of the world), or the Kraken don’t touch Niederreiter and disadvantage with former GM Ron Francis being able to pick from a team the Canes keep a good player. with some enticing players he drafted himself. If we’re being honest with “Foegele type player” is a cop out, but it was intended to get the real ourselves, common sense would cause one to consider that this is part of point across — the Hurricanes will be making money moves, and they’ll the reason why Martin Necas didn’t get much of a chance to prove be keeping those moves in mind long before they re-sign certain players. himself at the NHL level until last season. Francis was always (rightfully) A “Foegele type” could be any third-liner who either has a great 2020-21 extremely high on him. Now, per the expansion draft rule that first- and or is willing to sign for cheapest, ya know? second-year NHL players are exempt, Necas is safe. There’s also what you’ve likely been waiting for: The Kraken will probably But who isn’t safe, and what might Francis and the Kraken do about that? pick from the Hurricanes’ 5,000 options on defense, some of which their A refresher on the basic rules: GM chose in the draft and has a relationship with.

Teams have the option of protecting seven forwards, three defensemen That’s why I think the Hurricanes will have an easier time exposing and one goalie, or eight skaters and one goalie. someone like Martinook or rising center Morgan Geekie.

Any player with a no-movement clause has to be protected. Defense

First- and second-year pros along with unsigned draft picks are exempt A few weeks ago I toured the Hurricanes’ amazing aforementioned from the process. practice facility, Wake Competition Center. I’m not pumping anyone’s tires, by the way — I’ve been to roughly 85 percent of all the NHL Teams must make at least one defenseman and two forwards available practice facilities at this point and it’s easily top five. who played 40 games the previous season (or 70 combined in the previous two). Anyway, I was told a story I will relay to you as discreetly and to the point as I possibly can. One goalie must be made available. 1. The hot tub room (Yeah, this ain’t Raleigh Center Ice) did not originally Goaltenders have TVs in it.

It’s tough to project what might happen here when the Hurricanes have 2. A certain defenseman toured the facility, and mentioned something no goalies signed after 2020-21, but we do know they will need to make along the lines of how this would be a perfect place for a TV. *To be at least one goalie available and can only protect one. We also know that clear*, he said this in passing/as a joke/please do not interpret this as at some point there will have to be something inside the net resembling a him being rude because that was not the tone of the interaction at all. starting goalie, so let’s say they re-sign Petr Mrazek and/or sign the goalie of your dreams — that person will be protected. Alex Nedeljkovic 3. A certain owner told a certain architect to put TVs in the hot tub room. will be an RFA, so let’s say the Hurricanes reach an agreement with him. 4. There are some pretty nice TVs in the hot tub room. They’ll have to expose him and whoever they sign as a backup goalie (assuming they do so) and just hope for the best. This upcoming season It would be sort of hilarious if this ends up being Dougie Hamilton’s is important for Nedeljkovic’s future with the Canes for that reason — legacy in Raleigh, but for some odd reason it made me more confident perhaps he could make an impression on Francis (the man who drafted than ever that the Hurricanes are going to get an extension done. him) with an outstanding showing and earn a fresh start in Seattle, or there’s a slim-but-existent chance the Kraken draft Carolina’s mystery We will jot Hamilton and the hot tub TV room down as signed and backup and Nedeljkovic slides into that role. protected.

Regardless, the amount of uncertainty at this position in Carolina, paired Do we really need to go over Jaccob Slavin? Easiest protected player with the team’s strength at other positions and what other teams have to decision on the roster. offer in net (Jake Allen, anybody?) makes me believe it’s unlikely Seattle The Canes have been (rightfully, IMO) unwilling to move Brett Pesce for will pick a Hurricanes goaltender. a top-six forward ever since Leafs Nation tried to force this into being a (Author’s note: We got through this without even one David Ayres joke. thing. They aren’t about to give him up for nothing. Please clap.) So, will the Kraken pick Haydn Fleury, Brady Skjei, Jake Bean or Jake Forwards Gardiner out of the Hurricanes defensemen?

First off, who do the Hurricanes have signed through the 2021-22 Unsatisfying answer: We’ll need to know more about their strategy. season? If Francis wants some affordable revenge he’ll snag a now-flourishing Fleury. If he wants to show 13th overall pick Bean that he still believes he can be a top-four NHL defenseman one day — which Bean sure can — he can do that. If the Kraken want to go for familiarity and general above averageness instead, Skjei and Gardiner are there.

My gut says Bean because he still has the potential Francis once saw in him, and it would be as chip-on-the-shouldery as Vegas once was.

Chaos mode

What if the Hurricanes let Dougie Hamilton become a free agent until, like, the day after the expansion draft so they don’t have to expose him? I think that would be hilarious but risky. I also sort of feel like Hamilton would encourage this sort of thing in theory. But in reality, this is his life and the biggest opportunity to make money that he has. But it would be hilarious, and consider this: hot tub TVs. I don’t think this will happen but I pray to all of our gods that it does.

Or, what if Jordan Staal waives his no-move clause to be the Seattle veteran? Eh. I doubt this will happen. Just let the man finally have his day as a league-best third-line center with Trocheck now providing 2C duties.

The Athletic LOADED: 12.11.2020 1196837 Seattle Kraken This is where the real-life decisions will likely be made, so let’s examine their cases individually, because all three players started from very different places.

Seattle Kraken expansion mock draft 5.0: Who could the Flames lose? Bennett was chosen fourth overall in the 2014 draft, one spot behind the Oilers’ Leon Draisaitl and has been a maddeningly inconsistent presence almost ever since. When he’s dialed in, as he almost always is in the playoffs, Bennett can be a force — a nasty, physical player, with a By Eric Duhatschek reasonable skill level. Bennett is also versatile. He was drafted as a Dec 10, 2020 centre but has predominantly played as a winger throughout his NHL career.

Normally slotted as a bottom-six forward, there is a school of thought that Offseason arrivals and departures — plus the progression of some of the suggests Bennett should get a chance to play in the middle for a stretch organization’s younger players — has shifted the thinking from the last of games, just to see how he adjusts to an upgraded role. In last year’s time we projected the Calgary Flames’ protected list for the 2021 Seattle playoffs, Bennett, Lucic and Dube were a consistent, collective force for expansion draft. the team, especially in even-strength situations. At some point, the Flames need to decide what exactly Bennett is — and where he fits in. The Flames will almost certainly adopt a 7-3-1 protection model — seven forwards, three defencemen and one goalie. Let’s dive in with our Despite his inconsistencies and propensity to take ill-timed penalties, projected protected list right off the start and then get into an explanation Bennett’s upside is so tantalizing that making him available to Seattle as of how we arrived at it. an unprotected player seems fraught with risk. Who knows? Bennett could become a fixture at centre for Seattle if he ever got the chance. Forwards: Matthew Tkachuk, Elias Lindholm, Sean Monahan, Johnny Gaudreau, Sam Bennett, Dillon Dube, Andrew Mangiapane Dube is 22, chosen 56th overall in the 2016 draft, and over the past season, gradually worked his way into a full-time NHL role. He is a skilled Defence: Noah Hanifin, Rasmus Andersson, Mark Giordano player with size, and looks as if he could be a productive, hard-to-play- Goaltender: Jacob Markstrom against, middle-of-the-roster talent for years to come. And he’s still on his entry-level contract, which, in a flat-cap era, creates value beyond Let’s start with Markstrom, who signed a six-year, $36 million contract everything he’s doing on the ice. and is now the clear-cut No. 1 goaltender in the organization. David Rittich drops to No. 2; he’s unsigned beyond this season, but could be an Mangiapane was the 166th player chosen in the 2015 draft and mostly option for the Kraken, if they’re looking for a budget backup — or a played a top-six role last season for the Flames, producing 32 points goaltender that they could use in a tandem. (and 17 goals) in 68 games. Of those points, only one came on the power play. That sort of even-strength production is significant — and Technically, though, Tyler Parsons will be the signed goaltender that valuable. meets the expansion draft criteria. More importantly, Seattle will have lots of other excellent options in goal — and as a result, will likely be more Now 24, Mangiapane recently signed a two-year contract extension for a interested in one of the forwards or defencemen that the Flames make reasonable price: $2.425 million per season. The reason he could be the available. forward that slips through the cracks is his size; he’s listed at 5-foot-10, 184 pounds. Presumably, the Flames are not just assessing their own Up front, not much has really changed at the top of the list, where four projected lists, but everyone else’s too. They may conclude that Seattle names — Tkachuk, Lindholm, Monahan and Gaudreau — are locked in. could have lots of players, similar to Mangiapane, at its disposal, and Technically, the Flames are obliged to also protect Milan Lucic, who has thus, might go in a different direction. a full no-move clause in his contract, unless he agrees to waive that But there’ll be a hard call to make here at forward. Things could get protection for purposes of the expansion draft. clarified in the 2020-21 season — if there’s a fall-off in Backlund’s play, Even though the team is not in a position to say so publicly, it’s logical to for example, or a significant uptick in Dube’s, Mangiapane’s, or assume that when the Flames originally made the trade to acquire Lucic Bennett’s. But if you had to make that call today, it would a challenge. from Edmonton in exchange for James Neal, they reached some sort of We’ll make Backlund available, based strictly on two factors: His contract gentlemen’s agreement with the Lucic camp, to waive that no-move and the number on his birth certificate (he’ll be 32 by the expansion protection, on the grounds that Seattle wouldn’t be interested in a player draft). Seattle will have a lot of cap flexibility. But do they want to burn a at his salary level ($5.25 million annually for three additional years) and substantial amount on a 30-something forward, earning over $5 million diminishing production (20 points in 68 games last season). per season for three more years? Maybe not.

The reality is, unless they make a pre-arranged deal with Seattle The questions on defence are far less complicated than before, because management — which might be a possibility — they will lose a forward the Flames will get an exemption for promising defenceman Juuso they really don’t want to part with. From among the remaining forwards Valimaki, who missed all of last season, recovering from surgery. beyond the sure things, four names stand out above the rest: Backlund, With Valimaki exempt, the Flames can protect both 23-year-old Noah Bennett, Mangiapane and Dube. The Flames can only protect three. Hanifin (signed for four more years at an AAV of $4.95 million) and 24- Backlund is the oldest of the four at 31, and earns the most money year-old Rasmus Anderson (signed for six more years at an AAV of (signed for four more years at $5.35 million). They could take a $4.55 million). calculated risk that Seattle wouldn’t want to commit to that sort of salary Their third protected player will be either their 37-year-old captain Mark and term, given that part of their building strategy will be taking on bad Giordano ($6.75 AAV) or free-agent acquisition Chris Tanev (30 years contracts from other teams, in exchange for draft choices and other old, signed for a four-year contract, averaging $4.5 million. Tanev considerations. received a modified no-trade clause, but that doesn’t prevent him from On the other hand, it would be a risky play, given how valuable Backlund possibly being exposed in the expansion draft. is to the team. Backlund is the unofficial leader of the team’s Swedish It’s hard to imagine Seattle would have much interest in Giordano, at this “posse” — a group that includes Lindholm, Rasmus Andersson, Oliver late stage of his career and while Tanev is the sort of quality stay-at- Kylington, plus newcomers Markstrom and Joakim Nordstrom. In addition home defenceman that helped Vegas thrive in its inaugural season, the to his contributions to leadership and chemistry, he is one of their more Kraken should have better (and cheaper) defensive options than him at important and productive players, someone who approaches the 50-point their disposal. On the other hand, Giordano won the Norris Trophy in plateau regularly, despite playing primarily on the second power-play 2019 and has been the face of the franchise for close to a decade, so unit. they may not want to take even the chance that Seattle would grab him The problem with protecting Backlund is that — unless you make a pre- for his ability to create a proper dressing-room culture. As much as the arranged deal with Seattle — you will almost certainly lose one of the Flames like Tanev, if they lost him, there’s likely other 2021 UFA other three. defencemen who’ll come available at roughly the same price point if they eventually need a replacement. It may well be that of all the available Flames’ defencemen, Oliver Kylington (still unsigned and currently an RFA) is the most attractive commodity, because of his age (23) and the fact that he’ll come cheaply.

For the Vegas expansion draft, the Flames didn’t have to do a lot of maneuvering to cover off all the players they wanted to protect; the team simply wasn’t as deep then as it is now. (In the end, Vegas selected a pending unrestricted free agent from Calgary’s available list, defenceman Deryk Engelland) and then signed Engelland to a contract themselves). If the cost to retain Backlund — or one of the other bubble forwards — is to surrender to Seattle their extra third-round draft choice (acquired from Edmonton in the Neal-Lucic trade) and in exchange, have them agree to select Kylington, then that’s an outcome that could potentially satisfy both sides.

The Athletic LOADED: 12.11.2020 1196838 Seattle Kraken “We begin every staff call on Monday, we tell the story of someone who has joined us (season-ticket buyers),’’ Leiweke said. “And the stories are incredible.’’

LeBrun: NHL start for Seattle Kraken about much more than hockey Last week, the story was of a season-ticket holder who is recovering from cancer.

“She felt that she might be living on borrowed time but this was going to By Pierre LeBrun be a very important part of their life,’’ said Leiweke, the weight of that clear in his voice. Dec 10, 2020 Each story helps connect the Kraken to their community in ways that give

you the sense Seattle has every chance to duplicate the remarkable The Seattle Kraken’s first game next season will carry with it so much love-in their expansion cousins in Vegas produced. meaning. “It’s been phenomenal,” said Leiweke. “I think we’ve got a hockey town The timing might just be what the hockey world needs. on our hands here.’’

If we can assume the world will get back to some level of normalcy next The Kraken aren’t officially part of the NHL family until they finish off fall, with COVID-19 vaccines doing their thing, the Kraken’s inaugural paying their $650 million expansion fee. Like the Golden Knights, in the game could be a much-needed elixir. lead-up to their first season, Seattle has been making payments in instalments and by all accounts, the final payment should go through Fans in the stands. A 32nd team. An 82-game season. A brand-new rink sometime in the spring which is also when Vegas made its last payment in Seattle knocking our socks off. in 2017. The significance of that? Once the final payment is made, the expansion team can be officially invited to Board of Governors meetings, Personally, I can’t wait. GMs meetings, and start making trades. In short, get all the benefits of “In some ways, we have resembled hope,’’ Kraken president and CEO being officially in the NHL family. told The Athletic this week. “I think most people believe that “We’re on the same schedule as Vegas and there’s a lot of similarities,’’ by the time that puck is dropped, we’re going to be on the other end of Leiweke said when asked about the expansion fee payments, crediting this global pandemic. And I think we actually almost kind of took on ownership for their commitment. unique and special meaning in the context of that.’’ And the rink? Which is a comforting thought indeed. “The arena is truly going to be incredible,’’ Leiweke said, the enthusiasm And ironic in some ways, too. Because it’s no secret the Seattle oozing through the phone line. ownership and management group back in the early stages really wanted to open play in 2020-21, and were disappointed when the NHL decided “We think this could be the most beautiful arena in the world.’’ the 32nd team would have to wait another year until the fall of 2021 to open play. Well, it oughta be. While Leiweke would not say, other sources suggest to me that the total cost of rebuilding Key Arena will be around $1 billion. And well, thank goodness for not opening in 2020, the year from hell nobody on earth will ever forget. Wowzers.

“As you and I had talked some years ago, my initial reaction of not being The Kraken kept the historic roof, which was first unveiled as part of the 2020 was of great disappointment, I wanted to get it on,’’ acknowledged 1962 Seattle World’s Fair. Leiweke. They added more seating room by digging. But yeah. Funny how things are sometimes meant to be for a reason. “By digging down 40 feet, we’ve doubled the size of the arena,’’ said What a disaster that would have been for the Kraken getting ready for a Leiweke. shortened season without fans in the building. I have to think the NHL would have delayed their entry for that reason alone. His brother , a former CEO with the Kings and Maple Leafs, has spearheaded the arena build through his company, the Oak View So all things being equal next fall, with the hope of vaccines on the Group. horizon, it will likely be a packed house when the Kraken get crackin’ in their inaugural season. “My brother, what he did with the arena, there were a lot of architects and engineers that said it couldn’t be done,” said Tod Leiweke. “They told The process of turning 32,000 original ticket deposits from 2-3 years ago the wrong guy that, my brother Tim. He’s got a lot of fortitude.’’ into actual season-ticket holders for next season is nearly complete. And despite the pandemic, all signs point to the arena being ready on “We’re closing in on our seating process and we’re so proud of how that’s time. gone and what it means for the team,’’ Leiweke said. “We always thought it would be late summer and I think that holds true,” Shortly in the New Year, Leiweke said, the Kraken will be sold out, so in said Leiweke. “I would say September is a really good target for us. And a rink which holds about 17,000 seats, it means roughly 15,000 season we’ve managed through a lot of stuff to keep it pretty close to on tickets sold in one form or another. schedule.’’ Let that sink in. Which is amazing through what 2020 has presented. In the middle of a pandemic, and all the associated hardship, Seattle “Big ideas sustain themselves even in the toughest of times,” said hockey fans stepped up big time. Leiweke. “This is a big idea. This city, this community which had been The demand has remained so high that Leiweke said they’ve taken 4,500 wrestling with this arena situation for a long, long time … this has been a seats and cut them in half for season-ticket purposes, so 9,000 half- long journey that this community has been on, and that this arena has season tickets could be produced that way. been on.’’

“Even doing that, it wasn’t enough to get through the list because the The signs went up on the rink last Saturday for the Climate Pledge demand has been so great,’’ said Leiweke. Arena.

“We’ll effectively be through our entire seating process, which is all of our “Not only is that a partnership with , but it’s a partnership that club seats, our ice seats, all of the full seasons and half seasons, we gave this building incredible mission, and we felt we already had a think sometime in January or February,’’ he added. mission,” said Leiweke. “We saved the building, we saved the roof. And now we have a building that really stands for something. We’ll be the first Leiweke refers to it as the “daily miracle,’’ the process of individual zero-carbon arena in the world. That took real doing. We had to get rid of people signing up for their season-ticket package and the emails the all the fossil fuels coming into the building. We had to think about all sorts Kraken CEO gets from these people that are so full of joy. of issues like waste, what water we use to make the ice.’’ Well, it’s actually going to be rainwater coming off the roof that will be captured in a holding tank, which will then be filtered.

“So the players will literally be skating on ice that is collected rainwater reused from the roof,’’ said Leiweke.

Where’s that time machine to bring us right to the fall of 2021? That first Seattle game is going to feel good in more ways than one.

The Athletic LOADED: 12.11.2020 1196839 St Louis Blues As the return to play plan comes into focus, the league and the NHL Players’ Association are looking at a Jan. 13 start of the regular season, with training camps starting Jan. 3. (The seven teams that failed to make the playoffs this past season would start a few days earlier.) To the chagrin of some fans, Blues could be headed West in NHL realignment The expectation is that there will be no preseason games. And with only about 10 days of camp, it will be tougher for younger players to get noticed.

Jim Thomas Or as Armstrong said earlier: “All players are gonna have less of an opportunity to make an impact on the coaches.”

But the possibility of expanded active rosters (26 players instead of the Once it became clear that the NHL was strongly considering an all- usual 23), plus a four-man “taxi” (or practice) squad should help fringe Canadian division in its return-to-play plans for this season, either the players. Blues or the Minnesota Wild would be getting the short end of the travel stick in any realignment of U.S. clubs. Plans call for a 56-game regular season, with clubs playing only against the other teams in their division. In the West, that would mean the Blues It now appears that “short stick” is being handed to the Blues. play the seven other West squads eight times apiece — four home and The seven-team all-Canadian division will be a necessity because of four away. border-crossing restrictions instituted by Canada during the coronavirus It’s unclear how the schedule will be set up. There has been talk of pandemic. Those restrictions aren’t expected to change any time soon. clustering games together, such as back-to-backs in the same city As a result, the 24 NHL teams south of the U.S.-Canada border are to be against the same opponent to limit travel. realigned in three divisions of eight teams for one year only, grouped But it’s clear the Blues would have more travel time in a West division. geographically as much as possible. Just to get a feel for what we’re talking about, consider this: Problem is, there are only so many teams in the western half of the U.S.: • In a realigned West division, one-way flight miles from St. Louis are 546 Anaheim, Arizona, Colorado, Dallas, Los Angeles, San Jose, Vegas … to Dallas, 770 to Colorado, 1,262 to Arizona, 1,371 to Vegas, 1,577 to and either Minnesota or St. Louis. Anaheim, 1,592 to Los Angeles, and 1,715 to San Jose. The total Although nothing is finalized, reports Wednesday — particularly by NHL mileage for those seven one-way trips: 8,833. insider Pierre LeBrun — indicated that St. Louis would go to the West • If the Blues were in the Central/South, one-way flight miles from St. and Minnesota to a hybrid Central/South division. Underscoring the Louis are 258 to Chicago, 272 to Nashville, 409 to Columbus, 439 to unofficial nature of realignment plans, there were reports Thursday night Detroit, 667 to Carolina, 869 to Tampa Bay, and 1,056 to Florida. That’s by The Athletic that tweaks were being considered _ one of which would a total of 3,970 miles, or less than half the West total. put Minnesota in the West. As for the quality of competition, the top of the West will be a grind based In any event, the prospect of St. Louis in the West did not go over well on last season’s standings. St. Louis, Colorado, Vegas and Dallas were with many Blues fans, who now anticipate a (shortened) season of road the top four seeds in last summer’s Edmonton bubble. Conversely, it games starting at 9 or 9:30 p.m. Central time. For those who have to would also include three of the seven NHL teams that didn’t qualify for work in the morning, a steady diet of midnight hockey isn’t ideal. the expanded 24-team playoff field in Anaheim, Los Angeles and San Fanning the flames were Twitter reports by ESPN.com’s Greg Wyshynski Jose. that regional carrier Fox Sports Midwest preferred a West division Rivalries? The Blues would lose Chicago, Nashville, and some would say assignment for the Blues over a Central/South designation. Wyshynski Detroit, in the Central/South. But Colorado, Dallas and Vegas are all later clarified that FSM and the Blues were on board with a desire to good rivalries in the West — although nothing replaces the Blackhawks move to the West, although FSM was not pushing for the move. in the eyes of most Blues fans. “Fox Sports Midwest offered the league no input on divisional realignment,” FSM spokesperson Geoff Goldman told the Post-Dispatch via email Thursday. “We want whatever’s best for the Blues and their St Louis Post Dispatch LOADED: 12.11.2020 fans, and whenever and wherever games are played, we’ll be there.”

Ratings-wise, the Blues do well pretty much regardless of start time. They ranked third in the NHL among U.S. cities last season with a 4.4 household rating and have been in the top five in each of the last seven seasons according to Nielsen.

Last season, ratings for Eastern games were only 0.2 better than Western starts.

As for the bigger picture on divisional realignment and return to play, Blues general manager Doug Armstrong and NHL deputy commissioner Bill Daly both declined to comment until plans are finalized.

Earlier this fall, Armstrong took an “anytime, anywhere” stance. He told the Post-Dispatch that regardless of format, number of games, or divisional alignments, the Blues would take the same approach when hockey returned.

“You go out and you compete against the guy on the other bench, whether they’re Canadian, or from the southeast or northwest or northeast,” Armstrong said at the time. “It doesn’t really matter. It’s just competition.

“Whether you play 42 games or whether you play 82 games, or anything in between — you dress 18 skaters and two goalies and you go out there. So there’s no dynamic change for us.”

All well and good, but playing in a West division would leave the Blues with lots of extra travel. Even in normal times, that means more wear and tear. During a coronavirus pandemic that means more potential exposure to COVID-19. 1196840 St Louis Blues Tampa Bay, Carolina, Columbus, Chicago, Florida, Nashville, Minnesota and Detroit. Of those eight, only Detroit didn’t make the postseason.

Meanwhile, there’s some belief around the NHL that the league might What I’m hearing about the Blues potentially playing in the ‘Pacific’ have wanted to swap St. Louis and Minnesota to give the divisions more Division balance. The Blues, who won the Stanley Cup in 2019, were leading the Western Conference with 94 points when the regular season was shut down, while the Wild were 10th in the conference with 77 points. The setup as it is now provides each division with three to four quality clubs, By Jeremy Rutherford though there’s still more depth in the Central. Dec 10, 2020 According to The Athletic colleague Michael Russo, Minnesota says that it never campaigned the NHL for the Wild to be in one division over the other. But it’s plausible that the team’s higher-ups on the business side When Pierre LeBrun, my colleague at The Athletic, reported Wednesday and owner , who is on the Board of Governors executive the potential makeup of the NHL’s realigned divisions for the 2021 committee, didn’t mind the switch. season, the reaction in St. Louis was immediate and scathing. Either way, something changed in recent weeks. LeBrun stressed that it was how the league has the divisions drawn up currently, that it was subject to change. Yet fan angst over the possibility Craig Leipold of playing in the “Pacific” Division, which would include more travel and Did the Blues want to play in the Pacific? late start times, wouldn’t wait for an official announcement. This is where it gets a little tricky because the question becomes “Did the Those 9 to 9:30 p.m. puck-drops were only part of it. No regular-season Blues push to play in the Pacific?” or “Did they go along with the league’s games against the archrival Chicago Blackhawks? You’ve got to be idea?” kidding! Squashed speculation about the Blues and Detroit renewing acquaintances? Say it ain’t so! Here’s what I can ascertain, being familiar with the Blues’ thought process before the NHL’s bubble in Edmonton in July and what they In the past 24 hours, I’ve made several phone calls and can confirm that could be thinking now. when the NHL does return, the Blues are slated to be in the “Pacific” Division, along with Anaheim, Arizona, Colorado, Dallas, Los Angeles, The Blues, who led the Western Conference at the time of the pause in San Jose and Vegas. And as LeBrun reported, the “Central” Division, mid-March, weren’t thrilled that they had to play a round-robin which includes five Eastern Conference clubs, will comprise Carolina, tournament to restore their top seed. But they were understanding of the Columbus, Detroit, Chicago, Florida, Minnesota, Nashville and reigning fact that the top teams in each conference needed to play a few Stanley Cup champ Tampa Bay. competitive games before the real playoffs began and that there was no perfect solution to restarting the postseason. For those who haven’t been following the NHL’s realignment story closely, this is a one-year situation resulting from the Canadian So the Blues went along with what was best for the league, and I believe government’s decision to allow only essential workers across the border. that’s what they’re doing here. Is it ideal to be in the West with more In 2021-22, the league is expected to return to its regular divisions. travel and later starts? No, but they don’t want to be a team that’s standing in the way of figuring out what will work for everyone as a But for one year, the border law has created the need for an “All- whole. Canadian” Division featuring the country’s seven teams: Vancouver, Edmonton, Calgary, Winnipeg, Toronto, Montreal and Ottawa. But if you’re the Blues, is it really such a negative to be in the West? As mentioned above, the Wild weren’t against it. That forced the NHL to divide up the remaining 24 U.S.-based clubs into three divisions. They are based mostly on proximity, but either the Blues The format for the 2021 NHL playoffs hasn’t been announced, but reports or Minnesota would have to play in the “Pacific” Division in order for each indicate that the top four teams in each division will advance, and with of those three divisions to have eight teams. The plan is to play a 56- the Pacific looking like a friendlier path, perhaps the Blues welcomed it. game regular season schedule against opponents only in your division. In addition to that, the warmer-weather climates are more desirable. The So that’s how the league got to where we are today. But keep in mind league’s schedule is expected to be such that the Blues will face the that everything surrounding “Return to Play 2.0” is fluid. What appears to same opponent multiple times on the same trip. They could play Los be the direction today may be different tomorrow, or even in an hour. So Angeles twice, Anaheim twice and San Jose twice in a week-long jaunt don’t forget the word “fluidity” when listening or reading anything about out West. The days off in between games in those cities, along with Las hockey coming back. Vegas and Glendale, Ariz., could be spent outdoors. Perhaps that’s seen as a plus of playing in the Pacific, too, as opposed to colder cities such That said, here’s what I’m hearing about the Blues potentially playing in as Chicago, Detroit, Columbus, etc. the “Pacific” Division … So there may have been a little campaigning on the part of the Blues to Weren’t the Blues expected to play in the “Central” Division? play in the Pacific, but in the end, it seems “six of one, half a dozen of the Yes, the original reports were that the Blues would stay in their current other” in terms of the pros and cons of the two divisions. division (with the Eastern teams) and that Minnesota would be headed But what about those late-night starts? West. That was never set in stone, but that was the plan. Ah yes, we can’t forget about that. So what happened? I asked the NHL that question, and the league responded that it wasn’t at liberty to discuss that topic. If you’re driving to your office these days and returning home around 5 p.m., you know the feeling of sitting down for dinner and then waiting and This is what I believe: There were competing forces at work here. waiting and waiting for the Blues to come on TV out West. From a business perspective, you can bet Minnesota would prefer to be Well, from every conversation I’ve ever had with a Blues official over the in the Central. Like the Blues, the Wild have often felt they get the short years, they are certainly cognizant of the fans’ disdain for games that shrift with playoff start times, and assumingly, the puck-drops would be start after 9 p.m. and finish around midnight. And I’m sure that in their better for local TV if they were in the Central, and ratings would be discussions with the league, they’ve been ready for that reaction from higher. their faithful followers. From a competitive standpoint, Minnesota probably preferred the new- But a few things to consider: look Pacific, which is seen as the easier division of the two. Yes, it has Colorado and Vegas — two of the premier teams in the league — and Again, the plan is to play 56 games — eight against each of the seven Dallas played in the Stanley Cup Final last season. But Anaheim, Los opponents in the Blues’ division. Of those 56 games, 28 would be at Angeles and San Jose were three of the seven clubs that didn’t even home and 28 on the road barring any pandemic-related change that qualify for the 24-team playoffs last season. Conversely, the Central has forces the league to play in a hub. Of those 28 on the road, four would be in Dallas, which is in the Central time zone), four would be in Colorado (Mountain Time, one hour behind CT) and four would be in Arizona (MT until March, when it changes to Pacific time). So in reality, there would be a maximum of 16 games in which the Blues play two hours behind local time.

However, there’s a chance that with no fans expected to be in the buildings, the NHL could start the night games on the West Coast earlier than usual. They typically start 7 to 7:30 p.m. PT (9-9:30 CT) for TV purposes, but it’s also to allow fans enough time to arrive at the arena.

If the league moves the game times up, as has been discussed, there’s the potential for a game in LA to start at 5 or 6 p.m. PT, which would be 7 or 8 CT. That’s a far cry from 6 or 6:30 p.m. CT, which would be the case if the Blues were playing in Tampa, Detroit, Carolina and Columbus. But at least it wouldn’t 9 or 9:30 p.m.

Also, for as much as Blues fans loathe the late starts, they still watch. The Blues averaged a 4.4 household rating on Fox Sports Midwest in 2019-20, which was up 25 percent from 2018-19. The team’s local TV ratings ranked third in the NHL among U.S.-based teams last season, and they’ve ranked among the top five in each of the past seven seasons. And the difference between the early (Eastern) games and later (Western) games? The ratings differences were negligible (0.2).

So it may mean a few later nights if the Blues are in the Pacific, but it will mean the return of hockey.

The Athletic LOADED: 12.11.2020 1196841 Tampa Bay Lightning Though the 17-year-old Goncalves still lacked the physical strength to play his natural centre position, or to play high in the lineup, Williams trusted him enough to use him as a regular winger in a depth role. When the season was finished and the 2019 NHL Draft rolled around, though, How Lightning prospect Gage Goncalves got on Team Canada’s world he wasn’t in any discussions — and didn’t expect to get picked. He’d juniors radar scored just one goal and 15 points in his 67-game draft season, never appearing on one of NHL Central Scouting’s lists.

In the summer after his first draft year, the Silvertips told him that if he By Scott Wheeler could get stronger that there might be a more significant role for him the Dec 10, 2020 following season as an 18-year-old.

At home in Mission, B.C., he got to work with his long-time trainer Vik Gill. He’d been working with Gill, who runs a local gym called Fitness Twelve months. That’s how long those who know Gage Goncalves say Lab, since he was 12 years old when Gill did some dryland training with he has been considered an NHL prospect. That’s how fast it happened. his rep team. But each summer, when he came back to train, and add This time last year, NHL scouts were only just beginning to notice him, to muscle, it never came naturally. pay attention. It wasn’t for a lack of hard work, though. It was about genetics. Now he’s a second-round pick of the Tampa Bay Lightning and a member of Hockey Canada’s world junior selection camp, vying to make “He was always the smallest kid on the team when he was younger, so a team full of the hockey world’s brightest young stars, full of prospects he was always the hardest worker because he always wanted to prove who’ve always been destined for this. his point and make everybody believe that he was a contender. He always pushed way harder than everybody else,” Gill said. And though his journey is different than theirs, the destination is now likely the same. Though he was 6-foot-1 by summer 2019, his frame was still wiry. Slowly, however, progress was made in the gym and a new diet was Sitting in a Starbucks across the table from his director of player successful. personnel Alvin Backus, general manager Garry Davidson tries to remember why he took a chance on Goncalves when “When the size hit in the last couple of years, he could physically see the nobody else would. results happening in front of him,” Gill said. “His overall size and strength, with power, has always been the main thing. We just looked to put a little At 14 years old, when WHL hopefuls were making their case for the more weight on him at a time to make him look a little bigger. That’s league’s bantam draft, Goncalves posted just 12 points in 27 games at always been his struggle, is just putting on size. And then when it started the Yale Hockey Academy, playing in the shadow of would-be fifth- happening, it started happening quick.” overall pick Josh Williams (who posted 67 points in 29 games) and would-be 31st overall pick Harrison Blaisdell (who posted 60 points in 29 When Goncalves returned for the start of the 2019-2020 season, he games and would’ve gone higher were it not for his college hockey looked different on the ice. More like his age. Ready to play centre. intentions). So it wasn’t the production. “He battled through and took a lot of pride in his training and used his It wasn’t his physical attributes, either. He was scrawny, Davidson offseason to get stronger, faster and bigger with a chip on his shoulder to explains. He was a sloppy skater, too, bending over his toe caps through say, ‘I deserve more ice time, I can take on a lot more responsibility,'” his stride. And though the Silvertips weren’t prepared to use one of their Williams said. “He became a responsible 200-foot centreman, he found a picks in the WHL draft’s 13 rounds on him, knowing no other teams had niche playing with (former Canadiens prospect) Cole Fonstad and (Ducks interest, they liked enough about him — mainly his effort — to invite him signee) Bryce Kindopp. And he really moulded into an unbelievable two- as an undrafted 15-year-old to their 2016 training camp. way hockey player.”

Around that time, agent Allain Roy and his Roy Sports Group saw Quickly, Williams learned to trust him in “all facets.” Up a goal? something similar and brought Goncalves on as a client. Goncavles could protect the lead. Down a goal? He’d go get one. Shorthanded? First over the boards. Power play? First over the boards. Back then, though, they all knew his hockey future was uncertain. When Goncalves returned to the prep school for his under-16 season in 2016- “The one thing I can always say about Gage is in two years, I don’t know 17, he remained a bit of an afterthought. When the season finished, he if I ever had to get him to compete or work hard. He just loves it and he still hadn’t established himself as the kind of player who was likely to play comes to get better,” Williams said. in the WHL as a 16-year-old, finishing third on the academy’s under-16 At the midway point of the season, the questions from NHL scouts team in scoring. started coming to Williams and Davidson. When they would ask about “He did not grow quickly physically and it held him back,” Roy said. “He the team’s first-year draft eligibles Ronan Seeley and Kasper Puutio, was your typical late bloomer.” they’d also ask about another name.

Though the Silvertips invited him back for a second training camp, he “A lot of guys just started sniffing like, ‘Hey, tell me a little bit about this was cut and sent home with unprotected WHL status for a second time, Goncalves kid.’ Just subtle conversations. And then Christmas came with no firm commitment from Everett. It was that season, when he joined around and we did a swing up through Edmonton and that really started the Fraser Valley Thunderbirds’ under-18 AAA team, that things finally the build. The second half of the year he just really took off. People saw began to change — at least in terms of his potential as a WHL player. the compete and the creativity on the ice, and the different areas we relied on him,” Williams said. Goncalves grew a couple of inches and led the Thunderbirds to British Columbia’s under-18 league championship with a combined 85 points in Around that time, Roy also began receiving serious calls about his client 47 games — and a nod on the league’s first All-Star team. When the for the first time. season was over, he also made his junior hockey debuts, playing four “Scouts kept going to see them play and every time Everett played, he games for the BCHL’s Chilliwack Chiefs and one for the Silvertips in the was hard to not notice. That’s to his credit because he really plays a hard WHL (who, by then, were compelled to sign him and protect him). game even though he’s not the biggest guy,” Roy said. “He catches your Still, though, as he returned to his third WHL training camp in 2018, in eye because he works so damn hard. His puck pursuit is amazing.” what should have been his NHL draft year, Goncalves wasn’t a lock to By the time his second draft year was over, Goncalves had finished make the team. It was Backus, then in his first camp with the Silvertips’ second on the Silvertips in scoring with 71 points in 60 games, and first in management staff after years as an amateur scout with the Montreal points per game (1.18). Canadiens, who had to make Goncalves’ case early. And this time, when the draft neared, he was on a list, finishing 80th By the time his third training camp had completed, he’d also turned the among North American skaters on NHL Central Scouting’s final 2020 team’s head coach, Dennis Williams, also in his first season behind the draft ranking. Silvertips bench at the time, into a believer. He’d made such a mark that the Lightning liked him enough to take him “When you’re putting together those teams with Hockey Canada for a 62nd overall as an overager, and that Hockey Canada liked him enough short-term competition, that guy who can really accept a role is so to invite him to their selection camp, his first for any of their international important there. A lot of players think they can play a lesser role but events. when they really get into it, it’s difficult. Gage has competed for everything he’s got,” Williams said. “He had games in his first year where Everyone involved in his journey to that point calls his draft day a maybe he only played seven or 10 shifts in a game because he wasn’t a highlight of their career. first-round WHL player. He has always had to fight uphill battles. He’ll put “It was just one of those moments that’s top three in my life,” Gill said. “I his best foot forward, give an honest effort, and make it hard on (Team love the kid. I honestly love the kid. He’s just such a good kid all around. Canada head coach Andre Tourigny) and the staff to cut him.” Everyone at my gym loves him and he’ll talk to anybody who’s there. It’s Then, in Canada’s very first Red and White scrimmage, it was Goncalves unbelievable to see it happen right in front of me. Like unreal. I just who opened the scoring, finishing a rebound. absolutely love the story.” And when the game was over and Tourigny was asked for his standouts, And there were those who helped. They’ll mention his dad, Fernando, a among the names he listed were a first-overall WHL pick (Peyton Krebs), Portuguese immigrant and impressive volleyball player. They’ll point to a second-overall WHL pick (Kirby Dach), and a kid who’d never been his sister, Jordana, an accomplished college baseball player. They’ll picked at all: Goncalves. credit Gill for having helped him add the weight (he turns 20 in January and he’s now 178 pounds — he was 5-foot-8 and 135 pounds at the “His intensity, the way he plays the game, he plays the game the right start of the 2018 season). They’ll talk of humble beginnings and an way. He’s a hard-nosed player, he’s physical, he goes into the dirty unassuming family. areas, and he’s really structured in his game. He’s reliable on both sides of the puck, and he’s got a really good skill set to go along with it. I think He’ll talk about those things too, adding his grandfather and Williams to he’s a really good player,” Tourigny said. the list. He credits, in particular, the long leash Williams gave him last season offensively for his sudden success. “He’s a bit of a late bloomer, but we’re not here to judge who he was at 17 years old, it’s who he is right now. And he’s doing a really good job “(Williams) has been a really big staple, just helping me with video and right now. Every practice, he’s focussed and tuned in. He did not arrive little things to improve my game, my shot, footwork, puck protection was here just dipping his toe and just going around wondering if he fits here. a really big one for me to work on this past summer, so I can’t thank him He went and he dove right in and he belongs.” enough for just all of the hours of video and the phone calls he put in over the summer,” Goncalves said. The entire selection camp experience, Goncalves says, has been “amazing.” It means something more to him than to the others, given how But they always come back to him, the person he is, and the player he far he has come. has become. He did it, they’ll say. “I’ve never been able to play and practice with this type of high-calibre “He just continued to show up at the rink year after year, persisted, got players before. It has been an honour. I’m definitely not taking anything better, and stayed the course. And that’s how it works. There are lots of for granted,” he said. “You’ve got a lot of first-round high picks here so kids who go through the system and don’t get drafted and continue to get I’m just trying to show them that I belong.” better and they go by people who were taken in the first round,” Davidson says of Goncalves. With cuts looming after Team Canada was forced into a 14-day quarantine due to the pop-up of positive COVID-19 tests, and decisions Gill credits Goncalves for the years of dedication, for sticking with it. needed on the final roster, Goncalves spent his time in his hotel room “He’s truly gifted. I’m not just saying that. Like he’s one in a million when playing Xbox, Christmas shopping for his family, catching up with friends it comes to being able to adapt and pick things up quickly. So as his size over FaceTime, and listening to podcasts, eager to get back on the ice has come he has figured out how to use it and apply it, and his game has and prove himself one last time. just got better and better. He’s 110 percent hockey-minded. Everything If he makes the team, he’ll spend his Christmas in a bubble in Edmonton, he does is about hockey,” Gill said. pursuing a gold medal. If he doesn’t, he’ll get back to work in preparation Davidson refers to Goncalves the player as “-like.” for another season in Everett, a city that is in the midst of a month-long lockdown of its own, which has closed the Silvertips’ arena — and “Lots of times you think he’s not going to win the battle and then he goes subsequently the team’s operations. in there and he comes out with the puck. Gage competes and because he’s stronger now his speed has come a long way, but he also has great No matter where he lands, when his career is over he’ll have a good hands and a really good sense for the game,” Davidson said. “And he’s story to tell. got a passion for the game. He likes to get to the rink and he enjoys his “There’s always these kids where they’re like, ‘Hey, it’s going to happen’ day there no matter how difficult it might be. It has paid off for him and everyone’s got a different route,” Roy said. “This kid just kept because now he’s drafted and he goes from never being involved with working.” Hockey Canada to an invite to showcase himself against all of the top kids in the country.”

They each refer to Goncalves the person with terms such as The Athletic LOADED: 12.11.2020 “unbelievable,” and “polite,” and “soft-spoken.”

He spent much of his summer on Zoom calls with the Lightning’s skating coaches breaking down his stride, or calling them for tips in the gym. Williams makes all of those phone calls to Goncalves because he knows he wants to learn.

“If we had an extension of our coaching staff, I always say he could easily be a coach,” Williams said. “When you talk to Gage, he’s really engaged, he knows the systems, he understands the way the game is played, he’s a very intelligent person.”

When all of those who’ve been there for Goncalves’ rise heard about his invite to Team Canada’s camp, they called him once more to tell him he could do it, to tell him he belonged.

“If they’re looking for a character guy to play behind the stars, he’ll be positive in the locker room and every aspect,” Davidson said.

In a camp full of prospects who’ve always been stars, Williams believed Goncalves was well-equipped to earn an opportunity. 1196842 Toronto Maple Leafs to be the four best teams in the NHL at the time — Tampa and Boston plus, if the Maple Leafs would have dipped into the first wild-card spot, one of either Pittsburgh or Washington. Given that Tampa, Pittsburgh and Washington have accounted for four of the most recent five Stanley Over the past four years combined, Auston Matthews and the Maple Cups — and given that Boston has won a Cup and been to two league Leafs have played Canadian teams at a stunning 106-point pace. finals going back to 2011 — it was a ridiculously arduous path born of an unfair system.

Speaking of unfair systems, the proposed division alignment for the By Dave Feschuk Sports Columnist coming season certainly has its benefactors. And the Maple Leafs are Thu., Dec. 10, 2020 among them. Freed of their annual early-round run-in with the NHL elite, now they figure to find themselves in a seven-team division in which the competitive pickings are slimmer.

The Detroit Red Wings had their ceremonial octopus. The Florida Every hockey-loving Canadian knows precisely how many Stanley Cups Panthers had plastic rats. But it was 10 years ago this week that the our great hockey nations NHL teams have won since Montreal hoisted home ice of the Toronto Maple Leafs was repeatedly bombarded with an the jug in 1993; that’d be zero. It was a little more than four years ago object that momentarily stood as a bizarre symbol of fan disenchantment: that all seven Canadian teams missed the playoffs entirely. the waffle. But since then, the Maple Leafs have compiled the best regular-season Or, to be more accurate: the waffles, several of which were hurled from record among their northerly competitors. And in head-to-head matchups somewhere near the top of the platinums near the tail end of a 4-1 loss against the other six north-of-the-border franchises, Toronto’s more than the Philadelphia Flyers. One hit defenceman François Beauchemin, who held its own. In 15 games against Canadian opponents last season, the thankfully was not injured. Another just missed forward Colby Armstrong. Maple Leafs were 7-3-5 — equivalent to 103-point pace over an 82-game run. Over the past four years combined, they’ve played those teams at a The still-unknown waffle tosser, who was reportedly observing wearing stunning 106-point pace. an Edmonton Oilers sweater and denouncing the Leafs as “losers” as he hurled his chosen projectiles, surely had his reasons. And he had at least In other words, there are good reasons why the Maple Leafs are 2-to-1 one copycat, who unfurled an Eggo barrage in the midst of a loss to the favourites to win the all-Canadian division, should it come to pass. 11 days later. Toronto, for one, was stymied by great goaltending in the play-in round against Columbus in the NHL bubble. Outside of Winnipeg’s Vezina At the moment in question the Leafs were running in 28th place in the winner Connor Hellebuyck, there wasn’t a goaltender on a Canadian then-30-team league; they’d finished 29th the season before. They hadn’t team that ranked in the top 15 in five-on-five save percentage last won a playoff series since 2004; they hadn’t even made the post-season season. The Maple Leafs, for another, can struggle against defensively since then, actually, which was a franchise record of ineptitude. Six superior competition. All seven Canadian teams ranked in the bottom 16 months earlier the Boston Bruins had drafted Tyler Seguin with the in five-on-five goals against last season. In other words, expect Auston second-overall pick in the NHL draft — one of two inexplicably Matthews to take a run at the Rocket Richard trophy as the league’s top unprotected first-round picks handed over by GM Brian Burke in the ill- goal scorer. fated trade. Ten years after those airborne Eggos bruised Maple Leaf egos, there’s It was around the time of the waffle tossing that an outraged Burke no reason to waffle on a still-theoretical forecast: if there’s a Canadian derided Toronto’s fan base as “disgraceful” for booing captain Dion division, the Maple Leafs are the best team in it. Phaneuf, never mind that Phaneuf was clearly miscast as the wearer of the “C.” A little more than year after the waffle tossing, in another Burke misstep, coach Ron Wilson would be gifted a Christmas-season contract extension less than a few months before his firing. Toronto Star LOADED: 12.11.2020

So the dysfunction was real. The disenchantment was understandable. But still, in some minds, the waffles perplexed.

“Who brings waffles to a hockey game?” Armstrong wondered at the time.

It was a question to which there’s still no great answer. But a decade on, with hockey optimists waiting intently for the NHL and its players to give the go-ahead on the start of a new season that, according to the latest plan, could begin as soon as Jan. 13, fans of the Maple Leafs can purge themselves of the grim memory. Hold the waffles. But bring on the maple syrup. Recent reports that the coming NHL season figures to see the Maple Leafs compete in an all-Canadian division is a tantalizing notion, indeed.

Toronto has had plenty of problems since they made the playoffs in 2016-17 for the first time in the Shana-plan era. They’ve suffered from various bouts of substandard defence and anemic backup goaltending and inconsistent focus in failing to win so much as a playoff series despite employing a collection of talent that suggests they ought to have done better.

But one of their biggest problems has been their division — and specifically, the two teams that have dominated it, the Tampa Bay Lightning and Boston Bruins. Over the past four seasons combined the Lightning, along with winning the bubble Stanley Cup and going to the Eastern final in 2018, have played at a league-best 110-point pace. The Bruins, along with advancing to the Cup final in 2018, have played at 107-point pace. Which has only meant that the Maple Leafs, though they’ve played at a respectable 98-point pace over that period of time — the ninth-best record in the league — have essentially been doomed to a playoff inevitability that was almost certainly going to include a couple of seasoned juggernauts.

Thanks to the absurdity of the NHL’s playoff format, at one point last season Toronto’s four most likely first-round playoff opponents happened 1196843 Toronto Maple Leafs “You take an octopus to the game,” said Bowen, “and it doesn’t get on the ice until the second period, you’ve probably got a whole section knowing that you’ve got that in your pants.”

How a waffle and the ‘awful’ 2010 Maple Leafs cooked up a decade of “Did I see it? Yes,” said referee Bill McCreary, who was part of the jokes officiating crew that night in Toronto. “But it wasn’t a big event for me, after what I’d had in my career.”

The 65-year-old, who was inducted into the Hockey Hall of Fame four By Sean Fitz-Gerald years later, had seen some things in his time. There was a night in Boston when irate fans tried to climb the glass to get to him. A fan in Dec 10, 2020 Quebec City threw a severed pig’s head over the glass, and it landed with a splatter of blood.

In order to prepare for an interview a few days ago, Scott Hartnell loaded There was another game in Boston when McCreary issued a delay of YouTube and searched for an old clip to refresh his memory. He entered game penalty against the home team. They were playing Hartford. The three words. The first was “Flyers,” which was his team that season, and fans were not pleased with the call. the second was “Toronto,” because that was where the game was played “I was coming back from the penalty box, and I could hear and feel that night. something go over my shoulder,” said McCreary. “I watched it hit the ice, The third word? and it rolled down to in his crease. He picked it up and skated it down: ‘You might want to keep this.’” “Waffles.” It was a No. 7 ball, taken from a pool table. McCreary was not wearing a With a click of the button, the 38-year-old was back in uniform and back helmet at the time. on the Air Canada Centre ice, swatting away what would arguably become the most famous sports protest movement to feature frozen “Now, can you imagine if that hit me in the head?” he said. “I probably breakfast food. Hartnell and the Flyers were moments away from a 4-1 would have been dead, or at least severely injured.” victory over the Maple Leafs when it happened. “The waffles were never even a blip on my radar,” said , who It was 10 years ago this week that a frustrated Toronto fan launched a was vice-president of hockey operations with the Leafs that night. “It was box of Eggo Waffles from a spot in the platinum section — reportedly that inconsequential for me.” Section 115 — down to the ice. The leavened batter was reported to still Like McCreary, he had a stronger bond with another piece of debris. be in frozen form as it landed, with one striking Leafs defenceman Poulin was playing for the Flyers, in a game at Madison Square Garden, Francois Beauchemin. when he lined up for a faceoff. It was in the third period, and he The fan was reportedly wearing an Oilers jersey and was overheard remembered he could sense something flying toward him as he leaned yelling “losers” at the home team as he launched his name brand in. He took a step back. projectiles. A second fan would follow suit later that month, though he “A rat hit the ice,” he said. “Like, a good-sized rat that had been alive — I was caught, charged and banned from the premises. believe — when it started its journey from wherever it was thrown from.” More on that in a minute. Someone had spray-painted the rat. It was blue. Poulin had questions. Hartnell watched the video. He remembered how much fun it was to He asked the linesman. arrive in Toronto knowing the home team was struggling. It gave visitors “Did you wait until halfway through the third period, or did you bring the extra fuel, he said, “just to hear the boos, when the boo birds come out.” spray paint and find the rat there?” he asked. “Is this premeditated? What Even a decade later, though, he could not explain why the waffles came goes through your mind? A rat, spray-painted blue.” out, too. Poulin never got answers, and Leafs fans never found out exactly why “I don’t know,” he said with a laugh. “Did they sell them in the one of their own chose to throw waffles. The culprit was never concessions upstairs?” apprehended, and their choices remained a mystery.

Hartnell, who works with the NHL Network, gave it some more thought. Kellogg Canada, which owns the Eggo brand, denied the waffle-tossing was part of a marketing ploy. “It’s better than wrecking a spilled beer,” he said. “I’ll give you that much.” Plus, as long-time Postmedia columnist Cam Cole would note: “A waffle Ron Wilson was almost halfway into his final full season as head coach. is an odd missile to throw at Leafs when they’re playing like crepe.” The Leafs had already missed the playoffs for five straight seasons, which had never happened before, even under the ownership of a The impact, though, was clear. convicted criminal (Harold Ballard). Another fan launched a second waffle attack 11 days later. Joe Robb Dion Phaneuf had been named captain six months earlier, which was launched them onto the ice as the Leafs were on their way to a 6-3 loss only six months after he had been acquired as part of a seven-player at home to the Atlanta Thrashers. He would tell ESPN that he threw a full deal with the Flames. The Leafs opened that season with four wins in a box of waffles. row, but endured an eight-game losing streak through November and Why waffles? were fading in December. “Drop the ‘W,’” he told ESPN, “and you’ve got ‘awful.’” “It was just a frustrating time for a hockey team that was mired, and going nowhere,” said long-time Leafs broadcaster Paul Hendrick. “They were Attempts to reach Robb were unsuccessful. waffling, right?” He was from Oakville, Ont., and described himself as a die-hard Leafs He was rinkside for the Flyers game. Hendrick said there was confusion fan. He was charged with mischief, but the Crown dropped it in exchange at first. Nobody — from the production staff to those in the arena — was for five hours of community service. The Leafs also banned him from quite sure what happened. He could see a waffle on the ice in front of games. him. A spokesperson for Maple Leaf Sports & Entertainment declined to offer “I’ve got to give credit to that guy,” said Hendrick. “Nobody was going to specifics on the case, but told The Athletic via email that a fan would be get hurt by getting hit with a waffle.” “able to appeal for access to be reinstated after one year.”

Joe Bowen, the play-by-play voice, said the culprit picked an easy form Colby Armstrong was a forward with the Leafs that season. He arrived in of protest. Sitting with a box of frozen waffles through three periods of a Toronto from Atlanta, where he said fans could have thrown waffles game, he said, would have been more user-friendly than what fans in without many people noticing. The fact it happened in Toronto is what Detroit have been doing for years. made it a headline-worthy event, he said. Waffles were not a major topic of discussion as players walked into the dressing room after losing to the Flyers, he said. At least, not at first.

“We were so in a bubble of frustration and irritation and all that stuff that goes with struggling as a hockey team,” said Armstrong. “It was a tough hole that we were in, so that was almost like it was the least of our worries at the moment.”

And then the dressing room doors opened, and reporters were allowed inside.

“We’re getting waffled with waffle questions,” he said. “It was just like a cherry on the top.”

The Athletic LOADED: 12.11.2020 1196844 Vegas Golden Knights It was in Vegas in 2017-18 when Haula played the best hockey of his career, putting up personal-bests in goals (29), assists (26), points (55) and average time on ice (17:22). He could fill Pacioretty’s spot on the left wing, but could also play center if the Golden Knights wanted to move Trading Pacioretty would leave Golden Knights with scoring void Cody Glass or Chandler Stephenson to the wing.

Haula was hurt early in the 2018-19 season and didn’t play for the Golden Knights again. Despite optimism he could return in the playoffs, By Justin Emerson (contact) Vegas didn’t advance far enough to find out, and traded him to Carolina Thursday, Dec. 10, 2020 | 2 a.m. for Nicolas Roy and a draft pick in the offseason. Carolina then dealt him to Florida at the trade deadline.

Haula made just $2.75 million last season against the cap and doesn’t Some surprising news surfaced this week, after an already strange figure to cost much more than that, now in his second month as a free offseason for the Golden Knights. agent. He also wouldn’t move the needle much, barring a return to his 2017-18 peak. If the Golden Knights moved Pacioretty to sign Haula, it TSN reported Tuesday that the Golden Knights have “doubled down” on would presumably come with another signing as well. their efforts to trade leading scorer Max Pacioretty. Anthony Duclair Pacioretty is the Golden Knights’ best goal scorer, perhaps the only player on the team who fits the traditional role of sniper. He scored 22 What about a combination of Haula and Duclair, who combined figure to goals in his first season in Vegas, then surged to 32 goals in a shortened cost less than Pacioretty? Duclair made just $1.65 million against the cap 2019-20, looking like the player he was in Montreal. On a points-per- last season and was not tendered a qualifying offer by the Senators, game basis, last year was the best of Pacioretty’s 12-year career. making him an unrestricted free agent.

So why would Vegas look to move him? As it always does, it comes Duclair is coming off his best season, a 23-goal, 40-point effort and can down to money. Pacioretty has three years remaining at a $7 million cap play either wing. He profiles nicely as a middle-six forward who can hit. When the deal was signed two years ago, there was an upward provide some punch on the power play. He’s only 25 and would provide projection of the salary cap, but with the cap remaining flat at $81.5 an already-fast team with even more speed. million for the foreseeable future, $7 million will eat up a bigger percentage of the cap for the next three years than Vegas had But it again comes down to opportunity cost. If the Golden Knights traded envisioned. Pacioretty, would replacing him with some combination of free-agent forwards make them better? Pacioretty was tremendous last season, and Vegas is currently over the salary cap by just under a $1 million, Vegas is an older team built to win now, not trade one of its better according to CapFriendly. Such a small debt wouldn’t require such a players to worry about the cap. drastic move and could be paid in other ways, so it’s logical to think that the Golden Knights trading Pacioretty would be the first step in a larger No, if they were going to move Pacioretty it would make sense to aim big. plan. Mathew Barzal What could that plan entail? TSN reported it would allow them to look at This would make the hockey world explode. Barzal won the Calder the free-agent market, where players like former 36-goal scorer Mike Trophy as Rookie of the Year in 2017-18 with 85 points. He’s put up 62 Hoffman and former Golden Knight Erik Haula are still available. and 60 points the last two years and at just 23 years old, looks like the Would such a move make sense? Should the Golden Knights try to trade future of the Islanders once he signs his next contract. Pacioretty? Let’s look at some of the options if they did. But he hasn’t signed yet. And he is a restricted free agent, meaning in Mike Hoffman theory, he’s up for grabs. As a restricted free agent, if Vegas offered him a contract, it would be in the form of an offer sheet that the Islanders A player similar to Pacioretty makes the most sense to replace him. The would have the opportunity to match. If they matched, he would remain in former Panther is a goal-scoring machine, netting 169 in the last six New York. If they didn’t, he would go to Vegas, but the Golden Knights years, including 36 two years ago and 29 in a shortened year last would send draft-pick compensation to the Islanders. season. He’s almost exactly a year younger than Pacioretty but scores at a similar clip. How much that compensation would be depends on the average annual value of the contract. That’s where Vegas runs into an issue. The Golden The knock on Hoffman is that he scores and does little else. Evolving- Knights don’t have a third-round pick, having traded it to Detroit in 2018 Hockey’s model had his value at a hair under replacement level last for Tomas Tatar. season, as even his goal-scoring doesn’t help make up for deficiencies in other parts of his game. In fact, more than a third (21 of 59) of his points That matters because offer sheets that come in with a value of between came on the power play, which drug down his even-strength value $4.36 million and $10.9 million require a third-round pick, so the Golden considerably. Knights are ineligible for offer sheets between those values. And Barzal isn’t signing for less than $4.36 million. But a pure goal-scorer is kind of what the Golden Knights need. They are arguably the best team in the league in controlling possession, but that What’s the cost of an offer sheet of more than $10.9 million? Oh, just the hasn’t translated to goals the way they would have hoped. Adding a team’s next four first-round picks. sniper like Hoffman sounds like a match made in heaven. His cap hit was Needless to say, Vegas sending four first-round picks to the Islanders just under $5.2 million last season, and could likely be had for close to and signing a player to an almost-$11 million contract is bananas for a that or even less this offseason. team already in cap trouble. As fun as it would be, Vegas would have And yet, if the Golden Knights were going to get a new Pacioretty, why better luck on the trade market if they’re willing to deal four first-rounders. not just keep the old one? He would be cheaper, yes, but Pacioretty Trades drives offense and plays defense at a higher level than Hoffman, even if their goal-scoring is similar. Evolving-Hockey tabbed Pacioretty to be So let’s look at that trade market, and the value of a 32-year-old, 32-goal worth 16.9 goals above replacement last season. The site tabbed scorer. And it’s not great. Remember the Golden Knights already this Hoffman to be worth minus-0.3. offseason traded Paul Stastny and Nate Schmidt, two good NHL players, for a third-round pick and a minor-league defenseman. The value Vegas Adding Hoffman to a team with Pacioretty makes more sense than obtained was cap relief. The Golden Knights are over the cap right now, replacing the latter with the former. But a player with more positional but not by enough to justify unloading Pacioretty in a salary dump. flexibility could be a better fit. Vegas would need to find a team that has plenty of cap space, has a Erik Haula forward of comparable value it was willing to give up, and be competitive Could Haula be the first Golden Misfit to leave and then come back to the enough where acquiring Pacioretty makes sense. There just aren’t that NHL roster? many teams out there. Vegas is one of 10 teams needing to shed cap space, not add. Maybe the Nashville Predators could be a dance partner? Viktor Arvidsson and Filip Forsberg are interesting names. The New York Rangers are fairly stacked at left wing, but perhaps Pavel Buchnevich or Ryan Strome could be had at the right price?

Maybe a trade materializes with one of those teams or another, but it’s going to be a tightrope dance to find a team willing to take on a $7 million cap hit, but also provide enough value in return to a win-now team to make moving Pacioretty worth it.

In the end, it’s probably in Vegas’ best short-term interest to keep Pacioretty and get under the cap in other ways. The Golden Knights trading their best goal-scorer when their problem in the postseason was scoring goals don’t run parallel. If he’s gone, he’ll be hard to replace.

LAS VEGAS SUN LOADED: 12.11.2020

1196845 Vegas Golden Knights

Bill Foley Denies Max Pacioretty Trade Rumors, More

Published December 10, 2020

By Tom Callahan Bill Foley Pacioretty Trade Rumors

In an interview with Las Vegas’ 8NewsNow, Vegas Golden Knights owner Bill Foley shot down Max Pacioretty trade rumors. Subtly he dropped in another nugget: he’s recruiting other teams to play in Vegas.

He did acknowledge that the Golden Knights have cap issues and will need to figure it out yet. When pressed on reports from Canadian media about Pacioretty trade rumors, he said “we are not shopping Patches (Pacioretty)… he definitely is not being shopped.”

Even before Foley touched on the Pacioretty trade rumors, he spoke of how the California-based San Jose Sharks, L.A. Kings and Anaheim Ducks “won’t be playing” in their home state any time soon.

“So they need to come here,” Foley said.

Previous proposals have talked about the potential for a “mini-bubble” where teams travel to a hub city for a week or two, play games and return home after. That scenario hasn’t been talked about much lately, but Foley may reignite the conversation with his comments.

Foley also discussed wanting to bring an indoor lacrosse team to the Henderson arena in the next few years.

You can see the entire interview below:

Vegas Hockey Now LOADED: 12.11.2020 1196846 Vegas Golden Knights

Tom’s Daily: Pacioretty Rumors, Alleged Alignments and Pushback

Published December 10, 2020

By Tom Callahan Tom's Daily Vegas Golden Knights, Vegas Hockey Now

Tom’s Daily: Will the Vegas Golden Knights trade Max Pacioretty? Some pushback on NHL Division Alignments for the return; the proposed alignment for said return; Panthers establish Department of Goaltending Excellence

Here’s a look at the NHL’s proposed division alignments for getting things fired back up in January. (sportsnet.ca)

Of course, you can’t please everyone. TSN’s Frank Seravalli reports there’s some pushback on this alignment. (tsn.ca)

The Florida Panthers have established a Department of Goaltending Excellence. Who else but should lead the department? Francois Allaire is also on board. (nhl.com)

Hockeyverse

I don’t think would have been my personal pick for Top St. Louis sports personality of the last 50 years, but it is 2020 so… (nhl.com)

World Juniors

Team USA update headed into Sunday’s camp. (USA Hockey)

Canada is back at it after a two week quarantine. (TSN)

Swiss lose three more for WJC (TSN)

Vegas Hockey Now LOADED: 12.11.2020 1196847 Washington Capitals because Kuznetsov's talent on the ice is just so evident and we see glimpses of it all the time even if it's just glimpses, but this does bear watching in Laviolette's first year.

How will Kuznetsov play under Laviolette? Will Kuznetsov thrive under a coach who holds him more accountable rather than the last coach and keeps his game honest, or will it be more of the same from Kuznetsov and he is simply the victim of unfair BY J.J. REGAN expectations that he set after 2018?

With Kuznetsov now 28 years old and in his prime, this season may provide the definitive answer once and for all. Then hockey finally returns in 2021, the Capitals will have their sights set on the Stanley Cup. Every team enters each season with questions that need to be answered. We are looking at the biggest questions facing the Capitals in 2021.W Comcast SportsNet.com LOADED: 12.11.2020

Today's question: How will Evgeny Kuznetsov play in the first year under ?

"I think we had an underperformance from a couple guys in the last two playoff series," general manager Brian MacLellan said after the firing of head coach Todd Reirden.

He added, "I think consistent compete level from some guys would help our goal moving forward and I think you know those buttons do need to be pushed. We need to hold guys accountable when they don’t perform up to standards."

When Laviolette was hired, MacLellan noted his ability to hold players accountable was "a big reason why we hired him."

Kuznetsov was never specifically mentioned by name, but if you look at his stats he would certainly seem to qualify as one of those inconsistent players.

In the Stanley Cup run in 2018, Kuznetsov was brilliant. He scored 32 points in 24 games and, though the award ultimately went to Alex Ovechkin, had a strong case for the Conn Smythe Trophy as playoff MVP. If you thought Kuznetsov would build on that postseason and become one of the elite players in the NHL, you weren't alone. Yet, he has struggled to reach that level of play since.

In 2018-19, he scored 72 points in 76 games, followed by six points in seven playoff games and only one goal. In 2019-20, he scored 52 points in 63 games and five points in eight postseason games. To make matters worse, penalties have been an issue. In 2019-20, Kuznetsov ranked third on the team in minors taken with 20 for the season.

The level of play we saw from Kuznetsov in the 2018 playoffs is hard to maintain, but when you watch him play it is clear there is more to his game that we are not seeing on a consistent basis. If the 2018 playoffs are at one end of the and the last two seasons are at the other, I would argue Kuznetsov's level of talent is much closer to the 2018 postseason than what we have seen since. The ability to elevate his game on a consistent basis is just not there.

Enter Laviolette.

Barry Trotz was the head coach when the team won the Stanley Cup in 2018. Todd Reirden was the head coach the past two years. Trotz is known more as a disciplinarian while Reirden is a players' coach.

To be fair, Kuznetsov's inconsistencies existed before the 2018 postseason including in the 2016 playoffs when Kuznetsov tallied a grand total of two points in 12 playoff games, but when MacLellan referenced "underperformance" among the players, Kuznetsov was the first player I thought of.

You never know exactly how a player and coach will perform together, but clearly Trotz was able to reach Kuznetsov and unlock his potential in 2018 in a way that Reirden could not. If accountability was part of that equation at all, Laviolette will certainly find more success with Kuznetsov. The only question is how long will it take?

Kuznetsov's 2018 season was the best of his four years with Trotz. Will it take Laviolette that long to crack Kuznetsov? That's an issue because certainly the team's championship window is not going to remain open for that long.

The other question we have to ask is what if we are wrong about Kuznetsov? Really the 2017-18 season and 2018 postseason is the only year in which we have seen Kuznetsov play up to what many believe to be his true potential. What if we are wrong about him and that year was just an anamoly? What if he's not under-achieving every other year, but rather he over-achieved in that one year? I do not believe that is the case 1196848 Winnipeg Jets for and administering extensive COVID-19 testing, without putting the public at risk or tapping into local resources.

A few players, including captain Blake Wheeler and defenceman Sami Jets in holding pattern Niku, are already in Winnipeg, with the rest expected to begin arriving in short order.

By: Mike McIntyre Winnipeg Free Press LOADED 12.11.2020 Posted: 12/10/2020 5:21 PM

They got the green light from provincial government and health officials this week. But the Winnipeg Jets are still waiting on an expected exemption from Ottawa, which will make it easier for players to start filtering back into town.

According to league sources, the Jets (and the other six Canadian NHL clubs) do not have permission to bypass the 14-day quarantine requirement for anyone entering the country from the U.S., Europe or anywhere else. With training camps expected to open by Jan. 3 in time for a Jan. 13 puck drop on a modified 2021 regular season, that's left multiple players in a holding pattern.

For example, Jets forward Patrik Laine, who is currently in Finland, would be required to self-isolate for two weeks upon returning to River City. That would give him a deadline of Dec. 20 to be back here in time for the start of camp.

But that may be about to change, with the NHL in discussions with the federal government about changing the rules.

Sources say teams are operating under the belief they will get the same exemption that was in place last summer, which allowed players to return to their home hockey markets north of the border without the same restrictions governing other non-essential workers.

Instead, they had to follow a modified seven-day quarantine, which included having to pass four COVID-19 tests administered by team personnel every other day. They entered a second stage for the second week, in which they could leave their home but only for the purpose of going to the rink.

Such an exemption would give players until Dec. 27 to return to Winnipeg, allowing them to spend the holidays at their off-season home before jumping on a plane. Any family members who travel with them would not receive the same exemption and would have to do the full 14- day quarantine.

The protocols have been changed already for those coming to Winnipeg from within the country east of Terrace Bay, Ont, just as they were last summer. This week, the province confirmed players would not be required to do the 14-day quarantine required for regular citizens. Instead, they are required to follow the modified seven-day quarantine as described above. That would apply to a handful of Jets, including Mathieu Perreault and Nathan Beaulieu.

As for Jets currently in Western Canada, they will be subjected to more stringent protocols than a typical citizen. Manitoba doesn't require anyone coming from British Columbia, Alberta or to quarantine upon arrival, but the Jets are insisting players such as Adam Lowry, Josh Morrissey and Laurent Brossoit will also have to abide by the modified seven-day quarantine.

The idea is to get every player on the same page, regardless of where they are coming from. Of course, that's all contingent on the federal government agreeing to the exemption for international arrivals.

The NHL and the players' association are still discussing various terms of the new season, with a deal expected to be finalized by next week.

The Jets are slated to play in an all-Canadian division, with a 56-game schedule against the Canucks, Oilers, Flames, Maple Leafs, Senators and Canadiens. Half of the Jets' games would be played in Bell MTS Place without fans, while the other half would be played in similarly empty buildings. The other three NHL divisions would also be realigned for this season only.

The provincial government announced earlier this week the Jets could skate in the city, even though the code red status has shut down all other non-essential business, recreational activites and sports teams. They cited the team's ability to control its own environment, including paying 1196849 Winnipeg Jets “It’s a rare condition and it’s incredibly time-sensitive. Obviously, I’m incredibly lucky that I was able to get seen when I did and have it identified that this was what it was and how important the time was and the fact that the surgeon came in, in the middle of the night, to do ‘Hustler’ Paterson returning to airwaves months after suffering terrifying surgery. spinal cord injury “It was successful.”

That, of course, was just the beginning of Paterson’s ordeal. Ted Wyman He spent the next 48 days in the hospital, mostly at the rehab centre, Publishing date: Dec 10, 2020 learning to walk again. At first, he had no movement in his legs, but eventually, he started using a walker, then a cane and then was able to

get around on his own. Sept. 22 started out just like any other Tuesday for popular Winnipeg “I got such amazing care,” he said. “I can’t thank the doctors and nurses sports talk show host Andrew Paterson. at HSC enough. It was just phenomenal the help that they gave me and The man commonly known as “Hustler” was busying about before everybody else there, not to mention what they’re dealing with right now starting his afternoon show on TSN 1290, mentally preparing himself for in terms of the pandemic.” a few hours of bantering about the Jets, Bombers, NFL, betting lines and He was allowed only one visitor because of the COVID-19 protocols at whatever else his listeners wanted to talk about. the hospital, so his brother Duncan would drop by, visit, maybe bring a Routinely, he bent down to move a heavy object and suddenly felt chicken sandwich to give Hustler a break from the hospital food. something significantly painful in his back. “He was the rock of the operation,” Paterson said. “He was the only “At the beginning I thought ‘I’ve had things like this happen before so I’ll person that could visit me. just sort of grin and bear it and see how I’m feeling at night,’” Paterson “He had to move me (from my apartment) while I was in there because recounted the other day. they weren’t going to let me out to go back to a place where I had 16 He went into the studio and started his show. But he couldn’t finish it. stairs and I couldn’t get up the stairs.”

“I was in a lot of pain, but I was sort of expecting that,” he said. “What I Those 48 days in hospital were not easy. Severe internal problems didn’t expect was to start losing feeling below my waist.” related to the spinal injury compounded his pain and slowed his recovery.

He left work and headed for home but things were only getting worse. But, as anyone who listens to Hustler, the radio personality, knows, Paterson is a positive person who doesn’t let too many things get him “I got back to my place and when I got out of my car, as I was walking down. toward the door, things weren’t working properly. “I’m a pretty happy guy,” he said. “Even when things are bad, I’m pretty “When I got into the stairs I realized that I couldn’t push. There were relaxed about it. I don’t really have a lot of things to worry about. I’m just muscles that had simply turned off. I ended up dragging myself up the happy and I don’t have a lot of stresses. stairs, using my arms on the rails, so I could lie down. “Let’s put it this way: The team is down 3-1 in the third period, I’ll be “I’m touching my legs in areas and I can’t feel anything. So I googled this thinking about ways they can come back and get back in it, not saying, and it seemed like I had all the symptoms of a condition called Cauda ‘This is over.’ That’s just the way that I think.” Equina.” As such, he had a good attitude about his rehab and remained focused As it turns out, his Internet diagnosis was correct. on the goal of walking out of that hospital on his own.

“It’s a very rare condition,” he said. “The thing that’s unique about this is “I was just thinking ‘What can I do to just get better?’” he said. “I realized it’s an acute injury. It’s like a heart attack or a stroke and time is of the this was all for my own good and I realized the more I was focused on essence as to when they deal with it.” physio and recovery, the sooner things would get better. There was nothing I could do about what happened in the past, I could only move Paterson, 46, went to Victoria Hospital and was eventually transferred by forward. That helped put me in a pretty good mindset.” ambulance to the Health Sciences Centre for an emergency MRI. Paterson was floored by the outpouring of support he received from his “The ambulance ride was maybe the most painful 20 minutes of my life,” radio listeners, fellow media members, and even some of the biggest he said. names in the Winnipeg sports community. It didn’t take long for staff at the HSC to realize he needed immediate Among those reaching out while he was in the hospital were Blue emergency surgery. Bombers head coach Mike O’Shea and CEO Wade Miller, Ottawa He had a “massive, really severe” herniated disc, which was breaking up Redblacks head coach Paul LaPolice, Winnipeg Jets general manager the nerves at the bottom of the spinal cord. Those nerves come out in Kevin Cheveldayoff, Jets owner Mark Chipman and Vegas Golden what looks like a horsetail, which is why the condition is called Cauda Knights GM Kelly McCrimmon. Equina. “Oh man, it’s been amazing,” he said. “The support when everything “There’s no doubt I realized this was something different from anything happened, from the listeners and people I talk to every day, but might not I’d dealt with in my life and there was the potential that it could recognize or know, was absolutely phenomenal. I can’t tell you how completely change my life,” Paterson said. “At first you’re thinking ‘Oh my much that helped me, early on, knowing how many people were pulling God, what if I have to miss work again tomorrow?” And an hour later, for me.” you’re thinking about all the things that could be different. ‘What’s next?’ “As far as the sports community goes, it’s a pretty close-knit group. A lot “And then, fast forward a couple hours and you’ve had an MRI and they of people from the media reached out and I was taken aback at the tell you, ‘You need surgery, and by the way, it’s happening as soon as support from the local organizations. And those in the TSN family from the doctor gets here.’” coast to coast.”

Dr. Perry Dhaliwal arrived in the middle of the night to perform surgery, He walked out of the HSC on Nov. 9. and it wasn’t a moment too soon. His recovery is far from complete — he still has numbness in his left foot “Talking to people that know this injury and the way it was handled and and leg and internal issues — but he’s well enough now to get around my situation, if for some reason he’s not available or there’s something and live a relatively normal life. going on and that surgery doesn’t happen until 7 or 8 in the morning On Thursday, he was set to return to the TSN 1290 studios on Pembina instead of 1:30 or 2 when it did, those six hours could be the difference Highway and go on the air as host of “The Warmup” and “The Afternoon between me walking now and never walking for my entire life,” Paterson Ride” for the first time since late September. said. “I’m really happy,” he said. “If you had told me, getting into Christmas, that I’d be able to walk around and I’d be able to come back to work, I’d have said that’s probably crazy. So I think things have gone very well for me.

“I’m dying to get back into work.”

He’s feeling pretty good, although there is still a lot of work to do to get to a comfortable physical level. That could take months or years.

“The funny thing is, for someone who has had back problems for a while, I could almost immediately, within the first week while I was still in the ward, feel my back being a lot better,” Paterson said. “Even though I was sore and I just had surgery, there weren’t the movement issues that I had before. I could tell that I was past that.”

“By no means am I at the end of the road or anything like that, but it’s a significant step when you can get back to some sense of normalcy, doing whatever it is you do and hopefully love to do, like in my case.”

Winnipeg Sun LOADED 12.11.2020 1196850 Vancouver Canucks championship in 2018. He sees the same rigid and resourceful combination in Green.

“I don’t want to kiss up to him because he’s the coach, but he’s a great Ben Kuzma: Green knows how to push the right buttons at Canucks' coach — he really is,” Beagle said earlier this week between training and camp skating sessions in Calgary. “He reads the game well and there was never a doubt he was going to be big for us in the playoffs — especially with such a young group.

Ben Kuzma “It was preparing us for it and changing up systems when we needed to and just little things on the ice during the game — things that give a little Publishing date: Dec 10, 2020 edge. His matchups have always been dialed in and doing a good job was never in question.

The screaming. The F-bombs. The laughing. And, of course, the puking. “Everyone in the room knows how valuable he is and how good a coach he is. But I also don’t want to kiss his butt.” In a week, the Vancouver Canucks should know when their camp and 2020-21 NHL season will commence. The raging novel coronavirus Beagle is a fourth-line staple with 583 regular-season and 102 playoff pandemic could still push dates back as a protective buffer, but even in a games on his NHL resume and is buoyed by the challenges presented by virus hot spot like Winnipeg where gathering restrictions have been Green, including matchup assignments. He’s on the first penalty-kill extended into next month, the Jets received an exemption early this pairing with Tyler Motte and his dominance in faceoff efficiency — third in week to train at their facility. the NHL regular season at 59.1 per cent and eighth in the post-season at 57.1 — demands that he keeps beating back the aging reality in a In means a projected 10-day Canucks camp starting Jan. 3 with no younger man’s game. exhibition games in advance of a 56-game, all-Canadian division schedule, is going to test the mettle of players and the head coach. “I used to train so hard and go all out for so long, but it kind of sets you up for injuries because I wouldn’t be able to last the season,” he said. The slate of games ensures regional television contract stipulations will “You still get injured blocking shots, but it’s the preventable injuries I’ve be met and camp parameters will ensure motivation shouldn’t be a kind of figured out. At age 35 and to be elite, I feel better now than at 26, problem following a four-month hiatus. 27 or 28.

Coach was better than advertised last season. He properly “It’s weird, but it’s how dialed in I am to my body.” prepped the Canucks and pushed all the right matchup and deployment buttons in a memorable and meaningful post-season run that was one victory shy of advancing to the Western Conference Final. Vancouver Province: LOADED: 12.11.2020 It was a defining coaching display and one deserving of a considerable contract extension. Need proof?

While the electric Elias Pettersson and Quinn Hughes excelled among 10 second-season newbies with 18 points (7-11) and 16 points (2-14) respectfully, the guy calling the shots behind the bench was just as good. He reached his young star players on professional and personal levels as they were hounded and harassed. He allowed them to play to their strengths and learn from mistakes.

However, with exceeded expectations for the coming season, how Green sets the camp tempo will be crucial to maintain pace, focus and avoid injuries.

The 13-day July camp at Rogers Arena to prepare for the Edmonton bubble, qualifying round and the playoffs is a good reference point. Green changed practice schedules and scrimmage times to gear for day and night games in the Edmonton bubble. And in the coming camp, it’s easy to envision much of the same with as many as 40 players split into two groups.

What never changes is Green’s drive to improve systems play and make the most of any day, whether during a season pause or seventh game of a playoff series.

“The coaching side is always there,” he said.

It’s why Green gets the buy-in from a Stanley Cup champion like veteran Jay Beagle and will expect the same from diminutive prospect Nils Hoglander.

The 19-year-old Hoglander, who is on loan to Rogle BK of the Swedish Hockey League until Saturday, went between his legs to score a highlight-reel goal Thursday in a 3-1 victory. The 5-9, 190-pounder has 14 points (5-9) in his last dozen SHL games and was a 2019 second- round NHL draft pick.

As for Beagle, who’s mind is 25 years old and body is 35, camps never get easier.

Two years ago in Whistler, the centre easily breezed through his first franchise bag skate that brought new teammates to their knees and even had Troy Stecher throwing up. Fast forward and Beagle knows what to expect from Green next month. And he also knows the bench boss is gaining leaguewide accolades for the respect he commands.

In Washington, Beagle saw how the serious, sensible and caring coach guided the Capitals to the franchise’s long Stanley Cup 1196851 Vancouver Canucks Or you can do the old fashioned thing and just watch the games. There’s no other blueliner playing for a Canadian team who just controls games, dominates the puck or influences the gravity of play like Hughes does — and it’s plain to see. Canucks’ Quinn Hughes is the best D-man in Canada: 5 Canadian Division hot takes And don’t let anyone tell you that their pick for the best defender in Canada is Weber, Chabot or Morrissey because of their stellar defensive play relative to Hughes.

By Harman Dayal and Thomas Drance Like virtually every 21-year-old NHL defender, Hughes’ in-zone play in the defensive end is still a work in progress, but he also very clearly Dec 10, 2020 impacted the rate at which his team surrendered shots, scoring chances and expected goals against more (and more positively) than those more traditional shutdown-type blueliners did in 2019-20. If someone is making It’s happening — and for Canadian hockey fans, it’s a once-in-a-lifetime a purely defensive argument as a reason why they prefer another hockey event. Canadian defender, it better be for Giordano. Otherwise, you can freely disregard it. For one season, an all-Canadian NHL division in all its glory. The stakes will be massive. The Twitter arguments will be the stuff of legend. And 2. The Canucks’ depth is the worst in the country the bragging rights on the line will last forever. Vancouver’s top-end talent stacks up really well in the all-Canadian For anyone who could read the writing on the wall, especially after the division. federal government forced MLS, NBA and MLB teams based in Canada to take up temporary residence south of the 49th parallel, a provisional They’re poised to have one of the better top-six forward groups in the all- all-Canadian NHL division has been an inevitability for months — a Canadian division and, with the addition of Nate Schmidt, arguably one of necessity that’s been forced on the NHL by the border restrictions the strongest top-four defensive groups too. between the United States and Canada. Vancouver has a major flaw going into this maple-flavoured divisional This week, however, the long-rumoured All-Canadian Division is moving competition, however, and it’s the club’s overall depth, or lack thereof. swiftly toward reality. Perhaps this isn’t surprising for a team that has trimmed over $20 million in expected salary expenditure from their roster since they were the last According to The Athletic’s Pierre LeBrun, the NHL presented their new Canadian team to leave the Edmonton bubble this past summer, but divisional alignment to member clubs on a Board of Governor’s Vancouver’s bottom six and bottom defensive pair are poised to be a conference call on Wednesday. significant issue.

So how do the Canucks stack up against the other teams in Canada? Let’s take a look at this because it dramatically impacts how the Canucks And what arguments should you feel safe making in arguments with stack up against their “eh”-saying rivals. Toronto Maple Leafs fans on HFboards and Reddit, because you’re damn right, and which ones would you be better off avoiding? Here’s how the Canadian division ranks by Dom’s GSVA projections, up front and on the back end, with the club’s relative strength ranked and To help you navigate an unprecedented smorgasbord of Canadian segmented by player usage (top six and bottom six for forwards, top four hockey trash talk, The Athletic Vancouver team presents five Canucks- and bottom pair for defence). centric hot takes that have a solid basis in fact for your consideration. As you can see, Vancouver’s top six and top four are in the top half of the 1. Quinn Hughes is the best defenceman in Canada expected Canadian division. At the top of the lineup, they’re probably the second-best team in the country. This one shouldn’t be too controversial, because it isn’t really that close. At the bottom end of the lineup though, well, the Canucks look like Some fans and commentators might argue for out of an Ottawa West. abundance of respect, or because they’ve deluded themselves into thinking it’s still 2016. In conclusion, this Canucks team is as top heavy as an end of game Jenga tower. It’s actually to the point where we can add a secondary hot Still others might say Mark Giordano, like it’s 2018. take to this section: If any team in Canada is going to be impatient and If you look long and hard you might stumble upon a Josh Morrissey move quickly to change things up if the puck bounces against them once dead-ender, or the occasional Morgan Rielly stan out there in the wild. it actually drops on the 2021 season, it’s going to be Vancouver.

Thomas Chabot is incredible and never takes a shift off, largely because 3. The Canucks probably aren’t a playoff team, but they will be in a he literally seems to play the entire game some nights for the Ottawa Canadian division Senators. Chabot probably has the best case for “best defender in The NHL’s realignment in 2013-14 was the original instigator to raise the Canada” outside of Vancouver, even though he didn’t make quite the stakes on divisional play. Gone are the days when the Conference same level of defensive impact this past season he did in 2018-19. standings determine playoff seedings and matchups — each team’s path All of those defenders are really good players and star NHL defencemen. to the Stanley Cup Final instead hinges on beating divisional competition They’re just not Quinn Hughes. first. This has presented a subtle postseason edge for teams such as Vegas that played in a weak Pacific division while conversely drawing the Pick whatever measure you prefer and the data is clear. ire of clubs like Toronto that kept drawing Boston’s name out of the hat By points, Hughes led all defenders in the all-Canadian division during for the first round. the 2019-20 season — and by a solid clip. Only two defenders projected While its effects were felt in the playoffs, divisional imbalances weren’t as to play for Canadian teams this upcoming season managed over .6 influential in the regular season because teams played all 30 NHL rivals points per game in 2019-20: Hughes at .78 and Neal Pionk at .64. at least twice a year. You’d play your geographical foes more often than That’s a pretty big gap. others, but the margin wasn’t significant enough to meaningfully tip the scales. If you prefer to use the all-in-one models that weight underlying data and play driving in addition to the boxcar statistics — numbers like evolving- That changes for the 2020-21 campaign. Now you’ve got only six hockey.com’s GAR rating from the 2019-20 campaign, or Dom opponents to focus on in the regular season. Luszczyszyn’s GSVA projections for the upcoming season — you’ll get Divisional competition, therefore, becomes more crucial than ever before. the same result. It’s Hughes, No. 1 among all defenders playing big That’s good news for the Canucks because the Canadian division is the minutes for Canadian teams, and it’s not all that close. widest open of them all. There are no proven juggernauts in Canada, If you want to use team relative impact, Hughes ranks in the top-3 among which is reflected when you sort every NHL team into tiers based on a Canadian defenders basically across the board, leading by the most combination of Luszczyszyn’s model and The Athletic staff’s power telling metrics: shot attempts and expected goals. rankings. Every American division has at least three teams in the “Playoff Team” 5. The Canucks’ top line won’t be the most prolific but they will have the tier or higher; Canada has just one. Every American division has at least best goal differential in Canada one legitimate Stanley Cup contender; Canada has none. Vancouver, who have lost roughly a win’s worth of value compared to last year even Between Connor McDavid, Leon Draisaitl, Elias Pettersson and Auston after accounting for internal improvement, would have had to fight tooth Matthews, the Canadian division will pack a strong punch in star power. and nail to claim a playoff berth under a normal, balanced schedule. Pettersson and the Canucks’ first line will have a tough time chasing There’s a decent chance the Canucks could have fallen short of the down McDavid and Draisaitl’s monstrous point totals — the odds are playoff bar under different circumstances. heavily stacked against The Alien in a potential Art Ross race. But while Vancouver’s franchise player might not have the most explosive counting That possibility still exists, but the club’s margin of safety improves now stats, he could subtly provide similar value, at least at even-strength. that they’ll only play against rivals north of the border. Most of the games will be competitive as Ottawa looks like the only clear slouch, but there Draisaitl and McDavid generate an absurd volume of offence, especially also aren’t any contests against a team like Vegas you might circle on on the power-play, but they give back a lot defensively at 5-on-5. the calendar. This is where Pettersson and J.T. Miller, with their excellent two-way Every Canadian team outside of Toronto carries significant question profiles, bridge the gap closer. marks. Edmonton’s forward depth and top-four is suspect with Oscar The Oilers scored 69 goals and allowed 62 the other way at 5-on-5 with Klefbom injured. Calgary and Montreal lack elite, top of the lineup talent. Draisaitl on the ice last year. Meanwhile, the Canucks with Pettersson Winnipeg is deeply flawed outside of its goaltending and top forwards. deployed at 5-on-5 throttled opponents to the tune of a greater 62-36 All of this should work in the Canucks’ favour, even if they have goal differential. weaknesses of their own. And if they can cross the finish line into the We anticipate that this sort of trend could continue. McDavid and Draisaitl postseason, the path to a deep run would certainly be less daunting will garner most of the spotlight with their eye-popping point totals against the Canadians than in any other division. (deservedly so) but Pettersson and the Canucks’ top line will quietly keep 4. Every single ex-Canuck UFA in Canada will be in the postseason the competition close at 5-on-5 and could very well pull ahead in actual even-strength goal differential. Once you discount the Ontario teams, the margin between the Canadian clubs is razor-thin. Vancouver, Montreal, Calgary, Winnipeg and Edmonton could really finish the season in any order imaginable and The Athletic LOADED: 12.11.2020 nobody would bat an eye.

Two teams in that group, Calgary and Montreal, poached Vancouver’s high-profile free agents this offseason. The Flames did so to a nearly ironic extent, bringing Jacob Markstrom, Chris Tanev, Josh Leivo and Louis Domingue into the fold.

Calgary’s arguably hamstrung for tomorrow with the Markstrom and Tanev contracts, but there’s no question that they’re better today. The club is finally stabilized in goal, gets a modest upgrade on Travis Hamonic and should get some sort of a bounceback performance from Johnny Gaudreau and Sean Monahan. They don’t have the explosive star power that Edmonton, Vancouver or Toronto has, but the Flames are fairly well-rounded with no glaring weakness. That means they should be a little bit more resilient to injuries, which could be decisive in a condensed, heavy schedule.

For that reason, Calgary is probably one of the stronger teams in the division.

Montreal, on the other hand, has a similar story as Calgary. They too made some questionable long-term decisions (the Tyler Toffoli signing not among them) and didn’t leverage their plethora of cap space well enough, but they have several factors working to their advantage:

Montreal has a sneaky good top line led by Phillip Danault. They don’t put up electrifying point totals but they were hard matched against elite competition every night and outscored them 59-39 at 5-on-5.

The addition of Toffoli, coupled with internal improvement from Nick Suzuki and Jesperi Kotkaniemi should bolster the middle-six to round out the top-nine in a better shape than many would imagine.

The Canadiens are one of the most structurally sound teams in the NHL, capable of extracting more than the sum of their parts. With only 56 games in the season, teams need to hit the ground running immediately which suits well-coached clubs like Montreal and Vancouver (as evidenced by each’s bubble playoff success).

They’re one of the deepest teams both up front and now on the backend too with the Joel Edmundson acquisition and Alexander Romanov’s arrival.

Their backup goalie issue has been resolved with the Jake Allen trade

It’s not that the Canadiens and Flames are especially great teams, but in a division this weak, both have compelling playoff cases. This means that all of Markstrom, Tanev, Toffoli, Leivo and Domingue could see the playoffs with their new clubs.

Now imagine the storylines if one of them (especially Calgary) ends up drawing Vancouver for round one. 1196852 Websites Lawton, the No. 1 overall pick in the 1983 NHL Draft, became an agent after his playing days.

He recruited Parrish as a client in 1994, when the 17-year-old was The Athletic / ‘I need help’: How friends saved former NHL All-Star Mark lighting it up at Bloomington Jefferson High School in Minnesota and later Parrish at St. Cloud State. He was front row and center during most of Parrish’s 12-year NHL career, until Lawton became a Tampa Bay Lightning executive and eventually their GM in the summer of 2008.

By Michael Russo That was a month before Parrish was bought out of the final three years of his five-year, $13.25 million contract with his home-state Minnesota

Wild, hastening his downward spiral. It’s 9:45 a.m. on March 10, and Brian Lawton’s pounding on the door of Parrish was already drinking too much at that point. But after two rocky Room 332 at the Residence Inn in Secaucus, N.J. years with the Wild, the humiliation of being publicly kicked to the curb in Bang. Bang. Bang. a place where he was once a homegrown hockey hero, sent Parrish onto a destructive path. Nothing. He was embarrassed and despondent and became more dependent on Then, louder, and still no answer. alcohol to relieve his pain, depression and anxiety. He was prescribed medication by a neurologist to help with his anxiety and pounding head, Lawton’s panicking now. but he quit taking those pills because alcohol did the trick. He kicked a The night before, Lawton had knocked on the same door, and just like heavy painkiller addiction not long after his close friend and former now, no answer. He called the room. No answer. He texted and texted. teammate Derek Boogaard died from an accidental overdose of alcohol No reply … until just before 10 p.m. when Mark Parrish, his fellow NHL and oxycodone in 2011. Network analyst, finally texted back. But for years, family and friends, especially Lawton and former Parrish vowed then that he was fine, merely tired. He was going to bed teammates and longtime pals Ben Clymer and Bret Hedican, tried to early and the two would have breakfast the next morning to talk things intervene. Parrish’s alcohol consumption was often the main topic of out. conversation during their get-togethers.

Lawton was worried. He had an uncomfortable, heated conversation with “It was really hard to watch. You’re losing a friend,” says Hedican, a Parrish hours earlier. Minnesota native and Florida Panthers teammate during parts of Parrish’s first two years in the NHL. “I remember saying to Ben one time, The dispute started after a worrisome pre-production meeting two hours ‘I just don’t want to have us get that call,’ that call that says, ‘Mark died,’ before airtime. After the meeting, Lawton confronted Parrish and told him and we didn’t do anything about it.” he wasn’t fit to be on the broadcast. Lawton ordered an Uber that picked up Parrish at the studio and took him back to the hotel. By the time Lawton was dumping out the last of Parrish’s vodka in that New Jersey hotel room, the mood had shifted. “No matter what, you call me when you wake up,” Lawton wrote in a text. “If you wake up at 5 a.m., you call me. I have my phone on.” “Lawts, I need help.”

Lawton woke up at 6 a.m., and he waited for the call. “Are you asking me for help?”

By 7, there was no call or text. Same at 8. At 9, Lawton called and still, “Yes, I’m telling you, Lawts … I need help.” no answer. He texted. No reply. “OK,” Lawton says, “Here’s what I’m going to do.” So now, after Lawton marches 100 yards down the hallway from his Lawton tells Parrish to clean up, jump in the shower. That he’ll be back in room, Room 302, he’s beating on the door to Parrish’s room. a bit with a plan. After three or four minutes, Lawton’s mind is racing. He fears what he’s Lawton had already put a lot of people on alert. going to discover on the other side of the door. And then he hears a noise. His first call was to Dan Cronin, the director of counseling for the NHL/NHLPA Substance Abuse and Behavioral Health Program, who “Mark!” Lawton yells. helped get Parrish admitted into a rehab facility in Arizona. The door opens and there stands Parrish. His T-shirt is soaked with Lawton asked the NHL Network to change Parrish’s return flight to sweat. His hands are shaking. His eyes are bloodshot. Minnesota. He called Clymer, who bought Parrish a connecting flight Relieved that Parrish is alive, Lawton walks in and looks around. from Minnesota to Phoenix and also booked himself a ticket in the seat next to Parrish. Clymer called Parrish’s wife, Nicholle, and asked her to “Where is it?” Lawton asks. pack a bag with her husband’s clothes and bring it to his office.

Lawton searches the room. He looks under the bed. Behind the couch. In After a cold shower, Parrish called his wife and broke down. He the fridge. In the bathroom. remembers “feeling relieved and exhausted.”

“I didn’t sleep a minute last night,” Parrish says. “I felt like I was going to When Lawton returned to Parrish’s room, he laid out the plan: Uber to die. I had to have a sip of vodka every 20 minutes.” Newark airport. Flight to Minneapolis. Meet Clymer there. Take 6:02 p.m. “Where is it?” Lawton asks again. connecting flight to Arizona. Drive to rehab facility.

“It’s in the freezer.” But Parrish pushes back. I can’t go home? I can’t kiss my wife goodbye? I can’t explain to my kids why Dad is leaving? He’s bargaining now. Lawton opens the freezer and pulls out the 750-milliliter bottle. But Lawton and Clymer had gotten close to convincing Parrish to seek It’s almost empty. How can anybody drink this much? he remembers help in the past. They worried he’d back out if his family tugged on his thinking. heartstrings. They held firm. This is the way it has to be.

Lawton pours what little is left of the vodka down the sink. He drops onto In the basement of Parrish’s home in a western suburb of Minneapolis, the couch exasperated, then looks at the sad sight of this 43-year-old there is all sorts of memorabilia from his playing days. former NHL All-Star sitting in the desk chair next to him. An All-Star Game jersey from 2002 when he scored 30 goals for the New Mikko Koivu, Mark Parrish, Marian Gaborik York Islanders. His 2006 Olympic jersey. A Kodak picture he once took with Mario Lemieux. The puck from his first NHL goal during the 1998-99 Parrish isn’t only Lawton’s television colleague. Panthers’ season opener. Parrish scored twice that night, including the He loves him like a “little brother.” winner over the cross-state rival Tampa Bay Lightning. And there’s an enormous bar with a couple of Northland vodka bottles Lawton ordered Parrish an Uber, sent him back to the hotel and told the still on the shelf. producers Parrish wasn’t feeling well. They arranged to have analyst E.J. Hradek, who worked an earlier show, stay and fill-in for Parrish. During Parrish is one of four partners in the Minnesota-based vodka company. the Uber ride back to the Residence Inn, Parrish tried to convince himself His wife boxed up the rest of their alcohol and gave it to a friend. And that this was “a one-time thing.” those Northland bottles? Filled with water because “it seems silly to have a bar with no bottles.” You just made a mistake today. Get a good night’s sleep, come back tomorrow and prove your worth, just like after a bad game. A wine cellar next to the bar is padlocked. Only Nicholle, who works in the wine industry, knows the combination. She needs a place to keep Parrish ordered a steak to his room and says he didn’t drink a drop of wine, plus Mark needs some Northland bottles for giveaways and alcohol. He didn’t hear Lawton at his door a little later and responded to signings. his texts by replying that they’d talk in the morning. He went to bed around 10. How Parrish began drinking such a “grotesque amount of alcohol” that “I was literally liquifying my brain” is a story familiar to many alcoholics and A little after midnight, Parrish woke up. He had a tingling sensation up family members of alcoholics. and down his arms and across his chest, like pins and needles. His heart was racing. Maybe a panic attack? “I guess the jig is up. I’m busted.” As “We’re spectacular liars, alcoholics,” Parrish says. “I got to learn firsthand the pain intensified, so did the anxiety. how powerful the disease is. I’d keep telling myself, ‘Don’t make another drink,’ then I’d be making that drink and would tell myself, ‘Don’t make it He thought if he didn’t get a good night’s sleep, he’d possibly lose a job so stiff.’ It’s like my hand wouldn’t listen. The hardest part for me, my he loves. parents (Barb and Gene) taught me to be a good person, and I’ve been so proud of how honest I was for the majority of my life, that I was a man He paced around his suite and then went outside and walked around the of my word and could be trusted and relied upon. courtyard. When he returned to his room, that tingling sensation and racing heart didn’t let up. Then he remembered that bottle of vodka. “But I’ve told so many lies. You don’t realize the emotional toll that it takes on everyone else when you’re so wrapped up in it.” I’ll just have a couple drinks to calm this panic down.

He suddenly pauses: “I had no idea how far down I was. Where to start? In the midst of the second drink, he fell asleep. … Where do I even start?” Three hours later, at 4:30 in the morning, he woke up again.

Start on March 9, the day before he entered rehab. Parrish’s flight landed The pins and needles had turned into nails, daggers even. His bed was in New Jersey late the night before, and like “any good alcoholic,” he soaked with sweat, his heart was racing. He contemplated calling 911. stopped at a liquor store on the way to the hotel for his customary 750- milliliter bottle of vodka. What did him in, he says, was lunch across from Parrish grabbed his phone to call his wife, but it was 3:30 a.m. in the hotel at Houlihan’s. He rounded out that meal with “four or five” Minnesota and he didn’t want to spook her and the kids. doubles. “And, of course, I’ve got the rest of that unfinished drink from earlier A few hours later, he stumbled into the conference room at NHL Network sitting on my nightstand,” Parrish says. “I remember, I had my phone in studios for a pre-production meeting with a dozen people, bumped the one hand and I picked up the drink with the other. I took one sip, and the back of Lawton’s chair, and spilled Lawton’s 31-ounce iced green tea all pain just, man, it just stopped like that. That was my spiritual moment, my over the table. aha moment … that God shot, as they call it in AA.

Initially, Lawton thought the spilled tea was merely an accident. “Clean it “I just remember looking at my left hand and looking at the drink and up. No big deal. Sit back down.” saying, ‘Oh shit, it’s you.’ It dawned on me right then and there that I needed help. That I obviously couldn’t do it alone.” This is the meeting where analysts contribute ideas so the production staff can plan the upcoming show. They discuss that evening’s docket of Nicholle, his wife of 16 years, had been asking Parrish to slow down his games and provide topics they’d like to talk about on air. drinking for a couple of years at that point. He often considered going cold turkey but always found an excuse not to. “As I’m sitting there, Mark was struggling with his comments. It was a red flag to me,” Lawton says. “Mark didn’t really say a ton. When he did, it “I was lying to her about taking days off when I never would,” Parrish wasn’t what I would call his best stuff as an analyst. That started to get says. “Never, until this moment, did I actually really think I had an issue, me concerned. We’re sitting next to each other, and at some point I yet I drank more than the average bear.” realized that I could smell alcohol. This is about 4 o’clock, and we’re Like Nicholle, his friends were not surprised Parrish had hit bottom. going on national TV at 6. Clymer, a year younger than Parrish and a friend since their high school “I don’t really get super nervous, but I started to get hot flashes. The days at Bloomington Jefferson, had gotten close to sending Parrish to meeting goes on and my temperature rises to about 102.” rehab a year or two ago.

When the meeting ended, Lawton hustled to the door to intercept Parrish. But nothing in their past friendship could prepare Clymer for what he saw He asked Jamie Hersch, who was hosting that night’s show, to stay, too. when he met Parrish after his flight from New Jersey landed in Minnesota. Lawton asked Parrish what was wrong and Parrish became instantly defensive, saying he was tired from a long week of broadcasting the From the moment Parrish passed through security at Newark, he started Minnesota high school state hockey tournament. drinking. By the time he got to Minneapolis, he looked broken. His hands were shaking uncontrollably. He was sweating so profusely that he had “Mark was super emotional,” Lawton says. “And I’m super uncomfortable to change out of the shirt he was wearing and into … a Northland Vodka because we’re very good friends. I keep thinking to myself, ‘I’m doing him T-shirt, which matched his Northland Vodka hat. a service.’” Parrish was going to rehab looking like a vodka advertisement. But as things got increasingly contentious, Lawton started to worry, “Am I misreading it? Maybe (spilling) the drink was an accident. Maybe I really He had already had plenty to drink, but he ordered more at the airport in didn’t smell alcohol. Maybe he really is just tired.” Minnesota.

Parrish yelled back, “I can’t believe you’re stabbing me in the back like It was almost like “my last hurrah,” Parrish admits. “Like, if I’m going to this.” rehab … I’m going drunk.”

“I look at Jamie, and her eyes are welling up, and I started crying, too,” Clymer called the facility in Arizona to ask if he should try to stop Parrish Parrish says. “Lawts (never) actually said he knew I was drinking. He from drinking. They told him, while they’d obviously like him as sober as kept saying, ‘You seem off, Parry, you seem off, you’re sick, yeah, I think possible, to not worry about it now. Clymer guesses Parrish had 16 units you’re sick.’ … Go have a nice dinner, get some sleep and make sure of vodka while he was with him. this is only a 12-hour flu and not a 24-hour flu.” “He was pretty low, super embarrassed about having to do this,” says Clymer, 42. “I kept telling him I was proud of him and that ‘the biggest way you could disappoint people would be by not going through with this Every morning was a roll of a dice as to whether I’d wake up OK or my and by continuing what you’re doing.’” anxiety was off the charts.”

What boggled Clymer’s mind, the more Parrish drank on that flight to The simplest tasks became too much to handle. Parrish figured one drink Arizona, the more sober he seemed to get. couldn’t hurt. That’s not enough to get him drunk. But then, “One drink turns into two. … If I had to pick up the kids, my brain’s telling me to have “He was not well when I first saw him,” Clymer says. “His skin color a drink. I started to have a couple drinks before picking up the kids.” wasn’t proper. And then when we were getting off the plane, he was totally normal.” When his wife found out, she was horrified. “All of a sudden, Nikki’s picking up the kids and she’s driving everywhere,” Parrish says. As Parrish and Clymer walked to the rental car shuttle, they walked past a bar. At one point a few years ago, after an alcoholic episode, Mark’s older brother, Geno, was so worried, he actually lived in the house four days a “I want to have my last drink with you,” Parrish said. week for more than a month.

Clymer teared up. Parrish used to coach high school hockey at Orono. He says he resigned “I wanted it to be his last drink, too,” Clymer says. in part so he could keep drinking and not get in trouble. When he worked on the broadcasts of state high school tournament games, he says he They rented a car, then Clymer drove Parrish to the Meadows facility in never drank on the air but always had one waiting for him afterward. Wickenburg, Ariz. They arrived just before 10 p.m. In October 2018, Parrish was arrested for drunk driving. It never made it In the parking lot, Clymer made Parrish change out of his Northland shirt. into the public airways, so other than Nicholle, Parrish hid the arrest from most of his family and friends until recently. But instead of the incident “I’m like, ‘Dude, I’m not bringing you into rehab wearing a vodka shirt,’” being a wake-up call, he says the guilt sent him into a downward spiral. Clymer remembers saying. “When I look back at all the times Nikki tried to help me, tried to slow me Clymer felt like he was dropping one of his kids off for camp. But he felt a down … she just couldn’t because I didn’t believe (I had a problem),” tinge of guilt as he left because he and Lawton hadn’t been completely Parrish says. honest about one major detail. There’s a red, 25-ounce CamelBak water bottle that Parrish still has. It’s Parrish thought he was going to be in Arizona for a few days, maybe a a reminder about how far off track he got. Before almost any drive, “I’d week, not 45 days. prepare myself a drink.” “It felt like a shitty thing to do to a friend, but I’m thinking, ‘Maybe now’s The bottle held the same amount of liquid as one of his 750-milliliter not the time to tell him he’s not coming home in a week,’” Clymer says. vodka bottles, so he’d fill the water bottle to the top, half water, half And part of it was hope. vodka.

“It felt weird driving away, knowing that my life was going to continue on, The “Power Trip” airs from 5:30-9 a.m. weekdays. Parrish is on the entire and his life was going to take an absolute U-turn,” Clymer says. “I was 3 1/2 hours Wednesday, the final two hours Friday. really happy he was doing it, but I knew the fight that was ahead of him.” Parrish loves doing the show and has become close friends with each of In the 25 hours before arriving at Meadows, Parrish figures he drank the hosts. But like everything else in his life, it causes anxiety. enough vodka to fill more than two 750-milliliter bottles. “On the days that I would go into KFAN, the last couple years, that water “I don’t remember what my blood alcohol was, but I kind of wish I do,” bottle would pretty much be gone,” Parrish said. “I mean it’s a 15-minute Parrish says. ride that early in the morning, and that thing would be gone by the time I got into KFAN.” After taking a number of tests upon arrival, Parrish was led to his room. The crew from the morning show suspected it wasn’t water in that bottle “I just slept,” Parrish says. “I just remember being so tired and I don’t that never left Parrish’s side. And the look in his eyes sometimes told know, obviously it had a lot to do with the amount of alcohol, but just Hawkey, “He wasn’t completely there with me.” mentally shut down.” The first time Parrish checked in with Lawton and Clymer from rehab, Three or four days later, when Parrish was more alert after coming off they couldn’t believe how much better and happier he sounded. some heavy withdrawal drugs, he worried about how obvious it would be to the world that he suddenly went missing. “It took me awhile to make some phone calls,” Parrish says. “For some reason, my brother was the hardest one to call. I don’t know why. It took Clymer set up a meeting with Parrish’s partners at Northland to explain me a couple weeks till I called him, and he definitely let me know he was what was going on, and Nicholle emailed The Athletic’s Islanders beat not happy.” writer, Arthur Staple, to let him know, without getting into details, that Mark would be out of the loop for a while. The two co-hosted a twice-a- What Parrish didn’t realize until he talked to Lawton the first time was that week podcast. roughly 36 hours after he arrived at rehab, the COVID-19 pandemic caused the NHL to suspend its season. Another of his concerns was his radio duties. On Wednesdays and Fridays, Parrish appears on the “Power Trip,” the No. 1-rated morning That meant no viewers would wonder why he wasn’t on NHL Network show in Minnesota, on KFAN, one of the highest-rated sports radio anymore. When he wouldn’t be on KFAN the next few months, the stations in the United States. pandemic could be an easy excuse.

Clymer met with the show’s hosts, Cory Cove, Chris Hawkey and Paul “I was there five or six days when I realized I was staying 45,” Parrish Lambert to fill them in. The three were relieved. They knew Parrish had a says, laughing. “One of the therapists was like, ‘OK, you’ve got 39 days severe drinking problem. left.’ And I was like, ‘Wait, what?’ I just thought, ‘Lawts, Clymer, those sons of bitches tricked me!’” Since retiring, Parrish says vodka, and the occasional whiskey, helped him fight off severe anxiety. All joking aside, the first week was tough.

“I’d wake up in the morning and my to-do list would be, ‘Go to the Parrish was put on major withdrawal drugs and was heavily sedated for laundromat, go to the dry cleaner, call Mike’ — four or five nothing things much of that time. that should be no big deal for a retired guy in his 30s,” Parrish says. “And It wasn’t until the second week that the nurses and doctors told Parrish I couldn’t even decide which one to do first. I would just spin. I would be that he had been dubbed, “Miracle.” walking in circles and finally Nikki would be like, ‘Why don’t you just take a shower?’ “They couldn’t believe with the lab tests, everything that I had, where my body was at, what my numbers were, that I was still alive,” Parrish says. “I’d take a shower and come out and I’d be just as anxious. She’d have to walk me through just the simplest things. And it started wearing on me. The biggest concern other than his liver was evidence of wet brain, something doctors were able to diagnose with an MRI. “It’s basically cell death,” explains Dr. Marvin Seppala, an addiction out all the stuff like, ‘My knees and my hip and my ribs and my …’ All treatment expert and the chief medical officer at Hazelden Betty Ford in these excuses. Center City, Minn. “Anytime we drink even one shot, one beer, one glass of wine, we’re killing brain cells. But we have so many of them that for “So the summer I lived with him was really eye-opening.” people who don’t drink heavily, the social drinkers, you kill a few, it’s no Parrish surmises that he got hooked on painkillers while playing for the big deal. Not going to notice. If you really have a severe alcohol use Islanders in the early-2000s, but things got a lot worse during the 2004- disorder, you can develop wet brain, but we hardly ever see that 05 lockout and magnified after the Wild bought out the final three years of anymore. It’s a rare situation.” that five-year contract in 2008. He was humiliated.

Seppala said it’s an extremely serious condition that can cause “Did I need the painkillers for the pain? At times, maybe,” he says. “But difficulties with cognition and memory and eventually severe dementia. primarily, it was just to kill the frustration, the heartache, the He has never treated Parrish, but because Parrish was told that the type disappointment of what happened here in Minnesota.” he had was reversible, Seppala assumes Parrish was run through a battery of cognitive and memory testing. His ego took a hit as he spent the final four years of his career playing mostly in the minors after hundreds of games in the NHL. He played 62 “During the course of treatment, what you see with people that have games during that stretch with Dallas, Tampa Bay and Buffalo, but cognitive damage from alcohol use is that in the first month, they get a lot “mostly played the Reggie Dunlop (‘Slap Shot’) role” for AHL teams in of it back,” Seppala says. “Then the next five months, there’s a slow Bridgeport, Norfolk, Portland and Binghamton. return of memory. After six months, you got what you’re going to have, basically.” One day at rehab, Parrish decided to sit in on a Narcotics Anonymous meeting. He says he had the epiphany, “Holy crap, I was a fricking While at Meadows, Parrish attended “family” group meetings, met daily painkiller addict. I raised my hand and I shared my story and it felt with a therapist and started AA meetings in the evenings. He has been amazing to admit it. It wasn’t even something I realized I was hiding.” stringent in attending all of his meetings since, albeit virtually because of COVID-19. Between AA, large group meetings and a couple of special When Boogaard died, Parrish says for the most part he was scared meetings that include current and former pro athletes, mostly NHLers, straight. During a painstaking, very difficult “summer of hell,” Parrish says Parrish has meetings Monday, Wednesday and Thursday nights and he went cold turkey off of painkillers. He admits he has used them since Tuesday and Wednesday mornings. after some surgeries, like one on his shoulder, but he says he’s always made sure to get off of them. On the “Power Trip,” one of the most popular things they do occurs every Friday morning. It’s called the Initials Game, and it’s not easy. Lambert, He says he’s lucky to be alive because he often dangerously mixed Hawkey, A.J. Mansour, Parrish and other contributors act as contestants, alcohol with painkillers. That’s what ended his friend’s life. and let’s just say that for the longest time, Parrish wasn’t doing well. “I got a horseshoe and about 8,000 four-leaf clovers jammed up my ass, I Soon after returning to the show, Parrish won his first Initials Game in a think,” Parrish says. calendar year. He has won the contest two of the past five weeks. Parrish has been sober 135 days. If you’re doing the math from March “The joke is my brain’s working again,” Parrish says. 11, his first day of sobriety in rehab, you may sense something’s not Parrish learned a lot of life lessons in rehab, and thought a lot about his adding up. past. On July 28, about 30 minutes after someone dropped off some bottles of How did he fall so far? vodka for Mark to sign, he got into an argument with his wife … and he drank. His brother, Geno, 45, who also played hockey at St. Cloud State, said the irony is in college, he was the party animal and it was Mark and “I had been around alcohol so many times since (rehab), but whatever former Huskies teammate Matt Cullen who used to come to house snapped that day, I just remember being upset about something and next parties and drink cranberry juice and water. thing you know, I was sitting on the couch with half a bottle of vodka in my hand,” he says. Mark says he didn’t have his first taste of alcohol until his 20th birthday. Nicholle texted Clymer. Clymer told her to take the kids and leave, that It wasn’t until he turned pro that he started to drink more often. he’d be right over.

He then became addicted to painkillers. When Clymer arrived, Parrish handed him the vodka with a look of He actually remembers breaking his leg at age 15, being put on shame and Clymer took away Parrish’s recovery coins and sobriety painkillers and liking them immediately. medallions.

His rookie year, he had his wisdom teeth removed and was reminded A little while later, Geno and their parents arrived and, soon after, Parrish how much he liked what the painkillers did to him. And as more and more began violently throwing up. His mom called an ambulance and Parrish injuries and aches and pains occurred along his NHL career, he got was taken to the hospital. hooked. Parrish says he hasn’t had a sip of alcohol since. But he knows he’s not Parrish’s voice gets somber as he brings up Boogaard, who died in magically cured. Minneapolis 9 1/2 years ago during his first night home after leaving For one thing, his anxiety issues remain. rehab in Malibu. One of his first nights out in public after returning from rehab was June “It tears me up. I was running side by side with Boogey,” Parrish said. “I 18 for his 16th wedding anniversary dinner at a restaurant in think about that all the time. How that beast of a man lost the battle … Minneapolis. and how somehow I survived it? … I was doing way more painkillers than he was.” As soon as they arrived, he wanted to leave. “But it was our anniversary. I was just terrified. White as a ghost, I was almost shaking, sweating,” he One summer while Mark still played for the Islanders, Geno lived with his says. “The restaurant was almost empty, but that did nothing for me. But brother. I got through it, and I remember getting back in the car and I was just One night, Geno noticed Mark nodding off while driving the two of them wired. I was so excited that I made it through.” to the marina. “Halfway there, we were going over the yellow line in the Parrish keeps track of his days of sobriety on his phone. middle of nowhere, and I look over, and his eyes are almost shut,” Geno says. “I grabbed the wheel and was like, ‘What’s wrong with you?’” His AA sponsor recently told Parrish to stop counting days like he’s trying to reach some kind of athletic milestone. If he gets to 1,000, he’s not Geno took the keys from his brother and drove home later. After that, going to earn a silver stick (or vodka bottle) from Alcoholics Anonymous. Geno noticed lots of signs of addiction. Fatigue, asking the same questions over and over again, a poor memory. He also discovered his “You never heal. You’re just in recovery,” Parrish says. “Because of brother was not only getting painkillers prescribed by doctors, but also COVID, nobody’s going to bars, but I’ve gotten pretty good in through the mail. He confronted his brother, and Mark “starts throwing restaurants. I ask for their best kiddy cocktail or what one of Nikki’s friends makes me, Lemadine.” That would be lemonade and grenadine. voice. But mainly, just honesty. I just want to be honest. I’m tired of being uncomfortable around people. One elephant in the room? The vodka company. Parrish still owns a piece of it and doesn’t plan to sell his share. He also likes waking up every morning with a clear head, “not being hungover and not trying to figure out where I can go sip a bottle of vodka In his first week of rehab, Parrish met with a psychiatrist. without anybody noticing,” he says. “I like the responsibility now. I get to “What do you do?” she asked. be the driver.”

“Well, I own a vodka company.”

“You’re not serious,” she said, while laughing. The Athletic LOADED: 12.11.2020

“I actually am. And my wife sells wine.”

Parrish says he spent much of the 45 days in rehab “mentally preparing” to be able to live life while still owning a piece of the company. His Twitter avatar is a Northland bottle.

“I’m not around the alcohol on a day-to-day basis. I like what the company has to offer, the business model, what we do for the community,” he says. “Do I still get nervous? Yes. I’ve actually canceled a few appearances because of fear. But every time I’ve just sucked it up and gone, I’ve been fine.”

And Nicholle is happy he’s working toward being a better man, father and husband.

“When he finally admitted he needed help, I felt a million pounds lifted off my shoulders that I didn’t realize I was carrying,” she says, tearing up. “It’s just nice to be able to rely on him again. … He’s a bigger participant in our kids’ lives again. They can tell he’s just more present.”

Geno tried to urge his brother to go to rehab countless times, as much as anything for his kids, 12-year-old Gianna and 10-year old Turner. “I have repeated year after year after year, ‘Mark, you’re not going to regret what you did to your friends. You’re not going to regret what you did to your family. You’re not going to regret the money that you blew, the opportunities that you blew, the jobs. You’re going to regret not remembering raising your children.’”

Geno may not have thought so, but Mark was taking that to heart all these years.

“They were so young when I really started to have a drinking problem,” Mark says. “They don’t even know their father sober. That hit hard. It still does. There’s still days where I wake up and the depression gets me on that one.

“I want to be an example for them and we’ve been honest with them and if I can’t make it to Turner or Gianna’s practice cause Daddy’s got to get on one of his calls to make sure he stays sober, they understand. I’ve had talks with both of them. There’s been a lot of apologizing.

“But you know, they don’t seem to really care so much about the apology. It’s just that Daddy doesn’t drink anymore. And, of course, Turner goes, ‘That’s good, Dad. You know what? I’m never going to drink, too.’ I just said, ‘Thanks, son. I appreciate the support. But this is Daddy’s issue, not yours.’”

Geno says he’s grateful Lawton was there to intervene that night at the NHL studios.

“If Brian Lawton had not been there at the perfect time, the perfect place, the perfect vulnerable state in my brother’s life, we might not be talking about this right now,” he says.

And Lawton is thankful Mark was willing to listen. “People do get broken, but they get fixed, too,” Lawton says. “I always believed that this is a chance for Mark to have a really great life. I feel he’s got a path to a great future now. And I was losing hope.”

Parrish is a Minnesota hockey hero and public figure, so at times he wonders if he’s walking around town wearing a big neon sign on his forehead that says, “Alcoholic.”

“I don’t believe Mark likes holding secrets,” Hawkey says. “I think this is going to be such a relief for him. I’m sure it’s embarrassing and I’m so sorry he’s going to have to go through that. But I think this is going to be such a cleansing for his soul, for his life.”

Parrish doesn’t want to hide anymore. He doesn’t want to lie anymore. And he doesn’t want to feel like garbage anymore.

“There’s a lot of people that are battling this, a lot more than people realize,” he says. “And I think I’m in a fortunate position to give them a 1196853 Websites Toronto this season. They’ve grown close. Both are represented by the Playmaker Agency in Sweden and recognize their congruent skillsets as roommates.

Sportsnet.ca / Maple Leafs' Rasmus Sandin stronger than ever after “I heard he needs a chef and I’m going to have to cook for him,” said extended off-season Sandin. “And I also need a taxi driver. We’re going to have to combine those things.”

It’s not yet a done deal, though, and a big test awaits when they make Staff Report the trip back to Canada and have to serve quarantine together. At least Sandin thinks it will be a much better experience than the 14 days he December 10, 2020, 12:10 PM spent alone in a Toronto hotel room in June, where he was unable to even open a window.

Sometimes Rasmus Sandin is alone on the ice with a skating coach, “I was climbing the walls at the end,” he said. other times he’s joined by William Nylander and his brother Alexander. Even as the NHL and NHL Players’ Association work on finalizing details Occasionally that group expands to include junior players and for training camp and the start of the 2020-21 season, he’s anxious to get Stockholm-based pros like Emil Bemstrom and Andreas Borgman, but in back to Toronto as soon as possible. this most unusual year Sandin is a constant. And he’s ready for another unusual year. It’s been so long since the Toronto Maple Leafs hopeful played a game that there were fans in the building when he did. Sandin says he can Sandin understands the Leafs have a defensive logjam after an off- barely remember the feeling of performing in front of a full arena and it’s season where T.J. Brodie, Zach Bogosian and Mikko Lehtonen were all now nine months to the day since he played in Toronto’s 2-1 victory over signed as free agents, but he points out that teams will likely be carrying Tampa with 19,124 people watching inside Scotiabank Arena. expanded rosters and taxi squads because of COVID-19 concerns and the compacted schedule. He may also end up playing some games in the He can’t wait for the next opportunity. American Hockey League. “It’s going to be like a birthday or a Christmas or something like that,” he His goals are simple: “Play all the games I can and make a bigger impact said. on the team this year -- try to help the team win more games. I feel This has not been the year any of us imagined and it’s not followed the prepared and I can’t wait to get camp started.” development plan the Leafs had sketched out for their top prospect. But Ask Sandin what he’s missed months during these 275 days and that does not mean it hasn’t been without opportunity for Sandin. counting between games, he mentions the feeling of the battle and the After returning home to Sweden from his stay inside the NHL bubble, camaraderie inside the team. The spirit in the locker room after a big win. where he didn’t get a chance to play in the five-game series loss against He also yearns for the energy fans bring to a building, which will almost Columbus, Sandin performed some strength tests to establish his certainly be missing from the games played in Canada this season baseline. He is now crushing those numbers thanks to another three-plus because of provincial and local health restrictions. months in the gym. “I would obviously love to play in front of packed arenas first off, but you The most important results can be seen in those Monday to Friday have to take this thing seriously,” said Sandin. “Just getting back into a skating sessions, which have started to include battle drills as part of the normal routine and just playing a game would be so much fun.” ramp up towards the NHL season. Sandin and William Nylander, his good friend and Leafs teammate, have been going toe-to-toe and it’s resulted in a recent spate of broken Nylander sticks. Sportsnet.ca LOADED: 12.11.2020 “I’m definitely a lot stronger. ... Even William can’t even handle me on the ice right now,” Sandin said with a playful chuckle.

He’s kidding, but not.

Sandin earned a six-game look with the Leafs out of last year’s training camp in large part due to his instincts. He’s a fluid skater and impressed the decision-makers inside the organization with his ability to close off plays through body positioning, angles and using his stick.

After dominating the world junior tournament, he saw another 22 NHL games on the battered Leafs blue line and felt much more comfortable than during his first brief taste. But the physical challenge was real. Sandin turned 20 in March and understood that he needed to add more muscle while “getting used to playing against the best players in the world.”

“Being in the [American Hockey League] you obviously play against really good players but then it’s a whole different thing playing in the NHL,” he said. “Everyone is so much smarter and there’s a couple extra pounds on some guys.”

Sandin feels more comfortable throwing his weight around now. He’s been able to measure his progress throughout the off-season against Nylander, who is four years older and 300 NHL games more experienced.

“He’s obviously a great player, so going against him, I can play in a little bit of a different way,” said Sandin. “Before I definitely was just more trying to have my stick and trying to be more in a good position. Now I can pair that up… with pushing other players from the puck a bit more and winning those battles.

“That’s why I feel like this [extended break] has helped me a lot on the ice.”

Sandin has been spending the weekdays staying at Nylander’s apartment in central Stockholm and may end up living with him in 1196854 Websites versatile enough to create space and opportunity for whomever they’re playing with.

Granted, they do it in different ways — Byron with his pure speed and Sportsnet.ca / Canadiens lineup projections: Versatility highlights much- Anderson with his speed, size and physicality — but the result is still the improved depth same. The result is three players who can create opportunities for each other and three players who can all put the puck in the net.

One potential flaw: Brett Kulak had a crisis of confidence in being Eric Engels@EricEngels demoted to the team’s third pairing last season and moving him to the right side of that pairing, where he’s never played before, could prove to December 9, 2020, 3:37 PM be too risky an endeavour.

Bonus points for: Giving us a breakdown of how you see the Price/Allen Montreal Canadiens assistant coach Luke Richardson spent over 30 split. We’d be surprised if it’s that even when all is said and done, but minutes talking with reporters over Zoom last week and uttered no word Price’s work rate is bound to decrease significantly from what it was last more frequently than “depth.” season.

The organizational chart has changed so much since August that the Why it could work: The chemistry between Tatar and Gallagher is team’s biggest weakness has suddenly become its biggest strength. established and placing them with Suzuki — at least at home — could free them up to produce a bit more offence without constantly having to Don’t buy it? Well, let’s lay it out. match up against the other team’s best line and without having to take as many defensive zone draws as they would with Danault. If you swapped in then-injured Brendan Gallagher for recently traded Max Domi, there was at least the possibility of reuniting the top line of the In Byron-Danault-Toffoli, you have two finishers playing with a pass-first last two seasons. But doing so would’ve pushed Lehkonen into Domi’s player, and all three of them are very responsible checkers. spot and, well, done very little to improve the team’s chances of spreading out its offence. One thing we like: Kulak and Petry as a pair — especially since we’re talking about how to start the season. It’s worth giving Kulak a show of Maybe Cale Fleury or , or both, would’ve made the third confidence and rewarding him for how he played in the bubble. If he pairing a little better. Or maybe they wouldn’t have. resembles the player we saw there, it makes the whole group that much better. The point is, there wasn’t much mixing and matching for the Canadiens to do to make themselves harder to play against. Also, with the defence set as such, there’s a balance there that makes reducing the minutes Weber, Chiarot and Petry play viable. But now? One potential flaw: If you’re going to pair Drouin and Kotkaniemi Add top-six forwards Tyler Toffoli and Josh Anderson, top-six together, it’s probably best they play with someone slightly more defencemen Joel Edmundson and Alexander Romanov, and backup defensive-minded than Anderson. This line, as it’s constructed, would goaltender Jake Allen, move Hudon, Belzile, Mete and Ouellet to the need to be sheltered, and that would mean less ice-time in tight games fringe, and the depth, balance and versatility of the roster becomes where they could make the difference with their offensive abilities. undeniable. Bonus points for: Splitting the Danault line right off the hop. You already Here’s what Canadiens coach Claude Julien said about it back in know what you have in them and you can reunite them at any point. And October: it’s not like you blew it up; this is a moderate experiment to be running — “I like the fact that I can move guys around and it’s not like one line’s and with a centre in Suzuki who knows how to play with both guys. going to get better and the other one’s going to get weaker. If I make a We also agree on Byron. He had a bad start to last season and then change, it’s probably all lines that will have an opportunity to get better. suffered a brutal injury that took him out of action for over three months. That’s what I like about the depth of this group right now.” It made it easy to forget he topped 20 goals in 2017 and 2018 and was It’s what the fans appear to like, too. on pace for 22 had he played more 56 games in 2019.

We asked them to submit line combinations and defence pairings on Why it could work: Sammy’s justification said it all. In a shortened season Twitter, and the variety in their responses speaks to the depth, balance you can undo your playoff hopes in a hurry, so it makes sense to start off and versatility of the roster. with what you know. In his lineup, the top two lines and top two defence pairings from the bubble remain intact. There were, however, some commonalities in their suggestions. The majority of them had Tatar, Danault and Gallagher completing the same One thing we like: Toffoli and Anderson flanking Kotkaniemi. It could be a line for a third consecutive season, Drouin and Suzuki matched up to potent offensive line that isn’t quite as defensively vulnerable as the continue building on the chemistry they displayed in the Toronto bubble, proposed Drouin-Kotkaniemi-Anderson line. Even if Toffoli plays his off- and Chiarot and Weber paired together once again. wing in this scenario, Julien made a point of mentioning that he’s been assured Toffoli is comfortable on the left. We won’t break down every single one of the 150-plus suggestions made, but we’ve picked out four that we think are compelling for a variety One potential flaw: Not maximizing the offensive potential of the forward of reasons. We’ll also add two suggested compositions of our own — one group. We know Armia played great hockey for the Canadiens prior to with our outside-the-box combinations and the other as a template for suffering a hand injury in December, but he doesn’t have a proven track what we think Julien will opt for. record as a finisher. If you’re going to have the two best playmakers (Drouin and Suzuki) on the same line, you probably want a pure goal Why it could work: With a shortened training camp — and without the scorer next to them. benefit of exhibition — the biggest challenge Julien will face is integrating his new players into his system. Keeping the Danault line and Weber Bonus points for: Moving Edmundson to the right of Romanov. He has pairing intact and placing Drouin with Suzuki and Lehkonen with Armia plenty of his experience playing his off side. provides a certain level of stability while that integration process is Why it could work: This is one of the more balanced compositions of the unfolding. ones submitted. At least it is up front. Here you see the stability of the One thing we like: That third line. While we appreciate the logic behind Danault line, a pure finisher next to Drouin and Suzuki, Lehkonen and Jonathan’s justification for putting Anderson next to Kotkaniemi, we don’t Toffoli eliminating some of the desire to shelter Kotkaniemi, and a strong know that he needs much protection. Kotkaniemi emerged as a much fourth line. bigger and far more physical player in the bubble. Assuming he One thing we like: Pairing Romanov with Weber — even if Patrick says continues to progress in both departments, that makes this combination he doesn’t think he should start there. If he finishes there, that will particularly dangerous. unquestionably be a sign that he’s every bit as good as the Canadiens That Kotkaniemi can score as easily as he can set up goals helps think he is. because Anderson and Byron are both capable finishers but also But why not start him there and give him the most reliable partner he can have? Romanov’s mobility could prove to be an excellent fit for Weber, too.

One potential flaw: Edmundson out of the lineup. The Canadiens didn’t trade for him and sign him to a four-year, $14-million contract to park him in the press box before he’s even played a game.

Bonus points for: Focusing on the mobility of the blue line. It could be seen as a weakness—especially if both Kulak and Mete find themselves on the outside looking in.

If Mete can produce to the level his skillset suggests he should, his speed could be a welcome component next to Edmundson.

Notes

• If Kulak isn’t on the second pair, we’re not sure he works well on the third. And if he’s out of the lineup, perhaps it’s because the Canadiens capitalize on his market value and trade him prior to the season.

We don’t see any of that as probable — in fact, we’d bet against it given GM Marc Bergevin putting a premium on having defensive depth — but it is possible.

• We like the idea of Gallagher completing the Drouin-Suzuki duo and still see him as the purest scorer on the team. And if we have to move him away from Tatar and Danault, why not put Anderson in his place? The two play the same style, but Anderson is bigger, stronger and faster.

Jeff Marek and Elliotte Friedman talk to a lot of people around the hockey world, and then they tell listeners all about what they’ve heard and what they think about it.

Final thoughts

• A few submissions had Juulsen taking a spot on defence, but it appears to be consensus within the organization that he needs to get some games in at the AHL level to make up for all the lost time due to injuries over the last two seasons. And while we appreciate that most people are concerned he’ll be claimed on waivers if he’s sent to the AHL, we see that scenario as unlikely.

There are a lot of teams that are right up against the cap, and roster space, as always, is limited. Not that Juulsen carries an exorbitant cap hit — he’s got NHL upside for only $700,000 — but if the team waiving him (the team that knows him best) feels he needs reps before being able to be dependable enough at this level, it’s hard to imagine another team will see it differently.

• Cale Fleury not having to pass through waivers to go to the AHL hurts his chances of making the big club out of camp — especially with no exhibition games to prove he’s more worthy than someone else. It’s not to say he wouldn’t be prepared to be an ideal candidate on the third pairing, but the increased depth on the Canadiens’ blue line, coupled with his waiver exemption, stacks the deck against him.

• A few submissions had Jordan Weal centring the fourth line or serving as an extra. While it’s possible he’ll prove to be the best option to centre the fourth line, it’s unlikely. Even more unlikely would be keeping him as an extra, unless the NHL allows for a taxi squad that doesn’t count against the cap.

Regardless, Weal being demoted would be one of the easiest ways for the Canadiens to be cap-compliant to start the season. They’ll probably have to make a couple of other minor moves, but you have to figure they’ll at least make this one.

Sportsnet.ca LOADED: 12.11.2020 1196855 Websites

Sportsnet.ca / Disney announces return of 'Mighty Ducks' franchise in new series

Sportsnet Staff@Sportsnet

December 10, 2020, 9:54 PM

It seems the Ducks are ready to fly together once again.

More than two decades after the third instalment of the popular Mighty Ducks franchise — the name of which inspired that of Anaheim's NHL franchise in the early '90s — Disney has announced a new turn for Gordon Bombay and Co. with a new series titled 'The Mighty Ducks: Game Changers.'

Disney announced the project Thursday during its Disney Investor Day 2020. Emilio Estevez will return as coach Bombay, while Lauren Graham — of Gilmore Girls fame — joins the franchise for the new series as well.

Don't expect the same feel-good vibes coming from those in Ducks sweaters this time around, though. According to TV Guide, the new series will pit Graham and a new team of misfits against the Ducks, who are shown to have grown into a local on-ice behemoth in the years following the Charlie Conway Era.

"The new series is set in present-day Minnesota, where the Mighty Ducks have evolved from scrappy underdogs to an ultra-competitive youth hockey powerhouse," writes TV Guide's Kelly Connolly.

"Graham is set to star as hockey mom Alex. When her 12-year-old son, Evan, is unceremoniously cut from the Ducks, the two set out to put together their own team of misfits and, in the words of the show's official description, 'challenge the cutthroat, win-at-all-costs culture of competitive youth sports.'"

A release date has yet to be announced for the series.

Sportsnet.ca LOADED: 12.11.2020 1196856 Websites Since the NHL and the players prefer to not return to a bubble for a full season, they also will have to prepare for the increased likelihood of positive tests.

Sportsnet.ca / Five pressing issues for NHL, NHLPA to resolve ahead of On top of that, some teams will have a harder time calling players up new season from their AHL teams. The three Western Canadian franchises, for instance, all have American-based farm teams, so cross-border travel and quarantine requirements won't allow for short-notice recalls.

Sportsnet Staff@Sportsnet The solution may be in an expanded roster and/or taxi squad, where a few extra players are allowed to be part of the team, perhaps without December 10, 2020, 11:20 AM being on the official roster, on call for injuries and the like. Of course, with so many teams over or right near the salary cap ceiling already, how these expanded rosters or taxi squads will function under the current Whenever the NHL and NHLPA are involved in CBA-related negotiations, financial setup is to be determined. the biggest hurdle to jump is always the one about money. And while the two sides agreed to a CBA extension over the summer, the economic "There's talk right now of having rosters of 25 or 26 players, plus realities of managing a business during the pandemic led the NHL to potentially another four players that could be part of a taxi squad," Chris seek a renegotiation of sorts, where escrow and deferral amounts on Johnston reported Tuesday night. player salaries were requested to be reconsidered. It's possible a number of AHL players could be part of those taxi squads, It led to a cooling of talks between the two sides and even some the type who would be among the first call-ups when injury hits in a pessimism they'd eventually work it out. So, when Elliotte Friedman normal season. There's talk that, perhaps, those players would still earn reported on Monday that they had agreed to keep the economic their AHL salaries while on the taxi squad, but be given NHL per diem. framework in place, the biggest obstruction to the start of a new season It's unclear what an AHL team could do if a few of its players are on a taxi was seemingly removed. Full steam ahead, right? squad instead of the AHL roster this season. These expanded NHL As with anything in this most unusual year, it’s not that straightforward. rosters could also influence what some of the next steps are for the remaining UFAs. The two sides remain in talks about how the season will take shape and there are still a number of issues to sort through, though none appear to "They've gotta nail down these taxi squads," Friedman said. "I wouldn't be as big as the monetary considerations. There is generally still lots of be surprised if some guys who were more sort of deeper players on the optimism we'll get a season, with the goal now to begin on Jan. 13. That roster or potential AHL/NHL guys, they wait to see what the taxi squad could still be delayed, though, depending on how the pandemic develops rules are and say, 'OK is there a situation that's better for me that I might around North America in the coming weeks. go for because of what the taxi squad rules might be?'"

"We just never know what we're going to be able to do and not do," Dec. 8: “They’re Grinding Away At It, There’s No Question” Friedman said on Sportsnet 590 The FAN's Hockey Central this week. "I There is a lot to consider under this banner. do have some people telling me that even though they understand why the league and players are targeting Jan. 13 -- you want people in that In the playoff bubble, players were tested daily. Two labs, one each in mentality of, 'Get ready we're going to play' -- I think there are some who Toronto and Edmonton, handled the processing of those tests, and feel it may not happen until the beginning of February because we just results were returned within 24 hours. With teams now spread out again might need more time. We'll see. But that's what our target is. in a less centralized format, it's not clear how often players will be tested, who will handle the processing, how fast those tests will be reported "The players were told last week to be prepared for the possibility of Jan. back, or what the protocol would be should a player return a positive. 13, so it looks like we're gonna go full steam ahead as much as we can How long will they be out for? What has to happen for a game to be towards that and see what curveballs COVID throws us." postponed? This is all to be determined. The fact is, many questions remain about how this will all work. For Another factor is player opt-outs. For the summer playoffs, those who did example, some teams are in hot spots with local regulations that severely not want to compete were allowed to opt-out without any financial limit how many people can gather in one place, leaving it uncertain penalty. Players will surely be allowed to opt out for the coming season if whether or not they could open training camp in their home rink, or play they so choose, but will they have to forfeit a portion, or all, of their salary regular season games there when the season opens. San Jose is one — or will they be able to do so again without penalty? such as example of this, as is Montreal. The Winnipeg Jets were in the same boat, but this week were given clearance by Manitoba’s Chief "They're grinding away at protocols, what happens if someone tests Public Health Officer Dr. Brent Roussin to open their camp at home. It's positive? How do players who opt-out want to do so? What's the penalty, those types of situations that are ever-evolving and could further if any, in terms of financial?" Friedman said. complicate matters in the coming weeks. And how will players who do test positive be listed on the injury report? In But there's even more to figure out between the league and its players, the playoffs, all injuries were designated as "unfit to play" and, as we now who are still regularly discussing a number of things they must resolve know, there were no positive tests in the bubble anyway. But in the NFL before a season is confirmed. Before anything moves ahead officially, this season, players who test positive are more transparently put on a both the players' association and BOG must vote on all aspects. reserve/COVID-19 list. How the NHL chooses to navigate this is another Following the latest BOG call on Wednesday, another is expected some open question. time next week. It's long been expected that a seven-team Canadian division would be a Here are some of the more notable points still on the table. necessity for this season to eliminate cross-border travel and quarantine restrictions. On Tuesday, Gary Bettman all but confirmed this as a likely 31 Thoughts: The Podcast outcome. Jeff Marek and Elliotte Friedman talk to a lot of people around the hockey "There are a lot of things we have to do to return to play," Bettman said. world, and then they tell listeners all about what they’ve heard and what "For us to return to play, we're not going to play 82 games, obviously, they think about it. and we have travel issues because of the restrictions at the border Rosters are going to have to be larger this season. As we see the NFL between Canada and the U.S. You can't go back and forth, so we're and college sports leagues play without the same kind of bubble the NHL actually going to have to realign. successfully implemented this past summer, a number of positive tests "If everything stays the way it is, we're probably going to have to have a are complicating games and seasons. That is also the case ahead of the Canadian division and realign in the U.S., and we're trying to focus on World Junior Championship, as a number of teams — including Canada dealing with all of those challenges." — have had positive tests before travelling to the Edmonton bubble in a week's time. It's gotten to be so much that there is concern whether the While time zones obviously are not a factor in creating the Canadian tournament should even be able to go ahead. alignment, they will be in re-aligning the three American Divisions, though there is no perfect fit. In an effort to limit long-distance travel, teams will be pooled as geographically close as possible. As reported on While the players weren't too crazy about going into a multi-month bubble Wednesday, the NHL has outlined a proposal for these American again, it appears there could be a contingency plan for shorter term hubs divisions, and it looks like this: to deal with this potential issue.

Unsurprisingly, much of the Metro Division remains the same, with some "I do think they have been looking at something," Friedman said. "What it alterations to make room for a couple of displaced Atlantic Division comes down to in a lot of ways is what makes more sense financially? If teams. Likewise, the California teams, Vegas and Arizona all stay it's a hub setup, the league handles a lot of those costs. If it's a team together from the Pacific Division. But some teams, like St. Louis, are setup, the team handles a lot of those costs. caught in the middle under this proposal. It should be noted that this is not a final decision yet and still needs to be voted on by the Board of "If it's a team setup, you get your own sponsorship money back into it. If Governors and the NHLPA. It's also believed there is some debate about it's not a team setup there's a question of how much more do you have to St. Louis and Minnesota's placements. pay or give back?

Whatever this settles at, it's going to be a look unlike anything we've "It won't be a bubble, it'll be more like a hub in and out. Some of the cities seen. that are being considered for it are New Jersey could be one, Philly could be one ... but again, depending on what the local rules are. Nashville For now, the league is aiming for a 56-game season, though again, that could be one. I do think that's not preferred. The players don't want it and could change if the start date needs to be pushed back further due to generally I think teams don't want it unless the costs indicate it makes COVID-19 complications. sense. I think they are looking at that kind of a possibility, but as it stands right now I don't believe it's the preference." "I just think that we're at the mercy of so much, I bet they're modelling everything," Friedman said on Sportsnet 650 The FAN's The Program. It's also likely that the league builds some kind of buffer into its schedule "They're modelling 56 games on the 13th. They're modelling 48 games to allow postponed games to be replayed at a later date. on Feb. 1. I'm sure they're doing all this stuff. All you can do is prepare for anything and expect anything."

It's also to be determined what this will mean for playoff formatting. If the Sportsnet.ca LOADED: 12.11.2020 league announces its playoff format when it finalizes details on the coming season, the most likely outcome is that four (or five if they have a play-in round again) teams from each division will qualify for the playoffs, and then play through that bracket to a semifinal. How the league proceeds from there is hard to know, and could depend on travel restrictions or government allowances at the time. Could the league leave this undefined for now, and remain more flexible to other formats months down the line?

Another open-ended question surrounds how often travel will be required within these divisions. With long-distance travel a concern, the idea has been floated that this year's schedule could look somewhat like baseball's, where a team flies into a city and plays that host multiple times before moving on. It's also not clear if the schedule will be balanced. For instance, could the Maple Leafs play the Eastern-most Canadian teams more often than the West to limit cross-country travel?

"If you're having a division where four out of seven make the playoffs, you feel you have to make it as even as possible," Friedman said. "Would it be a slight edge East-East, West-West? Yes I think so. But I also think they feel if you're in a situation where these teams are competing against each other to make the post-season it can't be incredibly unbalanced. I would also say that if COVID dictates less long- term travel for whatever reason, maybe that changes."

Built in to all the schedule considerations is a question on when the critical dates will land. Things like the trade deadline (usually end of February), free agency (usually July 1) -- when will they now fall on the 2021 calendar?

The NFL got by without any pre-season games this season, and it appears the NHL may follow suit. As Friedman reported on Monday, no exhibition games appear likely at this time.

Time is of the essence to get as many meaningful games into a regular season as possible.

"They don't want the training camps to be that long," Friedman said. "I don't think the players want it to be that long, they feel that they're in good enough shape, they've all been skating, they've all been practicing, they feel they're ready to go.

"I think the other thing too is, in a time where you're dodging COVID at every corner, you just don't want to waste time on things that don't matter," he continued. "Why add an extra trip? Why add another potential exposure? I think that's how teams look at it ... and you can't make money on exhibition games now because you can't have fans."

As cases begin to climb in the NFL and we're seeing that league have to massage its schedule, how would the NHL handle a situation where games are forced to be postponed, given the schedule is already going to be compressed? What is Plan B in case local regulations make it harder to play in every home arena? 1196857 Websites Hockey Canada made seven more cuts to its selection camp roster in preparation for the upcoming World Junior Championship. Among them were two goaltenders, Brett Brochu and Tristan Lennox. As Mark Masters reports, Team Canada is now all set in the crease. Team Canada goalies named with help from mom and dad Gauthier has been passed over in the last two National Hockey League drafts.

By Mark Masters "Going through the draft for the first time and not getting selected it was definitely a little heartbreaking," the right-catching Calgary native said. "I

didn't really know how to deal with that adversity. Growing up every time I TSN Hockey Reporter Mark Masters reports on the World Junior Hockey would try out for a team I'd make it and that was the first time I had to Championship. Team Canada held an off-ice workout on Thursday deal with the fact that I didn't reach a goal that I set." morning ahead of the final intra-squad scrimmage of selection camp. It was a wake-up call that Gauthier said ultimately made him mentally Team Canada has named its three World Junior goalies. Prince George's stronger. Taylor Gauthier, Kamloops' Dylan Garand and Northeastern University's "I learned to focus on the little things that you can control and not worry Devon Levi will accompany the group into the bubble on Sunday. about the other variables such as the draft or even making this team. It London's Brett Brochu and Saginaw's Tristan Lennox were released on just gave me a little more peace of mind and made things a little easier. It Thursday. helped me find the love of the game again and just prioritizing going out there working hard and having fun." In this strange pandemic year, Hockey Canada found a creative way to deliver the the good news to Gauthier, Garand and Levi. It started with a The hard work paid off as Gauthier led the in phone call. minutes played last season while posting a .917 save percentage for a Cougars team that was on the outside of the playoff picture. Tourigny "I was asleep," said Gauthier. "So, that was kind of scary to begin with listed Gauthier as the goalie who impressed him most in Wednesday's and then the first words you hear are, 'Coaches want to talk to you.' You scrimmage. kind of get that pit in your stomach." "I really liked his presence," Tourigny said. "He made key saves and he "Wasn't quite sure that they were going to get down to the final three was really sharp right from the get go." today," said Garand, "so getting called down to meet with the coaches, I was a bit nervous that I was getting sent home." Tourigny was behind the bench at the 2018 when Gauthier got the win in the gold medal game in a relief appearance. "I walked in and the computer was on with my parents on Zoom," said Levi, "coaches were all around and then my parents told me. It was a "Not playing much in the tournament and coming into the gold medal huge relief and a dream come true. Hearing that from my parents, who game halfway through the first period, it kind of showed me that no have been supporting me since I was kid, it was awesome." matter what, you got to be ready," Gauthier said. "Going in there and seeing the team battle in front of me and coming out with a gold medal at In a video posted by Hockey Canada, Levi is seen leaping up from his the end of the game, it definitely proved to me that I'm a good goalie and seat in excitement when parents Laurent and Eta broke the news. I can give the team a chance to win."

The camp opened on Nov. 16, which means players who crack the roster Levi also raised his level of play thanks to international experience. He will be away from home for 51 days. With the tournament taking place in was named MVP at the 2019 World Junior A Challenge in Dawson a bubble there will be no chance to visit with loved ones during the Creek, B.C., where he backstopped Canada East to a silver medal. holiday season. So, this family moment was both magical and extra meaningful. "Playing on the international stage for the first time was unbelievable," the Dollard-des-Ormeaux, Que. native said. "I definitely took the next "Hearing that one of your dreams has come true from your family that's step in my game. I found something within me. I look at my performance been with you right from the start ... it was a really special moment," said in the semis and the finals, I found a new gear and I think I'll be able to Garand, whose father Loren teared up during the announcement. hopefully tap into that for this tournament."

"It was definitely pretty emotional and such a special moment that I'll Levi posted a .941 save percentage in 37 games with the Carleton Place never forget," said Gauthier, who sat back and seemed to exhale in relief Canadians last season and was named MVP of the Central Canada after getting the news from parents Keith and Susan. "They're such a big Hockey League. He was drafted in the seventh round by the Florida part of it and it's every much their accomplishment." Panthers in October.

The decision to get down to the final three guys with one scrimmage still "I'm a smart goalie," Levi said. "I read the play well and I get to where I remaining is a sign of the urgency the staff feels to get the goalies in a need to be. I get in front of the shot and I'm rarely out of position. I use rhythm. my speed to help me with that. A change that I brought to my game is patience. I feel like I was a bit all over the place last year and I've toned "Every day counts," said head coach Andre Tourigny. "We could not wait that down a bit. I'm a bit more in control. I'm waiting to read plays and for games. We don't play enough games. Everything has to count and read releases before I react and I think that's helped me at this camp." the background and the history of the player has to as well." Who's the frontrunner for Canada's starting gig? Levi started the camp in a cohort quarantine with the other NCAA players so Wednesday was his first scrimmage and he played just 30 minutes. With five goalies in the mix for Team Canada's starting gig, Bob Garand, meanwhile, has played about 50 minutes in the scrimmages so McKenzie tries to handicap the race for the No. 1 job, and explains how far. Of the three goalies left standing, only Gauthier has played a full formidable the Canadian blueline is shaping up to be. game at the camp. But Tourigny said these are the three goalies the staff felt most comfortable with and nothing that happened at camp has Garand, who was picked in the fourth round by the New York Rangers in changed that. October, feels like he took a big step during the pandemic pause.

"We feel they developed more skill than the people give them credit for," "I did a good job of gaining strength and putting on weight," the Victoria Tourigny said. "Goats has a lot of athleticism. He's a big goalie as well. native said. He has good size. Garand has really good hands, is really quick and In an interview before the camp opened, Hockey Canada goalie coach same thing for Levi. He's really fast. Side to side his legs are really quick. Jason LaBarbera said he liked what he saw on the video Garand had So, they all bring something a little bit different." sent in. Levi will play a full game tonight while Gauthier and Garand split time at "His pace has gotten up and you can tell he's a lot stronger," LaBarbera the other end. observed. "He just looks stronger. His foot pushes and his edge work just With two goalies cut Thursday, Canada is all set in the crease look sharper and there's not as much excess movement when he's moving around the crease. He looks like he's getting to his spots on his feet a lot better than he had in the past ... you can tell he trusts his feet a "I played with Newy and Hollo at the U18 championship in Sweden so we lot more." had some chemistry there," said Pelletier. "But, to be honest, they're just two great players and it's easy to play with them." While Gauthier, Garand and Levi celebrated some good news on Thursday, seven other World Junior hopefuls saw their dreams dashed. Along with Brochu and Lennox, Hockey Canada released five forwards: Spokane's Adam Beckman, Barrie's Tyson Foerster, Chicoutimi's TSN.CA LOADED: 12.11.2020 Hendrix Lapierre, Mississauga's Cole Schwindt and Kingston's Shane Wright.

Wright was trying to become a rare 16-year-old to make it to the World Juniors.

"I saw a lot of intensity from Shane," Tourigny said. "I saw a lot of desire to get better, to learn, to do what we ask. He was a blessing to coach and no problem there ... The quality of our players up front is special so that is what played a little bit against him. Nothing that he did disappointed us or wasn't at the level we were expecting."

There are 20 forwards left at camp, which means six more still need to go with one final intra-squad game on Thursday night.

"We wanted to shorten the lineup to have 10 forwards on each team and more reps for everybody," Tourigny said. "You could see yesterday at some point the cardio and the stamina of the players is something we need to keep working at."

Wright among seven cut from Canadian juniors camp

Shane Wright, a 16-year-old highly touted prospect, was one of seven players cut from Team Canada's world junior selection camp on Thursday, Hockey Canada announced.

The line of Connor McMichael, Dylan Cozens and Kirby Dach made a strong debut during Wednesday's game leading Team White to a 6-4 win over Team Red. Dach finished with two goals and two assists while Cozens and McMichael had two assists each.

"They had a really good night, especially on the power play," said Tourigny. "They were really productive. That was obviously the best line on Team White."

Safe to say, Tourigny plans to run the D.M.C line again.

"They made it tough for us to break them up," the coach said Wednesday night. "That's something we envision can be a really good line moving forward."

But on Thursday night they will be breaking up that trio in order to get a look at McMichael at centre.

Tourigny: Cozens-McMichael-Dach making it tough for us to break them up

With the line of Dylan Cozens, Connor McMichael and Kirby Dach impressing in Team White's instrasquad win over Team Red, Canada coach André Tourigny commented on using the trio moving forward, and discussed the identity of the team this year.

Tourigny listed Wisconsin University's Dylan Holloway, Boston College's Alex Newhook and Val d’Or's Jakob Pelletier as the best line for Team Red.

"One of our more reliable, solid lines on both sides of the puck," Tourigny observed.

During his post-game Zoom session, the coach took time to heap praise on all three guys.

Tourigny noted that Newhook "has a lot of speed. He's strong as well. A strong skater with good balance, strong in his battles. He has a really good shot. He played a two-way role and he played really solid. I like a lot of things Alex can do."

Tourigny highlighted Holloway's strength noting that the Oilers prospect is "so powerful, strong, strong on the puck. His skating is outstanding. His effort is always there. He brings a lot of intangibles."

Tourigny described Pelletier, a Flames prospect, as "the kind of player who makes others better. He was really reliable, bringing a lot of energy. He has a good presence on the bench. He does a lot of good things."

Newhook and Holloway were among Canada's final cuts at last year's selection camp, which Pelletier missed due to injury.