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SPORT-SCAN DAILY BRIEF NHL 4/17/2020 1182887 Column: Kings vs. Ducks virtual showdown will feature fan 1182916 If NHL resumes play, needs “two weeks or favorites from the past less” to get Avalanche up to 1182888 This day in sports: Hockey great 1182917 Potential NHL first-round pick Ty Smilanic of Elizabeth announces retirement chasing stardom 1182918 Avs’ Jared Bednar on players’ health, hope for the NHL Coyotes season and staying ready 1182889 Death threats and depression: Replaying Torres’ series- 1182919 How a powerhouse college hockey program stays on altering hit on Hossa course in this new world 1182920 Five weeks later, Avalanche coach Jared Bednar Bruins discusses NHL pause, possible return 1182890 Brad Marchand thinks younger teams would have an edge if NHL resumes this season 1182891 Bruins’ cooped-up Brad Marchand has thoughts 1182921 A look back: Blue Jackets coach still 1182892 Ray Bourque was a worthy torch-bearer for Bruins bothered by perceived disrespect 1182893 Brad Marchand cops to the one player he would never talk 1182922 The busiest Blue Jacket: How trainer Mike Vogt manages trash about a season full of injury 1182894 Another Bruins teammate takes a hilarious quarantine dig at Tuukka Rask Red Wings 1182895 Why President Trump is right to prioritize sports as 1182923 Red Wings need pair of defensemen in free agency America tries to reopen for business 1182924 Red Wings survey: Where fans stand on , 1182896 Hindsight 2020: Bruins misfired badly in first round of 2015 rising stars, the rebuild NHL Draft 1182897 unplugged: Hall of Famer re-lives career and Oilers talks today’s stars 1182925 Lowetide: Why Jan Mysak could be a value pick for the 1182898 Distant Replay: How we miss the -dormant fireworks Oilers at the 2020 Draft between Bruins-Canadiens Kings 1182926 Column: Kings vs. Ducks virtual showdown will feature fan 1182899 'Sabres Classics' reviews '06 Carolina showdown next favorites from the past week on MSG 1182927 This day in sports: Hockey great Wayne Gretzky 1182900 Bills, Sabres part of emotional 'We Are New York' video announces retirement 1182901 How local NHL draft prospect is prepping for combine that 1182928 Looking back at our Kings predictions: Where we hit and may not happen totally whiffed 1182902 Comparing the analytics of the ’19-20 Sabres with the previous four seasons Wild 1182929 Wild's Jordan Greenway playing in virtual hockey marathon to benefit COVID-19 relief efforts 1182903 Flames GM wants to complete NHL season 1182930 Simulating the 2020 NHL playoffs: Canucks vs. Wild 1182904 Hitmen captain Kastelic leaves mark as one of franchise all-timers 1182906 Trainers adapt to a new normal: ‘You have to reframe 1182931 Ben Chiarot looks at the changing NHL landscape with what coaching looks like’ refreshing candour, realism 1182932 Prospect diagnosis: an assessment of the Canadiens’ top Blackhawks AHL pipeline players 1182907 When will it be safe for fans to return to , ? Devils 1182908 Olli Maatta, Zack Smith are Blackhawks’ top buyout 1182933 What Devils learned about Jack Hughes during his rookie candidates if coronavirus crunches salary cap struggles 1182909 ' Kane offers some insight 1182934 Devils' interim GM Tom Fitzgerald on coronavirus 1182910 Kris Versteeg recalls bikers trying to keep Blackhawks shutdowns: 'This new norm is now reality' from Game 6 1182935 First rankings of greatest New York-New Jersey hockey 1182911 2010 Hawks Rewind: 3 things we noticed in Blackhawks' teams Game 6 win over Flyers 1182936 State of the Devils: Future at center is bright, but more 1182912 Kris Versteeg saw official grab puck after 's growing pains to come? 2010 OT 1182913 Brent Sopel on 2010 Blackhawks mindset before, during and after Game 6 1182937 Islanders' four clinchers to air Sunday on 1182914 Like a ‘rock band’: What it was like to cover the 2010 MSG Blackhawks 1182938 Surveying the Islanders on their favorite 1182915 Death threats and depression: Replaying Torres’ series- restaurants altering hit on Hossa 1182939 First rankings of greatest New York-New Jersey hockey 1182970 Alex Ovechkin and Wayne Gretzky to square off in NHL teams 20 for coronavirus relief 1182940 Rangers have surpassed team president John Davidson's 1182971 Alex Ovechkin to play Wayne Gretzky in 'NHL 20' for expectations coronavirus relief fundraising 1182941 unplugged: Hall of Famer re-lives career and talks today’s 1182972 Alex Ovechkin delivered on Wayne Gretzky's challenge to stars win a signed stick 1182973 Gretzky, Ovechkin to battle in NHL 20 to benefit coronavirus relief efforts 1182942 Thomas Chabot would like to continue to improve 1182974 Patriots fan John Carlson is rooting for Tom Brady, but is defensively next season not about to get a Bucs jersey 1182943 GARRIOCH: Thomas Chabot is spending time with family 1182975 The 5 best Caps draft picks taken outside of the first round playing the waiting game 1182976 SuperFd Catering shifts from feeding Capitals to serving 1182944 Ottawa Senators' owner Eugene Melnyk sends a thank local first responders you to local hospital employees 1182948 Shane Pinto’s path: Senators prospect eyes another UND Websites season despite rapid rise 1182983 The Athletic / How a powerhouse college hockey program stays on course in this new world Flyers 1182984 The Athletic / Five rounds to fix your favorite sport. 1182949 Joel Farabee says Flyers would welcome having games Welcome to the Inter-League Envy Draft. without fans because ‘we just want to play hockey’ 1182985 Sportsnet.ca / Flames' Brad Treliving: NHL has 'lots of 1182950 Joel Farabee: Players can stay motivated in empty arenas challenges' to resume season 1182951 Flyers Talk podcast: Summer hockey? What about 1182986 Sportsnet.ca / Zach Hyman talks free agency: ‘I want to be offseason decisions? a Leaf for a long time’ 1182952 Despite doing what he does best, Flyers lose 1182987 Sportsnet.ca / 31 Thoughts: How NHL teams are handling to Lightning (and a cocky fan) in NHL 20 draft prep from a distance 1182953 What if…Flyers goalie Pelle Lindbergh had a full career? 1182988 Sportsnet.ca / Marchand says first few games upon return will be 'really, really ugly' Penguins 1182989 Sportsnet.ca / Ben Chiarot a perfect candidate to help 1182954 With momentum lost, Penguins, NHL teams would start Canadiens recruit free agents from scratch if play resumes 1182990 Sportsnet.ca / Senators' Thomas Chabot welcomes a 1182955 Penguins mailbag: Who gets scratched if the season return for hockey in any form resumes? 1182991 TSN.CA / Zach Hyman still dealing with ‘new normal’ of 1182956 Penguins on pause: Bryan Rust provides bang for the injured knee buck in breakout season 1182992 TSN.CA / Timothy Liljegren embraces new attitude to 1182957 Jim Rutherford on Sidney Crosby: ‘He’s going to be great improve mental game for a long, long time’ 1182993 TSN.CA / Yost: Dominant lines on full display this NHL season 1182994 USA TODAY / Akim Aliu is fine with Bill Peters finding new 1182958 Q&A: Sharks coach talks interim tag, future job, wants others to have that opportunity expectations Jets St Louis Blues 1182977 Woodcroft takes off to Vermont 1182959 Defenseman Scandella agrees to four-year, $13.1 million 1182978 Hellebuyck fishing for ideas to keep his goalie game in contract with Blues shape 1182960 Bullish on Blais: Blues reward young forward with two-year 1182979 Hellebuyck 'honoured' by Vezina chatter; but wants extension Stanley Cup 1182980 Helping an old lady cross the street: Good deeds of ex-Jets coach Todd Woodcroft 1182961 How sports are helping in the coronavirus fight 1182962 Phil Esposito unplugged: Hall of Famer re-lives career and talks today’s stars Maple Leafs 1182963 Leafs teammates Mitch Marner, left, and Zach Hyman have signed up to play in a 14-day livestreaming virtual ho 1182964 Matthews' march to 50, playing with Spezza keep Hyman hopeful for return 1182965 Hyman tries to stay positive during pandemic and wants to be with Leafs "for a long time" 1182966 Kyle Wellwood on injuries, and what went wrong during time with Leafs 1182981 Ben Kuzma: Ex-Canuck Tambellini scores dual Lightning role, plus plans wedding 1182982 Simulating the 2020 NHL playoffs: Canucks vs. Wild 1182967 Scouting potential Golden Knights picks in NHL draft 1182968 Alex Tuch part of charity virtual hockey marathon 1182969 AT&T SportsNet to broadcast Golden Knights’ 2018 playoff run World Leagues News 1182995 'Spike' in footballers seeking mental health support, says PFA 1182996 How Trump’s plan for reopening America compares with ’s 1182997 Coronavirus taking grip on club soccer 1182998 As coronavirus delays NCAA investigative bodies, Baylor remains waiting for closure on infractions 1182999 Coronavirus forces Connecticut’s college ADs to cut costs, think creatively and brace for the unknown 1183000 Opinion: NFL faces multiple issues (including maybe liability) as it decides how to open season 1183001 Despite Gov. Tony Evers' school decision, the WIAA has not closed the door on the spring sports season 1183002 When Will Sports Come Back? Here Is What Has to Happen First 1183003 Opinion: No good answer on how long players will need to safely start season 1183004 How top boxers are staying fit and coping with quarantine during the coronavirus pandemic 1183005 Coronavirus causes GoPro to cut more than 200 jobs 1183006 Coronavirus shutdown provides an opportunity to challenge sport's conventional wisdom 1183007 How Florida Is Positioning Itself To Host Sports Leagues During Coronavirus Shutdown 1183008 MLB and PED Testing Lab Team up for 1st Nationwide Coronavirus Testing Study 1183009 U.S.T.A. Plans a $15 Million Bailout for Various Tennis Groups 1183010 World Rugby launches £80m relief fund amid coronavirus pandemic SPORT-SCAN, INC. 941-284-4129 1182887 Anaheim Ducks If all goes well, Friday’s broadcast could lead to additional joint efforts between the Kings and Ducks. “For us,” Altieri said, “our main initiatives are how can we help in this current situation? How can we make an Column: Kings vs. Ducks virtual showdown will feature fan favorites from impact? But also, how can we keep people engaged? And we’ve had the past those conversations at the NHL level, with all our partner teams around the league, with the Ducks on this initiative.

“Everybody’s in the same boat. We’re all trying to do the same things, so By HELENE ELLIOTTSPORTS COLUMNIST APRIL 16, 20207:19 PM that helps make it really easy.”

If the Ducks and Kings can come together in a time we’ve all been forced to stay apart, anything is possible. “So much has been taken away in our The way the season was going before the COVID-19 pandemic forced society right now,” Tully said. Getting hockey back, even in simulated and the NHL to hit the pause button on March 12, the Kings and Ducks would abbreviated form, is something to celebrate. have been on vacation by now. But thanks to the magic of an EA SPORTS NHL 20 simulation they will renew their rivalry on Friday and LA Times: LOADED: 04.17.2020 they’ll enliven it with an intriguing .

Both teams’ rosters will include past players chosen in a fan vote as well as current players, an innovative element that should ignite more than a few what-if debates. The 90-minute telecast, to be aired starting at 7 p.m. on Prime Ticket and Fox Sports , will include play-by-play from Kings TV voices and , and Ducks voices John Ahlers and in addition to player interviews.

Intermission features will detail each team’s ongoing efforts to support their respective communities during these strange times and will inform fans about helpful resources such as the educational programs for kids that are available on their respective websites.

There’s nothing like the edge-of-your-seat tension of playoff hockey, but seeing current players skating alongside familiar faces from the past like Wayne Gretzky, Luc Robitaille, Paul Kariya and other standouts should turn Friday’s simulated game into the next-best thing to being in an arena and dreaming of kissing the Stanley Cup.

“When you get in those arguments or conversations and you’re talking about who was better and everybody says, ‘You can’t compare eras,’ in this technological sort of way we were able to do that, and it was fun,” Ahlers said. “We were able to see some of the legends play with present- day players and in an interesting form. At the same time, it was fun to say those names in the process of calling a game.”

The collaboration was initiated by the Ducks, though Kings game presentation staffer Tim Smith had begun doing simulated games on his Twitter feed and through Twitch after the season was halted.

The Kings’ digital staff enhanced those efforts and added Faust, Fox, and sideline reporter Carrlyn Bathe to the mix. A robust following developed, Kings senior vice president Mike Altieri said, leaving the Kings receptive when the Ducks contacted them about what ideas the teams might be able to produce if they worked together.

Five or six brainstorming sessions and Fox Sports’ willingness to do something different led to the broadcast of the simulated game that viewers will see on Friday. “The concept of doing classic teams really got us excited because it’s different from the other simulations that were being done. The other simulations were the current teams,” Altieri said.

He also praised the quality of the technology. “It’s like watching a game, it’s so lifelike,” Altieri said. “The players skate like actual players, they have tendencies like the actual players.”

Ahlers isn’t a video-game player but was struck by the realistic details in the simulation. “What caught me is the realism of the fans,” he said. “You look in the crowd and you see fans wearing different versions of Kings jerseys from over the years, Ducks paraphernalia from over the years, different logoed things. It was very specific to that regard and I was very impressed by that.

“The game action itself was very high tech and it looks like a hockey game at between the Kings and Ducks and that kind of warms your heart, if nothing else.”

Wayne Gretzky, shown in a 1996 game between the Kings and Anaheim, could cause some problems for the Ducks in a simulated game on Friday.

Artistic license was taken in at least one area, per the request of Hall of Fame winger Kariya. “His one request was he doesn’t grow a very good beard in general, in real life, so this was an opportunity for him to have a full-fledged beard,” said Merit Tully, vice president of marketing for the Ducks. “So you may notice he has a bit more facial hair than he’s capable of growing. It presents some opportunities that way as well.” 1182888 Anaheim Ducks

This day in sports: Hockey great Wayne Gretzky announces retirement

Wayne Gretzky led the Kings to the 1993 Stanley Cup Final during his career as a player.

By JOHN SCHEIBE APRIL 16, 20205 AM

Introduced during a news conference as the greatest player ever, Wayne Gretzky announced on this date in 1999 that he would retire from hockey. His last game, the 1,487th of his unparalleled career, was played two days later for the New York Rangers against the .

The former King, who also played for the and the St. Louis Blues, held or shared more than 60 NHL records and scored 1,017 goals in the regular season and playoffs. He led the Kings to the 1993 Stanley Cup Final against the Montreal Canadiens.

If it weren’t for the COVID-19 pandemic, the Dodgers would have concluded a three-game series Thursday night against the St. Louis Cardinals at Dodger .

2017 Induction - Press Conference

SPORTS

This day in sports: Teemu Selanne becomes first NHL rookie with a 70- goal season

Here is a look at memorable games and outstanding sports performances on this date:

1940 — On a blustery 40-degree day in Chicago, Bob Feller, 21, pitches the only opening day no-hitter in history. The 1-0 gem at was the first of three career no-hit games for the ace. He also hurled 12 one-hitters.

1954 — The edge the Canadiens 2-1 in to win the Stanley Cup in seven games. Diminutive Tony Leswick, at 5 feet 6 and 160 pounds, scores the winning goal at 4:20 left. The stunned Canadians leave the ice without shaking hands with the Red Wings.

1987 — scores 61 points in a 117-114 loss to the Atlanta Hawks and becomes the second player to surpass 3,000 points in a season. He joins , who accomplished the feat three times. Dominique Wilkins leads Atlanta with 34 points.

1990 — Gelindo Bordin of Italy is the first Olympic men’s marathon champion to win the Boston Marathon. Bordin, who won the gold medal at Seoul in 1988, keeps a conservative pace and passes the leaders at the 21-mile mark.

1992 — Mike Gartner of the Rangers gets his 500th career assist in a 7-1 rout of the Penguins. Gartner, one of the last survivors of the World Hockey Assn., is the first NHL player to record his 500th assist, 500th goal, 1,000th point and play in his 1,000th game all in the same season.

1997 — The set the mark for worst start in National League history, extending a losing streak to 12 with a 4-0 loss to Colorado. The streak ends at 14 when the Cubs beat the N.Y. Mets in the second game of a doubleheader.

2003 — The Ducks beat Detroit 3-2 in overtime, making the Red Wings the first defending Stanley Cup champion in 51 years to be swept the following season in an opening series. Steve Rucchin scores at 6:53 of the extra period to give Anaheim, known then as the Mighty Ducks, the win.

2008 — Golden State finishes the season with a record of 48-34 after losing to the Seattle SuperSonics 126-121. The Warriors have more wins than any team that failed to make the playoffs since the NBA expanded to the 16-team format in 1984. Houston held the previous mark of 45 wins in 2000-01.

LA Times: LOADED: 04.17.2020 1182889 The combination of those facts had Chicago coach and his players irate after the game.

“The refereeing tonight was a disgrace,” Quenneville said in his Death threats and depression: Replaying Torres’ series-altering hit on postgame news conference. “It was a brutal hit. You could have a Hossa multiple-choice question, and it’s all of the above.”

“There’s no remorse at all with a guy like that,” Blackhawks captain By Craig Morgan Apr 16, 2020 added. “(He) probably doesn’t feel bad about it at all. That’s not hockey to me.”

The split in opinions between the two dressing rooms was as predictable Every Monday and Thursday through the end of May, The Athletic as it was pronounced. To this day, Torres’ teammates such as Shane Arizona is reliving the Coyotes’ 2012 playoff run to the Western Doan and Martin Hanzal maintain it was a clean hit. Others see some Conference final. You can also watch the games on Fox Sports Arizona gray area, but question the severity of the league’s response. during their “Classic Coyotes Night” programming series that debuts April 20. More information available here. “I remember going into the press conference afterward and I didn’t think it was that bad,” Tippett said. “The Chicago people thought I was the worst Read the full collection of stories in our retrospective here. villain in the world. I think I explained it as being like that video game Frogger. Raffi turned around and Hossa was coming right at him and he Raffi Torres coaches a team of 8-year-olds, including his son, Ty, in just hit him. I still don’t think there was intent to hurt him. I see way worse Stouffville, Ont. Three and a half years after retiring from the NHL, hits now that aren’t punished as much. I think Raffi’s track record didn’t Torres’ reputation still dogs him. help his case much there.” “When the kids on my team get a little rough on the ice, I’ll say, ‘Hey, you The playoffs an emotion-packed atmosphere anyway, but a pair of can’t do that out there’ and they’ll say, ‘Well, you used to do it,’” Torres statements helped stoke the flames even higher in a city that knows all said. “It’s hilarious coming from them, but it makes you think. There was about big fires. a lot more things I could do out there than throw the body, but ultimately, that’s how I’m going to be remembered.” In an interview with the Arizona Republic, Coyotes GM Don Maloney told beat writer Sarah McLellan: “You would think Raffi murdered a busload of When the Coyotes entered a first-round playoff series against the children the way he’s portrayed here in Chicago. (The) outcry on so Chicago Blackhawks in April 2012, everybody was brimming with many different fronts is over the top.” confidence. Phoenix posted an 11-0-1 February and went 20-6-5 from Feb. 1 until the end of the regular season when the Coyotes clinched While Maloney was incensing the locals, Fox Sports Arizona’s Tyson their first Pacific Division title with a 4-1 win at Minnesota. Nash’s in-game comments were providing backup.

Torres’ stats weren’t the best of his career, but he had 15 goals and a “Right after the hit when we were going to our replay sequence, Nasher well-defined role in his first year with the Coyotes under coach Dave called it a clean hit,” FSAZ’s play-by-play man Matt McConnell said. Tippett. “You’re watching a replay, there’s a little bit of emotion involved and there’s no way you could tell off the replay if his skates were off the ice or “They didn’t bring me in there to be a half-wall guy,” Torres said. “I was a not so Nasher called it a clean hit. I believe his comments got carried in high-energy guy, finish my hits, make it tough on those D. You have to one of the Chicago papers and before you knew it, he was getting death invest in the style you’re going to play. Don’t get me wrong, I loved threats.” scoring goals but I also loved laying guys out, and I think Tip appreciated that type of game and I think my teammates did, too, because it freed up Nash wasn’t the only one receiving such threats. a lot of space for other players.’ “I got two phone calls in my hotel room that night saying ‘We’re going to Torres was a force in the first two games of that series. He set up kill you,’” Torres said. “I think I had security outside my room. It was Antoine Vermette’s go-ahead goal in Game 1, he tied the game early in pretty brutal.” Game 2 off a feed from Shane Doan, he recorded eight hits and two blocked shots, and his presence was so pronounced that Tippett Nash eventually bought himself a humorous disguise to make light of the awarded him with an average ice time of 18 minutes, two seconds — well threats, but the Chicago faithful did not forget his take. Because Game 4 above his season average of 11:22. was also being broadcast by national outlets in the U.S. and Canada, FSAZ’s broadcast got bumped to an auxiliary booth closer to fans in the “He was having a big impact on the game,” Tippett said. upper deck, leading McConnell to take down a giant Fox Sports Arizona banner that was hanging “like a bullseye” behind them. Torres’ biggest impact on Game 3, played on April 17, came on a play that sealed his aforementioned reputation. With the game scoreless a “Sometime during the next game, we’re on a commercial break and little more than halfway through the first period, Blackhawks forward there’s a beer vendor walking up the stands and he’s looking right at us,” Marian Hossa cut back to the middle of the ice in the neutral zone to McConnell said. “The beer vendor has a bushy beard, he’s probably 5-11 make a pass to . Torres spotted him. and 275 pounds and he’s carrying this tray of beers. He’s screaming, ‘Tyson Nash! Tyson Nash.’ I hear him while Tyson is looking at a replay “I’m not making excuses but I was forechecking at the start of the so I turn to Tyson, take my headset off and nudge him on the shoulder. and then the puck gets turned over and we’re going back the other way and all I hear is ‘backcheck, backcheck, backcheck!’” Torres said. “I see “Tyson takes off his headset and goes, ‘Yeah, what?’ The guy goes, this guy — I didn’t even know who it was until later — fumbling the puck ‘Clean hit? Clean hit, my ass!’ Tyson looks down at him and he says, ‘Oh and coming back toward me toward the middle of the ice. I’m like, ‘Jesus, yeah, mix in a salad, bud!’ The entire upper deck below us is watching what’s this guy doing? I have to lay this guy out.’ Unfortunately, I think I this whole thing play out and when Tyson screams that the whole section was a little high and I left my feet, but I think it was the massiveness of started laughing and the beer vendor froze.” the hit and who it was that gave them the perfect opportunity to lay the book down on me.” Tippett expected some fallout in that game, and when Quenneville, his good friend and former Whalers teammate, inserted tough guy Brandon Torres laid a thunderous hit that dropped Hossa to the ice and drew an Bollig into the lineup, Tippett countered by inserting Paul Bissonnette. immediate reaction from the crowd at United Center in Chicago. He was The two squared off a little more than five minutes into the game and not assessed a on the play and he ended up logging 21:44 of ice Bissonnette was ejected for not having tied down his jersey. time in a game in which Mikkel Boedker scored in overtime to give the Coyotes a 3-2 win and a 2-1 series advantage. The fight was the only apparent residual of what had happened in the previous game, however. Only four more minor penalties were called the On the other end, Hossa was taken off the ice on a stretcher with what rest of the game. Ray Whitney’s media session the day before may have was later diagnosed as a severe concussion that kept him out for the served as a calming influence on the series. With the Chicago media remainder of the series and unable to resume workouts with medical having just emerged from the Blackhawks dressing room where verbal clearance until December. shots had been fired, Whitney patiently fielded question after question from a media horde. “It’s a high-paced, contact sport,” Whitney said, reminding reporters that know what type of guy you are. I had to tell her to just stop watching TV. I the players are “not on sedatives” when they are on the ice, but instead think at that time Don Cherry was crucifying me. He’s a guy that used to “playing on the edge” as they have to do in the playoffs. “If you don’t want love me and now he’s saying, ‘We’ve got to get the guy out of the league’ to get hit, if you don’t want to get hurt, there are other sports you can and this is Don Cherry, Hockey Night in Canada, saying it all over play. Yes, we don’t want to injure people. But if you don’t finish your Canada. For my parents, who are immigrants from Mexico and Peru, this checks and you don’t play hard, you’re probably not going to play. was pretty tough stuff to hear. My mom has eight siblings. They were all calling and asking, ‘What’s wrong with Raffi?’” “We certainly don’t want the best players in the league getting injured, but there is a certain way you have to play in the playoffs and finishing When the league handed down a 25-game suspension (later reduced to your checks is one of them. It’s just kind of the nastiness of being in the 21), it came as a shock even to those who wanted a severe punishment. playoffs. Nobody said winning the Stanley Cup was ever going to be easy. It’s not like we’re out there trying to hurt each other, but we are out “I clearly remember the phone call I made after the hit to the guy I trust there trying to hit as hard as we can and play as hard as we can.” more than anyone, Tom Kurvers, who was scouting that series,” said FSAZ pre- and postgame show host Todd Walsh, who was in the tunnel Whitney had been around the playoff block. He had won a Stanley Cup when Hossa passed by on a stretcher, his face discomfortingly pale. with Carolina 2006 and he had already appeared in 90 playoff games. “Everyone was speculating wildly about how long it would be and single digits were floating around. Tom had told me the night before that it was “I didn’t think the hit was worth the suspension he got but I couldn’t say going to be a long time and when I did a radio interview with Dan Bickley that at the time,” said Whitney, who now works for the department of and told him I heard it was going to be a long time, he was shocked. player safety. “That’s why my sermon was more about, ‘Let’s all take a breath and move on.’ “What Tom said to me was this: ‘He didn’t have the puck and if you don’t have the puck you shouldn’t be run over like a freight train.’ He was not “I’m like everybody else. I want to snap and lose my mind and go crazy surprised that the league would make an example of Raffi Torres and he but I just felt this was a situation where if I came out fighting and throwing was right on the button.” bombs back at them, saying, ‘This was nothing. This was bullshit,’ it would just throw more gasoline onto the fire. So you accept a part of it, When Torres received the news that he would miss the remainder of the you show compassion for the person and team involved, but you try to playoffs, no matter how far the Coyotes advanced, his heart sank. lead it down a softer path thinking that was the only thing that was going to help.” “My whole body went numb and I think I was crying,” he said. “I was in a tough place for a while and I still deal with some depression when I think Whitney’s assessment of the hit is echoed by several teammates. about that suspension and how my career ended. I was upset with myself. You start questioning yourself, ‘Did I really have to throw that hit?’ “I have been hit by Raffi in my career, and even in practice sometimes,” said former Coyotes defenseman Adrian Aucoin, who lives in Hinsdale, “I was always taught to play the game the hard way. If I don’t lay that hit Ill., and once played for the Blackhawks. “The way he is built is just more and just keep skating by him, then I’m not doing my job. Was I trying to compact and stronger and he hits you with his entire body. I’m not saying hurt him? Absolutely not. I feel bad when I squash a fly inside my house. that it wasn’t a penalty. I’m not saying it wasn’t suspendable, but the Sure I feel remorse and I feel terrible about it, but I need to throw those league definitely took it to an extreme because there was way dirtier stuff hits or I’m not doing my job and helping my team. I’ve always been told to going on and it was kind of sad. leave it all out there and then if it doesn’t work out at least you can live with yourself.” “It’s not a very popular opinion here in Chicago but I have said it for years. If you did a 30-second montage of the 20 best hits in those Torres had already received two suspensions in his career: a four-game playoffs, I don’t think that hit would look as close to as bad as the results suspension in 2011 for a hit to the head of Edmonton’s , indicated. Obviously, it was late and I won’t argue that, but Raffi has hit and a two-game suspension in 2012 for a hit on Minnesota’s Nate some players really dirty in his career and I think it was one of the lesser Prosser. hits he has made. Most guys who play just know he got him really bad and Hossa was vulnerable, but anybody who played prior to 2010 would “I guess I might have left my feet, but have I seen other hits that were be like, ‘Dude, get your head up.’ Most people when Raffi is on the ice worse than that and guys didn’t get the book thrown at them? Yes, but have their head on a swivel.” my track record didn’t help,” he said. “There was a lot going into it and these were the issues I had when my career ended with a 41-game The league did not agree, and Torres had a sense of what was coming suspension (in a 2015 preseason game) against (Anaheim’s Jakob) when he walked into the league offices in New York, accompanied by his Silfverberg. I’m wired a certain way. When I see guys walking down the agent, Eustace King, and Maloney for an in-person hearing with director streets with their heads down in their cellphones it infuriates me.” of player safety and commissioner Gary Bettman. Torres called Hossa “a couple days” after the hit to check in and “It was tough,” Torres said. “I was still wound up and disappointed in apologize. myself. You go in there and you watch the hit three or four times and it’s so bad because you’re watching the hit, frame by frame, every split “It was a quick phone call,” Torres said. “I just expressed my concern and second. Anybody that’s doing anything even remotely wrong is going to said ‘I hope you’re doing all right. It was not my intention to hurt you or look terrible at that speed, but backchecking and skating 100 miles an put you out and I hope you come out of this OK, better and stronger.’ He hour, it’s just an explosive hit. was pretty cool about it. If somebody called me a couple days after putting me out of the series I might be like, ‘Yeah, yeah, get the hell off “It was difficult to hear their side of it. They wanted none of it. It’s a pretty the phone. I don’t want to talk to you,’ but he was pretty cool about it. I’ve tough process. I still think they need to bring in a third party that has always heard he’s a great guy.” absolutely nothing to do with the NHL or the player and have them make a decision. I didn’t feel like anything I said mattered. I’m not the most With nothing else to do, Torres spent his time golfing, watching the well-spoken player ever to play the game so I had trouble saying exactly playoff games from the dressing room or the stands, or coming in for what was actually on my mind. Maybe it didn’t come out right but at the occasional workouts at then-Jobing.com Arena or the Ice Den in end of the day I knew it was going to be substantial after those meetings, Scottsdale. flying back to Phoenix.” “I got a lot of support from Arizona fans, too, which was amazing,” he While Torres awaited his suspension, he was dealing with another aspect said. “That’s when they started wearing those Free Raffi masks. I of the fallout. appreciated that, but once you’re out of the lineup you don’t feel like you’re a part of the team and you tread lightly with anything you say. “I can handle all the criticism coming my way; I have thick skin,” he said. “What was really tough was hearing from my parents, my close friends “I hung out at home a lot with my wife and kids. My son was born in and my family who took it a little bit harder when people were saying, Arizona. It was difficult, though, don’t get me wrong, but if it had been in ‘This guy should never play again in this league’ or, ‘What kind of parents Edmonton or Winnipeg, it might have been a lot tougher. At the end of raise their kid to do this?’ the day, the sun was still coming out and we were still healthy and able to get outside in warm weather and do some stuff to get my mind off of it.” “I remember my mom calling me teary-eyed. She said, ‘They’re saying you are only out there for one reason and that’s to headhunt and try to hurt people permanently.’ It’s tough for your parents who raised you and The Coyotes ended up winning that series in six games, including wins in all three games at United Center. As controversial an opinion as it is, Tippett cited that Game 3 hit as a critical piece in the success.

“That was the turning point of the series,” he said. “They lost Hossa, of course, and we lost Raffi, but it gave is that feeling that we were going to do whatever it takes to win. We didn’t think his hit was that bad, it was just a part of the intensity of the series, but we were fully engaged from that point on.”

Like many on the team who watched the advance with a Western Conference final win over the Coyotes to capture their first Stanley Cup, Tippett wonders if things might have been different if Torres had been in the lineup against L.A.

“That’s where the biggest impact of his suspension came,” Tippett said. “L.A. was a big, strong, heavy team and they played a similar style to us by clogging it up and making it hard to get chances against them. You needed players like Raffi. They can make a difference in a series like that. We didn’t push them hard enough. We really missed him in that series.”

Torres has played those what-ifs over and over in his mind, but he insists he is finally at peace with the turn his career took.

“It took some time to decompress,” said Torres, whose three ACL surgeries and one corresponding staph infection also played a role in his retirement. “It wasn’t like my career ended the way I wanted it to end. The first year, I still felt like I could play but my knee was nowhere near where it needed to be and then missing all the games with suspension affected me, too. I was really upset with myself, but I have turned the page and now I’m focused on my mental health and my physical health.

“Coming back home to Toronto, you can tell that some people still look at you and the first they think is, ‘There’s that headhunter idiot,’ but I think the people that really know the game, not just the skill and the toe drags and all that stupid shit they do all game now — the people that know the meat and potatoes of the game and what it takes to be on a successful team and do well, they tell me they loved the way I played. I definitely am at peace with my career now.”

The Athletic LOADED: 04.17.2020 1182890 So, I don’t know what I would do in that situation. Maybe take a couple of drinks out of it, then pass it back.”

▪ Marchand praised young forward Anders Bjork and said he has tried to Brad Marchand thinks younger teams would have an edge if NHL emulate some of his skills. resumes this season “If I see other guys are good at something, I try to work some of that into my game. Young guys come in now and are so talented. I was watching By Kevin Paul Dupont Globe Staff,Updated April 16, 2020, 4:13 p.m. Bjork this year, and he’s got a couple of moves that I’ve tried to incorporate into my game — they are really difficult to do, but he makes them looks so effortless.”

Brad Marchand posted a 28-59—87 line in 70 games before play was ▪ Columbus’s Seth Jones is among the most difficult defensemen halted. Marchand has faced during his career.

By Brad Marchand’s eye, a return to NHL play this season would favor “I find him very hard to play against. He’s very fast, tall, covers a lot of the league’s younger, talented teams, as well as those that have battled space. He is not overly physical, but he creates enough contact to injuries, while clubs stocked with older players would be in for a struggle. separate you from the puck and he is very skilled and talented. He can skate right by you on the forecheck and has the patience to look you off, “The only guys it’s going to help … teams that have had injuries,” and he’s really good on the offensive blue line." Marchand noted Thursday. “That’s significant injuries, especially to big players — you look at [Steven] Stamkos [in Tampa] and guys like that. Boston media members were invited to monitor the discussion but did not Now they’ve had the time to regroup and get healthy again.” participate in the Q&A.

Marchand, closing in on his 32nd birthday (May 11), spoke for a half-hour Boston Globe LOADED: 04.17.2020 during a Zoom discussion, fielding questions submitted online by season ticket-holders and chat moderator , the ex-Bruins defenseman and superb radio analyst on the club’s broadcasts on 98.5 The Sports Hub.

“It’s not going to help any team that was playing well,” added Marchand, referring to when league play was halted on March 12. “Maybe a few days [off] it might have, but when you take off a month, two months or three months — or whatever it’s going to be — it’s going to hurt everyone.”

Few, if any, NHLers have been able to skate since the start of the coronavirus lockdown, leaving players to devise home workouts, none of it replicating the strain exerted in playing games.

“We can’t keep our conditioning level up, or our skills going,” noted Marchand, who posted a 28-59—87 line in 70 games before the league shut its doors. “Everybody is going to be sloppy when they come back. I honestly think that the teams that are going to come back and look good are the really young teams — like Toronto or Tampa — really high-end skilled teams. Because they are going to have the legs and will be able to get it back quick. Older teams are really going to struggle.”

RELATED: Bruins’ Brandon Carlo is optimistic NHL season will resume, and he’ll be healthy when it does

Marchand on an array of subjects:

▪ What would it be like for the players to play in empty buildings?

“It would be like a practice, really. One of the most exciting things about the game is having the fans there, and the support, the energy, the momentum swings they can create. It would be much different.

“Logistically, I don’t know if it would make sense to play without fans — because of costs involved. It would be a much different feel, but if that’s what it takes for us to get back on the ice and to play …. hopefully they can find a way to make that happen. If it’s without fans, it’s without fans, we just want a shot to get that Cup.”

▪ If forced to quarantine with a teammate, which one would drive you nuts?

Brad Marchand faced some interesting questions on Thursday's call with the media.

“Probably, Jake [DeBrusk], probably. I feel like I’d have to babysit him like one of my kids and clean up after him. At the same time, he’d probably entertain my kids, too, because he’s one of them.

▪ Fan Claudia Arthur asked if the Bruins, in first place when play was halted, would accept the Stanley Cup if the season could not resume … or would that not be fair?

"Mixed feelings. Obviously, you go through the playoffs to win a Cup. But, I mean, we earned first place. Throughout the year, we competed hard … we’ve shown we’re a top team.

"I’m mixed. I don’t think I could answer that. But it would be hard to turn that trophy down in any situation. At the same time, you want to earn it. 1182891 Boston Bruins *Asked which teammates he’d least like to be quarantined with, Marchand had two candidates. The first was Jake DeBrusk. “I’d feel like I’d have to babysit him like one of my kids and clean up after him,” he Bruins’ cooped-up Brad Marchand has thoughts said.

B’s star tackles a variety of subjects The other was Tuukka Rask, and not because of the goalie’s well- chronicled gas attacks. “We’d just be hammered together the whole time and it would be his fault,” said Marchand.

By STEVE CONROY | April 16, 2020 at 5:34 p.m. *Had he ever chirped his long-time linemate , about whom he always speaks in terms bordering on reverential? “I don’t bite

the hand that feeds me. I’m a little smarter than that. I think the most Brad Marchand maintained the party line that — as most other NHL we’ve ever gotten into it is when (David Pastrnak) and I are getting into it players have said during this shutdown — he’ll do anything to finish out and Bergy has got to yell at both of us to stop yelling at each other,” he this season. said.

But in a virtual town hall meeting with Bruins’ season ticket holders on *The toughest defenseman he has to face? (Columbus Blue Jackets) Thursday, Marchand did not sound all that jazzed about potentially Seth Jones is really difficult to play against. He’s very fast, he’s tall, he playing games without fans, which sounds as if it might be the only option covers a lot of space. He’s not overly physical but he creates enough if the league is to finish off the 2019-20 campaign. contact to separate you from the puck and he’s very skilled and talented,” said Marchand. “It’d be different. It would be like a practice, really. That’s kind of the way it would feel. One of the most exciting things about the game is having *When asked what profession he’d be in if not for hockey, Marchand said the fans there and the support, the energy and the momentum swings he’d be involved in his family’s construction development business and/or that they can create,” said Marchand. “It would be much different. I don’t in the hunting industry. “Growing up I always wanted to be a police officer even know if logistically it makes sense to play without fans because of as well,” said Marchand. the cost of all that. I don’t know how that stuff works. It would be a much You can let your imagination run wild with that one. different feel. But if that’s what it takes, then that’s what it takes for us to get back on the ice and play. We just want to get on the ice and play. Boston Herald LOADED: 04.17.2020 Hopefully they can find a way to make that happen and if it’s without fans, it’s without fans. But again, we just want a shot to get that Cup.”

Informing his opinion of wanting to get back, however odd the proposed schedule may be, is the fact that his Bruins had been one of the favorites to win the Cup.

“It would be very upsetting, to not be able to see how it would play out. We had a really good team and we had a good opportunity. The toughest part is years like this don’t come around very often. It’s taken us a long time to build to where we are now and to be the team we are,” said Marchand. “But there’s a lot of other teams in that position right now. There’s a lot of good teams who were contenders. But on the flipside, there’s much bigger things at stake here. It’s very unfortunate what’s going on and the opportunity that potentially could be lost but I think we’re all more concerned with people’s lives.”

Marchand echoed the concerns of other players about not having enough time to be ready physically, especially when considering most players have no access to ice and there’s now way to truly simulate how taxing skating can be.

“It doesn’t matter who does what in this break, we’re all going to feel awful coming back, we’re all going to be bad. It’s going to take a while to get it back. That’s probably the biggest concern with this whole thing anyways,” he said. “If you take guys who have been off who have had very limited opportunity to work out and train and haven’t skated in months, you can’t just throw them back into games. Everyone’s going to get hurt. We’ll need some kind of ramp-up period and it’s going to be really, really ugly for the first few games. It’d be nice to get a couple of games in before playoffs or it would really be a free-for-all.”

Would any teams have an advantage coming out of this?

“I honestly think that the teams that are going to come back and look really good are the really young teams like Toronto or Tampa, really high- end skill teams, because they’re going to have the legs or be able to get it back quick. But older teams are really going to struggle,” said Marchand.

When asked, if the season had to be canceled, whether or not he’d accept the Stanley Cup by virtue of regular season standings, Marchand did not dismiss it out of hand, though it did not sound like it was high on his list.

“I have mixed feelings. Obviously, you go through the playoffs to win a Cup but we’ve earned the first place throughout the year, we’ve competed hard and we’ve shown that all year that we’re a top team,” he said. “I don’t think if I could answer that, but it would be hard to turn that trophy down in any situation. But at the same time, you want to earn it. I don’t know what I’d do in that situation. Maybe I’d take a couple drinks out of it and pass it back.”

Here are a few other highlights from the always-entertaining Marchand 1182892 Boston Bruins It could have been very difficult for a young D-man arriving in Boston in 1979, just a couple of years removed from the departure of the greatest player to ever man the position. But Bourque never seemed to suffer in Ray Bourque was a worthy torch-bearer for Bruins the shadows of those who came before him. With the help of veterans, Bourque embraced the challenge, said Brickley. Hall of Famer tops are list “Raymond will talk about guys like and the lessons learned about what it meant to be a Bruin. And what it took to be able to handle that kind of expectation, demand, pressure, knowing that you’re By STEVE CONROY | Boston Herald April 16, 2020 at 5:52 a.m. the next guy in line, you’re following Orr and Park and now it’s your responsibility, that could be tough,” said Brickley. “And to handle it the way he handled, with grace and humility and team-first attitude, it’s a As the rest of the nation likes to inform us, Boston sports fans are a great testament to the Bruins organization and the players that came spoiled bunch. That was true even before all these championships before him and guys who were teammates with Orr and Park in order to started rolling in when the Patriots opened the floodgates with their first get that message across to Raymond when he was 18 years old.” win in 2001. Bourque made two trips to the Stanley Cup Final, playing a huge role in Over at Fenway, we got to watch a succession of Hall of Famers in left snapping the 45-year playoff curse the Montreal Canadiens had held field for nearly a half-century, from Ted Williams to Carl Yastrzemski to over the B’s, but losing both times to the Edmonton Oilers. Jim Rice. But with time running out to achieve his dream and the B’s becoming less And at the Garden, there was a similar torch-passing procession on the and less of a threat to get him there, Bourque – having played parts of blue line from the time teenage phenom arrived in 1966 to four in Boston – finally decided to follow the lead of many older fellow future Hall of Famer Brad Park to the man who would be a back- veterans to chase the Cup elsewhere. He was dealt to the Colorado end fixture for over two decades, Ray Bourque, who arrived in 1979 and Avalanche at the 2000 trade deadline. did not leave until the trading deadline in the late winter 2000. The Avs did not win it in ’00, but with a 41-year-old Bourque playing a Bourque tops our list of the 10 greatest all-time Bruins— not named Orr. significant role (7-52-59 points in 80 games), Colorado captured the Cup And if he played in a lot of other cities, Bourque would top the list of their in ’01, beating the Devils in seven games in the Final. greatest athlete, period. City Hall Plaza and the streets of the city would soon see championship While patrolling the blue line in Boston, Bourque won a total of five Norris celebrations on a regular basis, but it had been 14 years since a Boston Trophies as the NHL’s top defenseman, behind only Orr (8), Doug team had won a title when Bourque brought the Cup back to his adopted Harvey (7) and Nicklas Lidstrom (7). It could have been daunting for a home, with some 20,000 Bostonians showing up to salute him. Shortly teenager like Bourque to take his place in line behind the players that he thereafter, Bourque retired – as a champion. did, but he was a star from the get-go, capturing the Calder Trophy as the league’s top rookie in ’79-80 – and he would only get better. Boston Herald LOADED: 04.17.2020

The Montreal-born Bourque, drafted eighth overall in 1979 (with a pick obtained from Los Angeles for goalie , an NHL short-timer), registered nine 20-goal seasons, including a 31-goal campaign in ’83-84, and four 90-point seasons. But the 6-foot, 220-pound Bourque was a far cry from some of these new age, puck-moving defensemen that rack up points today. He knew how to play his position.

Melrose native and current NESN color analyst Andy Brickley was able to witness Bourque’s career from different vantage points, first as an opponent, then as a teammate and later as a broadcaster. The thing that made Bourque great was the overall impact he had on each game.

“You talk to the great defensemen that had no shortage of belief in themselves, and that’s not a lengthy list, and they always talked about controlling the game. And that’s what Raymond did,” said Brickley. “I saw it firsthand as an opponent and I got to see it firsthand in a much more enjoyable way as a teammate. And he could control the game because he could play the game in any fashion. He could play a skating game, he could play a puck-control game, he could play an offensive, creative game, he could play a good defensive game and he could play a physical game. And if you have all those elements, you’re going to control the game, especially when you combine that with the stamina and power he had in his game to be able to handle 30 minutes a night. That’s why he was who he was.”

While the Lord blessed Bourque with talent and a punishing physique, Brickley discovered when he arrived back home to play for the Bruins in 1988 that Bourque’s God-given gifts were matched by his desire and work ethic.

“When I participate in fundraising golf tournaments and do events that you do as an alum, one of the questions you get is what was your favorite memory of being a Boston Bruin, especially being a guy that grew up here,” said Brickley. “And there are some obvious answers. Just donning the sweater and playing for your hometown team, a team you dreamed about playing for. All that stuff is right at the top of the list. But if you ask the players of our generation, one of the fondest memories we have, and we all share it when we get together, is when you practiced with Raymond and, just to use one drill as an example. You’d do 3-on-3, down-low coverage, and every forward wanted that opportunity to get into that drill against Raymond – and with Raymond – but against him, because he played it like game-like conditions. You better be ready to battle if your best player, a superstar in the league, practiced like that. You had to follow suit, you had to get in line. And you appreciated that.” 1182893 Boston Bruins

Brad Marchand cops to the one player he would never talk trash about

By Joe Haggerty April 16, 2020 4:34 PM

Brad Marchand was voted the NHL’s best trash-talker in an NHLPA survey of an entire league full of his peers. Oddly he was also voted the NHL’s worst trash-talker by that same group of fellow hockey players as well.

But there’s one NHL player that you’ll never catch the impish Marchand talking trash to across the entire league.

That’s right — it’s his linemate-for-life and the teammate who's kept him on the straight and narrow for his entire career: Patrice Bergeron.

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In addition to being a future Hall of Famer and the winner with a Stanley Cup, Olympic gold medal, a World Cup championship and a World Junior title on his resume, Bergeron has been on the same line as Marchand since midway through the 2010-11 NHL season, which marked Marchand’s first year in the league.

It’s no surprise then that Marchand idolizes Bergeron in a way, and hasn’t ever even raised a voice to No. 37 after all those years together. In fact, if it’s anything at all, it’s Bergeron being pushed to read the riot act to his mischievous left winger every once in a while.

Haggerty: Marchand joins Chara with dig at Tuukka Rask

“I absolutely would never [chirp Bergeron]. I don’t bite the hand that feeds me,” said Marchand during a virtual town hall on Zoom with Bruins season ticket holders that was hosted by Bruins.com writer Eric Russo and 98.5 hockey analyst Bob Beers. “I’m a little smarter than that. I think the most we’ve ever gotten into it is when [David Pastrnak] and I have gotten into it and then Bergie has to yell at the both of us to stop yelling at each other. We talk literally after every shift. We talk about something. I don’t ever have to talk to him about getting me the puck because he’s always getting us the puck.

“It’s kind of to the point where we know when we miss a pass to each other. We may not see it right away, but we see it when the guy is passing by that we missed something backdoor. We have that kind of communication, and kind of talk about where that opening occurred and how we might be able to do it again. But I would never start an argument with Bergie or yell at him for something like that. But he’s had to give it to me a couple of times.”

So now it’s been settled. We now know the only player in the entire NHL that the king of trash-talking would never dare talk any smack to during a game.

Comcast SportsNet.com LOADED: 04.17.2020 1182894 Boston Bruins

Another Bruins teammate takes a hilarious quarantine dig at Tuukka Rask

By Joe Haggerty April 16, 2020 3:03 PM

The quarantine chirping of Bruins goaltender Tuukka Rask is continuing as B’s players talk to the media while the NHL regular season is on pause.

After Zdeno Chara revealed Rask’s flatulence issues a few weeks ago during a Zoom conference call with reporters, Brad Marchand told Bruins season ticket holders in a Thursday afternoon virtual town hall that Rask is also one of the teammates he would not want to be stuck with during the self-quarantine time due to the coronavirus outbreak.

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Marchand picked Jake DeBrusk as his least favorite choice because the young left winger is a notoriously messy guy around the Bruins dressing room, but Rask ranked right behind him for an entirely different kind of reason.

“"Probably Jake (DeBrusk). I feel like I'd have to babysit him like one of my kids and clean up after him,” said Marchand, before he broke into the trademark smirk. “It's either that or (Tuukka Rask), because we'd just be hammered the whole time. And it’d be his fault."

While Rask is turning out to be a very unpopular choice as a quarantine roommate, it at least sounds like it would be a pretty good time given Rask’s penchant for Buff’s chicken wings and a few adult beverages to pass the time.

While everybody is bummed that the NHL regular season is on pause with a question mark as to when hockey will get back going again, the silver lining is that it’s allowed some of the Bruins players to give everybody a little more of an unvarnished look at the chatter that’s constantly going on inside the dressing room.

Comcast SportsNet.com LOADED: 04.17.2020 1182895 Boston Bruins I want MLB, the NBA, and NFL to be priorities, even if it means playing them in empty as made-for-TV events. I applaud baseball for formulating an Arizona plan, for envisioning a Why President Trump is right to prioritize sports as America tries to tournament, and the NFL for believing it will start on time and play a full reopen for business season. Better to be prepared for an opportunity that never arises than have no plan when the all-clear arrives.

We need distractions now more than ever. We need a sense of the world By John Tomase April 16, 2020 2:05 PM beyond our walls, of life being lived in real time. We need experiences to share.

So even if there's absolutely no chance of a ball being snapped or a pitch String me along like bait off a trawler. Offer periodic reassurance that thrown until 2021, I don't want to hear it. Keep scheming, theorizing, and sports could return in a matter of weeks, every month, for the next year. spitballing. Play in zero gravity. Use holograms. Erect a giant sheet of Feed me scenarios about Holiday Inn Express quarantines and dugout plexiglass at the line of scrimmage. No possibility is too ludicrous. nasal swabs and holding the NBA Finals in a church gym with a stage Anything to make us believe there's a chance, because hope is what gets behind one basket and the Stations of the Cross under the other. us through the day. Just don't tell me everything's canceled, see you in 2021, because about Comcast SportsNet.com LOADED: 04.17.2020 the only sport we've got left is wondering when we'll see sports again. The mere possibility provides hope, our most precious commodity in these surreal times. I'll chase that carrot until there's a vaccine or at least hoard immunity, so supermarkets stop running out of essentials like frozen broccoli and bleach.

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The millions who miss sports needn't apologize. As we blindly grasp and claw for normalcy, which already feels lost to a history that existed only five weeks ago, sports can remind us what it's like to share an experience without donning N-95 respirators.

So when President Donald Trump — desperate to restart the economy by May 1 because pandemics take too long — announces plans to convene a meeting of league officials and owners to discuss giving us our games back, my reaction for once isn't to screw up my face like I just shotgunned a lemon.

It's to activate that part of the brain that finds the tiniest glint of hope in a supernova of despair, the one surviving daisy in the wake of the daisy cutter. Believing we'll hear the words "play ball" sometime soon, even if that requires suspending our most basic logical functions, is a better way to live than being flat-out told, "Maybe next year."

Hope is a powerful emotion — just ask 86 years of Red Sox fans — and we should be in no rush to extinguish it.

So let the president, ever the showman, surround himself with winners like Patriots owner Bob Kraft for a Very Special Episode of the "Celebrity Apprentice." Maybe they'll actually devise a way to return to action, though it doesn't bode tremendously well for their chances that other industry leaders had no idea they were members of the president's "Opening Our Country Council" until he read their names on TV.

It's pretty fanciful to envision a future where thousands of pro athletes return to action before a massive nationwide ramp-up in testing — a single I-formation, after all, would violate the distancing guidelines on gatherings of more than 10 people — but that does not mean their resumption shouldn't be a priority.

Tomase: Hindsight 2020 — Not getting A-Rod kickstarted Sox dynasty

We've already seen the role sports can play in healing a nation, whether it's George W. Bush throwing a strike in after 9/11, David Ortiz telling the world "this is our bleeping city" after the Marathon bombings, or Nelson Mandela taking the field during the 1995 Rugby World Cup to an ovation from a crowd of white South Africans.

With Americans locked inside, we're in desperate need of a communal activity that isn't Tiger King or partisan rancor over the president's daily coronavirus briefings. Sports is uniquely qualified to fill that void, a live event we can watch in our homes and then discuss with our friends over the phone or Zoom or social media in a welcome break from the zombie apocalypse.

Imagine how different a random Wednesday night would feel with Marcus Smart throwing lobs to Jaylen Brown again. Give me Saturdays poring over injury reports before submitting a DraftKings lineup. Let's find something for Felger and Mazz and Mut at Night to talk about that isn't Dr. Fauci or Red Sox classics.

Perhaps I'm not the most objective witness, but I applaud the president's attempts to give us live sports again. 1182896 Boston Bruins Barzal was on pace for 23 goals and 72 points at the time of the 2019-20 regular season going on pause and Connor was about to hit the 40-goal mark for the first time in his NHL career in Winnipeg.

Hindsight 2020: Bruins misfired badly in first round of 2015 NHL Draft Connor could have been the top-6 winger they’ve been missing the last couple of seasons, and the dazzling Barzal certainly would be the heir apparent in the middle to aging top-6 centers David Krejci and Patrice By Joe Haggerty April 16, 2020 2:30 PM Bergeron.

Later in the first round, Boeser and Konecny, and in the second round Sebastian Aho, were selected as well, further adding to the missed There is no greater hindsight move involving Bruins players than the first opportunities for the Bruins. They’ve rebounded to further replenish their round of a stacked 2015 NHL Draft where the Bruins had three prospect pool in subsequent drafts and obviously the future is bright for a consecutive picks. team with a talented roster coming off three straight playoff appearances Instead of securing elite talents like Mat Barzal, Brock Boeser, Thomas and a Stanley Cup Final run last season. Chabot, Travis Konecny or Kyle Connor — all of whom would have So the 2015 NHL Draft isn’t the catastrophic event that it might have addressed current holes on the Bruins roster at the NHL level, the Bruins been otherwise. But that weekend could have also set the Black and missed badly with two of those first three picks in selecting defenseman Gold up as a dynasty for the next decade if they had executed by landing Jakob Zboril and winger Zach Senyshyn. better young players. The Bruins obviously made a good pick with the middle first rounder in That’s a hindsight that’s unfortunately going to stick with Sweeney and taking left winger Jake DeBrusk, as he’s developed into a solid top-9 left Co. for as long as they’re running the operation in Boston, and even wing. despite the many good decisions they've subsequently made since then. But Zboril and Senyshyn haven’t even really been above-average AHL Comcast SportsNet.com LOADED: 04.17.2020 players during their time in Boston and can safely be called busts at this point in their pro hockey careers.

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That’s left the Bruins in a perpetual state of searching for a top-6 goal- scoring wing after plenty of them went later in that first round, and forced them to give up assets last season for Charlie Coyle when they couldn’t develop their own heir apparent at the center position.

Don Sweeney has subsequently copped to the mistakes made in that draft and the “steep learning curve” for the Bruins after he took over the managerial reins from the fired Peter Chiarelli.

“It was a steep learning curve that weekend for us for an absolute certainty. We did put forth a plan as to what we were going to try to accomplish as an organization,” said Sweeney. “We have accomplished some of those things, we haven’t accomplished the ultimate goal and that’s really what it’s all about. You are proud [of our team] and the growth of each individual player is part of that and what they contribute. And other players who come along are a part of that will contribute as well.

“I don’t look at it in one myopic time event, I look at the big package every day and try and get better at the decisions that we have to make. And people who are part of our staff at that time, we’ve learned and grown from that and are hopefully making better decisions going forward. Hopefully the club reflects that and the success we’ve had reflects that.”

Obviously, it wasn’t all bad as the Bruins did a good job in the second round while landing defensemen Brandon Carlo and Jeremy Lauzon, who are both factoring into the big picture in Boston. But the first round remains a big-time gaffe in player selection that’s had a long-lasting impact on the Bruins organization even as they have built up a team that got all the way to Game 7 of the Stanley Cup Final last season.

Hindsight 2020: B's should've played Backes in Game 7 vs. Blues

The master plan for the Bruins draft weekend was to trade up in the first round and get a young franchise defenseman like Noah Hanifin or Zach Werenski and fulfill their need for a young No. 1 defenseman-in the- making.

Instead, the Bruins traded Milan Lucic and Dougie Hamilton to amass six selections in the first two rounds of that draft, and then were left with three consecutive selections in the middle of the first round when they failed to trade up. Instead of securing the No. 1 D-man in that draft, they instead took care of that need a year later when they drafted Charlie McAvoy around the very same part of the first round.

When one considers that Mat Barzal, Kyle Connor and Thomas Chabot were taken with the next three picks in the first round after Senyshyn, the Bruins missed badly with both of those players given the comparable talent available.

Passing on a talent like Barzal three straight times, only to watch him land with the New York Islanders with the very next selection, is something that can’t be glossed over with the “drafting is hard” argument. 1182897 Boston Bruins was like my brother, you know. To beat his goal-scoring record was something. … Ending up with 76 was one of the highlights of my life.

Phil, it’s 1972. The Summit Series was an absolute war. But even during Phil Esposito unplugged: Hall of Famer re-lives career and talks today’s that time, was there a single Russian player that you just couldn’t help stars but respect during the series? Who stood out despite how high emotions were running at the time? – George H.

By Joe Smith Apr 16, 2020 It was (Alexander) Yakushev. He was the best player on the Russian team, bar none. He was the one guy that worried me when he was on the ice. Yakushev was big, strong. He reminded me of Bobby Hull.

When you have a conversation with Hall of Famer Phil Esposito, you Hey, Phil, huge Ranger fan here. What was your greatest memory as a never know where it will take you. Ranger? – Matt L.

I’ve had plenty of chats in the press box with the Lightning founder, who Oh, my greatest memory was when we beat the Islanders in ’79. It was is not only one of the greatest players who ever lived but also one of the like our Stanley Cup. We had a good bunch of guys on the team that most colorful (and quotable). So when Esposito, 78, agreed to do a live stuck together. (John) Davidson played as well as a goalie could play. chat with subscribers at The Athletic on Wednesday, I knew we were all Unfortunately, when we got to the finals, J.D. got hurt, and we just in for a treat. And that I may need to do some editing. couldn’t sustain and play as well as we could against the Canadiens who were just an awesome, awesome, team. Nothing was off-limits. Esposito was candid in his hour-long talk and full of stories. With your perspective as a player in the Summit Series and a U.S. resident during and since the 1980 Olympics, I’d be interested to hear The 717-goal scorer weighed in on the top players in today’s game and your thoughts on which was more impactful to its respective country, the whether Alex Ovechkin would break Wayne Gretzky’s all-time goals Summit Series in Canada or the 1980 Olympic gold medal in the USA. – record. He also reflected on the 1972 Summit Series between Canada Gregory W. and Russia. The is a bigger country and had More Coverage. But Esposito also recalled how he nearly traded for Gretzky when he was the people to this day forget that they had to win that final game against Rangers GM. Finland to win the (gold). So that was huge. But people just think about I learned things I never knew about him before, like how he wore No. 7 them beating the Russians. That was (another) step on the ladder. But because of Yankees legend . And how he could have that last game was huge. chosen baseball over hockey at one point. Imagine that? Phil, I remember you had a few appearances on the show “Rescue Me.” Here are some highlights of Esposito’s chat with The Athletic. Enjoy. Anything you remember from that experience? – Kevin P.

Hey, Phil. Who do you think are the top five (players) in the NHL right I had a blast doing that show with Denis Leary. I was coaching. He says, now? – Tony S. “Cut, cut.” He said, “Listen, Phil, you’ve got to be more forceful. Hasn’t a coach ever been forceful with you?” The next scene, I did it so well, after I’ll give you my opinion, but not in any order. … Crosby is still one of the scene, he said, “You know what? You scared the (crap) out of me.” It those guys. So is Connor McDavid. And what (Oilers forward Leon) was a great scene. Draisaitl is doing is unbelievable. If there’s anyone in the league that reminds me of myself, it’s Leon Draisaitl. I wouldn’t put him in the top Hey Phil, do you think (Alex Ovechkin) will catch Gretzky? – Scott R. five, but I would put him up there. When (Nikita) Kucherov is right If he stays with Washington and Washington remains a good team, mentally, he’s as good as anybody in the world. Patrice Bergeron is, to there’s a definite possibility. But if the team goes a little bit down, I don’t me, the complete player. I’d put him in that top five forwards. I don’t know see it happening. But there’s no doubt in my mind Ovechkin is one of the how you can keep (Avalanche center Nathan) McKinnon off the top five. greatest goal scorers I’ve seen in my life. I think he’s a way better goal He puts the Avalanche on (his) back. scorer than Gretzky was, but Wayne was so much smarter than anybody. Top five defensemen? Victor Hedman was really good before he got hurt. Esposito in February of 2018. (Kim Klement / USA Today) He’s one of the guys I think is terrific. He does so many smart and good things. John Carlson is the guy who is always there, always playing well, What are your fondest memories of Sault Ste. Marie? – Paul C. and picked up a lot of points. I love (John) Klingberg from Dallas. He’s a hell of a player. Also (Kings defenseman) Drew Doughty. He’s another Playing hockey in the open-air rinks when I was a kid. It was one who dominates. Last year I would have said (Flames defenseman unbelievable. We’d go out and play after school. We’d run home, my Mark) Giordano. brother and I, with our skates on. My mother would put newspapers under our feet. We’d sit and eat, then go back to the rink, until my dad My top goaltenders are (Andrei) Vasilevskiy, (Ben) Bishop, (Tuukka) would whistle at 7 or 8. Rask, (Frederik) Andersen because Toronto doesn’t win anything without Andersen. That’s the list I’d love on my team. In the summertime, we played baseball, a lot of baseball. I loved it. I had a chance for a baseball scholarship when I was 16 with the Tigers, and I Who were your favorite linemates to play with over the course of your went home and told my dad. They wanted me to go to Flint, Mich., and career? – Al W. be part of the Tigers organization. My dad said, “What do you want to do, play hockey or baseball?” I said, “Well, I like hockey a little better.” It was I was lucky. I played with Bobby Hull my first three years in Chicago. I a smart decision. was a kid. I learned an awful lot. My favorite memories were Ken Hodge and Wayne Cashman. Kenny was that big right winger who could get in I wore No. 7 for Mickey Mantle. I was a line-drive hitter, right-handed. But front of the net and distract the defenseman while I was in the hashmark. it wasn’t powerful, it was line drives all the time. But when I got up there If there was a better cornerman than Wayne, I don’t know who it was. left-handed, I don’t know what it was. I remember as a kid growing up in the ’50s, I would listen to World Series games on radio. I’d go to the What is your favorite game that stood out in your career? – Emmanuel A. bathroom at school and the janitor would have the game on. I’d listen to That Team Canada Game 8 in 1972 was one of the best games I’ve maybe five minutes or so because I knew if I didn’t get back, I’d be in played in my life. I just wonder how it would be for hockey in general, and deep trouble. Mickey was the guy. There was something about him I especially for Canadian hockey, had we lost that game, which meant we really, really liked. I was fortunate to meet Mickey and have a few beers would have lost that series. I think about that a lot. But I really believe it with him and dinner. was divine intervention. was also my idol. The first time I met him, I was on the ice. Another one was when I scored my 60th goal to break Bobby Hull’s goal- I was on for six seconds and he gave me six stitches. scoring record. I think that I was in Los Angeles — there weren’t that Phil, who would you consider the best trash talker you played with? – many people in the building. There was nobody around. The game was Greg S. being televised back home. But for me, it was a huge, huge thing. Bobby Johnny McKenzie, who I played with. He was terrible. He was mean- talking, though. He’d say stuff I couldn’t believe. There were a lot of them over the years.

Thank you, thank you, thank you for bringing the Lightning to Tampa. Which current Lightning player would have fit in the best on your old Bruins teams? – Erin W.

Oh, that’s a great question. Probably Victor Hedman. I think Victor would have been perfect for our team. I like Victor a lot, I like the way he plays. Sure he’ll make mistakes. But everybody does. He would fit best with us guys.

Favorite away barn to play in? – Aaron L.

Well, I loved playing in Chicago when I was with the Bruins, and when I was with Chicago, I loved playing in Boston. It’s a funny thing but the absolute truth. The other thing for me, I liked those cities, too. I think that had a lot to do with it. I didn’t care where the game was as long as I was able to play.

How close were you to acquiring Wayne Gretzky from Edmonton just before he was traded to Los Angeles? In your book, you stated that (Glen Sather of the Oilers) approached you at the draft. – Joe C.

I had the players worked out with Glen. But wouldn’t give the $15 million. Los Angeles gave $15 million to Edmonton for Wayne. It wasn’t just the players. Two years later, I went to them with the same players, with $5 million to get , and they said no. They were all corporate then.

Espo, my favorite story you’ve shared is when Bobby (Orr) and crew broke you out of (Mass General Hospital) in 1973, stretcher and all. Imagine the headlines today? – Mark P.

It would have been unbelievable. I’ll never forget when he came in with the hospital gown and the hat. I’m like, “What the heck are you doing?” He said, “We’re taking you to the party!” I got to that party. Only thing that bothered me was that it came across on the bottom of the screen on TV. I’m looking at it and it says, “Phil Esposito kidnapped from Mass General.” He called the doctor. Bobby said, “We carried him here, and we’ll carry him back.” Had I fallen, I probably would have never been able to walk again. I thought about that many, many times.

But I’m so proud of myself because my doctor said I wouldn’t be able to play until January. But Aug. 17, I went on the ice for the first time with Kenny Hodge, and Kenny held me and pushed me, and I just had a big brace on. I skated for the first time then, and on Sept. 28, I played my first game against the Blackhawks and I got a hat trick. That’s the year I won the MVP. I played with a brace for the rest of my career.

Was there ever a goalie you hated going up against. And if so, who was it? – Mathew S.

No. Never a goalie. It wasn’t the goalie that bothered me, it was the defensemen. For example, with Montreal, I loved to play Ken Dryden. But you could never get a rebound, their defense was so damn good. Holy cripe, go down the list. There wasn’t a goalie I was ever, ever afraid of facing. Goalies, I always felt like I could get them. It was the defensemen that caused most of the problems. You couldn’t get the rebounds or position.

What was more important to you: winning the Stanley Cup or the Summit Series? – Ron B.

Stanley Cup. The first one was phenomenal. You grow up as a kid dreaming of the Stanley Cup. The Summit Series was something we were told would be an exhibition. We were told it would be like an All-Star Game. My feeling is we should have never been called Team Canada, that we should have been called Team NHL. There were a lot of guys that weren’t allowed to play on this team because they were in the WHA. So if they played in the WHA, but were Canadians, why weren’t you allowed to play?

If you and Boris Mikhailov got in a fight in the 1972 Summit Series, who would have won? – Douglas J.

He wouldn’t take me, no chance. We’ve become friends now. He was the one guy that I’d just really disliked. I’ll tell you this, if I fought Gordie Howe, he’d beat me.

The Athletic LOADED: 04.17.2020 1182898 Boston Bruins Fortunately for Pacioretty, linesmen Michel Cormier and Brian Murphy put an end to things before McQuaid really got going. It could have gotten ugly.

Distant Replay: How we miss the now-dormant fireworks between The repercussions Bruins-Canadiens Six of the Bruins logged fighting majors. This did not include Chara or Milan Lucic, two of the league’s most dangerous punchers. Man, was this By Fluto Shinzawa Apr 16, 2020 team tough.

Krejci, as usual, led all forwards with 19:17 of ice time. The game was peak Krejci: slippery, tough to read, horizontal when everything else was One of the sadder things about the current NHL landscape is the descent vertical. The center could not help but record three assists with two fully of the Canadiens into the league’s Bermuda Triangle of mediocrity. powered monsters like Lucic and Horton on his flanks. Montreal has fallen short of the playoffs in three of the previous four seasons. The winners of 24 Stanley Cups will not make the postseason The performance confirmed one of Claude Julien’s favorite sayings: “As again if the current season rumbles back to life. David Krejci goes, we go.”

Montreal’s downturn has tossed a sodden blanket over what was once A different time the fiercest standoff in sports. The Bruins-Canadiens rivalry, formerly a The defensive-zone formations look like they’re from another planet. fire starter, is now just another date on the calendar when no tempers When Montreal entered the offensive zone, the defensemen sagged flare and few bodies collide. back and retreated inside the dots. This was by design. The Bruins rightly With the lukewarm state of current Boston-Montreal imbalance as a assumed that Thomas and Tuukka Rask could handle any shots from control group, the hostility on Feb. 9, 2011, which we rewatched for this outside the dots. Their priority was slamming the slot and net-front house exercise, looks like all-out warfare. firmly shut.

The Bruins won 8-6. The teams combined for 182 penalty minutes. This would never fly today. This strategy simply concedes too much room Goalies and Carey Price squared off. on the flanks. Even if shots from such areas are low-percentage attempts, it leads to more opposing possession time and increases the It was beautiful. likelihood of defensive breakdowns taking place.

The primary flareup was Thomas vs. Price Now the Bruins are instructed to deny entries at the blue line by following three principles: gap, angle, challenge. It started, naturally, with Brad Marchand. The left wing flattened James Wisniewski behind the Montreal net on an icing. That brought Brian Defenseman-to-defenseman was routine Gionta into the fracas. When Thomas left his crease to retrieve the puck behind the goal line, Price was doing his part by pulling opponents out of the pile. Thomas both of his defensemen would follow. This way, once Thomas handed off spotted an outnumbered situation, left his crease and engaged Price to the puck to one defenseman, his partner would be available to receive a even out the numbers. defenseman-to-defenseman pass.

It wasn’t much of a scrap. But every goalie fight is a good one. This, too, never happens now. It’s usually one defenseman behind the line as an outlet for Rask or Jaroslav Halak. If both defensemen end up The aftermath behind the net, the preferred maneuver is a quick reverse. The exchange After the Thomas-Price bout, a crush of bodies went to the penalty box. is faster, and the defensemen always have their feet moving. The Six Bruins were sent off: Marchand, Zdeno Chara, Steven Kampfer, leaguewide emphasis is on rapid transition up the ice, not the Shawn Thornton, Mark Recchi and Patrice Bergeron. Physical distancing conservative and antiquated defenseman-to-defenseman breakout. was impossible. Chara was all over the place The second confrontation The captain landed a game-high seven shots on net. He was credited It came after Nathan Horton and P.K. Subban jostled following a third- with five hits. period whistle. They had been tangling all night. The game featured Perhaps the strangest thing was watching him do his usual thing in four- Horton at his best: fast, eager to shoot, physical, angry, emotionally on-four situations. Chara does not have many opportunities to do so now. engaged. As such, Horton (one goal, four assists) could not help but Time has taken its toll on Chara’s straight-line speed. clash with Subban. Zach Hamill made a high-end play Although the two clawed at each other, the main event broke out at the other end of the zone: David Krejci versus Benoit Pouliot. The fight did Hamill, as the third-line center, took the puck in stride, pulled two not last long. Montreal’s Pouliot took care of business with a hard right to defenders toward him, then made a backhanded tape-to-tape dish to Krejci’s chin. With blood leaking from his face, Krejci hustled off the ice. Michael Ryder for a bang-bang goal. He later said that he tried to skate quickly past the Montreal bench to avoid a flood of insults. It was the only play worth noting.

Pot boiling over Hamill, 23 years old at the time, was already facing long odds as a full- time NHL player. He was too slight and not hard enough on the puck to Four fights took place at 19:11 of the third period. First was Andrew earn regular shifts. Ference versus Travis Moen. Just as that fight concluded, things went completely sideways. Thornton had his way with Roman Hamrlik. Johnny It was not Hamill’s fault that the Bruins selected him eighth overall in Boychuk unloaded on Jaroslav Spacek. 2007. But his 20-game NHL résumé is proof he was one of that class’s biggest busts. Finally, Boston’s Gregory Campbell lit up Tom Pyatt. It was vicious. Campbell got his left hand free, and with his elbow pad dangling off his What was to come arm, the No. 4 center speed-bagged Pyatt. It was the fastest flurry of The signs of the Marchand-Bergeron east-west creativity were showing. punches thrown by a combatant that night. The perpetual partners, with David Pastrnak now riding sidecar, have Itching for more applied their shared shifts, processing power and skill to turn the offensive zone into their playground. No present-day line can sling the Bruins defenseman Adam McQuaid looked somewhat jealous from the puck around from side to side like the No. 1 . bench. He scratched his itch on the next shift by getting his gloves off and landing a few on Max Pacioretty. You could see this approach in its nascency with Recchi as their right wing. The puck did not stick on their blades for long before they snapped it to one another for offensive sniffs.

The Athletic LOADED: 04.17.2020 1182899 Buffalo Sabres

'Sabres Classics' reviews '06 Carolina showdown next week on MSG

By Mike Harrington Published Thu, Apr 16, 2020|Updated Thu, Apr 16, 2020

MSG's "Sabres Classics" series continues next week with replays of games from one of the most dramatic and certainly one of the most heartbreaking playoff series in franchise history.

Five of the seven games from the 2006 Eastern Conference final against the will be aired, with the first broadcast of each coming every weeknight at 8 p.m on MSG and the MSG Go app. The games will then be available the next day on the Sabres Classic Games video channel at NHL.com.

The schedule looks like this:

Monday, April 20 – Game 1 at Carolina: The Sabres get the jump in the series with a 3-2 victory as Jay McKee scored the eventual winning goal with 6:20 left in the third period.

Tuesday, April 21 – Game 3 at Buffalo: The Sabres take a 2-1 lead in the series with a 4-3 victory behind two goals from Daniel Briere.

Wednesday, April 22 – Game 5 at Carolina: The Hurricanes post a 4-3 overtime victory on Cory Stillman's goal in a game that saw the Sabres blow a 3-1 lead they held midway through the second period. Carolina's second straight win in the series gave the Canes a 3-2 lead.

Thursday, April 23 – Game 6 at Buffalo: The Sabres force a winner-take- all showdown with a 2-1 overtime win on a Briere goal in what proved to be the final game downtown of a magical campaign.

Friday, April 24 – Game 7 at Carolina: Decimated by injuries to their defense, the Sabres held a 2-1 lead through two periods but couldn't hold on as the Hurricanes pulled away for a 4-2 win to end Buffalo's season.

Buffalo News LOADED: 04.17.2020 1182900 Buffalo Sabres

Bills, Sabres part of emotional 'We Are New York' video

By Staff Published Thu, Apr 16, 2020|Updated Thu, Apr 16, 2020

The and Buffalo Sabres are part of a social media campaign with New York State and metro area pro sports franchises to celebrate the strength of the state amid the coronavirus pandemic.

The one-minute video was posted on the social media channels by the teams on Thursday morning and features an encouraging message ending with: "We are in this together. We are New York."

The idea came from the social media and digital team, which handled the production. The Yankees reached out to the teams a few weeks ago to gauge their interest.

The one-minute video includes highlights of the teams and also many of the state's landmarks along with Images of hospital workers, patients and others facing challenging times.

"Life has certainly changed for all of us, but we thought this was a great opportunity to create unity amongst the fans of the included New York and New Jersey teams," said Ben Specht, the Bills' social media manager.

From Buffalo to downstate, right now we’re one team.

We’re in this together. #WeAreNewYork pic.twitter.com/jbz88NGWL1

— Buffalo Bills (@BuffaloBills) April 16, 2020

Buffalo News LOADED: 04.17.2020 1182901 Buffalo Sabres clothes in a place that is visible and to write a daily workout schedule on paper.

"I would say the same thing to a player with draft aspirations as I would to How local NHL draft prospect is prepping for combine that may not a kid, it’s creating a daily discipline where it becomes a habit," Ellis said. happen "Whether it’s your physical training, your mental training or you’re getting into a book to build your mind. Just because there is a stoppage in your on-ice development, there are other aspects of your overall development By Lance Lysowski Published Thu, Apr 16, 2020 you can continue to take steps forward in. Whether it’s a kid or a professional, everyone is looking for forward momentum. The thing you

can control right now is motivating yourself and inspiring yourself to A small room in the basement of his family's Williamsville home has create a daily discipline where you’re taking steps and maybe you’re become an unexpected training ground for Trevor Kuntar. There, the 18- building new habits." year-old forward shoots puck after puck into the corners of an empty Ellis provided Kuntar with different workouts that can be completed inside hockey net. his family's home or in the driveway. For core training and stability, Ellis The workout allows Kuntar to hone his footwork and hand-eye suggested Kuntar take a walk with an unbalanced wheelbarrow filled with coordination during a time in which he cannot access an ice rink. approximately 200 pounds of weight plates. Creativity has become a necessity for all hockey players and trainers with Metabolic conditioning can be achieved by carrying 45- or 70-pound sand rinks and gyms closed to the public during the coronavirus pandemic. bags, which can be purchased at a hardware store. Hockey tape can be While professionals have to prepare for a season that may not be used to create an agility ladder on the driveway or garage floor. An completed, draft-eligible prospects such as Kuntar must use whatever athlete can stick-handle around the ladder to improve footwork and hand- workout equipment is available to remain in peak physical condition in eye coordination. case the holds its scouting combine, which was The Academy of Hockey has used its Twitter account to share videos of scheduled for June 1-6 in Buffalo before it was postponed. hockey-specific workouts, including rollerblading and off-ice mobility drills Kuntar, who was ranked by NHL Central Scouting as the No. 143 North to strengthen skating stride. American skater in this draft class, has access to a weight bench, The league's decision to postpone the draft did not catch Kuntar off treadmill and stationary bike. However, he also sought advice on how to guard. He didn't plan on attending the event in Montreal and wants to create a structured schedule under difficult circumstances and the share time with his family at home before he attends Harvard University different methods in which he can physically prepare for what's next. this fall. "It definitely stinks, but it’s something you can’t control," Kuntar said. "I Kuntar is one of two local products ranked by central scouting, joining have to control what I can control and keep working." Lake View native Declan McDonnell, a forward who scored 21 goals for This was supposed to be the first week of the United States Hockey the Hockey League's Kitchener Rangers this season. League's 12-team playoffs. Kuntar scored 28 goals during an abbreviated Both players have no choice but to get creative amid challenging regular season for the , who were fifth in the circumstances. Eastern Conference standings when the season was suspended. His 47 goals over the past two years illustrate one way he has improved since "Obviously I was disappointed," Kuntar said of the draft being postponed. his final season with the Buffalo Jr. Sabres in 2016-17. "I figured with everything else being postponed it was going to happen. I like to keep in good shape anyways and right now is a good time get Following the Phantoms' playoffs, Kuntar planned to begin on-ice skill ahead of the game because maybe some kids think this is a break so training with the Academy of Hockey at LECOM Harborcenter. Instead, they don’t have to do much. I’m trying to take advantage of this time right the USHL canceled its season, robbing Kuntar of an opportunity to now and stay in that midseason shape." strengthen his draft stock. Buffalo News LOADED: 04.17.2020 If the combine is also canceled, Kuntar won't be able to impress teams with his on-ice testing and all interviews will be conducted via video conference call. This could impact mid-to-late round prospects the most.

NHL Central Scouting used its prospect games to collect on-ice physical testing results for 75 of the draft's top prospects.

Craig Button, a TSN analyst and former NHL general manager, navigated a challenging pre-draft process as the ' Director of Scouting during the lockout-shortened 1994-95 season. The 48-game season placed financial constraints on scouting departments, which limited scouts to seeing some players only once. Button explained that scouts are taught to value every evaluation because of possible injury and that technology, specifically the access to game video, will allow teams to take a closer look at prospects during the coronavirus pandemic.

"Everybody tackles it differently," Button explained. "How do you scout? What resources do you put in when revenue isn't coming in? Those are significant considerations. But I know back in '94, when we were heading into that lockout, that you always try to ensure every time you’re at a game or watching a game and you’re evaluating that you are saying to yourself, 'You know what, this evaluation counts. This might be the last evaluation I might get on this player because of injury or other factors.' You never know. You never dismiss it thinking that you’re going to have another opportunity."

Kuntar isn't bothered by the unprecedented pre-draft process. He expressed confidence in his daily routine after receiving advice from Matt Ellis, who played nine years in the NHL and now serves as Director for the Academy of Hockey in LECOM Harborcenter.

Ellis conducted a video conference call with Kuntar to provide ideas on how to self-motivate and prepare. The first step, Ellis explained, is to create inner accountability. He instructed Kuntar to keep his workout 1182902 Buffalo Sabres As for this season, well, 69 games doesn't make a whole season, but 68 points in that many games is definitely not nice. In Dom Luszczyszyn’s season-ending project in which he simulated how the season would have Comparing the analytics of the ’19-20 Sabres with the previous four closed out, he had the Sabres finish with 73 points. seasons Earning five points in the final 13 games would’ve had the fan base calling for a change and helped the Sabres' season play out like recent ones have: reasonable expectations, a hot run of play that gets everyone By Joe Yerdon Apr 16, 2020 thinking about the postseason, and a disappointing tumble down the standings that leaves fans and players unsatisfied and upset.

As for McCurdy and the odds, the bettors had a reachable mark although Ralph Krueger’s first season with the Buffalo Sabres ended up being Buffalo’s schedule to end the season was not going to be easy. If the unsatisfying for a lot of reasons. There was progress in a lot of ways, but Sabres pulled 15 points out of the final 13 games it would’ve been a solid not enough to help the Sabres rise into serious playoff contention. close. If they earned 18 of 26 points to end the season to get to 86 it Comparing Krueger’s team to those coached by Dan Bylsma and Phil would’ve been impressive. Housley can give us a better view of where things sit, even though The sad summary of the past five seasons is that the Sabres exceeded Krueger hasn’t had a full season on the job. Krueger has done a lot of expectations just once, which came after they had one of the worst needed work on the motivational and psychological side of the team. statistical seasons of all-time and landed Eichel because of it. After playing for Bylsma (who the players grew to dislike greatly) to Housley (who they liked but ultimately struggled to keep it together Statistics under), having a coach that brings everyone together is a positive change. What we want to see here is if it’s working and if the stats and Breaking down the numbers is tougher to do because Krueger hasn’t had projections match up. a full season to judge from. In his case, this is more about trends compared to Bylsma and Housley’s teams. Projections Bylsma’s teams had great power plays while Housley’s had very good I went with two different sources for preseason predictions: Micah Blake penalty killing. Krueger’s team was terrible on the PK (30th in the NHL) McCurdy’s HockeyViz.com and SportsOddsHistory.com. What better and went from hot to cold on the power play (20th). But 5-on-5 is the real than analytics and gambling experts to predict how a team would do? tell for how teams play for its coach and the numbers below from Evolving-Hockey.com measure that. Sabres projected season point totals 2015-2017 2015-2016 Dan Bylsma 65.5 164 75.5 46.9 81 47.6 2016-2017 1.84 83.1 2.27 86.5 6.5 78 0.927 2017-2018 2017-2019 83 Phil Housley 87.5 164 62 47.9 2018-2019 46.5 90.9 2.03 80.5 2.71 76 6.8 2019-2020 0.917 86.6 2019-2020 83.5 Ralph Krueger 68* 69 A couple asterisks belong here. 48.8 McCurdy’s projections for 2015-2016 did not factor Jack Eichel’s addition to the lineup because he was a rookie and his impact in his first season 47.5 was unknown. You can’t factor in what you don’t know. That team was better than the 2014-2015 team but there was no way they were going to 2.29 be worse anyway. 2.37

Coming off a season in which they had 54 points, McCurdy projecting 8.2 them for nearly 12 more points was being kind. That they finished with 81 points after adding Eichel, Ryan O’Reilly, a healthy Evander Kane, and 0.921 Robin Lehner (even though he was injured for a chunk of the season) meant they were going to be improved no matter what and the betting What stands out here is how much better the numbers are overall for the odds accounted for those additions. Sabres under Krueger. They’ve improved attempt margins, they’ve improved their shot quality (that’s xGF – expected goals for), and they’re scoring more goals. They’re better defensively under Krueger and the goaltending is up compared to how it performed under Housley.

The prospect of more games to come for the 2019-2020 Sabres seems unlikely at this point, but a lot of what Krueger has implemented has worked for the better at 5-on-5. 44.9 percent of the games the Sabres played this year were one-goal games. In 31 one-goal games this season, they went 15-8-8. Flipping a coin 31 times and winning 15 of the calls is about right for normal odds, but more goals or better goaltending would go a ways to helping change their luck.

Stop me if you’ve read this before, but if they can add more offense and upgrade the special teams, they’ll be able to improve greatly. What Krueger has done to tighten the team defensively has been good. It’s had the unfortunate side effect of making them a little dull to watch at times, but scoring more goals would solve that.

The Athletic LOADED: 04.17.2020 1182903 Calgary Flames And, most definitely, it won’t look the same as it did when the NHL went on hiatus over a month ago.

“We don’t know what that entails and we’re going to take our direction Flames GM wants to complete NHL season from our health authorities,” Treliving said. “Watching what’s happening in the world, we are going to come back and when we do come back, it’s going to look differently. So, what does that mean? I think testing is a Kristen Anderson • Postmedia huge part of what we’re going to have to have to get a sense of if have players had it or have they had it without knowing they’ve had it …

“We are going to have a new normal.” Speaking on behalf of the players, management, and Calgary Flames staff, general manager Brad Treliving is eager for the puck to drop again. Treliving extended his sympathies to the family of Colby Cave and his wife, Emily. Whether that’s later this summer — which was suggested as a possibility by National Hockey League commissioner Gary Bettman on Wednesday He, like the entire hockey world, was rocked when the news spread of during an interview with Fox Business Network — in front of cardboard the death of the Edmonton Oilers forward on April 11 after suffering a cutouts of fans or no fans at all due to COVID-19 concerns and a brain bleed. He had previously been placed in a medically induced coma truncated playoff format, the objective is to finish the 2019-20 NHL and had undergone emergency surgery to remove a colloid cyst which campaign and award the Stanley Cup. was causing pressure to his brain.

“You want to complete it,” Treliving was saying on his (now) weekly Cave was only 25. media conference call Thursday. “We’ve invested 70-some odd games, let’s see this thing through. We’ve invested. You’ve banged and crashed Treliving met the North Battleford native at a Arizona Coyotes around. You’re in the absolute best time of the year. You want to see it development camp when Treliving was with the organization and Cave through… it’s hard to fathom (games with no fans). It’s hard to walk into a was in the with the Swift Current Broncos. building and not see any fans, especially in the playoffs where, I think, “Just a real tragedy, a young player like that,” Treliving said. “Our heart the atmosphere and the energy, that’s a big part of that time of the year. goes out to all of his family and friends.” The energy and the fans and the juice there is. It would be strange, it would be very, very strange. And I think the only reason you would do it Treliving also opened Thursday’s conference call recognizing longtime is because you’d have to. It’s not what anybody would want … but if it Flames scout Tom Webster who passed away last week at age 71. “He meant we could complete the season, I would like to see us complete the was one of a kind,” Treliving said. “He had a great impact on our season any way we can.” organization and a lot of people throughout the hockey community.”

But what that looks like is anyone’s guess. ICE CHIPS

The NHL was put on pause on March 12 and the league has extended its As the sporting world turns its attention to the self-isolation recommendation through April 30. draft on April 23, many are wondering if this would act as a template for the 2020 NHL Draft which was scheduled for June. “I know the NHL is At this point, amid the ongoing global health crisis and pandemic of the watching what they’re doing closely,” Treliving said. “We may be coronavirus, details of when or how the current NHL season will resume following that lead.” The NFL draft is shifting online, with teams making are merely speculations. picks remotely rather than at their own facilities. Certainly, for sure, I’m No one knows how this thing is going to play out, despite the United going to be watching and doing a lot of homework on that but different States’ top infectious diseases expert Dr. Anthony Fauci’s claims that ideas we could potentially do for our draft.” … The end of the 2019-20 professional sports could resume in the summer without fans if players campaign — whenever that may be — also means a handful of Flames were kept in hotels. will become unrestricted free agents including defencemen TJ Brodie and Travis Hamonic. “I’ve talked to both their agents and said, ‘Listen, we But would that be something the NHL’s Players’ Association would agree like both players. Let’s see if there’s a way to get something done.’ but to, sequestering its’ players away from family and keeping them both of us agreed that there’s so much uncertainty right now,” Treliving completely isolated? Is it a realistic expectation? More importantly, will it said … As of Thursday, Treliving reported that none of his players or staff be safe? have required testing for COVID-19 … Treliving was asked whether he’s seen enough evidence to make a judgement on interim What about the potential of a training camp? Surely after over a month Geoff Ward who was promoted during the wake of the Bill Peters away from the daily grind of professional hockey has had an impact on controversy in November. “Obviously we went through an unusual players’ fitness. situation,” Treliving said. “I feel comfortable with making any evaluations.” “I think the league is looking at every conceivable option,” Treliving said. Calgary Herald: LOADED: 04.17.2020 “I don’t think we’re coming back tomorrow, so whenever this thing does lift, we’re going to need some time to get players (back into shape). Phase Two of this quarantine would see players having access to the facilities and you’re going to need a training camp of some description … but I think the ultimate format is going to be based on the calendar that’s available to us.

“Whenever this lifts, whenever we get the green light, it’s going to be like, ‘Well, OK, what’s the calendar?’”

Treliving said from the league’s perspective, keeping next season — 2020-21 — is a priority, so they would potentially work their way backwards from that and the latest date that would be possible to end the 2019-20 campaign.

Dates, at the moment, are pure speculation.

But the preference is to conclude the 2019-20 season. The league is committed to it, Treliving said, and are very optimistic.

“You have to recognize too, as a player, it’s an investment,” Treliving said. “We were 71 games into it. At the end of the day, all of those things are going to be answered for us. We don’t get to decide what happens or when. The league will take their cues from the medical experts. And the guys, whenever they’re able to go play, they’ll be eager.

“They’ll want to complete this season.” 1182904 Calgary Flames “I think the world of him as a young man. I think the world of him as a player. And if there’s a guy who is going to will his way to where he wants to go, it will be a guy like Mark Kastelic. He has all the traits and qualities Hitmen captain Kastelic leaves mark as one of franchise all-timers that you’d like every one of your players to have.”

Kastelic has never been billed as a can’t-miss kid, but the Senators — swayed by his 47-goal outburst in his final season of draft eligibility — Wes Gilbertson selected the right-handed centre in the fifth round last summer.

Surrounded by his mother and sisters, and with his father and billet family from Calgary — the Kordikowskis — watching via FaceTime, he inked a This time, Mark Kastelic didn’t leave any luggage behind. three-year contract with the club last week. During his five-season stint as a lamp-lighting standout for the Western “It still feels pretty surreal, even once it’s all official,” Kastelic said. “I’m Hockey League’s , Kastelic would typically ask his billets excited about the opportunity with Ottawa next year and I’m looking to store his toques, mitts and other winter-wear when he headed home forward to just putting in the work this summer. We have an extended for the scorching summers in Phoenix, Ariz. summer, so I’m going to do my best to take advantage of the time I have Now graduated from the junior ranks, he’ll be taking his warm-and- at home and away from the rink, just working on my fitness and fuzzies elsewhere once sports are able to resume. everything like that. I’m really honoured to be a part of the Senators organization, and I’m just looking forward to a bright future with them.” “It’s going to be different, for sure. Usually, you just know you’re going back to Calgary the next season,” Kastelic said. “This time, it was The next stop for Kastelic will likely be Belleville, Ont., home of the different just packing up everything you own rather than leaving some of Senators’ farm club. your winter stuff behind for the next year. It was weird packing everything Until then, he can keep his winter-wear in storage. up and moving away for good, but I’m thankful for my time there and I’m ready to move forward and looking forward to the next opportunity in REMEMBERING ‘WHITEY’ pro.” Just a day before inking his first professional contract last week, Mark Kastelic, who signed an entry-level contract last week with the Ottawa Kastelic lost one of his biggest fans. Senators, was feted Thursday as the Hitmen Player of the Year. The 21- year-old sharpshooter claimed a total of four team honours for 2019-20, a The hockey world is mourning the death of Pat ‘Whitey’ Stapleton, a haul that also included the three-star selection award and players’ choice rock-solid defenceman who skated for Canada in the iconic 1972 Summit nod. Series and served as captain for another showdown with the Soviets two years later. Although his overage campaign came to a sudden halt when the remainder of this season — including the playoffs and Memorial Cup Stapleton was Kastelic’s maternal grandfather. He was 79. tournament — was cancelled due to the COVID-19 pandemic, Kastelic is “He was a great mentor to me,” Kastelic said of Stapleton, who spent certainly leaving his mark at the Saddledome. eight seasons on the Chicago Blackhawks’ blue-line and totalled He buried 126 career goals in Hitmen silks, the third-highest total in upwards of 1,000 games between the NHL and the rival World Hockey franchise history. Only Brad Moran (204) and (172) picked Association (WHA). “We had a great relationship my whole life growing more corners on behalf of the local WHL squad. up, and he’s taught me so much about the game of hockey and being mentally tough and positivity, as well. He’s one of the most positive Kastelic also climbed to seventh on the all-time club scoring charts with people I think anyone in my family has known, and I can see as I read 235 points, trailing just Moran (450), Brendl (325), Matt Kinch (306), stuff about him just how many lives he touched. I think that’s how he’ll be Brandon Kozun (270), Kris Beech (256) and Ryan White (237) on that remembered — as a really positive person and for everything he’s done list. not only in the game of hockey but outside of it, as well.”

“Coming in when I was 15, my first camp, I can’t really say that I was Kastelic is now trying to follow the skate strides of both his grandfather expecting all those accomplishments,” Kastelic said during a phone and father. His dad, Ed, logged 220 big-league outings with the interview from Phoenix. “Over the years, I was just developing, getting Washington Capitals and . better and more mature during my time in Calgary. There are a lot of people that I’m thankful to for helping me achieve all those HITMEN TEAM AWARDS — 2019-20 SEASON accomplishments, like all the teammates I’ve had throughout the years Player of the Year: Mark Kastelic and the coaches and the management. There were a lot of people that helped me reached those milestones. Top Defenceman: Jett Woo

“All I can say is it’s pretty special and I’m humbled to be mentioned in Leading Scorer: Mark Kastelic/Riley Stotts those record books, I guess, with those accomplishments.” Rookie of the Year: Brayden Peters When WHLers were told to return home, the Hitmen reported to the Saddledome in small groups — three players at a time — to collect their Jr. Hitmen Players’ Choice Award: Mark Kastelic/Dakota Krebs gear. Hockey Calgary Coaches Award: Dakota Krebs

As captain and one of a hat-trick of graduating overagers, Kastelic also Booster Club Fan Favourite: Carson Focht addressed the team on a conference call shortly after the season was officially cancelled. Three-Star Selection Award: Mark Kastelic

“I said the things I wanted to say in-person to a lot of the guys before I Humanitarian Award: Riley Fiddler-Schultz left, and I think they all know what they meant to me,” Kastelic said. “So Scholastic Player: Adam Kydd there wasn’t that much said, but the biggest thing was just letting everyone know how thankful I was for all the things that they have done Calgary Herald: LOADED: 04.17.2020 for me. For all the guys I’ve played with, I just let them know it was a fun ride.”

Steve Hamilton, head coach of the Hitmen, was proud to be along for some of it.

“I felt privileged to be able to work with him — he’s just so driven and such a quality leader and quality person,” Hamilton said of Kastelic, who wore the ‘C’ for the past two seasons and won the in-house Player of the Year nod in both. (Kozun, Ryan Getzlaf and Moran, a four-time recipient, are the only other gents to earn the top team honour in back-to-back campaigns.) 1182905 Calgary Flames happens or when. The league will take their cues from the medical experts. And the guys, whenever they’re able to go play, they’ll be eager.

“They’ll want to complete this season.” Flames GM wants to complete NHL season And, most definitely, it won’t look the same as it did when the NHL went on hiatus over a month ago.

Kristen Anderson, Postmedia “We don’t know what that entails and we’re going to take our direction from our health authorities,” Treliving said. “Watching what’s happening in the world, we are going to come back and when we do come back, it’s Flames prospect Glenn Gawdin pays tribute to junior teammate Colby going to look differently. So, what does that mean? I think testing is a Cave: 'I wanted to be ... huge part of what we’re going to have to have to get a sense of if have players had it or have they had it without knowing they’ve had it … Speaking on behalf of the players, management, and Calgary Flames staff, general manager Brad Treliving is eager for the puck to drop again. “We are going to have a new normal.”

Whether that’s later this summer — which was suggested as a possibility Treliving extended his sympathies to the family of Colby Cave and his by National Hockey League commissioner Gary Bettman on Wednesday wife, Emily. during an interview with Fox Business Network — in front of cardboard cutouts of fans or no fans at all due to COVID-19 concerns and a He, like the entire hockey world, was rocked when the news spread of truncated playoff format, the objective is to finish the 2019-20 NHL the death of the Edmonton Oilers forward on April 11 after suffering a campaign and award the Stanley Cup. brain bleed. He had previously been placed in a medically induced coma and had undergone emergency surgery to remove a colloid cyst which “You want to complete it,” Treliving was saying on his (now) weekly was causing pressure to his brain. media conference call Thursday. “We’ve invested 70-some odd games, let’s see this thing through. We’ve invested. You’ve banged and crashed Cave was only 25. around. You’re in the absolute best time of the year. You want to see it Treliving met the North Battleford native at a Arizona Coyotes through… it’s hard to fathom (games with no fans). It’s hard to walk into a development camp when Treliving was with the organization and Cave building and not see any fans, especially in the playoffs where, I think, was in the Western Hockey League with the Swift Current Broncos. the atmosphere and the energy, that’s a big part of that time of the year. The energy and the fans and the juice there is. It would be strange, it “Just a real tragedy, a young player like that,” Treliving said. “Our heart would be very, very strange. And I think the only reason you would do it goes out to all of his family and friends.” is because you’d have to. It’s not what anybody would want … but if it meant we could complete the season, I would like to see us complete the Treliving also opened Thursday’s conference call recognizing longtime season any way we can.” Flames scout Tom Webster who passed away last week at age 71. “He was one of a kind,” Treliving said. “He had a great impact on our But what that looks like is anyone’s guess. organization and a lot of people throughout the hockey community.”

The NHL was put on pause on March 12 and the league has extended its ICE CHIPS self-isolation recommendation through April 30. As the sporting world turns its attention to the National Football League At this point, amid the ongoing global health crisis and pandemic of the draft on April 23, many are wondering if this would act as a template for coronavirus, details of when or how the current NHL season will resume the 2020 NHL Draft which was scheduled for June. “I know the NHL is are merely speculations. watching what they’re doing closely,” Treliving said. “We may be following that lead.” The NFL draft is shifting online, with teams making No one knows how this thing is going to play out, despite the United picks remotely rather than at their own facilities. Certainly, for sure, I’m States’ top infectious diseases expert Dr. Anthony Fauci’s claims that going to be watching and doing a lot of homework on that but different professional sports could resume in the summer without fans if players ideas we could potentially do for our draft.” … The end of the 2019-20 were kept in hotels. campaign — whenever that may be — also means a handful of Flames But would that be something the NHL’s Players’ Association would agree will become unrestricted free agents including defencemen TJ Brodie to, sequestering its’ players away from family and keeping them and Travis Hamonic. “I’ve talked to both their agents and said, ‘Listen, we completely isolated? Is it a realistic expectation? More importantly, will it like both players. Let’s see if there’s a way to get something done.’ but be safe? both of us agreed that there’s so much uncertainty right now,” Treliving said … As of Thursday, Treliving reported that none of his players or staff What about the potential of a training camp? Surely after over a month have required testing for COVID-19 … Treliving was asked whether he’s away from the daily grind of professional hockey has had an impact on seen enough evidence to make a judgement on interim head coach players’ fitness. Geoff Ward who was promoted during the wake of the Bill Peters controversy in November. “Obviously we went through an unusual “I think the league is looking at every conceivable option,” Treliving said. situation,” Treliving said. “I feel comfortable with making any evaluations.” “I don’t think we’re coming back tomorrow, so whenever this thing does lift, we’re going to need some time to get players (back into shape). Calgary Sun: LOADED: 04.17.2020 Phase Two of this quarantine would see players having access to the facilities and you’re going to need a training camp of some description … but I think the ultimate format is going to be based on the calendar that’s available to us.

“Whenever this lifts, whenever we get the green light, it’s going to be like, ‘Well, OK, what’s the calendar?’”

Treliving said from the league’s perspective, keeping next season — 2020-21 — is a priority, so they would potentially work their way backwards from that and the latest date that would be possible to end the 2019-20 campaign.

Dates, at the moment, are pure speculation.

But the preference is to conclude the 2019-20 season. The league is committed to it, Treliving said, and are very optimistic.

“You have to recognize too, as a player, it’s an investment,” Treliving said. “We were 71 games into it. At the end of the day, all of those things are going to be answered for us. We don’t get to decide what 1182906 Calgary Flames “Regardless of competing for players, we’ve still got to work together as humans. We’re all in the same boat,” said Doug Crashley, founder of Crash Conditioning. “I probably shut down a couple of days ahead of Trainers adapt to a new normal: ‘You have to reframe what coaching some others. I didn’t want to be the place that became a centre of looks like’ transferences of the virus. With people sweating and touching stuff, I didn’t want to make this worse.

“We needed to shut down. We’re responsible for that.” By Scott Cruickshank Apr 16, 2020 Even if for someone like Crashley, whose popular offseason programs help to prepare elite hockey players, that represents a significant slice. Summer translates into 75 percent of the year’s take. Editor’s note: In an effort to support local businesses that are being threatened by the devastating effects of the coronavirus, The Athletic is But right now his 12,000 square-foot facility is locked — and nearly publishing an ongoing series of stories to highlight our treasured empty because he’s lent or sold most of his equipment. communities. #supportlocal “We’re all in the same situation,” said Crashley. “Are you going to have a Playing college baseball in California, coaching the Calgary Dinos club business moving forward? You don’t know.” team, creating programs in Italy, working for the Okotoks Dawgs, running camps all over the place, he knew he had the experience. Girding for an unsettled future, and with little choice, he cut staff.

AJ Fystro was ready to set up shop. “We’re all laid off to a certain degree, myself included,” said Crashley, who also runs a gym in Lloydminster. “We’re just trying to find ways to He came up with a name — The Training Foundation — and found a look after everybody. We’re all in this together. We’ve got to figure out space. Stoked, he signed a one-year lease and, with the aim of recruiting ways to make it work rather than making excuses for why it doesn’t.” and training young athletes, enjoyed a successful grand opening in February. One priority remains unchanged — taking care of his family, wife Michel and teen kids Nathan and Isabel. “Just making sure in my house, Six weeks later — Friday the 13th, naturally — it was all over. The everyone’s comfortable and sane.” coronavirus pandemic had closed non-essential services, Fystro’s included. Housed at Father David Bauer Arena is Bold Athlete, a training facility co-founded 12 years ago by Alex Allan and Simon Docherty. This is Now his 1,200 square-foot site — not far from Seaman Stadium, in the when they should be making hay, ramping up hockey players for the Okotoks industrial park — sits empty. Alberta Cup and the WHL draft.

“You lose sleep starting a small business. Then when you have it, you Not this year. Meaning pink slips. lose sleep. Now to add this in?” Fystro said the other day. “It couldn’t happen at a worse time. Whether you’re a big facility or a small business, “That’s the shitty part of this,” said Allan. “In our industry, if you’re not membership base is everything when you’re a training facility. For us, we working with people there’s not much to do.” were just really getting our feet wet. We were starting to build a bit of a Jeff Osadec, the assistant sports physiologist in charge of national-team membership clientele. Then this hit.” speed skaters at the Canadian Sport Institute Calgary, won’t soon forget Fystro had been working nearly from scratch, unlike well-established the reach of the pandemic’s fallout. outfits that can rely, even now, on the sustained business of long-time First the Olympic Oval Grand Prix, scheduled for mid-March, was customers. cancelled. “I remember being in the weight room,” he said. “You could “To not have that? It’s been difficult,” he said. “Like everyone’s probably just see the wind get taken out of the athletes.” Then the Canada Cup, going to tell you — sleepless nights. But nobody’s going to be in a slated for the following week, got nixed. Season over. situation where they just opened up a place a month ago.” “People are just scared, in general,” Osadec said. “We’ve never The fitness world is challenging enough. experienced anything like this in our entire lives and probably never will again, hopefully.” Competition can be crushing. (The Google search — Calgary fitness trainers — nets 751,000 results.) Renting space and leasing gear and This is typically a down time in the speed-skating season. So staff — hiring staff and promoting services add up to one big bite. managers, coaches, trainers — always devote this time to planning for the season ahead rather than being hands-on with the racers. Then, due to unforeseen circumstances, your shop gets shuttered. Now what? In other words, Osadec would’ve been working from home anyway. But the vibe these days? Totally different. “I think every trainer is going to have their own story,” said Fystro. “This situation is unique for everybody in their own way.” “It’s been weird. Really weird,” he said. “Every second day we have coffee as a staff (virtually), so we’re not losing touch. There’s always Tamara Jarrett’s tale, too, is about timing — but, in her case, falling on people checking in, ‘Hey, how are you doing? Are you doing OK?'” the right side of it. Decaman Athletics is a one-man show, starring Rich Hesketh, a fixture in Six years into her training career, she had been ready to take the next the fitness industry for more than 30 years. step, a brick and mortar base. She and a friend located an ideal spot — 4,000 square feet near Chinook Centre — and slapped down a deposit. Formerly strength coach of the Calgary Flames, 1995-2014, he now The day before committing to a five-year lease, they did an about-face works with the Dinos basketball squads and individual clients. But he when it became clear the global crisis was about to change everything. didn’t panic when one of his go-to spots, the weight room at Foothills Athletic Park, was closed. Including the future of her enterprise, Tamara J. Training. So they walked away. “It just means you have to reframe what coaching looks like.”

“It was an interesting buildup to the year, then an interesting slowdown,” Which is an understandable conclusion for trainers, including Jarrett. said Jarrett. “I still would do it, because of what I envision for my “It’s forced our industry to be more creative.” business and how I want to help my teams and athletes. From a long- term development standpoint, I need a facility.” Hesketh, for one, has a head start in the new normal.

With the dawning reality of COVID-19, gym proprietors of all stripes had He’s worked remotely for years with Malaysian golfer Kelly Tan, among been staggered. other international players.

The pandemic was going to batter bottom lines, without question. Big “This has actually been a godsend because I feel like I’m a little bit ahead picture, however, meant doing the right thing — absorbing losses and of curve,” said Hesketh. “This just means I have to continue doing what immediately closing doors. Most operators did. I’ve already been doing — just more of it.” Technological advances — video quality, wifi speed — have made the “Unfortunately, it might be the end for some people,” said Fystro, process much more productive. With ease, he can demonstrate “because there’s so much free stuff out there.” exercises and make corrections to the reps of his overseas clients. His mantra these days is: “Stop exercising. Start training.” Meaning “With wireless earbuds, I’m right in their head while they’re training, and instead of thrashing through random regimens, young athletes require they’re right in my head while they’re asking questions,” said Hesketh. personalized attention. Perhaps, for example, core strength is an issue “It’s very valuable now, especially under these isolated conditions.” — this is something Fystro can detect.

Even pre-pandemic, many coaches had been considering some kind of “You don’t get that (online) — it’s generic,” he said. “Everybody’s shift into virtual training. Apps are commonplace. different. There’s the educating process — ‘Hey, those programs aren’t for everybody. Here’s what we can offer. The assessments, the video Live workouts, too, are becoming popular. Just the other day, Jarrett put followups.’ But, like I said, you’ve got to be able to adapt — and now here the entire Crashers hockey team — 15 boys aged 11 and 12 — through we are.” the paces. She also hosts twice-weekly drop-in sessions. Osadec agrees, adding that this is an ideal juncture to take stock of what “I might have 10 athletes on the screen and they might be doing their they’ve been doing as coaches. ankle-hop drills, but I’m actually coaching them individually with their airbuds in,” Jarrett said. “So they’re still getting that.” The mandate should be supporting athletes, motivating them, which adds up to more than ordering them to put on weighted vests, to pick up For more than a year, Crashley has been developing an app, into which, kettlebells. he estimates, he’s invested $10,000. “That’s the one thing we say we’re always looking for — time. Now, more Till recently, the app was used primarily in-house. These days, since it than ever, we have all of it,” said Osadec. “The urgency rush is still there, features more than 500 exercises — with videos for each — he’s been but it’s forcing us to really think outside the box and reinvent ourselves. leaning on it. Not in a bad way, but really reinvent how we can impact sport.

“I’m not charging because I wasn’t prepared to have a cost for this,” he “Right now, our biggest thing? Mentally, they have to be healthy.” said. “We were fortunate … it is basically just a turnkey for me at this point. As we get going, we’re going to figure out how to use this and He talks about the importance of athletes going for daily walks, generate a little bit of revenue. connecting online with others (“So you’re not alone”), spending time outside. “This is my life right now. Sitting in a chair, in my jogging pants … going on FaceTime and making telephone calls, going over screenshots to “We’re staying calm,” said Osadec. “We’re really thinking through the make sure the app looks correct.” process, ‘Here’s what’s really important right now. Here’s what’s not. Here’s what we can do.’ When we return, it’s managing that training so HAVING A TOUGH TIME STAYING IN SHAPE AT HOME? WE’RE athletes aren’t burning out quickly. They’re going to be coming back at a EXCITED TO WORK WITH OUR PAL DOUG ‘CRASH’ CRASHLEY little bit of a lower level of conditioning.” FROM @CRASHCONDHOCKEY TO BRING YOU A WEEKLY SERIES ON STRENGTH AND CONDITIONING DURING ISOLATION! Which isn’t necessarily a bad thing.

FULL Video: HTTPS://T.CO/N720MMEKPZ According to Osadec, “There is a silver lining in this.”

#ALBERTABUILT | #HOCKEYATHOME Speed skaters who often spend downtime throwing themselves into PIC.TWITTER.COM/18DOFJKJUN strenuous out-of-season pursuits — skiing, for instance, or extra running — are now safely marooned at home. As a result, they are actually going — HOCKEY ALBERTA (@HOCKEYALBERTA) APRIL 7, 2020 to be rested for next season.

As experienced as Crashley is, he realizes the importance of a personal “This could be our biggest benefit — we’ve got them really recovering,” touch. Osadec said. “Anyone who has any of those niggling injuries, this is the time. We can clear those right up. Everybody’s coming back (healthier).” “It can’t just be throwing a bunch of exercises together and making it a sweat session,” he said. “I try to give them a little bit of light at the end of No different for run-ragged hockey players. This could provide clarity to the tunnel in their mindset. It’s more important now than ever to be there that hot-button debate — suppose year-round athletes backed off? for them, beyond weights and running. Just to help everybody feel a bit normal … not locked in a basement by themselves.” The new normal will offer proof.

For operators, it’s not simply a matter of experimenting with Zoom and “They can’t skate, they can’t go to the gym,” said Crashley. “You can be hoping for the best. This is their livelihood, so they want to get it right — active at home and work out, but we’re not over-skating and over- and right away. exhausting these young athletes. It might be the best thing for the game of hockey. Especially in North America, we tend to blow up our athletes a They recognize the need to evolve. little bit.

“It’s a crazy time. You have to adapt or you’re going to fade away,” said “Now what’s going to happen, all these young next-up athletes that are a Allan. “From a business standpoint, if we don’t find a way to still provide year or two or three away, all of a sudden, they have a longer value, they’re going to go somewhere else … and we won’t be around development period. It might be really good for the game and longevity of much longer.” careers.”

So Bold Athlete has not only been providing nutrition seminars, they’ve Allan sees the shutdown as an opportunity, one that goes beyond the embraced Instagram stories for twice-weekly workouts. These have been exploration of virtual platforms. Counterintuitively, sport’s pause has drawing up to 70 clients per workout. created a push to reconnect, more than ever, with clients. “Maybe sometimes, in person, you take that for granted a little bit.” “I was thinking there would be five or 10 people, but we’ve had a ton of support,” said Allan. “We’re trying to get really creative on different things Indeed, this is the time to pull together, according to Crashley. It’s with different platforms to keep our people engaged. The big thing for us something that bold-faces the need for trainers, who should be more than is still creating a little bit of a culture of community.” whip-cracking fiends.

For Fystro, leasing a building was critical for the power of face-to-face “It’s really easy to be there on (NHL) draft day, to be in the stands, to give interaction. The idea of introducing any level of online engagement was the hug and the high-five and the handshake — that’s fun and you want never a consideration, until now. to be there for them,” Crashley said. “But the real time to be there for people is when things are hard, and this is definitely hard. This is hard for “Our hands are forced,” he said. “If we want to have a chance, we’ve got me. This is hard for you in your world. This is hard for everybody. This is to go this route.” a tough go, no matter who we are.

But online options — all sorts of routines are readily available — makes it “But if you give people structure and if you give people some goals and tough for trainers. some communication, we can make the most of this setting that we’re in. It takes away from the overbearing feeling of darkness, the negativity of it The Athletic LOADED: 04.17.2020 all.

“More than ever, I think this is where we’re important in this role of coaching.”

Working out at home

The trainers we spoke to recommended some exercises for Regular Joes and Janes who are stuck at home, away from fully stocked gyms:

Tamara Jarrett, Tamara J. Training:

“I love stair circuits. Run up a flight of stairs. At the top you do pushups, then you walk down. Next time up, you skip a step, then do crunches at the top.”

“It’s less about taking time out of your day to do an exercise. We’re sitting a lot now so every time you find yourself lifting your butt off anything, do 10 squats.”

Rich Hesketh, Decaman Athletics:

“Lunging of any kind — whether it’s a lunge step or a stationary lunge — but doing it in different planes of motion. Imagine that you’re standing on the face of a big clock. Start with one heel right in the middle of the clock, then step to 12 o’clock, then step out to 9 o’clock, then step back to 6 o’clock. Then switch legs. And you can add jumps to it.”

“I still lean toward a pushup or any variation of a pushup. If someone is just starting out with pushups? There’s nothing that says you have to do them on the floor. You can do them with your hands up on stairs. Someone who’s my height — 5-foot-11 — you can start doing pushups with your hands at about stair No. 5. Then, as you get stronger, you can move your hands down to step No. 4.”

Jeff Osadec, Canadian Sport Institute Calgary:

“My go-to is always pushups. I love them in any variation. Changing the speed at which you do them changes the whole entire exercise. Where you put your hands, where you put your feet, if you feet are up or down, whether it’s a two-second count or a six-second count, it totally changes the exercise.”

“Same thing for lower body. I always look at any form of squat or lunge. That can be done in so many variations with little to no weight. Cadence, how far apart your feet are, where your feet are, if they’re staggered, if they’re wide, where your toes are pointed, slightly out or straight head, it will make a massive difference.”

AJ Fystro, The Training Foundation:

“Two main ones with that full-body dynamic are thrusters and the Turkish get-up.” The former is a front squat with a military-press finish. And the latter is this. “You’re going to find out that they’re putting your body through a full body workout.”

Alex Allan, Bold Athlete:

“It’s more a style of workout — isometrics. Pick three to five positions. Very simple things — a lunge, a squat, a pushup, a plank. Hold that position from 20 seconds to a minute. Do that three or four times. Put all those exercises into a little circuit and do that for three sets. It’s actually a lot harder than it sounds. When you’re holding something for a long time, you’re recruiting a lot of muscle fibres — everything has to be firing to keep you in that position. So it’s kind of full body in nature. A lot of stabilizers and a lot of core muscles have to be activated.”

“A mobility routine. I think a lot of people are just sitting around, right? So find a really good yoga routine or a good stretching routine and do that a couple times a week.”

Doug Crashley, Crash Conditioning:

“Movement. Everyone needs to be as active as possible. If it’s crappy outside, we can walk up and down stairs. We can do lunge circuits on any flat ground. I’d recommend being barefoot and letting our feet get strong. And sprinting up stairs. If it takes three to five steps to get up a decent set of stairs, that’s first-step quickness (work).”

“Isometric holds. We can hold a pushup. We can stand on a towel and try to pull a towel up like a deadlift. Using towels as non-moving resistance is great.”

Scott Cruickshank is the Flames beat writer for The Athletic. 1182907 Chicago Blackhawks

When will it be safe for fans to return to Wrigley Field, United Center?

Oddsmakers project how likely a person would be infected with COVID- 19 depending on when sports begins.

By John Silver Apr 16, 2020, 6:13pm CDT

With most of the country under a shelter-in-place order and professional sports leagues having come to a halt, many have wondered when it will be safe for those leagues to restart and fans to return.

Oddsmakers and statisticians from Sports Betting Dime have run projections of the likelihood that a fan would be infected by an asymptomatic carrier of COVID-19 while attending a sporting event. The projections are broken down by city, and factor in each city’s projected COVID-19 peak date — for that is April 17 — along with various presumptive league start dates.

They looked at nine cities, including Chicago, that have MLB, NBA and NHL franchises and how the probability of infection would change based on different league dates of June 1, June 15 or July 1.

The study assumes continued measures throughout the summer and further assumes standard game behavior by fans and uses the average crowd size from the previous season for each venue.

The numbers were similar among the three leagues, but they don’t look encouraging for sports fans looking to get back into a stadium anytime soon.

If opens on June 1 at Wrigley Field (assuming an average attendance of 38,208), 818 people — or 2.16% — would be infected with the coronavirus. With a June 15 start date, that number drops to 204 infections (0.54%), but if MLB were to begin on July 1, there would be 92 people infections (0.24%).

If the NBA or NHL restarted at the United Center with an average attendance of 18,804, there would be 395 people infected (2.12%) with a June 1 restart date. If they begin on June 15, 99 people would be infected (0.53%) and July 1 would yield 44 infections (0.24%).

Nationwide the numbers vary according to the projected peak date of the virus. The projections put Chicago on the lower end of infection rates, with an 88% drop from 2.16% to 0.24% probability of infection if the start date is pushed back from June 1 to July 1. Boston and New York have a projected peak date one day sooner than Chicago on April 16. Their infection rate starts at roughly 0.54% for June 1 and drops to 0.05% on July 1. Miami doesn’t peak until May 2 and therefore their infection rate at an NBA or NHL game is 29.17% for a June 1 start, dropping to 13.82% with start on July 1.

Even with the later July 1 start date and a relatively low infection rate projected for Chicago, the exponentially increasing nature of the virus still means that each newly infected person will contribute to a swift inflation of the curve. Until we have more effective measures in place to combat the coronavirus, fans are a long way away from being able to safely watch sports in a stadium or an arena.

Chicago Sun Times LOADED: 04.17.2020 1182908 Chicago Blackhawks Meanwhile, the NHL could look into offering compliance buyouts, which completely erase contracts from the books with no penalties. The league offered these in the 2013 and 2014 offseasons after the 2012-13 lockout Olli Maatta, Zack Smith are Blackhawks’ top buyout candidates if stalled cap growth. coronavirus crunches salary cap In this scenario, the choice would be clear for the Hawks: Brent A domino effect prompted by an NHL season cancellation could cost Olli Seabrook’s contract is an albatross. He’s due $6.875 million for four Maatta or Zack Smith their jobs this summer. more seasons. Despite Seabrook’s admirable fight back from three surgeries during the winter, Bowman would be delusional not to use a compliance buyout on the one-time defensive stalwart.

By Ben Pope Apr 16, 2020, 4:41pm CDT Compliance Buyout Data

Season Current Cap Hit Buyout Cap Hit Savings

Entering March, the Blackhawks already looked like a team primed to 2020-21 6,875,000 0 6,875,000 use a buyout in the offseason. 2021-22 6,875,000 0 6,875,000 The odds of that happening — whenever the offseason ends up taking place — have only increased in the last two months. 2022-23 6,875,000 0 6,875,000

The NHL already has lost a significant chunk of revenue because of the 2023-24 6,875,000 0 6,875,000 season pause, and if the season is canceled or only somewhat resumed, But a conventional buyout remains impractical. Most of Seabrook’s cap that chunk will get larger. hit is packed into a signing bonus that can’t be mitigated in any way.

And since the salary cap is directly correlated to league revenues — it’s Brent Seabrook Conventional Buyout Data technically half the upcoming season’s projected revenue, divided by 31 — that huge financial fallout could quickly spill down to the player’s Season Current Cap Hit Buyout Cap Hit Savings pockets. 2020-21 6,875,000 6,583,333 291,667 The Hawks already were looking at a salary-cap crunch, even with the cap expected to rise from its current $81.5 million to the $84 million-$88 2021-22 6,875,000 3,583,333 3,291,667 million range. If the cap stays around $81.5 or barely increases, though, 2022-23 6,875,000 6,583,333 291,667 general manager ’s situation could get even more dire. 2023-24 6,875,000 5,083,333 1,791,667 That could affect the Hawks’ ability to re-sign pending free agents such as Dylan Strome, Dominik Kubalik and Corey Crawford. 2024-25 0 708,333 -708,333

But it also could — alternately, or perhaps simultaneously — lead to one 2025-26 0 708,333 -708,333 or two buyouts of Hawks players with years left on their contracts. 2026-27 0 708,333 -708,333 Under the standard buyout rules — which are complicated and highly 2027-28 0 708,333 -708,333 variable but generally spread out a player’s expected cap hit over more years at a lower amount per year — the Hawks have two prime Chicago Sun Times LOADED: 04.17.2020 candidates: defenseman Olli Maatta and forward Zack Smith.

Maatta was acquired from the Penguins last summer to help fix the Hawks’ defense. He didn’t have an outright bad debut season, but he made little difference. Maatta finished with 17 points and a 47.5 percent scoring-chance ratio (per Natural Stat Trick) in 65 games.

He has two years remaining at an expensive $4 million cap hit per year, and it just so happens that his contract is buyout-friendly. It would result in a mere $680,000 cap hit for the next four years, per Capfriendly.

Olli Maatta Buyout Data

Season Current Cap Hit Buyout Cap Hit Savings

2020-21 4,083,333 680,600 3,402,733

2021-22 4,083,333 680,400 3,402,933

2022-23 0 680,567 -680,567

2023-24 0 680,567 -680,567

The Hawks acquired Smith from the Senators last summer while dumping Artem Anisimov’s contract.

But Smith, too, is heavily overpaid (one year remaining at $3.25 million) for a slowing-down fourth-liner. He finished with 11 points and a team- worst 40.4 percent scoring-chance ratio in 50 games, then was ruled out for the season with a back injury.

His contract is slightly less buyout-friendly than Maatta’s, but he’s also a far more expendable player. A buyout would create a cap hit slightly under $1.1 million for the next two seasons.

Zack Smith Buyout Data

Season Current Cap Hit Buyout Cap Hit Savings

2020-21 3,250,000 1,083,333 2,166,667

2021-22 0 1,083,333 -1,083,333 1182909 Chicago Blackhawks A: Kane: "I had some hilarious teammates back in 2010. Guys like Ben Eager and Adam Burish were constantly chirping the other team. Especially Ben Eager -- he seemed to have so many good chirps.

Chicago Blackhawks' Kane offers some insight "Also, Dustin Byfuglien might be up there as well. He's hilarious. Especially when we were playing Winnipeg (after he got traded there) he was coming by, and he and (Joel) Quenneville would be chirping each John Dietz other and laughing around and joking around in the middle of an NHL hockey game.

"He was always a good guy to bring some comic relief." Last in a series Daily Herald Times LOADED: 04.17.2020 The most interesting part of the NHL's video conference with Patrick Kane, Mark Scheifele and Mathew Barzal on Monday was when the high- scoring forwards answered hypothetical questions about end-of-game situations.

Now, remember -- these are three players who combined for 81 goals this season, so there aren't many opponents who worry them much.

But there are a few they'd rather not see while streaking to the net in the waning seconds of a tight game.

And here they are ...

Q: You have a 1-on-1, the puck is on your stick and the game is on the line. Which defenseman do you least want to see defending you?

A: Kane selected Montreal's Shea Weber. "Especially when he was in Nashville ... he was just a bear to go against. He's so strong, he's so big.

"If you ever got in the corner with him there's no way you're coming out with the puck. Or if you do you're going to take some pretty big punishment to make that happen. ...

"He would always be a tough guy to go up against for me."

Winnipeg's Scheifele selected Minnesota's Ryan Suter. "His angles are so good, his stick's so good. You're not going to be able to shoot through him. He can block shots. But his angles and his feet are so good that he's just so hard to beat."

The Islanders' Barzal selected Tampa Bay's Victor Hedman. "He's just so long and smooth. His gap's always perfect and if you try to take him wide, he's 6-6, so you're not really getting around him.

"He can just hold you up; his stick is so good, it's just always in your face. There's just not much room out there against him."

Q: You're on a breakaway and the game is on the line. Which goalie do you not want to see?

A: Scheifele said Montreal's Carey Price: "He's so calm in the net. He outconfidences you."

Kane also selected Price and still remembers going 0-for-2 against him in a shootout during the 2007 World Juniors.

A close second would be Tampa Bay's Andrei Vasilevskiy.

"I've had some breakaways against him where you think you have him beat and he just kicks out his leg," Kane said. "You have to beat him and raise (the puck), but you can't raise it too much because his body's over there as well. His legs are so long and athletic."

Barzal took Nashville's Pekka Rinne. "He's had some good nights against us. I think I've had two breakaways against him and both I didn't score on."

Q: You're up by a goal and there are 10 seconds left. Who do you want taking a faceoff in your own zone?

A: Kane gave a true student-of-the-game answer and said St. Louis' Ryan O'Reilly if the draw is on the left side and Dallas' Tyler Seguin if it's on the right. "(Seguin) is maybe a little bit underrated, but it seems like we always kind of have a tough time against him in Dallas."

Scheifele selected Boston's Patrice Bergeron on either side. "I've actually had some good nights against him -- unless you're in Boston and then the stats guys give it to him a little bit (laughs). But when push comes to shove, you put him in the faceoff dot, he's gonna take it."

Q: For sheer comic relief because you need a laugh on the bench, who do you want to be sitting next to? 1182910 Chicago Blackhawks

Kris Versteeg recalls bikers trying to keep Blackhawks from Game 6

By Scott King April 16, 2020 6:14 PM

Blackhawks 2010 and 2015 Stanley Cup champion Kris Versteeg, who officially retired from pro hockey on Tuesday, joined NBC Sports Chicago's Sports Talk Live Thursday.

One of the interesting tidbits that came from the forward reminiscing about the early years of the Blackhawks dynasty was how much the fans of their rivals despised them.

"When we where in Vancouver, and if we go from the hotel on the bus, there was like hundreds of people outside our hotel, screaming at us," Versteeg told STL host David Kaplan. "And then during the game obviously, all the rivalries from the game. Then after the game, we park in this little like loading dock and above us was fans and up the loading dock was people too and I remember people barking.

"Ben Eager at one time, was going on the bus and people were going at him and he was going at them and we thought there's actually going to be a fight in the tunnel. But that's how intense it actually got sometimes away from the arena.

"You did have to be careful, especially with the rivalry we had and how, man, hockey is basically religion out there in Vancouver, and how serious they took it. But it was just crazy the amount of people that were outside of our hotel waiting for us to come from the hotel onto the bus and head to the games."

Philadelphia Flyers fans were just as sinister if not more so during the 2010 Stanley Cup Final. Kris recalled their um... passion? ahead of Game 6.

"I remember getting out of the hotel and getting on the bus and there's people with basically pitchforks standing up and there was a body, like a mannequin body on one of these signs and the head was chopped off with a skate and it said: "Hawks are gonna die" and I was like, 'What is going on?' And this was on the way to the rink.

"And we heard there was some biker gang, not like a biker gang but they have bikes or rode bikes and they were all together and they were going to stop us from getting to the rink, so they had to have the police — they escorted us to every game — but they were worried they were going to stop us on the road and put all their street bikes on the road to block us from getting to the game. I vividly remember that because we [had] to get on there before they [could] get on the highway to block us from getting to the game on time."

Comcast SportsNet.com LOADED: 04.17.2020 1182911 Chicago Blackhawks

2010 Hawks Rewind: 3 things we noticed in Blackhawks' Game 6 win over Flyers

By Charlie Roumeliotis April 16, 2020 6:50 PM

In honor of the 10-year anniversary of the 2010 Stanley Cup team, NBC Sports Chicago is re-airing each of the Blackhawks' 16 postseason wins from the run that ended a 49-year championship drought. You can join the conversation using #HawksRewind on social media.

After knocking off the Flyers at the United Center in Game 5, the Blackhawks went to Philadelphia with a chance to end their 49-year Stanley Cup drought and that's exactly what they did with a 4-3 overtime victory. Here are three things we noticed in the win:

1. Stars show up when lights shine brightest

In the biggest game of their lives, the Blackhawks' core group delivered in a significant way:

— Patrick Kane had a three-point night, including the memorable overtime winner.

— was on the ice for all four Blackhawks goals and zero against. He also won nine of 14 faceoffs for a 64.3 percent success rate.

— Duncan Keith and Brent Seabrook played half the game and had positive possession numbers.

— Jonathan Toews won 64 percent of his faceoffs, registered a primary assist on the first goal of the game and led all forwards with 23:21 of ice time.

—Marian Hossa didn't get on the scoresheet, but led the team with five shots on goal, had three takeaways and was on the ice for 22 shot attempts for and 12 against at even strength, according to Natural Stat Trick.

What more could you ask for?

2. How close the Flyers came to taking the lead...

Antti Niemi made some key saves during the Blackhawks' postseason run. But in hindsight, perhaps the biggest one of his career came with 1:28 left in regulation of Game 6 against Philadelphia.

Flyers fans were going absolutely crazy after their team scored the game-tying goal with 3:59 left, and the Blackhawks were basically just trying to get to overtime to reset. But it almost didn't get there after Jeff Carter found himself wide open in the slot, only to be denied by Niemi, who desperately fought off the puck by lunging forward to take away the angle.

If the Flyers score on that play to go up 4-3, who knows what would've happened? Which brings us to our final point...

3. The Jonathan Toews injury that nobody knew about

If the Blackhawks were forced to play a Game 7 at home, they might not have had their captain for it. Wait, what?

Yes, that's right. Toews was injured on the Flyers' game-tying goal in the third period after Scott Hartnell fell on his left knee, which Toews could be seen grabbing immediately but nobody realized it at the time. And the only reason Joel Quenneville didn't hold him out was to make sure the Flyers didn't get wind of it.

Let's be real, Toews probably would have found a way to play in Game 7, but he sure wouldn't have been as effective. The injury turned out to be significant MCL sprain and lingered into the summer.

Comcast SportsNet.com LOADED: 04.17.2020 1182912 Chicago Blackhawks

Kris Versteeg saw official grab puck after Patrick Kane's 2010 OT goal

By Scott King April 16, 2020 4:04 PM

Blackhawks 2010 and 2015 Stanley Cup champion Kris Versteeg, who officially retired from pro hockey on Tuesday, joined NBC Sports Chicago's Sports Talk Live Thursday to reminisce about the 2010 championship and more.

The forward took STL host David Kaplan through Patrick Kane's unbelievable — literally — 2010 Game 6 overtime goal in the Stanley Cup Final at Philadelphia and what he saw transpire with the puck after it was determined to be the goal that gave the Hawks their first Stanley Cup in 49 years.

"Right after (Kane) scored, he came by the bench," Versteeg said. "I didn't know where it went. I thought it hit [Flyers goalie Michael Leighton's] stick. He came by the bench and threw the gloves off and I'm looking around like, 'What's going on? Obviously it's in.'

"So I jump on the ice and I'm like, 'Wow, this is crazy.' I throw [my gloves] off. Then in the back of my mind I'm like, 'I really, really hope this is in because if I just threw my gloves off and it's not a goal, this is going to be very, very bad.'

"We got down there and I remember we were all kind of looking around and the one ref (Steve Miller) went in the meshing and he kind of pushed it out a bit. And I remember, I just saw the puck and that's where, around that time [I knew]. And our video coach was telling their coaches that it was in, we kind of got word from them and a few of us saw the ref pull it out and that was it. I hear they still can't find the puck, but I 100 percent know I saw someone pull the puck out."

Kris also remembered former Chicago GM Dale Tallon predicting a monumental reception from the Windy City awaited the young Hawks should they win the Stanley Cup.

"Dale Tallon told us in 2008, he goes, 'If you guys win this, there will be a parade on Ave. and you guys won't believe the amount of people that will show up," Versteeg said. "And at that time, we're like, 'Yeah, no chance.' When that parade happened, what we saw far exceeded any expectation of what we were even told and it just shows you that it's truly the best sports city on the entire planet."

Comcast SportsNet.com LOADED: 04.17.2020 1182913 Chicago Blackhawks Leighton was hugged up against the post, it very easily could have been in his pads."

It wasn't caught in Leighton's pads. It was for real. An epic celebration Brent Sopel on 2010 Blackhawks mindset before, during and after Game ensued, lasting until the next season’s home opener and banner 6 ceremony.

For Sopel, what the team was able to achieve and how the city of By Scott King April 15, 2020 1:41 PM Chicago responded were the best parts of the 2010 Stanley Cup championship.

"That was the tightest knit group that I've ever been a part of," said Thursday at 7 p.m., you can rewatch the 2010 Blackhawks make history Sopel, who played for six NHL teams in 12 seasons. "So the feeling of in Game 6 of the Stanley Cup Final against the on accomplishment for that group, but just the city. It comes full . I NBC Sports Chicago. played my first NHL game here in Chicago (for the Vancouver Canucks on April 5, 1999). 2010 Stanley Cup champ Brent Sopel will help us set the scene. "To come back and see... look at the parade, two, three million people, With the opportunity to win the franchise's first Stanley Cup in 49 years the looks on people's faces, the excitement on people's faces was after a 7-4 victory in Game 5 at the United Center and leading the series priceless… The whole city came together on a level I didn't know was 3-2, the Hawks didn't want to get too high heading into Philly for Game 6. possible." Each game of the series had been won on home ice through Game 5. Comcast SportsNet.com LOADED: 04.17.2020 "Our group was really good at staying focused," Sopel said over the phone on Tuesday. "We didn't look any further than the first period. Yes, everybody thought about the opportunity of winning and the family coming down and that kind of stuff, but everybody was focused on the task at hand to make sure we took care of that task before the fun began."

Game 6 started as a scoreless chess match until Dustin Byfuglien scored a power-play goal, his 11th marker of the 2010 postseason, late in the opening frame at 16:49.

"In playoffs, you don't want to ride a roller coaster. Obviously, we were happy with where we were, but no, we weren't any more excited. Just focused on the task shift by shift," Sopel said of the Hawks' mindset after Byfuglien's goal put the Blackhawks up 1-0.

Chicago was trailing 2-1 around the midway point of the second period when Patrick Sharp scored his 11th goal of the 2010 playoffs at 9:58 to tie it up 2-2.

Andrew Ladd made it 3-2 later in the second at 17:43.

Scott Hartnell scored his second goal of the game to tie it for Philly at 16:01 of the third period.

The teams would go to their locker rooms to prep for overtime.

"If you would have told us in September, 'You'll be in Game 6 of the Stanley Cup final going into overtime,' we would have taken it," Sopel said. "Went in the dressing room, a couple things were said. We just stayed off that roller coaster and it was pretty even keeled the whole way. It just allowed us to get back out there and start overtime and go after it."

Our #1 #Blackhawks Goal of the Decade...

KANE WAS ABLE!!! pic.twitter.com/MXHfRdVP3U

— Blackhawks Talk (@NBCSBlackhawks) December 31, 2019

When Patrick Kane scored his "Goal of the Decade" 4:06 into OT for the 4-3 final score, the launching pad for the "Franchise of the Decade", Brent wanted to make sure it was for real before celebrating.

"I think I was the last one [off the bench]. I really slowly kind of climbed over the boards," Sopel said. "I almost walked on the ice because I knew this was going to be my one shot with being older and where my career was and everything that had been going on.

"I knew this was my one opportunity, so I didn't want to get too excited, because I didn't see it go in, and have it be called back. So I wanted to be overly sure. Then I saw the coaches' reaction and then it was obviously Showtime."

At first, the unusual way the goal was scored left Brent skeptical.

"I saw the play, but it was on the ice, not a lot of room, and you never see a puck go in that way and not come out, and that was it," Sopel said. "Everybody plays off the reaction of the mesh or of the puck going back out, and the fact that the goal light didn't go on and there was no puck coming back out, it was kind of a mystery. And that's why I didn't want to get too excited because I was like, 'Where the hell did it go?' The way 1182914 Chicago Blackhawks The faces on the ice changed, but so did the ones off it. Verdi, a longtime newspaperman, joined the Hawks as their first historian on Jan. 3, 2010.

Money was spent in video productions, social media, marketing, Like a ‘rock band’: What it was like to cover the 2010 Blackhawks television, ticket sales, human resources and more.

“You can’t save your way to a better product,” Verdi said, reciting a By Adam Jahns Apr 16, 2020 popular quote from Wirtz used with his team.

One of the best examples is the team’s decision to charter a jet to get its Olympians who played in the Winter Games in Vancouver in February Between the third period and overtime of Game 5 between the 2010 to New York, where they were set to play the Islanders. The players Blackhawks and Predators in the first round of the Stanley Cup playoffs couldn’t believe it. in 2010, I was on the phone in a United Center hallway — the one where visiting players warm up playing soccer before games. “I think sometimes we underestimate how the guys on the ice view the commitment or lack of commitment from upstairs,” Verdi said. “You could And I’m pretty sure that I was speaking gibberish as I relayed the feel that right away. This was different. It was overdue and it was madness in Chicago at the moment to a Vancouver radio station. different.”

The Hawks were the NHL’s new hot team. Everyone wanted to know That rock-star vibe about them. The road offered an insightful look at the Hawks for a young reporter. In Game 5, Patrick Kane tied the game at 4 with 13.6 remaining and with Back then, staff members would go out all the time. The same was true Marian Hossa in the penalty box for an uncharacteristic boarding penalty. with the players. You’d often see the next night’s healthy scratches out for a beer or twelve. It was in this moment when the Hawks’ run at the Cup felt real, if not inevitable. It felt even more real after Hossa came out of the box and put In Nashville, I ran into coach Joel Quenneville making his way up the hill in the game-winner in overtime. from the honky-tonks to the Renaissance Hotel more than once. He was going home; I was going out. When Hossa slid on his knees in celebration, I was in the media room in the lower level of the United Center. I saw it on TV like many of you. The locker room on the road was more relaxed, too. The Chicago cameras rarely traveled during the regular season. It was on the road in The reporters from European outlets, including in Slovakia, erupted, Vancouver where a player, Patrick Sharp, called me by name for the first screaming “HO-SAAA” when the future Hall of Famer scored. I don’t fault time. They were easy to get to know then. them for their jubilation. When Chris DeLuca, the sports editor of the Sun-Times, asked me to The building shook. The cheers were thunderous. Chicago had its new take the Hawks beat, he told me that he wanted them covered like the beloved team. We all knew it. Cubs and Bears. I thought about that every day. Thursday marks 10 years since that magical playoff run began. So what As the victories increased during the season, so did the interest in was it like to cover the 2010 Blackhawks? Chicago. The Hawks were becoming a tough ticket again. For those who In an effort to best answer that question, I went through my own clips and covered the team daily, there was more writing. But then there were our notes from the Chicago Sun-Times and I talked to former colleagues own interview requests on the radio and television. Chris Kuc, Jesse Rogers and Bob Verdi. It was a special season and a “I was as busy as I had ever been in my life,” said Kuc, who covered the special team — arguably the best of the Hawks’ three Cup winners. Hawks for the Tribune from 2007-2016. “At some point, it became like you were traveling with a rock band Making the Hawks even more intriguing were the controversies — stories because everywhere you went, every town, there were fans waiting for that would linger and later become part of team lore. the bus or waiting at the hotel,” Kuc said. “You see the guys in the streets and people are asking for autographs. It was a totally different vibe than Early during the 2008-09 season, Quenneville replaced Denis Savard as a few years before.” coach. GM Dale Tallon was replaced by Stan Bowman in July 2009. The next month, Kane and his cousin were charged with beating up a cab A changing culture driver in Buffalo. For Verdi, everything starts with a phone call from team president John In a less-serious story in January 2010, Kane and were McDonough two days after McDonough was hired by the Hawks in 2007. photographed shirtless in the back of a limousine in Vancouver. A shirt- Verdi, who covered the Hawks in some capacity from 1967 to 1997 as a wearing Kris Versteeg was there, too. They were drinking Kokanees. sportswriter and columnist for the , got to know That was a big story too. McDonough when the sports marketing executive worked for the Cubs. Looking back at it now, there was a 1985 Bears-like vibe to the 2010 “Do you have a number for Tony Esposito? Do you have a number for Hawks. There was a rebellious edge to them, an exuberant attitude that Stan Mikita?” Verdi recalled McDonough asking. “I’m thinking he just permeated the locker room. inherited the Titanic. And he’s worried about patching differences. So “The 2010 team, so many personalities, so many good interviews and many people left here on bad, bad terms.” they had a little off-the-field controversy to give them a little bit of It was all a part of the changes that were afoot for the franchise under mystique there as well,” said Rogers, who hosted the Hawks’ pre- and McDonough and Jay Blunk, who were hired away from the Cubs by postgame shows on 670 The Score before covering the team for ESPN after Wirtz’s father, Bill, passed away. Chicago.

By the time I officially joined the Hawks beat with the Sun-Times’ Len “So, yes, they had the ingredients for a charismatic and winning team. Ziehm in 2009 — four years after I interned in the communications And we see this every year or two, there’s that team in every sport that department — they were already on television. The old greats — Bobby has all those ingredients. And for the NHL and for Chicago, the Hawks Hull, Mikita and Esposito — were already back and around the team. were that team in that season.” Wrigley Field had hosted the Winter Classic. The stands were full at the In Rogers’ opinion, it started to feel like the championship-winning Bulls United Center. teams that he covered during the . By the next season, the Hawks The Hawks had a deep playoff run on the books, reaching the 2009 had full-time security traveling with them on the road. They needed it. Western Conference finals and losing to the rival Red Wings. On March 16, 2010, the Hawks were in southern California for a three- Patrick Kane, Jonathan Toews, Patrick Sharp, Hossa, Duncan Keith and game road trip. It began with an appearance on the Tonight Show with Brent Seabrook were household names — or close to it. Jay Leno, who had just retaken his old show from Conan O’Brien. The entire team went, including the front office. Hawks players wore their “It was always a sleeping giant — really sleeping,” Verdi said. “And then sweaters. Kane and Toews had speaking parts as they showed off their it just invigorated almost overnight.” Olympic medals. The beat reporters tagged along. In the end, there was Without the help of a monitor, Quenneville sang “Sweet Caroline.” The a large group picture and we jumped in. entire bar joined in. He sang, he smiled and he waved goodbye.

“The analogy isn’t exactly the same but there was a rock-star feel to the In my opinion, that first team is the best of the Hawks’ three Cup winners. Bulls back then,” Rogers said. “And at some point in 2010, the Hawks It starts with their talent and depth. Everyone will remember Kane and had that feeling as well. They became the darlings of Chicago and in a lot Toews, but the Hawks don’t win without Sharp, Hossa, Brian Campbell, of ways the NHL as well as an team finally emerging to Dustin Byfuglien, Andrew Ladd, Dave Bolland and all the rest. become this great hockey team.” Everything seemed so organic, so fun. They played hard and partied Youthful invincibility hard.

At Nationwide Arena in Columbus, , there is a cannon that goes off “The fact that they were going to win it all some point almost became when the Blue Jackets score. It’s the absolute worst. Even when you inevitable,” Rogers said. “I didn’t know if it would be that year but they know it’s coming, it still makes you jump. were that good. They were that good and that deep — especially that team. That team was so good. I think it was the best of the Stanley Cup On March 25, 2010, it went off eight times in a Hawks loss. It’s one of the teams. I just do.” regular season losses from that season that I vividly recall because goaltender Cristobal Huet got pulled with the postseason around the The final story corner. A story about the 2010 Hawks wouldn’t be complete without special The most prevailing question about the Hawks that season was in goal. It mention of Sassone, who covered the Hawks seemingly forever for the was an every-week storyline as Antti Niemi eventually beat out Huet for Daily Herald. He passed away in 2014. their playoff run. In the Hawks’ sweep of the Sharks in the Western Conference finals, Niemi had two 44-save wins. Sassone was the dean of the beat. He broke news and got after the PR guys with the best of them. I looked up to him as a young sports reporter. “In the Sharks series, as Antti Niemi became his own household name, that’s when I believed they could win it all,” Rogers said. Rogers, Sassone and I were on the same bus as Byfuglien and Campbell during the parade. It was an unforgettable experience. But I remember a For others, including myself, Kuc and the late Tim Sassone, that belief more private one with the writers. Before Game 6 of the Stanley Cup came earlier during the Predators series. I eventually wrote about that Final in Philadelphia, I had lunch with Timmy and Kuc at the Hard Rock near-miraculous comeback in Game 5 for the Hawks’ scrapbook Cafe, which was across the street from our hotel. celebrating their 2010 Cup. I remember being asked if I thought about my game story — about what I “This team, to me, always seemed like it was destined to win after the would write if the Hawks ended their 49-year championship drought. I Predators series,” Kuc said. “When you got that much talent and you got hadn’t, at least not in-depth. that much karma on your side, it was kind of inevitable that it was going to happen.” Hearing that Sassone had thought about it, I got to work. Something historic was around the corner. It was great advice from an old vet so I I felt the same. In Sharp, Keith and Seabrook, the 2010 team had players prepared myself. that experienced playing in a half-empty United Center. There was this unique resilience to them. I wanted to write something that was simple and direct yet extremely powerful, if not emotional. Keith won the Norris Trophy that season, Sharp led the Hawks with 11 goals in the postseason and Hossa was one of the best two-way players As Kane scored on Flyers goalie Michael Leighton and set off a wild in the league. celebration, I was ready — even though no one in that stadium saw that puck go in but Kane. There was a feeling of youthful invincibility to the Hawks, which included Niemi’s rise in the postseason. He was just a rookie. Here is how my game story opened in the June 10, 2010 edition of the Sun-Times: That vibe, though, started with the most important players, Kane and Toews. The Blackhawks are the 2010 Stanley Cup champions.

“What I saw at a young age was the confidence that they were good They’re no longer that team with the longest title drought in the NHL of 49 players and that they could do it,” Kuc said. “There was very little years. uncertainty there, which I think is unique when you’ve got two confident They’re no longer that fifth franchise in a crowded Chicago sports players like that. It doesn’t surprise me now looking back at it thinking landscape of broken dreams and disappointment. that it was, ‘Oh yeah, it was Kane who scored the game-winner and it was Toews who won the Conn Smythe.’ Yeah, that makes sense.” They’re no longer that inept franchise that wallowed in mediocrity for years. Best of the best The Hawks are champions. They are the best. A few days after the Hawks defeated the Flyers in the Stanley Cup Final, I went out with a few friends to Stanley’s Kitchen & Tap on Lincoln Ave. It The Athletic LOADED: 04.17.2020 had been a popular hangout spot for the Hawks for years. These also were the days that the Cup ruled Chicago’s bars.

“I think the party in Chicago is going to be all-world,” Quenneville said on the ice after defeating the Flyers 4-3 in overtime.

Late in the night, a subdued but packed bar came alive. The Hawks were coming. Maybe the Cup was, too. As it turned out, it was Quenneville who walked in with a few friends and some security. There was no Cup.

At some point, I decided to make my way over to Quenneville, who was seated in a booth. I hadn’t seen him since the parade. At first, I was blocked by security but Quenneville saw me and waved me through. We shook hands and I’ll never forget what he said.

“Adam, what a fucking ride. That had to be a fucking fun ride for you, too.”

It really was. I had a press-box seat to history. Not bad for my first year on a professional sports beat.

After some small talk, Quenneville left for bit, but returned through a side door near the karaoke stage. The bar began chanting for Quenneville. 1182915 Chicago Blackhawks The combination of those facts had Chicago coach Joel Quenneville and his players irate after the game.

“The refereeing tonight was a disgrace,” Quenneville said in his Death threats and depression: Replaying Torres’ series-altering hit on postgame news conference. “It was a brutal hit. You could have a Hossa multiple-choice question, and it’s all of the above.”

“There’s no remorse at all with a guy like that,” Blackhawks captain By Craig Morgan Apr 16, 2020 Jonathan Toews added. “(He) probably doesn’t feel bad about it at all. That’s not hockey to me.”

The split in opinions between the two dressing rooms was as predictable Every Monday and Thursday through the end of May, The Athletic as it was pronounced. To this day, Torres’ teammates such as Shane Arizona is reliving the Coyotes’ 2012 playoff run to the Western Doan and Martin Hanzal maintain it was a clean hit. Others see some Conference final. You can also watch the games on Fox Sports Arizona gray area, but question the severity of the league’s response. during their “Classic Coyotes Night” programming series that debuts April 20. More information available here. “I remember going into the press conference afterward and I didn’t think it was that bad,” Tippett said. “The Chicago people thought I was the worst Read the full collection of stories in our retrospective here. villain in the world. I think I explained it as being like that video game Frogger. Raffi turned around and Hossa was coming right at him and he Raffi Torres coaches a team of 8-year-olds, including his son, Ty, in just hit him. I still don’t think there was intent to hurt him. I see way worse Stouffville, Ont. Three and a half years after retiring from the NHL, hits now that aren’t punished as much. I think Raffi’s track record didn’t Torres’ reputation still dogs him. help his case much there.” “When the kids on my team get a little rough on the ice, I’ll say, ‘Hey, you The playoffs create an emotion-packed atmosphere anyway, but a pair of can’t do that out there’ and they’ll say, ‘Well, you used to do it,’” Torres statements helped stoke the flames even higher in a city that knows all said. “It’s hilarious coming from them, but it makes you think. There was about big fires. a lot more things I could do out there than throw the body, but ultimately, that’s how I’m going to be remembered.” In an interview with the Arizona Republic, Coyotes GM Don Maloney told beat writer Sarah McLellan: “You would think Raffi murdered a busload of When the Coyotes entered a first-round playoff series against the children the way he’s portrayed here in Chicago. (The) outcry on so Chicago Blackhawks in April 2012, everybody was brimming with many different fronts is over the top.” confidence. Phoenix posted an 11-0-1 February and went 20-6-5 from Feb. 1 until the end of the regular season when the Coyotes clinched While Maloney was incensing the locals, Fox Sports Arizona’s Tyson their first Pacific Division title with a 4-1 win at Minnesota. Nash’s in-game comments were providing backup.

Torres’ stats weren’t the best of his career, but he had 15 goals and a “Right after the hit when we were going to our replay sequence, Nasher well-defined role in his first year with the Coyotes under coach Dave called it a clean hit,” FSAZ’s play-by-play man Matt McConnell said. Tippett. “You’re watching a replay, there’s a little bit of emotion involved and there’s no way you could tell off the replay if his skates were off the ice or “They didn’t bring me in there to be a half-wall guy,” Torres said. “I was a not so Nasher called it a clean hit. I believe his comments got carried in high-energy guy, finish my hits, make it tough on those D. You have to one of the Chicago papers and before you knew it, he was getting death invest in the style you’re going to play. Don’t get me wrong, I loved threats.” scoring goals but I also loved laying guys out, and I think Tip appreciated that type of game and I think my teammates did, too, because it freed up Nash wasn’t the only one receiving such threats. a lot of space for other players.’ “I got two phone calls in my hotel room that night saying ‘We’re going to Torres was a force in the first two games of that series. He set up kill you,’” Torres said. “I think I had security outside my room. It was Antoine Vermette’s go-ahead goal in Game 1, he tied the game early in pretty brutal.” Game 2 off a feed from Shane Doan, he recorded eight hits and two blocked shots, and his presence was so pronounced that Tippett Nash eventually bought himself a humorous disguise to make light of the awarded him with an average ice time of 18 minutes, two seconds — well threats, but the Chicago faithful did not forget his take. Because Game 4 above his season average of 11:22. was also being broadcast by national outlets in the U.S. and Canada, FSAZ’s broadcast got bumped to an auxiliary booth closer to fans in the “He was having a big impact on the game,” Tippett said. upper deck, leading McConnell to take down a giant Fox Sports Arizona banner that was hanging “like a bullseye” behind them. Torres’ biggest impact on Game 3, played on April 17, came on a play that sealed his aforementioned reputation. With the game scoreless a “Sometime during the next game, we’re on a commercial break and little more than halfway through the first period, Blackhawks forward there’s a beer vendor walking up the stands and he’s looking right at us,” Marian Hossa cut back to the middle of the ice in the neutral zone to McConnell said. “The beer vendor has a bushy beard, he’s probably 5-11 make a pass to Jamal Mayers. Torres spotted him. and 275 pounds and he’s carrying this tray of beers. He’s screaming, ‘Tyson Nash! Tyson Nash.’ I hear him while Tyson is looking at a replay “I’m not making excuses but I was forechecking at the start of the shift so I turn to Tyson, take my headset off and nudge him on the shoulder. and then the puck gets turned over and we’re going back the other way and all I hear is ‘backcheck, backcheck, backcheck!’” Torres said. “I see “Tyson takes off his headset and goes, ‘Yeah, what?’ The guy goes, this guy — I didn’t even know who it was until later — fumbling the puck ‘Clean hit? Clean hit, my ass!’ Tyson looks down at him and he says, ‘Oh and coming back toward me toward the middle of the ice. I’m like, ‘Jesus, yeah, mix in a salad, bud!’ The entire upper deck below us is watching what’s this guy doing? I have to lay this guy out.’ Unfortunately, I think I this whole thing play out and when Tyson screams that the whole section was a little high and I left my feet, but I think it was the massiveness of started laughing and the beer vendor froze.” the hit and who it was that gave them the perfect opportunity to lay the book down on me.” Tippett expected some fallout in that game, and when Quenneville, his good friend and former Whalers teammate, inserted tough guy Brandon Torres laid a thunderous hit that dropped Hossa to the ice and drew an Bollig into the lineup, Tippett countered by inserting Paul Bissonnette. immediate reaction from the crowd at United Center in Chicago. He was The two squared off a little more than five minutes into the game and not assessed a penalty on the play and he ended up logging 21:44 of ice Bissonnette was ejected for not having tied down his jersey. time in a game in which Mikkel Boedker scored in overtime to give the Coyotes a 3-2 win and a 2-1 series advantage. The fight was the only apparent residual of what had happened in the previous game, however. Only four more minor penalties were called the On the other end, Hossa was taken off the ice on a stretcher with what rest of the game. Ray Whitney’s media session the day before may have was later diagnosed as a severe concussion that kept him out for the served as a calming influence on the series. With the Chicago media remainder of the series and unable to resume workouts with medical having just emerged from the Blackhawks dressing room where verbal clearance until December. shots had been fired, Whitney patiently fielded question after question from a media horde. “It’s a high-paced, contact sport,” Whitney said, reminding reporters that know what type of guy you are. I had to tell her to just stop watching TV. I the players are “not on sedatives” when they are on the ice, but instead think at that time Don Cherry was crucifying me. He’s a guy that used to “playing on the edge” as they have to do in the playoffs. “If you don’t want love me and now he’s saying, ‘We’ve got to get the guy out of the league’ to get hit, if you don’t want to get hurt, there are other sports you can and this is Don Cherry, Hockey Night in Canada, saying it all over play. Yes, we don’t want to injure people. But if you don’t finish your Canada. For my parents, who are immigrants from Mexico and Peru, this checks and you don’t play hard, you’re probably not going to play. was pretty tough stuff to hear. My mom has eight siblings. They were all calling and asking, ‘What’s wrong with Raffi?’” “We certainly don’t want the best players in the league getting injured, but there is a certain way you have to play in the playoffs and finishing When the league handed down a 25-game suspension (later reduced to your checks is one of them. It’s just kind of the nastiness of being in the 21), it came as a shock even to those who wanted a severe punishment. playoffs. Nobody said winning the Stanley Cup was ever going to be easy. It’s not like we’re out there trying to hurt each other, but we are out “I clearly remember the phone call I made after the hit to the guy I trust there trying to hit as hard as we can and play as hard as we can.” more than anyone, Tom Kurvers, who was scouting that series,” said FSAZ pre- and postgame show host Todd Walsh, who was in the tunnel Whitney had been around the playoff block. He had won a Stanley Cup when Hossa passed by on a stretcher, his face discomfortingly pale. with Carolina 2006 and he had already appeared in 90 playoff games. “Everyone was speculating wildly about how long it would be and single digits were floating around. Tom had told me the night before that it was “I didn’t think the hit was worth the suspension he got but I couldn’t say going to be a long time and when I did a radio interview with Dan Bickley that at the time,” said Whitney, who now works for the department of and told him I heard it was going to be a long time, he was shocked. player safety. “That’s why my sermon was more about, ‘Let’s all take a breath and move on.’ “What Tom said to me was this: ‘He didn’t have the puck and if you don’t have the puck you shouldn’t be run over like a freight train.’ He was not “I’m like everybody else. I want to snap and lose my mind and go crazy surprised that the league would make an example of Raffi Torres and he but I just felt this was a situation where if I came out fighting and throwing was right on the button.” bombs back at them, saying, ‘This was nothing. This was bullshit,’ it would just throw more gasoline onto the fire. So you accept a part of it, When Torres received the news that he would miss the remainder of the you show compassion for the person and team involved, but you try to playoffs, no matter how far the Coyotes advanced, his heart sank. lead it down a softer path thinking that was the only thing that was going to help.” “My whole body went numb and I think I was crying,” he said. “I was in a tough place for a while and I still deal with some depression when I think Whitney’s assessment of the hit is echoed by several teammates. about that suspension and how my career ended. I was upset with myself. You start questioning yourself, ‘Did I really have to throw that hit?’ “I have been hit by Raffi in my career, and even in practice sometimes,” said former Coyotes defenseman Adrian Aucoin, who lives in Hinsdale, “I was always taught to play the game the hard way. If I don’t lay that hit Ill., and once played for the Blackhawks. “The way he is built is just more and just keep skating by him, then I’m not doing my job. Was I trying to compact and stronger and he hits you with his entire body. I’m not saying hurt him? Absolutely not. I feel bad when I squash a fly inside my house. that it wasn’t a penalty. I’m not saying it wasn’t suspendable, but the Sure I feel remorse and I feel terrible about it, but I need to throw those league definitely took it to an extreme because there was way dirtier stuff hits or I’m not doing my job and helping my team. I’ve always been told to going on and it was kind of sad. leave it all out there and then if it doesn’t work out at least you can live with yourself.” “It’s not a very popular opinion here in Chicago but I have said it for years. If you did a 30-second montage of the 20 best hits in those Torres had already received two suspensions in his career: a four-game playoffs, I don’t think that hit would look as close to as bad as the results suspension in 2011 for a hit to the head of Edmonton’s Jordan Eberle, indicated. Obviously, it was late and I won’t argue that, but Raffi has hit and a two-game suspension in 2012 for a hit on Minnesota’s Nate some players really dirty in his career and I think it was one of the lesser Prosser. hits he has made. Most guys who play just know he got him really bad and Hossa was vulnerable, but anybody who played prior to 2010 would “I guess I might have left my feet, but have I seen other hits that were be like, ‘Dude, get your head up.’ Most people when Raffi is on the ice worse than that and guys didn’t get the book thrown at them? Yes, but have their head on a swivel.” my track record didn’t help,” he said. “There was a lot going into it and these were the issues I had when my career ended with a 41-game The league did not agree, and Torres had a sense of what was coming suspension (in a 2015 preseason game) against (Anaheim’s Jakob) when he walked into the league offices in New York, accompanied by his Silfverberg. I’m wired a certain way. When I see guys walking down the agent, Eustace King, and Maloney for an in-person hearing with director streets with their heads down in their cellphones it infuriates me.” of player safety Brendan Shanahan and commissioner Gary Bettman. Torres called Hossa “a couple days” after the hit to check in and “It was tough,” Torres said. “I was still wound up and disappointed in apologize. myself. You go in there and you watch the hit three or four times and it’s so bad because you’re watching the hit, frame by frame, every split “It was a quick phone call,” Torres said. “I just expressed my concern and second. Anybody that’s doing anything even remotely wrong is going to said ‘I hope you’re doing all right. It was not my intention to hurt you or look terrible at that speed, but backchecking and skating 100 miles an put you out and I hope you come out of this OK, better and stronger.’ He hour, it’s just an explosive hit. was pretty cool about it. If somebody called me a couple days after putting me out of the series I might be like, ‘Yeah, yeah, get the hell off “It was difficult to hear their side of it. They wanted none of it. It’s a pretty the phone. I don’t want to talk to you,’ but he was pretty cool about it. I’ve tough process. I still think they need to bring in a third party that has always heard he’s a great guy.” absolutely nothing to do with the NHL or the player and have them make a decision. I didn’t feel like anything I said mattered. I’m not the most With nothing else to do, Torres spent his time golfing, watching the well-spoken player ever to play the game so I had trouble saying exactly playoff games from the dressing room or the stands, or coming in for what was actually on my mind. Maybe it didn’t come out right but at the occasional workouts at then-Jobing.com Arena or the Ice Den in end of the day I knew it was going to be substantial after those meetings, Scottsdale. flying back to Phoenix.” “I got a lot of support from Arizona fans, too, which was amazing,” he While Torres awaited his suspension, he was dealing with another aspect said. “That’s when they started wearing those Free Raffi masks. I of the fallout. appreciated that, but once you’re out of the lineup you don’t feel like you’re a part of the team and you tread lightly with anything you say. “I can handle all the criticism coming my way; I have thick skin,” he said. “What was really tough was hearing from my parents, my close friends “I hung out at home a lot with my wife and kids. My son was born in and my family who took it a little bit harder when people were saying, Arizona. It was difficult, though, don’t get me wrong, but if it had been in ‘This guy should never play again in this league’ or, ‘What kind of parents Edmonton or Winnipeg, it might have been a lot tougher. At the end of raise their kid to do this?’ the day, the sun was still coming out and we were still healthy and able to get outside in warm weather and do some stuff to get my mind off of it.” “I remember my mom calling me teary-eyed. She said, ‘They’re saying you are only out there for one reason and that’s to headhunt and try to hurt people permanently.’ It’s tough for your parents who raised you and The Coyotes ended up winning that series in six games, including wins in all three games at United Center. As controversial an opinion as it is, Tippett cited that Game 3 hit as a critical piece in the success.

“That was the turning point of the series,” he said. “They lost Hossa, of course, and we lost Raffi, but it gave is that feeling that we were going to do whatever it takes to win. We didn’t think his hit was that bad, it was just a part of the intensity of the series, but we were fully engaged from that point on.”

Like many on the team who watched the Los Angeles Kings advance with a Western Conference final win over the Coyotes to capture their first Stanley Cup, Tippett wonders if things might have been different if Torres had been in the lineup against L.A.

“That’s where the biggest impact of his suspension came,” Tippett said. “L.A. was a big, strong, heavy team and they played a similar style to us by clogging it up and making it hard to get chances against them. You needed players like Raffi. They can make a difference in a series like that. We didn’t push them hard enough. We really missed him in that series.”

Torres has played those what-ifs over and over in his mind, but he insists he is finally at peace with the turn his career took.

“It took some time to decompress,” said Torres, whose three ACL surgeries and one corresponding staph infection also played a role in his retirement. “It wasn’t like my career ended the way I wanted it to end. The first year, I still felt like I could play but my knee was nowhere near where it needed to be and then missing all the games with suspension affected me, too. I was really upset with myself, but I have turned the page and now I’m focused on my mental health and my physical health.

“Coming back home to Toronto, you can tell that some people still look at you and the first they think is, ‘There’s that headhunter idiot,’ but I think the people that really know the game, not just the skill and the toe drags and all that stupid shit they do all game now — the people that know the meat and potatoes of the game and what it takes to be on a successful team and do well, they tell me they loved the way I played. I definitely am at peace with my career now.”

The Athletic LOADED: 04.17.2020 1182916 Colorado Avalanche

If NHL resumes play, Jared Bednar needs “two weeks or less” to get Avalanche up to speed

Bednar spoke on a national conference call Thursday

By MIKE CHAMBERS | PUBLISHED: April 16, 2020 at 2:11 p.m. | UPDATED: April 16, 2020 at 4:07 p.m.

Avalanche coach Jared Bednar said Thursday he could get his team ready to play competitive hockey in “two weeks, or less” if the NHL decides to resume its regular season.

The NHL “paused” play March 9 due to the coronavirus, the day after Colorado defeated the New York Rangers to improve to 42-20-8. The Avs, who had 12 remaining regular-season games, are second in the Western Conference with 92 points, with a game in hand over leader St. Louis (94).

“Certainly a difficult time. Like everyone else, the uncertainly of this situation is what is tough to deal with, tough to plan for,” Bednar said in a national conference call. “In an ideal world, we’d like to come in and continue with the season and play the playoffs. That would be the best- case scenario for us. We’re still hopeful that can happen.”

Bednar said he is in isolation with his wife and daughter at his Denver- area home. He’s spending much of his time reviewing the Avs’ season — much like he would do in a regular offseason, and devising potential changes to his lineup if the NHL plays well into the summer.

The coach said he’s confident his players are trying to stay in shape with whatever means they have available, but that they’re not working out too hard.

“Guys are basically treating it like summer training. Nothing too stressful,” he said.

Three Avs are among eight NHL players who have tested positive for COVID-19. Bednar confirmed he hasn’t been tested, and only symptomatic players have been told to get tested.

“It’s my understanding our guys are better and doing well,” Bednar said of his three players who have not been identified. “It’s been some time now and we’re still in isolation, until the end of April, at the earliest.”

The Avs’ regular-season finale would have been April 4 against St. Louis at Pepsi Center. They almost certainly would have begun the playoffs at home April 8 or 9.

The NHL has postponed the league’s combine, awards show and draft in June and asked all teams to locate available arena dates through the summer. The City of Calgary won’t allow public events to take place through June 30, so if the league was to restart before then, Flames games would have to take place elsewhere. Some have discussed playing at neutral sites, such as Grand Forks, N.D., or , Sask.

NHL commissioner Gary Bettman has said all ideas will be considered. Bednar is hopeful his team is playing late into the summer.

“I’m certainly hopeful that we can. That’s just me. I’m an optimist and I just think, watching what’s going around Denver and the way people are following the new guidelines, I think as a society we’re going to be able to overcome this,” he said.

Denver Post: LOADED: 04.17.2020 1182917 Colorado Avalanche

Potential NHL first-round pick Ty Smilanic of Elizabeth chasing stardom

Smilanic, a former DU Pioneers recruit, will play for Quinnipiac next season

By MIKE CHAMBERS | April 16, 2020 at 6:00 a.m.

Ty Smilanic of Elizabeth was in position to get the gold-star treatment as a potential first-round NHL draft pick.

The former recruit, now headed to Quinnipiac this fall, was poised to interview with several NHL teams in June at the NHL combine in Buffalo before the league’s entry draft in Montreal.

Those events, like all others around the world, have been cancelled or postponed due to the coronavirus pandemic. But Smilanic, a former triple-A star with the Colorado Thunderbirds, still has his dreams.

While the NHL combine will probably not take place this year, the league’s draft will. Smilanic, an 18-year-old center, is ranked 24th among North American skaters by Central Scouting and has a decent chance of hearing his name called in the first round — whenever it takes place.

“That’s something you dream about your whole life,” Smilanic said in a phone interview. “First round, it would be an honor either way — whether it’s on my computer, on TV, it’s going to be an honor.”

Smilanic, born in 2002, is another indirect product of the Avalanche, becoming the first member of his family to play hockey after attending games as a child. His parents own a construction company in Parker and Ty played youth Tier-2 hockey at Arapahoe, Littleton and Foothills before moving up to the Tier-1 Thunderbirds for midgets (ages 15-18).

He also played bantam (14-under) in Michigan, where he lived the last two years while training in the 18U U.S. National Development Program in Ann Arbor. Smilanic (6-foot-1, 185 pounds) models his game after the Avs’ Nathan MacKinnon and Red Wings’ .

The NHL draft order has not been determined, but as things stand he could be available for the Avs late in the first round or the Red Wings early in the second.

“Coming back home would be cool, being drafted by the Avalanche, but then I also look at, they have some unbelievable prospects and they’re such a young team,” Smilanic said. “Who knows if being drafted there would even be the best thing for me? But, still, being drafted from my hometown (team) would be awesome.”

Smilanic still hopes he can perform for scouts at what would be a rescheduled NHL combine. He’s coming off an injury-riddled season that saw him fall from 18th in Central Scouting’s midseason rankings. He missed six weeks to mononucleosis and also suffered a high-ankle sprain and broken finger.

“It’s unfortunate for someone like me (because) I had a lot of injuries this year and that was going to be a really good opportunity to showcase myself,” Smilanic said of the combine. “From the sounds of it, it’s more than likely the combine is going to be cancelled.”

Smilanic said his decision to switch from DU to Quinnipiac stemmed from the Pioneers’ coaching change, when Jim Montgomery left to become the Dallas Stars’ head coach in 2018.

“I just figured it was good to go a different way,” he said.

Denver Post: LOADED: 04.17.2020 1182918 Colorado Avalanche “They are doing their part to try and stay in shape and stay healthy, and they’re prepared and ready to go when our season returns.”

Earlier in the week, Bednar was a guest on Altitude TV’s “Sports Social” Avs’ Jared Bednar on players’ health, hope for the NHL season and and indicated all of the Avalanche’s players are healthy. The team had staying ready been without players such as Andre Burakovsky, Matt Calvert, Philipp Grubauer, Nazem Kadri and Mikko Rantanen for several games due to various ailments. Those losses were further compounded when it was By Ryan S. Apr 16, 2020 believed superstar center Nathan MacKinnon would be out of the lineup for two weeks after sustaining a lower-body injury in a 3-1 loss to the Los

Angeles Kings at Staples Center. That was the next-to-last game before More NHL teams are starting to break their silence in the wake of the the season was stopped. COVID-19 pandemic, and the Colorado Avalanche became the latest Bednar was asked about the playoffs and his thoughts about a potential Thursday when coach Jared Bednar spoke with reporters for the first return. He said the Avalanche and the NHL are in limbo like many others time in more than a month. and that the uncertainty is tough to deal with while also challenging to Bednar last addressed the media on March 11 after the Avalanche plan for. The fourth-year coach viewed it through the prism of the team picked up a 3-2 overtime win over the New York Rangers at Pepsi Center had set a number of regular-season goals, such as attaining home-ice in what was the second-to-last game in the NHL. The league indefinitely advantage and competition for the Central Division plus the Western suspended play the following day and has remained on pause. In that Conference. time, however, the league confirmed it had eight players who tested The Avalanche had the second-best record in the Central Division and positive for COVID-19, and three of those players are with the Avs. Western Conference when play ceased. They were two points out of a Avalanche captain and left winger spoke March 31 in share of first place behind the defending Stanley Cup champion St. Louis a Central Division conference call held by the NHL about the Blues with a game in hand. Another item that made the race for first even circumstances around the team, but it was Bednar who offered more more intriguing was knowing the Avs and Blues were set to face each specifics to a few lingering questions. other in the final game of the regular season.

Namely, has Bednar or the rest of his players been tested, and how has “I think in an ideal world, we’d like to be able to come in and continue the organization, along with the league, gone about keeping them with the rest of the season and play the playoffs, and that would be the informed? best-case scenario for us. We’re still hopeful that can happen,” he said. “As for planning what the scenario is when we return or if we return, that “We have not been tested,” he said. “I think there have been a handful of could be difficult. There’ll be circumstances that determine that, and we’ll our players that have been tested. Anyone that is showing or has showed get data from the league and information from the league, and all the signs of symptoms or is having health issues, then they were tested and teams will be in the same boat as far as preparing to handle the different subsequently got their results. Everyone else who was feeling fine was scenarios and hopefully get back to playing and moving on.” not tested. As for the second part of the question, we are basically getting our information as anybody else. The league is getting their data Bednar, who remained in Denver with his wife and daughter, said he is and then passing along the information on how we should handle the treating this current situation like it was the end of the season when it self-isolation and the social distancing, and we get updates from the came to evaluating many different items. league as needed. We’ve had a few updates from the league that we’re “Especially in the recent couple months, going through things we liked supposed to continue doing what we’ve been doing, and that’s how we and things we did well and things we like to improve on and then digging get our information. into the rest of the league and what some of the other teams are doing “They sent it to the team, and the team relays it to us, and we just go and picking away at some work,” Bednar said. “So we’re prepared when from there and try to do our part and follow the guidelines the league is we come back for all the different scenarios and get up to speed as fast setting out for us.” as we possibly can to get playing because these games — unlike training camp, where you have exhibition games — these will be important March 17 was the NHL’s first confirmed case when a player for the games that are played right away, and we have to be up to speed, similar Ottawa Senators tested positive before a second player tested positive to where we were when we left as fast as possible, because those are days later. The Avalanche, along with the league, announced March 26 going to be the teams that have success.” that an unnamed player tested positive. A second Avs player tested positive two days later. On April 1, the Senators said they had four The Athletic LOADED: 04.17.2020 additional members of their organization test positive, with a source telling The Athletic that three of those people were players. The last confirmed case came April 7 when a third Avs player tested positive.

Bednar said he was not surprised upon learning three of his players tested positive. He conveyed how the growing number of confirmed cases means there is a likelihood that everyone at this point either personally knows someone who was diagnosed with or knows of someone who had COVID-19. He said all of the Avalanche’s players are doing well and that some of them were fine before receiving their test results.

“It’s my understanding that our guys are doing better and doing well, and it’s been some time now and we’re still in isolation until the end of April at the earliest,” Bednar said. “If our guys are healthy and doing well and have their test results back as healthy and ready to go, I am assuming they will be able to participate the same as the rest of our players.”

Bednar said he did not feel uneasy that everyone on his team, including himself, didn’t get tested. He said anyone who showed symptoms was instructed to speak with the Avalanche’s medical staff so they could get tested.

“Same as the rest of the country and the world in that not everybody is getting tested,” Bednar said. “I think that if they have health issues, as normal, they will report to our medical staff. Our medical staff has been in touch with our players. Guys that have issues are getting tested, and if they’re not, everyone is following the guidelines, the same as the rest of the country, with self-isolation and social distancing. 1182919 Colorado Avalanche level of success to continue. It’s just a matter of how the Pioneers go about maintaining those objectives. But this is the challenge DU and every college program – regardless of resources and/or sport – are likely How a powerhouse college hockey program stays on course in this new facing in this current landscape. world Creech said there are multiple sports at Denver that bring in revenue, but hockey is the program that generates the most. He said the program was not financially impacted because the Pioneers already played their By Ryan S. Clark Apr 16, 2020 regular-season schedule, which is where most of their significant revenue originates. The monies from the NCHC Tournament is shared between

member institutions. Furthermore, he said the NCAA Tournament games It’s Thursday morning and the NCHC Tournament has been canceled. are an avenue to help with expenses, but the goal is to try and break Still, the University of Denver hockey team decided to practice that even following a postseason run. afternoon. Only to get off the ice and learn the NCAA canceled Right now, it’s about trying to achieve certainty in an existence where everything. uncertainty is everywhere. Now it’s Friday morning and meetings are being held across all This is what life is like for a college program in the time of COVID-19. departments. Finals are going on, but everyone collectively agrees to make those exams available online. Later that afternoon, second-year “It’s been, maybe the best word is: abnormal. Or maybe unique,” Carle coach David Carle and his assistants sit down with their players to share said. “But that describes a lot of college hockey programs and it also that the university is paying for all of them to go home to be with their describes what is going on with everybody throughout our society. Our families. season ended four Thursdays ago. Maybe five. I’m losing track of the weeks. … It’s abnormal in the sense that we’d be hoping to play in “We knew in the coming weeks and months, we would have some Detroit (for the Frozen Four) and if we weren’t, this is the time of year we significant travel expenditures we were not going to take,” Pioneers focus on academics and off-ice training and those types of things. athletics director Karlton Creech said of why the school chose to pay for their student-athletes to go home. “We spent a small portion of that “It’s been abnormal in a lot of ways for most sports teams, not just ours. savings for the players who needed to go home and for the ones that That’s the word I would use.” needed it.” Practically every collegiate or professional team has a group chat these Creech said the expedient nature of every student-athlete working days. They talk about how their families are all doing. But they also use quickly to return home is why there was no testing within the university this space to coordinate when they will play video games against each for COVID-19. other. “Call of Duty” is a favorite. So are “Fortnite” and “NHL 20.” And yes, they have had the conversations regarding the now-worldwide Junior forward Jaakko Heikkinen scrambled to grab his clothes and spectacle that is “Tiger King.” hockey equipment out of his house before heading to Denver International Airport. He was slated to catch a flight from Denver to a Alberta. . California. Colorado. Finland. Illinois. connecting flight in London that would take him home to Helsinki. That Manitoba. Minnesota. New Jersey. Sweden. Texas. Saturday, Heikkinen arrived at the airport and was informed that he would be boarding a flight to London at his own risk. These are the states, provinces and in some cases, nations, where everyone in the Pioneers’ group is living. It spans across continents and The ticketing agent told Heikkinen that he had a late layover in London hemispheres all so teammates can stay connected to each other. and that flights throughout Europe were being canceled at a growing rate. Furthermore, all the other flights from London to Helsinki were “I think that’s the best thing for us,” said junior forward Kohen Olischefski, already shut down. It left him wondering about finding a solution in the who was recently named captain for next season. “That’s been keeping event he was stranded in London. us sane and keeping us together. You can actually talk to someone other than your parents and your siblings. It keeps us feeling normal.” Imagine having your life immediately disrupted. Only to go to the airport and find out there is no guarantee you are going home to be with your Normal. family as the planet braces for a pandemic. This particular thought, along Olischefski says if life was that word, his Monday would consist of a class with other potential contingency options, is all Heikkinen could think from 8 a.m. to 10 a.m. followed by a two-hour break before going to the about over the course of a nine-hour trek from Denver to London. rink. He would start lifting at 12:15 and hit the ice for a 1:30 p.m. practice. “Once I got there, all the later flights back to Finland were canceled, but He’d be done at 3:30 p.m. before rushing to a two-hour class that starts mine was the only one still flying,” Heikkinen said. “Honestly, I was pretty at 4 p.m. He’d then head home to do homework, eat dinner and spend stressed out about that. It was the only thing going through my mind. I time with his teammates. Tuesday would be classes from 8 a.m. through had all my hockey sticks, my hockey bags and clothes. I thought it would noon. He would then head to the rink for another workout and team be really tough to get stuck in London and try and find an practice with the idea his day would be done. In fact, he might get in a accommodation carrying all of those things. You’re also thinking about, round of golf if the weather is nice. ‘What will I do if I get stuck there?’” Being home in British Columbia means he is taking 7 a.m. classes every Heikkinen is home. So are all of his teammates. Carle and his staff are all day because of the time change. He’ll either go back to bed after those at their homes in Denver. Everyone is finding ways to stay connected to classes or work out. He then does his afternoon coursework. He said the each other and the university all while simultaneously remaining distant. weather in Abbotsford is so nice that he and his dad have actually been Players are doing remote learning, with some of them waking up to playing golf. The course they play at has taken the steps to ensure attend a 1 a.m. online class because of the time change from where they people can practice social distancing while getting out of the house. live. They are also doing workouts whenever and however they can to “We’re making the best we can out of this,” Olischefski said. “It’s a big stay ready for the upcoming season. Coaches are having virtual adjustment period for us. With remote learning, it’s definitely something meetings. They are on the phone connecting with incoming recruits and different. It takes a different level of organization. It sucks waking up at their families. They are also watching film to further assess themselves 6:30 a.m. for a 7 a.m. class but it is what it is. Workouts are something and their players. you have to improvise. Lot of guys, including myself, don’t have a ton of Denver has won eight national championships. One more pulls the equipment. We’re trying to lift the heaviest things in our house and program into a share with the University of Michigan for the most in seeing what we can do.” college hockey history. The Pioneers were 21-9-6 when the season Matt Shaw is the director of sports performance at DU. His methods are ended and were the consensus No. 6 team in America. Competing for a why alums, including Tyler Bozak, and Troy Terry, return to ninth national title this season would have been a plausible challenge campus every summer. What he does for the program is why Carle has that is now just a bundle of hypotheticals. no qualms about openly admitting Shaw is the program’s “No. 1 Still, the Pioneers are a powerhouse that has developed countless recruiter.” Shaw and his staff immediately called players once they got players to the NHL and other professional leagues. Nothing has changed home to ask them about their environment. when it comes to understanding the standards that have allowed this They wanted to know where they were located. If they lived in a place Having actual face time as opposed to speaking via FaceTime can be where there were hills or mountains. Or if there was a change in altitude crucial for college coaches in a number of ways. But, as it turns out, compared to Denver. From there, they took inventory on if players have maintaining those relationships while using technology is not an issue at access to fitness equipment or other resources they might have had in all. their communities. They gathered that information and devised individual workout plans unique to each player. “We are connecting virtually via our phones and spending a lot of time on the phones with players and recruits to make sure them and their families Olischefski, for example, purchased new wheels for his rollerblades as a are doing OK,” Carle said. “We are also planning for next season and way to simulate skating because no rinks are operational. Rollerblading what that looks like for the ’ hockey team. There are also allows him a way to mix up his routine and not just simply rely on some recruiting things that need to take place. It’s stuff like getting kids running to help stay in playing shape. into school, grant renewals, watching NHL games and downloading those games and watching them at home as if I were in the office. “As a staff, we sat down and talked about finding a starting place,” Shaw said. “Everyone is transitioning away from sports, but we don’t know for “Our tasks have not changed whether we are in the office or at home.” how long. Most have been playing sports since they were 5 years old and who knows how long this is going to go on? We wanted to serve them by Let’s start with recruiting. The Pioneers already have five recruits they reducing stress down and doing something different. It was starting with have signed as a way of compensating for the four seniors who are a base foundation you can literally create. … I think the thing is we got graduating plus the fact star junior defenseman Ian Mitchell recently creative with what resources people would have at home. signed his entry-level contract with the Chicago Blackhawks. Carle said the only major item remaining with the incoming class is getting Form I- “Whether it was traditional equipment or things around the home that are 20 that allows international students to attend school in the United nontraditional. Backpacks, textbooks, getting a five-gallon jug of water. States. Finnish defenseman and Detroit Red Wings prospect Antti It’s about being creative for circumstances. Some people have multistory Tuomisto is the only player in his class who is going through that homes with stairs and others have ranches that are one level. It’s about process. having discussions to deviate the programs.” Exactly how does college hockey recruiting work at a moment like this? Shaw also shared how they had to set up meetings at a different time Pioneers assistant Tavis MacMillan said teams are limited in what they while also recording some of those conversations to make it more can do because of the current dead period. He said teams cannot have accessible for Heikkinen. off-campus recruiting. Nor can they host any official or unofficial visits. They can, however, still communicate with recruits through phone calls. Here is why: Helsinki is nine hours ahead of Denver, which means Heikkinen, a marketing major who is minoring in finance, is having to MacMillan said teams have been permitted since Jan. 1 to speak to high more or less live separate lives in different places. One of his classes – school sophomores but cannot officially extend a scholarship offer until the principles of managerial finances – actually starts at 1 a.m. and ends Aug. 1. Schools can continue to make offers toward juniors and seniors. at 3 a.m. on Monday and Wednesday. He also has other classes that At this point, the only games – if there were any – to attend would be the start at 5 p.m. and conclude at 9 p.m. USHL playoffs or the Junior ‘A’ leagues in Canada such as the British Columbia Hockey League. “Before the quarter started, I contacted all of my professors and let them know I am in Finland and that I am nine hours ahead,” he said. “They “We all have the same restrictions,” MacMillan said. “We are in good have been very supportive about it. All of our classes are recorded and if shape with recruiting. We are not in desperation mode to where we I miss a class and the recordings are available online, I can watch a class needed to find players. We are in really good shape and there wasn’t that later and look over what they went through.” pressure this year to find something. We were prepared for different things that might happy and we’re happy with where we are at.” So why not do that more often? Why wake up or stay up late for a 1 a.m. class when it could be so much easier? Think of college recruiting like a carousel. It’s about making sure you have all the necessary pieces in place knowing one decision could alter “I think it’s definitely easier to learn if you are present and seeing what several moving parts. There are some items such as Mitchell signing with the professor is doing on the screen and following at the same pace as the Blackhawks that the Pioneers saw coming. But there are others – he is explaining the material,” Heikkinen said. “It might be harder to do on such as when the Avalanche signed forward Logan O’Connor in the your own even if you have the recording. The other thing is that it will summer of 2018 – that were unforeseen circumstances. take up my time the next day if I want to rewatch that. If I want to work out or have other classes, then I do not have time to go over that whole But that does not mean McMillan is dormant. He is constantly watching class.” film to the point he stated, “I can watch hockey 24 hours a day” because of how much is available to coaches on the internet when it comes to Heikkinen is one of three players on the Pioneers’ roster who is not from youth and junior leagues. The pause has also allowed MacMillan to have North America. Freshman goaltender and Tampa Bay Lightning prospect even stronger conversations about recruiting. He said this is the time of Magnus Chrona is from Sweden. Sophomore forward and Calgary year when so many people from Carle to the players themselves are Flames prospect Emilio Pettersen grew up in Norway. Chrona is back being pulled in several directions. home in Sweden while Pettersen stayed in the United States and is living with his girlfriend and her family. Now that everything has come to a halt, it means everyone can now dedicate time toward having more in-depth discussions about recruiting The 23-year-old said both of his parents are beyond supportive of what or any other subject. has become such a bizarre situation. As Heikkinen explained, his day is beginning at the same time his parents’ workdays from home are ending. “I think we’re in a good place and not in a situation where we need to make any rash decisions or hasty decisions,” he said. “We’re really Granted, everyone in the hockey program and his professors know about comfortable and we are talking things out a lot and we can be patient and his situation. But are his other classmates aware of his unorthodox evaluate things. We don’t get lost or get flustered if we don’t get kids. circumstances? Sometimes, it works. Sometimes, it doesn’t. Sometimes, if it doesn’t work “During introductions, most of my professors asked where you are out and you move on and it’s the next man up.” located,” he said. “I said I am in Finland where it is 1 a.m. and everyone Some of those conversations have even centered on what players should in the class was like, ‘Wow. That is crazy!’ But it’s that way with pretty be eating. Shaw said the program created an eight-week curriculum much all of my classes whereas for a lot of my classmates they may only complete with a 45-minute Zoom call to discuss their consumption have an hour or two time change.” choices and habits. They have talked about what it means to be more Maybe there would be conversations in the hockey office about meeting mindful when it comes to what they eat. It has also included a number of with players to plan for offseason workouts. Or there would be film hyperlinked videos about nutrition. sessions where they would Watch video of their players or those in the Another area Shaw has explored with players is making sure they NHL to see what else they can learn. There also would have been that understand their surroundings. They have developed a plan to build a coaches convention in Florida at the end of the month. sense of self-efficacy. It is providing the players with the information and Carle and his staff are doing all those items – except the trip to Florida – seeing how they apply it before they eventually return to campus. Shaw remotely through the same devices everyone is using to stay connected. routinely checks in with players but enjoys it when players are messaging him about finding an alternative way to do a workout because they do not have a specific piece of equipment. Or what type of shoes they should purchase because they are running on concrete or another surface that is different than what they have on campus for workouts.

Those discussions also extend into other areas like personal development. Carle, MacMillan and assistant Dallas Ferguson each met with individual players in a virtual meeting to answer questions about their games and what they learned this year. Those talks were held over a two-week period for the team’s 21 returning players. From there, they split up the team into three groups of seven and made two seniors responsible for those groups.

“We are going to be a veteran group next year. I think we will have something like 16 or 18 juniors and seniors,” Carle said. “It is one thing if we are telling a sophomore to do his work and workouts. But it’s different if Kohen is talking to them about it. There’s a different level of accountability that can come with it. That’s what we are hoping for during this time. We are starting to create that going into next season. That we have a high level of trust and communication among players because they are the ones playing games and hopefully, winning a championship next year.

“I don’t worry if guys are lifting and eating the right way. We have told them what the expectations are. Their peers have told them and their leaders have told them. If they don’t, it’s going to be really obvious when we do all come back together and they have to deal with that embarrassment.”

The Athletic LOADED: 04.17.2020 1182920 Colorado Avalanche

Five weeks later, Avalanche coach Jared Bednar discusses NHL pause, possible return

By Aarif Deen - April 16, 2020

In one of the most bizarre moments in recent sports history, the NBA’s shutdown just before tip-off of the Jazz and Oklahoma City Thunder game on March 11 altered the fortunes of the NHL and the world as we know it.

Jazz center Rudy Gobert was diagnosed with COVID-19 moments before the game was set to begin. The NBA quickly halted that game and postponed its season.

Meanwhile, at the Pepsi Center, the Avalanche were in warmup for a matchup against the New York Rangers. With the thoughts of the NHL following the NBA and stopping its season lingering over their heads, the Avs had to remain focused knowing that this would likely be their last game for the foreseeable future.

“We were all made aware of the NBA shut down during that pre-game and as our game was getting ready to start,” Avs coach Jared Bednar said on a conference call Thursday. “It was pretty abrupt just as we were getting ready for that game at home.”

Colorado defeated the Rangers 3-2 in overtime but was mired in uncertainty after the game. The NHL eventually announced a pause to their season the following morning. At that time, the Avalanche were two points back of the St. Louis Blues with a game in hand.

The pause occurred with 12 games remaining on the schedule. A year ago today, Colorado was preparing for Game 4 against the Calgary Flames in the first round of the Stanley Cup Playoffs.

“Our message was to keep going the way we were going until we get information that says otherwise. Certainly, when the news came out that the NBA was going to pause in their season, we felt like that would probably be something we would do as well,” Bednar said. “The guys did a great job of staying focused and then we got the news the next morning that we would be taking a break as well. I commend our guys for being able to stay focused during that time… It shows the professionalism of our guys and the players around the league on other teams that were in that same circumstance.”

Bednar also acknowledged the NHL’s tentative plans to resume the regular-season and playoffs to award a 2020 Stanley Cup champion. He says the Avs, who are second in the Western Conference (42-20-8, 90 points), “will need two weeks or less” to prepare for in-game action.

“In an ideal world we would like to come in and continue with the season and the playoffs,” Bednar added. “That would be the best-case scenario for us. We are still hopeful that can happen.”

The coach said the three Avalanche players who tested positive are each feeling better. He is in isolation at his Colorado home with his wife.

Bednar also says he and his players are both treating this like an offseason. While the coach reviews the season’s first 70 games, specifically the last couple of months, his players are doing their part to stay in shape for a possible return to play. milehighsports.com LOADED: 04.17.2020 1182921 Columbus Blue Jackets "As you can see, that still festers with me, the disrespect that people are showing this club."

That disrespect, real or perceived, was also the fuel that powered the A look back: Blue Jackets coach John Tortorella still bothered by sweep, which culminated with a thrilling Game 4 in a building packed with perceived disrespect anticipation.

"John, it is bedlam down here," NBC Sports Network analyst Pierre Brian Hedger The Columbus Dispatch Apr 16, 2020 at 6:01 AM McGuire said to play-by-play broadcaster in the second period, after the Blue Jackets dominated the first eight minutes. "These people are starving for a win."

Sometimes, it’s best to start with the end of a story. This is the fifth installment in a six-part oral history remembering those six days, which brought hugs and tears to many in Columbus who’d The end can put the beginning and middle into perspective, which was never experienced playoff success before. Today, on its one-year certainly the case after the Blue Jackets completed their stunning first- anniversary, we take a look at Game 4 through memories and thoughts round NHL playoff sweep of the Tampa Bay Lightning one year ago shared by Blue Jackets players, management, Tortorella and others. today. Another great start If you fast-forward to the aftermath of Game 4 at Nationwide Arena, after the Jackets scored three empty-net goals to secure a 7-3 victory and The crowd was in a frenzy before the first puck hit the ice, with most fans after their first victorious trip through a handshake line, a somnolent voice in the lower bowl refusing to sit down. broke the heavy silence within a cavernous storage area that doubled as a media center. In one corner of the arena, for the second straight game, the Blue Jackets’ mascot, Stinger, stood over the unfurling of two vertical banners. It belonged to Lightning coach , who tried to explain what The first said, "We Are The Fifth Line." The second, which unrolled over happened to a powerhouse team that was beaten in four straight games the first, summed up the energy perfectly: "It’s Time." despite earning the Presidents’ Trophy for the most points in the NHL (128) after a 62-win season, a win total only the 1995-96 Detroit Red T-shirts draped over every single seat, along with white rally towels, said Wings had reached before. the same thing.

After sitting down in front of a microphone, Cooper adjusted his cuffs and And soon it was time. It didn’t take long for chants of "C-B-J! C-B-J!" to fill listened to the first question. He wore a dark blue suit over a light blue the air and drive the craziness even higher. shirt, with a striped tie and slightly ruffled pocket square bearing the Oliver Bjorkstrand drew a slashing penalty 45 seconds into the game, the same colors. Jackets took another early lead on the ensuing power play, a goal scored His words were just as sharp. at 2:26 by rookie Alexandre Texier, and Pierre-Luc Dubois made it 2-0 at 3:48 on his first goal in the series. Dubois, who’d provided a great screen Cooper spent 11 years as a defense attorney before coaching, so he’s a on Texier’s goal, was the Jackets’ 12th different goal-scorer. strong orator who usually finds the perfect phrase or analogy to go with any situation. Texier: "When the puck went in, you could feel the fans in the building. They were, like, on the ice with you. You know what I mean? They’re just This time, however, he uttered a turn of phrase that didn’t sit well with with you all the time." another gifted orator in the building, whose team had just swept Cooper’s right out of the playoffs. Cam Atkinson: "Texier’s goal was a really nice goal. That was huge just to get the momentum going and get the fans involved right away." Asked how stunned he was to be there, Cooper said "disappointed" was a better description. He talked about the talent level of all teams in the Forslund: "When Game 4 started, McGuire, two or three shifts into the playoffs, mentioned "parity" in the NHL and reached for some poignancy game, first commercial timeout …. off-mic he says, ‘This is over. They to sum it up. have no answer for this. This is an unbelievable coaching job by Tortorella. This thing is over.’" "In the end, it was just … we just couldn’t find our game," Cooper said, somewhat dismissively. "That was it. It’d been with us all year, and for six It wasn’t yet, though. days in April we couldn’t find it. And it’s unfortunate because it puts a … The Blue Jackets had a number of chances to deliver an early knockout, blemish … on what was one hell of a regular season." but Tampa Bay goaltender Andrei Vasilevskiy kept his team’s pulse Couldn’t find their game? Six days in April? A blemish? beating. Lightning captain Steven Stamkos did, too, cutting it to 2-1 at 8:44 of the first off a pass from Nikita Kucherov following a turnover. It takes about 10 seconds of YouTube searching to realize Blue Jackets coach John Tortorella might not appreciate that explanation. Those Tampa Bay also benefited from an overturned goal scored by Atkinson without a rooting interest might find Cooper’s comments benign, even on a power play, which would’ve made it 3-1 had the puck not briefly reasonable, but "Torts" didn’t and still doesn’t. exited the offensive zone. Cooper stormed along his bench after the goal was negated, issuing an obscenity-laced cry of encouragement. "The next day, I read it and I also had to listen to their coach speak after the game, and I think he was reciting some kind of poem or something, ‘It "This is our (expletive) chance!" he bellowed. "Let’s (expletive) go!" was just two days in April,’" Tortorella told The Dispatch recently, fuming The Lightning was without injured star Victor Hedman for the second at the memory. "I don’t know what he was trying to say. straight game, and Alex Killorn played through an injury, but the visitors "His team got beat. That’s all that needed to be said." had plenty of firepower left.

It wasn’t a just a one-off comment, either. Cooper repeated his "six days John Davidson, former president of hockey operations: "We didn’t steal in April" summation a few minutes later. that series. The last game, the fourth game, Tampa came on with everything they had there. Kucherov was back. They came hard." "You know, Columbus, like I said ... for six days in April, Columbus played better than we did," he said. "That was it." Tortorella: "That team was so strong. You go up 2-0 in games or you go up 3-0 and you still needed to step on their throat, because they were Tortorella, while complimentary of Cooper’s coaching, still has a beef. that good."

"Even to this day, I’m reading articles, as far as, you know ... this A second to remember stoppage of play doesn’t give Tampa a chance for redemption and this and that," he said. "That team got beat by the Columbus Blue Jackets, Just as they did in the first period, the Blue Jackets came out flying in the plain and simple. There were no ‘There were two weeks in April where second. Their forecheck pinned down the Lightning again, generating we just lost ourselves,’ or whatever the hell he was trying to say. He got numerous scoring chances, and they got another puck past Vasilevskiy beat. Own it. Move on. when Seth Jones scored for a 3-1 lead early. The Lightning scored the next two, tying it 3-3 on goals by Cedric Paquette and Brayden Point late in the period, but the Jackets got the final say again.

Bjorkstrand, who’d missed the net and been denied by Vasilevskiy on four good scoring chances, finally scored with 1:14 left in the second. He batted home the eventual winner off a loose puck in the crease, which had hit teammate Scott Harrington’s skate, and the Jackets led again, 4- 3. Bjorkstrand had also drawn the tripping penalty that led to the 6-on-5.

Bill Zito, vice president of hockey operations: "He loves to play hockey, he loves to score goals and he just doesn’t get nervous. He loves this stuff. I remember thinking, ‘He’s having the time of his life.’ Like, you could go down to the bench and say, ‘Hey, Bjorky, did you see "Friends" last night? And he’d go, ‘Yeah, I saw that one!’ and then go on the ice. He’s a cool cucumber, that guy."

Bjorkstrand: "In the moment, you just want to make sure that puck goes in the net … and I’m definitely happy it did."

Riley Nash: "We have that picture up in our hallway now. It was awesome seeing (Harrington) in front and Bjorky whacking away at it. It’s just one of those plays where you’re in the postseason and guys are just playing hockey."

Atkinson: "At that point, it was like, ‘OK, this is ours to lose.’"

The final nails

The third period was tighter.

The Blue Jackets battened down the hatches, patrolled the slot in their own zone and got bodies into shooting lanes. The Lightning pressed feverishly for a tying goal, but Sergei Bobrovsky polished off the best playoff performance of his NHL career with 13 more saves.

Cooper pulled Vasilevskiy with 2:11 to play and scored into an empty net 18 seconds later, past diving attempts to save it by Stamkos and defenseman Ryan McDonagh. That set off the party, as players and coaches embraced on the bench and fans hugged one another in the stands, many with tears in their eyes.

After multiple postseason heartbreaks, the Jackets were about to finally break through for a series win. It might not seem like a big deal in other cities, but it was in Columbus.

Texier and each followed Panarin’s goal with empty- netters of their own, including Duchene’s from about 195 feet away, and that was how it ended. The horn soon blared, the cannon fired off a victory shot and the Blue Jackets had their first triumph in a playoffs series. It was an impressive sweep.

Jarmo Kekalainen, general manager: "When Panarin scored the goal to seal the deal, that was the biggest moment … when you started feeling, ‘We’ve got the lead, we’ve got the lead, we’re going to win this.’ Once it starts getting to the point where it’s too hard to come back, you can taste it."

Jody Shelley, Fox Sports Ohio analyst: "(The Panarin goal), that was the moment. You could see the frustration in their eyes. That was the moment when the (Lightning) realized they lost."

Jones: "We were excited for the organization and the fans who had waited 20 years to see us win a playoff series. You could feel the energy in the city after that."

Atkinson: "You hugged everyone, especially (Brandon Dubinsky) and (Nick Foligno), guys that had been here for so long and knew how important this was … for the organization, but for us as well, just to be that steppingstone for the culture change here."

Maybe it was just "six days in April," as Cooper contended, but the Blue Jackets had proved something else with four straight wins:

It was no fluke.

Columbus Dispatch LOADED: 04.17.2020 1182922 Columbus Blue Jackets myself” he says about a product that didn’t allow the proper degree of slide.

“What I’ve settled on the last probably four or five years is ice spikes,” The busiest Blue Jacket: How trainer Mike Vogt manages a season full of Vogt said. “They are like a little screw. I screw them into my shoes. I buy injury a shoe that’s waterproof and it’s like a hiking shoe because the sole’s a little bit thicker so that I can get these in and they’re not jabbing the bottom of my feet. These shoes are also warmer for the cold ice rink and By Alison Lukan Apr 16, 2020 protect against the water that guys are spraying at you. They think they’re funny.”

Vogt puts “ice spikes” in his shoes to be able to quickly move across the With 8:44 to play in the second period of the Blue Jackets’ Feb. 24 game ice and get to injured players. (Alison Lukan / The Athletic) against the Ottawa Senators, a streaking Anthony Duclair collided with Elvis Merzlikins in net. But if all those tools aren’t ample support, and even more complex treatment is required, there’s more emergency equipment in the hallway As Merzlikins was clearly shaken up, Columbus fans saw a sight they’re and an X-ray machine in the building, as well. It’s Vogt’s job to get an familiar with: head athletic trainer Mike Vogt hustling across the ice to immediate diagnosis as he is able, and then coordinate the appropriate see if the player was OK. resources to treat the injury. Vogt checked on the goaltender, and after some discussion, he helped “Diagnosing of injuries are done by a physician, depending on what the the player up and back to the locker room. But what might look like a injury is,” Vogt said. “I’m the health-care gatekeeper. Guys come to me simple conversation is so much more. whether I’m running out to them because they’re laying there and I’m In those moments, Vogt has to instantly assess and process a million going to them or they’re telling me what happened, why they’re coming to different points of information and possible actions. That’s part of what the bench. … I have to assess the situation of the injury and then decide makes Vogt so good at his job, particularly in a season where, as the where we go from there.” Blue Jackets fought against a league-leading 419 man-games lost, he’s Additional emergency equipment is available steps from the Blue arguably been one of the busiest people on the team. Jackets’ bench. (Alison Lukan / The Athletic) A lot of work goes into on-ice procedures like what people saw between But just treating a player at the moment isn’t the end of Vogt’s job. He’s Vogt and Merzlikins. basically the master organizer of all of the players’ activities to manage Vogt has made sure his team can handle any kind of emergency. In the necessary resources that support a player’s recovery. addition to Vogt, the Blue Jackets have two assistant athletic trainers: Every evening, sometimes late if it’s a game day, Vogt is figuring out who Nates Goto and Chris Strickland. On a game day, that trio is also is skating, who is not, when is ice available, when is practice, who needs supported by a group of doctors, including an ER physician, an treatment, are coaches or strength coaches involved in a player’s orthopedic surgeon, a maxillofacial specialist and a dentist, who all sit recovery and letting injured players know what their schedule is — behind the Columbus bench. There are also additional dentists, eye sometimes texting late into the night. specialists and ocular specialists on call. Emergency squads and paramedics set up in the arena, as well. “We have a schedule to go after, he keeps you updated,” Blue Jackets center Alexander Wennberg said. “He lets you know when you have to Emergency equipment is present in the Zamboni tunnel for every Blue come in and it really (treats) you individually. It’s not like you use one of a Jackets’ home game. (Alison Lukan / The Athletic) couple of guys. You really have personal communication with him about Vogt has worked to make those individuals a select group of it, and I feel like it’s really important.” professionals who’ve worked Blue Jackets games year after year and From the moment Vogt gets to the arena, he’s managing the they — along with all the game night medical staff — run through a ton of predetermined schedules along with guys who might just need a quick mock-ups to ensure they are ready for what they might face in a game. treatment or ice bag. Injured players’ activities had to fit around the They all know the universal symbol for additional help needed (a raised schedules for the bigger group that was playing games. fist in the air), and Vogt points to specialists when he needs them based on the injury at hand. “When I get in my car each day to head to the rink, I forget about what’s going on at home, and I think about work and what I need to do for work,” “We get to know each other, and this group does it year after year,” Vogt Vogt said. “I try to prepare myself. ‘OK, this is what I have going on. This said. “Those individuals come in and train with us before the season guy has this soreness, this guy is this, and I try to prepare and be ready. starts. We go through all this and we go through scenarios on the bench And I try to be as positive and upbeat and easy to work with as I can. A or on the ice that are different. Was it a goalie, is it a forward going lot of what I do is communicating and all, you know, making sure against the boards? We run through all those scenarios.” everything comes together.” Vogt and his trainers also have the tools they need at the ready. The In cases where it applies, injuries that involve an outside doctor – such three divide up the bench. Vogt keeps essentials (smelling salts, cough as a surgeon who repaired a broken ankle – Vogt is communicating with drops, scissors, antacids, Tylenol, nose plugs) in his pockets; his them to manage a player’s recovery timeline and plan. A lot of the assistants wear fanny packs with more supplies. orthopedic surgeons who work with the Blue Jackets’ players joke to Nates Goto with his trainer bag. (Alison Lukan / The Athletic) Vogt that they “talk to him more than their wives.”

A look inside Nates Goto’s trainer bag that he wears for all games. “I do my thing,” Vogt said. “If I have questions I call them, (and) if there’s (Alison Lukan / The Athletic) specific things or unique things, we’ll talk. If something comes up, ‘Hey, you know he looked a little more swollen today.’ I’m going to back down And on the bench, there’s a bigger kit that has everything Vogt might or whatever. So, we’re in constant communication.” need. Should he raise his fist on the ice, his assistants know to bring it to him immediately. When Zach Werenski had shoulder surgery two years ago, it was a team approach to communication involving the player, Vogt and the Vogt’s bag of supplies that is always on hand when players are on the appropriate doctors. After working with Vogt in Columbus for three ice. (Alison Lukan / The Athletic) months post-surgery, Werenski returned to his native Michigan and was in constant contact with his head trainer. Werenski said he and Vogt What in that bag might surprise you? There’s Preparation-H to help talked once a week to check in. And it’s in that part of the relationship control swelling. There’s also sandpaper and a scalpel, but not for any where the players feel what a difference maker Vogt is in their recoveries medical purpose: “in some arenas where the benches are impossibly because he’s flexible to what a player needs, and he makes it very clear small, I get tired of (us all trying to move behind the bench), so I have to how much he cares. When asked about what it’s like to work with Vogt, have some tools of the equipment guys in my bag,” Vogt said. the first thing player after player cited was his commitment to helping a There are other tricks of the trade Vogt has learned as well, including player get healthy. how to get across a sheet of ice quickly to help an injured player. He tried a variety of products to varying degrees of success, “I about killed Assistant trainers Nates Goto and Chris Strickland watch warmups from the bench. Trainers must be present whenever players are on the ice. (Alison Lukan / The Athletic)

Vogt and his team are constantly listening to players’ needs. So much of truly understanding an injury has to come from information the player himself provides. If one prefers a different therapy, or a bruise looks one way but feels another, Vogt invests the time to understand.

“The relationship I have with the players, I think is everything, you know,” Vogt said. “We have to trust each other, right? I mean, think about it. Gus Nyquist comes to a new team and Lord forbid, something would happen to him, and I’m sitting out there with his career in my hands. So there definitely has to be trust, there has to be reassurance, and there has to be an outstanding relationship.

“Obviously not every player is going to like every athletic trainer, not every athletic trainer is gonna like every player, but at the end of the day, we do this job because we want to help people. So we all do our best and try it to do everything as professional and well done as we can to ensure that the player gets proper care.”

Vogt demurs when asked if he’s felt the pressure of so many injuries this season. It’s not something he likes to dwell on. He can’t allow that frustration to seep into his process. After all, even with the entire league on pause, Vogt and his team are still at work helping bring injured players back to full health. And players smiled when asked if they’ve felt the increase in workload.

“I see the timetables (for injured players),” Gustav Nyquist said. “They have different time schedules for the injured guys. Obviously the players that play go first (for treatment) if you need something before practice or anything like that but it’s getting crowded in there. It’s been in a pretty crazy year.”

Vogt has seen a lot in his 20 years of work in a variety of sports. From a broken femur to two fighters getting knocked out simultaneously and waking to try to fight the trainer. But he still sees some things he hasn’t before. This year was the first time he had three players go down with an injury (Josh Anderson, Sonny Milano and Ryan Murray all left the Nov. 14 game in Ottawa), and he’s always trying to stay on top of the latest demands of his job and needs of his players. As Vogt drives home every day, he says what he’s thinking about in those moments is “did I do the best I could? Is there anything I could have done differently?”

“You just have so much respect for those guys because of just the minutes and the hours and the time they have to spend away from their families to help us and they do it,” Nick Foligno said. “They don’t complain. They just work to get us back on the ice, and this year has been really tough on them, you can just tell because it’s a lot of stuff that’s out of their control. It’s a lot of time and a lot of work to get us on the ice. And they’ve done a tremendous job, making sure that’s the case.

“I have so much respect for ‘Vogter.’ You know he’s always got the guys in mind. His job is obviously to get us on the ice, but he cares about our well-being more than anything. And that’s something you appreciate when you go in there because you know he’s giving you the best advice possible. It’s not just for the team, it’s for you. And that’s I think something really important. That’s why a lot of guys respect him.”

The Athletic LOADED: 04.17.2020 1182923 Detroit Red Wings A good puck-mover who has been set back by injuries the past two seasons. He hasn’t replicated the production from early in his career with Anaheim but appears to have some upside.

Red Wings need pair of defensemen in free agency 6. T.J. Brodie, Calgary

GP: 64 G: 4 A: 15 PT: 19

By Ansar Khan Age/shot: 30/left

2019-20 cap hit: $4.65 million

The Detroit Red Wings’ defense could look much different in 2020-21. Fairly consistent defender who strung together six consecutive seasons Filip Hronek, Patrik Nemeth and Danny DeKeyser, returning from an with more than 30 points before seeing a dip this season. He’s spent his injury-plagued season, figure to be in the top four and Alex Biega, signed entire eight-year career in Calgary. for another season, will be in the mix. 7. Erik Gustafsson, Calgary

The Red Wings anticipate Moritz Seider, the sixth overall pick in 2019, GP: 66 G: 6 A: 23 PT: 29 will be NHL-ready at age 19 after one year in the AHL. They hope Dennis Cholowski, their top pick in 2016, will have improved enough defensively Age/shot: 28/left to trust in the lineup. 2019-20 cap hit: $1.2 million Madison Bowey, a restricted free agent, likely will be re-signed as a player who can be sent to the if he doesn’t earn a His big breakout in 2018-19 with Chicago (17 goals, 60 points) might roster spot. have been an outlier. His production declined considerably this season, which should make him more affordable on a short-team deal for the Red Veterans Jonathan Ericsson and Trevor Daley won’t be back. Wings, who might have interest.

The Red Wings likely will be in the market for a pair of free-agent 8. , Pittsburgh defensemen, preferably a right and a left shooter. GP: 46 G: 3 A: 9 PT: 12 Here is a look at some of the top potential free-agent defensemen, some of whom could re-sign with their current team before free agency: Age/shot: 29/right

1. Alex Pietrangelo, St. Louis 2019-20 cap hit: $5.5 million

GP: 70 G: 16 A: 36 PT: 52 His production has declined sharply from his first full season with the Penguins (12 goals, 51 points in 2016-17). He played top-four minutes Age/shot: 30/right and posted a team-worst minus-13 rating.

2019-20 cap hit: $6.5 million 9. Travis Hamonic, Calgary

One of the best all-around defensemen in the league, a Stanley Cup GP: 50 G: 3 A: 9 PT: 12 winner and team captain, hard to imagine the Blues won’t sign him to a long-term deal. Age/shot: 29/right

2. , Boston 2019-20 cap hit: $3.87 million

GP: 61 G: 9 A: 40 PT: 49 Top-four defensive defenseman won’t provide much offense but logs a lot of minutes, blocks shots and kills penalties. Age/shot: 29/left 10. Brenden Dillon, Washington 2019-20 salary: $5.25 million GP: 69 G: 1 A: 13 PT: 14 He’s shown you don’t need to be big (5-9, 186) to flourish on defense in this league. He provides offense, is strong on the power play and plays Age/shot: 29/left with an edge despite his size. 2019-20 cap hit: $3.27 million

3. Tyson Barrie, Toronto Big, stay-at-home defender (6-4, 225) who has spent most of his career GP: 70 G: 5 A: 34 PT: 39 in San Jose can log 20 minutes a game, kill penalties and has been durable, missing two games the past four years. Age/shot: 28/right Other notable impending unrestricted free-agent defensemen: Zach 2019-20 cap hit: $5.5 million Bogosian, Tampa Bay; Mark Borowiecki, Ottawa; Jay Bouwmeester, St. Louis; Justin Braun, Philadelphia; Cody Ceci, Toronto; Zdeno Chara, His production dropped his first season in Toronto after eight years in Boston; Trevor Daley, Detroit; Dylan DeMelo, Winnipeg; Joel Colorado, but as a right-shooting power-play specialist there will be much Edmundson, Carolina; Mike Green, Edmonton; Andy Greene, Islanders; interest in him. The cap-strapped Maple Leafs will be hard-pressed to re- , Washington; Dmitry Kulikov, Winnipeg; Mark Pysyk, sign him. Florida; Marco Scandella, St. Louis; Andrej Sekera, Dallas; Chris Tanev, 4. Kevin Shattenkirk, Tampa Bay Vancouver.

GP: 70 G: 8 A: 26 PT: 34 Michigan Live LOADED: 04.17.2020

Age/shot: 31/right

2019-20 cap hit: $1.75 million

Bought out by the Rangers following two mediocre seasons, he bounced back with the Lightning, showing he still has value as a puck-mover who can provide offense.

5. Sami Vatanen, Carolina

GP: 47 G: 5 A: 18 PT: 23

Age/shot: 29/right

2019-20 cap hit: $4.875 million 1182924 Detroit Red Wings How confident are you in Dylan Larkin’s ability to be the No. 1 center on a contender?

Pretty strong results for Larkin here, as more than 60 percent of fans are Red Wings survey: Where fans stand on Steve Yzerman, rising stars, the mostly confident in his ability as a top-line pivot when the rebuild is over. rebuild His last two seasons have likely gone a long way toward answering those questions, though the team will likely need an additional center of that quality when it’s time for deep playoff runs. By Max Bultman Apr 16, 2020 How confident are you that Moritz Seider will become a star player?

One moment, just want to take a quick spin in the time machine back to We asked, and you answered. Big time. draft night to show this around.

More than 1,700 of you took The Athletic’s first-ever Red Wings fan OK, back. Man, do you guys remember how cool it was to not be in your survey earlier this week, giving your opinions on various aspects of the house? Anyway, Red Wings fans circa June 2019 have to be pretty rebuild, from the front office, to the players, to the coaching staff. You happy with this development. It’s not the maximum confidence level, but also gave some interesting answers on your patience for that process, a very solid majority is at least mostly confident Detroit landed a star- and your expectations for when it might end. Thanks so much to all who caliber defenseman sixth overall last summer. Seider may have been participated. relatively unknown in Detroit when Yzerman called his name in Vancouver, but he certainly isn’t anymore, and, if Red Wings fans are So, without further ado, here’s where you stand on all things relating to correct, he could have big things in store. the franchise. How confident are you that Filip Zadina will become a star player? How would you rate the health of the Red Wings as a franchise, from top to bottom? Not quite as much certainty in the Red Wings’ 2018 sixth-overall pick, but still a majority of fans are at least mostly confident in Zadina’s potential This is actually a pretty decent rating for a franchise that is in the midst of star power. That said, a pretty healthy segment of the fan base is one of the worst seasons of the salary cap era. The middle (or average) exercising caution, too. Zadina was on track for a very strong rookie rating was the most common answer, but almost twice as many people season this year before getting injured, and we’ll see if he can keep it up felt better than average about the organization’s overall health than felt (and take another step) whenever hockey returns. worse than average. That said, as we’re about to say, that doesn’t appear to have a ton to do with the team taking the ice most nights in When do you next expect the Red Wings to make the playoffs? Detroit this season … A pretty patient set of expectations here, all things considered (more on How would you rate the strength of the Red Wings’ NHL level talent? that later), though the 26.9 percent of respondents expecting a playoff run two years from now do introduce some pressure to turn things About 82 percent of you thought Detroit’s NHL players rate at a 2 or around. Nonetheless, Red Wings fans seem to be pretty reasonable worse, with more fans actually voting “2” than “1.” That might seem a bit about how much work the team still has to do. surprising considering solely the team’s record, but probably speaks to a confidence in some key players at the top of lineup more than anything When do you next expect the Red Wings to win a playoff series? else. This result is a bit more interesting: Only 9 percent of respondents expect How would you rate the strength of the Red Wings’ farm system? a playoff series win in the next two years (still pretty soon), but beyond that a majority of fans do expect it within the next couple seasons. That If you know the fan base is broadly content with the overall health of the means getting into the postseason won’t be enough to satisfy fans: franchise, but skeptical of the NHL-level talent, then you probably could They’re willing to be patient in this rebuild, but they want real results guess that the farm system would get a generally positive vote. But it’s when it’s done. not pure sunshine here, either: The plurality of fans still rate the system more toward the middle than the top of the scale, with less than 3 percent How many Red Wings who played in the NHL this season do you expect thinking the farm system is elite. Nonetheless, it’s a generally strong to be on the next Red Wings team to win a playoff series? rating, that could improve more after the 2020 draft (whenever it may be). This, to me, is one of the more interesting results in the survey, What is your confidence level in Steve Yzerman as general manager? especially when paired with the last question. More than 88 percent of respondents expect about 70 percent (or more) of the current NHL roster Here’s the other component of that stronger-than-expected “overall to be turned over the next time the team wins a playoff series. And from health” rating for the Red Wings: extreme confidence in the man running the last answer, we know that to most fans, that means within the next the show. Steve Yzerman has complete confidence from nearly 66 four years. That’s quite a bit of turnover. One thing I’d be interested to percent of the fan base, and a staggering 97 percent at a “4” or better. hear from the 1-4 crowd (and if you’re in that group, feel free to chime in But, presumably, you already knew that. below), is which members of the current core they don’t think will be What is your confidence level in as head coach? around for that next playoff win.

Quite the different look here, as about 85 percent of respondents When do you next expect the Red Wings to win the Stanley Cup? reported average or worse confidence in the Red Wings’ coach of five Especially considering the unpredictability of playoff hockey, not to years. Blashill is the third-longest tenured coach in the league, and nearly mention the twists and turns every team goes through before it gets all of that tenure has coincided with a full-scale tear-down and rebuild. there, it’s next to impossible to guess the next year any given team will That was never likely to result in many wins, and perhaps that’s why the win its next Cup. But Red Wings fans seem confident it’ll be in the next most common answer still fell in the middle of the scale. Still, these decade, with less than 17 percent thinking it will take until 2030 or longer. results are a pretty clear message that only a small percentage of the fan base is particularly confident in him leading the team into its next winning How would you rate your patience for this rebuild? era. As is probably clear from most of the last few answers, Red Wings fans What is your confidence level in as Governor, President consider themselves quite patient with the rebuilding process. Though I and CEO? would be interested to see how the results of this poll might change if we conducted it 30 minutes after a randomly selected game this past Certainly a more positive than not set of answers for Ilitch, though I’d season. venture to guess the distribution here could reflect a general unfamiliarity with him as owner. The Red Wings have essentially been rebuilding his How would you grade Steve Yzerman’s job as general manager in the entire tenure, and so there’s not much track record in one of the main last year? ways fans judge owners: spending to retain stars and bring in prime free agents. But Ilitch did bring Yzerman back to the franchise, which, based This, I think, is a pretty interesting given the confidence score for on the confidence level in the GM, certainly helps his case. Yzerman earlier in the survey. Red Wings fans certainly have every reason to be confident in their new GM given his track record in Tampa Bay, but as for his performance in Detroit so far, respondents weren’t quite as effusive at the top of the scale, even though a B is still pretty This one was a slam dunk, and a predictable one at that, but nonetheless strong, all things considered. one worth putting into numerical context. More than 80 percent of Red Wings fans want Fedorov’s number retired, and less than 8 percent How would you grade ’s overall tenure as Red Wings GM? outright oppose it.

It might have been more interesting to get the answer here in time How many games do you attend at per season? intervals, as I suspect the answers might vary depending on the window of time being assessed, but nothing too surprising here nonetheless. A A little less than 60 percent of respondents went to at least one home number of Red Wings fans dinged Holland, but the strong majority (more game last season, but less than 10 percent went to six or more. That than 76 percent of those surveyed) were generally pleased with his may not be surprising considering the costs of attending pro sporting overall tenure and the three Stanley Cups it included. events in 2020, but there may also be more to it than that. There were multiple comments on the survey post lamenting the lack of of questions Would it be OK with you if the Red Wings’ rebuild lasted another five about the game-day experience at Little Caesars Arena, including a years before the team made the playoffs? couple of familiar refrains sounding off about the arena’s goal horn.

Here’s one more wrinkle to the patience question: that patience has an On the whole, though, the passion of Red Wings fans came through loud expiration date, as the majority of Red Wings fans would find it and clear throughout this survey. Things haven’t been so hot on the ice in unacceptable for the team to go another five seasons without a playoff recent years, but the team’s supporters remain patient, and engaged, appearance, with about 18 percent unsure at this point. with high expectations for the future.

Which of the following are you least confident in as it pertains to the Red The Athletic LOADED: 04.17.2020 Wings’ rebuild?

You don’t usually get a bite-sized chunk out of a pie-chart. That’s certainly one interesting aspect of the results here, as nearly 9 percent of respondents wrote in an answer to this question instead of choosing one of the available options. (Among those writing in an answer, coaching appears to have been the most popular pick.) The rest of the results weren’t terribly surprising, with the current NHL core the source of more uncertainty than the front office or farm system, but one thing that does stick out is a lack of faith in Detroit’s development system. Prospect development looks like an area in which fans would like more reason to believe, and with a number of recent top picks nearing the NHL, the Red Wings’ development staff will have its chance to prove itself.

Which of the following are you most confident in as it pertains to the Red Wings’ rebuild?

Here’s the inverse of the last question, mostly reinforcing its results with one key exception: Despite being the area the plurality of fans said they were least confident in, the Red Wings’ current young NHL core also finished as the third most popular choice for the most confidence- inspiring aspect in the rebuild. Other than that, though, the results are about the same, and fans appear very confident in the front office’s drafting ability and the draft capital Detroit possesses (though, interestingly, less bullish on Yzerman’s ability to find players outside the draft).

Which of the following are you sufficiently confident in as it pertains to the Red Wings’ rebuild? (Check all that apply)

And here’s the crucial context to all the above: Four of the six aspects highlighted above earned 50 percent or better confidence ratings from fans, but none better than 66 percent. This gives a good picture for which areas of the franchise fans are comfortable with, and where they appear to be looking for more results.

How would you grade the job Jeff Blashill has done so far as head coach?

A lot of “C” grades for Blashill, and, interestingly, virtually the same number of “B” as “D” grades. Compared to the confidence rating, the answers to this question actually seem a bit more forgiving of the situation Blashill’s been coaching in so far in Detroit. Still, though, very few “A” marks, as fans appear to think the coach could be doing more.

Should the Red Wings make a coaching change this summer?

The natural follow-up to the last one, with interesting results in its own right. Forty-one percent of respondents want a coaching change no matter what, and 26 percent prefer Blashill continue on past this season. But a very large percentage (32.4) of those surveyed feel a change is only prudent for a specific coach.

When asked to specify who, overwhelmingly garnered the most mentions, with Lane Lambert a distant second. Also mentioned: , Bruce Boudreau, Igor Larionov and The Athletic’s Craig Custance.

Should the Red Wings retire Sergei Fedorov’s No. 91?

Want an easy way to make more than 80 percent of your fans happy? Here you go, Red Wings. 1182925 Edmonton Oilers Jacob Perreault .684

Jan Mysak .682

Lowetide: Why Jan Mysak could be a value pick for the Oilers at the This is encouraging, especially when we consider Mysak is significantly 2020 Draft younger than many of the names ahead of him. Finally, let’s look at when Mysak is delivering offence:

Even strength: 22 games, 8-6-14 (0.64 points per game) By Allan Mitchell Apr 16, 2020 Power play: 22 games, 4-4-8 (0.36)

Penalty kill: 22 games, 3-0-3 (0.14) During the 2010s, the Edmonton Oilers drafted heavily from the OHL in the first round. Taylor Hall, Nail Yakupov, Darnell Nurse, Connor The fact he scored so much in all three game states tells us he McDavid and Evan Bouchard represent the cream of Ontario junior possesses a range of skills. The speed and anticipation we mentioned at teenagers for the decade just ended. the beginning are also useful with the man advantage, and (most interesting) when Mysak’s team is a man down. We could see Edmonton draft from the OHL again in 2020. I wrote about the quality of this year’s crop in March, and with the Oilers needing skill Mysak’s other skills while drafting outside the top 10 (we don’t know the final draft order at this time), some creativity will be required. Mysak is listed on the OHL website at 6-foot, 180 pounds and that’s a little undersized for today’s NHL. His 67 shots on goal (about three per That brings us to a young prospect named Jan Mysak. He played 26 game) isn’t an overly impressive total and he posted just a 46.5 success games in the Czech league, then came to Canada and played in 22 OHL rate in the faceoff circle for the Hamilton Bulldogs. games. I think his offensive surge in the OHL may have fans believing Mysak is a The games in the OHL ignited Mysak’s draft stock. In a heartbeat, Mysak scoring forward. The fact that almost half of his goals came on special seemingly went from hidden gem to a candidate to go in the first round. teams (including three shorthanded goals) tells us there is some range to this player. The problem? He played just 22 OHL games. His numbers are interesting, the scouting reports are impressive. But did NHL scouts get a Mysak’s resume suggests a two-way forward with intelligence and vision. good look at this player? How much risk is involved? Could Mysak be He can make excellent passes and be productive on the power play. exceptional value when the Oilers pick, available only because of a small sample size for NHL scouts? Sample size

Let’s have a look. If you’re an Oilers fan, chances are you’re familiar and then some with draft-eligible prospects. Mysak’s resume rings true to me, he appears to The player be a substantial prospect with real potential in all areas. That doesn’t mean he’ll be a 30-goal scorer or become Patrice Bergeron as a 200-foot Mysak was born June 24, 2002, and in draft terms that means he has centre. more development time before maturation than most of the players who will be chosen in the 2020 Draft. Scouts talk about his intelligence and It does mean that the range of his skills means he is going to have a creativity. He scored 15 goals in 22 OHL games — that’s an impressive chance to succeed in more than one area. Scott Wheeler’s midseason total. rankings for The Athletic gave us some clues about what this player does well. Scouting reports from his OHL time are glowing. Prior to arriving in the OHL, his track record was inconsistent and the scouting community had some questions (Corey Pronman’s take at Math is intrigued with this player. In 22 games, he scored 15 goals and midseason for The Athletic is an interesting overview of what might have was a threat in every game state. If he had 66 games to play, could he been a state of the industry view before the OHL games). Bob McKenzie have scored 45? We’ll never know. ranked him just outside the top 50 in his midseason assessment for TSN. He led OHL rookies in shorthanded goals, despite playing just a third of Since arriving in the OHL, Mysak’s skating has received excellent grades the schedule. and his on-ice vision and passing are also singled out for attention. Add those things to his impressive goal scoring run and we’re looking at a What does it all mean? meaningful resume. I’m not a scout and this player may not have been observed enough by The issue? Sample size. If you’re an NHL scout, how many times did you all 31 NHL teams in order for them to project him as anything more than see Mysak? Are you willing to go all-in and recommend him as a first- a possible second-rounder. round option? There are numbers that make Mysak fascinating. In his final 10 OHL The numbers games, he scored seven goals and added six assists. Did he spike? Or were those 10 games real progress? Let’s start in the Czech league, where very few teenagers played in 2019-20. Mysak hung around for half the season and performed well Would an NHL team be foolish for taking him early? Is there enough of a compared to other under 20s in the Czech League. sample to be certain? How much of his performance in the Czech league suggest the OHL spike was predictable? Mysak is one of just two forwards age 17 who played over 15 games while posting enough offence to hit a fairly low scoring bar. He led the Ordinarily, scouts would have been able to see him for a far longer period teenage Czech leaguers in points per game and in goals. This is a very than has been available to them this spring. small look into the player but you’ll often hear things like “he didn’t do a OHL forwards who are sure to go before Edmonton selects in the first lot in Europe” in scouting reports. Mysak, like his fellow teenagers, didn’t round include Byfield, Rossi, Perfetti and Quinn. Foerster, Perreault and accomplish much because the opportunity given was very small. Chromiak would appear to be ahead of Mysak, but his scouting report The OHL numbers are interesting in two different ways. Let’s start with and statistics (in a small sample) are compelling. first-time draft eligibles and points per game: I don’t believe the Oilers will select Mysak at No. 21 overall. I believe he Mysak may be chosen before some of these names due to speed and may warrant the selection. range of skills, but even if he’s the No. 8 forward chosen from the OHL The Athletic LOADED: 04.17.2020 that should land him in the early portion of 2020’s second round. Now, let’s have a look at goals per game:

Jack Quinn .839

Quinton Byfield .711

Marco Rossi .696 1182926 Los Angeles Kings impact? But also, how can we keep people engaged? And we’ve had those conversations at the NHL level, with all our partner teams around the league, with the Ducks on this initiative.

Column: Kings vs. Ducks virtual showdown will feature fan favorites from “Everybody’s in the same boat. We’re all trying to do the same things, so the past that helps make it really easy.”

If the Ducks and Kings can come together in a time we’ve all been forced By HELENE ELLIOTT to stay apart, anything is possible. “So much has been taken away in our society right now,” Tully said. Getting hockey back, even in simulated and abbreviated form, is something to celebrate.

The way the season was going before the COVID-19 pandemic forced LA Times: LOADED: 04.17.2020 the NHL to hit the pause button on March 12, the Kings and Ducks would have been on vacation by now. But thanks to the magic of an EA SPORTS NHL 20 simulation they will renew their rivalry on Friday and they’ll enliven it with an intriguing twist.

Both teams’ rosters will include past players chosen in a fan vote as well as current players, an innovative element that should ignite more than a few what-if debates. The 90-minute telecast, to be aired starting at 7 p.m. on Prime Ticket and Fox Sports San Diego, will include play-by-play from Kings TV voices Alex Faust and Jim Fox, and Ducks voices John Ahlers and Brian Hayward in addition to player interviews.

Intermission features will detail each team’s ongoing efforts to support their respective communities during these strange times and will inform fans about helpful resources such as the educational programs for kids that are available on their respective websites.

There’s nothing like the edge-of-your-seat tension of playoff hockey, but seeing current players skating alongside familiar faces from the past like Wayne Gretzky, Luc Robitaille, Paul Kariya and other standouts should turn Friday’s simulated game into the next-best thing to being in an arena and dreaming of kissing the Stanley Cup.

“When you get in those arguments or conversations and you’re talking about who was better and everybody says, ‘You can’t compare eras,’ in this technological sort of way we were able to do that, and it was fun,” Ahlers said. “We were able to see some of the legends play with present- day players and in an interesting form. At the same time, it was fun to say those names in the process of calling a game.”

The collaboration was initiated by the Ducks, though Kings game presentation staffer Tim Smith had begun doing simulated games on his Twitter feed and through Twitch after the season was halted.

The Kings’ digital staff enhanced those efforts and added Faust, Fox, and sideline reporter Carrlyn Bathe to the mix. A robust following developed, Kings senior vice president Mike Altieri said, leaving the Kings receptive when the Ducks contacted them about what ideas the teams might be able to produce if they worked together.

Five or six brainstorming sessions and Fox Sports’ willingness to do something different led to the broadcast of the simulated game that viewers will see on Friday. “The concept of doing classic teams really got us excited because it’s different from the other simulations that were being done. The other simulations were the current teams,” Altieri said.

He also praised the quality of the technology. “It’s like watching a game, it’s so lifelike,” Altieri said. “The players skate like actual players, they have tendencies like the actual players.”

Ahlers isn’t a video-game player but was struck by the realistic details in the simulation. “What caught me is the realism of the fans,” he said. “You look in the crowd and you see fans wearing different versions of Kings jerseys from over the years, Ducks paraphernalia from over the years, different logoed things. It was very specific to that regard and I was very impressed by that.

“The game action itself was very high tech and it looks like a hockey game at Staples Center between the Kings and Ducks and that kind of warms your heart, if nothing else.”

Artistic license was taken in at least one area, per the request of Hall of Fame winger Kariya. “His one request was he doesn’t grow a very good beard in general, in real life, so this was an opportunity for him to have a full-fledged beard,” said Merit Tully, vice president of marketing for the Ducks. “So you may notice he has a bit more facial hair than he’s capable of growing. It presents some opportunities that way as well.”

If all goes well, Friday’s broadcast could lead to additional joint efforts between the Kings and Ducks. “For us,” Altieri said, “our main initiatives are how can we help in this current situation? How can we make an 1182927 Los Angeles Kings

This day in sports: Hockey great Wayne Gretzky announces retirement

Wayne Gretzky led the Kings to the 1993 Stanley Cup Final during his career as a player.

By JOHN SCHEIBE APRIL 16, 20205 AM

Introduced during a news conference as the greatest player ever, Wayne Gretzky announced on this date in 1999 that he would retire from hockey. His last game, the 1,487th of his unparalleled career, was played two days later for the New York Rangers against the Pittsburgh Penguins.

The former King, who also played for the Edmonton Oilers and the St. Louis Blues, held or shared more than 60 NHL records and scored 1,017 goals in the regular season and playoffs. He led the Kings to the 1993 Stanley Cup Final against the Montreal Canadiens.

If it weren’t for the COVID-19 pandemic, the Dodgers would have concluded a three-game series Thursday night against the St. Louis Cardinals at .

Here is a look at memorable games and outstanding sports performances on this date:

1940 — On a blustery 40-degree day in Chicago, Bob Feller, 21, pitches the only opening day no-hitter in baseball history. The 1-0 gem at Comiskey Park was the first of three career no-hit games for the Cleveland Indians ace. He also hurled 12 one-hitters.

1954 — The Detroit Red Wings edge the Canadiens 2-1 in overtime to win the Stanley Cup in seven games. Diminutive Tony Leswick, at 5 feet 6 and 160 pounds, scores the winning goal at 4:20 left. The stunned Canadians leave the ice without shaking hands with the Red Wings.

1987 — Michael Jordan scores 61 points in a 117-114 Chicago Bulls loss to the Atlanta Hawks and becomes the second player to surpass 3,000 points in a season. He joins Wilt Chamberlain, who accomplished the feat three times. Dominique Wilkins leads Atlanta with 34 points.

1990 — Gelindo Bordin of Italy is the first Olympic men’s marathon champion to win the Boston Marathon. Bordin, who won the gold medal at Seoul in 1988, keeps a conservative pace and passes the leaders at the 21-mile mark.

1992 — Mike Gartner of the Rangers gets his 500th career assist in a 7-1 rout of the Penguins. Gartner, one of the last survivors of the World Hockey Assn., is the first NHL player to record his 500th assist, 500th goal, 1,000th point and play in his 1,000th game all in the same season.

1997 — The Chicago Cubs set the mark for worst start in National League history, extending a losing streak to 12 with a 4-0 loss to Colorado. The streak ends at 14 when the Cubs beat the N.Y. Mets in the second game of a doubleheader.

2003 — The Ducks beat Detroit 3-2 in overtime, making the Red Wings the first defending Stanley Cup champion in 51 years to be swept the following season in an opening series. Steve Rucchin scores at 6:53 of the extra period to give Anaheim, known then as the Mighty Ducks, the win.

2008 — Golden State finishes the season with a record of 48-34 after losing to the Seattle SuperSonics 126-121. The Warriors have more wins than any team that failed to make the playoffs since the NBA expanded to the 16-team format in 1984. Houston held the previous mark of 45 wins in 2000-01.

SOURCES: The Times,

LA Times: LOADED: 04.17.2020 1182928 Los Angeles Kings Cooper: I love Kopitar’s game so much and I legit saw him being a point per game (or more) player like he was two seasons ago when he nailed 92 points. The difference between that year and this one was he had a Looking back at our Kings predictions: Where we hit and totally whiffed rejuvenated Dustin Brown on his wing, who had a career season. This season, Brown had 35 points in 66 games and Kopitar’s other usual winger, Alex Iafallo, had 43 points in 70 games. Both wingers would be great complements on a contending team’s second or third line, but By Lisa Dillman and Josh Cooper Apr 16, 2020 definitely not on a first line. As Jordan Samuels-Thomas noted, Kopitar basically was the straw that stirred that drink all year — a heavy stir at that. Looking back at preseason predictions is almost like flipping through an old high school yearbook. Believe me, there is more common ground the Drew Doughty’s average ice time longer you think about it. Lisa predicted 26:00 per game and Josh predicted 27:00. Doughty Optimism! Hopes and dreams! finished with 25:49.

(And what was I thinking with that bad hairstyle? This is Lisa musing, not Dillman: Somehow, I came the closest on this prediction. Doughty’s ice Josh.) time has gone from 27:09 in 2016-17 to 26:36 in 2018-19 to 25:49 this past season. It’ll be interesting to see how the coaching staff handles his Stay with me on this: Mistakes can happen at any age. ice time going forward now that he is 30 years old.

Instead of wondering what you were thinking with that curious hairstyle, Cooper: I thought the Kings’ lack of defensive depth would mean let alone mismatched wardrobe, now you are wondering what was the Doughty would be forced to play big minutes. I was wrong on this. Todd thought process behind a prediction that Kings goaltender Jonathan McLellan took the (slightly) less is more approach. Plus, Doughty is 30 Quick would appear in 58 games, or several other thoughts that never years old. Say that with me together … Drew Doughty is 30. Blows my came to fruition. mind. That being said, at that age, you have to preserve yourself more and it could mean that his big ice-time years are likely in the past. It goes without saying we have to make this disclaimer — the book hasn’t officially been closed on the 2019-20 regular season. The NHL pause Jonathan Quick’s games due to the coronavirus went into effect on March 12. There might be a resumption of the season with games to be played in the summer but Lisa predicted 58 games and Josh predicted 49 for the veteran who knows what may or may not happen. netminder. Quick ended up playing 42 games at the time of the pause.

At the pause, the Ducks had played 71 games and the Kings 70. (Of Dillman: The less said about this one, the better. Even if they somehow note, the Ducks-St. Louis Blues at and Kings-Ottawa finish the regular season, Quick would probably get about six more Senators at Staples Center on March 11 were the last two games on the starts, bringing him to 48, assuming there is an even split with Cal NHL schedule to be played.) Petersen. Josh is the winner here on the panel.

Despite the uncompleted regular season, there is more than enough Cooper: I rule! Just kidding, but the promotion of Cal Petersen played a evidence and a meaningful body of work to evaluate our preseason big role in Quick playing less. Petersen’s a legit stud and will be their predictions — the hits, the misses and the ones veering way off the rails. starter next season, in my opinion.

The Athletic Los Angeles editor Josh Cooper and Kings beat reporter Tobias Bjornfot: L.A. or Sweden? Lisa Dillman decided to re-examine their predictions for the Kings. Both Lisa and Josh predicted Los Angeles. Bjornfot played three games Kings in the Playoffs in Los Angeles and 44 with the AHL’s .

Both Lisa and Josh predicted no. Dillman: We left out a third choice … Ontario.

Dillman: We started with one of the easier questions and all of us — Cooper: The Kings did the right thing by putting him in Ontario. And the editor Rich Hammond and Ducks beat reporter Eric Stephens were fact that he complied, rather than going back to Sweden, was a big deal. included in overall staff predictions — answered no. That wasn’t exactly European players need time to adjust to North America — unless they’re rocket science since the Kings were coming off a 30th-place finish the special talents. Bjornfot playing for the Reign will pay major dividends for previous season. The Kings, despite a seven-game winning streak his future. before the pause, had the fourth-worst record in the NHL at 64 points. Hart Trophy winner On a recent Zoom chat that included the Kings’ Anze Kopitar and the Lisa predicted Connor McDavid and Josh predicted Nathan MacKinnon. Ducks’ Ryan Getzlaf, the conversation turned to playoff formats. Dillman: TBA. But it is looking like right team, wrong player. Getzlaf, cutting to the chase: “Kopi, for some reason I don’t think we have to worry about the playoff format.” I had Connor McDavid of the Edmonton Oilers, as did Rich. Josh and Eric selected Nathan MacKinnon of the Colorado Avalanche. Nothing Cooper: It was probably the easiest question we had on this survey. wrong with any of those choice, nothing at all. As a member of the Kings points PHWA, I’ll be (eventually) voting on this award and if the vote were today, I would go with Leon Draisaitl of the Oilers. Lisa predicted they would finish with 79 points and Josh said they would get 73. The Athletic’s model said L.A. most likely would have finished Cooper: I love Leon Draisaitl, but nobody is as good as Connor McDavid, with 71 points. who had a 1.52 points per game to Draisaitl’s 1.55. I don’t think we should punish McDavid for playing fewer games and hence having fewer Dillman: Take a bow, Josh. points than Draisaitl. He’s the most talented player of this era and my MVP. Nathan MacKinnon is great, but when McDavid’s team is Cooper: I had the low-end here at 73. I didn’t see this team doing all that contending for a playoff spot in a paused season, he has to the MVP. well, though their seven-game winning streak to “end” the season Also Lisa’s answer reminded me that I have to pay my PHWA dues. provided some hope for the future. Mark Messier Leadership Award winner Anze Kopitar’s points Lisa predicted Blake Wheeler and Josh predicted Connor McDavid. Lisa predicted 79 points and Josh predicted 83. Kopitar was on pace to finish with 73 points. Dillman: Also TBA. Spoiler alert: This happens to be Josh’s favorite trophy. This also might be a good time to let him explain why. Dillman: Most of us felt Kopitar would have a nice bounce-back season and he did just that. With 62 points (21 goals, 41 assists) in 70 games he Cooper: I grew up a Rangers fan and Messier’s leadership is surpassed his point total (60) in 81 games in 2018-19. But the prediction mythologized with that franchise to an extreme degree. The 1994 Stanley of a 79-point season was a tad ambitious. Cup win was amazing for New York City and I can’t remember a championship that captured the imagination of so many people locally — though maybe I feel this way because I was 11 and everything sports- wise seemed important then. That being said, I find the process of how this trophy is picked to be slightly comical. Messier basically has ultimate authority over everything. He picks both the nominees and then from his hand-selected nominees picks the winner. In concept — for fans — it sounds cool, but as a reporter who has gotten to know the ins and outs of hockey and the people around it, I look at it now with an eye-roll — except the time my guy Shea Weber won it and when Jonathan Toews won it. Both were long overdue for the award when they were ordained by The Mess. Maybe a better way to do this is to create some sort of committee where Messier is chairperson. Like bring in great players/leaders from his era who also won Stanley Cups — Steve Yzerman and Scott Stevens come to mind — and newer blood like ? This should be a leadership-ocracy not a leadership-tatorship. The Mess, however, did lead to one of the more ridiculous moments in NHL awards history.

(Sidenote: There is a charitable component to this award that shouldn’t be overlooked and how the nominees support their communities. It’s important, but again I think a selection committee for it works better. I’ll get off my soapbox now.)

Will Justin Williams Play?

Lisa predicted no and Josh predicted yes.

Dillman: That will be the last time I ever doubt Mr. Game 7. His return was good for the Carolina Hurricanes and good for the game.

Cooper: Well, he did come back and I said he would. My predictions crushed it.

Stanley Cup winner

Both Lisa and Josh predicted Tampa.

Dillman: Another TBA. In the fall, we all picked the Tampa Bay Lightning. It is starting to remind me of the days when some of us used to pick the San Jose Sharks every season, thinking that somehow, this year will be their year. The Lightning feel a bit like the new Sharks.

Now, another question: In what month will NHL commissioner Gary Bettman hand the Stanley Cup to the winning captain?

Cooper: Now it all depends on how they handle the tournament, if it happens, and the type of shape players will be in if it restarts. On this I got nothing. Whichever team, to paraphrase Clippers coach , wins the wait will win the Stanley Cup if awarded this year.

Dodgers win the World Series (in 2019)

Both Lisa and Josh predicted yes.

Dillman: My optimism got the best of me. Again.

Cooper: I was wrong … but they’re a lock for 2020 if the season gets played, right?

The Athletic LOADED: 04.17.2020 1182929

Wild's Jordan Greenway playing in virtual hockey marathon to benefit COVID-19 relief efforts

By Sarah McLellan APRIL 16, 2020 — 12:15PM

Wild forward Jordan Greenway is participating in a 14-day livestreaming virtual hockey marathon to benefit COVID-19 relief efforts.

The fundraiser, Hockey2Help, started Wednesday and includes other NHLers like Mitch Marner, Mika Zibanejad and Alex Tuck. Wild forward J.T. Brown is also playing.

Throughout the 14 days, gamers will host streaming marathons and a 3- on-3 double elimination tournament that can be watched at Twitch.tv/Nasher. The action is benefiting Second Harvest in Canada and Volunteers of America, two organizations working to deliver essential services to seniors and the most vulnerable in communities across the U.S. and Canada.

Viewers who donate will have the chance to win prizes, hockey experiences and memorabilia.

Star Tribune LOADED: 04.17.2020 1182930 Minnesota Wild The Wild, who have suffered three consecutive first-round exits, find themselves in familiar territory, losing for the 17th time in their past 21 playoff games, falling to 5-19 on the road since 2013 and falling to 2-12 Simulating the 2020 NHL playoffs: Canucks vs. Wild all-time in Game 1s and 1-10 all-time in Game 1s on the road.

The good news is they’ve also been in this position before against the Canucks. By Thomas Drance, Michael Russo and Dom Luszczyszyn Apr 16, 2020 Of course, that was 17 years ago in the second round when that traitor Minnesotan Trent Klatt scored in overtime of Game 1 to put the Canuckleheads up 1-0. Wes Walz scored the winner in Game 2 to help The NHL isn’t back yet, but we’re going to pretend it is. Over the last Minnesota even the series and the Wild went on to an exhilarating seven- month, we’ve run a simulation of how the NHL’s regular season might game win on everybody’s favorite #oneofus Minnesotan Darby have played out if the league hadn’t been suspended on March 12. Now, Hendrickson’s game-winner. the standings have been set and we’re carrying that forward through the playoffs. This time around, one of our beat writers from each team will be You remember that, right? When Todd Bertuzzi put his stinky foot in his in charge of every lineup decision, the narrative for every playoff game mouth. and they’ll get to decide what “happened” in each game. Join us as we make our way through the simulated postseason to crown a virtual LEAVING MINNESOTA AFTER GAME 5 (GOING HOME FOR GAME 6) Stanley Cup champion. AND A FAN YELLED AT TODD “SEE YOU AT GAME 7” AND TODD SAID “NO YOU WON’T” AND THE FAN HELD UP A SIGN IN GAME 7 On March 12, the odds of a Canucks-Wild playoff matchup were literally SAYING “WELCOME TO GAME 7” THAT WAS ON THE FRONT PAGE one percent. Neither team looked very strong and it seemed all but likely OF THE NEWSPAPER WHEN THEY BEAT US. #ASKBURKIE that if either team made it, it would be as wildcard fodder. At the time, the HTTPS://T.CO/CJIZPQKYCY Canucks had a 60 percent chance at making the playoffs and the Wild were at 47 percent. — BRIAN BURKE (@BURKIE2020) APRIL 2, 2020

The rest of the regular season did not play out as expected. Not even This time, the Wild have some work to do. close. The Canucks, somehow, someway, went 11-1-1 the rest of the — Michael Russo way on Earth2 to inexplicably win the division. Vancouver was the league’s hottest team, something that no one could’ve possibly predicted. Game 2 It made no sense whatsoever given the way the team was trending, especially given starting goalie Jacob Markstrom was out for a portion of Kevin Fiala scored the lone goal but only played 15 minutes. You can bet that stretch, but that’s life sometimes. It’s the unpredictable chaos, the interim coach will increase that ice time to the 18 or 19 things that don’t seem any way believable that sometimes make things minutes he was playing during his red-hot final stretch drive of the feel more real. That the Wild surged to a 7-3-3 record to solidify its own season. playoff standing only adds to the strangeness of Earth2. The Wild need to generate more offense from the back end, so it This matchup is literally a 1-in-100 event in the making. wouldn’t shock me to see Brad Hunt re-enter the lineup, either for stay- at-home defenseman Greg Pateryn or Carson Soucy, who looked rusty On paper neither team looks all that imposing – they’re two of the weaker in his return from a wrist injury. More than likely, it would be Pateryn who teams in the playoff pool – but Vancouver gets a decent edge in series comes out. odds as a result of an ELO adjustment from its hot finish to the season. The Canucks enter the series with a 62 percent chance of advancing. The reality is the Wild often play the Canucks well, so there’s no use panicking yet and overhauling all the lines. In Elias Pettersson, Vancouver has a superstar talent who can take over games, something the Wild lack. Add J.T. Miller and Brock Boeser to the The Canucks will keep the same lineup after a win. equation and it’s a high-end cluster of forwards that the Wild will struggle Vancouver takes both games at home to take a 2-0 series lead to to stack up against. In net, there’s a huge mismatch between Jacob Minnesota. Markstrom and Alex Stalock as the former covers up a lot of defensive inefficiencies while the latter is propped up by a strong system. Canucks take care of business on home ice with a decisive 2-0 shutout victory. Markstrom stops 36 shots, as the Wild again control proceedings Where the Wild have an edge is with their depth and their defence. at 5-on-5, but the Canucks get goals from Adam Gaudette and J.T. Miller Minnesota may not have the high-end talent Vancouver has up front, but — both at even strength. This is a performance that Canucks coaches it has stronger waves afterward, especially in the bottom six. The like a lot better than the first game, despite a similar result. defense corps looks especially more capable with one of the best top fours in the league. It’s the backbone of the team and the reason they’ve — Thomas Drance made it this far. OK, now it’s time to panic and overhaul the lines. Now it’s time to see which team makes it farther. One goal in two games? Game 1 Not good enough for a team that’s biggest concern coming into this Vancouver takes a 1-0 series lead. series was goaltending.

The ghosts of 2003 are going to loom large over this series for Canucks But Alex Stalock performed well in the first two games and the Wild’s fans. Memories of beach balls and the spirit of Darby Hendrickson offensive well has run dry. ensure that at no point in this series will any Canucks fan feel “confident” “I remember we were down 2-0 in 2014 to Colorado, returned home and despite being favoured, and now up 1-0 in the series. I’d expect that on everybody felt we had what it took to come back in that series,” Earth2, Mike and I would’ve both spilled thousands of words on the most defenseman Jared Spurgeon reminded. “And we got it done.” significant mismatch in this series, which is the Vancouver power play vs. the Wild penalty kill. That advantage shows up in Game 1, as Vancouver For that to happen, significant changes will need to occur. wins 3-1 despite being outshot 5-on-5. Kevin Fiala opens the scoring with a highlight reel wrist shot off the rush, but Vancouver adds a pair of Interim coach Dean Evason alluded to lineup changes and one may be power-goal goals from Bo Horvat and Elias Pettersson before Tanner triggered by an injury to center Alex Galchenyuk. Pearson scores an empty netter. It would be shocking if Mikko Koivu moves up in the lineup and Victor — Thomas Drance Rask is inserted into the lineup. Now may be the time to load up the top pair and move Matt Dumba alongside Ryan Suter and create a nice Well, nothing has changed since the Wild last took part in the 2018 shutdown pair between Jonas Brodin and Spurgeon. playoffs, lost in five games to Winnipeg and cost his job as general manager. Don’t be surprised if we see Zach Parise skate with Koivu and Kevin Fiala, Mats Zuccarello skate on the right side of Eric Staal and Ryan Donato, a Jordan Greenway-Joel Eriksson Ek-Luke Kunin line and a Vancouver sweeps the Wild to improve to… 15-1-1 on Earth2. Somehow. fourth line of Marcus Foligno-Rask-Ryan Hartman. The Canucks have purged the ghost of Darby Hendrickson and have — Michael Russo swept the Minnesota Wild. “Mild Sweep” is the headline in the Vancouver Province. Game 3 This is a tight game late, but Pettersson has a signature moment in the At morning skate at the Xcel Energy Center ahead of Game 3, Canucks third period, converting a 2-on-1 with J.T. Miller for the game winner. winger Josh Leivo skates for the first time with the team in a non-contact Canucks add an empty netter and finish off the wild 4-2. jersey. Leivo doesn’t take part in line rushes, but says “he’s close,” even as he confirms that the winger — who fractured his knee Vancouver has now won its first playoff series since defeating the San cap in mid-December — still isn’t expected to return in the series. No Jose Sharks in the 2011 Western Conference final, and they’re going into changes are expected for the Canucks lineup, while Minnesota will be Round 2 as the hottest team in the NHL. This is the sort of stuff that can making wholesale changes to create some sort of spark to avoid going only happen on Earth2. down 3-0. — Thomas Drance Vancouver wins to take a commanding 3-0 series lead. First of all, Wild fans who have long loved Dom because he has been This is the game where Vancouver’s edge in net really shows up. It’s a 5- such a Wild homer can now disown him and his stupid, freaking model. 1 shellacking in a building that’s often been a house of horrors for the Canucks. The sweep to the Canuckleheads, as shocking as it was, will now cause some serious soul-searching for first-year GM Bill Guerin. Brock Boeser has three points (two goals and an assist) in his hometown, including the game winner, while Bo Horvat adds a power- We’ve long known the Wild were in need of a No. 1 center and No. 1 play goal, two assists, wins 18 of 23 draws and his line demolishes goalie, but that surely will be an offseason priority as the Wild face Minnesota territorially. another critical offseason in which now goal-scoring is a concern.

@Burkie2020 tweets “This time, it’s the Canucks that look like the cult” Interim coach Dean Evason did a terrific job leading the Wild into the playoffs after February’s firing of Bruce Boudreau, but the playoff loss @JasonBroughTSN tweets “Just watched the Wild postgame game and could inevitably seal his fate. And we may very well have seen the last of honestly I’m still scared that Minnesota will dress Wes Walz in Game 4.” Wild all-time leading scorer and games played leader Mikko Koivu.

— Thomas Drance There are positive things to look forward to: The continued rise of Kevin Fiala, the near arrival of young Russian star Kirill Kaprizov and a number First of all, I think Dom’s simulator is drunk from too many nights at the of prospects coming down the pike. Roxy. But losing 20 of its last 24 playoff games is not what we expected from Nevertheless, the Wild now find themselves in a giant hole, and what’s Minnesota after such a good final two months that included the frightening is Elias Pettersson hasn’t even been a factor yet. emergence of Fiala and reinvigoration of Zach Parise after the trade Dean Evason’s got a lot of work to do, but the reality is despite Alex deadline. Stalock getting yanked in Game 3, the Wild’s go-to guys have yet to At least, Wild fans weren’t subject to Alex Burrows diving all over the ice, show up in this series. Mattias Ohlund breaking Koivu’s leg and the Sedin Twins lighting up the Two goals in three games just won’t cut it. Wild for fun.

“One goal a game isn’t good enough,” said Zach Parise, the Wild’s This version of the Canuckleheads are a likeable bunch in part led by leading goal scorer in the regular season who scored Game 3’s only goal one of the great humans around, Brock Boeser. Plus, their coach, Travis for Minnesota. “We have nothing to lose now. But we’ve got to be better. Green, was once in the World Series of Poker, so he’s my hero. Much better.” Vancouver entered the postseason on fire and now will get plenty of rest before the second round of a conference that is wide open for the taking. The Wild need a momentum change and at a minimum we can expect Devan Dubnyk in net for Game 4. On an aside, this playoff series proves yet again, after years of covering the Panthers and Wild, I’ll never get to cover a Stanley Cup run. The Wild have twice rallied from 3-1 deficits to win series, but 3-0 is a whole other animal. The Athletic’s Thomas Drance knows what I mean: He used to be Florida’s PR guy! — Michael Russo The Athletic LOADED: 04.17.2020 Game 4

In the visiting locker room at Xcel Energy Center ahead of Game 4 there are about 120 reporters crowded around Boeser’s stall.

“What is this, Toronto?” jokes a nearby Canucks player.

Somehow Russo is positioned comfortably to Boeser’s immediate right. Drance has to give Harman Dayal a boost, just to make sure The Athletic Vancouver gets a mic into the scrum.

Shortly after, Russo tweets what might be the final Minnesota lineup of the season:

Parise-Staal-Fiala

Donato-Eriksson Ek-Kunin

Greenway-Rask-Zuccarello

Foligno-Koivu-Hartman

Suter-Spurgeon

Brodin-Dumba

Soucy-Hunt

The tweaks, make the game a near coin flip (mostly due to the team turning to Dubnyk in net). 1182931 MontrealCanadiens openness to doing whatever is possible to get this season done may be telling. Or maybe not. Maybe most players don’t feel the same way. But I’m guessing they do.

Ben Chiarot looks at the changing NHL landscape with refreshing There are all sorts of financial reasons why the league and its players candour, realism would want to complete the season, but there is a sentimental one as well, a feeling that not having a Stanley Cup champion this season would simply feel wrong. By Arpon Basu Apr 16, 2020 But Chiarot is not naïve. He understands the gravity of what is going on, and that came through when he described the day of March 12, a day the Canadiens were supposed to face the Buffalo Sabres at home. If you have trouble believing how badly the players want to get the rest of this NHL season in the books, you should listen to Ben Chiarot. “It was a weird day, obviously, and something I won’t forget, probably, looking back on my career, as the day that this all started and kind of The Canadiens defenceman is at home, just like everyone else, working changed everything for everyone,” Chiarot said. out and staying prepared for the resumption of a season that is essentially over for him and his team. Even if the Canadiens were to Chiarot was a free agent last summer. He said the overwhelming back their way into some sort of expanded playoff format, they would emotion he felt in hitting free agency was excitement. There was some have no realistic aspirations of winning the Stanley Cup. But that doesn’t sadness that his time in Winnipeg was coming to an end, but mainly stop the desire for Chiarot to see someone lifting that Cup, even if it excitement of the unknown, a new opportunity to come. That would have means it happens in an empty building with no fans. been how this year’s class of unrestricted free agents probably would have felt as well, a once in a lifetime opportunity to make tons of money “If that’s what we have to do to get this season finished up and hand out on a big contract. the Stanley Cup, then that’s what we have to do,” Chiarot said in a conference call Thursday. “It’s not ideal, but I don’t think anything about “As far as the guys (becoming) free agents this summer, no one would the whole situation is ideal for anybody.” have expected this or seen this coming,” Chiarot said. “To be a free agent this summer, I would say it’s going to impact the whole process Chiarot didn’t stop at empty buildings, either. He spoke of how the and how it normally would work. I definitely feel for those guys a little bit.” suspension of the season has allowed him to further connect with his 10- month-old daughter, who was born just prior to him signing with the Chiarot also understands why that is. Canadiens as a free agent last July. These are months of rapid change in a baby’s life, and during the season Chiarot doesn’t get the full “As far as I know, as far as what I hear on TSN, the salary cap’s probably experience of witnessing that change because of his busy schedule. not going up anytime in the near future, which is going to affect how teams spend,” he said. “Especially with teams losing money and the “As soon as the league got shut down and I’m with her 24 hours out of league not generating any income, teams won’t be as willing to spend. the day, you get to know her more so than you even thought you did,” So, for sure you can see some impact on the guys as far as salary goes. Chiarot said. “You get to know all her sounds and all the things that she I think it’s only natural; if you’re not making any money, you’re probably does when she’s feeling good and not feeling good. So that’s been a lot not spending as much, or willing to spend as much. So yeah, as far as of fun to get to know her better than I had all year, obviously because free agents go, I think it’s going to be a little different for the guys we’re home for a couple of days and on the road for a couple of days. probably not getting exactly what they expected to get. The money is just You’re kind of in and out all the time. So getting to know her has been not going to be out there for guys to get because teams won’t be as one of the big plusses for me as far as this whole situation goes. willing to spend as much.”

“Just like when she’s getting tired, when’s nap time, when she’s hungry, A reminder, this is just Ben Chiarot talking, not the NHLPA, and he is not all that kind of stuff. If you’re not with them all day, you don’t really catch saying anything earth-shattering that no one else has thought of before. those cues.” It is just a bit jarring to hear an NHL player say what everyone is thinking This is what is special about being a parent for the first time, learning out loud. those cues and building that relationship. It is a silver lining to this whole situation for Chiarot. And yet, if finishing the season meant he would The Athletic LOADED: 04.17.2020 have to separate from his family for a few weeks or even months at some neutral site city, he’d be willing to do that as well.

“We’d have to think about it a little more seriously if it came to that, if the league presented that as the best option to finish the season and award a Stanley Cup. If they brought that to us that this is the best option to getting this done, then I think we’d have to put more thought into it and really consider it,” Chiarot said. “Obviously it’s not ideal for anybody, but if this is our best way to get the season done and get the Stanley Cup handed out, then that’s what we have to do.

“It’s not ideal, but I don’t think anything about this whole situation is ideal or works for anybody in any way. If that’s the best option, then that’s what we have to do. We’ve had lots of time with our family this past month and the months going forward we’re going to have lots of time, so if we have to be away for a little bit to get our jobs done – realistically, that’s what our job is – then I think that’s what we would have to do. But that’s hypothetically speaking right now.”

It is indeed hypothetical, but it is also telling hearing it from someone in Chiarot’s circumstances. Yes, this is only one player and Chiarot was only expressing his own opinion. He was not speaking on behalf of the NHL Players’ Association, or even his Canadiens teammates, just himself. But Chiarot, playing on a team with no hope of winning the Stanley Cup, mentioned the Stanley Cup being awarded and how important that is several times over the course of a half-hour conference call. And Chiarot, after speaking about how precious this time has been with his baby daughter, said he’d be willing to be away from her for an indefinite period if it meant the Stanley Cup would be awarded.

There are forces outside everyone’s control that will dictate whether that becomes a reality, and Chiarot is very cognizant of that. But his 1182932 MontrealCanadiens passes that led to one-timer goals. His confidence and production seemed to go hand in hand, helped along by Bouchard’s approach with the young Finn.

Prospect diagnosis: an assessment of the Canadiens’ top AHL pipeline “He didn’t give up,” said Bouchard. “If anything, his play picked up and he players showed great character. He listens well, he understands, and now we have to work with him. He’s just 19.”

By Marc Dumont Apr 16, 2020 Diagnosis: Patience. Kotkaniemi doesn’t need anything but time, both on the calendar and on the ice.

D Josh Brook – 20 years old – Rookie – 60 GP, 4G, 9A Not that it rates mention above everything that’s transpired since then, but when the AHL put their season on hold the Laval Rocket were Coming into the 2019-20 season the expectations put on Josh Brook perhaps the hottest team in the league. They had won seven of their last were rather high, though not without reason. His 75 points with Moose eight games and were quickly gaining ground in the playoff race. Jaw in his final year in the WHL clearly merited some hype, especially since he led all defencemen in scoring, but making the jump to And that’s not even the exciting part. professional hockey is rarely without its challenges.

It may only have been a glimpse, but we finally have a mental image of a For Brook, it was his defensive play that held him back early in the sunnier future where a significant number of high-end prospects play season. Playing alongside Karl Alzner on the Rocket’s third pairing, meaningful roles for the Canadiens’ farm team. Considering the AHL Brook slowly, yet surely improved his game, with an emphasis on slowly. rosters of the recent and not-so-recent past, this qualifies as a Alzner’s high level of play kept Brook afloat in choppy waters, though it noteworthy achievement. There’s more to come, but this was among the was clear he struggled to adapt to the lack of space and time in first in a long line of necessary steps to establishing a solid pipeline to the professional hockey. NHL. “My game has been improving as the season goes along,” said Brook. Let’s take a look back at how each of those high-ceiling youngsters fared “So, it’s encouraging.” in their time in the AHL. We’ll measure their strengths, their weaknesses and look at what they’ll need to improve upon to take the next step in Encouraging is the right way to describe his progression, as long as you their professional hockey careers. forget the early season expectations, which were, in retrospect, unreasonable. As the season unfolded, Brook’s confidence rose, which C Jesperi Kotkaniemi – 19 years old – Second-year pro – 13GP, 1G, 12A led to a significant uptick in end-to-end rushes, a crucial aspect of his game. When Kotkaniemi made his NHL debut, he was the youngest player in the league. In his second season, he was still among the youngest His defensive play was clearly the biggest flaw in his game. Particularly, players in the league. Once he was reassigned to the Laval Rocket, he his gap control at the blue line and losing one-on-one battles in the was, well, you can see where I’m going with this. corners. It’s something he’s quick to point to when dissecting his weaknesses. “In here, it’s more about teaching little details and stuff,” he said. “In the NHL you’re on your own. It’s good to be here for now and work on those “I’ve been working hard on my defensive game, including gaps,” said little things.” Brook. “It’s starting to come along but I need to keep working on it.”

Kotkaniemi is young. And young athletes tend to need direction, support The most encouraging aspect of his season was how he reacted to and a whole lot of attention to detail. The NHL is not the ideal place to losing his defensive partner. Once Alzner was called up to the NHL, provide this crucial developmental instruction. Brook was promoted to the top-four, where he adapted quite well to the increased responsibilities. But the AHL is. And Joël Bouchard is the perfect coach to work on the small issues that tend to drive NHL coaches crazy. “He received more ice time and has adapted well,” said Bouchard. “Things sometimes go a little fast for him but that’s normal, he’s a young Kotkaniemi and Bouchard would spend hours not only reviewing footage player. The key is that he gets up, dusts himself off and moves forward to work on those issues, which is important, but also developping a very quickly. He found more confidence towards the end of the season, relationship that allowed Kotkaniemi to speak his mind to a certain extent but we have to keep our focus on teaching Josh. It’s not because he and ask for clarifications when needed. received a little more ice time that the work is over.” “I’m taking a lot of time with him,” said Bouchard. “He’s a very talented Diagnosis: Needs (much) more time to develop, with a focus on gap player, he has things I can’t teach. He has things he has to work on, and control and positioning in the defensive zone. we’ll work on them together. He listens well during video sessions, but I also give him an opportunity to express himself. C Ryan Poehling – 21 years old – Rookie – 36 GP, 5G, 8A

“Talented players like to express themselves on the ice, but they also like Poehling’s season was a perfect example of a prospect enduring a expressing themselves behind the scenes. I tried to explain that it’s all baptism by fire. Despite struggling to find his rhythm in the AHL, he about picking your battles. Sometimes, I’ve had to explain that there are received a call-up to the NHL in November, where he played four games certain aspects that won’t fly with NHL coaches, and aren’t worth a fight, on the fourth line, playing just 53 shifts in total before he was reassigned whereas there are other things that an NHL coach can let slide. We have to the Rocket. to let him express himself. We’re not telling him to avoid creativity, and those of you that have watched the games can confirm it. We don’t want Poehling’s production dried up, notching just one goal and no assists in him to be afraid of making mistakes. But it’s a partnership. If he wants to his eight games following his NHL stint, but he did manage to create do certain things, that’s fine, but others, particularly when it comes to offence with a little more regularity once he forgot about the NHL and responsibilities for a centreman, are not negotiable. I see the progress. focused on his play in the AHL. That’s when the Canadiens came He sees the progress. We’re working on this together. knocking again. His second call-up was as fruitless as the first, which eventually led to heading right back to Laval. “It’s not even about the points for me. It’s about the way he was progressing in the game; stuff I worked with him from the beginning, he “It can be tough mentally,” he said. “Physically, I’m playing five or six got it. I saw some detail in his game, in the last 4-5 games before he got minutes per night, and that’s not too bad. But mentally, you have to injured, that I didn’t see at the start, and that’s very encouraging for a guy prepare for all the games the same way, and that side is a bit rougher.” that has that much talent. He can do a lot with the puck. I really like the It’s one thing to give a rookie an opportunity when they’ve earned it, it’s way he engaged in some of the details that are not sexy, but you have to another to force the issue, which is the route the Canadiens decided to do it if you want to be a good player.” take. Poehling was being pulled in different directions, all the while Though Bouchard doesn’t feel the need to draw attention to Kotkaniemi’s struggling to focus on the task at hand. production, it’s worth remembering that he immediately started producing Once he settled down, things improved, and not just from a production in the AHL, and finished the year at a point-per-game pace. He only standpoint. He worked hard on his overall game, particularly his neutral scored one goal, an empty-netter, but half of his assists were crisp zone play, which led to more responsibilities. He often attempts to deke through players when generating zone entries, which prevented him from Unfortunately, since he made his pro start he’s had to deal with a ton of finding the next offensive gear. But as the season went on, he reduced adversity.” the number of ill-fated rush attempts. If there was one thing that was clear from his short, yet impressive return “I’m 20 years old,” he said. “I have a lot of hockey ahead of me. I need to to play, it’s that Juulsen still possesses all the tools necessary to make keep working on everything and Laval is the place to do that.” the NHL.

Much like Brook, the expectations placed upon Poehling were, in Diagnosis: Needs time to shake off the rust and much better luck in the retrospect, much too high, stemming mostly from his impressive hat trick health department. performance in his NHL debut against the Maple Leafs at the end of last season. G Cayden Primeau – 20 years old – Rookie – 17W-11L-3OTL, .908 save percentage “I like Ryan,” said Bouchard. “But he’s not exceptional in the sense that he’s not a Connor McDavid type player. We have to be realistic. He put You don’t see many goaltenders get drafted in the seventh round and go pressure on himself, you guys put pressure on him too. It took a few on to have a successful NHL career, but there have been a few, including games but we had a few talks and he finally settled down.” New York Rangers starter Henrik Lundqvist (205th overall, 2000) and starter Frederik Andersen (187th overall, 2010), not Diagnosis: Needs much more consistency, both from a production and to mention ninth-round pick Jaroslav Halak (271st overall, 2003). development standpoint. The latter should lead to the former, but the former is impossible without the latter. And though Cayden Primeau is far from emulating the aforementioned goaltenders, he’s definitely on the right track. D Cale Fleury – 21 years old – Second-year pro – 14 GP, 2G, 3A After winning the Award in 2018-19 as the NCAA’s best Fleury’s assignment to the AHL came at the perfect time. Prior to being a goaltender, Primeau signed his entry-level contract with the Canadiens, healthy scratch in Montreal, Fleury’s underlying numbers took a doing so at just 19, one of the youngest goaltenders to ever sign an NHL nosedive, an unnerving situation for most players, even more so for an contract out of the collegiate ranks. NHL rookie. His rookie season with the Rocket should be considered a success, but it “It’s a chance for me to have a bigger role,” he said. “Getting some also served as a reminder of the process involved in developing offence is a big thing for me, and it helps to play in all situations. It was goaltenders. Primeau struggled to find consistency at times, which was definitely more defensive-orientated in Montreal, especially playing third compounded by the overabundance of goaltenders in Laval that only pairing against the third and fourth line. I was just trying to be steady and cleared up once Keith Kinkaid was loaned to the Charlotte Checkers. But play physical.” he ended the season on a strong note, winning five of his last six starts, saving 147 of the 155 shots he faced. Once he arrived in Laval, it took a couple of weeks for Fleury to rebuild his confidence, but as the season came to a halt he was playing the best “I didn’t feel like I was as consistent in the middle of the season,” he said. hockey of his season. “But you have to prepare every day and focus on getting better. Right now is the best I’ve felt all year. There’s been a ton of tiny steps and His physical play took a back seat to defensive play, which in turn accomplishments this season, and you can’t control how many allowed him to find the confidence that fuelled his early season success goaltenders are on a team, but you can control how you play.” in Montreal. He also had a rough time adapting to the busy schedule that comes with “His attitude is absolutely perfect,” said Bouchard. “He’s had to deal with playing in the AHL, explaining that some weeks felt like months and a lot of emotion and high expectations this season. He stays calm and some months felt like weeks. He didn’t mind the travel, but as is the case shows constant improvement. He’s not perfect but if he can focus on the for many prospects, it took him a while to get a handle on the workload. details he’ll be fine.” “I knew there would be more games, but I didn’t realize how short the That may not seem like a ringing endorsement from his coach, but weeks were,” he said. “It’s been long but it’s been short.” Bouchard, who maintains realistic expectations for his players, was quite happy with the progress he saw from Fleury, not only upon his return to While the Canadiens continue to shop for a backup goaltender, they’d be Laval but also in his time with the Canadiens. wise to invest in a quality backstop for Carey Price and leave Primeau in the AHL for the time being. Alzner was much more direct in his approach. Diagnosis: On the cusp of being NHL-ready. Requires another season in “He’s a good enough player, he’s smart and he has all the tools the AHL as a bona fide starter. Should not be rushed. necessary to make it,” said the veteran. C Lukas Vejdemo – 24 years old – Second-year pro – 47 GP, 9G, 10A Diagnosis: On the cusp. Requires a healthy dose of ice time to find his rhythm. Vejdemo produced at roughly the same rate as he did in his rookie season, a little more than 0.4 points per game. But it was his defensive D Noah Juulsen – 23 years old – Third-year pro – 14 GP, 0G, 3A, play that stood out, particularly on the penalty kill, where he used his If Juulsen didn’t have bad luck, he wouldn’t have any luck at all. speed to generate several shorthanded scoring chances while being mindful of his defensive responsibilities. Very few prospects have dealt with the number of significant injuries that Juulsen has, but very few prospects could have handled it as well as He’s not the most exciting prospect in Laval, but he is one of the most Juulsen did. NHL-ready, mostly due to his defensive acumen.

He credits his team, and there’s certainly something to be said about the “I didn’t worry as much this year. I just played my game,” said Vejdemo, value of being surrounded by supportive colleagues, but despite his who led the Rocket in scoring briefly before settling into a third-line role. incredibly humble approach, Juulsen deserves a lot of credit for “He arrived in the great unknown,” said Bouchard. “The style and maintaining a positive outlook. expectations were different. But he arrived with such a great attitude that “When coming back from injury, as long as I’ve been out, it takes a while it allowed him to progress even though I was demanding. It was a lot to get going again,” he said. “It helps having all the guys in the room more difficult for him than others, but I’m happy to see how quickly he being positive, supporting me. It’s also a great fanbase. They can be adapted, that showed mental fortitude. He’s good defensively but he intimidating at times but the support they’ve had for me is great.” needs to bring a little more to the table offensively.

Though he only played one game before the season was suspended, his “He’s on the right track. He has a lot to learn and a lot to improve, but return to play marked another significant moment in his hockey career, he’s on the right track.” one he’d rather not repeat. One of the things he must learn before taking the next step is how to “The more he played, the more comfortable he was,” said Bouchard. produce at a more consistent pace. That will require an increase in ice “He’s a guy that’s engaged, a natural leader and seeing him play a game time, which, considering his defence-first game, probably won’t come on this season was fantastic. He always hits his mark in practice. the power play. He is at risk of falling between the cracks as a tweener in the Canadiens organization, but his smart play in his own zone might be enough to bring him to the next level.

Diagnosis: Smart player. Lacks offensive punch. Needs to capitalize on scoring chances. Sound familiar?

C Jake Evans – 23 years old – Second-year pro, 51 GP, 14G, 24A

It took almost six years since his draft day to make his NHL debut, but Evans’ time in the AHL is coming to an end.

His goal is to make the Canadiens roster next season, with a keen eye on the fourth-line position, but as is tradition, he’s not taking anything for granted.

“I wish I could tell you. I have no idea what the plans are, but I’m happy with where everything ended,” Evans said. “I’d like to think they like where things ended for me, too. If I can build off that, I’ll have an OK chance to make the team. He (Julien) said the big thing for me is to improve my faceoffs.”

To make the team he’ll need to become excellent at taking faceoffs, as per Julien’s orders. To become excellent at taking faceoffs, he’ll need more experience, though while he was playing with Notre Dame, his faceoff percentage was among the best in the country. Though he wasn’t used solely as a centre in his time with the Canadiens, he did manage to win almost 52 percent of his draws when called upon.

“A good way for me to make my mark in the NHL is being good at faceoffs,” he said. “Guys can make careers out of it. I put a lot of emphasis on that, and practising with guys like (Nate) Thompson and Jordan Weal really helped me. Even after a few practices, my faceoffs got a lot better. But in the end, playing against elite centremen is how you learn. The first few times I had to face guys like Crosby or Matthews I was nervous, but now I feel a lot more comfortable.”

Diagnosis: On the cusp. Requires full scholarship to the Guy Carbonneau school of faceoff dominance.

The Athletic LOADED: 04.17.2020 1182933

What Devils learned about Jack Hughes during his rookie struggles

By Randy Miller

The stats that Devils center Jack Hughes put up during his rookie season scream bust, even though that’s an unfair label.

Seven goals, 21 points and a team-worst minus-26 plus-minus rating over 61 games certainly were disappointing numbers, however.

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Considering the Orlando-born, suburban Toronto-raised center’s skillset, amateur resume and hype, Hughes was expected by many to go from being drafted first overall last summer to dominating the NHL as an 18- year-old, just like Sidney Crosby did playing for the 2005-06 Pittsburgh Penguins and Connor McDavid did for the 2015-16 Edmonton Oilers.

Instead, Hughes struggled right out of the gate scoring no points in his first seven games, and he couldn’t buy a point when the NHL season shut down on March 12 due to the coronavirus, as he slumped into the stoppage with no goals and one assist in his last 14 games.

What went wrong?

Here’s a take from Devils interim general manager Tom Fitzgerald, who spoke to reporters in a conference call Thursday:

“I'm not saying (Hughes) underestimated the National Hockey League by any means, but I don't know if you realize that he would be the first to admit, like he did to me, how good (NHL) defenseman defend … their reach, their skating ability, how they close, how they take the time and space away.

“I'm not sure that was something that he prepared himself for. That's one of the things he's learned. I think he's learned that it's a tough league for an 18-year-old, but with all that being said, I'm very proud of what he accomplished.

Fitzgerald thinks Hughes’ numbers could be much more respectable if he had received a little more puck luck.

“His stats could have been in a different category,” Fitzgerald said. “He hit a lot of posts. There were a lot of plays that guys didn't finish on.

“But that's not something I believe he was dwelling on. I'm sure it crossed his mind at some point, production wise, but he's a competitive, fiery young man that is driven by a desire to be one of the best in this league.”

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Fitzgerald predicts expectations will be met once the 5-foot-10, 168- pounder adds muscle to his still-maturing body and as he continues to gain more NHL experience.

“He’s going to be a fun player to watch,” Fitzgerald said. “With that being said, what does he need to work on? I think we all know what the audience is. He went from being on tour after being drafted to not having an NHL summer and now he has that time

“All he has is time to get stronger, get bigger, get thicker and get faster. The sky’s the limit with this young gentleman once he hits his maturity.”

Star Ledger LOADED: 04.17.2020 1182934 New Jersey Devils managing partners, have interviewed former Vancouver Canucks general manager for the vacant general manager position but cannot interview anyone currently under contract with an NHL team until the Devils' interim GM Tom Fitzgerald on coronavirus shutdowns: 'This new season concludes. norm is now reality' The club intends to give Fitzgerald a fair shot at the job as well. His performance at the trade deadline certainly merits consideration and if he doesn’t end up leading the hockey operations department in New Jersey Abbey Mastracco, NHL Writer Published 4:46 p.m. ET April 16, 2020 then he’s likely to get a job doing exactly that elsewhere.

The interim tag does not change the way he operates, even during a pandemic. If you’re waking up some mornings and feeling uneasy about another day stuck inside and anxious about this seemingly never-ending coronavirus “Define interim. Limbo could be right next to it in the dictionary, right?” he pandemic, you’re not alone. said. “But I don't look at it that way. And I've said this from the get-go, whatever (ownership’s) process is with this position, I don’t know what it New Jersey Devils’ interim general manager Tom Fitzgerald is right there is. I know what my process is as a general manager. And that's all I'm with you. trying to do is live it each day with a checklist of things to do, Fitzgerald might have been a tough guy on the ice and he showed his responsibilities to the organization, keeping people you know, on their shrewdness as an executive this season when he took over for his toes, quite frankly, and doing the job.” longtime mentor Ray Shero when Shero was dismissed in January, but Everyone’s lives and jobs remain in limbo as we fight this pandemic and he’s only human and the effects of the pandemic are hitting him too. Fitzgerald’s situation is no different. Thursday afternoon when speaking to media for the first time since the NHL suspended operations on March 12, Fitzgerald admitted to having Bergen Record LOADED: 04.17.2020 hit some “rough patches” during this lengthy societal shutdown.

“I’m hoping that we can continue to play and wondering if we can continue to play,” Fitzgerald said on a Zoom video call. “But that’s probably been the hardest part: Wondering if there is a light at the end of the tunnel? And how do you stretch this process out with everybody staying sharp and, quite honestly, not getting burnt out with that not knowing what the future looks like?”

The 51-year-old former NHL centerman decamped from New Jersey and went back to his Massachusetts home when it was safe to do so and the rest of his family joined him there as well. While he’s enjoyed having everyone under one roof and being able to have family dinners with his wife and four sons every night, the circumstances aren’t exactly ideal.

LOOKING AHEAD: If the NJ Devils' season ended today, what would happen next?

There is a multitude of reasons why people are experiencing anxiety right now. Life as we know it came to a screeching halt more than a month ago and there is no end in sight. Grim news stories and rising numbers of COVID-19 cases and deaths from those cases don’t exactly help ease those anxieties.

For Fitzgerald, it was difficult to go from a situation where he was operating at a high speed to operating on a different schedule overnight. He was used to waking up thinking about trying to replace an injured player on the club’s roster and which city the NHL team was traveling to and suddenly he was a normal 9-5er.

“The first four weeks of this, to be quite frank, it was new it was every day you were checking the boxes, and you had a routine and before you knew it, it was five o’clock,” Fitzgerald said. “Weekends — for probably the first time in my adult life that I had weekends that were actually weekends.”

Fitzgerald found himself thinking about a return to normal life outside of hockey, which he said has become secondary to health and safety.

“For me personally, I'd thought there would be a little more light at the end of the tunnel of where this could be,” he said. “And I'm not just talking about the sport, I'm talking about life in general, and where people are asking how this is affecting a lot of people. So it just naturally kind of hit me like a wave and took over. My wife would say, like, ‘What's wrong with you?’

But those feelings have subsided. Fitzgerald does not know anyone who has been infected with the coronavirus and for that, he considers himself lucky. He's found solace in going out into his backyard to get outside and having a daily work routine.

“Everybody in our organization has purpose to their daily routines,” he said. “This new norm is now reality. So everybody's pitching in and digging in on their responsibilities.”

Fitzgerald still very much has the word interim in front of his name. He has daily calls with Harris Blitzer Sports and Entertainment, the holding company that owns the Devils, Prudential Center and the of the NBA. Josh Harris and David Blitzer, co-owners and 1182935 New Jersey Devils Charisma and aura everywhere, even behind the bench with Fred Shero in his first year on Broadway. There was the Ooh-La-La Gang featuring Ron Duguay and ; Anders Hedberg and Ulf Nilsson; the First rankings of greatest New York-New Jersey hockey teams Godfather Line with Phil Esposito centering Don Murdoch and Don Maloney. The Rangers crushed the Flyers in a five-game quarterfinal matchup, taking the last four by an aggregate score of 26-5, before stunning the first-overall Islanders in the six-game conference finals — By Larry Brooks April 17, 2020 | 1:15am after which, according to The Post’s front page, the team partied at Studio 54. The team lost the final in five to Montreal after taking the opener. We’re being treated to classic rewinds on MSG, with the network televising noteworthy games from the 1980s and 1990s as well as many 8. 1991-92 Rangers of the best and brightest from this century. Mark Messier won the Hart Trophy in his first year in New York with We’ve seen the Devils make the playoffs for the first time in their history; Roger Neilson behind the bench, won the Norris Trophy at we’ve seen the first game of the first round of the 1990 Battle of New age 24, and the Rangers took the Presidents’ Trophy by going 50-25-5. York, in which the Islanders assaulted Jeff Bloemberg at the final buzzer But after winning a seven-game first round against the Devils, the after Pat LaFontaine had been drilled in the head a minute earlier by Blueshirts were upset by the Penguins in six games in the series in which James Patrick; we’ve seen Jason Arnott scoring in Game 6 double- tapped Mario Lemieux on the wrist with his stick and Mike overtime in Dallas to give the Devils the Stanley Cup in 2000. Richter allowed one from center ice.

The trip down memory lane provokes memories. As in, how is it possible New York Post LOADED: 04.17.2020 that I forgot that Gary Nylund, who actually played 211 games for the team, was on the Islanders?

But it also provokes the opportunity to create rankings. In this case, The Post is going to rank the greatest teams in New York/New Jersey hockey history. We’re not adding up WAR or GAR or GAA numbers to create the list. Rather, it is based on eyeballs and experience. We’ve seen every one of these teams other than one.

As follows, Nos. 13-8 of the all-time Baker’s Dozen, with the top seven coming Saturday:

13. 1996-97 Rangers

Truth be told, it was an underwhelming and disappointing season, the Blueshirts going just 38-34-10. The coach, Colin Campbell, was forced to hold a press conference in early November on the mezzanine level of the Hotel Macdonald in Edmonton to defend his job performance after the team had gotten off to a 7-11-4 start (that became 7-13-4). But this was the team with Wayne Gretzky and Mark Messier. And this was the team that caught magic in the playoffs, No. 99 recording a pair of hat tricks as the Blueshirts made it to the conference finals before an injury-decimated team fell to the Flyers in five games.

The Mark Messier-led 1997 Rangers reached the conference finals after a mediocre regular season.WA Funches Jr.

12. 1939-40 Rangers

Frank Boucher was behind the bench of this 27-11-10 team that finished second to Boston, but knocked out the Bruins in the semifinals before capturing the franchise’s third Cup within 13 years with a six-game victory over the Maple Leafs in which the final four games were played in Toronto. These were the Blueshirts of Davey Kerr, Bryan Hextall Sr., Art Coulter, Neil and , Muzz and Lynn Patrick, and Phil Watson.

11. 2011-12 Rangers

The Black-and-Blueshirts reached their zenith under John Tortorella with a 51-24-7 season in which they earned first seed in the Eastern Conference and fell one point short of the Presidents’ Trophy. Henrik Lundqvist was at his peak, and so was the shot-blocking brigade in front of the King. But playing seven-games in each of the first two rounds, through which the coach shortened the bench at a moment’s notice, drained the club that was shocked by the Devils in a six-game conference finals that represented Martin Brodeur’s last hurrah.

10. 2011-12 Devils

This represents the only season of Ilya Kovalchuk’s NHL career in which his team won a round in the playoffs. This team, which had gone 48-28-6 paced by No. 17, Zach Parise, Patrik Elias, Travis Zajac and Adam Henrique (“Henrique … it’s over!) up-front, won three rounds in the tournament including that signal upset of the Blueshirts before going down in six games to the Kings in the Final.

Submit your Rangers questions here to be answered in an upcoming Post mailbag

9. 1978-79 Rangers 1182936 New Jersey Devils 7

21

State of the Devils: Future at center is bright, but more growing pains to 123 come? 15:52

Pavel Zacha By Corey Masisak Apr 16, 2020 65

8 The 2019-20 NHL season is currently on hiatus because of the coronavirus pandemic, and when or if the season will be resumed 32 remains unclear. While we wait for either a compressed completion of 97 this season, or the official start of the offseason, The Athletic takes a deep dive into the state of the Devils. In the series, we will examine 16:16 where each position stands and how the club needs to progress in the Kevin Rooney near and long term to become a Stanley Cup contender again. 49 Part I: Centers 4 Part II: Goalies 9 Part III: Wings 59 Part IV: Defensemen 11:44 The Devils have selected a center within the top 12 picks of the NHL Draft four times in the past five years. The Flyers are the only other team Michael McLeod that has spent that much first-round draft capital on centers in that span, and three of their four were selected fourteenth or later. 12

New Jersey should be set up to own the middle of the ice for years to 0 come, but it hasn’t happened yet. As of the 2019-20 season, one of the 2 team’s four center picks has more than 250 NHL games on his resume, but his long-term role isn’t clear. One has played in 33 NHL games and 11 has yet to collect his first career goal. 10:14 Two of the four were selected with the No. 1 pick and are the twin pillars of the Devils’ rebuilding plan moving forward. Whether Nico Hischier and That Hischier and Hughes have the same number of shots on goal Jack Hughes can evolve into an elite one-two punch at center will play a suggests Hughes dealt with some bad luck in his rookie season. Zacha significant role in determining the Devils’ future. How much Pavel Zacha set a career-high in points, but still needs to shoot more whether he plays and Michael McLeod contribute could provide the final word on two at center or on the wing. controversial selections to date. Advanced stats (5-on-5) Travis Zajac has been a stalwart on the penalty kill and in the faceoff Nico Hischier circle for more than a decade, and for the third straight season he was the Devils’ de facto No. 2 center. He had his worst offensive season 47.83 since the lockout-shortened 2012-13 campaign and has one more year left on his contract. 45.62

Beyond the four recent first-rounders, the Devils don’t have a lot of depth 46.38 down the middle. It should be a position of strength in the , with the 49.95 potential of rolling out four homegrown options. 0.992 First, let’s take a look at the 2019-20 group as a whole, with the help of traditional and advanced statistics: Travis Zajac

Traditional stats 46.91

Nico Hischier 43.55

58 40

14 46.86

36 0.967

123 Jack Hughes

18:04 45.79

Travis Zajac 46.87

69 34

9 47.27

25 0.971

72 Pavel Zacha

17:06 42.95

Jack Hughes 40.64

61 40 42.44 0.08

0.985 Goals Above Replacement

Kevin Rooney Nico Hischier

43.22 15.8

44.35 15.6

56.52 4.8

44.43 Travis Zajac

1.028 3.4

Michael McLeod 7.4

40.63 0.5

43.14 Jack Hughes

75 NA

46.61 NA

1.076 -3

CF% = corsi for percentage; SCF% = scoring chances for percentage; Pavel Zacha GF% = goals for percentage; xGF% = expected goals for percentage; PDO = on-ice shooting% + on-ice save% -1

There’s not a lot of good in here, though some of it is tied to the team’s 2.3 performance at even strength. Zacha’s possession numbers are 3.4 concerning, particularly since he often played as the fourth-line center or middle-six wing. A player’s PDO should be close to 1.000, with significant Kevin Rooney deviations in either direction as a sign of good or bad fortune. Another NA bad marker for Hughes: The difference between his expected goals percentage and actual goals percentage is one of the largest for an 3.9 everyday player in the league. 1.4 Two of the best all-inclusive statistics are Game Score Value Added (GSVA) from The Athletic’s Dom Luszczyszyn and Goals Above Michael McLeod Replacement (GAR) from Evolving-Hockey. Here’s how the current NA Devils centers performed in those areas over the past three seasons: -2.6 GSVA 2.2 Nico Hischier Hischier was inside the top 30 in NHL GAR as a rookie, and the top 40 in 2.23 his second year. His improvement in the faceoff circle in his third season 1.99 was not enough to offset a dropoff in other areas.

0.99 For Zacha, the GAR model favored his season much more than the GSVA model did. He finished just outside the top 200 in forwards (T- Travis Zajac 204th) in GAR, which averages out to about the seventh-best forward on an average team. Each model favored Rooney’s value more last season 0.5 and indicate McLeod made improvements in limited duty in his second 1.12 year.

-0.11 Nico Hischier

Jack Hughes Nico Hischier

NA 14:27 (2nd among Fs)

NA 2:41 (5th)

-0.27 0:55 (6th)

Pavel Zacha 22/6 (+16)

0.07 51.73

-0.02 Age: 21 (Jan. 4, 1999)

-0.36 Contract: $7.25 million through 2026-27

Kevin Rooney Most frequent linemates: Kyle Palmieri (524:22), Jesper Bratt (281:04), Taylor Hall (208:46) NA 2019-20: Hischier established his two-way value during his first two 0.09 seasons, but he has not taken a leap forward in Year 3. Some of that can -0.07 be attributed to the team’s poor performance, but not all of it. The Devils still had more than 52 percent of the high-danger scoring chances at 5- Michael McLeod on-5 with Hischier on the ice, but the offensive numbers were down across the board (shot attempts per 60 minutes, scoring chances per 60 NA minutes, etc.). Even his HDCF% was down, from the mid-50s through his -0.35 first two years. Hischier did miss 11 games because of injuries and could potentially lose 10.5 13 more because of the shutdown. That’s almost 30 percent of a full season. Let’s assume Hischier gets back on track next season. What 19.8 would it take for him to move into the elite class of centers in the NHL in Jack Eichel the next couple of years? 27.7 Let’s evaluate Hischier’s seasons in the context of those of the top centers in the league, including what Years 4 and 5 looked like for them: 12.5

Elite Centers and GAR 16.5

Connor McDavid Leon Draisaitl

69.8 24.2

22.8 10.3

15.9 20.8

Nicklas Backstrom Aleksander Barkov

69.1 24.1

11.6 15

11.8 15.6

Sidney Crosby Patrice Bergeron

62.4 18.9

16.4 11.3

14 16.9

Brayden Point Ryan O’Reilly

52.1 18.8

21.5 8.1

??? 13.8

Mark Scheifele * Pettersson has only played two seasons; ^This was the lockout shortened 2012-13 season 46.2 There are some impressive names below Hischier on the list. Crosby’s 20.5 concussions affected his fourth and fifth seasons, with 30.4 GAR in 63 13 games. Not everyone was a superstar by their fourth season — centers like Eichel, Bergeron and O’Reilly took longer to blossom into elite Steven Stamkos players.

44.6 The future: Hischier’s seven-year, $50.75 million contract begins next season. If he plays like he did the first two seasons, the contract is good 21.3 value. If he can find another level, he’ll be a no-doubt No. 1 center in the 7.8^ NHL and the Devils will get a bargain.

Elias Pettersson Of all the players Hischier spent at least 100 minutes on the ice with at even strength, his best possession numbers came with Bratt (51.48 41.7* CF%, 55.24 shots for percentage). Hischier played 52:27 with Nikita Gusev and 49:43 with Jesper Boqvist this season. The Devils are going ??? to need Hischier to lead one of the top two lines, and it would make ??? sense to put Gusev or Boqvist next to him to try to get them top-six minutes while playing with a defensively responsible center. Anze Kopitar Travis Zajac 41 Travis Zajac 22.7 13:40 (5th) 18.7 0:35 (12th) Nico Hischier 2:51 (1st) 36.2 5/14 (-9) ??? 52.84 ??? Age: 34 (May 13, 1985) Auston Matthews Contract: $5.75 million through 2020-21 33.6 Most frequent linemates: Blake Coleman (637:33), Nikita Gusev 15.9 (471:25), Miles Wood (196:00)

??? 2019-20: Zajac centered the best line on the team for a large chunk of the season, but he didn’t collect the goals and points to show for it. Nathan MacKinnon Coleman and Gusev both flourished playing next to him, while his 30.6 possession numbers plummeted without them. The future: Zajac will record his 1,000th game as soon as the Devils 717 have nine more regular-season games scheduled. Zajac will be 35 next season and in the final year of his contract. It will likely be another year of Joe Thornton expecting him to take on a reduced role at even strength, but the Devils 1997, 1st are still going to lean on Zajac for tough matchups, defensive zone faceoffs and the PK. 55

There have been only 58 centers who played 1,000-plus minutes at age 3 35 since 2009-10. Zajac is at 1,180 this season and has logged 1,128 or 7 more in each of the past seven years. If he continues to play well on the PK and doesn’t get overrun at even strength next year, it wouldn’t be 1636 surprising to see him sign another contract with the Devils, even if the expectation is to serve as a fourth-line center and take on a leadership 1509 role similar to Brian Boyle’s when he was in New Jersey. Vinny Lecavalier Coleman is gone and the Devils might try to find Gusev a home next to 1998, 1st Hischier or Hughes next season, so Zajac could be looking at new linemates. Could Boqvist and/or Joey Anderson take a Coleman-like leap 82 with Zajac’s help? 13 Jack Hughes 28 Jack Hughes 1212 12:40 (6th) 949 3:11 (2nd) Kyle Turris 0:01 (12th) 2007, 3rd 16/5 (+11) 63 36.15 8 Age: 18 (May 14, 2001) 20 Contract: Entry-level deal through 2021-22 726 Most frequent linemates: Kyle Palmieri (305:46), Wayne Simmonds (246:36), Pavel Zacha (147:45) 416

2019-20: Of all the potential outcomes for Hughes’ rookie season, seven Tyler Seguin goals and 21 points were far from the consensus expectations. So what 2010, 2nd went wrong? We’ve hinted at the bad luck. There are also his on-ice stats with Damon Severson: When Severson and Hughes were on the ice 74 together (for 250 minutes), the Devils shot 2.52 percent as a team and the goaltenders stopped 88.5 percent of the shots. 11

His underlying numbers were not all bad. Among the 38 rookies who 22 played at least 500 minutes at 5-on-5, his scoring chances for per 60 741 minutes (SCF/60), expected goals for/ 60 (xGF/60) and high-danger chances for/60 (HDCF/60) were all in the top 15. The numbers at the 635 other end of the ice were low, currently second-worst among those 38 rookies in a couple of key percentage-based stats (ahead of only Kaapo Ryan Johansen Kaako, who had the worst CF%, SCF%, GF% and xGF% among all 2010, 4th rookies). 67 The future: One of the keys for Hughes will be how much he can progress off the ice, sculpting his body so he’s more equipped for the 9 rigors of the NHL. Maybe this extended period without games will be a bonus for him, even with the quarantine restrictions, because his home 21 workouts will include two other elite athletes (his brothers) and someone 660 who has helped develop NHL players for years (his father). 442 His possession numbers were strong with Palmieri, and stronger with Taylor Hall before he was traded. The experiment with Hughes on the Sean Couturier wing alongside Hischier and Palmieri did not really work. If the Devils do 2011, 8th add a forward in a trade or free agency, finding a finisher to play with Hughes would make sense. Nolan Foote might be a long-term option, 77 and there might be one available in the first round of the 2020 draft, but a short-term option (think Simmonds, but with a better track record of 13 scoring recently) could help Hughes develop until that day comes. 27 Here are other centers who went in the top 10 of the draft and failed to 647 reach 30 points as teenaged rookies in the past 30 years: 402 Petr Nedved Mika Zibanejad 1990, 2nd 2011, 6th 61 51 10 7 16 21 982 548 defensively to make even great goaltenders stop 96 percent of the shots, let alone what the Devils went through in net this season. Rooney also 384 had seven points in one 10-game spurt, but just two points in the other Aleksander Barkov 39 games.

2013, 2nd The future: Rooney, who will be 27 next season, is a free agent whenever the offseason begins. His work on the PK is his calling card. 54 It’s unclear if the Devils are interested in bringing him back next season, especially with Michael McLeod as the potential front-runner to be the 8 team’s fourth-line center. If another team isn’t willing to give Rooney a 24 one-way contract, a two-way deal with the Devils could make sense. There might be playing time for him in New Jersey, especially with 479 Coleman gone from the top PK unit and the lack of NHL-ready centers in the Devils’ pipeline. 407 Michael McLeod Pavel Zacha Age: 22 (Feb. 3, 1998) Pavel Zacha Contract: Entry-level deal through 2020-21 12:36 (7th) Most frequent linemates: Kevin Rooney (65:03), John Hayden (61:27), 1:38 (8th) Jesper Boqvist (37:21) 2:02 (4th) 2019:20: McLeod’s second extended audition with the club was often 14/7 (+7) explained with one line: “He played better this time.” He had just 12 games and would have likely gotten to 25 without the hiatus. 43.27 The underlying numbers don’t say as much. The individual stats are Age: 23 (April 6, 1997) almost identical on a per-60 minutes basis. He averaged one more shot and two more scoring chances per 60 minutes, but also one fewer high- Contract: $2.25 million through 2021-22 danger chance per 60. The on-ice possession numbers? His CF% was Most frequent linemates: Wayne Simmonds (284:30), Jesper Bratt worse, the SCF% was almost identical and the xG% was a little better. (259:55), Miles Wood (196:15) As we saw above, both his GSVA and GAR numbers were better. Well, 2019-20: For all of the consternation about Zacha’s development, his the team shot nearly 11 percent when he was on the ice at 5-on-5 and points per game have increased in each of his four NHL seasons, albeit the goalies stopped 96.7 percent of the shots. The Devils outscored the slightly (from 0.34 to 0.36 to 0.41 to 0.49). After Zacha finished last opposition 6-2 despite those teams getting nearly 60 percent of the shot season with a career-high 13 goals, the inconsistent play returned at the attempts. beginning of 2019-20. The future: The 2020-21 season will be critical for McLeod. It’s his Then he had a three-point game against Nashville, and racked up 14 of chance for the Devils to see how he can perform over 60-80 games in them in the final 20 games before the shutdown. He spent part of that the NHL and for him to lock down a full-time role. The fourth-line center time as the team’s No. 2 center — a role he struggled with in previous job could be his if he has a strong training camp and the Devils don’t add years — and was productive in between Bratt and Gusev. a veteran center in the offseason — and as long as they don’t decide to put Zacha there. The future: Zacha was on pace for double-digit goals and about 40 points before the hiatus. His possession numbers need to improve and he Looking forward needs to rediscover his 2018-19 form in the faceoff circle (anything below Devils depth chart: Center 45 percent starts to become a problem, even if faceoff percentage is generally overrated). First line

Zajac has only one more left on his deal and isn’t a lock to be back for Nico Hischier 2021-22. Zacha could fit next to Zajac and add more offense to help make up for losing Coleman. Zajac will need to produce for more than 20 Nico Hischier games at a time for everyone to believe he’s made real progress. Still, Nico Hischier having a 10-goal, 40-point forward who kills penalties makes that $2.25 million seem worth it. Nico Hischier

Kevin Rooney Second line

Kevin Rooney Travis Zajac

9:36 (18th) Travis Zajac

0:02 (17th) Jack Hughes

2:06 (3rd) Jack Hughes

12/5 (+7) Third line

47.04 Pavel Zacha

Age: 26 (May 21, 1993) Jack Hughes

Contract: UFA this summer Travis Zajac

Most frequent linemates: John Hayden (268:30), Miles Wood (167:51), Pavel Zacha Joey Anderson (98:36) Fourth line 2019-20: Rooney had a quirky start to the season, where neither team did much of anything when he was on the ice. That changed eventually, Kevin Rooney and the Devils outscored the opposition 13-10 when Rooney was on the Pavel Zacha ice at 5-on-5. That’s notable considering how poor the team’s overall goal differential was, but it was also fueled by an unsustainable on-ice save Pavel Zacha percentage (.959). It’s hard to imagine any player having enough impact Michael McLeod

Extra

Brett Seney

Kevin Rooney

Michael McLeod

Mikhail Maltsev

The biggest reason the Devils need McLeod to take a step forward is because they don’t have much NHL-ready depth at the position. Rooney is a UFA. Ben Street, who captained Binghamton and played three games for New Jersey, is a UFA.

Brett Seney played center two years ago for the Devils, but he’ll likely fit in on the wing if he gets another extended look in the NHL. The two prospects who played center this season behind Street and McLeod were Yegor Sharangovich and Mikhail Maltsev. Sharangovich had 14 points in the last 15 games for the B-Devils, but 28 in his first 110 AHL games.

Maltsev is the more intriguing NHL prospect of the two, and he was a camp darling at the beginning of this season. He also got hot just before the shutdown (nine points in 11 games). He might be ready for an audition, and could be McLeod’s best competition for a bottom-six center role beyond next season.

Devils prospects Tyce Thompson and Aarnie Talvitie have both played center in college, but might be better suited on the wing as they advance (Talvitie could get more time in the middle next year because Penn State lost three key centers). Mitchell Hoelscher, a sixth-round pick in 2018, had a solid season on a loaded Ottawa team, but he’s a fringe prospect and still needs a contract for next season.

New Jersey might have one of the best one-two combinations at center in the near future, and Zacha could mature into an above-average No. 3. But all of those recent first-rounders — Hischier, Hughes, Zacha and McLeod — have to develop more before a bright future becomes a successful present.

The Athletic LOADED: 04.17.2020 1182937 New York Islanders

Islanders' four Stanley Cup clinchers to air Sunday on MSG

By Andrew Gross

The remainder of the NHL’s regular season and playoffs may be in question because of the COVID-19 outbreak. But the Islanders are going to win four Stanley Cups on Sunday.

MSG Network has been re-airing classic Islanders games on weeknights with this season on pause since March 12 and no determination on when or if play can resume.

Now, on Sunday, it will air consecutively all four of the team’s Stanley Cup-winning games from 1980-83, starting at 2 p.m.

The Islanders are celebrating the 40th anniversary of their first Cup win. MSG will show Game 6 of the Cup Ffinal against the Philadelphia Flyers at 2 p.m., as Bobby Nystrom’s overtime goal lifted the Islanders to a 5-4 win on May 24, 1980.

At 4 p.m., the deciding Game 5 of the Cup Final against the from May 21, 1981, will be shown as two goals from Butch Goring led the Islanders to a 5-1 win.

The Islanders swept the Vancouver Canucks in four games in 1982 and MSG will show Game 4 from May 16, 1982, at 6 p.m. as Mike Bossy scored twice in a 3-1 win.

The Islanders also swept the Edmonton Oilers the following season. At 8 p.m., the Islanders' 4-2 Game 4 win on May 17, 1983, will be re- broadcast.

Newsday LOADED: LOADED: 04.17.2020 1182938 New York Islanders 1636 Old Country Road

Westbury

Surveying the Islanders on their favorite Long Island restaurants Another mainstay just down the road from the Coliseum. It’s a favorite of a certain former Islanders general manager who could be found at the end of the bar on occasion — sometimes chopping it up with a certain By Arthur Staple Apr 16, 2020 longtime Isles beat writer who loves the penne fussi and would need about a three-hour nap afterwards.

Bryant & Cooper Editor’s note: In an effort to support local businesses that are being threatened by the devastating effects of the coronavirus, The Athletic is 2 Middle Neck Road publishing an ongoing series of stories to highlight our treasured Roslyn communities. #supportlocal A favorite of current general manager Lou Lamoriello, this steakhouse As is happening everywhere around North America, Long Island’s also has a butcher shop that’s open every day. restaurants are hurting. Lots of them are staying open for takeout and delivery and some are going above and beyond to serve the community. Garden Gourmet

We asked a few Islanders players and staffers for their favorite spots and 839 Stewart Avenue hope everyone can support them with an order during the NHL’s indefinite hiatus. Most of the team lives in and around Garden City, so Garden City this is a Nassau-heavy list. A great spot frequented by Isles staffers who work out of Northwell Smok-Haus Health Ice Center, you can grab an egg-and-cheese bagel in the morning or a salad in the afternoon. Open until 2 p.m. during the lockdown. 7 12th Street The Athletic LOADED: 04.17.2020 Garden City

“I’ve had good barbecue,” said. “I lived in Nashville for a long time. And this place has the best barbecue around here. Manny (Voumvorakis), the chef, does an amazing job.”

The French Workshop

191 7th Street

Garden City

Jordan Eberle said he’d been ducking out for walks and stops here for cookies just after his daughter was born (and before he realized he needed to stay in shape for whatever is to come for the NHL). Anders Lee, another new father, swears by this bakery and coffee spot along normally busy Seventh Street.

Also on Seventh Street are a row of great, fast-casual takeaway spots that are all still open: Go Greek, Guac Shop, Burger Spot and Food For Thought.

Borrelli’s

1580 Hempstead Turnpike

East Meadow

A mainstay since before the Islanders were born, it was the spot during the dynasty era. It’s still a popular spot before games as it’s the closest real restaurant to the Coliseum, and a few players still frequent it.

Borrelli’s is also doing a lot of good during this trying time, delivering meals to healthcare workers at hospitals and group homes as well as police and firefighters in the area.

50 DINNERS FOR THE LATE NIGHT STAFF AT NUMC PIC.TWITTER.COM/PCH00NLJRL

— FRANKIE BORRELLI (@FRANKIEBORRELLI) APRIL 14, 2020

Limani

1043 Northern Blvd.

Roslyn

Another favorite of numerous players and Trotz, this is one of the better Greek spots on the Island.

Schout Bay Tavern

118 Plandome Road

Manhasset

A go-to spot for the guys who live a bit further west, this spot is doing pickup only from 4-8 p.m. daily. The owners are big Isles fans.

Cafe Baci 1182939 New York Rangers Charisma and aura everywhere, even behind the bench with Fred Shero in his first year on Broadway. There was the Ooh-La-La Gang featuring Ron Duguay and Dave Maloney; Anders Hedberg and Ulf Nilsson; the First rankings of greatest New York-New Jersey hockey teams Godfather Line with Phil Esposito centering Don Murdoch and Don Maloney. The Rangers crushed the Flyers in a five-game quarterfinal matchup, taking the last four by an aggregate score of 26-5, before stunning the first-overall Islanders in the six-game conference finals — By Larry Brooks April 17, 2020 | 1:15am after which, according to The Post’s front page, the team partied at Studio 54. The team lost the final in five to Montreal after taking the opener. We’re being treated to classic rewinds on MSG, with the network televising noteworthy games from the 1980s and 1990s as well as many 8. 1991-92 Rangers of the best and brightest from this century. Mark Messier won the Hart Trophy in his first year in New York with We’ve seen the Devils make the playoffs for the first time in their history; Roger Neilson behind the bench, Brian Leetch won the Norris Trophy at we’ve seen the first game of the first round of the 1990 Battle of New age 24, and the Rangers took the Presidents’ Trophy by going 50-25-5. York, in which the Islanders assaulted Jeff Bloemberg at the final buzzer But after winning a seven-game first round against the Devils, the after Pat LaFontaine had been drilled in the head a minute earlier by Blueshirts were upset by the Penguins in six games in the series in which James Patrick; we’ve seen Jason Arnott scoring in Game 6 double- Adam Graves tapped Mario Lemieux on the wrist with his stick and Mike overtime in Dallas to give the Devils the Stanley Cup in 2000. Richter allowed one from center ice.

The trip down memory lane provokes memories. As in, how is it possible New York Post LOADED: 04.17.2020 that I forgot that Gary Nylund, who actually played 211 games for the team, was on the Islanders?

But it also provokes the opportunity to create rankings. In this case, The Post is going to rank the greatest teams in New York/New Jersey hockey history. We’re not adding up WAR or GAR or GAA numbers to create the list. Rather, it is based on eyeballs and experience. We’ve seen every one of these teams other than one.

As follows, Nos. 13-8 of the all-time Baker’s Dozen, with the top seven coming Saturday:

13. 1996-97 Rangers

Truth be told, it was an underwhelming and disappointing season, the Blueshirts going just 38-34-10. The coach, Colin Campbell, was forced to hold a press conference in early November on the mezzanine level of the Hotel Macdonald in Edmonton to defend his job performance after the team had gotten off to a 7-11-4 start (that became 7-13-4). But this was the team with Wayne Gretzky and Mark Messier. And this was the team that caught magic in the playoffs, No. 99 recording a pair of hat tricks as the Blueshirts made it to the conference finals before an injury-decimated team fell to the Flyers in five games.

The Mark Messier-led 1997 Rangers reached the conference finals after a mediocre regular season.WA Funches Jr.

12. 1939-40 Rangers

Frank Boucher was behind the bench of this 27-11-10 team that finished second to Boston, but knocked out the Bruins in the semifinals before capturing the franchise’s third Cup within 13 years with a six-game victory over the Maple Leafs in which the final four games were played in Toronto. These were the Blueshirts of Davey Kerr, Bryan Hextall Sr., Art Coulter, Neil and Mac Colville, Muzz and Lynn Patrick, Alex Shibicky and Phil Watson.

11. 2011-12 Rangers

The Black-and-Blueshirts reached their zenith under John Tortorella with a 51-24-7 season in which they earned first seed in the Eastern Conference and fell one point short of the Presidents’ Trophy. Henrik Lundqvist was at his peak, and so was the shot-blocking brigade in front of the King. But playing seven-games in each of the first two rounds, through which the coach shortened the bench at a moment’s notice, drained the club that was shocked by the Devils in a six-game conference finals that represented Martin Brodeur’s last hurrah.

10. 2011-12 Devils

This represents the only season of Ilya Kovalchuk’s NHL career in which his team won a round in the playoffs. This team, which had gone 48-28-6 paced by No. 17, Zach Parise, Patrik Elias, Travis Zajac and Adam Henrique (“Henrique … it’s over!) up-front, won three rounds in the tournament including that signal upset of the Blueshirts before going down in six games to the Kings in the Final.

Submit your Rangers questions here to be answered in an upcoming Post mailbag

9. 1978-79 Rangers 1182940 New York Rangers

Rangers have surpassed team president John Davidson's expectations

By Colin Stephenson

Rangers president John Davidson, in an interview Wednesday on MSG Network’s “MSG 150’’ show, said the Blueshirts have been better than he expected them to be in 2019-20.

What would he have thought last summer of the idea that the still- rebuilding Rangers would be two points out of a playoff spot with 12 games remaining? “I would have been surprised,’’ Davidson told host Bill Pidto.

“I’ve been a part of rebuilds in two different cities [St. Louis, with the Blues, and Columbus, with the Blue Jackets]; I surrounded myself with good people in those two cities and that really got us going.

“Here, I had to analyze a lot of things, and that includes coaches and general managers and things, and I saw a lot of good things,’’ he said. “And a good portion of the way through, we re-upped both [general manager] Jeff Gorton and [assistant general manager] , and very deservedly so. They’ve got some things in pretty good spots here.’’

A month ago, just before the season paused, Elliotte Friedman of Hockey Night in Canada reported that the Rangers had extended Gorton and Drury, though the team never announced it.

Davidson said the Rangers’ rebuild isn’t complete yet. When the NHL paused its season on March 12 because of the COVID-19 pandemic, the Blueshirts were 37-28-5 for 79 points through 70 games. That, however, doesn’t guarantee they’ll be a legit playoff team next season, Davidson said.

“We know we’ve got a long way to go,’’ he said. “You build a foundation and just take it a step at a time . . . And you’ve got to make good moves. It’s hard to make great moves every time you make a move, but your batting percentage has to be pretty good.

“Now, it’s still going to be hard,’’ he continued. “There are steps forward, and then there’s one back, and then steps forward, and one back. But there’s good things in place.’’

Davidson said the training staff is in touch with the players, giving them “virtual training sessions,’’ and also is making sure the players are in a good place mentally.

Management is constantly meeting with the coaching and scouting staffs on teleconferences and going over things “as though the draft were to be tomorrow,'' Davidson said. "We’re prepared to go into the draft. So there’s a lot of things that keep you real busy.’’

Newsday LOADED: LOADED: 04.17.2020 1182941 New York Rangers Phil, it’s 1972. The Summit Series was an absolute war. But even during that time, was there a single Russian player that you just couldn’t help but respect during the series? Who stood out despite how high emotions unplugged: Hall of Famer re-lives career and talks today’s stars were running at the time? – George H.

It was (Alexander) Yakushev. He was the best player on the Russian team, bar none. He was the one guy that worried me when he was on the By Joe Smith Apr 16, 2020 ice. Yakushev was big, strong. He reminded me of Bobby Hull.

Hey, Phil, huge Ranger fan here. What was your greatest memory as a Ranger? – Matt L. When you have a conversation with Hall of Famer Phil Esposito, you never know where it will take you. Oh, my greatest memory was when we beat the Islanders in ’79. It was like our Stanley Cup. We had a good bunch of guys on the team that I’ve had plenty of chats in the press box with the Lightning founder, who stuck together. (John) Davidson played as well as a goalie could play. is not only one of the greatest players who ever lived but also one of the Unfortunately, when we got to the finals, J.D. got hurt, and we just most colorful (and quotable). So when Esposito, 78, agreed to do a live couldn’t sustain and play as well as we could against the Canadiens who chat with subscribers at The Athletic on Wednesday, I knew we were all were just an awesome, awesome, team. in for a treat. And that I may need to do some editing. With your perspective as a player in the Summit Series and a U.S. Nothing was off-limits. Esposito was candid in his hour-long talk and full resident during and since the 1980 Olympics, I’d be interested to hear of stories. your thoughts on which was more impactful to its respective country, the The 717-goal scorer weighed in on the top players in today’s game and Summit Series in Canada or the 1980 Olympic gold medal in the USA. – whether Alex Ovechkin would break Wayne Gretzky’s all-time goals Gregory W. record. He also reflected on the 1972 Summit Series between Canada The United States is a bigger country and had More Coverage. But and Russia. people to this day forget that they had to win that final game against Esposito also recalled how he nearly traded for Gretzky when he was the Finland to win the (gold). So that was huge. But people just think about Rangers GM. them beating the Russians. That was (another) step on the ladder. But that last game was huge. I learned things I never knew about him before, like how he wore No. 7 because of Yankees legend Mickey Mantle. And how he could have Phil, I remember you had a few appearances on the show “Rescue Me.” chosen baseball over hockey at one point. Imagine that? Anything you remember from that experience? – Kevin P.

Here are some highlights of Esposito’s chat with The Athletic. Enjoy. I had a blast doing that show with Denis Leary. I was coaching. He says, “Cut, cut.” He said, “Listen, Phil, you’ve got to be more forceful. Hasn’t a Hey, Phil. Who do you think are the top five (players) in the NHL right coach ever been forceful with you?” The next scene, I did it so well, after now? – Tony S. the scene, he said, “You know what? You scared the (crap) out of me.” It was a great scene. I’ll give you my opinion, but not in any order. … Crosby is still one of those guys. So is Connor McDavid. And what (Oilers forward Leon) Hey Phil, do you think (Alex Ovechkin) will catch Gretzky? – Scott R. Draisaitl is doing is unbelievable. If there’s anyone in the league that reminds me of myself, it’s Leon Draisaitl. I wouldn’t put him in the top If he stays with Washington and Washington remains a good team, five, but I would put him up there. When (Nikita) Kucherov is right there’s a definite possibility. But if the team goes a little bit down, I don’t mentally, he’s as good as anybody in the world. Patrice Bergeron is, to see it happening. But there’s no doubt in my mind Ovechkin is one of the me, the complete player. I’d put him in that top five forwards. I don’t know greatest goal scorers I’ve seen in my life. I think he’s a way better goal how you can keep (Avalanche center Nathan) McKinnon off the top five. scorer than Gretzky was, but Wayne was so much smarter than anybody. He puts the Avalanche on (his) back. Esposito in February of 2018. (Kim Klement / USA Today) Top five defensemen? Victor Hedman was really good before he got hurt. What are your fondest memories of Sault Ste. Marie? – Paul C. He’s one of the guys I think is terrific. He does so many smart and good things. John Carlson is the guy who is always there, always playing well, Playing hockey in the open-air rinks when I was a kid. It was and picked up a lot of points. I love (John) Klingberg from Dallas. He’s a unbelievable. We’d go out and play after school. We’d run home, my hell of a player. Also (Kings defenseman) Drew Doughty. He’s another brother and I, with our skates on. My mother would put newspapers one who dominates. Last year I would have said (Flames defenseman under our feet. We’d sit and eat, then go back to the rink, until my dad Mark) Giordano. would whistle at 7 or 8.

My top goaltenders are (Andrei) Vasilevskiy, (Ben) Bishop, (Tuukka) In the summertime, we played baseball, a lot of baseball. I loved it. I had Rask, (Frederik) Andersen because Toronto doesn’t win anything without a chance for a baseball scholarship when I was 16 with the Tigers, and I Andersen. That’s the list I’d love on my team. went home and told my dad. They wanted me to go to Flint, Mich., and be part of the Tigers organization. My dad said, “What do you want to do, Who were your favorite linemates to play with over the course of your play hockey or baseball?” I said, “Well, I like hockey a little better.” It was career? – Al W. a smart decision. I was lucky. I played with Bobby Hull my first three years in Chicago. I I wore No. 7 for Mickey Mantle. I was a line-drive hitter, right-handed. But was a kid. I learned an awful lot. My favorite memories were Ken Hodge it wasn’t powerful, it was line drives all the time. But when I got up there and Wayne Cashman. Kenny was that big right winger who could get in left-handed, I don’t know what it was. I remember as a kid growing up in front of the net and distract the defenseman while I was in the hashmark. the ’50s, I would listen to World Series games on radio. I’d go to the If there was a better cornerman than Wayne, I don’t know who it was. bathroom at school and the janitor would have the game on. I’d listen to What is your favorite game that stood out in your career? – Emmanuel A. maybe five minutes or so because I knew if I didn’t get back, I’d be in deep trouble. Mickey was the guy. There was something about him I That Team Canada Game 8 in 1972 was one of the best games I’ve really, really liked. I was fortunate to meet Mickey and have a few beers played in my life. I just wonder how it would be for hockey in general, and with him and dinner. especially for Canadian hockey, had we lost that game, which meant we would have lost that series. I think about that a lot. But I really believe it Gordie Howe was also my idol. The first time I met him, I was on the ice. was divine intervention. I was on for six seconds and he gave me six stitches.

Another one was when I scored my 60th goal to break Bobby Hull’s goal- Phil, who would you consider the best trash talker you played with? – scoring record. I think that I was in Los Angeles — there weren’t that Greg S. many people in the building. There was nobody around. The game was Johnny McKenzie, who I played with. He was terrible. He was mean- being televised back home. But for me, it was a huge, huge thing. Bobby talking, though. He’d say stuff I couldn’t believe. There were a lot of them was like my brother, you know. To beat his goal-scoring record was over the years. something. … Ending up with 76 was one of the highlights of my life. Thank you, thank you, thank you for bringing the Lightning to Tampa. Which current Lightning player would have fit in the best on your old Bruins teams? – Erin W.

Oh, that’s a great question. Probably Victor Hedman. I think Victor would have been perfect for our team. I like Victor a lot, I like the way he plays. Sure he’ll make mistakes. But everybody does. He would fit best with us guys.

Favorite away barn to play in? – Aaron L.

Well, I loved playing in Chicago when I was with the Bruins, and when I was with Chicago, I loved playing in Boston. It’s a funny thing but the absolute truth. The other thing for me, I liked those cities, too. I think that had a lot to do with it. I didn’t care where the game was as long as I was able to play.

How close were you to acquiring Wayne Gretzky from Edmonton just before he was traded to Los Angeles? In your book, you stated that (Glen Sather of the Oilers) approached you at the draft. – Joe C.

I had the players worked out with Glen. But Madison Square Garden wouldn’t give the $15 million. Los Angeles gave $15 million to Edmonton for Wayne. It wasn’t just the players. Two years later, I went to them with the same players, with $5 million to get Mark Messier, and they said no. They were all corporate then.

Espo, my favorite story you’ve shared is when Bobby (Orr) and crew broke you out of (Mass General Hospital) in 1973, stretcher and all. Imagine the headlines today? – Mark P.

It would have been unbelievable. I’ll never forget when he came in with the hospital gown and the hat. I’m like, “What the heck are you doing?” He said, “We’re taking you to the party!” I got to that party. Only thing that bothered me was that it came across on the bottom of the screen on TV. I’m looking at it and it says, “Phil Esposito kidnapped from Mass General.” He called the doctor. Bobby said, “We carried him here, and we’ll carry him back.” Had I fallen, I probably would have never been able to walk again. I thought about that many, many times.

But I’m so proud of myself because my doctor said I wouldn’t be able to play until January. But Aug. 17, I went on the ice for the first time with Kenny Hodge, and Kenny held me and pushed me, and I just had a big brace on. I skated for the first time then, and on Sept. 28, I played my first game against the Blackhawks and I got a hat trick. That’s the year I won the MVP. I played with a brace for the rest of my career.

Was there ever a goalie you hated going up against. And if so, who was it? – Mathew S.

No. Never a goalie. It wasn’t the goalie that bothered me, it was the defensemen. For example, with Montreal, I loved to play Ken Dryden. But you could never get a rebound, their defense was so damn good. Holy cripe, go down the list. There wasn’t a goalie I was ever, ever afraid of facing. Goalies, I always felt like I could get them. It was the defensemen that caused most of the problems. You couldn’t get the rebounds or position.

What was more important to you: winning the Stanley Cup or the Summit Series? – Ron B.

Stanley Cup. The first one was phenomenal. You grow up as a kid dreaming of the Stanley Cup. The Summit Series was something we were told would be an exhibition. We were told it would be like an All-Star Game. My feeling is we should have never been called Team Canada, that we should have been called Team NHL. There were a lot of guys that weren’t allowed to play on this team because they were in the WHA. So if they played in the WHA, but were Canadians, why weren’t you allowed to play?

If you and Boris Mikhailov got in a fight in the 1972 Summit Series, who would have won? – Douglas J.

He wouldn’t take me, no chance. We’ve become friends now. He was the one guy that I’d just really disliked. I’ll tell you this, if I fought Gordie Howe, he’d beat me.

The Athletic LOADED: 04.17.2020 1182942 Ottawa Senators

Thomas Chabot would like to continue to improve defensively next season

Bruce Garrioch

If this is indeed the end of the season for Thomas Chabot and the Ottawa Senators, he believes he’s made a step in the right direction defensively.

And, so does Ottawa general manager Pierre Dorion, who praised Chabot’s progress in a conference call with reporters earlier in the week. Chabot has done a lot of work with coach D.J. Smith and assistant to improve that part of his game.

“It’s been going pretty well,” said Chabot, who has six goals and 39 points in 71 games this season. “It’s something I’ve really wanted to get better at and being a good, solid two-way defenceman and playing against the top players from other teams. It’s far from being perfect but if we say every year we can get better and take a step towards being better then that’s a good sign.

“We’ve been doing a lot of video with D.J. and Jack during the season and we’ve been making sure we look at every little thing in our own zone and those little details that make a big difference in front of the net. It went pretty well and we wanted it to get better and that’s what we were focused on.”

Asked if there was one teammate who impressed him the most this season, Chabot noted the accomplishments of winger Anthony Duclair. A restricted free agent this summer, the 24-year-old Duclair had 23 goals and 40 points in 66 games before the season was put on hold.

Ottawa Senator Anthony Duclair celebrates after scoring on Elvis Merzlikins from the Columbus Blue Jackets during NHL action in Ottawa Saturday Dec 14, 2019. Tony Caldwell

“You knew coming into this year he was going to have a bigger role and I think he took a big step which led him to going to the all-star game and that was very well-deserved,” Chabot said. “A lot of games, he played really for our team, just with his speed and the amount of skills that he has and his hockey sense is very good. I was very impressed with the way he played.

“We knew he could definitely do it and he took his chance in having a bigger role on the team and I think it helped him and helped our team to have a bit more success.”

Ottawa Citizen LOADED: 04.17.2020 1182943 Ottawa Senators “Luckily the guys that were affected by it are all feeling really well and they’re all recovered. That’s a great sign for us. Once the virus started, we all followed the rules that we were told to do. We’ve been trying to stay safe and stay healthy. You’ve got to watch every little thing you do GARRIOCH: Thomas Chabot is spending time with family playing the but it’s been fine so far.” waiting game When he’s not watching the news or working out, Chabot has been doing puzzles with his girlfriend, playing cards with his family or watching Netflix. Yes, he’s watched Tiger King and is now finishing up the final Bruce Garrioch season of Money Heist.

So, if Chabot could be quarantined with one teammate who would it be? Thomas Chabot at home. “I’d probably go with Brady (Tkachuk) since we’re roommates on the Thomas Chabot is back home near with his family, staying road,” Chabot said. “We kind of know our sleeping schedules and we in touch with teammates and ready for whatever scenario presents itself know want to have our own free time and not talk to each other in the when a decision is made on the NHL season. room.”

The Ottawa Senators’ defenceman isn’t sure if the club will get the Naturally, he was asked jokingly who he’d like to avoid? chance to suit up for the final 11 games or whether the league will head “That’s a tough question but I think I’ll go with Colin White because we straight to the playoffs once NHL commissioner Gary Bettman, deputy were roommates the year before and he loves talking and he loves commissioner Bill Daly, the owners and the NHL Players’ Association putting music on,” said Chabot. “Don’t get me wrong, I love talking to him, determine which way they’re going to proceed once the worldwide threat but I’ll answer him for the sake of the question because he’s going to of the novel coronavirus has passed. laugh at it.” “We’ve been trying to stay away from people, trying to stay healthy and Ottawa Citizen LOADED: 04.17.2020 I’ve kept on working out trying to keep the body moving by going for walks every day and stuff like that,” Chabot told reporters in a video conference call Thursday afternoon. “It’s been going really well.

“It’s a situation that changes (daily) with all the news we get. Hopefully, we get the chance to play again, but whether we are or not I’m still trying to do a little something here by going for runs or rollerblading or working out in my basement. I’m lucky enough to have a little setup downstairs so I’ve been doing a little bit every day just to keep the game shape going.”

Several different scenarios have been discussed on how the NHL could return and the league is considering its options. Since it sounds like physical distance is going to continue for awhile, the possibility exists games could be played in empty rinks for television and in neutral sites.

The PGA Tour announced a new schedule Thursday that will begin in mid-June with no fans and the NHL is willing to play through July, August and September.

Chabot said the players have to be prepared for anything to happen.

“It would be fine if you can get back and playing the game,” Chabot said. “It would be a situation you’re not used to with having no fans in the stands but at that point it would just be something that guys would be willing to do.

“Playing hockey would just be fun. Getting back on the ice and back in the locker room with the guys. Everything has been kind of different and kind of weird with this situation but if it comes to this point I’d be happy to do it.”

If the season is indeed over, Chabot said he feels the club made progress under first-year coach D.J. Smith and was pleased with what he has seen from the players brought up from Belleville.

“It was huge for us to see younger guys called up who had a really good impact on the team,, who really showed that they could play and wanted to stay” Chabot said. “The team in Belleville was having a great year, but it was fun to see the younger guys coming in and showing they want to be part of the success that we’re going to have later on. That was big for us.

“D.J. and the coaching staff have been huge for us. We’re a young group of guys and we’re still learning. Some nights it’s going to go well and some nights it’s not, but this is all part of the plan and we had the coaching staff’s support all year. They were trying to get us to change our identity in never giving up and we’ve shown that plenty of times during the season. That’s something we’ve got to keep building on.”

Chabot has been keeping a close eye on the COVID-19 situation because the Senators were one of the teams that was hit hard by the virus. The Senators had five players, a staff member and TSN 1200 broadcaster Gord Wilson who had confirmed cases of coronavirus.

“I’m following it every day,” Chabot said. “Now that we’re in Quebec I’m taking all the advice that we can get. I’m still taking it very seriously. It’s something that everybody should take seriously because it’s a big thing. 1182944 Ottawa Senators

Ottawa Senators' owner Eugene Melnyk sends a thank you to local hospital employees

Author of the article: Bruce Garrioch

The Ottawa Senators have reached out to say a big "Thank You" to frontline hospital workers across the region.

The Ottawa Senators have reached out to say a big “Thank You” to frontline hospital workers across the region.

The meals were purchased from local caterer Thyme and Again and included a voucher for two tickets to an upcoming Senators’ game during the 2020-21 campaign.

“On behalf of my teammates we want to send a sincere thanks to all the front line health care works who are helping to keep our community safe,” defenceman Thomas Chabot said in a video on the club’s website. “Keep up the good work.”

Defenceman Mark Borowiecki along with wingers Brady Tkachuk and Anthony Duclair plus retired forward Chris Neil all appeared in the video.

“To everyone out there working long hours away from your family we salute you,” said Neil. “Together, you’re what makes Ottawa great.”

Ottawa Citizen LOADED: 04.17.2020 1182948 Ottawa Senators “I remember thinking if I believe in myself and I work really hard, why can’t I be (like Crosby) one day?” he said. “Something just got lit inside me, and ever since then I’ve worked really hard and I just love the game so much.” Shane Pinto’s path: Senators prospect eyes another UND season despite rapid rise He started playing more competitive hockey and enrolled at Selects Hockey Academy, a private school with a triple-A hockey program. But Pinto was still relatively unknown compared to players his age who had been playing at a high-level for years. By Hailey Salvian Apr 16, 2020 So, at the 2017 USHL entry draft, Pinto, then 16, was taken in the 21st

round, 330th overall, by the Lincoln Stars. It’s not a question Shane Pinto expected to be facing this early in his “When you pick a guy at that number, you’re taking a chance on the kid,” hockey career: “Will you be turning pro after just one year in the NCAA?” Michael said. “And if it doesn’t work out at 330, nobody is upset because On Thursday, he gave the Ottawa Senators his answer. it’s not like it’s your first-round pick not panning out.”

Pinto will return for a second season at the University of North Dakota, He was, in a way, an afterthought. Only 18 players were selected after he told The Athletic on Thursday afternoon. him. Only two of those players played even a partial season in the USHL.

Still, you can understand why the prospect of seeing Pinto in a Senators Pinto didn’t make the Lincoln Stars roster for the 2017-18 season. jersey (either Belleville or Ottawa) sooner than later had been on the Instead, he spent that season back with the Selects Academy on a minds of fans and media members. midget team on which he finished second in team scoring with 65 points in 54 games on the team’s way to a national championship. Less than a year after being drafted higher than expected, Pinto has excelled at the college level with the UND Fighting Hawks. He led the Michael said that year was Pinto’s “coming out party.” Then the next top-ranked college team in the country in scoring, won the NCHC rookie training camp with the Stars, he said a stronger, improved Pinto caught of the year award and was a standout performer for Team USA at the his coaches’ eyes “immediately.” World Junior Championships. “We could tell that this kid was going to be something special,” Michael He’s become a well-known commodity in the Senators world. And now said. “But I would hate to sit here and lie to you and tell you we thought the conversation for a 19-year-old, who by all accounts should be he was going to be a point-a-game guy in the first 30 games in Year 1 in thinking about another year of school, has rapidly changed to questions the USHL.” about starting his professional career. His rookie NCAA campaign In those first 30 games as Lincoln’s No. 1 centre, Pinto scored 17 goals exceeded even Pinto’s ambitions. and 32 points. “Obviously you set expectations for yourself, but if they told me what I did But with the Stars in last place at the trade deadline, Pinto was dealt to this year, I’d be pretty surprised,” he said in a phone interview last week. the Tri-City Storm, affording him a much-needed playoff run to boost his “Knowing how hard of a league it is and how many good players there NHL draft stock. are in our league, to win the awards that I won, it’s pretty cool.” “The USHL playoffs are very difficult, so scouts really truly see what A handful of his UND teammates have also announced their intention to those players are in the playoffs,” Michael said. “We knew it was return to school rather than sign NHL contracts, including Jacob Bernard- important for us to get him on a team that is going to play in the playoffs Docker, the Senators’ 2018 first-round pick. and go for a little bit of a run.” In a recent interview, Pinto expressed disappointment about not being Under coach Anthony Noreen with the Storm, Pinto continued to lead able to see through what was shaping up to be a special season at UND. rookies in scoring – he netted 11 goals and 27 points in 26 games – but COVID-19 stopped the NCAA season with the Fighting Hawks riding he also improved his overall game. high. Finding out they would not be able to play for a national title, which they were favourites to win, was difficult. “One of the things him and I talked a lot about was to make sure that the things that are totally within his control are never questioned by the eyes “That crushed all of us,” Pinto said. “But there’s going to be a belief within in the stands,” Noreen said. each other that we have a chance to do it again.” He knew Pinto was going to score, he’s always had a knack for that. But Pinto, who went 32nd overall in the 2019 NHL Draft, has consistently what Noreen wanted was for him to make plays every shift, with or blown past expectations this season, to the point where it sometimes without the puck. In the span of a few months, Pinto made big strides. He feels like he came out of nowhere. became more physical and he was generally quite difficult to play And in some ways, he has. Pinto has followed a unique path to become against, Noreen said, adding that Pinto is the “poster boy” for how one of the Senators’ most anticipated prospects. It’s a road that Pinto players develop at different rates, and how quickly someone can improve says not many people know about. if they work hard and are coachable.

“This is going into Year 8 (for me) in the USHL,” said Pinto’s former junior “He’s just a kid who doesn’t know any different than to show up and work coach Chris Michael. “And I can probably count on one hand, how many every day,” he said. “By the end of the year, he was just clicking on all times that there has been a story like Shane Pinto.” cylinders. I think the way he played at the end of the year had a big part in him getting drafted so high because he was playing a man’s game.” Until he was 15 years old, Shane Pinto dreamed of playing for the . Still, when the Senators took Pinto with the 32nd pick in 2019, criticism rolled in quickly. His dad played college baseball. His mom played college , and so does his older sister. A young Pinto followed in his family’s footsteps. He Media and fans questioned GM Pierre Dorion’s decision to leave higher- was a competitive shortstop, who played house league hockey for fun, ranked prospects such as Arthur Kaliyev and Bobby Brink on the board and football on the side. and picking a relative unknown in Pinto.

“I wanted to be a Major League Baseball player,” Pinto laughed. “I never For example, one report said, “When compared to the prospects left on thought I’d be playing hockey.” the board, the Senators’ first three picks seem like a downgrade, most of all Pinto.” But that changed for Pinto when he was 15. He started watching the Pittsburgh Penguins on TV more often. In fact, he said he watched Dorion later told local Ottawa media that his scouts were adamant that almost every game that year, which culminated in the team’s second Pinto was the right player for them. Stanley Cup of the Sidney Crosby era. Over the years, a lot of people have asked , the longtime UND He started watching highlight videos of Crosby (and coach, if players he’s recruited have “exceeded expectations.” And Pinto forward Mark Scheifele) online. is no exception. “He progressively got better and better, and better as the season went “We have a very good team next year as well. We’re going to want to end on,” he said. “And that tells me that this young man, he’s got a lot more to it off the right way, so yeah there’s definitely that motivation to finish what give and he’s going to get to a level that’s even higher than what is we started here this year.” portrayed here.” Berry said he thinks the unfinished business is just one reason why Pinto had a terrific rookie season with the Fighting Hawks. He finished players are returning. More importantly, he said, they are returning the year with a team-high 16 goals and 28 points in 33 games. And he because of self-awareness. was named the National Collegiate Hockey Conference’s rookie of the year at the end of March, again beating out Brink who is at Denver. Pinto “I think they’re fully mature and know how hard the NHL is,” he said. “And also led Team USA in scoring at the World Juniors. I think they want to try to set themselves up the best that they can to not only get there but sustain that and stay there a long, long time and be an At UND, he was an important player at 5-on-5 as the team’s second-line impactful player on that level.“ centre and on the power play. He was also trusted by his coaches to take faceoffs while on the penalty kill and eventually got meaningful PK Despite all his success, the accolades and praise from his coaches, Pinto minutes. Overall, he was one of the top centres in the faceoff circle in the is not complacent. With his return to UND official, he knows he will need NCHC. to keep improving for when he does make the jump to the pros.

Pinto certainly has proven a lot in one year in the NCAA. “To just get that little bit of recognition is obviously pretty cool,” he said. “But there’s a lot of work left to be done. It’s only one year in college and Dorion saw it first hand this year, first at a game in Minnesota with UND next year I’m going to have to have a better year.” and then at the world juniors with Team USA. The Athletic LOADED: 04.17.2020 “He’s even better than we anticipated,” Dorion told TSN 1200 in January. “We saw UND in Minnesota and I couldn’t believe how good he and Bernard-Docker were and then getting the chance to see both, but especially Pinto play for the U.S. and the impact he had on that team …

“He did a lot of great things that tell you this guy is going to be a really good NHL player down the road.”

His coaches and scouts will tell you, it’s the way Pinto plays the game that sets him apart. He has a knack for scoring goals, but he does so much more than that, which would help ease the transition to the next level.

Often in the AHL you hear about prolific scorers, but their defence is lacking. Or they don’t have that “200-foot” game. Pinto’s coaches say he has it all.

“He respects the game. He understands that if you don’t have the puck then you have to be good defensively, you have to be responsible and accountable and if you want to play at that level, you have to be relied upon and give your coach a reason to play you,” said Michael. “There’s not a lot of second-round picks in the National Hockey League that have the complete game at his age. They are learning it still or they truly learn it in the American League.”

Fan interest in Pinto has risen this year. You see it in the questions and comments and highlight videos on social media. But there are a lot of reasons for him to return to the UND.

Pinto is only 19, and in a way, has only been playing elite-level hockey for four years. One really great season in what has been a rapid ascent doesn’t mean he is totally ready. What’s the rush?

Not to mention, freshmen rarely make the jump from the NCAA to the AHL or NHL.

Even high-end prospects like Cale Makar and Quinn Hughes played at least two years in college before jumping to the NHL. Senators prospect Josh Norris played two years at Michigan before going to the AHL. Fellow Senators prospect and teammate Jacob Bernard-Docker is going back, too, despite being a year older, citing that he knows there is more on the table for their team.

This season, UND went 26-5-4. For returning players, motivation to be back on top next year will be high.

“These young men poured their hearts out the whole year, it was blood, sweat, and tears to do something special, and they did. Everything we asked them to do within their control they did,” Berry said. “The only thing they didn’t do was win a national title, and that was out of their control.”

Because of the latter, Pinto said there is “absolutely” a sense of unfinished business among the team.

“I think of a guy who’s about to win the Hobey Baker, ,” he said. “He’s coming back because he has that unfinished business feeling and I feel the same way with it.”

Pinto joins a handful of returning teammates for next season. In addition to Bernard-Docker and Kawaguchi (free agent), Matt Kiersted (free agent), Collin Adams (Islanders prospect) and Grant Mismash (Predators prospect) have all pledged to go back to school. 1182949 Philadelphia Flyers world, basically. It’s definitely a strange time, and I know a lot of the guys are looking forward to getting back and playing hockey again.”

Playing in most of the Flyers’ games, Farabee said, has been a positive Joel Farabee says Flyers would welcome having games without fans for him. because ‘we just want to play hockey’ “If we finish this year, and even in the next year, I’d like to produce a little more,” he added. “I thought I had a lot of chances this year, but some of them just didn’t go in. Hopefully with a good summer, and getting a little by Sam Carchidi stronger and bigger, I think some of those chances will get finished next year.”

Philadelphia Inquirer / Daily News LOADED: 04.17.2020 If the NHL returns at some point this summer, it will probably have to play in arenas without spectators.

That’s the opinion of Anthony Fauci, the nation’s top infectious-disease expert. The NHL suspended its season March 12 because of the coronavirus outbreak.

Fauci made his comments about all live sports earlier this week, saying that games should be played without fans, and that he believes athletes should be placed in hotels and tested every week to “make sure they don’t wind up infecting others or their family, and just let them play the season out.”

Playing games in empty arenas, Flyers rookie winger Joel Farabee said, would be strange, but he added that the players just want to return to the ice.

“Obviously, it would be a little different, but at the end of the day , we just want to play hockey, so if we can play with no fans, we’ll do it,” he said in a conference call Thursday. “I think the biggest thing is just waiting until government officials say it’s safe for us to go back out and do what we love.”

Asked if it would be difficult to get motivated to play without the fans’ reactions, Farabee said, "Maybe a little bit, but at the end of the day, we’re professional hockey players, so it’s our job to get up for games like that. And I think we know the games will be broadcast and a lot of people will be watching it, so I don’t think it would be too big of a problem to get up for games like that. But it would definitely be a change.”

If the NHL and #Flyers do return this season, they will probably be played in empty arenas. That means staged scenes like this may be played on the scoreboard after a #Flyers goal. pic.twitter.com/w4r9g274S1

— Sam Carchidi (@BroadStBull) April 16, 2020

The Flyers thrived on games at the lively Wells Fargo Center. At home, where goalie Carter Hart was dominating, they were 25-6-4, the most points in the NHL (54); they were 16-15-3 on the road.

“Playing in our own arena with our fans is so great. I think we probably have the most passionate fans in the whole NHL,” Farabee said. “Playing in front of them gives us a lot of energy and we obviously want to play well for them. The fans and just the comfortability of being home and having your own routine really helps guys out.”

But if the NHL does return for the regular season – the Flyers have 13 games left – or just the playoffs, it’s doubtful fans will be permitted inside buildings.

In a poll conducted by Seton Hall University’s Stillman School of Business last week, 72% said they would not attend games until a coronavirus vaccine was developed. Medical experts predict that a vaccine will not be available until 2021.

Seton Hall polled 762 Americans; the poll has a margin of error of +/- 3.6%.

Farabee has moved up and down the Flyers' lineup this season.

Farabee, 20, who this season became the first player to play for the Flyers who was born in 2000, had been used up and down the lineup. In 52 games, he had eight goals, 21 points, and a plus-6 rating while displaying solid defensive skills, a high hockey IQ, and good speed.

“When I look back on my career, I think my first year will probably be the most interesting,” Farabee said. “All in all, it was a really cool experience to be able to go to Europe. I had a lot of fun on that [season-opening] trip. And with the coronavirus going around, it’s kind of a crazy time.

"I was talking to my family the other day and I said one day we’re going to be in a history book about how the coronavirus stopped the whole 1182950 Philadelphia Flyers Farabee easily could have 12 to 15 goals right now. He hit a bunch of posts and on some nights opposing goalies made terrific saves to block his shots.

Joel Farabee: Players can stay motivated in empty arenas “The way I look at it, to be able to play as many games as I did this year is a positive for me,″ he said. “If we finish this year, or even going into next year, I think I would like to be able to produce a little bit more. I had a lot of chances this year but some of them just didn’t go in. By Wayne Fish Posted Apr 16, 2020 at 12:47 PM “Hopefully with the summer to get stronger and bigger, I think some of

those chances will get finished next year. All you can do is get better The Flyers’ rookie forward is still hoping to be able to complete the 2019- from one year to the next. That’s what I plan on doing.″ 20 NHL season When hockey returns, there’s a better than likely chance the Flyers won’t Joel Farabee has some unfinished business to take care of and says it be playing in the Wells Fargo Center, but rather at a neutral site. doesn’t matter if that happens in front of 20,000 screaming fans or a Farabee knows the Flyers would be losing a bit of an advantage if that bunch of empty seats. happens. Philadelphia was leading the NHL in home wins with 25 when The Flyers’ rookie left wing put up some decent numbers in an up-and- play was stopped on March 12. down first season but sort of laments failing to finish on a number of blue- “It’s just playing in our own arena with our fans ... we have some of the chip scoring chances. most passionate fans in the whole NHL,″ he said. “Playing in front of No one knows for sure if Farabee will get a chance to build on his eight them gives us a lot of energy. We want to play well for them. I think just goals/21 points (and plus-6) performance, given the current health crisis the fans and the comfortability of being home, having your own routine, situation. really helps guys out and me, personally.″

But the 20-year-old Cicero, N.Y. native, like many of his teammates, Burlington County Times LOADED: 04.17.2020 would just like the chance to complete the 2019-20 season, even if it winds up being sort of a made-for-TV-only event.

“Obviously I don’t think we’ve ever done that (played in empty arenas) before,″ Farabee said in a media conference call on Thursday. “So it would definitely be a little different. But at the end of the day, we just want to play hockey. If we can play with no fans, we’ll do it.

“I think the biggest thing is just waiting until government officials say it’s safe for us to go back out and do what we love.″

Enough motivation in such a quiet setting, Farabee contended, probably wouldn’t be a problem.

“Maybe a little bit but we’re professional hockey players,″ he said. “It’s our job to get up for games like that. I think we know that the games are being broadcast and a lot of people will be watching anyway so I don’t think it would be too big of a problem to get up for games like that but it would definitely be a big change.″

In many respects, it’s been a “memorable″ rookie season for Farabee.

It began in training camp, when he made it all the way through to the final cut, accompanying the team to Switzerland for an exhibition game against local club Lausanne before he was scratched for the season opener against the Chicago Blackhawks in Prague, Czech Republic.

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Farabee went down to the Phantoms but returned just a few weeks later for a game against the Vegas Golden Knights on Oct. 21.

“Probably when I look back on my career, my rookie season will be the most interesting,″ said Farabee, who spent the previous year playing for Boston University. “All in all, it was a really cool experience to be able to go to Europe. I had a lot of fun on that trip.

“Right now, with the coronavirus going around, it’s kind of a crazy time. I was talking to my family the other day and saying that one day we’re going to be in a history book about how the coronavirus stopped the whole world, basically. It’s definitely a strange time, I know a lot of guys are looking forward to getting back and playing hockey again.″ 1182951 Philadelphia Flyers

Flyers Talk podcast: Summer hockey? What about offseason decisions?

By Jordan Hall April 16, 2020 10:35 PM

On the latest Flyers Talk podcast, NBC Sports Philadelphia's Katie Emmer and Jordan Hall discuss the team's current state and what the offseason may entail.

From Sean Couturier's perspective and 's thoughts on the Flyers, let's dive in:

• 1:25 — The impact of hockey going deep into summer

• 7:40 — So many questions for the NHL

• 13:30 — Couturier answers fun questions about teammates

• 15:35 — Flyers players have different quarantine situations

• 22:40 — Hearing from Berube, who has been impressed with the Flyers

• 29:10 — Berube hit on a big initiative of the Flyers' offseason

• 32:50 — What is on tap for the Flyers' offseason decisions?

Comcast SportsNet.com LOADED: 04.17.2020 1182952 Philadelphia Flyers

Despite Kevin Hayes doing what he does best, Flyers lose to Lightning (and a cocky fan) in NHL 20

By Jordan Hall April 16, 2020 7:55 PM

The Flyers were set for a huge showdown March 12 against the Lightning at Amalie Arena before the NHL season was suspended that afternoon because of the coronavirus outbreak.

Both clubs were in the top six of the NHL standings prior to the league's stoppage. How would that matchup have played out?

We gave it a virtual whirl Thursday night as NBC Sports Philadelphia aired an NHL 20 simulation of the game with the dynamic trio of Jim Jackson, and Taryn Hatcher on the call.

After picking up victories over the Penguins and Rangers in the first two simulations, the Flyers finally dropped one with a 5-4 decision to the Lightning.

The Flyers had problems with Mikhail Sergachev (one goal, two assists) and Nikita Kucherov (one goal, one assist). They also had to deal with this rather cocky Tampa Bay fan.

Did this guy bring a whiteboard to the arena or 18 signs for every Flyers skater to possibly go to the box? It's kind of funny to see him telling Philippe Myers, a 23-year-old rookie, to retire.

"That's not very nice," Jones said of the JVR sign during the second period.

"He just held one up to you and I," Jones said later to Jackson.

Now that's crossing the line.

The Flyers had this gentleman pretty quiet when they raced out to a 2-0 lead during the first period behind goals from Ivan Provorov (power play) and Scott Laughton (shorthanded).

This season, Provorov leads all NHL defensemen with seven power play goals. Provorov even did his signature fist pump here, while this one Flyers fan clearly travels well.

To no surprise, Kevin Hayes led the shorthanded charge. Since 2016-17, Hayes owns 16 shorthanded points. Only one NHL player has more in that span — Brad Marchand with 19.

Hayes fed Laughton to cushion the Flyers' advantage. Laughton's teammates mobbed him in celebration.

With a second-period goal from Tyler Pitlick, the Flyers grabbed a 3-1 advantage but then Tampa Bay turned it on in a hurry.

Carter Verhaeghe trimmed the Flyers' lead to 3-2 before the Lightning stole the advantage in a 23-second span. Kucherov knotted the score on a nasty move and Alex Killorn handed Tampa Bay the lead with a tip-in tally.

Also, what is this thing?

Kucherov and Sergachev connected for a third-period dagger as the Lightning put 47 shots overall on Carter Hart.

Nicolas Aube-Kubel scored a greasy goal to pull the Flyers within one but they could never net the equalizer.

Even the simulated losses are tough to take.

The boys will regroup and get ready for another virtual matchup on @NBCSPhilly next week. pic.twitter.com/xkp3qWbZHT

— Philadelphia Flyers (@NHLFlyers) April 16, 2020

Comcast SportsNet.com LOADED: 04.17.2020 1182953 Philadelphia Flyers If Lindbergh had lived and continued to play at a high level, what would have become of 1982 sixth-round pick Ron Hextall?

After Lindbergh’s passing, “Bob Froese played very well,” Greenberg What if…Flyers goalie Pelle Lindbergh had a full career? said. “In the playoffs he faltered a little bit but not significantly, but Keenan looked at it like Hextall was a franchise guy and Froese would never be and that was fair and accurate.”

Dave Isaac, NHL WriterPublished 6:48 p.m. ET April 16, 2020 Hextall was playing in the minors with the and came up to the NHL the following season. Hextall won the Vezina Trophy as a rookie

and the Conn Smythe Trophy as the MVP of the playoffs despite the This is part of a series in which important moments in Flyers history are Flyers losing to the Oilers again in 1987. re-visited and explored with a different lens, wondering the effect if things Hextall went on to have a 13-year career, 11 of those seasons coming in had transpired differently. Philadelphia. He holds Flyers all-time records for games played by a There were several warnings before one of the most tragic events in the goaltender (489) and wins (240) and trails only Hall of Famer Bernie history of the Flyers, one that altered the lives of everyone on the 1985- Parent, Lindbergh’s idol, in saves (Parent had 12,679 and Hextall 86 roster and changed the course of the franchise. 11,660).

Pelle Lindbergh loved his car, the bright red Porsche 930 Turbo that cost Lindbergh played 157 games for the Flyers, 10th on the franchise’s all- him $117,380 and, ultimately, his life. He drove it fast, too fast for the time list. liking of some of his passengers. According to Greenberg, “ said, in lamenting the turn of events “Dammit Pelle, slow the hell down!” is what Gunnar Nordström, a years later, ‘We had two of them. Do you imagine what we could have Swedish reporter visiting Lindbergh, once yelled at him according to the done?’ book “Pelle Lindbergh: Behind the White Mask,” written by Bill Meltzer “That’s the way he looked at it. Yeah, I guess they would have, but would and Thomas Tynander. Hextall have still become Hextall if Lindbergh was there? If Lindbergh Early in the morning of Nov. 10, 1985, Lindbergh was out with friends was winning, would they have won the Cup if Lindbergh remained a top and teammates celebrating the Flyers’ ninth straight victory and a bit of goalie, which I think he would have?” personal success. He had agreed to a six-year, $2.1 million extension Courier-Post LOADED: 04.17.2020 with the Flyers that would have made him the highest-paid Swede in the NHL.

Coming off a Vezina-winning season where he led the Flyers to the Stanley Cup Final against the Edmonton Oilers, the 26-year-old Lindbergh was clearly the team’s goalie of the future.

As Lindbergh arrived at the after-hours bar attached to the Flyers’ old practice facility, the Coliseum, he was pulled over for speeding in the parking lot by Voorhees Police officer Ed Simpson.

“Pelle was just showing off, and at the time I didn’t have a ticket book, so I didn’t do anything,” Simpson told the Courier Post in 2012. “Everybody said he must have been drunk, but the way he handled that car coming in there, he was sober.”

Three hours after Simpson gave a warning, Lindbergh had crashed the Porsche into a retaining wall where Somerdale Rd. meets Ogg Ave. in Somerdale, severely injuring two passengers. Lindbergh was in critical condition himself and was declared brain dead later that morning. He was kept on life support for two days, before his parents, Anna-Lisa and Siggy, decided to allow their son’s organs to be harvested for transplants.

If Lindbergh hadn’t crashed that night, if he had gone on to have a full career, Flyers history and certainly their record books might look a lot different.

“He was the real deal,” said Jay Greenberg, former long-time Flyers beat writer reporter who entered the Hockey Hall of Fame in 2013 as winner of the Elmer Ferguson Award, and author of historical Flyers books “Full ” and “The Flyers at 50.”

“He was so quick and he had gotten through his sophomore slump, which was pretty significant. I remember the one game in ’83-84 (a 6-5 loss to the Vancouver Canucks on Feb. 12) he could barely stand up he was so messed up. The winning goal went trickling by him and he was slipping and sliding as it went by him. Moving ahead two years, he had that and (then coach Mike) Keenan had shown all kind of confidence in him. The few times he seemed to falter that year, he bounced back each time really well, probably from Keenan putting pressure on him. He was for real.”

No Flyer has worn Lindbergh’s No. 31 since 1985. While the number hasn’t been officially retired, they also won’t let anyone wear it and likely never will.

That season the Flyers finished with 110 points and lost a best-of-five playoff series to the New York Rangers in five games.

They had lost a franchise goalie…and had another coming right behind him. 1182954 Pittsburgh Penguins • Jason Zucker: Adjusting to his new team after a feeling-out process, Zucker had seven points in his last seven games before the pause.

• John Marino: Making his return from facial fractures March 3, Marino With momentum lost, Penguins, NHL teams would start from scratch if scored a goal in his first game back and led Penguins defensemen in all play resumes major analytical stats.

EASTERN CONFERENCE TEAMS

CHRIS ADAMSKI | Thursday, April 16, 2020 4:42 p.m. • Philadelphia Flyers: A loss to Boston just before the pause ended a nine-game winning streak.

• Boston Bruins: Going 16-4 in their last 20 games, the Bruins lead the In the moments after their victory against New Jersey Devils on March league in goal differential (plus-53). 10, an overriding theme expressed by the Pittsburgh Penguins was a desire to ride the goodwill from the road win to serve as a springboard for • Toronto Maple Leafs: Have gone 4-2-1 since losing to a Zamboni driver a stretch run into the postseason. Feb. 22.

“Hopefully, we use this as a stepping stone,” is how defenseman John GOOD TIME FOR A BREAK Marino put it. PENGUINS PLAYERS “If we keep building on this one” goalie Matt Murray said, “we’ll be in • Tristan Jarry: All-star season hit some potholes. Jarry is 0-4 with a .845 good shape.” save percentage since Feb. 22. It sure seemed — or, at least, the Penguins sure hoped — the 5-2 • Jared McCann: After scoring nine goals before Thanksgiving, McCann division win could change the momentum for a Penguins season that had has none since Jan. 14. During the 22-game drought, he’s a minus-9. sputtered by way of a 2-8-0 stretch prior to that night in Newark, N.J. • Jack Johnson: After a honeymoon period early in the season, But little did anyone know then that that game would be the final time Johnson’s analytics are back at the bottom of the chart for Penguins they Penguins would play in — at least — a couple of months. Nor could defensemen. anyone have imagined the next day’s practice in Columbus, Ohio, would be the final team the team would convene in that same timeframe. Or EASTERN CONFERENCE TEAMS that any of the players — who presumably have spent the equivalent of several years of their lives on ice — would be prevented from skating for • New York Islanders: A seven-game skid before the pause might have several weeks as well. cost them a playoff berth.

By now, with coronavirus concerns paralyzing the sports world, that • Tampa Bay Lightning: Cup favorites followed up an 11-game winning game in North Jersey seems more like 5½ years ago than 5½ weeks streak with a 3-6-1 slump. ago. • Penguins: Winning three of five sparked optimism, but they lost six As such, the same probably can be said for any aspects of the Penguins’ straight before that. game that were particularly crisp. And that goes for aspects of their play Keep up with the Pittsburgh Penguins all season long. that were off-kilter, too. Chris Adamski “It’s like a guy that would have a 10-game point streak,” Penguins defenseman Kris Letang said this week, “and suddenly you tell him he’s Tribune Review LOADED: 04.17.2020 not playing for two weeks. It’s going to be tough. So I imagine a team playing well for months and then you ask them to not play for a few months, how can that momentum carry over for anybody?”

Crowning a champion in the NHL, arguably more than any other sport, has as much to do with timing as it concerns the quality of a team. Look at the past 11 Presidents’ Trophy winners for proof: Four times as many lost in the first round as claimed the Stanley Cup.

Peaking at the right time is vital for a hockey team. And mid-March is just about “the right time.” But playing your best hockey on March 11 won’t do any NHL teams or players any good by the time they play their next game on, say, July 11, will it?

And by some accounts, that might be around the earliest the NHL could resume play.

Letang believes that type of scenario could lead to a wild postseason.

“You could have a playoff series with the last team of the league (against the) top team, and you will have a good series because no momentum carried over, (and) nobody is more injured than the other,” Letang said. “So it’s going to be pretty strange. No momentum for anybody. We’ll all stop back at square one.”

STARTING FROM SCRATCH

If the NHL resumes play after a lengthy coronavirus pause, Penguins defenseman Kris Letang asked how momentum could carry over for anybody. It’s a good question, and that’s probably bad news for players and teams that hit the break hot and good news for those who did not.

MOMENTUM STALLED

PENGUINS PLAYERS

• Evgeni Malkin: Leading the league in points per game in March, Malkin recorded four goals and 11 points in five games. 1182955 Pittsburgh Penguins much to be desired. But if Simon is not next to Crosby, is he in the press box?

Matchups might play some factor when it comes to Rodrigues. The Penguins mailbag: Who gets scratched if the season resumes? Penguins scratched Rodrigues against the Washington Capitals just before the pause. In the postseason, maybe they do the same when they face a team with similar heavy lineup. I do think Rodrigues has some interesting elements to his game. He responded after being scratched by MIKE DEFABO Pittsburgh Post-GazetteAPR 16, 2020 1:20 PM becoming, arguably, the most noticeable forward on the ice the next two games. Maybe he can find a spot, possibly in place of Zach Aston- Reese? Welcome back to Mike’s Mailbag. Bjugstad was the third-line center when he came back from his nearly This week, the NHL extended the self-quarantine guidelines for players four-month injury absence. And then he got injured again three game through the end of April. It was a formality, really. At this point, there’s still later. I could see him competing for the third-line center spot. But then so much uncertainty. No one really knows if, when or how the NHL what do you do with McCann? And can you count on Bjugstad to stay season will resume. healthy?

With that in mind, I picked questions this week that had a mix of flavors. Chris J.: Assuming the season resumes, how do you think the layoff will Some hypotheticals that address what might happen if the season impact the goalie decision? resumes. Some looking ahead to the offseason. Some looking back at past championships. Hope you enjoy. Mike: Ah, a goalie question. Before the year was paused, neither one of the Penguins goalies had taken clear control of the competition to prove Rich S.: What do you think the lineup will be if the season resumes? he should be the starter. However, Murray did appear to be gaining an edge. He had started in three of the last four games, including the final Dominik Simon tallied seven goals and 15 assists before the NHL season game in New Jersey before the pause. was suspended. Already, I would consider Murray the known commodity and Jarry to be Mike DeFabo/ Pittsburgh Post-Gazette the wild card. Now, with this new uncertainty, at least to me, that adds Penguins on pause: Two ways to analyze Dominik Simon's season one more reason to go with the experience.

Mike: Assuming the NHL does somehow restart, it’s not unreasonable to Lisa N.: It’s fun watching the Stanley Cup replays on TV. With the benefit assume all the Penguins who were injured at the time of the pause will of hindsight, should the Pens have re-signed Nick Bonino (seems still not be healthy, including Jake Guentzel, Zach Aston-Reese, Nick Bjugstad, settled at third-line center) and Chris Kunitz (miss his and Dominik Simon and Anthony Angello. That would give the Penguins 17 leadership)? forwards to fill 12 spots. Mike: Right now, you can look at the price tags and see that Bonino and Here would be my guess of how they’d line up: Bjugstad both carry an average annual value of $4.1 million. Sure, I think most would agree they’d rather have Bonino at third-line center. Guentzel – Crosby – Sheary But it doesn’t work like that. In a salary-cap league, teams have to make Zucker – Malkin – Rust tough decisions when contracts expire. At the time, letting Bonino walk Marleau – McCann – Hornqvist was the right move — and maybe the only move. He reportedly had serious interest from at least 10 teams going into the 2017 free agency Aston-Reese – Blueger – Tanev cycle. If the Penguins had signed Bonino, it would have meant losing someone else, maybe Rust or Brian Dumoulin. Top line: Even though Guentzel had success with Evgeni Malkin earlier this year, reuniting the 25-year-old All-Star with Sidney Crosby feels like The Kunitz situation is similar. He helped hoist the Cup and make a lot of the most likely move. Since he came over from Buffalo, Conor Sheary memories in Pittsburgh. But when he left Pittsburgh after the 2017 has been given every opportunity to recapture old chemistry next to season, he was 38 years old. It felt like the right time to let an aging Crosby. I think that will continue. player walk.

Tristan Jarry celebrates after defeating the Arizona Coyotes in a shootout Jeff: Will Patrick Marleau be back with the Penguins next season? on January 12, 2020 in Glendale, Arizona. Mike: If the NHL doesn’t return for the postseason, one of the most Pittsburgh Post-Gazette disappointing things will be that we won’t get to see the 40-year-old Marleau grow out his graying beard. Reading the tea leaves, the most PODCAST: Penguins' most (and least) likely options when picking their likely scenario would be for Marleau to play next year in San Jose. Soon goalie of the future after he was traded, he told reporters that “I think maybe the door is open Second: No reason to break up Malkin and Bryan Rust. Malkin is for me to come back [to San Jose].” enjoying a bounce-back season and Rust is having a career year next to That said, I think the Penguins should at least consider bringing him him. With Guentzel on the top line, sliding Jason Zucker down to the back. Obviously, general manager Jim Rutherford saw enough in the other star center’s wing seems like a logical way to keep him in the top- veteran to give up a conditional third-round pick for a rental. If Marleau six. agrees to another contract around what he’s making now ($700,000), I Third: Here’s where there are questions. Maybe Nick Bjugstad gets a don’t think the Penguins will be able to find many players better for that shot at center? Maybe Patrick Hornqvist gets some time next to Crosby? price tag. And Marleau might not find a better chance to finally win the Maybe Patrick Marleau occasionally plays in the top-six? Cup that’s eluded him.

Fourth: This line has stuck together more than any Penguins trio this Joe B.: The article in the P-G about the Sidney Crosby draft sweepstakes season. While they’re technically a “fourth” line, I think Mike Sullivan had me thinking about the high draft picks we've had. The Pens have had would be reluctant to break up a group that has chemistry and a clear the No. 1 overall three times. I think two first-ballot Hall of Famers and a identity. bubble HOFer with a bunch of franchise records would make us 3-for-3 in drafting first overall. Can you think of another franchise that's had such Ben P.: Who gets scratched if everyone is healthy? success with the first overall pick?

Mike: This question kind of piggybacks off the last one. In the Mike: The Penguins wouldn’t even be in Pittsburgh had they not drafted hypothetical I laid out above, Evan Rodrigues, Dominik Simon, Bjugstad, Mario Lemieux No. 1 overall in 1984. That alone makes the Penguins the Sam Lafferty and Angello would be scratched. Let’s talk about those first most-successful franchise with the No. 1 pick. Crosby has been, three. arguably, the best player in the world for the better part of the last decade and a half. And then throw in Marc-Andre Fleury. Simon is an interesting case. Crosby and Sullivan both seem to believe his puck-possession skills and ability to navigate in tight spaces make You’re right. That’s about as good as it gets with the No. 1 pick. him a good complement on the top line, even if his finishing ability leaves That said, the now-defunct would be the team I’d put in second, especially if you are flexible with your definition of a franchise. They had the first overall pick three straight years in 1989, 1990 and 1991. Two of them — Eric Lindros and Mats Sundin — became Hall of Famers, and Owen Nolan would be in the Hall of Very Good. Then, after becoming the Colorado Avalanche, they took Nathan MacKinnon, one of the game’s best forwards. That might be three Hall of Famers out of four picks by the time MacKinnon retires.

Next, I’d say the Buffalo Sabres. They drafted Gilbert Perreault in 1970, a winner, Hall of Famer and possibly the best Buffalo Sabre of all-time. Then, in 1987, Pierre Turgeon, currently the most productive player not in the Hall of Fame with 1,327 points. In 2018, they took Rasmus Dahlin, who became a Calder Cup finalist and just turned 20 in April. They could be two-for-three on Hall of Famers.

The New York Islanders get honorable mention. They had the first-overall pick four times. The 1973 pick, Denis Potvin, is a Hall of Famer and one of the best defensemen of all time. Billy Harris (1972), Rick DiPietro (2000), John Tavares (2009) are three more very good picks.

If anyone out there has an opinion on the subject, I’d love to hear it.

Post Gazette LOADED: 04.17.2020 1182956 Pittsburgh Penguins Post Gazette LOADED: 04.17.2020

Penguins on pause: Bryan Rust provides bang for the buck in breakout season

MATT VENSEL Pittsburgh Post-Gazette APR 16, 2020 9:20 AM

The NHL has “paused” its season due to the COVID-19 pandemic. It is unclear if it will resume. So, with one eye still on the future, the Post- Gazette’s Matt Vensel and Mike DeFabo are looking back at what each Penguins player did in 2019-20. We started with the captain, No. 87, and will count down by jersey number.

What more can anyone say about Bryan Rust’s incredible 2019-20 season?

The Penguins weren’t thrilled with his play in 2018-19. Rust was the subject of trade rumors last summer, not ideal for someone putting the finishing touches on wedding plans. Then he missed the first few weeks of the season after stepping in front of a hard but meaningless shot in the preseason finale.

He scored in his first game back. Then again three games later. The next game, he lit the lamp twice. The goals kept coming and in his 30th game he had already tied his previous single-season high at 18. The 27-year- old had 27 goals, tops on the Penguins, when the NHL suspended its season March 12.

Penguins mailbag: Who gets scratched if the season resumes?

And, still, Rust continued to do the little things that got the 2010 third- round pick into the NHL in the first place. He was an effective forechecker. He dropped down to block shots. And he was an important part of their penalty kill.

Plus, he actually did all right moonlighting on the team’s top power-play unit.

Add all that up, and Rust was one of the primary reasons why the star- studded Penguins were able to thrive despite injuries to higher-profile players.

Just awesome stuff from one of the most popular guys in that locker room.

Can Rust repeat this? Some skepticism is justifiable, especially after his shooting percentage spiked from 10.7 in his first five seasons to 17.9 in 2019-20.

But at minimum, Rust reminded everyone, including his own organization, that he is a fast, feisty, selfless, versatile forward. And he showed that he is worth the sizable payday the Penguins gave him before the 2018-19 season.

You can’t win the Stanley Cup without a few players like him on your team.

Bryan Rust's offensive evolution includes doggedness below the dots

DEFINING MOMENT: Rust played a leading role in one of the season’s signature wins, the Nov. 7 comeback in Brooklyn. Rust had one of three third-period goals to send it into OT. He then won it when he stripped the puck from Brock Nelson behind the net and scored on a wraparound on Semyon Varlamov.

STAT THAT STANDS OUT: Rust had 114 points in 253 regular season games entering the season. He had 56 points — nearly half that total — in 55 games in 2019-20. At 1.02 points per game, Rust ranked 23rd in the NHL among qualifiers.

IF THE SEASON RESUMES: Rust should remain on Evgeni Malkin’s right wing. The two of them had tremendous chemistry this season. Of course, playing with Malkin so much was one factor in Rust’s scoring surge. But Rust’s improved poise and playmaking below the dots helped drive play. Why break that up?

LONG-TERM OUTLOOK: Rust is under contract for two more years at $3.5 million per season. He won’t have to worry about getting shopped this summer. 1182957 Pittsburgh Penguins just another player, that they had witnessed something that was different. And since then, he’s obviously become an all-time great player.”

Rutherford was long an admirer of Crosby’s but only truly appreciated Jim Rutherford on Sidney Crosby: ‘He’s going to be great for a long, long him after becoming the Penguins’ general manager in 2014. time’ “My impression actually changed a lot,” Rutherford said. “I knew him as a player. Everyone knows him as a player. But then I got to know the person, and I saw that the person was every bit as impressive as the By Josh Yohe Apr 16, 2020 hockey player. He’s just a caring human being. When you talk about the player that he is, in my opinion, you also need to talk about the person

that he is.” If hockey is played again in the 2019-20 season — and yes, that’s a big if Rutherford doesn’t just think that Crosby is the game’s greatest player, — it’s safe to assume the NHL will zoom right from a lengthy layoff to the but also believes he is among the game’s finest captains. He gave some postseason. details regarding what he believes makes Crosby a great leader. Presuming that’s the case, the regular season is effectively over. As a “I just think he’s a terrific captain,” Rutherford said. “He does things in his result, Sidney Crosby has joined some select company. own, quiet way. And that’s OK. In fact, it has to be that way. I think, when Crosby has likely finished his 15th NHL regular season and he has you’re a star player, you can’t rah-rah guy. It just doesn’t work that way.” produced at least one point per game in each of those seasons. In NHL Crosby is as quiet and as polite as NHL players come, but Rutherford history, only two other players have recorded at least one point per game said there is a side to Crosby that not many see. in each of their 15 seasons: Wayne Gretzky and Mario Lemieux. “There have been times when there has been an issue with a particular That Crosby joins them on such an exclusive list is only fitting, according player or players,” Rutherford said. “And I love the way Sid goes about it. to his general manager, who spoke with The Athletic on Wednesday. When an issue like that pops up, I’ve seen Sid quietly pull a player aside Jim Rutherford played with Gordie Howe and against Bobby Orr. He and speak to him, one on one. Maybe take him out to dinner. Just pull oversaw the Hartford Whalers and Carolina Hurricanes when Lemieux him aside and do things properly. I’ve been around great captains, guys and Gretzky were still in full flight. As a kid, he watched a young Howe like and Rod Brind’Amour. They led by example. Same with and Rocket Richard. how Mario was, I’m sure. You can see it in Sid. He’s just like those guys.”

“I’ve seen a lot,” Rutherford said. “You know, it’s hard to compare the all- Rutherford will talk all day about Crosby’s greatness. Just don’t ask him time greats. I go back as far as Howe and Rocket Richard. Then there to pick between Crosby, Lemieux, Orr, Gretzky, Howe or Richard. was Orr, and then Gretzky, and then Mario. Then, there was Sid. He “It’s too hard,” Rutherford said. “But those guys are in their own little represents the next generation. I don’t know how to rank them, the best group. Someday in the future, maybe someone will join them. But to me, players ever. But I know that’s the list, and I know Sid is on it.” that’s the group. And Sid isn’t done yet.” As far as Rutherford is concerned, Crosby’s peak years aren’t over. The Athletic LOADED: 04.17.2020 Historically speaking, the greatest players of all time have typically peaked statistically in their mid-20s. Crosby’s best point per game seasons did indeed come in 2011 and 2012, but if there’s been a drop-off in his game, it has been difficult to detect.

He’s never come particularly close to plummeting under a point per game average and, at 32, Crosby doesn’t appear to be slowing down.

His general manager isn’t expecting that to happen for quite some time.

“He’s never looked different or like he was slowing down,” Rutherford said. “And you know what? He won’t look any different than he does now for a long time still. I say that for a lot of reasons. He just keeps himself in exceptional shape. He takes care of his body and he lives a clean life. He’s got those powerful legs, and they aren’t going to slow down anytime soon. There is no reason to expect that his game will drop for a number of years. I don’t even worry about it. He’s just one of the greatest players of all time. Offense. Defense. Leadership. He’s not just about points, either. He’s about winning. He’s going to be great for a long, long time.”

The numbers indicate that he already has been great for a long, long time.

Rutherford has a particular appreciation for Crosby’s consistency despite having many wingers over the years.

“To do what he’s done in those 15 years, it takes a lot of things,” Rutherford said. “Well, talent, for one. Sure. But it’s also how he prepares. How determined he is. Year after year, he’s done it with a different group of players. It’s not all the same guys. That can be tough. He’s had new wingers almost every year. A new winger every month, sometimes. He just adjusts to everything and keeps making everyone around him better. It’s a gift.”

Rutherford still vividly recalls the first time he saw Crosby play. It was the second game of the 2005-06 season, when a rookie goalie named Cam Ward made quite a statement by stopping Lemieux and Crosby in a shootout that led to Carolina’s win. Rutherford remembers Ward’s heroics that night, but his eyes were on Crosby.

“I remember leaving the arena in Raleigh that night and knowing that I had seen something special,” Rutherford said. “He was just different from the very beginning. It didn’t require a great scout to tell you that Sid was just special. I think even the average hockey fan saw him play that night, and in games when he entered the league, and realized that he wasn’t 1182958 San Jose Sharks

Bob Boughner Q&A: Sharks coach talks interim tag, future expectations

By Brodie Brazil April 16, 2020 5:20 PM

Sharks interim coach Bob Boughner is back home in Windsor, Ontario, with his wife and four children.

While his future with the franchise is not yet known, it certainly does seem like he is the obvious frontrunner to be behind San Jose’s bench for next season and beyond.

We caught up with the former NHL defenseman who’s now in his second coaching stint with San Jose.

NBC Sports California: On going from assistant to interim coach on the same day all of the other staff were dismissed:

Boughner: “It was sad to see those guys having to change their lives that second. And also exciting for me getting a chance. And a lot of unknowns. At that point, when Doug called I didn’t know what my staff would be, or how we would pick up the pieces. It was a day full of drama and mixed emotions, for sure.”

On what improvements he noticed during the final three months, despite trades, injuries and other adversities:

“There was a ton of change, in the style of play. We wanted to switch some things around to not be so predictable. I thought if anything -- and this is no knock to Pete [DeBoer], he’s an amazing coach -- but the team played the same way for four or five years and I think the players were looking for a change as well. We wanted to change our attack, our offensive game a little bit.”

On the consistent defensive miscues for San Jose, specifically being out of position:

“We got a little guilty of that at times in the beginning of the season. We got so worried about killing motion and stopping plays defensively, we’d be jumping so hard and getting guys out of position. So when I took over, it’s: Take a step back, play a little more conservative. Making sure you’re still going to battle, and jump and check when you can. But you’re not going to get two and three guys running out of position.”

On the players taking this past season personally, and applying it towards the next one:

“I think the guys are going to be ready, because of the experience they’ve had in the last two months. I think there’s going to be a little bit of a bad taste in everybody’s mouth -- should be a lot of bad taste in everybody’s mouth about this season and how it went.”

On what needs to improve with the Sharks for next season:

“I really think that we need to get back to playing responsibly. There’s got to be an emphasis put on accountability, and playing as a team and a family, for each other. Sometimes we got away from that last year. Not throwing blame on any player, but there was a lot of turmoil. And it’s a lot for a player to focus on coming to the rink and doing his job and playing for the guy next to you when you’re under that turmoil.”

On what it would mean to lose the ‘interim’ tag:

“I learned a lot from my experience [as head coach] in Florida. And I learned a lot working under Pete DeBoer. You look at the guys who have gone through the league in their second time around -- Craig Berube has won a Stanley Cup, [Mike] Sullivan in Pittsburgh’s second time around. All those guys, you’re better for it. I’ll be better at it from my experience as the interim head coach, too.”

Comcast SportsNet.com LOADED: 04.17.2020 1182959 St Louis Blues But what about Alex Pietrangelo, who is scheduled for unrestricted free agency after this season? After agreeing to terms Wednesday with Sammy Blais on a two-year contract worth $1.5 million a year, and now Scandella at $3.275 million per year, is there enough money to re-sign Defenseman Scandella agrees to four-year, $13.1 million contract with the Blues’ all-star defenseman? Blues The answer is “no” unless Armstrong makes some moves to free up salary. According to CapFriendly.com, the Blues have only $5.4 million of cap space under a projected salary cap of $84 million. And it’s possible Jim Thomas the cap could be less because of revenue lost during the coronavirus “pause.”

The Blues have another player under contract. Defenseman Marco “We have a plan and we just continue to sign guys, Armstrong said. “Any Scandella has agreed to terms on a four-year contract worth $3.275 organization, you can’t just do nothing and wait for one thing to happen. million per year, the team announced Thursday afternoon. “Our goal is to try and get Petro signed. We were gonna need a player Suffice it to say that Scandella, 30, impressed the Blues in just 11 games like Marco, with or without Petro. And now we have that done but we still with the team since being acquired via trade from the Montreal want to sign Petro.” Canadiens on Feb. 18. He had been scheduled for unrestricted free St Louis Post Dispatch LOADED: 04.17.2020 agency after this season.

“I think that in the games here, and how quickly he was able to partner with (Colton) Parayko, we thought we had enough information (to pursue an extension),” Blues general manager Doug Armstrong said.

It was clear to Armstrong that Scandella was the player they thought they were getting from Montreal.

“And how he played in our group, what we asked him to do, and what we were replacing in terms of what Jay (Bouwmeester) was doing at that particular time,” Armstrong said. “A strong defender, good stick, decent skater. A ‘plus’ skater and a good partner for a guy like Colton.”

Paired with Parayko in all 11 games, Scandella had no goals and one assist and was plus-4. It was a seamless transition for Scandella, who averaged 20 minutes 18 seconds per game with St. Louis before the NHL suspended play March 12 because of the coronavirus pandemic.

He also saw lots of duty on the penalty kill unit, averaging 2:22 of shorthanded ice time per game. Excluding goalies Jordan Binnington and Jake Allen, that was third-best on the team trailing only Bouwmeester (2:38) and Robert Bortuzzo (2:30).

“We obviously knew him well from his time in Minnesota,” Armstrong said. “A good, strong competitor that played against the other team’s better players _ played against our better players. He came as advertised. I think he’s much more comfortable in the Western Conference. And fortunately for us, that’s where we play.”

After playing all or part of seven seasons with the Minnesota Wild, Scandella was traded to Buffalo prior to the 2017-18 season. After 2 ½ seasons with the Sabres, he was traded to his hometown Montreal Canadiens on Jan. 3 of this year and then shipped to St. Louis 1 ½ months later for a second-round pick in this year’s draft and a conditional fourth-rounder in the 2021 draft.

The Canadiens now get the fourth-rounder, because one of the conditions that would send them that pick was if the Blues signed Scandella to a contract extension

Although not a big scorer, Scandella has a decent shot, and is capable of jumping into the play on offense. He has a physical element to his game as well.

“He can be a primary penalty killer,” Armstrong said. “Can be a primary shutdown guy. Can play deep into the third period when you’re up by a goal and tied in a game.

“You’re trying to build a team that has all sorts of different elements,” Armstrong said. “Marco gave us an element that we had in Jay, and now we have that moving forward. We like that style of defenseman _ the rangy guys that have got good sticks and have good feet.”

By retaining Scandella through the 2023-24 season, the Blues almost certainly are moving on from Bouwmeester, who may retire after a life- threatening cardiac episode March 11 in Anaheim.

“I’d rather not comment on that,” Armstrong said. “Jay at his press conference (in March) said he was not gonna play the rest of the season and would make some decision in the summer. And I’ll just allow him to go down that path.”

No matter what Bouwmeester decides, his contract with the Blues expires after this season. 1182960 St Louis Blues MacEachern and de la Rose are eligible for arbitration, which gives them a little leverage in any potential contract negotiations. Dunn is not eligible for arbitration.

Bullish on Blais: Blues reward young forward with two-year extension St Louis Post Dispatch LOADED: 04.17.2020

Jim Thomas

Blues forward Sammy Blais agreed to a two-year, $3 million contract extension Wednesday, which will keep him under contract through the 2021-22 season. Blais, 23, had been scheduled to be a restricted free agent, and eligible for arbitration, after this season.

In 40 games before the suspension of NHL play because of the coronavirus pandemic, Blais had six goals, seven assists and was minus- 2.

“We’re in contact with all kinds of different people during this time,” Blues general manager Doug Armstrong said. “(Director of hockey operations) Ryan Miller headed this one up along with Blaiser’s agent and got us something done.”

Blais began the season as a top-six forward, playing on a line with Ryan O’Reilly and David Perron.

“He’s a developing player that we think highly of,” Armstrong said. “We think he certainly can be a top-nine regular in our group. I think injuries derailed a little bit of that for him at the start of this year. And then someone like (Zach) Sanford came in and really grabbed a spot there with Perron and O’Reilly for a while.

“So it gives us good competition in our group and another young player to continue to grow with.”

Blais came into camp in good shape, and after a strong preseason seized a spot at left wing on the O’Reilly line — valuable territory in terms of the potential for production and playing time. His physical style of play, combined with good puck-handling and passing skills, made for a nice complement with the feistiness and goal-scoring ability of Perron coupled with the all-around play of O’Reilly.

Blais had five goals 20 games into the season, putting him on an early pace for 20 goals. But a wrist injury in late November sidelined him for 2½ months, costing him 28 games. Since returning at the end of January, Blais had seen mainly fourth- and third-line duty, although he was reunited with O’Reilly and Perron on March 11, in Anaheim — the Blues’ last game before the NHL suspended play.

It took a while for Blais to get going when he returned to the lineup, on Jan. 28, after having wrist surgery. He had four assists after returning but only one goal, scored Feb. 4 against Carolina. But it’s clear that Blais has yet to reach his ceiling as a player, and if he stays healthy he could turn out to be a bargain of a sixth-round draft pick.

“We saw (that) last year in the playoffs when he got in,” Armstrong said. “We just think he’s a young player, that’s a little of a late-bloomer in junior hockey. I thought (coach) Craig Berube really did a great job with him his first year in the American League, and has confidence in him. So I think Sammy feels that, too, and has continued to grow under Craig.”

Blais scored 26 goals during the 2016-17 season for the , then the Blues’ American Hockey League affiliate and coached by Berube. During the 2017-18 and 2018-19 seasons, Blais bounced back and forth between the Blues and their new San Antonio AHL affiliate.

His physical play really became noticeable last season and continued this season up to the coronavirus “pause.” He was leading the Blues in overall hits (155), even though he had missed 31 games.

“He brings an element, a little bit like (Ivan) Barbashev brings that physical element,” Armstrong said. “There’s all sorts of different components that go into a team. He has very good hands but he also has a physical element to his game that separates him from other people.”

Blais is making $850,000 this year, so it’s a decent pay raise. It also leaves the Blues with only three pending restricted free agents on their current roster: forwards MacKenzie MacEachern and Jacob de la Rose, plus defenseman Vince Dunn. 1182961 Tampa Bay Lightning — Erin Andrews (@ErinAndrews) April 15, 2020 Rays pitcher Ryan Yarbrough gave enough food from Buddy Brew

Coffee to feed about 125 people at St. Joseph’s Hospital. How sports are helping in the coronavirus fight The Bolts Better Halves gave more than 100 meals to the staff at Tampa Our updated list on how sports teams, employees and other groups are General Hospital. doing their part during the pandemic. Earlier this week, our Bolts Better Halves donated over 100 meals and 75 wellness juice shots to nurses at @TGHCares to show support and appreciation for all of their hard work! pic.twitter.com/U0aOzvhFKp Staff — Lightning Foundation (@LightningFDN) April 2, 2020

Former Rays pitcher Chris Archer sent coffee and breakfast pastries to As the country grapples with the COVID-19 pandemic, the sports world is the staff at Johns Hopkins All Children’s Hospital. doing its part to try to help while their athletes remain sidelined. We’ve compiled an incomplete list (heavy but not exclusively from Florida) of Amalie Arena donated 18 pallets of food and drinks to Feeding Tampa some of the ways teams and players are helping the community and the Bay and Metropolitan Ministries. The items were initially supposed to be fight against the novel coronavirus: used during events at the arena, like March Madness.

Donations and fundraisers able to donate 18 pallets of food and beverage to @MetroMinistries and @FeedingTampaBay. Let’s make the best of our circumstances and Ann Austin, the Women's Tennis Association's senior director of come together! [2] community development, delivers medical supplies for local hospitals. [Courtesy: WTA] — Amalie Arena (@AmalieArena) March 19, 2020

The Rays and Rowdies have set up a COVID-19 Relief Grant Program to IndyCar teams donated their extra food after the Firestone Grand Prix of aid organizations that provide food and shelter relief in the community. St. Petersburg was called off three hours into a three-day event. That Their overall financial commitment: $1 million. was almost 3,000 pounds of food just from Team Penske, Andretti Autosport and Chip Ganassi Racing, according to the Indianapolis Star. The Glazer family (which owns the Bucs) have given $100,000 to the Fighting Chance Fund, which helps locally owned small businesses in St. Facilities Petersburg. Healthcare workers test residents as dozens of vehicles lined up at a Bucs lineman Alex Cappa set of a chain of supporting local restaurants drive-thru COVID-19 testing site at site on and providing meals to area health care workers. Wednesday, March 25, 2020 in Tampa. Residents that wished to be tested had to be approved and registered online before arriving at the The Bucs, Rays and Lightning have all pledged $100,000 to One Tampa, site. [LUIS SANTANA | Times]Jpg a relief fund that will help families pay for their rent, mortgage or utilities. Raymond James Stadium has been serving as a testing site for people The Mike Evans Family Foundation has pledged $50,000 to the United who might have the virus. Way Suncoast for relief efforts. The donation from the Bucs star receiver is expected to help more than 53,000 people in the area. Daytona International Speedway will also be acting as a drive-up testing site starting Friday morning through one of its partners, AdventHealth. New Bucs quarterback Tom Brady and his wife are providing 750,000 Other tracks are doing the same thing, including Charlotte Motor meals through Feeding Tampa Bay. Brady is also taking part in the All-In Speedway and Martinsville Speedway. Challenge by auctioning off a chance to watch Brady’s first Bucs game and meet him afterward, among other things. In the SEC, the University of Kentucky’s indoor football facility, the Nutter Field House, is set to become a 400-bed temporary hospital that could I accept the #ALLINCHALLENGE. Watch the video & go to treat a surge of patients. https://t.co/bRtYgf65MS to get involved. I challenge my wife @giseleofficial, my buddy @drake & YOU @nflcommish to go ALL IN! Equipment pic.twitter.com/QDeBNEM0rf In this March 23, 2020, photo provided by Bauer Hockey Corp., an — @tombrady (@TomBrady) April 15, 2020 employee models a medical face shield the hockey equipment manufacturer has begun creating to help those treating the coronavirus Lightning players have donated 500,000 meals through Feeding Tampa pandemic, at Bauer Hockey Corp. in Blainville, Quebec. [AP] Bay. They’re also creating a fund to help support part-time employees of the team and Amalie Arena who are now out of work. Hockey equipment manufacturer Bauer pivoted from making helmet visors to medical visors. Lightning owner Jeff Vinik’s Vinik Family Foundation gave $300,000 to Metropolitan Ministries, which will add up to at least 60,000 meals. It also Several auto racing companies have switched, too. Dallara has gone handed USF $50,000 to help students with necessities like rent, food and from making IndyCar chassis to masks and gowns. NASCAR’s R&D toiletries. Center is also producing protective gear.

The Rays donated $100,000 to Feeding Tampa Bay and will match funds Fanatics, which makes Major League Baseball uniforms, has been using for another $150,000 through an online food drive. They’re also giving the polyester mesh fabric to create masks and hospital gowns. payments of $500 or $1,000 to game-day workers, like people who work Other good deeds in security, cleaning or concessions. The Vinik Family Foundation has taken out public service The St. Petersburg-based Women’s Tennis Association has donated announcements in many mediums, including the Times, radio, billboards 5,000 N95 masks to be distributed to area hospitals. The WTA is also and social media, to guide people in need to existing services. donating 20,000 meals through Feeding Tampa Bay and has launched a WTA 4 Love campaign. The Lightning are taking out public service announcements in the Tampa Bay Times and elsewhere to tell residents where they can go for help. Other food donations Employees of the Rays and almost every other MLB team are Broadcaster Erin Andrews (a Bloomingdale High graduate) gave 100 participating in a large test to study coronavirus antibodies. beyond-meat burgers to the workers at Tampa General Hospital. Former Bucs quarterback and Florida State star Jameis Winston helped .@beyondmeat has made a pledge to donate over 1 million Beyond launch a toll-free coronavirus hotline. Burgers to those in need during these challenging times and I’m proud to be a part of it. Today, I’m sending the original beyond thick burgers over Tampa Bay Times LOADED: 04.17.2020 to @tghcares with the help of @hardees! #GoBeyond pic.twitter.com/q5tjrhe2FS 1182962 Tampa Bay Lightning was like my brother, you know. To beat his goal-scoring record was something. … Ending up with 76 was one of the highlights of my life.

Phil, it’s 1972. The Summit Series was an absolute war. But even during Phil Esposito unplugged: Hall of Famer re-lives career and talks today’s that time, was there a single Russian player that you just couldn’t help stars but respect during the series? Who stood out despite how high emotions were running at the time? – George H.

It was (Alexander) Yakushev. He was the best player on the Russian By Joe Smith Apr 16, 2020 team, bar none. He was the one guy that worried me when he was on the ice. Yakushev was big, strong. He reminded me of Bobby Hull.

Hey, Phil, huge Ranger fan here. What was your greatest memory as a When you have a conversation with Hall of Famer Phil Esposito, you Ranger? – Matt L. never know where it will take you. Oh, my greatest memory was when we beat the Islanders in ’79. It was I’ve had plenty of chats in the press box with the Lightning founder, who like our Stanley Cup. We had a good bunch of guys on the team that is not only one of the greatest players who ever lived but also one of the stuck together. (John) Davidson played as well as a goalie could play. most colorful (and quotable). So when Esposito, 78, agreed to do a live Unfortunately, when we got to the finals, J.D. got hurt, and we just chat with subscribers at The Athletic on Wednesday, I knew we were all couldn’t sustain and play as well as we could against the Canadiens who in for a treat. And that I may need to do some editing. were just an awesome, awesome, team. Nothing was off-limits. Esposito was candid in his hour-long talk and full With your perspective as a player in the Summit Series and a U.S. of stories. resident during and since the 1980 Olympics, I’d be interested to hear The 717-goal scorer weighed in on the top players in today’s game and your thoughts on which was more impactful to its respective country, the whether Alex Ovechkin would break Wayne Gretzky’s all-time goals Summit Series in Canada or the 1980 Olympic gold medal in the USA. – record. He also reflected on the 1972 Summit Series between Canada Gregory W. and Russia. The United States is a bigger country and had More Coverage. But Esposito also recalled how he nearly traded for Gretzky when he was the people to this day forget that they had to win that final game against Rangers GM. Finland to win the (gold). So that was huge. But people just think about them beating the Russians. That was (another) step on the ladder. But I learned things I never knew about him before, like how he wore No. 7 that last game was huge. because of Yankees legend Mickey Mantle. And how he could have chosen baseball over hockey at one point. Imagine that? Phil, I remember you had a few appearances on the show “Rescue Me.” Anything you remember from that experience? – Kevin P. Here are some highlights of Esposito’s chat with The Athletic. Enjoy. I had a blast doing that show with Denis Leary. I was coaching. He says, Hey, Phil. Who do you think are the top five (players) in the NHL right “Cut, cut.” He said, “Listen, Phil, you’ve got to be more forceful. Hasn’t a now? – Tony S. coach ever been forceful with you?” The next scene, I did it so well, after the scene, he said, “You know what? You scared the (crap) out of me.” It I’ll give you my opinion, but not in any order. … Crosby is still one of was a great scene. those guys. So is Connor McDavid. And what (Oilers forward Leon) Draisaitl is doing is unbelievable. If there’s anyone in the league that Hey Phil, do you think (Alex Ovechkin) will catch Gretzky? – Scott R. reminds me of myself, it’s Leon Draisaitl. I wouldn’t put him in the top five, but I would put him up there. When (Nikita) Kucherov is right If he stays with Washington and Washington remains a good team, mentally, he’s as good as anybody in the world. Patrice Bergeron is, to there’s a definite possibility. But if the team goes a little bit down, I don’t me, the complete player. I’d put him in that top five forwards. I don’t know see it happening. But there’s no doubt in my mind Ovechkin is one of the how you can keep (Avalanche center Nathan) McKinnon off the top five. greatest goal scorers I’ve seen in my life. I think he’s a way better goal He puts the Avalanche on (his) back. scorer than Gretzky was, but Wayne was so much smarter than anybody.

Top five defensemen? Victor Hedman was really good before he got hurt. Esposito in February of 2018. (Kim Klement / USA Today) He’s one of the guys I think is terrific. He does so many smart and good What are your fondest memories of Sault Ste. Marie? – Paul C. things. John Carlson is the guy who is always there, always playing well, and picked up a lot of points. I love (John) Klingberg from Dallas. He’s a Playing hockey in the open-air rinks when I was a kid. It was hell of a player. Also (Kings defenseman) Drew Doughty. He’s another unbelievable. We’d go out and play after school. We’d run home, my one who dominates. Last year I would have said (Flames defenseman brother and I, with our skates on. My mother would put newspapers Mark) Giordano. under our feet. We’d sit and eat, then go back to the rink, until my dad would whistle at 7 or 8. My top goaltenders are (Andrei) Vasilevskiy, (Ben) Bishop, (Tuukka) Rask, (Frederik) Andersen because Toronto doesn’t win anything without In the summertime, we played baseball, a lot of baseball. I loved it. I had Andersen. That’s the list I’d love on my team. a chance for a baseball scholarship when I was 16 with the Tigers, and I went home and told my dad. They wanted me to go to Flint, Mich., and Who were your favorite linemates to play with over the course of your be part of the Tigers organization. My dad said, “What do you want to do, career? – Al W. play hockey or baseball?” I said, “Well, I like hockey a little better.” It was I was lucky. I played with Bobby Hull my first three years in Chicago. I a smart decision. was a kid. I learned an awful lot. My favorite memories were Ken Hodge I wore No. 7 for Mickey Mantle. I was a line-drive hitter, right-handed. But and Wayne Cashman. Kenny was that big right winger who could get in it wasn’t powerful, it was line drives all the time. But when I got up there front of the net and distract the defenseman while I was in the hashmark. left-handed, I don’t know what it was. I remember as a kid growing up in If there was a better cornerman than Wayne, I don’t know who it was. the ’50s, I would listen to World Series games on radio. I’d go to the What is your favorite game that stood out in your career? – Emmanuel A. bathroom at school and the janitor would have the game on. I’d listen to maybe five minutes or so because I knew if I didn’t get back, I’d be in That Team Canada Game 8 in 1972 was one of the best games I’ve deep trouble. Mickey was the guy. There was something about him I played in my life. I just wonder how it would be for hockey in general, and really, really liked. I was fortunate to meet Mickey and have a few beers especially for Canadian hockey, had we lost that game, which meant we with him and dinner. would have lost that series. I think about that a lot. But I really believe it was divine intervention. Gordie Howe was also my idol. The first time I met him, I was on the ice. I was on for six seconds and he gave me six stitches. Another one was when I scored my 60th goal to break Bobby Hull’s goal- scoring record. I think that I was in Los Angeles — there weren’t that Phil, who would you consider the best trash talker you played with? – many people in the building. There was nobody around. The game was Greg S. being televised back home. But for me, it was a huge, huge thing. Bobby Johnny McKenzie, who I played with. He was terrible. He was mean- talking, though. He’d say stuff I couldn’t believe. There were a lot of them over the years.

Thank you, thank you, thank you for bringing the Lightning to Tampa. Which current Lightning player would have fit in the best on your old Bruins teams? – Erin W.

Oh, that’s a great question. Probably Victor Hedman. I think Victor would have been perfect for our team. I like Victor a lot, I like the way he plays. Sure he’ll make mistakes. But everybody does. He would fit best with us guys.

Favorite away barn to play in? – Aaron L.

Well, I loved playing in Chicago when I was with the Bruins, and when I was with Chicago, I loved playing in Boston. It’s a funny thing but the absolute truth. The other thing for me, I liked those cities, too. I think that had a lot to do with it. I didn’t care where the game was as long as I was able to play.

How close were you to acquiring Wayne Gretzky from Edmonton just before he was traded to Los Angeles? In your book, you stated that (Glen Sather of the Oilers) approached you at the draft. – Joe C.

I had the players worked out with Glen. But Madison Square Garden wouldn’t give the $15 million. Los Angeles gave $15 million to Edmonton for Wayne. It wasn’t just the players. Two years later, I went to them with the same players, with $5 million to get Mark Messier, and they said no. They were all corporate then.

Espo, my favorite story you’ve shared is when Bobby (Orr) and crew broke you out of (Mass General Hospital) in 1973, stretcher and all. Imagine the headlines today? – Mark P.

It would have been unbelievable. I’ll never forget when he came in with the hospital gown and the hat. I’m like, “What the heck are you doing?” He said, “We’re taking you to the party!” I got to that party. Only thing that bothered me was that it came across on the bottom of the screen on TV. I’m looking at it and it says, “Phil Esposito kidnapped from Mass General.” He called the doctor. Bobby said, “We carried him here, and we’ll carry him back.” Had I fallen, I probably would have never been able to walk again. I thought about that many, many times.

But I’m so proud of myself because my doctor said I wouldn’t be able to play until January. But Aug. 17, I went on the ice for the first time with Kenny Hodge, and Kenny held me and pushed me, and I just had a big brace on. I skated for the first time then, and on Sept. 28, I played my first game against the Blackhawks and I got a hat trick. That’s the year I won the MVP. I played with a brace for the rest of my career.

Was there ever a goalie you hated going up against. And if so, who was it? – Mathew S.

No. Never a goalie. It wasn’t the goalie that bothered me, it was the defensemen. For example, with Montreal, I loved to play Ken Dryden. But you could never get a rebound, their defense was so damn good. Holy cripe, go down the list. There wasn’t a goalie I was ever, ever afraid of facing. Goalies, I always felt like I could get them. It was the defensemen that caused most of the problems. You couldn’t get the rebounds or position.

What was more important to you: winning the Stanley Cup or the Summit Series? – Ron B.

Stanley Cup. The first one was phenomenal. You grow up as a kid dreaming of the Stanley Cup. The Summit Series was something we were told would be an exhibition. We were told it would be like an All-Star Game. My feeling is we should have never been called Team Canada, that we should have been called Team NHL. There were a lot of guys that weren’t allowed to play on this team because they were in the WHA. So if they played in the WHA, but were Canadians, why weren’t you allowed to play?

If you and Boris Mikhailov got in a fight in the 1972 Summit Series, who would have won? – Douglas J.

He wouldn’t take me, no chance. We’ve become friends now. He was the one guy that I’d just really disliked. I’ll tell you this, if I fought Gordie Howe, he’d beat me.

The Athletic LOADED: 04.17.2020 1182963 Toronto Maple Leafs “And then other times, I’m doing a Fortnite tournament for charity. So having them watch the stream and support me and give me tips on what I should be doing or chirp me or whatever — it’s pretty fun just to be able to provide another way to interact and for fans to kind of get to know me Leafs teammates Mitch Marner, left, and Zach Hyman have signed up to and for me to get to know them.” play in a 14-day livestreaming virtual hockey marathon called Hockey2Help to benefit the COVID-19 relief efforts of Second Harvest, in Then of course, there’s the entertainment factor. “I think that e-sports and Canada, and Volunteers of America. video games can provide a little bit of an escape, especially in hard times like this.”

Toronto Star LOADED: 04.17.2020 By Kevin McGran Thu., April 16, 2020

Maple Leafs winger Zach Hyman probably deserves credit for recognizing in 2018 that e-sports was a burgeoning market and an industry worth investing in.

Now, with much of the world stuck at home, the idea of holding a competition from the comfort of your living room seems to be gaining a foothold with a wider population.

“All of our gaming and viewership numbers have gone up during this because I guess everybody is staying at home,” Hyman said during a conference call with local hockey media. “You’re seeing a huge spike in online media because everyone is at home and consuming Netflix and YouTube and Twitch and all that stuff because you can’t really go anywhere.

“Whether that has staying power, I mean, it probably will increase the speed of the trend. The trend was already happening.”

Hyman launched Eleven Gaming in 2018 with gamers competing for cash prizes in Fortnite, viewers watching along in Twitch and sponsors getting in on the growing bandwagon. He has since added SoaR Gaming, focusing on Call of Duty via YouTube.

Eleven Gaming generated combined earnings of over $1.5 million within the first year of Fortnite’s competitive division. SoaR has amassed a following of over 21 million fans worldwide, generating 300 million impressions across social media platforms on a monthly basis.

The global e-sports market was valued at nearly $865 million (U.S.) in 2018, according to Statista.com, a business data company. That same company expects the world market will reach $1.79 billion by 2022. That prediction was from Feb. 19, about a month before the COVID-19 pandemic kick-started stay-at-home orders in the United States and Canada.

Around the world, Formula 1, the Spanish La Liga football league and NASCAR were among sports entities holding online video-game contests in lieu of the real thing, with Forbes predicting that records for global viewership for e-sports in 2020 would easily eclipse 2019’s worldwide audience of 443 million.

The NHL has gotten into e-gaming — it had a world championship in Las Vegas in 2019, though the 2020 version, like the league itself, is on hiatus — and the Maple Leafs have also held tournaments.

“I tend to follow things that I really enjoy doing and follow my passions,” Hyman said. “I love reading and writing, playing hockey, and (I) invested into gaming and because I’m a gamer.

“I thought that media was shifting into an online consumer base.”

Hyman and teammate Mitch Marner are among a handful of NHL players who have signed up to play in a 14-day livestreaming virtual hockey marathon called Hockey2Help to benefit the COVID-19 relief efforts of Second Harvest, in Canada, and Volunteers of America. Hyman and Marner have been playing each other, showing their games on Twitch.

“Mitch and I started streaming live and started to interact with the fans and just provide another source of entertainment,” Hyman said. “If you can do that and raise money for a good cause, that’s awesome.”

There is a personal side to e-sports, Hyman said, a closer connection between participants and viewers — who can cheer, jeer or offer tips in real time — than is possible in an arena or stadium.

“(There are) times I’m hosting custom games on Fortnite,” he said. “I send a code and everybody joins in and can play against me and you see any comments: ‘I got you,’ ‘I eliminated you.’ You’re seeing fans all happy they eliminated me … 1182964 Toronto Maple Leafs

Matthews' march to 50, playing with Spezza keep Hyman hopeful for return

Terry Koshan

Watching Auston Matthews chase 50 goals and having another chance to suit up with are among the many reasons Zach Hyman would like to see the 2019-20 season continued.

Matthews was at 47 goals when the COVID-19 pandemic caused the NHL to hit pause, and the future of Spezza with the Leafs could be in doubt as he is eligible to be an unrestricted free agent once the season ends.

“He has had an amazing year and hopefully we can get back to playing so he can finish that off and get to 50,” Hyman said of Matthews. “He has been an elite player since he got into the league and I think he has got better every year, which is hard to do when you are already playing at a high level.”

Hyman and Spezza had side-by-side stalls in the Leafs dressing room.

“I picked his brain a bunch,” Hyman said. “You can ask him any question about hockey and he will have an answer for it.

“He has been through a lot this year and he had a calm and steady demeanour through it and was a great presence for our younger guys. It would be awesome to have him back.”

Toronto Sun LOADED: 04.17.2020 1182965 Toronto Maple Leafs right now but it’s more important to just be prepared for anything and go from there.”

How has Hyman been keeping busy? Reading, playing video games, Hyman tries to stay positive during pandemic and wants to be with Leafs both with Leafs teammates and with fans (remotely, of course), and "for a long time" writing his fourth children’s book.

“I have no excuse (to not be writing),” Hyman said. “I have all the time in the world.” Terry Koshan Toronto Sun LOADED: 04.17.2020

Zach Hyman hopes his story with the Maple Leafs has many more chapters to come.

The club’s hardest-working player will be eligible for unrestricted free agency at the end of the 2020-21 season and said during a conference call on Thursday that he wants to be with the Leafs “for a long time.”

“I would love to stay in Toronto,” Hyman said. “It’s where I grew up, it’s where I want to be.

“In a way with everything that has happened (with the National Hockey League on pause because of the COVID-19 global pandemic), I’m lucky that I have another year on my contract because everything will probably be sorted out in regard to the cap and all those questions that nobody really has answers for right now (will be settled).

“I would love to be a long-term Leaf and love to re-sign here and ultimately win a Stanley Cup here.”

After this season, Hyman has one more year with an annual average value of $2.25-million US. He’ll be in line for a solid raise, which could be an obstacle for the Leafs.

More immediately, the 27-year-old winger just wants to get back on the ice. But with no definitive answer as to when professional sports will return, Hyman is trying to stay in a positive frame of mind as he remains in self-quarantine at his Toronto home with his wife Alannah and their dog.

“It’s definitely hard — you try not to think big picture,” Hyman said. “You try to think of the day-to-day and try to take a crappy situation and make it an optimistic one.

“Personally, I was having a great season, but I think I can be a lot better. There are no timelines right now, which can be discouraging because you’re in a holding pattern where you don’t know when you’re playing (again).”

When the spread of the coronavirus forced the NHL to halt play on March 12, Hyman already had tied his career high of 21 goals. With 37 points in 51 games, Hyman was four shy of equalling his career best; the production was all the more impressive in that Hyman missed the first 19 games after he had surgery on his right knee last April, and he wore a brace and was continuing to rehab the knee as the season progressed.

How would Hyman put the 2019-20 season in context?

“I hope it’s not over and we can continue and finish,” Hyman said. “But reflecting on the year from a personal standpoint, I’m happy with my ability to come back from a serious injury. It’s hard reflecting on a year when it doesn’t feel like it’s over, but I guess that’s how I feel personally.

“Nobody is skating right now, so from that standpoint it really sucks, because you’re not even touching the ice or hanging out with your teammates or working out with them. You have to be self-motivated.”

Hyman has been keeping up with the various ideas the NHL could have for returning to the ice, and was intrigued when Dr. Anthony Fauci, one of the leading infectious disease experts in the United States, said earlier this week that sports could return to empty stadiums, with one caveat the quarantining of players in hotels.

“Everyone wants to get back to the normal and get back to playing,” Hyman said. “There are a lot of things that go into a decision like that and everybody has to be open to all different scenarios and weigh the pros and cons.

“I don’t know if that’s a viable option or not, but we have people like Dr. Fauci in place to help make those decisions.

“I’m sure whatever decision is made will be a very well-formed one and will take into account all of the experts. As players, we will go along with whatever the experts decide. We don’t really know what the future holds 1182966 Toronto Maple Leafs “I think they sort of wanted to have fun with the young guys since they were older and they wanted to know what we were doing and things like that — because the young guys are supposed to be having fun,” Wellwood recalls with a laugh. Kyle Wellwood on injuries, Pat Quinn and what went wrong during time with Leafs In the Leafs dressing room, Wellwood had a seat next to another veteran: Tie Domi. In 2005 Domi was 36 and in the final season of an NHL career that included 1,000 games over 16 seasons. Domi was always telling stories, always full of energy. By Jonas Siegel Apr 16, 2020 “He was really, really fun to be around,” Wellwood says.

Wellwood still chuckles as he recalls the time a fan busted into a Kyle Wellwood flew down to Sunrise, Florida for the 2001 NHL Draft with cramped Leafs dressing room at the old Mellon Arena in Pittsburgh. no idea where he might get picked. Domi grabbed him, shoved him to the ground, and told him to scram. Some had told Wellwood, the OHL scoring champ that year, he’d go as “The guy peed his pants and ran out,” says Wellwood. “I’ll always high as the second round in a draft headlined by Ilya Kovalchuk. Others remember that one.” said the seventh round was more likely. The Leafs coach that season was Pat Quinn. Wellwood remembers him Who could say? as gruff on the outside but everything a player could want otherwise. Sitting alongside family in the stands of what was then known as the “He was actually as friendly as it came,” says Wellwood of the late Quinn, National Car Rental Center, Wellwood watched as player after player, who won 300 regular-season games behind the Leafs bench. “Obviously many of whom he was convinced were lesser players, were picked — you have an old-school persona like the veteran guys (on the team), but 133 in all before the Leafs finally called him up with the third pick in the he was very friendly, and never said a bad word about any of his players. fifth round (134th overall). All the guys here in Vancouver, with the alumni I play with, loved him. I Looking back on his NHL career almost 20 years later in that context, it’s felt the same way. He was actually very friendly and never had a bad hard to believe Wellwood was anything but a success. He suited up in word to say, really.” almost 500 career games — more than anyone else picked by the Leafs Though he averaged under 13 minutes a game as a rookie, bouncing in the 2001 draft — and he topped 40 points on three occasions. around the lineup for a 90-point Leafs team that just missed the playoffs, And yet, with a skill-set that could be dazzling, Wellwood’s career felt Wellwood posted an unexpected, yet impressive 45 points. That put him unfulfilled, particularly in Toronto. Injuries — including a series of groin just inside the top-10 NHL rookies that year, if far, far behind the two men surgeries — were certainly part of the story. And though he says he often who led the charge: Alex Ovechkin (106) and Sidney Crosby (102). felt rushed to return before he was fully ready, Wellwood is now willing to O’Neill, now a television and radio personality with TSN, remembers admit he didn’t always put in the kind of work necessary at the NHL level Wellwood as the most laid-back NHLer he ever came across. to fulfill the promise his talent suggested. “He was like the kid neighbour that didn’t look like an athlete, didn’t talk One month from today (May 16) Wellwood will turn 37. He currently like one, didn’t act like one,” says O’Neill. “He just went out there and resides in west Vancouver with his wife and two boys. He works with a was so good at hockey.” tech start-up focusing on concussions and is involved with the Vancouver Canucks alumni. During a recent conversation he sounded content, not In particular, O’Neill remembers a crafty little faceoff move that Wellwood pining for the game like so many others do after their playing days have had. Using mostly his feet, Wellwood won over 56 percent of his draws come to an end. as a rookie — and 55 percent overall for his career.

And perhaps there’s an explanation in there for how his career played At the end of his rookie year, the Leafs were looking like a team on the out, rich as it undoubtedly was for an undersized fifth-round pick. After decline. Quinn was fired and replaced by . But in Wellwood, all, Wellwood says his love for hockey, peaked at age 15 or 16. as well as recent first-round picks Alex Steen, Matt Stajan, and , the Leafs hoped better days were ahead. “And then I sort of faded how much I liked hockey til I was 30 and retired,” he explains. Wellwood wasn’t especially big — listed generously at 5-foot-10 and 181 pounds — nor did he move especially fast. But he had an innate sense As for why, Wellwood says he was interested in a “hundred different for where everybody was on the ice. And he could really pass the puck. things” outside the game, he didn’t enjoy the game’s brute physicality nor was he fond of the daily grind and monotony of it all, unlike Jason Another 42 points, in only 48 games, for Wellwood in his sophomore year Spezza, the second overall pick in Wellwood’s 2001 draft, who is still under Paul Maurice only increased expectations for what he might playing today. become. But it wasn’t long before injuries brought the curtain down on his time with the Leafs. “I think the NHL’s really, really hard, and the people who have these long careers really dedicate themselves to the game,” says Wellwood, over Sports hernia surgery had caused Wellwood to miss 33 games in his the phone from B.C. “If you lose interest in it, it’s very hard to keep up.” second season, and looking back now, Wellwood concedes he took more of an “old-school” approach to his recovery and training the following “People don’t understand,” he continues, “how hard some of the top guys summer. — how dedicated they are to the sport, and how much energy it takes. How much they sacrifice to make sure they’re good every game.” These were the early days of players committing to detailed offseason plans set forth by the team. If Wellwood’s experience at the draft left him feeling uncertain about his NHL prospects, his career got the jump-start it needed in October of “I was still quite old-school where I wasn’t giving up all of my summer to 2005. be on a program, which nowadays the players would jump at,” he recalls. “But back then it was different.” He was 22 at the time and had been among the final cuts at Maple Leafs training camp. Then a door suddenly opened for him when Mats Sundin His relationship with the Leafs never really recovered. Held back by more broke his orbital bone in the first game of the season. groin troubles that fall, Wellwood stumbled to 21 points in 59 games. His playing time plummeted too — from nearly 17 minutes a night to under Wellwood was immediately recalled from St. John’s in Sundin’s absence. 13 a game. Suddenly, he was in the NHL playing for a Leafs team with playoff aspirations that included veterans such as like Eric Lindros, Jason Even though he was just a year removed from two promising seasons, Allison, Ed Belfour, Sundin, and Jeff O’Neill. and despite the fact the Leafs organization at the time wasn’t exactly overflowing with young talent, nevertheless, the Leafs, under the Back then, young players didn’t populate NHL rosters the way they do leadership of interim GM Cliff Fletcher, decided they were done with today. Still, Wellwood, a Windsor, Ont. native who had a pair of 100-point Wellwood. They placed him on waivers on June 25, 2008. seasons in the OHL, felt no fear. The old dudes made him feel welcome. Any bitterness Wellwood may have once carried about how his time in Any regrets? Toronto ended seems gone today. Though he believes cultural elements within hockey pushed him back into action too soon. “Ah, I think it played out as it should,” he says. “It’s tough. I didn’t like the way the injuries were managed. I would’ve liked it where you just healed “At that time,” he says, “it was just, ‘get back into the game as quickly as the rest of the year and did your rehab with the team, and you didn’t have possible.’ You just tried to play through everything. There wasn’t like this to hurt yourself more by playing. But that’s not the way it was. There’s no long-term, Let’s wait til you’re fully healed to go out there and play way I would’ve put in the type of work, I think, that’s asked of some of the because we want you on the team for seven or eight years. It was, ‘Hey, guys nowadays. I just wouldn’t. There’s no way I would dedicate as many we gotta make the playoffs. Are you good to go or not? It was a different hours as they do.” time, for sure.'” That, he agrees, is “partly” the way he was wired. “It was really difficult because (the Leafs) had put faith in me to be one of the top-six players and play on the power play and help lead that. And I “I mean obviously I still played in the NHL and I made it to the playoffs was dealing with injuries and I wasn’t managing it as well as everybody and competed and got my chances to go and try to win (the Cup),” had hoped. Like, I wasn’t healing. I wasn’t being able to lift (weights) and Wellwood says. “I did what I could. But yeah, to maximize your career condition the way I hoped to. I think people get upset with that. It’s takes a different mindset. So, no, I never had that mindset to just throw frustrating, right? And we didn’t make the playoffs — it’s not very fun. everything I could at training and eating and doing all that.”

“I think they hoped that I would be ready to play in that second year after The Athletic LOADED: 04.17.2020 I had that (rookie) year. My groins were too sore in training camp and exhibitions and I had to have another surgery. And I think that was sort of the end of the goodwill relationship.”

Wellwood found the enduring physicality of the game punishing, especially as a smaller player trying to grind through groin troubles.

A day after the Leafs placed him on waivers, Wellwood was claimed by Vancouver. With the Canucks, Wellwood would put up 52 points in 149 games over two seasons. He added 13 more in 22 playoff games. But it wasn’t enough to secure an NHL job to start the following season. So Wellwood took a 25-game twirl through the KHL before signing on with the St. Louis Blues in January of 2011. The next day he found himself back on waivers, claimed this time by the San Jose Sharks.

Wellwood put up seven points and averaged about 14 minutes per night during San Jose’s run to the Western Conference final that spring, where they would lose to Vancouver in five games. Earlier in the playoffs, the Sharks had a 3-0 series lead on Detroit but still found themselves in a Game 7. Wellwood believes had the Sharks been able to close out the Wings sooner, the extra rest would have served them well against Vancouver. And then? Who knows…

“Those are the things, the little things that you look back on,” says Wellwood, figuring that the big, heavy and skilled 2011 Sharks would have matched up well against Boston in the Stanley Cup Final.

Wellwood’s NHL career had one more flourish with Winnipeg, where he managed a career-high 47 points as a 28-year-old during the 2011-12 season. But he was out of the league entirely before his 30th birthday.

Today, he doesn’t watch much hockey, at least not until the post-season when he might throw on the odd game.

He met his wife in Vancouver while he was playing for the Canucks. Post-hockey, Wellwood studied financial planning and made some investments. He also came across a tech company building a concussion tool. Wellwood became an investor and later board member for HeadCheck Health. He has been working with them for the past four years.

The company has “digitized” a protocol for managing concussions and helps to provide administrators, as well as the athletes themselves, detailed histories of head injuries and related data. Wellwood says the company has worked with the CFL, the Canadian Junior Hockey League and amateur hockey in B.C.

“We do have a major sport, but it’s under a non-disclosure agreement. But it’s not NHL,” Wellwood says. “But do I think it’ll be in the NHL? Possibly. But there’s always the data issue. We generate a lot of data and that’s always a no for some organizations.”

It’s an interesting turn in the Wellwood story that he’s back in hockey in a small way.

While he spent his NHL career battling groin issues, Wellwood believes he also suffered many concussions that weren’t diagnosed. This was the “bell rung” era, when hits to the head were more the norm and players rarely, if ever, missed time to concussions.

“I didn’t have any (diagnosed concussions), even though I had symptoms all the time,” Wellwood says. “You just never reported it. So, that’s starting to change where players are expected to report when they’re having symptoms of a head injury, even if they end up finishing the game.” 1182967 Vegas Golden Knights

Scouting potential Golden Knights picks in NHL draft

By David Schoen Las Vegas Review-Journal

April 16, 2020 - 2:46 PM

Updated April 16, 2020 - 2:54 PM

There is no date, location or even a selection order for the NHL draft.

The league postponed the event that was originally scheduled for June 26 and 27 in Montreal because of the coronavirus pandemic.

But with mock draft excitement in the air thanks to the NFL and WNBA, it’s hard not to get caught up and join in.

Also, the NHL Central Scouting Department released its final rankings last week, so there’s a whole list of Bradens, Kaidens and Connors from the Western Hockey League to dissect.

The Golden Knights were in first place March 12 when the NHL paused its season and, under the usual format, would select from Nos. 24 to 31 as the division winner, depending how far they advanced in the postseason.

After consensus top pick Alexis Lafreniere, draft boards will vary across the league with the scouting season cut short.

But it’s never too early to look at a few interesting names (in alphabetical order) that might be available when the Knights are on the clock.

D Justin Barron (Halifax, QMJHL) — He was slowed by a blood clot and missed almost three months for the Mooseheads, but finished No. 16 in Central Scouting’s rankings of North American skaters.

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Alex Tuch part of charity virtual hockey marathon

By David Schoen Las Vegas Review-Journal

April 16, 2020 - 1:58 PM

Golden Knights forward Alex Tuch is testing his gaming skills for charity.

Tuch and other NHL players have teamed with professional esports gamers to hold a 14-day livestreaming virtual hockey marathon called Hockey2Help to benefit the coronavirus relief efforts.

The program started Wednesday and features top gamers playing EA NHL 20 on stream as well as a three-on-three double elimination tournament with donations benefiting Second Harvest in Canada and Volunteers of America.

The Hockey2Help event is available at Twitch.tv/Nasher and includes NHL players Alex DeBrincat, Mitch Marner, Zach Werenski and Mika Zibanejad, among others.

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AT&T SportsNet to broadcast Golden Knights’ 2018 playoff run

By David Schoen Las Vegas Review-Journal

April 16, 2020 - 10:46 am

It seems like every time Golden Knights reruns are shown on national TV during the NHL’s pause for the coronavirus pandemic, they’re suffering a crushing defeat.

See: Washington Capitals in 2018 and San Jose Sharks in 2019.

But AT&T SportsNet Rocky Mountain announced Thursday it will continue its “VGK Classic Re-Airs” series through April 28 and feature every victory from the Knights’ 2018 postseason run.

Each game will begin at 7 p.m. and will air in its entirety. The Knights’ first playoff win in franchise history from April 11, 2018, over Los Angeles is Thursday’s first broadcast.

AT&T SportsNet Rocky Mountain is available on DIRECTV channel 684, DISH channel 414, Cox channels 313 (SD) and 1313 (HD) and CenturyLink channels 760 (SD) and 1760 (HD).

LAS VEGAS REVIEW JOURNAL LOADED: 04.17.2020 1182970 Washington Capitals play alongside his 19-year-old son, Tristan, who was in the midst of his freshman year at Pepperdine and returned to the family’s California home after in-person classes were suspended last month.

Alex Ovechkin and Wayne Gretzky to square off in NHL 20 for “Obviously we’re a little better when we have our skates on and a hockey coronavirus relief stick in our hands than we are when we have controllers, but it’s not about that," Gretzky said. “It’s more about the ability to help people that are less fortunate and for fans to enjoy a night of us not looking very talented at what we’re doing. It’ll be a fun night for a good cause. We’re By Scott Allen not looking to replace the NHL, because we all want to see guys like Alex April 16, 2020 at 10:00 AM EDT and Sidney [Crosby] and [Connor] McDavid back on the ice. That’s what really excites fans."

Expect Ovechkin and “JohnWayne” to play as the Capitals and the When Wayne Gretzky saw the Instagram video of Alex Ovechkin playing Gretzkys to represent the Oilers in Wednesday’s matchup, which will be EA Sports’ NHL 20 video game with his son, Sergei, on his lap last contested on Xbox. Don’t expect Ovechkin’s son to make an month, The Great One had an idea. He contacted Sergey Kocharov, the appearance. Capitals’ vice president of communications, whom he had gotten to know while both were with the Phoenix Coyotes, and inquired about the “He’s going to be sleeping in that time because it’s going to be late," possibility of arranging a virtual showdown with Ovechkin. Ovechkin said.

With the NHL season and Ovechkin’s pursuit of Gretzky’s career goals While Gretzky may be openly rooting for Ovechkin to break his goal record on hold because of the novel coronavirus pandemic, Gretzky, now record, he is hoping to shut him down on the virtual ice. an executive with the Edmonton Oilers, figured the two legends could Said the four-time Stanley Cup champion: “My dad always said, ‘If you’re provide hockey fans a diversion and do some charitable good in the going to play, you might as well win.'" process.

It’s happening. Gretzky and Ovechkin will square off Wednesday in NHL 20 in an event dubbed “The Great One vs. The Great Eight Showcase." Washington Post LOADED: 04.17.2020 The best-of-three series will stream live on the Capitals’ Twitch channel beginning at 8 p.m. Eastern time, and both Ovechkin and Gretzky will appear. Viewers will have the opportunity to donate to the Monumental Sports & Entertainment Foundation and the Edmonton Food Bank to benefit the coronavirus relief effort.

Evgeny Kuznetsov takes on Capitals' esports pro, gets smacked in NHL20

“There’s been so much talk about the goal record, so there’s a nice link between Alex and myself," Gretzky said in a phone interview. "I thought we could do something that people could watch and help raise money for those who need it.”

Gretzky, who finished his career with 894 goals, retired six years before Ovechkin entered the league as a rookie in 2005, but the two have since developed a special bond. As the 34-year-old Ovechkin has climbed the goal-scoring ranks with Washington, Gretzky has admired his accomplishments and offered words of encouragement from afar. They recently recorded their first joint interview together with NBC Sports’ , which will premiere Monday at 5 p.m. Eastern time on NBC Sports Network and the NHL’s Facebook, IGTV and YouTube platforms.

“We have a very good connection,” Ovechkin, who sits eighth on the all- time goals list with 706, said in a phone interview. “We always stay in touch. It doesn’t matter if there’s a milestone coming up, he’s always reaching out to me and saying congrats. Before my 700th goal I was a little down, and he texted me and said: ‘Don’t worry about it. It will come.’ It’s nice of him. He’s a great person, and to have a relationship like that with The Great One, it means a lot to me.”

Gretzky sent Ovechkin a signed, game-used stick after the Capitals captain won the Stanley Cup in 2018. He said he would be happy to see The Great Eight break his goal record and believes he has “a real legitimate chance” of doing so.

“I’ll be the first guy there to shake his hand,” Gretzky said. "I hope he does it. We have a nice relationship, and I’m rooting for him harder than anybody.”

As for their video game prowess, Ovechkin is more likely to be found playing Call of Duty or Fortnite than NHL 20 these days, but he loved the idea of helping raise money with the 59-year-old Gretzky, who has only played a few times. Both legends will have some support on the sticks Wednesday, though not in the form of Nicklas Backstrom or Jari Kurri.

Ovechkin will be paired with John “JohnWayne” Casagranda, who became the first esports pro signed by an NHL team when he joined the Capitals’ Caps Gaming brand in November. Casagranda, who streams games regularly on Twitch and went head-to-head with Capitals forward Evgeny Kuznetsov in January, was the runner-up at the second annual NHL Gaming World Championship last June. He recently qualified for the 2020 NHL Gaming World Championship with a 23-0 record. Gretzky will 1182971 Washington Capitals

Alex Ovechkin to play Wayne Gretzky in 'NHL 20' for coronavirus relief fundraising

By Adam Zielonka - The Washington Times

Thursday, April 16, 2020

Alex Ovechkin and Wayne Gretzky came from different eras and never skated against each other in their primes, which certainly would have been entertaining. But next week, two of the biggest stars in hockey history will compete in another way.

Ovechkin and Gretzky will face off in a best-of-three series in the hockey video game “NHL 20” on April 22 at 8 p.m., and the livestream on the Washington Capitals’ Twitch channel will raise money for coronavirus relief efforts.

Viewers will be asked to donate to the Monumental Sports and Entertainment Foundation and the Edmonton Food Bank, reported.

Gretzky had the idea for the competition after seeing a video on social media of Ovechkin playing “NHL 20.” He will team up with his 19-year-old son Tristan, while Ovechkin will play alongside Caps Gaming’s official streamer John Casagranda, gamer tag “JohnWayne.”

In addition, Ovechkin and Gretzky recorded a joint interview for the first time, which NBC Sports Network will air Monday at 5 p.m.

Ever since Ovechkin won his first Stanley Cup with the Capitals in 2018, talk about his legacy has shifted to whether he can catch Gretzky and set a new NHL record for career goals. Gretzky finished his career with 894; Ovechkin, 34, sat at 706 when the NHL season was suspended due to the pandemic.

The record is sure to be one of the main topics of their joint interview. In the past, Gretzky has said he’ll be “the first guy there to shake his hand” if Ovechkin breaks the record.

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Alex Ovechkin delivered on Wayne Gretzky's challenge to win a signed stick

By J.J. Regan

April 16, 2020 1:34 PM

Alex Ovechkin is a big fan of hockey history and a big collector of hockey gear. Given that he continues to break historic milestones, much of the gear he collects is his own, but he had a request of Wayne Gretzky for a game-used stick.

Gretzky, of course, agreed, but he had a condition.

"Everybody knows I'm a huge stick collector and have almost 100 sticks," Ovechkin said in a Hockey at Home joint interview with Gretzky hosted by NBCSN's Kathryn Tappen. "After a dinner, I ask him like, Wayne, can you give me a game-used stick? I don't know if you still have it or not. And he said, yeah, win the Cup and I'll give you a stick."

You may be surprised by that, but Gretzky's challenge came from a good place. Prior to Washington's Cup run in 2018, Gretzky said publicly that he hoped Ovechkin would one day win a Cup.

"[Ovechkin] loves the game, he’s good for the game and when a guy like that loves it so much, you hope his name is on the Stanley Cup," Gretzky said. "He’s got everything in hockey but that."

Ovechkin delivered in 2018 as the Capitals won the first Cup in franchise history with Ovechkin claiming the Conn Smythe Trophy as the playoff MVP. After Ovechkin delivered, so did Gretzky.

"We won the Cup and I tell [Capitals vice president of communications Sergey Kocharov], Sergey I need Wayne's stick because he promised me," Ovechkin said. "Finally I get the stick and I was happy like a little kid to have a Christmas gift. It's in my collection."

The full interview with Ovechkin and Gretzky will premiere on Monday, April 20 at 5 p.m. on NBCSN. Ovechkin and Gretzky will also face one another in NHL 20 on April 22 to help raise money for coronavirus relief efforts.

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Gretzky, Ovechkin to battle in NHL 20 to benefit coronavirus relief efforts

By J.J. Regan

April 16, 2020 10:11 AM

Two of the greatest to ever play the game of hockey, Wayne Gretzky and Alex Ovechkin are finally going head-to-head ... digitally. The two hockey superstars will battle one another in NHL 20 on XBox in The Great One vs. the Great Eight Showcase on April 22. The competition will raise funds to support COVID-19 relief.

The format will be a best of three competition and will be live-streamed at 8 p.m. ET on the Capitals Twitch Channel so fans can watch the action and listen in. During the stream, fans will be able to make donations to benefit the Edmonton Food Bank and MSE Foundation’s “Feeding the Frontlines” fund. The fund provides meals to the medical community to support them during the coronavirus pandemic with chefs from both the Capitals and Wizards making meals to deliver to local testing sites and hospitals.

Gretzky and Ovechkin’s names have become linked with Ovechkin making a run at Gretzky’s goal record.

With 894 career goals, Gretzky’s record was long thought to be untouchable. At just 34 years old, however, Ovechkin already has 706 and looks like he could make a serious run at catching the Great One.

With the NHL season on pause due to the coronavirus, however, now Gretzky and Ovechkin are turning that attention surrounding them and using it to support the medical workers who most need the support as they continue to battle against the pandemic.

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Patriots fan John Carlson is rooting for Tom Brady, but is not about to get a Bucs jersey

By J.J. Regan

April 16, 2020 10:00 AM

There are plenty of fans who find themselves conflicted over Tom Brady and you can count Capitals defenseman John Carlson among them. After 20 seasons with the Patriots, Brady left the only NFL team he has ever known to sign with the . While Patriots fans will always root for the Patriots first, it is hard to begrudge Brady leaving after he won you six Super Bowls.

Carlson, who is a Patriots fan, remains a fan of Brady's. Having said that, you better not take that to mean he is going to be rooting for the Buccaneers. It's just Brady.

"That's going to be weird," Carlson said Wednesday on 106.7 The Fan's "Chad Dukes Vs. the World" show. "I'm certainly not going to order a Tampa Bay Bucs jersey though, but I will root for [Brady] and see how this thing goes for him. I'm interested to see. He's got some good weapons there. That's not tough to argue with, what he's working with down there."

Mike Evans will certainly be the best receiver Brady has had to throw to in some time. But what he won't have there is head coach Bill Belichick.

As Carlson said, it is going to be weird to see Brady suiting up with Tampa Bay. An all-time great player leaving the one franchise he has ever played for? That's got to be tough on Patriots fans. For Caps fans that would be like...you know what? Let's not go there.

Comcast SportsNet.com LOADED: 04.17.2020 1182975 Washington Capitals history to score 500 goals. Until Ovechkin, Bondra was the gold standard in terms of offensive prowess for Washington. He reached 50 goals twice in his career and was one of the top offensive players in the entire league in the 90's. The 5 best Caps draft picks taken outside of the first round

Comcast SportsNet.com LOADED: 04.17.2020 By J.J. Regan

April 16, 2020 6:00 AM

The NHL draft is like playing the lottery. There is some good value in the first round, but statistically, everything after that is pretty much a gamble. Over the course of the franchise, however, some of the best Capitals players have been later-round picks. Here are the five best Caps draft picks taken outside of the first round.

Honorable mention: Dmitri Khristich (6th round in the 1988 draft)

Khristrich is the all-time scoring leader for Ukrainian-born players. He scored over 30 goals and over 70 points twice in his career.

5. Bengt-Ake Gustafsson (4th round pick in the 1978 draft)

Gustafsson made his North America debut with the Edmonton Oilers in the playoffs in 1979. They were with the WHA at the time, however, and when they entered the NHL, the Caps retained their rights over Gustafsson after drafting him in 1978. He would not play for any other team in his NHL career.

Gustafsson scored 195 goals and 359 assists in 629 games. He actually ranked fifth in the franchise in points until two guys named Alex Ovechkin and Nicklas Backstrom came along. Now he ranks seventh.

4. Andrew Brunette (7th round pick in the 1993 draft)

It can be easy for Caps fans to forget about Brunette as he played only three seasons with Washington and did not become a full-time NHLer until after he was taken by the in the expansion draft. Despite being a seventh-round pick, Brunette put together a remarkable career with 1,110 NHL games and 733 total points. He was an incredibly durable player and managed a streak of 509 straight games. He insisted on finishing out the 2008-09 season despite tearing his ACL...in January. He still managed to play the final three months of the season on the torn ACL.

Brunette had a knack for scoring clutch playoff goals. He scored an overtime goal in Game 7 against and the Colorado Avalanche in 2003. He also scored a series-clinching goal for the Avalanche in 2006.

3. Braden Holtby (4th round pick in the 2008 draft)

Admittedly, putting a goalie on this list feels like cheating. Goalies are valued differently than skaters in terms of the draft so often highly valued goalies are selected in later rounds. Still, you have to give the Caps credit. They could have used this pick on a skater who would never have made it to the NHL, but instead they used it to take the best goalie in franchise history.

Not only did Holtby win a Vezina as the league's top netminder in 2016, he also has the fifth-best save percentage in playoff history (just ahead of Olie Kolzig who ranks sixth, coincidentally). "The Save" is one of the most important moments in the history of the franchise.

2. Michal Pivonka (3rd round pick in the 1984 draft)

Born in Czechoslovakia, Pivonka had to defect just to play for Washington which he did in 1986. Pivonka ranks fifth in franchise history in points with 599. In four of his 13 seasons, he recorded at least 70 points and twice he reached 80. Pivonka was an excellent passer and a very good skater. Later in his career, he would join a fellow-countryman and the two would become a very dynamic offense duo. That countryman was, of course....

1. (8th round pick in the 1990 draft

One of the best players in the history of the franchise, it is remarkable that Bondra was an eighth-round pick.

First off, hats off to the scouts for finding Bondra in the eighth round and Ken Klee in the ninth in 1990. When Washington selected Bondra 156th overall, they probably did not expect him to be the 37th player in league 1182976 Washington Capitals couldn’t. They were so selfless, putting themselves in harm’s way, putting their health on the line to protect us and keep us safe. So I wanted to help.”

SuperFd Catering shifts from feeding Capitals to serving local first Soon after partnering with Hathaway, Wood joined up with Ted Leonsis’ responders Monumental Sports & Entertainment and MSE Foundation.

Since the start of the crisis, Monumental’s Feeding the Frontlines initiative has raised nearly $120,000 via donations from Capitals, Wizards By Tarik El-Bashir and Mystics players, coaches, owners and staff members. By the end of this week, it will have provided 2,550 meals through SuperFd, DC Central Apr 16, 2020 Kitchen and FLIK, according to Elizabeth Pace, executive director of the MSE Foundation.

WASHINGTON, D.C. — On the morning of March 12, Robbie Wood was “We’re working with different government agencies, the mayor’s office at MedStar Capitals Iceplex, serving up generous portions of French and healthcare officials to find out where the need is,” Pace said. “While toast, applewood bacon and scrambled eggs in the players’ lounge, just we’re giving meals to one set of locations one week, that might change as he always does on gamedays. the following week. So we’re in constant contact with them trying to find out where we should be and asking where will these meals help the But something didn’t feel right. Alex Ovechkin and his teammates weren’t most?” warming up. Instead, they were checking their phones for updates. Wood’s day begins each morning around 6:30 a.m. at his Northeast The COVID-19 crisis had reached the NHL and, within hours, the 2019- Washington kitchen, where he and his team cook and package the 20 season had been put on pause, indefinitely. meals. Once the meals are packed up, they load the boxes into SuperFd’s three vans and deliver them to the frontlines all around the Like so many small business owners whose bottom line relies on those DMV. Recent deliveries have taken them to Howard University Medical they serve, Wood didn’t have time to contemplate. He, and SuperFd Center, Inova Fairfax Hospital, University Medical Center, 10 Arlington Catering, had to react. And fast. firehouses and The Family Place, to name a few stops. “I instantly switched into survival mode and asked, ‘What are we going to “Preparing meals for the first responders is an amazing opportunity for us do?'” said Wood, who has been feeding the Caps since 2012 and also to help the community during this time,” Wood said. “But it also has the has contracts with the Wizards, Nationals and Spirit. benefit of providing a means for our employees to feed their families and “We had a decision to make: Are we going to batten down the hatches get through this crisis.” and weather the storm that way? Or are we going to adapt, be creative SuperFd normally has 40 full-and part-time employees. Initially Wood and try to roll with the punches?” Wood added. “It wasn’t really a long had to cut back, but he now says he expects to be back up to 30 thought process for me. It was pretty obvious as this thing started to employees by the end of the month as more donations roll in and unravel that we had to be at the forefront, be leaders.” demand increases. He said he plans to produce around 4,000 meals next Wood and business partner John Cosgrove devised a plan. According to week, or double this week’s total. Wood’s calculations, SuperFd could scale back on costs and tread water “My employees work their asses off,” he said. “I feel a personal by continuing to offer high-end meals to existing clients, both corporate responsibility to make sure that they have a quality job to show up to on a and individuals. But he’s also wired to help the less fortunate. So he daily basis. And it doesn’t end just because we have a virus and it’s a decided to launch a meal-match program to benefit those less fortunate. time of uncertainty.” For every $11.50 meal sold, a portion of the proceeds is used to create a healthy, balanced meal for someone in need of food assistance. The crisis has crushed the catering and hospitality business. Jobs have been lost. Companies have been shuttered. During this difficult time, Over Easter weekend, the meal match program allowed Wood and his Wood feels fortunate to have found a way to stay in business and give SuperFd colleagues to deliver a weekend’s worth of meals – breakfast, back to the community. lunch and dinner – to 30 families in Northeast and Southeast Washington. The meals featured beef stew, turkey, cauliflower gratin, “We were fortunate to see an opportunity to not have to shelf ourselves squash, sandwiches and salads. and to keep moving forward,” he said. “So we went for it. And so far it’s doing more than we ever hoped. We never imagined being able to stay in “We wanted to generate some revenue and provide a service for folks business and provide thousands of meals, delivered, to first responders. who are already on hard times, that are now going to be desperate,” But now I couldn’t imagine not trying to do this.” Wood said.

Wood’s plan was working for the first two weeks. He managed to stay busy enough to retain eight full-time employees while also giving back to The Athletic LOADED: 04.17.2020 a community that’s been his home for a decade.

What the 41-year-old native of Savannah, Ga., didn’t realize at that point in his new reality was how much busier SuperFd was about to get.

Capitals winger Garnet Hathaway discovered Wood’s meal match program via social media and wanted to get involved. So the rugged winger reached out and presented Wood with an idea: What if he used his foundation, Hath’s Heroes, to raise money to feed workers on the frontlines?

Doctors and nurses. Police and firefighters. Members of the National Guard. Wherever first responders were working, he wanted to help get them a hot meal.

Within days, Hath’s Heroes raised nearly $16,000 – $11,000 in donations through his website and $5,000 from Hathaway himself. That translated into 1,400 meals for first responders and 1,400 for charities via SuperFd’s matching program. (Hathaway also donated grocery store gift cards and Power Up snacks to area firehouses.)

“When this pandemic started and it began to affect so many people around us and our whole way of life, I was fortunate enough to stay at home, quarantine myself and stay safe with my fiancée and my family,” Hathaway said in a phone interview this week. “The first responders 1182977 Winnipeg Jets Woodcroft was hired as the Minnesota Wild’s video coach in 2000, then moved into a scouting role with both the Wild and Washington Capitals in 2006. The native of Toronto joined the Los Angeles Kings in a similar role in 2009 and was part of their 2012 Stanley Cup championship. He took Woodcroft takes off to Vermont on the role of scouting director for the Calgary Flames in 2013 and spent three seasons before joining the Jets in 2016 as an assistant to Maurice.

But nothing will compare to the run to the Western Conference final in the By: Mike McIntyre spring of 2018, or even this year’s topsy-turvy season, which involved the Posted: 04/16/2020 9:57 PM Jets dealing with all kinds of obstacles and adversity yet still being in a playoff spot at the time of the pause.

"Ken Burns could do a documentary on the stuff that happened this Todd Woodcroft was an assistant coach with the Winnipeg Jets for the year," said Woodcroft. past four years and is now the head coach for the men’s hockey team. "But the leadership of Chevy and Paul, solving problems and making them so they were never going to be an excuse. There was never an Parting is definitely sweet sorrow for Todd Woodcroft, who says the past excuse that we were gonna accept things because X happened. And four years as an assistant coach with the Winnipeg Jets have been the then at the end of the day it was in the players’ hands." highlight of his two-decade National Hockey League career.

But a chance to run his own bench — with the blessing and encouragement of good friend and mentor, Jets head coach Paul Winnipeg Free Press LOADED 04.17.2020 Maurice — was behind a decision to leave it all behind and take over the University of Vermont men’s hockey program.

"Paul gave me more than I ever deserved. This guy’s the best. I would take a bullet in the face for that man, that’s how strong I feel about Paul. For me to leave that safety, that was not easy," Woodcroft, 47, told the Free Press during a phone interview on Thursday.

All of this came together quickly. retired as head coach of the Vermont Catamounts following a dreadful 2-18-4 season, creating an opening. A friend who works in NCAA Division 1 suggested Woodcroft take a run at the position. Woodcroft had a heart-to-heart conversation with Maurice, who convinced him to go for it. And Jets general manager Kevin Cheveldayoff granted permission for the school’s athletic director to interview Woodcroft.

"The only counsel I would ever need is the man who has the most profound impact on my life, and that’s Paul. Just to hear him and listen to him and advise me that ‘You’re good enough for this, you can do this’ was enough," said Woodcroft.

"I think any coach would tell you they want to be a head coach. That’s the juice. You want to test yourself to see if you’re any good."

All of these conversations, including the job interview, happened through video conference calls late last week due to the COVID-19 pandemic. The formal announcement of Woodcroft’s hiring came Wednesday evening.

"You pride yourself on being a guy that can go shake someone’s hand and they get a feel for you. By the end of this I wanted to throw my computer out the window," he joked.

Woodcroft held his first team meeting on Thursday, speaking to players for the first time on Zoom. They’ve all been through a lot lately, with the abrupt end to their season, departure of their coach, remote learning due to coronavirus and all kinds of uncertainty about when life might go back to normal.

"These guys are young guys, some of them can’t even make an omelette," said Woodcroft.

"There’s so much stuff going in on these guys’ lives that is more important than hockey. I told them I don’t care about the hockey side yet, I care about you guys, how it’s going, what do you need, that sort of thing."

He faces a big challenge in getting the Catamounts, who are based about 150 kilometres south of Montreal in Burlington, back to their previous winning ways.

"It’s a great spot. The program is in the toughest division in college hockey (). That’s the hard part, but that’s the part you relish. Now I’m going to take all the things I’ve learned from Paul and Jamie (Kompon, Jets associate coach) and Charlie (Huddy, Jets assistant coach) and Wade (Flaherty, Jets assistant coach). I’m the sum of all those guys, and I’m proud of it," he said.

Woodcroft can also lean on his older brother, Craig, who is the bench boss of Dinamo Minsk in the KHL, and younger brother, Jay, who runs the show with the AHL’s . 1182978 Winnipeg Jets be recognized like that is just a huge honour and just to be known with some of the greats would be huge."

Before the shutdown, Hellebuyck (31-21-5) was second in wins and first Hellebuyck fishing for ideas to keep his goalie game in shape in shutouts (6). Among goalies with at least 40 starts, he was second in save percentage (.922) and sixth in goals-against average (2.57). He had registered the most saves (1,656) on a team that, by all metrics, surrendered far too many quality scoring opportunities. By: Jason Bell Hellebuyck was leading the Professional Hockey Writers Association’s Posted: 04/16/2020 12:29 PM mid-season voting for the Vezina Trophy at the end of January.

"It would be a great milestone and it would definitely be one of my goals Connor Hellebuyck was firmly entrenched in the Vezina Trophy achieved but at the end of the day, what I truthfully want is the Stanley conversation as the league's top goalie. Cup and a chance to win it. So, anything that gets me closer to that, I would do for sure," said Hellebuyck who finished second in Vezina voting Connor Hellebuyck is dying to slap on the pads. He is also not ruling out two years ago to Nashville Predators goalie Pekka Rinne. anything to keep his puck-stopping skills tuned, including some heated floor-hockey action with his big brother. After a down season a year ago, Hellebuyck quickly returned to form the moment the puck dropped on the 2019-20 campaign. The Winnipeg Jets goaltender says he's considered challenging his sibling, Chris, to a game of Slapshot Regatta as the two share living "I think I came in with the right mindset. I was ready to prove myself. I quarters in Michigan during the COVID-19 pandemic. had another year under my belt, so I had a little more experience," he said. "Not only that I had this new chest pad that I finally had figured out. Haven't heard of it? Well, let Hellebuyck explain the finer details. It took all training camp to really fine tune some things. And I had the right mindset, the right coaches around me. "I've been thinking about that a lot lately and I'm starting to consider it because I'm lucky I have my brother in the house with me. He can "And the guys were playing great in front of me, too. So I was able to probably shoot on me a little bit," Hellebuyck said Thursday during a identify my game pretty easily at an early stage of this year and it just video conference with the media. "I was considering playing Slapshot helped grow it." Regatta. I don't know if you've ever heard of that from She's Out of My League, the movie, where he would just take slappers at me and I stand To pass the time, Hellebuyck has been taking his dog on frequent walks, against the wall and try to make saves. playing the board game Catan with his girlfriend Andrea and his brother or watching pro fishing highlights on YouTube. "I was considering doing that but I still don't know how much that would translate." A number of scenarios have been floated out on a possible return to action, such as staging neutral-site games in cities no longer at risk or Hellebuyck hasn't stopped a puck since he turned aside a wrist shot from holding games in empty rinks. Hellebuyck said he's itching for a return to Edmonton forward Tyler Ennis late in the game as the Jets doubled up the ice but has a tough time imagining playing without the raucous fans on the host Oilers 4-2 on March 11. The next day, the NHL suspended at Bell MTS Place. the 2019-20 season until further notice in response to the novel coronavirus pandemic. "It would definitely be crazy, especially with how used to it we are with having fans there and how much we feed off of them now. It would be a Hellebuyck immediately headed home and has spent the last five weeks little bit of a negative," he said. "But just the fact that we’d get to play sticking to a fitness regimen while attempting to stay as mentally strong again would be awesome." as he can.

"It's tough because no one's been through it before, so there's really no book, no right way to do this," he said. "Unfortunately, I'm not able to Winnipeg Free Press LOADED 04.17.2020 strap on the pads and that's the most important part about being dialed in as a goalie, getting a feel and really getting the workload of being a goalie. Going for a run isn't going to keep me in goaltender shape. The most I can do is keep working out my goalie muscles, as I like to say a lot, and just keep my mind right. So, when we do go back — I believe we'll have a training camp — that I'll already have the mind ready to start the training camp a little bit ahead of schedule.

"Mainly, what I've been trying to do is watch highlights and watching other goalies and highlights of that. Try to kind of live in the moment with that, trying to picture myself in those moments to keep my reads of the game still up and dialed in."

"The most I can do is keep working out my goalie muscles, as I like to say a lot, and just keep my mind right. So, when we do go back — I believe we'll have a training camp — that I'll already have the mind ready to start the training camp a little bit ahead of schedule."

When the season abruptly adjourned on March 12, the Jets occupied the top wild-card spot in the Western Conference (37-28-6) and were gunning for a third consecutive playoff appearance.

Hellebuyck, 26, made that possible. The product of Commerce, Mich., was a pillar of strength for a club that desperately needed a hero after a massive re-tooling of its defensive corps and a drop-off in back-up Laurent Brossoit's play.

Rightly so, he was firmly entrenched in the Vezina Trophy conversation as the league's top goalie, with perennial stars such as Tuukka Rask of the Boston Bruins and Andrei Vasilevskiy of the Tampa Bay Lightning.

"Well, it’s an honour just to be mentioned with some of those great guys around the league and this year has been such a grind and I’ve had a blast doing it," said Hellebuyck, in the second season of a six-year contract that comes with an annual cap hit of nearly US$6.17 million. "To 1182979 Winnipeg Jets Since that day, Hellebuyck admits he has fallen off the map with his teammates.

“Kind of been worrying about myself and the house and getting the house Hellebuyck 'honoured' by Vezina chatter; but wants Stanley Cup ready because every year you come back and there’s always stuff to do,” he said. “I’ve been slightly busy, to say the least. I’ve kept in touch with the Michigan guys. I’ve kind of fallen off the map so that one’s on me.”

Scott Billeck For skaters, at least, they can work on their shot and stickhandling at home. For goalies, strapping on the pads and getting a feel for the April 16, 2020 6:07 PM CDT movement of the position isn’t really possible at the moment.

“It’s tough because no one’s been through it before, so there’s really no He’s the consensus front-runner for the Vezina Trophy as the NHL’s top book, no right way to do this,” Hellebuyck said. “Unfortunately, I’m not goalie who should get some consideration for the league’s MVP award. able to strap on the pads and that’s the most important part about being But for Connor Hellebuyck, those pieces of silverware fall short of his dialed in as a goalie, getting a feel and really getting the workload of lofty ambitions. being a goalie. Going for a run isn’t going to keep me in goaltender shape. The most I can do is keep working out my goalie muscles, as I Sure, it would be quite the honour for the 26-year-old, who would like to say a lot, and just keep my mind right. So, when we do go back — become just the ninth American goalie to win the award, joining the ranks I believe we’ll have a training camp — that I’ll already have the mind of fellow Michigan native , Tim Thomas, and Tom ready to start the training camp a little bit ahead of schedule.” Barrasso. Hellebuyck is living with his girlfriend and his brother at the moment and The Winnipeg Jets starter said as much during his video conference call has considered taking shots from him in something he refers to as with the assembled local media on Thursday. “slapshot regatta” from the movie, She’s Out of My League.

But atop the list of hardware Hellebuyck wants is one specific piece “But I still don’t know how much that would translate,” he said. “Mainly, adorned with a cup on top and displaying his name eternally etched into what I’ve been trying to do is watch highlights and watching other goalies one of its rings. and highlights of that, and try to kind of live in the moment with that, trying to picture myself in those moments to keep my reads of the game “It would be a great milestone and it would definitely be one of my goals still up and dialed in.” achieved but at the end of the day, what I truthfully want is the Stanley Cup and a chance to win it,” Hellebuyck said. “So anything that gets me For now, he’s reduced to playing with his dog, playing the popular board closer to that, I would do for sure.” game Catan with his girlfriend (often the winner) and brother, and watching Fishing League Worldwide videos on YouTube. Winnipeg’s position as a Stanley Cup contender this season was far from being set in stone, but Hellebuyck’s heroics all season had helped his “Man, does that make you want to fish,” Hellebuyck said of the videos. team win games they had no business claiming victory and was, “It’s like hockey. You watch some hockey highlights and you just wanna arguably, the only reason the Jets weren’t instead contending for the play.” first-overall pick in the 2020 NHL Draft.

The season paused on March 12 with Hellebuyck riding a four-game winning streak. In each of those games, his save percentage never Winnipeg Sun LOADED 04.17.2020 dipped below .947. He also produced his league-leading sixth shutout of the season.

His .922 save percentage on the season was only trending upward, and not far off from the .924 he posted two seasons earlier. But it’s the analytics that cemented Hellebuyck’s case for hockey’s best goalie award, which likely will garner him some votes for the game’s highest individual accolade.

Without getting bogged down in spreadsheets and decimal points, it’s worth pointing out that Hellebuyck’s goals saved above average is second among starting goalies at 14.33. And while Boston’s Tuukka Rask leads the way in the category, consider that Hellebuyck has started 17 more games than his contemporary with the Bruins.

Then consider that no goalie had seen more shots against, more high- danger shots against, and more rebound attempts against.

“I think I came in with the right mindset,” Hellebuyck said of the origin to the season he has had. “I was ready to prove myself. I had another year under my belt, so I had a little more experience. Not only that, I had this new chest pad that I finally had figured out. It took all training camp to really fine-tune some things. Once I finally had my trigger, which I’m going to keep as a secret for me, once I had that figured out, things were falling into place.”

For a good stretch of the season, Hellebuyck played behind one of the worst-performing defensive teams in the NHL. And when the season was put on pause just a day after Hellebuyck stopped 36 shots in a 4-2 win against the Edmonton Oilers, the Jets held the first wild-card spot in the Western Conference.

“So as that game finished, I had that feeling we had something special going and we were peaking at the right time,” Hellebuyck said. “Everyone was starting to feel it in the locker room.”

The news of the suspension of play, while expected, was tough to swallow.

“It was a shock and definitely disappointing because we really had that good (feeling) going,” Hellebuyck said. 1182980 Winnipeg Jets his truck to use while the Jets were away. Winnipeg followed a 4-1 home win over Dallas with a 1-0 shutout of the Avalanche on the road and then Mitch hurried home Saturday afternoon to join the moving effort.

Helping an old lady cross the street: Good deeds of ex-Jets coach Todd When he arrived, however, the job was nearly done. Kally, along with Woodcroft friends and family, had finished most of the heavy lifting – with a major assist to Woodcroft’s truck. It was meaningful help for the Clintons during what was otherwise hectic time — even though he still gets chirped for doing half the job. By Murat Ates I soon learned that everyone working with, for, or anywhere near the Jets Apr 16, 2020 had a similar story to tell. During his time in Winnipeg, Woodcroft had lent his metaphorical truck to all kinds of people when they needed it and was happy just to help. In the summer of 2018, I was robbed while visiting . On the ice, I saw him spend several one-on-one practice sessions with It was a long process and a horrific evening turned night. I look back on it young players like Jansen Harkins, Jack Roslovic and Mason Appleton. If as the worst experience of my traveling life. But when it was over and I a veteran like Andrew Copp or Mark Scheifele wanted to practice picking was safe, I walked into a police station in Charenton-le-Pont to file a pucks off the wall, it was Woodcroft who took the time for them, too. report. A funny thing happened. Eventually, I couldn’t help myself — I had to ask head coach Paul The police officer who took my report knew about hockey. Maurice about it. There are a lot of good, kind people in hockey but Woodcroft seemed to be on another level. As soon as I showed him my passport and told him where I was from, his eyes lit up: he knew all about “les Jets de Winnipeg,” he told me, and he “Todd Woodcroft is just a really nice man,” Maurice told me. “He’s the was a big fan of Mathieu Perreault. I laughed. I told him he knew what he guy that makes sure people who do nice things get a thank you card. was talking about but also could he please help me with this business He’s the guy in our group that takes care of all of those things. Pops by to about the robbery. He asked me if I knew about Yohann Auvitu, the collect 10 bucks for a gift for someone — half the time doesn’t collect French defenceman who had lost the 2016 championship to Patrik anything, just buys it himself, like ‘Hey, this girl just had hip surgery, Laine and Tappara . we’ve got to make sure we get her a proper gift.’ He’s a really nice man.”

I had to confess that I did — Auvitu had gone from HIFK Helsinki to The last story I’ll share about Woodcroft’s kindness in Winnipeg is one Albany and then to New Jersey and Edmonton. It seemed as though that I accidentally played a small part in. France had one more NHL hockey player to complement Antoine Roussel and Pierre-Edouard Bellemare. But could we get back to this I’m going to say this was February or March 2018. It’s cold outside, but business about the robbery? not necessarily snowstorm cold — just garden variety Winnipeg winter. I’m walking down Hargrave St. after Jets practice when I see Woodcroft “Les Jets de Winnipeg!” he exclaimed once again. exit the Cityplace doors by the Boston Pizza at St. Mary. I wave, he waves, I start to go on with my day. In the end, it turned out that I was in good hands. He took my report in full, making sense of my functional-but-not-fluent French, and sent me on Then I hear him call out my name. “Hey! Murat! Could you hail down one my way feeling much safer than I did when I walked into the station. A of those cabs?” few days later, I wrote about the Jets pending arbitration cases and, a few days after that, the topic turned to Connor Hellebuyck’s new contract. I look around for a cab and yes, there are a bunch of them lined up in front of the Delta Hotel on St. Mary. As I’m walking over to get one to The hockey world reached out. Colleagues like Ken Wiebe, Scott Billeck wait, I look over my shoulder to suss out the reason for Woodcroft’s and Jamie Thomas replied with words of support and I thought it was urgency on this. awfully kind of them. That’s when I see him helping an elderly woman across Hargrave St. Then I got an e-mail from Todd Woodcroft, who up until this week was an They’re moving very slowly and he’s helping her keep her balance as assistant coach with the Winnipeg Jets. they cut through the wind. When they get within earshot, I can hear her explaining that she’s lost. She took the bus to her doctor’s appointment Hey Murat, but got off at the wrong spot. She has an address — does he know Just wanted to say I was following your story from overseas and I am where it is? He does, he says, and he’s going to make sure she gets happy you are safe with no major issues. there OK.

Hope you have a great rest of the summer. Their conversation turns cheerful just in time for them to catch up to me beside the taxi. Woodcroft helps her into the car, gives the driver the It was such a kind, proactive thought from a man I had never met. I had address, and pays for her ride. no idea Woodcroft knew who I was but I certainly knew who he was from covering the Jets and the gesture meant a lot. He followed up on that And then, when the car goes off and I start to tell him what a nice thing gesture at 2018 Jets camp, introducing himself after practice at the he’s done, Woodcroft thanks me. IcePlex and asking once again how I was doing. He’s no longer Winnipeg’s assistant coach — as of Wednesday, I started to give the typical “Oh, you know, it was a tough experience but Woodcroft is the head coach of the University of Vermont Catamounts. all is well” response — my version of playing it cool — but partway Beyond his video work, his understanding of analytics, and his X and O through the answer, I realized something: Woodcroft genuinely cared work with the Jets, Winnipeg will miss Woodcroft as a person most of all. about my answer. And, while he will have his work cut out for him to turn around a team that It was 20 seconds into our first face-to-face conversation and I trusted went 2-18-4 this season, his fundamental decency and love for his work him immediately. will be a Catamounts boon — and a Jets loss — as he takes the next When I reflected on the kind gesture to Jets TV reporter Mitchell Clinton, step in his career. he told me he wasn’t surprised at all. He actually had his own “Todd “I have such mixed feelings,” Woodcroft told The Athletic by e-mail. Woodcroft is a good human” story to tell: “Obviously optimism and chasing what I want to do: be a head coach, The Heritage Classic made 2016 a very busy year for everyone working which is the sole reason I am leaving the best organization, best owner, with the Jets. best fans and coworkers I ever had. I LOVE the city of Winnipeg and was proud to wear the logo. But this is great for me to be a head coach.” For Clinton, his wife Kally and their dog Jett, things were extra hectic: they were scheduled to move into a new home. The Jets were playing three games in four days, including a Friday road game in Colorado that The Athletic LOADED: 04.17.2020 Clinton and Woodcroft were both on. To offer some support, Woodcroft arranged to meet with Kally in advance of the trip, lending the Clintons 1182981 Vancouver Canucks The Lighting has had significant salary cap challenges. J.T. Miller was deemed expendable in June to sign 92-point restricted free agent Brayden Point to a three-year, US$20.25 million extension. Tampa does have top players Nikita Kucherov, Andrei Vasilevskiy, Steven Stamkos Ben Kuzma: Ex-Canuck Tambellini scores dual Lightning role, plus plans and Victor Hedman committed to long-term commitments, but they eat up wedding a combined $35.5 million of cap space.

Filling in the fiscal blanks means finding bargain players at the pro and collegiate levels. BEN KUZMA “Growing up in a management house and making the (roster) call as a April 16, 2020 7:42 PM PDT GM in the BCHL that affects peoples’ lives, it’s going to help when I’m asked in the NHL to give my input about a decision,” said Tambellini. “We talked about the way I recruited in Trail and it’s a good job opening Former Vancouver Canuck Jeff Tambellini, who played pro hockey in because it’s my background. Europe, is planning for his summer wedding and a new role with the Tampa Bay Lightning's scouting department. “I know the fit of the college game and how it works on a daily basis. NHL teams are paying a price at the trade deadline by going after top players "Growing up in a management house and making the (roster) call as a and giving up top prospects and that’s your pipeline. GM in the BCHL that affects peoples’ lives, it’s going to help when I’m asked in the NHL to give my input about a decision." — Jeff Tambellini, “It’s so important to replenish that with top college free agents and you Tampa Bay Lightning scout can put a player right into your lineup. Tampa had done a good job of drafting and developing, but you have to pay your top guys.” The scouting portion of Jeff Tambellini’s dual role with the Tampa Bay Lightning has been put to an early test. Tambellini and his fiancée will reside in Ann Arbor, Mich, home to the University and Michigan, and it’s a 40-minute drive to scout NHL games The former Vancouver Canucks winger, who has left his BCHL position in Detroit. as general manager and coach of the Trail Smoke Eaters after two seasons to become an NHL pro scout and NCAA free-agent recruiter, is Tambellini had BCHL championship success in Chilliwack as the facing a novel coronavirus challenge. league’s leading scorer in 2002 and the junior hot-shot was the 27th overall pick in the 2003 draft by the Los Angeles Kings. Three seasons Tambellini is getting married this July and the initial plan was a and two conference championships at the University of Michigan, where destination wedding in Maui. However, with COVID-19 travel restrictions he also served one season as an assistant coach, prepped Tambellini for and physical distancing edicts potentially still in place this summer, he the NHL. But he struggled to gain traction. has scouted Predator Ridge Golf Resort near Vernon as a suitable location for a celebration. After all, guests could keep their distance. Tambellini compiled 63 points (27-36) in 242 games with the Kings, New York Islanders and Canucks. “We’ll get real creative — maybe people on different fairways,” Tambellini chuckled Thursday from his off-season home in Rossland, B.C. His most successful and most memorable season was 2010-11, when he had 17 points (9-8) in 62 games and appeared in four Stanley Cup Final Tambellini and his fiancée Justine are not only following COVID-19 stay- games — including the deflating 4-0 Game 7 blanking at . at-home directives from B.C. health officials, there’s a silver lining to self- isolation in the West Kootenay town with a population of 3,729. “It was a real surreal day,” recalled Tambellini, who logged 13:40 in ice time because Mason Raymond had suffered a serious back injury in “We go way back and it’s a good relationship test,” Tambellini said of the Game 6. “The moment of Game 7 was so big. You try to make it feel like couple that met in his hometown of Port Moody. “I’m a good cook but a normal game, but guys were so exhausted and tired by that point, you Justine is much better than me, so I’ve been treated very well the last just try to find any ounce of energy to play and execute. little while.” “And when you look back at some of the small details, there were so Rossland has also taken COVID-19 preventative measures by closing many moments where we had so many chances and I had a couple of the popular Red Mountain Resort. scoring opportunities in the first 30 minutes. It was an amazing series. And to be part of that game, not many guys get to go through that “They’ve done a really good job here because with tourism, shutting experience. down the ski hill reduces the population by 50 per cent,” said Tambellini. “To be a part of that in that town (Vancouver) was one of the most As for his new job, the 36-year-old Calgary native is well prepared for the amazing moments.” commitment. The Canucks outshot the Bruins 37-21 and were trailing 2-0 late in the Aside from accomplishments as a player, coach and GM, he has a sports second period. And instead of scoring on the power play to narrow the management degree and is working toward a Masters of Business count, Patrice Bergeron delivered the dagger. He scored shorthanded Administration. He hopes to follow footsteps taken by his father Steve, a before Brad Marchand added an empty-netter late in the third period. former assistant GM of the Canucks and GM of the Edmonton Oilers. When it was over, players were at a loss for words and how to get home The younger Tambellini naturally gravitated toward the business side of as the downtown erupted in a flaming riot. the game and interviewed with the Lightning during the 2019 draft in Vancouver. He has a connection to Stacy Roest, the Lightning assistant “It was weird because we really didn’t know what was going on outside,” GM, director of player development and GM of the AHL affiliate Syracuse said Tambellini. “I had lot of friends and family at the game and Crunch, and it was a matter of finding a fit. everything was really shutting down.

They played against each other in Europe. They share similar visions of “I got in my truck with friends and drove right to Port Moody and a friend building an NHL roster through constraints of the salary cap. opened up the St. James Well bar. People found out we had come there and we actually had a fantastic night. Good scouting at the pro level and snapping up prime college free agents is an NHL operational staple. “I still have pictures and was happy that I at least got to spend the night with great people.” The Canucks signed undrafted college free agent Brogan Rafferty last April to a one-year, entry-level deal. The AHL rookie has responded with 45 points (7-38) in 57 games with the Utica Comets, is third in defenceman scoring and is expected to compete for a Canucks’ roster Vancouver Province: LOADED: 04.17.2020 spot next season.

The Canucks also plucked long-serving defenceman Chris Tanev as an undrafted free agent after one college season. 1182982 Vancouver Canucks The Wild, who have suffered three consecutive first-round exits, find themselves in familiar territory, losing for the 17th time in their past 21 playoff games, falling to 5-19 on the road since 2013 and falling to 2-12 all-time in Game 1s and 1-10 all-time in Game 1s on the road. Simulating the 2020 NHL playoffs: Canucks vs. Wild The good news is they’ve also been in this position before against the Canucks.

By Thomas Drance, Michael Russo and Dom Luszczyszyn Of course, that was 17 years ago in the second round when that traitor Minnesotan Trent Klatt scored in overtime of Game 1 to put the Apr 16, 2020 Canuckleheads up 1-0. Wes Walz scored the winner in Game 2 to help Minnesota even the series and the Wild went on to an exhilarating seven- game win on everybody’s favorite #oneofus Minnesotan Darby The NHL isn’t back yet, but we’re going to pretend it is. Over the last Hendrickson’s game-winner. month, we’ve run a simulation of how the NHL’s regular season might have played out if the league hadn’t been suspended on March 12. Now, You remember that, right? When Todd Bertuzzi put his stinky foot in his the standings have been set and we’re carrying that forward through the mouth. playoffs. This time around, one of our beat writers from each team will be This time, the Wild have some work to do. in charge of every lineup decision, the narrative for every playoff game and they’ll get to decide what “happened” in each game. Join us as we Game 2 make our way through the simulated postseason to crown a virtual Stanley Cup champion. Kevin Fiala scored the lone goal but only played 15 minutes. You can bet interim coach Dean Evason will increase that ice time to the 18 or 19 On March 12, the odds of a Canucks-Wild playoff matchup were literally minutes he was playing during his red-hot final stretch drive of the one percent. Neither team looked very strong and it seemed all but likely season. that if either team made it, it would be as wildcard fodder. At the time, the Canucks had a 60 percent chance at making the playoffs and the Wild The Wild need to generate more offense from the back end, so it were at 47 percent. wouldn’t shock me to see Brad Hunt re-enter the lineup, either for stay- at-home defenseman Greg Pateryn or Carson Soucy, who looked rusty The rest of the regular season did not play out as expected. Not even in his return from a wrist injury. More than likely, it would be Pateryn who close. The Canucks, somehow, someway, went 11-1-1 the rest of the comes out. way on Earth2 to inexplicably win the division. Vancouver was the league’s hottest team, something that no one could’ve possibly predicted. The reality is the Wild often play the Canucks well, so there’s no use It made no sense whatsoever given the way the team was trending, panicking yet and overhauling all the lines. especially given starting goalie Jacob Markstrom was out for a portion of The Canucks will keep the same lineup after a win. that stretch, but that’s life sometimes. It’s the unpredictable chaos, the things that don’t seem any way believable that sometimes make things Vancouver takes both games at home to take a 2-0 series lead to feel more real. That the Wild surged to a 7-3-3 record to solidify its own Minnesota. playoff standing only adds to the strangeness of Earth2. Canucks take care of business on home ice with a decisive 2-0 shutout This matchup is literally a 1-in-100 event in the making. victory. Markstrom stops 36 shots, as the Wild again control proceedings at 5-on-5, but the Canucks get goals from Adam Gaudette and J.T. Miller On paper neither team looks all that imposing – they’re two of the weaker — both at even strength. This is a performance that Canucks coaches teams in the playoff pool – but Vancouver gets a decent edge in series like a lot better than the first game, despite a similar result. odds as a result of an ELO adjustment from its hot finish to the season. The Canucks enter the series with a 62 percent chance of advancing. OK, now it’s time to panic and overhaul the lines.

In Elias Pettersson, Vancouver has a superstar talent who can take over One goal in two games? games, something the Wild lack. Add J.T. Miller and Brock Boeser to the equation and it’s a high-end cluster of forwards that the Wild will struggle Not good enough for a team that’s biggest concern coming into this to stack up against. In net, there’s a huge mismatch between Jacob series was goaltending. Markstrom and Alex Stalock as the former covers up a lot of defensive But Alex Stalock performed well in the first two games and the Wild’s inefficiencies while the latter is propped up by a strong system. offensive well has run dry.

Where the Wild have an edge is with their depth and their defence. “I remember we were down 2-0 in 2014 to Colorado, returned home and Minnesota may not have the high-end talent Vancouver has up front, but everybody felt we had what it took to come back in that series,” it has stronger waves afterward, especially in the bottom six. The defenseman Jared Spurgeon reminded. “And we got it done.” defense corps looks especially more capable with one of the best top fours in the league. It’s the backbone of the team and the reason they’ve For that to happen, significant changes will need to occur. made it this far. Interim coach Dean Evason alluded to lineup changes and one may be Now it’s time to see which team makes it farther. triggered by an injury to center Alex Galchenyuk.

Game 1 It would be shocking if Mikko Koivu moves up in the lineup and Victor Rask is inserted into the lineup. Now may be the time to load up the top Vancouver takes a 1-0 series lead. pair and move Matt Dumba alongside Ryan Suter and create a nice The ghosts of 2003 are going to loom large over this series for Canucks shutdown pair between Jonas Brodin and Spurgeon. fans. Memories of beach balls and the spirit of Darby Hendrickson Don’t be surprised if we see Zach Parise skate with Koivu and Kevin ensure that at no point in this series will any Canucks fan feel “confident” Fiala, Mats Zuccarello skate on the right side of Eric Staal and Ryan despite being favoured, and now up 1-0 in the series. I’d expect that on Donato, a Jordan Greenway-Joel Eriksson Ek-Luke Kunin line and a Earth2, Mike and I would’ve both spilled thousands of words on the most fourth line of Marcus Foligno-Rask-Ryan Hartman. significant mismatch in this series, which is the Vancouver power play vs. the Wild penalty kill. That advantage shows up in Game 1, as Vancouver Game 3 wins 3-1 despite being outshot 5-on-5. Kevin Fiala opens the scoring with a highlight reel wrist shot off the rush, but Vancouver adds a pair of At morning skate at the Xcel Energy Center ahead of Game 3, Canucks power-goal goals from Bo Horvat and Elias Pettersson before Tanner winger Josh Leivo skates for the first time with the team in a non-contact Pearson scores an empty netter. jersey. Leivo doesn’t take part in line rushes, but Travis Green says “he’s close,” even as he confirms that the winger — who fractured his knee Well, nothing has changed since the Wild last took part in the 2018 cap in mid-December — still isn’t expected to return in the series. No playoffs, lost in five games to Winnipeg and cost Chuck Fletcher his job changes are expected for the Canucks lineup, while Minnesota will be as general manager. making wholesale changes to create some sort of spark to avoid going down 3-0. Vancouver wins to take a commanding 3-0 series lead. We’ve long known the Wild were in need of a No. 1 center and No. 1 goalie, but that surely will be an offseason priority as the Wild face This is the game where Vancouver’s edge in net really shows up. It’s a 5- another critical offseason in which now goal-scoring is a concern. 1 shellacking in a building that’s often been a house of horrors for the Canucks. Interim coach Dean Evason did a terrific job leading the Wild into the playoffs after February’s firing of Bruce Boudreau, but the playoff loss Brock Boeser has three points (two goals and an assist) in his could inevitably seal his fate. And we may very well have seen the last of hometown, including the game winner, while Bo Horvat adds a power- Wild all-time leading scorer and games played leader Mikko Koivu. play goal, two assists, wins 18 of 23 draws and his line demolishes Minnesota territorially. There are positive things to look forward to: The continued rise of Kevin Fiala, the near arrival of young Russian star Kirill Kaprizov and a number First of all, I think Dom’s simulator is drunk from too many nights at the of prospects coming down the pike. Roxy. But losing 20 of its last 24 playoff games is not what we expected from Nevertheless, the Wild now find themselves in a giant hole, and what’s Minnesota after such a good final two months that included the frightening is Elias Pettersson hasn’t even been a factor yet. emergence of Fiala and reinvigoration of Zach Parise after the trade Dean Evason’s got a lot of work to do, but the reality is despite Alex deadline. Stalock getting yanked in Game 3, the Wild’s go-to guys have yet to At least, Wild fans weren’t subject to Alex Burrows diving all over the ice, show up in this series. Mattias Ohlund breaking Koivu’s leg and the Sedin Twins lighting up the Two goals in three games just won’t cut it. Wild for fun.

“One goal a game isn’t good enough,” said Zach Parise, the Wild’s This version of the Canuckleheads are a likeable bunch in part led by leading goal scorer in the regular season who scored Game 3’s only goal one of the great humans around, Brock Boeser. Plus, their coach, Travis for Minnesota. “We have nothing to lose now. But we’ve got to be better. Green, was once in the World Series of Poker, so he’s my hero. Much better.” Vancouver entered the postseason on fire and now will get plenty of rest before the second round of a conference that is wide open for the taking. The Wild need a momentum change and at a minimum we can expect Devan Dubnyk in net for Game 4. On an aside, this playoff series proves yet again, after years of covering the Panthers and Wild, I’ll never get to cover a Stanley Cup run. The Wild have twice rallied from 3-1 deficits to win series, but 3-0 is a whole other animal. The Athletic’s Thomas Drance knows what I mean: He used to be Florida’s PR guy! — Michael Russo

Game 4 The Athletic LOADED: 04.17.2020 In the visiting locker room at Xcel Energy Center ahead of Game 4 there are about 120 reporters crowded around Boeser’s stall.

“What is this, Toronto?” jokes a nearby Canucks player.

Somehow Russo is positioned comfortably to Boeser’s immediate right. Drance has to give Harman Dayal a boost, just to make sure The Athletic Vancouver gets a mic into the scrum.

Shortly after, Russo tweets what might be the final Minnesota lineup of the season:

Parise-Staal-Fiala

Donato-Eriksson Ek-Kunin

Greenway-Rask-Zuccarello

Foligno-Koivu-Hartman

Suter-Spurgeon

Brodin-Dumba

Soucy-Hunt

The tweaks, make the game a near coin flip (mostly due to the team turning to Dubnyk in net).

Vancouver sweeps the Wild to improve to… 15-1-1 on Earth2. Somehow.

The Canucks have purged the ghost of Darby Hendrickson and have swept the Minnesota Wild. “Mild Sweep” is the headline in the Vancouver Province.

This is a tight game late, but Pettersson has a signature moment in the third period, converting a 2-on-1 with J.T. Miller for the game winner. Canucks add an empty netter and finish off the wild 4-2.

Vancouver has now won its first playoff series since defeating the San Jose Sharks in the 2011 Western Conference final, and they’re going into Round 2 as the hottest team in the NHL. This is the sort of stuff that can only happen on Earth2.

First of all, Wild fans who have long loved Dom because he has been such a Wild homer can now disown him and his stupid, freaking model.

The sweep to the Canuckleheads, as shocking as it was, will now cause some serious soul-searching for first-year GM Bill Guerin. 1182983 Websites Still, the Pioneers are a powerhouse that has developed countless players to the NHL and other professional leagues. Nothing has changed when it comes to understanding the standards that have allowed this level of success to continue. It’s just a matter of how the Pioneers go The Athletic / How a powerhouse college hockey program stays on about maintaining those objectives. But this is the challenge DU and course in this new world every college program – regardless of resources and/or sport – are likely facing in this current landscape.

Creech said there are multiple sports at Denver that bring in revenue, but By Ryan S. Clark hockey is the program that generates the most. He said the program was Apr 16, 2020 not financially impacted because the Pioneers already played their regular-season schedule, which is where most of their significant revenue originates. The monies from the NCHC Tournament is shared between member institutions. Furthermore, he said the NCAA Tournament games It’s Thursday morning and the NCHC Tournament has been canceled. are an avenue to help with expenses, but the goal is to try and break Still, the University of Denver hockey team decided to practice that even following a postseason run. afternoon. Only to get off the ice and learn the NCAA canceled everything. Right now, it’s about trying to achieve certainty in an existence where uncertainty is everywhere. Now it’s Friday morning and meetings are being held across all departments. Finals are going on, but everyone collectively agrees to This is what life is like for a college program in the time of COVID-19. make those exams available online. Later that afternoon, second-year coach David Carle and his assistants sit down with their players to share “It’s been, maybe the best word is: abnormal. Or maybe unique,” Carle that the university is paying for all of them to go home to be with their said. “But that describes a lot of college hockey programs and it also families. describes what is going on with everybody throughout our society. Our season ended four Thursdays ago. Maybe five. I’m losing track of the “We knew in the coming weeks and months, we would have some weeks. … It’s abnormal in the sense that we’d be hoping to play in significant travel expenditures we were not going to take,” Pioneers Detroit (for the Frozen Four) and if we weren’t, this is the time of year we athletics director Karlton Creech said of why the school chose to pay for focus on academics and off-ice training and those types of things. their student-athletes to go home. “We spent a small portion of that savings for the players who needed to go home and for the ones that “It’s been abnormal in a lot of ways for most sports teams, not just ours. needed it.” That’s the word I would use.”

Creech said the expedient nature of every student-athlete working Practically every collegiate or professional team has a group chat these quickly to return home is why there was no testing within the university days. They talk about how their families are all doing. But they also use for COVID-19. this space to coordinate when they will play video games against each other. “Call of Duty” is a favorite. So are “Fortnite” and “NHL 20.” And Junior forward Jaakko Heikkinen scrambled to grab his clothes and yes, they have had the conversations regarding the now-worldwide hockey equipment out of his house before heading to Denver spectacle that is “Tiger King.” International Airport. He was slated to catch a flight from Denver to a connecting flight in London that would take him home to Helsinki. That Alberta. British Columbia. California. Colorado. Finland. Illinois. Saturday, Heikkinen arrived at the airport and was informed that he Manitoba. Minnesota. New Jersey. Sweden. Texas. would be boarding a flight to London at his own risk. These are the states, provinces and in some cases, nations, where The ticketing agent told Heikkinen that he had a late layover in London everyone in the Pioneers’ group is living. It spans across continents and and that flights throughout Europe were being canceled at a growing hemispheres all so teammates can stay connected to each other. rate. Furthermore, all the other flights from London to Helsinki were “I think that’s the best thing for us,” said junior forward Kohen Olischefski, already shut down. It left him wondering about finding a solution in the who was recently named captain for next season. “That’s been keeping event he was stranded in London. us sane and keeping us together. You can actually talk to someone other Imagine having your life immediately disrupted. Only to go to the airport than your parents and your siblings. It keeps us feeling normal.” and find out there is no guarantee you are going home to be with your Normal. family as the planet braces for a pandemic. This particular thought, along with other potential contingency options, is all Heikkinen could think Olischefski says if life was that word, his Monday would consist of a class about over the course of a nine-hour trek from Denver to London. from 8 a.m. to 10 a.m. followed by a two-hour break before going to the rink. He would start lifting at 12:15 and hit the ice for a 1:30 p.m. practice. “Once I got there, all the later flights back to Finland were canceled, but He’d be done at 3:30 p.m. before rushing to a two-hour class that starts mine was the only one still flying,” Heikkinen said. “Honestly, I was pretty at 4 p.m. He’d then head home to do homework, eat dinner and spend stressed out about that. It was the only thing going through my mind. I time with his teammates. Tuesday would be classes from 8 a.m. through had all my hockey sticks, my hockey bags and clothes. I thought it would noon. He would then head to the rink for another workout and team be really tough to get stuck in London and try and find an practice with the idea his day would be done. In fact, he might get in a accommodation carrying all of those things. You’re also thinking about, round of golf if the weather is nice. ‘What will I do if I get stuck there?’” Being home in British Columbia means he is taking 7 a.m. classes every Heikkinen is home. So are all of his teammates. Carle and his staff are all day because of the time change. He’ll either go back to bed after those at their homes in Denver. Everyone is finding ways to stay connected to classes or work out. He then does his afternoon coursework. He said the each other and the university all while simultaneously remaining distant. weather in Abbotsford is so nice that he and his dad have actually been Players are doing remote learning, with some of them waking up to playing golf. The course they play at has taken the steps to ensure attend a 1 a.m. online class because of the time change from where they people can practice social distancing while getting out of the house. live. They are also doing workouts whenever and however they can to stay ready for the upcoming season. Coaches are having virtual “We’re making the best we can out of this,” Olischefski said. “It’s a big meetings. They are on the phone connecting with incoming recruits and adjustment period for us. With remote learning, it’s definitely something their families. They are also watching film to further assess themselves different. It takes a different level of organization. It sucks waking up at and their players. 6:30 a.m. for a 7 a.m. class but it is what it is. Workouts are something you have to improvise. Lot of guys, including myself, don’t have a ton of Denver has won eight national championships. One more pulls the equipment. We’re trying to lift the heaviest things in our house and program into a share with the University of Michigan for the most in seeing what we can do.” college hockey history. The Pioneers were 21-9-6 when the season ended and were the consensus No. 6 team in America. Competing for a Matt Shaw is the director of sports performance at DU. His methods are ninth national title this season would have been a plausible challenge why alums, including Tyler Bozak, Will Butcher and Troy Terry, return to that is now just a bundle of hypotheticals. campus every summer. What he does for the program is why Carle has no qualms about openly admitting Shaw is the program’s “No. 1 recruiter.” Shaw and his staff immediately called players once they got Carle and his staff are doing all those items – except the trip to Florida – home to ask them about their environment. remotely through the same devices everyone is using to stay connected. Having actual face time as opposed to speaking via FaceTime can be They wanted to know where they were located. If they lived in a place crucial for college coaches in a number of ways. But, as it turns out, where there were hills or mountains. Or if there was a change in altitude maintaining those relationships while using technology is not an issue at compared to Denver. From there, they took inventory on if players have all. access to fitness equipment or other resources they might have had in their communities. They gathered that information and devised individual “We are connecting virtually via our phones and spending a lot of time on workout plans unique to each player. the phones with players and recruits to make sure them and their families are doing OK,” Carle said. “We are also planning for next season and Olischefski, for example, purchased new wheels for his rollerblades as a what that looks like for the Denver Pioneers’ hockey team. There are way to simulate skating because no rinks are operational. Rollerblading some recruiting things that need to take place. It’s stuff like getting kids also allows him a way to mix up his routine and not just simply rely on into school, grant renewals, watching NHL games and downloading running to help stay in playing shape. those games and watching them at home as if I were in the office.

“As a staff, we sat down and talked about finding a starting place,” Shaw “Our tasks have not changed whether we are in the office or at home.” said. “Everyone is transitioning away from sports, but we don’t know for how long. Most have been playing sports since they were 5 years old and Let’s start with recruiting. The Pioneers already have five recruits they who knows how long this is going to go on? We wanted to serve them by have signed as a way of compensating for the four seniors who are reducing stress down and doing something different. It was starting with graduating plus the fact star junior defenseman Ian Mitchell recently a base foundation you can literally create. … I think the thing is we got signed his entry-level contract with the Chicago Blackhawks. Carle said creative with what resources people would have at home. the only major item remaining with the incoming class is getting Form I- 20 that allows international students to attend school in the United “Whether it was traditional equipment or things around the home that are States. Finnish defenseman and Detroit Red Wings prospect Antti nontraditional. Backpacks, textbooks, getting a five-gallon jug of water. Tuomisto is the only player in his class who is going through that It’s about being creative for circumstances. Some people have multistory process. homes with stairs and others have ranches that are one level. It’s about having discussions to deviate the programs.” Exactly how does college hockey recruiting work at a moment like this? Pioneers assistant Tavis MacMillan said teams are limited in what they Shaw also shared how they had to set up meetings at a different time can do because of the current dead period. He said teams cannot have while also recording some of those conversations to make it more off-campus recruiting. Nor can they host any official or unofficial visits. accessible for Heikkinen. They can, however, still communicate with recruits through phone calls.

Here is why: Helsinki is nine hours ahead of Denver, which means MacMillan said teams have been permitted since Jan. 1 to speak to high Heikkinen, a marketing major who is minoring in finance, is having to school sophomores but cannot officially extend a scholarship offer until more or less live separate lives in different places. One of his classes – Aug. 1. Schools can continue to make offers toward juniors and seniors. the principles of managerial finances – actually starts at 1 a.m. and ends At this point, the only games – if there were any – to attend would be the at 3 a.m. on Monday and Wednesday. He also has other classes that USHL playoffs or the Junior ‘A’ leagues in Canada such as the British start at 5 p.m. and conclude at 9 p.m. Columbia Hockey League.

“Before the quarter started, I contacted all of my professors and let them “We all have the same restrictions,” MacMillan said. “We are in good know I am in Finland and that I am nine hours ahead,” he said. “They shape with recruiting. We are not in desperation mode to where we have been very supportive about it. All of our classes are recorded and if needed to find players. We are in really good shape and there wasn’t that I miss a class and the recordings are available online, I can watch a class pressure this year to find something. We were prepared for different later and look over what they went through.” things that might happy and we’re happy with where we are at.”

So why not do that more often? Why wake up or stay up late for a 1 a.m. Think of college recruiting like a carousel. It’s about making sure you class when it could be so much easier? have all the necessary pieces in place knowing one decision could alter “I think it’s definitely easier to learn if you are present and seeing what several moving parts. There are some items such as Mitchell signing with the professor is doing on the screen and following at the same pace as the Blackhawks that the Pioneers saw coming. But there are others – he is explaining the material,” Heikkinen said. “It might be harder to do on such as when the Avalanche signed forward Logan O’Connor in the your own even if you have the recording. The other thing is that it will summer of 2018 – that were unforeseen circumstances. take up my time the next day if I want to rewatch that. If I want to work But that does not mean McMillan is dormant. He is constantly watching out or have other classes, then I do not have time to go over that whole film to the point he stated, “I can watch hockey 24 hours a day” because class.” of how much is available to coaches on the internet when it comes to Heikkinen is one of three players on the Pioneers’ roster who is not from youth and junior leagues. The pause has also allowed MacMillan to have North America. Freshman goaltender and Tampa Bay Lightning prospect even stronger conversations about recruiting. He said this is the time of Magnus Chrona is from Sweden. Sophomore forward and Calgary year when so many people from Carle to the players themselves are Flames prospect Emilio Pettersen grew up in Norway. Chrona is back being pulled in several directions. home in Sweden while Pettersen stayed in the United States and is living Now that everything has come to a halt, it means everyone can now with his girlfriend and her family. dedicate time toward having more in-depth discussions about recruiting The 23-year-old said both of his parents are beyond supportive of what or any other subject. has become such a bizarre situation. As Heikkinen explained, his day is “I think we’re in a good place and not in a situation where we need to beginning at the same time his parents’ workdays from home are ending. make any rash decisions or hasty decisions,” he said. “We’re really Granted, everyone in the hockey program and his professors know about comfortable and we are talking things out a lot and we can be patient and his situation. But are his other classmates aware of his unorthodox evaluate things. We don’t get lost or get flustered if we don’t get kids. circumstances? Sometimes, it works. Sometimes, it doesn’t. Sometimes, if it doesn’t work out and you move on and it’s the next man up.” “During introductions, most of my professors asked where you are located,” he said. “I said I am in Finland where it is 1 a.m. and everyone Some of those conversations have even centered on what players should in the class was like, ‘Wow. That is crazy!’ But it’s that way with pretty be eating. Shaw said the program created an eight-week curriculum much all of my classes whereas for a lot of my classmates they may only complete with a 45-minute Zoom call to discuss their consumption have an hour or two time change.” choices and habits. They have talked about what it means to be more mindful when it comes to what they eat. It has also included a number of Maybe there would be conversations in the hockey office about meeting hyperlinked videos about nutrition. with players to plan for offseason workouts. Or there would be film sessions where they would Watch video of their players or those in the Another area Shaw has explored with players is making sure they NHL to see what else they can learn. There also would have been that understand their surroundings. They have developed a plan to build a coaches convention in Florida at the end of the month. sense of self-efficacy. It is providing the players with the information and seeing how they apply it before they eventually return to campus. Shaw routinely checks in with players but enjoys it when players are messaging him about finding an alternative way to do a workout because they do not have a specific piece of equipment. Or what type of shoes they should purchase because they are running on concrete or another surface that is different than what they have on campus for workouts.

Those discussions also extend into other areas like personal development. Carle, MacMillan and assistant Dallas Ferguson each met with individual players in a virtual meeting to answer questions about their games and what they learned this year. Those talks were held over a two-week period for the team’s 21 returning players. From there, they split up the team into three groups of seven and made two seniors responsible for those groups.

“We are going to be a veteran group next year. I think we will have something like 16 or 18 juniors and seniors,” Carle said. “It is one thing if we are telling a sophomore to do his work and workouts. But it’s different if Kohen is talking to them about it. There’s a different level of accountability that can come with it. That’s what we are hoping for during this time. We are starting to create that going into next season. That we have a high level of trust and communication among players because they are the ones playing games and hopefully, winning a championship next year.

“I don’t worry if guys are lifting and eating the right way. We have told them what the expectations are. Their peers have told them and their leaders have told them. If they don’t, it’s going to be really obvious when we do all come back together and they have to deal with that embarrassment.”

The Athletic LOADED: 04.17.2020 1182984 Websites Partnow: While I think modern “RINGZ!” culture loses sight of the value of the journey, that shouldn’t obscure that it’s important to have a worthy prize at the end of that journey. While the notion of being crowned champion is the most important part, the physical object representing that The Athletic / Five rounds to fix your favorite sport. Welcome to the Inter- championship should measure up to the moment. With the possible League Envy Draft. exception of an Olympic gold medal, there is nothing in sports that compares to Lord Stanley’s Cup. From its size to its classically pleasing

appearance; to the pomp and circumstance of the awarding of the Cup By The Athletic Staff (including de rigueur and vociferous booing of the commissioner!) to the engraving of the names of players who have lifted it, I love everything Apr 16, 2020 about it. Plus, who doesn’t want to see a seven-foot dude military press a huge hunk of metal in celebration?

1.2 MLB drafts the grip the Super Bowl has on everyone in America from Every sports fan has their favorite league. We watch them, debate them, the NFL. and defend them from those misguided fans of other sports who don’t seem to get it. These days, with just about the entire sports world shut Stark: I love the World Series, so don’t take this wrong. But it’s no longer down, we have plenty of time to sit around and miss the leagues that an event that causes all of civilization to stop what it’s doing and not just have become such a big part of our lives. watch the games, but actually hang on every second of a Doritos commercial. So I admit it. I’m jealous. There. I said it. We also know they could be better. Way better. 1.3 The NFL drafts unique parks/dimensions from MLB. That’s a universal trait of sports fans. We have the sport and the league that we love. But we also know what the other leagues are doing, and Jenks: Let’s get crazy. What if teams could change the dimensions of the how those sports work. And we’ve all got at least a few ideas that we field in their stadium? Maybe the Ravens would opt for a field with a wish our favorite league could “borrow” from the competition. severe crown, like the old Nebraska teams, to get Lamar Jackson and Co. roaring downhill. Maybe the Legion-of-Boom Seahawks would have So that’s what we’re going to do. Welcome to The Athletic’s Inter-League shrunk the width of the field and dared you to beat them in a boxing ring. Envy Draft. Maybe this is all a terrible idea. But it would be interesting. The concept is simple. Each of the big four North American pro sports leagues will be represented by one of The Athletic’s writers that covers it. Oh, and I want retro stadiums, too. They’ll take turns stepping up to the podium and picking one quality or characteristic from another league that they’d like to adopt for their own. 1.4 The NHL drafts players with personalities from the NBA. It’s a five-round draft, with no limits on how many (or few) traits can be McIndoe: Death to “pucks in deep.” Give me players that will actually say chosen from each sport. or do something interesting every now and then, whether it’s to reporters, By the end, each league should be far better than it was before. Of on social media, on a talk show, in a recording studio, or any of the long course, that’s up to the GMs. Let’s meet them, and find out what they’re list of other places that NBA stars feel comfortable showing off who they hoping to do. are. Hockey has made being boring part of the culture – you can’t seem like you think you’re bigger than the team, after all. But some stars are – Sean McIndoe bigger than the team, and those are the guys who make your league fun to watch. Pre-draft strategy Round 2: We asked each of the four GMs to share a few pre-draft thoughts on what they were hoping to accomplish. 2.1 The NBA drafts Tony Romo-style announcers from the NFL.

Seth Partnow, NBA (@SethPartnow) Partnow: If one tuned into a nationally-televised NBA game this season, one might not have realized how high the level of play was and has been My goal here is simple. I think the on-floor product of the NBA is as good for a few years. As has been noted here, there and everywhere, many as it has been since at least the early-90s, so I went into the draft looking game announcers seemingly alternate between open-mic style riffing on for ways to accentuate that quality of play and remove obstacles for the topics only tangentially germane to the game they are calling and fanbase to fully enjoy and appreciate it. If it seems like a wish list of all denigrating the current product in relation to bygone (supposed) glory the things I tend to complain about and/or advocate for in general, well, times. Contrast this with Tony Romo’s combination of unabashed joy for that’s intentional! the football game occurring in front of him with his ability to describe the Jayson Stark, MLB (@jaysonst) action on the field in a way that explains the apparent chaos, allowing the average fan to feel like they have some understanding of what is actually Anyone who has read me knows I love baseball. I just want the rest of going on. It would be a welcome and highly desirable addition to the NBA the world to love it as much as I love it. So that means I need to build a experience. shrewd draft strategy around elevating the stars in my sport and finding ways to create more must-watch Big Events. I’ll be all over the best of the 2.2 MLB drafts stars who aren’t afraid to take on the responsibility that NBA and NFL in this draft… because of course I will. goes with stardom, connect with their fan base and don’t have any unwritten rulebooks, from the NBA. Jayson Jenks, NFL (@JaysonJenks) Stark: I really wanted to draft NBA stars who aren’t afraid to let their I have but one goal: I want to get a little weird. That’s what I’ve told my personality show. But that pick was vetoed by Sean, for the flimsy reason scouting department and front office personnel to focus on: the weird and that he’d actually picked it first! So I tweaked mine slightly because I exotic (just not the Joe Exotic). really admire how the stars in the NBA understand what it means to be a Sean McIndoe, NHL: (@DownGoesBrown) star, how important it is for fans to feel that connection and for those stars to not have to worry that doing what they do is a violation of some I’ve been a diehard hockey fan for pretty much my entire life, but secret code once handed down from George Mikan to Bob Cousy to longtime readers may have caught me criticizing the NHL product once Elgin Baylor. or twice. Or pretty much constantly. My jealousy of the other leagues has been on display, so here’s my chance to act on it. I’ll be working from a 2.3 The NFL drafts the traditional day with the championship trophy from draft list that has roughly three dozen ideas on it, so I don’t think I’ll run the NHL. out of picks. But I’ll admit I’m also kind of fascinated to see what, if Jenks: It makes so much sense. Just like the NHL, every player should anything, the guys from the other sports feel is worth drafting from the get his day with the trophy. It’s a cool reward for the player and a cool NHL. I’m assuming that the Stanley Cup and handshake lines have been moment for fans and communities where the trophy goes. Plus, it could heavily scouted, but it’s a deep draft, so there are no guarantees. also be fun. Just imagine: Rob Gronkowski doing keg stands next to the Round 1: trophy on one of his party buses. Who says no?

1.1 The NBA drafts the Stanley Cup from the NHL. 2.4 The NHL drafts offense-friendly rules from the NFL. McIndoe: In the mid-90s, NHL goal-scoring rates started to fall at the Stark: This is kind of the regular-season version of my first-round Super onset of what’s come to be known as the Dead Puck Era. The NHL has Bowl pick. I understand that part of the beauty of baseball is the daily literally spent two decades promising that they’d fix the problem without soap opera of a season, and how it weaves its plotlines little by little, ever actually doing it, and dull defense-first hockey is now the default game by game. The NFL can’t touch that. But it reaps the benefit of the setting for the entire sport. Meanwhile, the NFL watched the Patriots shut other end of that spectrum. Because there are so few games, even down the Colts for one boring playoff game and immediately changed Dolphins-Bengals can feel like An Event if it’s shown on Monday night, how pass defense was called. Since then, a generation of stars have also possibly because my fantasy team needs freaking DeVante Parker rewritten nearly every passing mark in the NFL record book, while the to score in this freaking game! NHL’s hasn’t changed in decades. There’s something to be said about the occasional defensive battle, but offense is what brings us out of our 4.3 The NFL drafts the minor leagues from MLB. seats, and the NFL understands that. The NHL says they do too, but Jenks: The Alliance of tried to fill the football void in when it comes to ever actually doing anything, they always come up the spring last year, and the XFL has tried to do it this year. But what if empty. we just gave up that idea and instead created minor-league affiliates that Round 3: play during the season? They could replace practice squads, develop players and be played in smaller cities that don’t have pro football. 3.1 The NBA drafts the realism of the Madden games from the NFL. Maybe we’d find the next Kurt Warner. Partnow: When I worked for the Bucks, I was asked to provide some guidance to the Bucks Gaming esports team ahead of the inaugural 2k 4.4 The NHL drafts big stars changing teams in the offseason from the League draft. I don’t think I added much to the discussion, because it NFL. took about 10 minutes to understand that though the 2K version of McIndoe: Here’s the natural follow-up to my third-round pick. We already basketball has some superficial similarities to the NBA game, they are have big trades. Now I want the offseason drama that comes with big- different enough that knowledge of what is valuable in the NBA might be name player movement. A typical NHL offseason will feature a handful of actively harmful to identifying the best 2K players. Compare that to the important trades and typically two or three star free agents if we’re lucky. Madden franchise, where the play calls, schemes and gameplay is far Meanwhile, the NFL has seen a jaw-dropping trade involving an elite more representative of the “real thing.” I’ve read of players learning a receiver, another involving a star, a blockbuster trade between new team’s offense by playing Madden! While getting to this level of contenders, plus moves involving a former MVP, several defensive stars, verisimilitude for basketball is technically daunting (program an AI to a few running backs and oh yeah, arguably the greatest player mimic a single team’s defensive scheme. Go ahead and try…) such an in league history. And that’s just this year, in an offseason that isn’t even accomplishment could perform much the same feat as would more done yet. A lot of that is the byproduct of a league without guaranteed educative announcers (like Romo) in terms of adding to fan knowledge contracts, and there’s probably a point where there’s too much churn. But and appreciation of the game at a deeper level. it’s hard for a hockey fan to watch the NFL headlines flood in every 3.2 MLB drafts the nonstop action and emotion that builds in the final spring while knowing that NHL teams will spend their offseason hemming minutes of a close game from the NBA. and hawing over a third-pair defenseman.

Stark: I’m not sure what the average minutes-per-ball-in-play ratio is in Round 5: the eighth and ninth inning of a close baseball game. But I’m going to 5.1 The NBA drafts in-arena goal accoutrements from the NHL. guess it’s in the neighborhood of one ball in play every five minutes. And as an otherwise baseball-loving friend of mine said recently, “Can you Partnow: To round out, I’m returning to hockey for something celebratory, imagine an NBA game where nobody took a shot for five minutes?” Hey, if on a smaller scale than the Stanley Cup. Imagine, if you will, a player I love the drama of, say, Josh Hader versus Anthony Rizzo as much as for the home team hitting a 3-pointer or converting an and-one to cap off anybody. But it’s action that produces the emotion of a classic game. And a 12-0 nothing run forcing the opponent to burn a timeout. And then as even with all the late timeouts and free throws, the NBA has that market the visitors trudge dejectedly to the bench, you hear this: cornered. Throw hats on the court for 40-point games. Celebrate the first basket 3.3 The NFL drafts playing music during live action from the NBA. with flying octopi. Let’s get weird.

Jenks: It’s thiiiiiiird down. The scoreboard asks fans to MAKE SOME 5.2 MLB drafts the ability of stars to dominate a game from beginning to NOISE. The fans oblige. The place is rocking. All of a sudden, here end from the NBA. comes Steve Aoki’s Turbulence. “Are you ready?” Lil Jon asks on the Stark: I’m really not obsessed with the NBA or its stars. Really. But the song. “Are you ready?” The beat builds. The offense steps to the line. NBA is so easily able to sell its stars because when you flip on any The ball is snapped and: “WE HIT TURBULENCE.” Lakers game, you are guaranteed that LeBron is going to touch the ball It bumps up home-field advantage a little and challenges stadium 100 times. I can make an eloquent case for why is one of the deejays to play the right song at the right moment in the game. greatest players who ever lived in my sport. But I can’t do anything about the fact that you might flip on one of his games, and it might be an hour 3.4 The NHL drafts creative, complicated trades from the NBA. before a ball is hit to him or it’s his turn to hit. And unfortunately, neither McIndoe: The art of the blockbuster trade is being lost in the NHL and can he! hockey fans know why: It’s too hard. NHL GMs are constantly moaning 5.3 The NFL drafts Original Six uniform designs from the NHL. about how the salary cap has made their job too difficult, and they just can’t be expected to be able to pull off a trade of any significance. Jenks: I don’t mean that I literally want to steal the Original Six uniforms Meanwhile, NBA GMs are constantly navigating a much more and give them to the Rams (although maybe that’s not a bad idea…). complicated cap to pull off huge trades, often involving three or even four What I mean is: the Original Six uniforms are the best in sports, and I teams. Are they smarter than their NHL counterparts? More creative? want to bottle that awesomeness and use it to reimagine NFL uniforms Mentally tougher? Maybe all of the above. and logos. They are beautiful and timeless and I want the same thing for NFL teams. Round 4: 5.4 The NHL drafts a decent All-Star game from MLB. 4.1 The NBA drafts an acceptance of analytics and evidence-based decision making from MLB. McIndoe: The NHL All-Star Game sucks. The league has tried to fix it with a never-ending list of different formats and gimmicks, but it just Partnow: At this point in MLB, you either have state-of-the-art decision- never works because you can’t play entertaining hockey at half-speed making processes, or you lose. Lo that it were so in the NBA. So here I’m (especially when half of your stars don’t even show up). The all-star taking, with no small amount of self-interest, the widespread adoption of concept still works reasonably well in baseball, where the game is a statistical analysis and formalized decision-making processes that has chance for fans to see the biggest stars playing something that at least swept baseball and adding it to the NBA. somewhat resembles a real game. I could have gone with the NBA 4.2 MLB drafts prime-time games with huge audiences that all feel like version here too, since that one was surprisingly fantastic this year. But playoff games from the NFL. I’ll settle for baseball’s consistency. Post-draft analysis Sometimes things go according to plan, sometimes they don’t. We asked 3.4 Creative, complicated trades from the NBA each GM to offer up some post-draft thoughts on how they did. 4.4 Big stars changing teams in the offseason from the NFL The NBA drafted: 5.4 A decent All-Star Game from MLB 1.1 The Stanley Cup from the NHL McIndoe: We’re thrilled with the picks we got. We had a lot of them rated 2.1 Tony Romo-style announcers from the NFL much higher, and we were shocked they were still on the board when our turn came up. 3.1 The realism of the Madden games from the NFL Sorry, I just always wanted to say that. 4.1 An acceptance of analytics and evidence-based decision making from MLB But I do feel like I’ve checked most of the boxes I’m always whining about in my NHL criticism. I’ve got a league that will have more 5.1 In-arena goal accoutrements from the NHL personalities, more scoring, more midseason trades and offseason Partnow: I think I accomplished all of my goals in terms of adding to the action, and even a semi-functional All-Star Game. I did see a few entertainment value of the NBA game without compromising anything of potential picks sniped out from under me, including unique venues and consequence, aside from maybe the time and effort of the facilities better analytics, and I’m disappointed we didn’t use mid-70s NHL draft maintenance people who would have to squeegee octopus off the court. rules where one team could keep picking as long as they wanted, Looking at some of the other drafts, I like what the NHL did along the because I still have a long list that includes a commissioner fans don’t same lines as my draft strategy in terms of adding to fan engagement via completely hate from the NBA, working referee microphones from the allowing players to show personality as well as introducing a better All- NFL, and a decent American TV contract from, well, anyone. We’ll be Star product. offering them a look as undrafted free agents.

The one pick I’m most jealous of is the NFL poaching a fully developed Is my new NHL perfect? Not really. But we did what everyone wants to minor league system from MLB, as the G-League is many things, but a do in a draft: We got better, both for now and into the future. truly organized talent pipeline to the big time it is not, given the fact that Now, like any draft, it’s over to you to immediately pick winners and not every NBA team even has a G-League affiliate and that there is still losers. Which league improved the most? Which picks were the best – or tension between development and competition in G-League play. worst? What did we leave on the table that we’ll regret passing on? Let MLB drafted: us know about the reaches and the snubs, and how you would have picked differently for your favorite league. 1.2 The grip the Super Bowl has on everyone in America from the NFL

2.2 Stars who aren’t afraid to take on the responsibility that goes with stardom, connect with their fan base and don’t have any unwritten The Athletic LOADED: 04.17.2020 rulebooks from the NBA

3.2 The nonstop action and emotion that builds in the final minutes of a close game from the NBA

4.2 Prime-time games with huge audiences that all feel like playoff games from the NFL

5.2 The ability of stars to dominate a game from beginning to end from the NBA

Stark: I’m pretty sure that when Mel Kiper Jr. does his big draft analysis, he’ll be giving me A-pluses across the board. I had a plan. I executed my plan. I even shrewdly maneuvered around Sean stealing my personality pick by finding the cagey wording to fill that need. I’m not sure if I should admit, though, that Sean was thinking a lot like me. He beat me to a pick on the NBA offseason and how the big stars move around – but how they also get all the monster signings over with on the first day (unlike the glacial baseball offseason). And my backup pick was also taken by Sean – about how the NFL seems to easily make rule changes that no traditionalists ever cry about, which isn’t exactly the case in my sport.

Here’s my biggest surprise: Nobody drafted baseball’s history, or its crazy stats and quirks, or how much people care about its Hall of Fame, or even the weather. But that’s cool. I’m happy to have baseball keep all that for itself. This draft proves there’s plenty in each sport worth sharing, but we don’t have to share everything.

The NFL drafted:

1.3 Unique parks/dimensions from MLB

2.3 The traditional day with the championship trophy from the NHL

3.3 Playing music during live action from the NBA

4.3 The minor leagues from MLB

5.3 Original Six uniform designs from the NHL

Jenks: I got a little too conservative with the trophy pick in the second round, and the minor leagues was maybe a reach in the fourth. But otherwise, we took some chances on some strange ideas. Mission accomplished.

The NHL drafted:

1.4 Players with personalities from the NBA

2.4 Offense-friendly rules from the NFL 1182985 Websites Yes, the league owes it to all stakeholders to cling to the fading possibility all these questions can be answered, while keeping in mind what’s paramount is everyone’s safety.

Sportsnet.ca / Flames' Brad Treliving: NHL has 'lots of challenges' to “Let’s focus on the health and welfare of everyone in our city, province, resume season country and the world and let the smart people guide us,” Treliving said.

While the league has reportedly had eight players who have tested positive for COVID-19, none of them are Flames. Eric Francis | @EricFrancis Spread out around the world, none of the Flames players have been April 16, 2020, 6:46 PM tested.

That will change, as will so many things we have yet to even think of.

If the NHL is able to somehow attempt to shoehorn in a summer playoff, it’s one thing to contemplate games played in empty, neutral site arenas. Sportsnet.ca LOADED: 04.17.2020 It’s quite another to consider how the integrity of the game itself would be affected by playing in a world without a vaccine for COVID-19.

What sort of rule changes would have to be considered?

Where would players sit between shifts? Social distancing rules would need to change because the current requirements for a stick-length between us all would only leave room for four or five players on the bench, tops.

Would the coaches loom a foot behind those lads, or one row deep, in the stands?

Consider the age-old practice of administering face-washes, which are in vogue every spring.

“I think we have to get our heads around the new normal,” said Flames GM Brad Treliving when asked about modifications to the game itself, which few are talking about.

“I think we’ve got lots of challenges. What is it going to look like if, and when, we come back? We’ve talked about all sorts of things. There’s certainly a lot of hurdles to cross. But, if you’ve got time you use it.

“All those host of things you raise are on the list, and going to be addressed. The league is very committed to try to complete this season.”

Adds Treliving, “testing is a huge part of what we’re going to have to have – that could all be part of the new normal.”

The fact is, whether the NHL resumes this summer, the fall or next winter, it’s hard to fathom how players could be immersed in a high- paced, contact sport without risk of exposing one another to a virus they may not know anyone has.

Sure, there would be extensive testing of every player, media-type and official in the rink, but that doesn’t guarantee anyone’s safety.

A single positive test to a player would put an abrupt end to the experiment, costing the league more millions as it is paused again.

“Where my mind goes there, is are we going to be back to wearing bubbles and masks – who knows,” Treliving said.

“We’re still in the early stages of this. It’s like everything else, at some point you get a vaccine. In the interim we’ve got this new thing thrust upon us – I think they’re going to look at a bunch of things. That sort of stuff is all on the list.”

It’s a lot easier to envision the return of televised golf or car racing in fan- less settings than it is for a game like hockey.

Of course, the NHL won’t proceed in any way without the blessing of the world’s top health officials, who would clearly have concerns about the unavoidable contact players have with one another every time they hit the ice.

With health officials still of the belief a vaccine is at least a year or year- and-a-half away, these aren’t questions just for possible summer play, but next fall and beyond.

What would the league be willing to do in terms of altering the game itself to better protect players?

Can anyone fathom a pro athlete competing while wearing a medical mask? 1182986 Websites When Hyman turned restricted free agent in the summer of 2017, he didn’t drag out negotiations. Pen was put to paper on July 5. Instead, he reminded that, yes, there is such a thing as a hometown discount in Toronto. Sportsnet.ca / Zach Hyman talks free agency: ‘I want to be a Leaf for a long time’ Although Hyman is eligible to ink an extension with the Leafs as soon as this off-season begins, his overdue raise won’t come until July 1, 2021.

Hyman wants to stay put, and he’s smart enough to realize that it’s for Luke Fox | @lukefoxjukebox the best that he won’t be among the 2020 UFA class — a tough-luck group that has earned the right to seek pay raises in a world that may be April 16, 2020, 5:39 PM ill-equipped to offer them.

“I guess, in a way, with everything that has happened now, I’m lucky that They say home is where the heart is, and Zach Hyman wears his heart I have another year on my contract,” Hyman said. “Because everything all over his blue-and-white sleeves. will probably be sorted out by then, with regards to the cap and all those questions that nobody has answers for right now.” So, it came as little surprise Thursday to hear “the best forechecker in hockey” (as memorably crowned him) lay his intentions plain on the table when it comes to his looming contract year and first Sportsnet.ca LOADED: 04.17.2020 peek at unrestricted free agency.

Hyman, after all, operates in straight, direct lines and hits his targets with the accuracy of a Fortnite bolt-action sniper rifle.

“I would love to stay in Toronto. It’s where I grew up. I want to be a Leaf for a long time. That’s first and foremost,” Hyman said on a conference call. “I would love to be a long-term Leaf and would love to re-sign here and would love to be here and ultimately win a Stanley Cup here.”

Since he was swiped from Florida in one of the greatest Maple Leafs trades of the cap era, Hyman has emerged as the organization’s worker bee for the superstars, the go-to left-hand man for Toronto’s elite centremen raking paycheques four or five times the size of his.

Hyman takes the hit, gets the puck, creates the screen, kills the penalty, and deposits the empty-net insurance. But, increasingly and despite the tough defensive assignments, Hyman has been developing his offensive flair.

He scored 21 goals in 2018-29, and has another 21 in 2019-20, despite being limited to 51 games played. League-wide, he ranks among the top 60 in goals created per game (minimum 11 games) and has accomplished that feat with minimal power-play usage.

Prior to the pause, Hyman was playing the best hockey of his life. On a team mired by inconsistency, he’s been the metronome. More impressive is that Hyman had been delivering these numbers, this effort fresh off knee surgery, after playing half of 2019’s seven-game series against Boston on a torn ACL.

“I’m still managing it. You’re always kind of aware of it,” Hyman said from quarantine.

“I wore a knee brace for the whole year, so I was pretty cognizant of the fact I was still rehabbing it. I came back pretty early. This off time is actually beneficial for my overall body just to heal up and try to get the knee feeling back to normal. When I was in the season, I called it the ‘new normal,’ just trying to manage the day to day soreness. It got better as the season went on, but definitely I have work to do with it.”

Hyman, 27, is hesitant to reflect on his excellent campaign, holding hope (like the rest of us) that the playoffs can be played and our globe can slide back on its access.

He hasn’t picked up any new hobbies, just poured himself into his old ones. So when Hyman’s not walking the dog in Toronto parks or spending precious time with his new bride, Alannah, the moonlighting author has kept busy penning his fourth children’s book, reading nonfiction, and battling Mitch Marner and Frederik Gauthier on Fortnite.

“I actually read [Benjamin Graham’s] The Intelligent Investor. I don’t really play the stock market at all, but with everything happening around the stock market and that crashing, I figured it would be a good time to start reading about that stuff and start learning about that stuff. I actually did a little bit of learning reading to try to stay sharp,” Hyman explained. “I also have a book by Warren Buffett that I’ll probably read next.”

In the NHL financial landscape, Hyman is earning more like buffet money than Buffett money.

Excluding young stars stuck on entry-level contracts, Hyman is one of the best bargains in the sport, at a $2.5-million cap hit. 1182987 Websites 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.

Sportsnet.ca / 31 Thoughts: How NHL teams are handling draft prep from 31 THOUGHTS a distance 1. Three hockey items from our chat with Dr. Donaldson. First, memories of Eric Lindros, who showed up on the Generals as a 17-year-old, recording 35 goals and 72 points in 42 games: “He’d skate past the Elliotte Friedman | @FriedgeHNIC bench and you’d hear his skates cutting through the ice with every stride. One day he came down one-on-one in practice. He was holding the puck April 15, 2020, 6:45 PM way back, trying to get me to bite on the toe drag, but I wouldn’t. I put my stick way out there, but maintained body positioning. The next thing I know, he’s taken his hand off his stick and put it around the back of my After three years with the OHL’s Oshawa Generals, which culminated in helmet…. That was his reach. I couldn’t (get to) the puck behind him but the epic 1990 double-overtime Memorial Cup victory over Kitchener, his arm could reach behind my helmet, pull me down and walk around Donaldson continued his career at the world’s greatest institution — the me. I’m like, ‘OK, that strategy didn’t work. Back to the drawing board.’” University of Western Ontario. 2. When Jeff reminded Donaldson that current NHL VP and director of During that time, the Western hockey team’s regular coach took a one- officiating Stephen Walkom refereed that 1990 Memorial Cup Final, the year sabbatical and a co-worker of mine at the Gazette student first words out of his mouth were, “Perfect hair.” newspaper wrote that the replacement coach should be made permanent bench boss. Donaldson showed up at the Gazette’s office and made his 3. Finally, we concluded our interview by wondering if the post-COVID-19 displeasure known. He never raised his voice, but those eyes glared right world will lead to adjustments to one of hockey’s great traditions — the into your soul. end-of-playoff-series handshake. Maybe an elbow bump instead.

“I do recall the situation,” Donaldson laughed on 31 Thoughts: The 4. Draft-wise: A couple of teams have indicated their in-house scouting Podcast this week. “It didn’t feel like a fair article — that’s why I contested rankings showed more variance than normal. Senators GM Pierre Dorion it.” said he hasn’t seen that in Ottawa.

Donaldson was a talented defenceman, determined. Longtime hockey “There’s always a variance, but we haven’t seen anything major,” he executive Sherry Bassin told co-host Jeff Marek that Donaldson would said. “We knew this was going to be an important draft and our staff was not be outworked in the weight room. His Hockeydb.com page lists him pounding (the pavement) really hard from the start of the year.” at 186 pounds. 5. Obviously, there’s a lot more video work being done. “That’s misleading,” he said, laughing again. “I could not put on a pound. “When you watch players live, then add video, it helps your evaluation,” I played the Memorial Cup Final at 159.” Dorion said. “It’s only when you don’t watch players live that video is Last Friday, several of that era’s Generals held a reunion on Zoom, dangerous.” champions joining in and dropping out, chirping each other over three There are Zoom chats with prospects. The lack of a scheduled combine hours. Most of us have extra time right now, but not Dr. Craig Donaldson. — at least right now — is challenging for everyone, but Dorion says he He normally works 10 to 12 shifts per month in the emergency room at has faith in whatever the NHL decides. There’s time, so we’ll see what Headwaters Health Care Centre in Orangeville, Ont., but has added a the summer brings. few extra during the COVID-19 crisis. He’s also employed with two Dorion did tell local reporters in a conference call that Ottawa submitted nursing homes: Chartwell Long-Term Care in Aurora (where there is a proposals to the league for resuming the season, the draft lottery and the case), and as medical director at River Glen Haven in Sutton. He’s doing playoffs. A missed opportunity for necessary humour if the lottery virtual care at the latter two for now, as his work at Headwaters makes it proposal opened with anything but, “Give us the top two picks.” unsafe for him to be in contact with the seniors — among our most vulnerable citizens. 6. The GM echoed what many of his peers are saying: It’s not easy to do contract business outside of entry-levels. Asked about players he thought Before the government protocols were enacted, River Glen, in took a big step, Dorion first mentioned Brady Tkachuk. That made me consultation with the families, decided not to allow visitors. wonder if he’s thinking about naming a captain for whenever we resume “(Our patients) don’t do well without visitors. It was not a great option, but play. it was our only option. The families were on board, and I’m glad for that.” “That’s a conversation we’d have with D.J. Smith and others,” he Donaldson admitted it bothered him that people went away for March answered. “I’m not sure yet that we need to have one, either.” break knowing what was happening. “Wait and get it right” is the philosophy. “As tough as it is, social distancing is imperative right now,” Donaldson Richard Deitsch and Donnovan Bennett host a podcast about how continued. “Capacity issues scare everybody. We’re trained with mass- COVID-19 is impacting sports around the world. They talk to experts, casualty scenarios… where multiple patient demands kind of overrun athletes and personalities, offering a window into the lives of people we your capacity. There’s difficult decisions that have to be made and you normally root for in entirely different ways. go for salvageability. I’m praying that we don’t go into capacity issues and ethics discussions like that. 7. Dorion and Los Angeles coach Todd McLellan have two things in common: First, they praised their players for how hard they competed, “The people that are really at risk right now, it will be the best judge of our regardless of record. It was noticeable how hard both groups worked. society how we treat these people.” Second, they are preparing as if their teams could still play. The good news is that Donaldson is seeing some of the best from “We’ve had year-end discussions about our players among the coaches,” people. As he works, neighbours are making sure his fridge is full. Easter McLellan said Tuesday. “But not with the players themselves. They could wasn’t easy as wife, Kate, and children Blake, Alex and Darby are away see that as closure. We don’t want that yet. What if we’re told that we’re so he can be in isolation, but Blake (who turned 11 last weekend) and going to play?” Alex (who will be nine next week) received some surprise birthday wishes. 8. On his conference call, Drew Doughty said he didn’t think the NHL was going to resume this season, and wasn’t thrilled with the idea. He added The night before we taped the podcast, Craig and I caught up for the first that he never felt good in the 2016–17 season after the World Cup — time in years. It was great to hear from him. He made sure he mentioned and compared returning in the summer to that competition. I asked the “great spirit” of everyone working around him — the medical McLellan a hypothetical: Should the Kings return for a couple of games professionals, those manning the doors at the hospitals, the custodial and no playoffs, would he consider keeping Doughty (and say, Anze staff, and others I’m surely missing. Kopitar) out until whenever the 2020–21 season begins? While stressing There isn’t enough we can write or say to show our thanks. it was his own opinion because no one has discussed it internally, the Good advice. coach sounded as if I’d urinated on his front door. 14. Here’s another Carrick suggestion: three breaths. “I’d be against that,” he said. “First of all, you’re going to make Jeff Carter and Dustin Brown play, and not those guys? That’s not what a team is “In my career, when I make a mistake I do have time for three breaths about. Also, they are such an important part of our culture and what I (on the bench),” he laughs. “Usually, if I can force myself to have three want our young players to learn.” nice, slow ones, the building’s not so hot any more. I’m able to focus and get out of my own way.” 9. I asked McLellan about competing against the Kings for all those years in San Jose and Edmonton, then seeing them up close every day. 15. Back in the 2012–13 lockout, Michael Del Zotto worked as a grocery bagger for a friend’s supermarket. Did anyone recognize him? “We had one of those team-building days where we took them to play beach volleyball. Jonathan Quick competes at everything he does. He “A couple of people looked at me, but I don’t think they could believe it,” was full of sand, sweating bullets, diving everywhere.” he laughed.

McLellan was laughing as he told the story, although he clearly He was considering doing it again — “maybe helping prepare curb-side appreciated the mindset. pickup” at Greco’s, north of Toronto — but NHL quarantine rules may prevent that. “Brown, also competitive. Carter’s hockey IQ. Kopitar may be the best player I’ve ever coached. You talk about two-ways, he’s terrific four ways: 16. Del Zotto’s not hurting for things to do. He’s hosting fitness classes north and south, east and west.” on Zoom.

Doughty? “I hate cardio,” he says. “I need competition. This gives me a goal with people.” “He’s just so good. And he’s great for a team. In-game, so quick with his wit and words.” He’s taken online courses in global financial markets and learning to speak Italian. I was surprised he didn’t know how. If you grew up in the 10. Ever the coach, McLellan was disappointed the season paused as Toronto area and knew Italian families, you saw many grandparents who the Kings were enjoying success, a seven-game win streak. came from the “old country” pass down the language through the generations. “You’re always thinking, ‘How are we going to handle this?’ They’ve come so far, embraced everything we asked them to do. Are you going to “Yeah, that’s a fumble by me,” he laughed. “I know the swear words — continue to do the right things, or are you going to cheat, to ease your that’s about it.” habits?” Del Zotto’s also working on his culinary skills. Here are some samples: The organization has a deep, talented prospect base and he’s looking to see how those young players handle the internal competition that will be Del Zotto’s famous ribs, via his Instagram. created for NHL jobs. Asked to mention young players who took big Almond flour cocount carrot loaf. steps this year, he echoed previous comments from Kopitar and brought up Alex Iafallo and Matt Roy. Coconut flour chocolate brownie.

“I was out of the league last year when Matt arrived, so I didn’t know him. Kale salad. Well, I know him now.” Del Zotto says the ribs are his specialty and a big hit. Because I would do He gave Roy some high praise, comparing him to Marc-Edouard Vlasic. anything for you, the reader, I asked for a recipe. But he says he doesn’t share them. He did say the Schenn brothers are satisfied diners. 11. We had a good conversation about coaching young players, and McLellan says he’s aided by his sons, Tyson (24), who just finished at 17. I wanted to separate another of Del Zotto’s initiatives. He loves his the University of Denver, and Cale (20), who is a good golfer. music, and every Friday at 4:30 p.m. ET, he’s hosting an Instagram Live (his handle is @mdzofficial) session of spinning and DJing. This is his “They are staying with us now. They teach me about social media… current setup: TikTok, whatever that is… and chirp me for still waking up at 5:30 when they get up at 8:30 or 9:00. But what really helps is they remind me how Michael Del Zotto’s home DJ setup. players think and how coaches think. When I’m driving to a game, I’m “I can’t do this at some of my in-season places because of noise thinking from a ‘we’ position. When a player is driving to a game, he’s regulations. But I’m in my home now, so it is fine.” thinking from a ‘me’ position. That doesn’t mean they’re selfish. It means that they are thinking of all the things they have to do. It’s a reminder that He’s hoping to raise money for families who need it during a tough time, sometimes I have to think micro and they have to think macro. We talked and has set up a PayPal as part of this. I’ll be listening. about Tyson watching his shifts, and asking if he ever asked his coach what he thought. So, it reminds me I’ve got to remember that.” And time, 18. Talking about all of the interesting stuff he’s up to, I asked if this was always a big one. “If you take too long to get your point across, you lose a sign he’s thinking his hockey career is coming to an end. He didn’t let them.” me finish the question. “No chance,” he answered. “Look, I know the end will come at some point, and I have no idea where life will take me. I’ll be 12. Finally, I asked which Kings coach looked most like he’d just come 30 in June. I know we didn’t have the team success in Anaheim, but I out of 15 years in the forest when they started their Zoom meetings. That had a great time there. It was phenomenal for me. And I still want to one was easy. play.”

“Bill Ranford. He said he never could grow a playoff beard under his 19. Del Zotto, by the way, is reading Never Eat Alone (And Other Secrets mask. He’s making up for it.” to Success, One Relationship at a Time).

13. New Jersey’s Connor Carrick is launching his own podcast — The 20. I could see the possibility of AHL Bakersfield retiring Colby Cave’s Connor Carrick Podcast, of course. He’s always been very good at 26. explaining on-ice concepts to dumb reporters. He has some good advice for those struggling to get motivated when most of us are living the same 21. We didn’t ask Keith Gretzky about that on the 31 Thoughts podcast, day: the 15-minute rule. but we appreciated him juggling some internal meetings to talk about Cave. Gretzky wanted to credit Blair Reid, Boston’s amateur scout based “If I wake up in the morning and I’m not feeling it,” he says, “I don’t want in Western Canada, for pushing the Bruins to sign Cave as a free agent to train, whatever, I’ll start, [but] if after 15 minutes … this isn’t going to from WHL Swift Current. be productive, I’ll go have coffee, hang out and re-start. I have a first- sweat rule. Once I’m over the inertia of not wanting to do something… I’ll “Anything that Colby got or accomplished was always because of hard find my rhythm. Like a lot of people on quarantine, my house is not the work,” Gretzky said. “He was the underdog in Swift Current, the place in which I train. I go for a walk, play my pump-up songs or or a underdog in Boston and (AHL) Providence, same with Edmonton and podcast like I would going to the rink. And by the time I do that, I’ve got Bakersfield. You always want certain guys to succeed — he was one of the blood flowing, hopefully some sunlight, I’m ready to go.” the guys. You’re saying, ‘Come on,’ hoping for him. If he was sent down, he was not going to drag his lip…. Captain material-type player.” Beautiful scene in , where, during an era of social answer without making you work and challenge your way of thinking. He distancing, people lined the side of the highway in their cars as the family was a true leader. But more than anything, he saw the best in everyone returned home. A sad story, especially at a time where the people and was one of the few who knew how to extract it. To you ‘Whitey’, I affected most don’t get the access to hospitals they usually could. All the owe many things, none more than my gratitude for the impact you had on best to Emily and the families. my life. Rest easy my friend.

22. I still think a “taxi squad” of AHL players to each NHL team is going to 31. Finally, it’s an overwhelming time. There’s NHL Commissioner Gary be a possibility if/when this resumes. Bettman sounding optimistic on Fox Business. There’s Dr. Anthony Fauci talking about games without fans in the summer. There’s Los Angeles 23. Edmonton GM Ken Holland said 2019 first-rounder Philip Broberg will Mayor Eric Garcetti saying it’s difficult to see his city holding any large stay in Sweden next year if training camp is not “normal.” He’d like to gatherings for sporting events before 2021. It’s overwhelming. There’s give Broberg a chance to compete for a spot, but if not on the Oilers, it conflicting information. And no one’s really going to know anything for will be Skelleftea. weeks, if not months. One step in front of the other, focus on getting 24. If Holland had a Hart vote, would he pick Connor McDavid or Leon today’s tasks done. We’ll get there together. Draisaitl?

“I wouldn’t fill out the ballot.” Sportsnet.ca LOADED: 04.17.2020 He knows he’s lucky to have them.

25. Some of those Swedish players might have an advantage. That country’s quarantine laws are a little looser — apparently some skating is happening.

26. Although Alexander Barabanov (Leafs) and Ilya Sorokin (Islanders — although he’s a draft pick) agreed to come to the NHL for next season, we’re starting to see some KHL players waver on coming to North America amid all the uncertainty. KHL offers are on the table now. Konstantin Okulov decided to stay. Vancouver’s Nikita Tryamkin — that’s a tough one. We knew their cap situation was tight, and now no one knows where we’re going to go.

27. A couple questions with no answers I’ve been wondering about: If the playoffs go into September, could the draft be held after CHL/NCAA camps open? Difficult situation for high-level picks and their junior/amateur teams. Would top picks even want to play at that point? How would teams feel about starting the season with a good player, them potentially losing them to the NHL in November?

Senior Writer Ryan Dixon and NHL Editor Rory Boylen always give it 110%, but never rely on clichés when it comes to podcasting. Instead, they use a mix of facts, fun and a varied group of hockey voices to cover Canada’s most beloved game.

28. 1. Will the league and players — as part of their CBA discussions — consider a lower salary cap, with the players offering a salary rollback in exchange for some kind of escrow protection? (In addition to next year’s big number being paid out over time.)

29. Happy retirement to Kris Versteeg, one of the NHL’s all-time great trash talkers. Best voicemail greeting ever: “If it’s important to you, leave a message. If it’s important to me, I’ll return it.”

After he won the Stanley Cup with Chicago in 2010, the trophy came back from the engraver with his name spelled, “VERTSEEG.” (His name had been submitted with a spelling error.) He was given the choice to leave it as is or have it fixed. He chose the latter and if you look closely, you can see it was banged out and re-engraved.

He’s going to be in media for as long as he wants to be.

30. This is player agent Michael O’Rafferty (right) with the late Pat Stapleton:

Stapleton, who died last week at age 79, played 1,008 professional games with Boston and Chicago in the NHL, and Chicago, Indianapolis and in the WHA. O’Rafferty met Stapleton through Aaron Brand, a former Maple Leafs prospect who played professionally for a decade. The last time O’Rafferty saw Stapleton, the retired defender allowed him to hold the final puck from the 1972 Summit Series that “disappeared for awhile.” (Stapleton kept it, unknown to a lot of people.)

From O’Rafferty’s Instagram page:

To me Pat became a role model, advisor and life coach. Without a doubt he helped shape the way I see the world today. It always amazed me how, in a blink, he would turn an obstacle into an opportunity. An idea into reality. A prospect into a player. Pat was the most captivating and polarizing person I’ve had the fortune of knowing. He always made time for a coffee at his truck stop in Petrolia, Ontario, and would weave a valuable life lesson into a hockey story. He had the unique ability to extract the best out of the people he came into contact with. He made you think, laugh and reevaluate life all in one visit. He’d never reveal the 1182988 Websites “It would be like a practice really. That’s kinda the way it’d feel,” he said. “One of the most exciting things about the game is having the fans there for support and the energy and the momentum swings they can create.

Sportsnet.ca / Marchand says first few games upon return will be 'really, “But if that’s what it takes for us to get back on the ice and play, we just really ugly' want to get on the ice and play. Hopefully they can find a way to make that happen. If it’s without fans, it’s without fans. We just want a shot to get that Cup.”

Rory Boylen | @RoryBoylen

April 16, 2020, 7:26 PM Sportsnet.ca LOADED: 04.17.2020

One of the more common questions being asked of NHLers across all the recent Zoom conference calls in the league is how they’re keeping in shape. Some are lucky enough to be set up with a home gym, while others with less space have had to get a bit more creative.

Connor McDavid and Gary Roberts have combined to release two recent workouts showing how to stay fit while in quarantine.

It’s the job of the NHLer right now to just be ready so that if the league is cleared to play again, they’re fit enough to start back up for playoff season.

But speaking on his own conference call on Thursday, Boston’s Brad Marchand said just being off the ice for so long would lead to side effects on its own.

“The toughest thing is, it doesn’t matter what you do off the ice, you can run, you can bike, but nothing will really simulate the workout you get on the ice. You can’t duplicate it, you can’t replicate it,” he said.

“It doesn’t matter who does what in this break we’re all going to feel awful coming back. We’re all going to be bad. It’s going to take a while to get it back. That’s probably the biggest concern. If you take guys that have been off that have had limited opportunity to work out and haven’t skated in months, you can’t just throw them back into games.

“Everybody’s going to get hurt. There’s gotta be some kind of ramp up period. It’s going to be really, really ugly for the first few games so it’d be nice to get a couple games before playoffs start, otherwise it’s really a free for all.”

A day after Drew Doughty said winning it all this year was “not going to be like winning a real Stanley Cup” because the regular season didn’t finish, Marchand’s take from the top of the standings was contrasting. The Bruins were the league’s best team at the pause, with Tuukka Rask, David Pastrnak, and possibly even Marchand himself in the running for individual awards.

Boston lost in the Stanley Cup Final last year and Marchand said it’d be disappointing if they never found out what this year’s team could have accomplished.

When Gary Bettman spoke this week on the possibility of returning to play this season, he remained optimistic and, to Marchand’s point, acknowledged the players would need two-to-three weeks to get back up to speed on the ice.

Still, Marchand believes that returning from a months-long disruption will help some teams more than others — and not just those whose injured star players will be ready to play again.

“It’s not going to help any team that was playing well at that time,” Marchand said. “When you take a month or two months or three months, whatever it’s going to be, it’s gonna hurt everyone.

“I honestly think the teams that are gonna come back and look good are the really young teams teams like Toronto, Tampa, just really high-end skill teams. Because they’re just going to have the legs. Older teams are really going to struggle.”

And then there’s the idea of playing without fans. Sure, Marchand will continue to be the same pest of a player to his opponents, but if he can’t have that interaction with people watching the game, something will be missing.

Right at a time when the games would be at their most important, Marchand says a key part of that whole environment will be noticeably absent. 1182989 Websites “You hear that ‘You’re our guy, you’re the guy we want, you’re our first priority,’ but then when it comes to actually presenting a contract, yourself and the team may not be on the same page as far as term or dollars or your role or wherever they see you and so that kind of falls Sportsnet.ca / Ben Chiarot a perfect candidate to help Canadiens recruit apart,” Chiarot explained on the conference call earlier in the day. “So free agents you go through the whole week thinking you’re going one place, and then it kind of falls apart at the end.”

But it came together quickly when Chiarot got the call from Bergevin. Eric Engels | @EricEngels “I got better offers, but the way my role was sold to me was the key,” he April 16, 2020, 6:14 PM told Sportsnet. “There’s a lot of factors—the money’s not everything— and I also just thought I’d be kicking myself if I turned down the opportunity to play with that kind of organization. MONTREAL — Ben Chiarot chose the Montreal Canadiens. “And then, as I’ve said, you get a chance to pull on that red Habs jersey With several other opportunities to consider, the 28-year-old Hamilton, on a snowy Saturday at the Bell Centre and there’s nothing like it.” Ont., native chose to live with all the drawbacks of playing in this market—the unappealing winter weather, the language barrier for an It’s something Chiarot could envision before landing in Montreal. After all, English-speaking family, the practically unparalleled and certainly he had lived in a hockey-mad city over six years with the Winnipeg Jets overbearing media presence, the intense fan scrutiny, and having more to start his career. than 53 per cent of his income taxed—and he ultimately did it because of But Chiarot couldn’t know for sure what it would be like playing for the a conversation he had with Marc Bergevin on July 3, 2019. Canadiens until he finally did it. “He kind of explained to me what he sees for me and how he’s always The six-foot-three, 225-pounder averaged close to 24 minutes per game, appreciated my game, and explained to me what he was all about, how he often played as a top-pairing defenceman, and he put up a career- he’s a hockey guy,” Chiarot recounted towards the end of a 30-minute high nine goals and 21 points in his first season with the team. conference call with Montreal reporters on Thursday morning. “I liked everything that Berge had to say and he did a good job selling me on That Chiarot’s experience with the Canadiens has been so positive to Montreal and what my role would be, and he really made it an easy date can only help Bergevin in the recruitment process. decision to come over there.” “I would say if you like playing in front of a full building and a place where It’s got to be a comfort to Montreal fans to hear that after all the issues they love hockey—and there’s so much history in the city around the the Canadiens have had in attracting free agents over the last number of team and in the Bell Centre—it’s a perfect place to play as a hockey years. player,” Chiarot said on the conference call. “For me, there’s no better place to play than in Montreal. Hockey is everything there and I think, as The fact is, there’s only so much Bergevin can say to mitigate all those a hockey player, that’s what you want. You want a place that cares and a factors that keep players from picking Montreal over, say, the Tampa Bay place that loves hockey, and that was a big reason why I signed there. Lightning or Nashville Predators. But, we’d imagine people in these parts So that would be the first thing that I would tell someone if they’re were would like to know that the team is doing everything it can to sell trying to decide on coming to Montreal.” Montreal as a destination of choice—regardless of all the hurdles they need to jump over to do it—and that it is still possible to do.

Jeff Marek and Elliotte Friedman talk to a lot of people around the hockey Sportsnet.ca LOADED: 04.17.2020 world, and then they tell listeners all about what they’ve heard and what they think about it.

It wasn’t because of any failings on Bergevin’s part that a top free agent like Matt Duchene chose to sign a seven-year, $56-million contract with the Predators last July.

As Duchene put it to Sportsnet on Thursday, Montreal’s pitch, which he received in person on June 26, certainly piqued his interest—even if it was widely known he had his heart set on Nashville from the start.

“First of all, those two guys (Bergevin and team owner Geoff Molson) are first class all the way,” Duchene said in a telephone interview. “The word that comes to mind when you think of the Canadiens organization over all the years is class. So that was definitely portrayed in our meetings, and I was left very impressed.”

Duchene’s visit was brief.

“It was kind of something we threw together last second,” he explained.

But the 29-year-old still had enough time with Bergevin and Molson to form an impression of what life would be like as a Canadien.

“I definitely got a sense for what things would be like at the rink,” Duchene said. “It was great to see the building and just the history of the team and how special what they have is there. So Mr. Molson and Berge did a really good job with that. We were all really impressed.”

Chiarot was also clearly impressed after his conversation with Bergevin.

Later on Thursday, he confirmed to Sportsnet that the Toronto Maple Leafs were the first team to contact him once the free-agent courting period leading up to July 1 had begun.

He also said that he had fielded at least one more offer that was more lucrative than the three-year, $10.5-million deal he signed with Montreal, and he explained that he got deep into negotiations with the Detroit Red Wings. 1182990 Websites “Once the virus started, we followed the rules we were told to do and we’ve been trying to stay safe and healthy,” Chabot said. “Obviously you’ve got to watch every little thing you do. it’s been fine so far.”

Sportsnet.ca / Senators' Thomas Chabot welcomes a return for hockey in On the hockey side of the conversation, Chabot earned kudos from any form Smith and Dorion for his improved defensive play this season.

Though his offensive numbers were down slightly from last season’s 55 points in 70 games, Chabot still led Ottawa with 33 assists and had 39 Wayne Scanlan points in 71 games. Chabot led the NHL in minutes played, at 26 minutes per game, and had improved possession numbers despite routinely April 16, 2020, 5:46 PM facing the top offensive players of the opposition.

“It’s something I’ve been saying for years, I want to be a good, solid two- Thomas Chabot of the Ottawa Senators thinks we just might have to roll way defenceman,” Chabot says. “Playing against the best players on the with the concept of games being played in empty arenas. other team it’s far from perfect but if we can take a step every year that’s a good sign.” Neutral-site hockey? A virtual NHL draft? Chabot, noting he did a lot of detailed video work with Smith and In this strangest time of our lives, a lot of different concepts are being defensive coach Jack Capuano, says he longs for the opportunity to face considered by the NHL. Sports in general won’t get back to normal for top opponents when the Senators grow into a playoff team. some time during the COVID-19 pandemic, but Chabot, the smooth- skating defensive leader of the Senators, would welcome a return of any To that end, he feels his young group took a step this season, following kind. the direction of the coaching staff.

“I think it would be fine if you could get back and play the game,” Chabot “They’re trying to make us change our identity — skating and playing said on a video conference call Thursday. “It would be a situation you’re hard every night and never giving up,” Chabot said. “And I think we not used to, having no fans in the stands. But at that point it’s something showed that plenty of times during the season and that’s something guys would be willing to do. we’ve got to keep building on for the years to come.”

“Just getting back on the ice and with the guys in the locker room — Senior Writer Ryan Dixon and NHL Editor Rory Boylen always give it everything has been kind of different, and weird with this situation but I 110%, but never rely on clichés when it comes to podcasting. Instead, think if it came to that I’d be happy to do it.” they use a mix of facts, fun and a varied group of hockey voices to cover Canada’s most beloved game. Chabot, 23, has been home with his family in Sainte-Marie-de-Beauce, Que. since the mid-March direction by the league for players to return to Season highlight: the AHL surge their hometowns and self-isolate. Ottawa’s last game — and the last Interestingly, when he was asked to name his team’s highlight this played in the NHL this season — was March 11 in Los Angeles against season, Chabot pointed to the inspiration of watching a string of young the Kings, game No. 71 for the Senators. players coming up from AHL Belleville to showcase their skills. Drake Richard Deitsch and Donnovan Bennett host a podcast about how Batherson, Erik Brannstrom, Josh Norris and more made an impact. COVID-19 is impacting sports around the world. They talk to experts, “It was huge for us as a team every time a younger guy came through athletes and personalities, offering a window into the lives of people we and had a really good impact on the team, showed he could play and normally root for in entirely different ways. wanted to stay,” Chabot said. “That team in Belleville was having a good The Chabots — Thomas’ parents and his brother, Felix-Antoine, and his year and it was fun to see a lot of younger guys coming in and really dog, Milo, are passing time the way many families are these days. Lots of showing everyone they want to be part of our success later on.” TV, games, and Chabot stays in shape with regular runs and workouts in Chabot feels the Senators can build on that progress next season and a home gym, in the event the Senators get to play any more games prior “take another step.” to 2020-21. ‘Duke’ for most improved “Whether we are or not [finishing the regular season], I’m trying to stay ready,” he says. Asked to name the Senators player who showed the most improvement this season, Chabot didn’t hesitate to name forward Anthony Duclair. Card games, board games (or is it bored games?) They’re all on the Though he tailed off after a torrid start, Duclair still scored 23 goals, table in Sainte-Marie. second only to Jean-Gabriel Pageau, who was traded at the deadline. Chabot and his girlfriend have also been dabbling in large puzzles. “You knew coming into this year he was going to have a bigger role and I “I probably haven’t done them for ten, 12 years,” he says. think he took a big step,” Chabot said of Duclair. “He was named an all- star and that was well deserved. Chabot’s TV series viewing has included Tiger King (“I didn’t go crazy over it”) and Money Heist, which he admits he has gone at “hard.” “He scored a lot of goals and played really well for us as a team [guy]. He has speed, skill and his hockey sense is very good.” “I started it during the season and I’m on season four right now.” Tkachuk, quarantine pal Sidelined hockey players will watch old games occasionally, and one that caught his eye was a recent rebroadcast of a playoff game between the If he had to be quarantined with one other roommate, Chabot says he Quebec Nordiques and Montreal Canadiens. would pick a familiar face — forward Brady Tkachuk.

Chabot got a kick out of the smaller goalie gear and how the defenceman “I’d probably go with Brady, since we’re roommates on the road. We kind “could hook the forwards and stop them from going wide, or going to the of know our sleeping schedules and know when to have our own free net.” What D-man wouldn’t love to slow down Connor McDavid that way. time,” Chabot says. (OK, some still do, but might actually get called for it). Who wouldn’t he want to be isolated with? What made the Nords-Habs noteworthy, beyond the clutching and “It’s a tough question but I will go with Colin White because he loves grabbing, was watching alongside his father, Francois. talking and putting music on. I love talking with him, but for the sake of “With the Nordiques on, my dad was a huge fan and it was fun to watch a the question I will say him. He’s going to laugh at it.” bit of the game with him,” he said. Jeff Marek and Elliotte Friedman talk to a lot of people around the hockey Like head coach D.J. Smith and general manager Pierre Dorion before world, and then they tell listeners all about what they’ve heard and what him on these Zoom calls, Chabot expressed his relief that the five they think about it. teammates and one staff member (plus broadcast colour commentator Gord Wilson) have all recovered from the COVID-19 virus and are doing well. The Senators hope to get a chance to draft Alexis Lafreniere of Rimouski first overall in the upcoming draft, a Quebec-born player, like Chabot, who has handled the hype.

“He did a really good job,” Chabot said. “I don’t personally know him but when you look at the season he had, he went to the world juniors and really showed up and played for his country. He was one of the best players out there if not the best.

“In the ‘Q,’ the season didn’t finish the way it was expected to, but again he had a really good year. He proved he’s a really dominant player and is ready for the next step.”

Chabot would feel badly if the draft in Montreal had to be cancelled due to the novel coronavirus, but accepts it as just another sacrifice made for the greater good. Selected 18th overall in 2015, Chabot still relishes the day.

“One of the greatest moments of my life was getting drafted,” he says. “I had a lot of my family and friends there. It was a moment I’m always going to remember. Again, it’s a different situation and part of what we are going through right now.”

Senators bring cheer (and food) to Ottawa area hospitals

Senators owner Eugene Melnyk provided lunch to several area hospitals — and the Roger Neilson House — as a way to thank front-line workers during the COVID-19 outbreak. The meals were bought from Thyme & Again, a popular catering and lunch spot in Ottawa.

Several Senators players appeared on a video, on the Senators website, thanking workers for their time and efforts in the face of a worldwide pandemic. Frontline workers also received a voucher for two tickets to a Senators game next season.

Tkachuk, Chabot, Mark Borowiecki, Duclair and retired winger Chris Neil were among the players who shared a message of gratitude.

“On behalf of my teammates we want to send sincere thanks to all the front line health care workers who are helping to keep our community safe,” Chabot said.

Sportsnet.ca LOADED: 04.17.2020 1182991 Websites “Everybody wants to get back to normal and get back to playing and there are a lot of things that go into a decision like that,” he said. “I think everybody has to be open to all different scenarios and weigh the benefits, the pros and cons, to each scenario. We have people in place TSN.CA / Zach Hyman still dealing with ‘new normal’ of injured knee to help make those decisions and I'm sure whatever decision is made will be a very well informed one. As players, we will go along with whatever

the experts decide. We don't really know what the future holds right now, Kristen Shilton but I think it's even more important to stay in the moment and just be prepared for anything.”

3. Game on The struggle to find a “new normal” has been felt by people around the world amid the global COVID-19 pandemic, but Maple Leafs winger Zach Hyman was an early investor in the eSports world, launching his Hyman was hunting for familiar territory long before the National Hockey company, Eleven Gaming Corporation, back in the fall of 2018. League hit pause on March 12. With everyone stuck indoors, business has really started booming. Fans It started right around the time Hyman tore his ACL in April 2019, and the are logging on to watch Hyman take on teammates like Mitch Marner and search continues even now, as his long road to recovery continues. Frederik Gauthier in spirited games of Fortnite.

“I’m just trying to get the knee feeling back to normal,” Hyman admitted It’s an entirely different kind of arena that Hyman has come to love, on a Thursday conference call with reporters. “When I was in the season, especially since it allows him to interact with other gamers who are just I called it 'the new normal' of just trying to manage the day-to-day as competitive. soreness of it, and it got better as the season went on, but I definitely “All of our gaming viewership numbers have gone up during this because have work to do with it. I've put a lot of work into getting back to feeling a I guess everybody is staying at home,” he said. “Sometimes I'm playing little bit normal.” video games with Mitch and Freddie the Goat, and fans are watching and Hyman’s had plenty of time on his hands to address that knee over the commenting on our dialogue and seeing how we talk to each other and past five weeks without an NHL season to play. During his media seeing how we talk away from the rink, so that's kind of cool. And then session, Hyman touched on how he’s filling his calendar now (hint: lots of other times I'm hosting custom games on Fortnite, where I can host a gaming), how he views the season, and whether self-isolation will lead to lobby and send the code to everybody and everybody joins in and can a fourth tome from the children’s book author. play against me and you see the comments like 'I got you, I eliminated you,' and seeing fans all happy that they eliminated me is pretty cool.” 1. Bright side of life When Hyman got into the eSports business, he did so for the same In a period littered with uncertainty, Hyman has done his best to stay reason that guides most of his life decisions – excitement over the focused on the positives – namely, how this unexpected downtime has product. allowed more opportunity to heal physically than he would have had otherwise. “I tend to follow things that I really enjoy doing,” he explained. “I tend to follow my passions. I invested into gaming and eSports because I love to It was back in mid-April of 2019 that Hyman learned he’d torn his ACL game and I'm a gamer. I thought that media was shifting into an online during the Leafs’ first-round Stanley Cup playoff series against the consumer base where people were consuming media online. I have a Boston Bruins. younger brother, Shane, who's 11 years younger than me. He doesn't watch TV anymore, other than live sports. He watches YouTube, Netflix, The surgery and subsequent rehab cost him the first 19 games of Twitch, all that. So, gaming and eSports is just a sector of that online Toronto’s current season, but when he returned, Hyman still put up some entertainment and to get into it early and build a network out [I thought] of the best numbers of his career, sitting with 37 points (21 goals, 16 would be a cool idea.” assists) in 51 games. Hyman is grateful for the outlet gaming provides, and that he can share it “I'm definitely happy with my ability to come back from a serious injury,” with Marner. The two have recently played in tournaments for charity, Hyman said. “It's good to have a good year and a good bounce back and while Marner joked to TSN’s Gino Reda in an interview on Tuesday [after injury], just mentally. So, from that standpoint, you're happy with that Hyman is the teammate he’d least like to quarantine with, Hyman how everything has turned out. Having the ability to work on my own would welcome the company. body, I think that can motivate you and keep you optimistic, even though you don't know when we'll be back. You try not to look at the big picture, “That would be great if I could just push Mitch's buttons and beat him in you try to just look at the day-to-day and try to take a crappy situation some video games and make him go crazy. I'd like that,” Hyman said and make it an optimistic one. about the possibility of isolating together. “We’re both competitive, so we'd probably drive each other crazy. If he won, I'd probably go crazy, For Hyman, that means going back to the rink stronger than when he last but I think I'd get him.” left it. 4. Staying at home “You make it [a situation] where you can be better and come out of it better,” he said. “I was having a great season, but I think that I can still be Hyman still has one more season left on his four-year, $9 million contact, a lot better and focus on rehabbing my knee and taking advantage of the but with questions swirling about when the NHL will resume and how the time to heal up with the hopes of having a season to come back to as salary cap will be affected in the short and long term, he has started to soon as possible. There are no timelines right now, which can be think about what his future might look like. discouraging because you're kind of in a holding pattern where you really don't know what you're doing, and obviously nobody is skating right now. “First and foremost, I would love to stay in Toronto,” said Hyman. “It’s You’ve really got to be self-motivated in a time like this because the only where I grew up. I want to be a Leaf for a long time. In a way, with person that can keep yourself accountable is yourself, really.” everything that's happening now, I'm lucky that I have another year on my contract because everything will probably be sorted out by then with 2. Wait and see regards to the cap and whatnot and all those questions that nobody really has answers for right now. I would love to be a long-term Leaf and re- It seems like every week there’s a new scenario put forth about how sign here. I want to be here and ultimately win a Stanley Cup.” professional sports could resume in North America, and what a return to play might look like. 5. Feeling inspired

On Wednesday, Dr. Anthony Fauci, director of the National Institute of In his spare time, Hyman has written and released three children’s Allergy and Infectious Diseases in the United States, said play could only books, the most recent of which was published in 2018. begin again by this summer if athletes were to be quarantined in hotels away from family members and submitted to regular testing. And, of It wasn’t exactly in his plans to release another one immediately, but with course, there would be no fans present. the NHL paused, Hyman has returned to the writing process.

Hyman has heard about the various frameworks being suggested, but “I'm working on the [next] one,” he revealed. “I mean, I have no excuse doesn’t see the point yet in attaching himself to any one outcome. now. I have all the time in the world.” No word on what the plot might be, but it probably won’t include the same fodder as books Hyman has been reading for pleasure, a favourite pastime he’s been all too happy digging into again during the pause.

“I just finished The Intelligent Investor [by Benjamin Graham],” Hyman said. "I don't really play the stock market at all, but with everything happening around the stock market and that crashing, I thought it would be good time to start reading about that stuff and learning about it to try and stay sharp. I also have a book by Warren Buffett that I'm probably going to read next.”

TSN.CA LOADED: 04.17.2020 1182992 Websites because one of my good buddies is Adam Boqvist. I played against him and that was a pretty cool experience."

Did you guys talk on the ice? TSN.CA / Timothy Liljegren embraces new attitude to improve mental "I tried to talk to him a little bit, but he's a pretty focused guy once he gets game on the ice, so it was kind of hard."

You picked up your first point on a goal by Jake Muzzin in Ottawa on Mark Masters Feb. 15. What did you notice being around him?

"He's one of the guys that talks a lot and he talks to everyone and makes you feel comfortable. Just a fun guy to have in the locker room. He has a With Tyson Barrie and Cody Ceci set to become unrestricted free agents, lot of experience, so I think for young guys, especially like me, that's a there could be a huge opportunity to seize a job on the right side of the guy you want to listen to. Just a good guy overall." Maple Leafs defence next season. You and fellow Swedish defenceman Rasmus Sandin had some good Timothy Liljegren is looking to take advantage. chemistry going in the AHL. What stood out about his season?

"That's my goal," he said. "To be with the team all year." "He had an unreal year. He played really good at the start of the year when he made the team and then when he got sent down he just Liljegren played 11 National Hockey League games this season, seeing continued playing well. I was happy to be playing with him again. Then limited minutes in a sheltered role. With the Marlies, he played big he went to World Juniors and just was unreal. He had a real good year minutes while posting 30 points in 40 games and suited up in the and we're good buddies, so I'm happy for him." American Hockey League All-Star Classic. Where do you need to improve moving forward? "Pretty consistent," he said of his minor-league campaign. "I started off pretty good and got better every week and every game. Eventually I got "Just keep working on everything basically. Just get stronger to hold onto that NHL debut and it was a dream come true. Once you get that first guys in the defensive zone. Just try to work on playing the same type of game you just want to play more games. Once I came back down to the game I play with the Marlies, but up in the NHL. So, just get that Marlies after that first game I tried to work harder so I could go back there confidence to be able to do that." again." In the past you've talked about being too hard on yourself when you Liljegren, Toronto's first-round pick, 17th overall, in the 2017 draft, spoke make a mistake. What progress have you made on the mental side of the to TSN via Skype on Thursday from his condo in Angelholm, Sweden. game?

The soon-to-be 21-year-old reflected on his NHL experience and "I don't really feel pressure from other people, because the pressure on revealed the improvements he has made on the mental side of the game. myself is often higher. I've been working with [Leafs director of high Liljegren also spoke about Sweden's relaxed approach to the COVID-19 performance] Rich Rotenberg with that stuff. This year I just, it sounds pandemic and what he remembers about his dance on the bar at Real weird, but [I thought] f--k it. I don't know if I can say that, but you know Sports after the Marlies Calder Cup championship in 2018. what I mean? Like, it goes how it goes and that helped me a lot. Hockey is everything for a lot of people, but I think this corona situation keeps The following is an edited transcript of the interview. things in perspective. Like, it's worth a lot, but it's not everything, so I You made your NHL debut on Jan. 18 against Chicago. What do you think that's a good mindset to have and that's helped me a lot." remember about that night? What's your average day like right now? What are you up to? "I remember it was military [appreciation] night, so everyone was lined up "Not much. Just trying to keep my routine going so go out around 9 [a.m.] on the bluelines for national anthems and we don't really have that in and do my workout and then hopping on PlayStation and try to pass the Sweden. We had that with the Marlies, so that was pretty special when I time. That's mostly it." first came over. But to be at Scotiabank [Arena] with a full crowd and everyone singing was awesome. I got goosebumps. I wasn't really What’s it like in Sweden where physical distancing regulations aren't as nervous before that, but when that happened I got kind of nervous." strict with restaurants and most business still open?

You were the 1,000th player to ever suit up for the Leafs franchise, did "I left Toronto before the strict rules came into place, but there's not many you know that? rules in Sweden for now. It's just social distancing and try to wash your hands and stuff like that. I try to follow the Leafs recommendations as "I did know that. They told me. I don't know who told me, but that was much as I can, but it's a strange situation because the regulations here in kind of cool." Sweden are different." How do you feel about your 11 NHL games overall? Do you go out at all? "I think it went pretty well. I can be a lot better. I just tried to play an easy "I do workouts and get some fresh air, but trying to stay in and not go to game, you know? ... The Leafs were battling in a playoff run, so you don't crowded places and stuff like that." want to be the guy to mess that up. I just tried to play my game as best as I could and keep it easy." Are you able to skate?

Outside of the atmosphere in the rinks, what's the biggest difference “No.” between the AHL and NHL? You have a birthday coming up at the end of the month. With the relaxed "Just overall skill. There's a lot more skill in the NHL and not as much regulations in Sweden, any idea what you might do? hitting. I thought there would be more hitting. The Toronto organization does a good job of preparing guys in the AHL for how it's going to be "I have no idea. It's actually a holiday in Sweden, my birthday, so you once you get up to the NHL with all the resources and all the meetings. celebrate that summer is starting or whatever. So, it's actually a boring It's kind of similar to what they do with the Leafs. I was kind of prepared day to have a birthday, because there's a holiday so everyone celebrates for all the other stuff, like in the locker room. I was called up like three or that. So, we'll see. Probably will do something with the family, eat in or four times before I played my games, so I got to know the guys in the whatever." locker room a little bit and that helped. So, just overall there's more skill." Did you see the video of the Nylander brothers doing Drake's Toosie Did you have a welcome-to-the-NHL moment on the ice in any of the Slide dance? games? "I did (laugh). It was great. You see a lot of TikToks right now because of "We played Buffalo one game and it wasn't meant for me to be out with the quarantine. That was a lot of fun. They're fun guys. Willy is a fun guy [Jack] Eichel, but we had an icing and they put the Eichel line in and that so it didn't surprise me that he was in it." was kind of cool to play against that guy. Seeing Patrick Kane, Jonathan Toews in my first game also. It was fun when we played Blackhawks, You are also known for some dancing skills. There was a fun video of you on the bar at Real Sports after the Marlies won the Calder Cup in 2018. What do you remember about that night?

"Not a lot. That was when the Fortnite game was all hyped up so I tried to do some of the Fortnite dances. That's all I can say."

TSN.CA LOADED: 04.17.2020 1182993 Websites Pacioretty. Three completely different players, one exceptional line. (Note: this line was broken up as players returned to health, with William Karlsson eventually taking Stephenson’s role.)

TSN.CA / Yost: Dominant lines on full display this NHL season Two other great lines from this season aren’t far behind. Perhaps no player has earned more recognition, and rightfully so, than Edmonton’s Leon Draisaitl. His 43 goals and 110 points lead the league, and he will get serious Hart Trophy consideration when the award voting goes out. Travis Yost He also answered the most important question facing the Oilers this

season. Fears surrounding the team’s inability to produce offence away What makes a great NHL line? from Connor McDavid’s line have existed since McDavid entered the league, and far too many players have been productive on McDavid’s It is a question that every hockey fan, head coach, and executive wing and unproductive when moved away. ponders. Draisaitl not only drove the most impressive scoring rates of the season, Sometimes, it’s as simple as putting your two most talented wingers on he did so with the likes of Kailer Yamamoto and Ryan Nugent-Hopkins – the hips of your top centre and calling it a day; certainly, some of the best two talented forwards in their own right, but obviously a step down from lines in the history of the league have been assembled in that manner. the likes of McDavid.

But we know enough about the sport to know that’s not a one-size-fits-all Curiously, both McDavid and Draisaitl had positive goal differentials away answer. Some players create advantages through speed, others through from one another, but negative when paired together. size, others through their puck-handling and creativity. And no player is a perfect two-way forward, so coaching staffs must study how a given Tampa Bay’s embarrassment of riches in their forward group created player’s skills and deficiencies complement his teammates. another Herculean group, this time with Brayden Point, Nikita Kucherov, and Steven Stamkos. Think of Pittsburgh’s Sidney Crosby as an example. If he has been the NHL’s Michael Jordan since he arrived in 2005-06, then Evgeni Malkin – Although they weren’t getting the same defensive play and goaltending a superstar in his own right – has been . as their counterparts in Vegas and Edmonton, they were able to offset that by generating the best offensive scoring rates in the league. Their The idea of both stars on the ice at the same time is terrifying, and the 6.1 goals scored per 60 minutes was second only to Ovechkin and results have been there. Since the 2007-08 season, Crosby and Malkin company during the 2009-10 season, which is remarkable. have played about 1,400 minutes together at 5-on-5 to a tune of a +34 goal differential, or +1.4 goals per 60 minutes. Those are incredible I would be remiss to not note other lines whose rate goal differentials numbers. may have been tampered a bit by the sheer amount of time played together. Boston’s trio of Brad Marchand, David Pastrnak and Patrice Now, let’s do Sidney Crosby and his former winger Chris Kunitz. Over Bergeron were two goals better than their opponents per 60 with more their careers, they were +120 in goal differential or +1.7 goals per 60 than 600 minutes of ice time together, as one notable example. minutes together. It would have been fascinating to see if any of these lines could have Was Kunitz a better player than Malkin? Hardly. There are likely a chased down the Ovechkin line from 10 years ago, but unfortunately, that number of explanatory factors at play here. doesn’t seem possible.

As one quick example, Pittsburgh has been historically reluctant to pair Let’s hope we get to see these lines play again in the postseason. their two superstars together unless they are chasing the game and in need of a goal, which means many of the minutes Crosby and Malkin have played together occurred when the Penguins were behind. TSN.CA LOADED: 04.17.2020 That said, ask any Penguins fan and they will tell you that the chemistry between Crosby and Kunitz was real and a big reason why Pittsburgh was able to sustain their dominance for an extended period.

So, how do we quantify the best lines in a given season and make historical comparisons accordingly? Net goal differential (per 60 minutes) makes the most sense, even if it’s susceptible to shooting or save percentage randomness – at the end of the day, you want to know how big of an advantage a line created for their teams.

If we put a minimum ice time restriction (I used 200 or more minutes) and subset to any line that was 3.0 goals better than their opponents for every 60 minutes of play at 5-on-5, we are left with a pretty small leaderboard.

Impressively, three of the lines are from the 2019-20 season:

One of the common themes here is it’s hard to create a dominant line without at least one elite player – that’s why you only see players like the aforementioned Crosby and Washington’s appearing multiple times in different seasons.

Ovechkin was actually a part of the most dominant line we have seen in the past 12 seasons – playing with Alexander Semin and Nicklas Backstrom, the trio ran up a +21-goal differential in less than 300 minutes of ice time in 2008-09.

Nipping at their heels is a line established by the Vegas Golden Knights in the middle of this season after injuries depleted their forward ranks.

Depth forward Chandler Stephenson, acquired for a fifth-round pick in a mid-year trade with the Capitals, was thrust onto a line with Mark Stone and Max Pacioretty.

Stephenson’s ferocious forechecking and puck retrieval abilities seamlessly blended into Vegas’ new-found top line, one that already had the league’s premier two-way forward in Stone and an absolute sniper in 1182994 Websites

USA TODAY / Akim Aliu is fine with Bill Peters finding new job, wants others to have that opportunity

Mike Brehm

USA TODAY

Akim Aliu, the former NHL player whose accusation led to the resignation of Calgary Flames coach Bill Peters, has no problem with Peters landing a new job, saying, "I believe in second chances for everyone."

"I don’t resent a man for finding work, but I will fight to make sure those same opportunities are available to everyone, on and off the ice, regardless of race or ethnicity," Aliu tweeted Thursday.

The Nigerian-born Aliu, who revealed last fall that Peters had used a racial slur in his presence a decade earlier, was responding to news that the coach signed a two-year deal with Avtomobilist Yekaterinburg of the Kontinental Hockey League.

Aliu had told the Canadian television network TSN that he was playing for the Rockford (Illinois) Ice Hogs in 2009-10 when Peters addressed him about his music selections in the dressing room and used the slur.

Others came forward to say Peters had struck them. The Flames accepted the coach's resignation on Nov. 29.

“I think as time goes on we all grow and improve and become better versions of ourselves, and I’m no different than that. You learn from all the experiences that you’re in, and you become better,” Peters said Wednesday during a video conference call with Russian media after his hiring.

Aliu said he was looking forward to the outcome of the NHL’s investigation into Peters.

"Only with past behind us can we focus on the future," Aliu said. "That means bringing hockey to underprivileged youth in order to make the game more diverse, affordable and accessible to all regardless of race, gender and economic background."

USA TODAY LOADED: 04.17.2020

1182995 World Leagues News "We're getting a trickle of responses to that now so we'll continue to monitor the data and put in any additional support as and when it's needed."

'Spike' in footballers seeking mental health support, says PFA BBC Sport LOADED: 04.17.2020

By Brendon Mitchell

BBC Sport

There has been a "spike" in the number of footballers in England seeking mental health support since the start of the coronavirus lockdown.

In the first quarter of this year, the Professional Footballers' Association said 299 players had accessed support, compared to 653 in the whole of 2019.

PFA director of player welfare Michael Bennett said he is "worried" now the situation has "hit home" for players.

Some have financial worries, while there are also concerns over gambling.

"When you're used to a particular structure and you're not able to follow that, and you're stuck in day in, day out - I'm concerned about players emotionally and mentally," Bennett told BBC Sport.

"It's key for them to understand that when something doesn't seem right that they seek the relevant support.

"We had an idea that the first week or two would be a bit of a honeymoon period, where people would be at home and spending time with the family.

"But we always thought the longer it went on that's when it would hit home."

Elite football in England - the and three divisions that make up the English Football League - is currently suspended indefinitely, having first been paused on 13 March.

The Premier League and EFL both hope to play the current season to a conclusion, but how or when that might happen remains uncertain.

Earlier this week, the EFL and PFA proposed that clubs in League One and League Two defer up to 25% of players' wages.

After an initial "trickle" of players approaching the PFA to talk about financial problems, Bennett said more and more were now coming forward to seek help.

"As soon as we put that proposal forward we made sure players were aware they could access support via our benevolent funds if they had any kind of financial hardship," he said.

"In the first week or so we even had a number of players calling up because they'd been caught up in the panic buying, overspent money they didn't really have and then had to struggle through."

Bennett added that "with the boredom factor now kicking in" he was concerned about an increase in gambling among players too.

The leading UK charity for problem gamblers has said addicts may be at greater risk during the current pandemic but that it was "too early" to tell if it was on the rise.

PFA seeing year-on-year rise

The PFA has seen a year-on-year increase in the number of members making use of Sporting Chance Clinic's network of therapists and confidential helpline.

The 653 players seeking help in 2019 was up from 438 in 2018 - and if the rest of 2020 follows the same pattern as the first three months of the year nearly 1,200 would end up using their services.

With social distance measures in place, the PFA has been putting sessions for players on Skype and Zoom to ensure they still have access to whatever support they need.

"We've also put a questionnaire out to all of our members asking about their mental health and how they've been coping over the last two weeks and whether they want or need support," added Bennett, a former Charlton Athletic and Brentford winger. 1182996 World Leagues News a stark picture of life in California as restrictions are eased. Restaurants might have half as many tables, food servers in masks and gloves, disposable menus, temperature checks of diners at the door. Schools How Trump’s plan for reopening America compares with California’s might have staggered schedules with continued online learning at home. Businesses would continue to maintain distancing. Does the president’s White House calls for three-phase approach plan have anything like that?

A The White House plan includes for all phases recommendations to continue hygiene practices, hand-washing, avoiding touching your face, By JOHN WOOLFOLK | [email protected] | Bay Area frequent disinfection and wearing of face masks in public, particularly for News Group public transit. Employers would continue with temperature checks and PUBLISHED: April 16, 2020 at 3:26 p.m. | UPDATED: April 16, 2020 at not letting sick workers into the workplace. 8:22 p.m. The first phase of the reopening calls for maintaining remote “telework” where possible, minimizing non-essential travel, closing common areas at work. Schools, day care and camps would remain closed. Visits to President Trump spoke with the nation’s governors Thursday outlining elder care facilities would remain banned and more vulnerable older and his administration’s plans for a phased approach to lifting coronavirus sicker people would be advised to consider maintaining the stay-home stay-home orders and allowing more people to return to work. restrictions.

The guidelines come two days after California Gov. Gavin Newsom However, it would allow gatherings of up to 10 people. Restaurants, outlined six indicators his administration was looking to see before the movie theaters, places of worship and sporting venues could open with Golden State’s stay-home order could be eased. “strict physical distancing protocols.” Bars would stay closed but gyms could reopen with appropriate physical distancing and sanitation. How do they compare? Like Newsom, Trump said his plan would be “science-based.” Q What do the next phases of the White House plan allow?

Q Earlier this week, Trump had insisted reopening the country was his A The second phase would kick in after satisfying a second two-weeks of decision — not the states — so what does the White House plan say the “gating criteria” with no evidence of a rebound in cases. Schools, about the role of state and local authorities? day-cares and camps could reopen. The elderly and medically vulnerable would be advised to remain under shelter-in-place, but gatherings of up A The White House plan is not framed as a mandate, but rather offers to 50 people would be allowed, with appropriate physical distancing. “Guidelines for Opening Up America Again,” with “proposed state or Non-essential travel could resume. regional” criteria. It says the phases of reopening are “implementable on statewide or county-by-county basis at governors’ discretion.” Non-essential travel could resume, but telework would be encouraged where possible and common areas at workplaces would remain closed. It also notes that “state and local officials may need to tailor the Theaters, places of worship, sporting arenas could reopen with application of these criteria to local circumstances.” It also says that “moderate” distancing measures. Elective surgeries could resume, and “where appropriate, governors should work on a regional basis,” as many bars could reopen with “diminished standing-room occupancy.” are already doing. Newsom has coordinated with the governors of Washington and on reopening along the West Coast. Q So what’s the third phase?

Q Newsom’s outline for modifying restrictions did not mention a timeline, A After a third two-week period of meeting the gating criteria, the third but does Trump’s? phase calls for unrestricted staffing of workplaces and allowing the vulnerable and elderly to resume public interactions with appropriate A The outline of the White House plan doesn’t mention dates, but Trump physical distancing and sanitation measures. Visits to elder care facilities told governors over a conference call that some states would be able to could resume with hygiene measures in place. reopen businesses and schools before May 1, when federal social distancing guidelines are set to expire, according to Bloomberg News. Q Will we see packed sports arenas? Also, the White House plan mentions 14-day periods of declining cases as triggers for lifting restrictions. Newsom’s plan is not that specific. A Dr. Anthony S. Fauci, director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, said Thursday that “we’ll be able to have sports Trump said Thursday that dozens of states, which he would not name, events where we have participants,” but it may not be uniform across the are close to reopening, and said 29 are “in that ballgame” where they country. Trump said he spoke to the commissioners “of almost every could open “maybe not right away, but soon.” But he said hard-hit New sport” this week and that many of them will be starting seasons “without York and New Jersey, “they’ll be there at some point,” but that they won’t the fans’ in the stadiums, with games broadcast on television, but that be “one of the earlier states.” they may have fans “separated by two seats.”

Q Newsom’s plan calls for modifying his stay-home order after reaching “When this virus is done,” Trump said, “we’ll have packed arenas.” “indicators” that new infections and hospitalizations are easing, testing and tracking capabilities are sufficient to monitor cases and hospitals can Bay Area News Group LOADED: 04.17.2020 manage surges of patients. What does the White House plan say about that?

A The White House plan calls for state and local governments to satisfy “gating criteria” before lifting their restrictions in three phases. Those criteria are a “downward trajectory” of influenza-like illnesses, “covid-like syndromic cases,” documented positive cases and positive tests as a percentage of total tests reported within a 14-day period. They also include hospitals having the ability to “treat all patients without crisis care” and a “robust testing program in place for at-risk healthcare workers, including emerging antibody testing.”

Q Newsom’s sixth “indicator” was the ability to reimpose restrictions as needed. Does the White House plan also envision reimposing restrictions?

A Yes, it says that as reopening occurs, state and local officials must “monitor conditions and immediately take steps to limit and mitigate any rebounds or outbreaks by restarting a phase or returning to an earlier phase, depending on severity.”

Q Newsom’s plan called for businesses, schools, and child care facilities to continue to support physical distancing as they reopen, and he laid out 1182997 World Leagues News when it is deemed safe to return. One of the biggest issues will be parents’ comfortability with traveling to tournaments across the country.

“I hope to get back as soon as possible but safety is most important,” Coronavirus taking grip on club soccer DalBon said. “We must keep everybody safe and well before we can get back at it.”

By Luke Campbell Staff writer [email protected] Apr 16, As far as the high school season, the PIAA recently said that no workouts 2020 Updated 7 hrs ago 0 are allowed for sports teams until at least July 1.

“We are all hoping for a fall season but we all saw what happened to the spring sports,” DalBon continued. “Those athletes were the most The high school soccer season has so far escaped the full wrath of the impacted. We’ll have to see when things start up.” coronavirus pandemic. Observer-Reporter LOADED: 04.17.2020 But the sport of soccer, which for many local players has turned into a year-round endeavor, has taken a hit because of COVID-19. Popular local club programs – Century FC and Beadling Soccer Club – have been forced to halt competition at least until the end of April.

It could not have come at a worse time for the clubs, which have turned into go-to opportunities for local players at various ages to play throughout the year.

“There are weekly games, tournaments and regional leagues,” said Century FC president and Peters Township girls soccer coach Pat Vereb. “Probably April and May are the two busiest months of the year. More often than not it’s about having elite training they might not get outside of high school. Kids can play with top players in the area, in highly ranked tournaments and against high-level players.”

The clubs combine to feature thousands of players of all youth ages, including those who try to better their skills in the offseason and prepare for the upcoming high school season.

Vereb said about 90 to 95 percent of players on his varsity and junior varsity roster at Peters Township plays club soccer but it’s not a requirement.

“They are missing out on a good bit of preparation,” Vereb said. “I’m still sort of undecided on what impact it will make depending on the length. United States Youth Soccer will tell us what our timeline is. Another question is when we are able to hold team activities, what are the limitations going to be?”

Both clubs are using Techne Futbol, a soccer training app that allows players to individually create an account and do one-on-one training that focuses on foot skills, wall work, technique, shooting and speed.

“We are using technology to stay as connected as much as we can,” said Bethel Park girls soccer coach Missy DalBon. “We are all in the same boat. It’s not just happening to a certain area.”

DalBon, a longtime teacher in the Canon-McMillan School District, also coaches for Beadling.

DalBon is unsure how missing spring and possibly summer soccer will affect recruiting efforts of players, a problem Peters Township’s CeCe Scott won’t have to worry about as she orally committed in February 2019 to play at Michigan State.

“I went up there multiple times and got to meet all the coaches and the players,” Scott said. “It felt like home.”

Scott, who plays for the Beadling 2003 Girls Showcase team, will only be a junior next season and has been a mainstay in the Indians’ midfield after playing important minutes during their run to the PIAA semifinals in 2018.

She was an All-WPIAL selection as a sophomore but admits not having club soccer throughout the spring and summer could affect many players.

“It could affect us drastically, mostly the running and conditioning,” Scott said. “When you play club, it’s at a high, fast-paced level. Without those practices and games, you’re expected to do it on your own. I’ve been working with my personal training on my speed, strength and agility.”

Scott’s Beadling team played in a tournament in North Carolina in December and had plans ruined to play in Las Vegas last month. The tournament in Vegas could have qualified the team to play at nationals in the summer against the top teams in the country.

While the length of the suspension because of pandemic concerns is the biggest waiting game, both organizations will have decisions to make 1182998 World Leagues News The added year of eligibility for spring sport senior athletes: Rhoades said Baylor will honor the scholarships.

The school should know within the next week which seniors plan to take As coronavirus delays NCAA investigative bodies, Baylor remains waiting advantage of the extra year, Rhoades said. Baylor has set aside an for closure on infractions estimated cost of $1 million in the budget for the additional scholarships, Rhoades said.

By Chuck Carlton Dallas Morning News LOADED: 04.17.2020

12:12 AM on Apr 17, 2020

Baylor would have liked a resolution to the NCAA investigation into its football program last summer.

Now, the school may have to wait until late this summer or longer for closure because of the coronavirus outbreak. Appearances before the Committee on Infractions are on hold through at least May 31, the NCAA announced earlier this month.

When Baylor will have its hearing and when it will later learn what penalties, if any, it faces from what occurred during the Art Briles era is unclear.

“I think everyone wants to know,” athletic director Mack Rhoades said in an interview this week. “At this point in time, I can honestly say it’s something I can’t answer because I don’t have the answer. We’re waiting for whenever that time is and will be prepared to do what we need to do when that time comes.”

It’s been nearly four years since Baylor fired Briles in the wake of a school-funded investigation into the handling of sexual assault allegations by the football program. The NCAA notice of allegations specifically cited Baylor for a lack of institutional control.

Since then, the process has dragged on. For a while, Baylor thought its case might be transferred to the new NCAA Independent Accountability Resolution Process for select cases. Eventually, Baylor stayed in the traditional infractions track.

Rhoades has for the most part kept his silence despite the delays.

But with the hiring of Dave Aranda, Baylor is on its third head football coach since Briles, who landed at Mount Vernon High School last season.

“It’s time for this to be finished and completed,” Rhoades said. “I know everybody involved with it, including the NCAA, feels the same way.”

In a wide-ranging interview Tuesday, on the same day Baylor announced major university-wide budget cuts, Rhoades touched on a couple of other topics:

The adjustment of Aranda: The former LSU defensive coordinator has yet to get on the field with his new team because of the COVID-19 cancellation of spring practice.

“We were kind of laughing on Saturday, when we were talking about what a way to start his first head coach job,” Rhoades said. “He’s handling it well. He’s doing a great job. He and the staff are doing the best they can to stay connected with our young men.”

Rhoades noted that Aranda has brought in several guest speakers to address his players via video conferencing, including Baylor legend Grant Teaff.

The cancellation of March Madness: “I think initially at the moment and a few days after, it was really hard. You really felt for your seniors,” Rhoades said. “They weren’t going to have an opportunity to play postseason.”

Both the Baylor women and men were viewed as legitimate NCAA championship contenders, with the women’s program coming off a title in 2019.

“I felt terrible for Coach [Kim] Mulkey,” Rhoades said. “Now all of a sudden the opportunity to defend your national championship is taken away from you. And Coach [Scott] Drew, finishing up the best regular season he’s ever had. This opportunity to more than likely be a No. 1 seed and the potential to get beyond the Elite Eight.

“It was a tough time, but I’m proud of the way our coaches and staff and student-athletes handled it and managed it.” 1182999 World Leagues News “Can we look at things we’ve done the last few years to build our fan base, but at a lower cost?” said Meghan Miller, SHU’s senior associate AD, “We may have to trim a little bit on the outside with hopes we can Coronavirus forces Connecticut’s college ADs to cut costs, think built it back up. We might have to ask, with what we might have been creatively and brace for the unknown doing in the past, have we grown too big for ourselves? And just re- evaluate ourselves internally.”

Southern Connecticut AD Jay Moran, who is also the mayor of By DOM AMORE and ALEXA PHILIPPOU Manchester, has set up separate offices in his home for both jobs. As a D-II program, Southern will lose some money from the NCAA HARTFORD COURANT | Tournaments being scrapped, but not a “drastic” amount, he said. APR 16, 2020 | 6:00 AM “We know we are saving money by not having a spring season," Moran said, "but we also know the university is losing revenue, having to return room and board back to students. So we don’t know the exact The University of Bridgeport was set to host a regional in this year’s implications, but we understand the university is losing money and being NCAA Division II men’s basketball tournament. Instead, not only was the part of the overall picture going into the fall that will be a challenge.” tournament canceled amid the coronavirus outbreak, but athletic staff and some coaches ended up being furloughed at the end of March, with Enrollment, affordability concerns at DII, DIII levels the hope of bringing them back on Aug. 3. At SCSU, Moran expects changes in teams’ travel and the number of That’s one of the more drastic steps athletic departments in colleges games to save money. But the bigger concern for him and other DII and across Connecticut have taken as the pandemic forced the cancellation DIII institutions revolves around enrollment. of sports at all levels across the country. But even if schools haven’t had “I’ll take a delay in fall sports over canceling, I’ll take fewer games over to go that far in the five weeks since the outbreak escalated, all are canceling,” Moran said. “Our lens is different than Division I. Ours is all feeling the effects of it, albeit in different ways and with varying degrees about enrollment, you want to make sure you still have teams so you’re of severity. bringing students to campus.” And what the future holds, while still unclear, appears perhaps even Lori Runksmeier faces similar challenges as athletic director at Eastern more foreboding. Connecticut, in Willimantic. Eastern gets more money from tuition, room Most ADs expect to have 20 percent less money with which to operate in and board, than from the state, Runksmeier said. A drop in enrollment if 2020-21, according to a survey of major athletics programs across the students in the Connecticut State University system choose to move country, and schools such as Cincinnati (men’s soccer) and Old closer to home, or live at home and commute to school, would be felt Dominion (wrestling) have already eliminated sports. Many are reckoning institution-wide. Meanwhile, staffers, including part-time coaches, were with the loss of vital fundraising events, while other departments more able to be paid through the fiscal year (June 30). reliant upon enrollment must plan for the uncertainty there. At Southern ‘I never thought I’d be doing live television from my basement:’ UConn, Connecticut and Western Connecticut, athletics facilities are being used Quinnipiac grad Molly Qerim Rose adjusts to remotely hosting ESPN’s as temporary hospitals, an extra consideration in any decision about ‘First Take’ » returning to athletic competition down the line. “I think all of it is going to be such a moving target,” Runksmeier said. No March Madness, no NCAA Tournament revenue “Admissions has projections all the time about what their enrollment At UConn and other Division I schools, a major loss of revenue has goals are, applications and deposits, and we're part of that. ... If [student- already been felt by the cancellation of the NCAA basketball athlete] enrollment drops, that's a piece of that whole enrollment that tournaments. The NCAA lost $375 million when March Madness was drops.” stilled, money that was to be sent to conferences and redistributed to While Eastern is forming a return-to-play plan if fall and/or winter athletes schools. Each school will get about one-third of the anticipated total, and are a go, there is also concern that cuts to the NCAA’s Division III not until June, two months later than usual. UConn took a $1.3-$1.4 budget, which is given back to member institutions for travel to national million hit on that alone, AD David Benedict said. The other Division I championship tournaments, could force Eastern to raise its own money programs, including University of Hartford, Yale, Fairfield, Sacred Heart, to send its teams to those events. Quinnipiac and CCSU, will lose a lesser, but significant sum. And as a Division III school, Trinity does not offer athletic scholarships. “We anticipate a significant revenue drop,” said Tom Pincince, AD at Widespread job losses and a greater economic downturn could make it Central Connecticut, a state school with Division I sports, including a more difficult for some students to afford to pay their own way as Division successful FCS football program. “Right now, we’re in the planning III athletes. process of looking at what that means for us in the fall. We also have to look at the possibility of the fall being delayed, or not being played at all. “These students are choosing to do this,” AD Drew Galbraith said, We’ve also lost a couple of significant revenue-generating opportunities “They’re not held by a scholarship. We have to be a value-added part of that are some of our best fundraisers, a wine-tasting and our golf their Trinity experience... and athletics, we think, is a big part of that for tournament, in March and June, and both have been postponed our 700 student athletes.” indefinitely. So we’re really taking a look at everything right now.” Thinking outside the box Fairfield took the loss of NCAA Tournament revenue through its conference, the Metro Atlantic, but AD Paul Schlickmann said the Across the board, schools are trying to think outside the box, finding cost- department is positioned to adapt to whatever comes. There have been effective ways to plan ahead and operate as close to normal as possible. no staff cuts to this point. Part of that involves embracing more innovative approaches, such as virtual recruiting that could become widely used to save travel costs. At Trinity, and colleges across the country, keeping athletes in shape takes creativity, resourcefulness » “How does this new virtual world in recruiting translate when we get back on campus?” Sacred Heart’s Miller said. “Maybe you can be a little more “I’m really pleased and proud by how our university has responded,” selective in who you bring on campus and who you travel to see. It’s not Schlickmann said, “we’ve been really effective and nimble in operating in re-inventing the wheel, but taking a hard look at ourselves.” this space. I think we’re well positioned to adapt to a crisis and the shock it can have to the system. … We are very fortunate that we have an “Our athletic staff and our coaches are doing what they normally do at incredibly loyal and passionate and generous donor group and alumni this time, other than watching,” said Amanda Devitt, AD at University of group.” Saint Joseph. "They’re spending a lot of time on the phone, a lot of video, a school like St. Joe’s is really looking to recruit and build enrollment and Nearby Sacred Heart, which has D-I sports including FCS football, has using athletics as one of those avenues, so our coaches are still doing been growing, with new facilities and higher visibility during Bobby that. Just like everyone else, we’re trying to think outside the box to sell Valentine’s years as AD. The coronavirus will prompt some re-evaluation. all the exiting things we have going on.” Changes coming to MLB’s drafting and development will keep more talent in college programs like UConn »

Creativity and open-mindedness will be also be important as departments begin to conduct scenario-planning around what fall sports or winter sports could look like down the line, though that’s certainly easier said than done. Even if competition can resume, a whole litany of factors from timing to travel practicality to whether to allow spectators at games will be in play.

“You’re trying to come up with scenarios that really aren’t very linear and so they end up being these very complicated matrices,” Galbraith said. “Every time you come up with one of these scenarios, you have 14 different lenses you’re applying to it and each of them impact the scenario differently."

Adding to the complicated nature of it all, some schools will have more unique sets of issues to address. Yale has been dealing with issues stemming from the NCAA’s decision to grant an extra year of eligibility to spring sports athletes. Ultimately the Ivy League decided to stick to its policy, that grad students cannot play.

“Like all universities across the country, Yale is dealing with the extreme effects of the coronavirus,” AD Vicky Chun said in a statement. “Additionally, like many of the businesses in New Haven, Connecticut and the rest of the world, those effects are felt on our budget. This is an unpredictable virus so it makes it hard to plan, but we have started early projections regarding what things may look like in a variety of different scenarios. We want to, and will be, as nimble as possible given the unprecedented nature of these times.”

Trinity’s student body has a large international student population. The highly visible and successful men’s and women’s squash teams alone have 30 students from other countries, Galbraith noted, and they may have trouble returning to the United State in time for the fall semester.

In the thick of it

Some schools are in the thick of the pandemic more than others. Southern’s Moore Fieldhouse and Western Connecticut’s O’Neill Center are also currently being used as temporary hospitals. Regardless of what the NCAA mandates or what the conference ultimately push for, athletics can’t resume on those campuses until the overflow care centers are no longer of use.

“The National Guard is not going to turn it over until they’re ready to turn it over,” AD Lori Mazza said.

Mazza, like the other athletic directors, recognizes the long-term financial outlook department- and institution-wide could be grim. But she’s also focused on ensuring that her 500 current student athletes are getting the proper attention and support that they need to not only to finish the semester and in some cases earn their diplomas, but to be able to deal with the emotional and mental toll of such a profound, all-encompassing crisis.

“It’s more than just financial, Mazza said. "It is the human aspect, the human element of this. Yes, there’s the financial aspect of it, but it’s about the loss, the grieving aspect of it, and the personal grieving aspect if people have lost loved ones.”

HARTFORD COURANT LOADED: 04.17.2020 1183000 World Leagues News tough to re-create the in-house bathroom experience … unless you lease a suite.

Well, in NFL101 – the season after the NFL100 campaign that paid Opinion: NFL faces multiple issues (including maybe liability) as it homage to the rich history, traditions and even leather helmets – we decides how to open season could get a semblance of what the league's product will resemble in the future.

Jarrett Bell The virtual draft next week, with Goodell announcing picks from his basement (the presumably plush basement of his mansion), could be USA TODAY merely a warm-up act for a TV-only season that might be on the horizon.

The ratings for the draft next week should go through the roof, especially when considering that each of the past two drafts broke viewership Imagine this: The NFL’s season opens on time in September. Stay-at- records. With the current dearth of sports – Thursday was Day 36 without home orders across the land have been lifted “miraculously,” as one sports – the “live” draft will be a rare live event. particular power broker might say. The stadium is packed. The home team wins. And days later, the Centers for Disease Control and Meanwhile, the PGA Tour on Thursday announced that it will resume Prevention’s contact tracing apparatus reveals that the NFL stadium- competition in mid-June with the Charles Schwab Challenge at The near-you is Ground Zero for another major coronavirus outbreak that Colonial Country Club in Fort Worth, Texas – without spectators. Barring costs many lives. other developments (such as Major League Baseball adopting a possible plan to play in Arizona and Florida, or the NBA and NHL resuming their Who’s liable for that? seasons in some fashion), the men’s golf circuit could become the first to If you thought the legal wrangling that led to settlements to fans a few restart after the pandemic interruptions. years ago for a canceled Pro Football Hall of Fame Game (shoddy field) And it might also provide a harbinger for how the NFL’s season will need or before that, inconvenienced Super Bowl XLV patrons (unfinished to be consumed, attracting huge TV numbers, I’d suspect … while a seats), just think of the challenges that loom if the NFL rushes to open vaccine for coronavirus is still in development. the gates to full houses this season and worst-case scenarios unfold. Of course, the league will lean on advice from medical experts as it Sure, there could be advisories warning high-risk people to stay away proceeds toward the coming season. Yet it’s a given that to reopen at all from stadiums, even though there have been seemingly healthy people – and that would include reopening team headquarters, minicamps, under 50 who have succumbed to COVID-19. And no, this isn’t to training camp – widespread and rapid coronavirus testing needs to be in suggest that NFL owners would be more liable than any other business place. owner if a patron catches a cold, the flu or the coronavirus while at their establishment. Rams center Brian Allen was the first active player to test positive for COVID-19, on the heels of Saints coach Sean Payton being the only Yet the NFL, the most popular and prosperous sports entity in the land, known coach to have a positive test. Add to that the ' wears liability in the form of its reputation on its sleeves. Von Miller testing positive. If such instances occurred after the NFL Open up too much, too early, , and the NFL – which has reopens … well, we can’t forget how the NBA became the first league to publicly maintained that it is still planning for a full season that begins on shut down. time, while behind-the-scenes discussions have pondered contingencies A “studio NFL” might not prevent more coronavirus cases, but I’d assume – risks enormous fallout. the potential for a major outbreak would be significantly reduced while In other words: Are you ready for some studio football? tracing possibilities would be increased.

The NFL is weeks, maybe months, from having to make a decision of It’s not just players. To stage a game in a stadium (for a network how to proceed with the upcoming season, while debate rages regarding broadcast) without fans would still involve between 500 to 750 people, what measures – including widespread and rapid testing – need to be in including players, coaches, support staff, stadium operations, television place before governors reopen their states. The NFL also gets the benefit personnel and media. Obviously, there would be a system for testing and of observing how other leagues with more pressing timelines will try clearance. But conceivably, it could be done. coming back, against the backdrop of President Donald Trump’s And it might represent the NFL’s best chance to safely present its insistence in reopening the nation and restarting sports competition. product this season to massive audiences. Dr. Anthony Fauci, one of the experts on Trump’s coronavirus task force, USA TODAY LOADED: 04.17.2020 endorsed a philosophy that can be linked to one of the NFL’s contingencies during a Snapchat show this week. Fauci suggested housing college football players in hotels, testing them frequently “and just let them play the season out.”

That’s the “biodome” approach that I surely can’t see happening with the NFL.

Yet I can certainly see studio football – staging games in NFL stadiums without fans – as perhaps the only way to save the season. The league's contingencies include playing a truncated season – maybe 12 games, maybe 14 rather than the 16-game regular-season slate. But would that account for, say, California (home of the defending NFC champion 49ers plus the Rams and Chargers, soon-to-be-SoFi Stadium hosts) prohibiting large gatherings while Florida allows it?

Interestingly, Vikings quarterback Kirk Cousins this week said it would be “refreshing” to play games while not in front of fans amid the typical NFL stadium environment. Strange word. And the polar opposite of the sentiment that NBA megastar LeBron James expressed a few weeks ago in stating that he didn’t want to play without fans. Cousins' point, though, was that players can easily adapt to an environment without fans – kind of like what happens on a regular basis on the practice field.

For decades, the NFL has been considered “a TV sport” with probably more than 90% of NFL fans having never actually attended a game. You know, the traffic, the ticket costs, the convenience – replays at Jerry World are just as good or better than the ones in your living room. But it’s 1183001 World Leagues News

Despite Gov. Tony Evers' school decision, the WIAA has not closed the door on the spring sports season

Mark Stewart, Milwaukee Journal SentinelPublished 3:24 p.m. CT April 16, 2020 | Updated 3:43 p.m. CT April 16, 2020

No school equals no high school sports.

Or does it?

Gov. Tony Evers announced Thursday schools would be closed for the rest of the academic year. His order allows schools to continue to provide virtual and distance learning but extra-curricular activities are not allowed.

In response to the news, the WIAA issued a news release that stated that it will "discuss the membership’s options for the remainder of the spring sports seasons and for summertime regulations at its scheduled meeting on April 21 via video conferencing."

Evers' decision comes in response to the coronavirus pandemic.

The status of the spring season has been tenuous since March 12 when the WIAA canceled the remainder of its winter sports season. Girls basketball had begun its state tournament, and boys basketball had reached the sectional finals.

The following day Evers ordered schools to closed from March 18-April 6. That order was later changed to begin on March 16. On March 24, Evers issued an order that extended the school closures indefinitely.

Competition for the spring season had not begun for any sport, although track and field athletes were able to practice for a few days.

Last week it became more difficult for the WIAA to host some of its state tournaments as scheduled. On Friday, the University of canceled on-campus events through June 30.

The WIAA was scheduled to host four state championships on campus during that time: boys individual tennis (June 4-6) and boys team tennis (June 12-13) at Nielsen Tennis Stadium, boys golf at University Ridge (June 15-16) and softball at Goodman Diamond (June 11-13).

Even with that news, the WIAA held off on canceling any portion of the spring season. The plan was to discuss the situation at the aforementioned board meeting next week.

"The Executive Staff has discussed the best and worst case scenarios with the possibility schools may close for the remainder of the school year," the WIAA said in its release. "Those will be reviewed with guidance from the Board of Control to determine the best course of action." jsonline.com LOADED: 04.17.2020 1183002 World Leagues News But most experts find such proposals extremely complicated and ultimately pretty far-fetched, at least for competitions involving several games spread out over time. How would these people be fed? What if a When Will Sports Come Back? Here Is What Has to Happen First player is hurt? Would the athletes leave their families or would the families come, too? Any such scenario would involve many more people than one might have originally pictured, and it would be almost impossible to maintain a perfectly closed system. By Andrew Keh “You can’t think of it as airtight,” said Dr. William Schaffner, a Vanderbilt April 16, 2020 University professor who is an expert in preventive medicine and infectious diseases, “because it won’t be.”

During a news conference Tuesday night, President Trump made a If the staging of games still poses so many risks, why would anyone do personal plea that probably resonated with at least some sports fans it? around the country. There’s an idea that our sports leagues embody some core element of “We have to get our sports back,” Trump said. “I’m tired of watching our national character and that their return would represent a needed baseball games that are 14 years old.” symbol of normalcy in this trying time.

Trump said he was assembling a panel of experts — including the The other big thing, of course, is money: Billions of dollars stand to be commissioners of every major league in the country — to figure out a lost by leagues if they are unable to complete their seasons. Money can way for games to return to stadiums around the country. make people do a lot of things.

Both Gov. Andrew M. Cuomo of New York and Dr. Anthony S. Fauci, the Are there any leagues around the world trying to operate, and doing so federal government’s leading expert on infectious diseases, expressed successfully, while paying attention to health guidelines? support this week for the idea of staging games without spectators in the Taiwan’s five-team basketball league has been playing games out of a stands. single, empty gymnasium that no more than 100 people may enter at a So how realistic is it that we will see sports again this year? What exactly time. Coronavirus tests are not taking place on site, but everyone’s would that entail? temperature is being monitored. (Asymptomatic carriers of the virus, of course, might not have an elevated temperature.) Over the weekend, the Here are answers to some of the more pressing questions as the sports country’s baseball and soccer leagues kicked off in similar fashion. world ponders how to proceed during this global health crisis: In Germany, teams in the top soccer leagues have begun practicing Why don’t we have any sports to watch right now? again, and league officials are aiming to resume play in May. A few countries, like Nicaragua, have carried on with little or no restrictions. Sporting events — with fans packed into cozy stands, narrow concourses and omnipresent lines — fit the exact definition of the sort of mass It’s important to note that, for the most part, these countries — far more gatherings that experts insist we must avoid at this time to stop the than most around the world, including the United States — have avoided spread of the coronavirus. And it’s not just the games themselves: Think large numbers of deaths through a mixture of testing, tracking and other about fans traveling to and from stadiums, tailgating in the parking lots, preventive measures. And even then, they tend to be proceeding with congregating at bars before and after the events. extreme caution. It’s unclear what would happen, for instance, if a Taiwanese basketball player tested positive for the virus. Would the “You’re bringing together a bunch of people who don’t usually mix and league suspend play again? packing them really close together for an extended period of time,” said Dr. Julie Vaishampayan, chair of the public health committee for the How should decisions about whether to resume play be made? Infectious Diseases Society of America. “As risk goes, it’s way above just sitting in a restaurant.” These are questions weighing on everyone involved in sports at every level in the United States. Schaffner, for instance, is part of an advisory So couldn’t games be played without fans and just be broadcast on panel brought together by the N.C.A.A. to create a recommendation for television? how college sports should proceed at this time, and teams and officials have been clamoring for answers that have yet to arrive. That’s an option that leagues across America and around the world are grappling with now. But it’s not that simple a solution. On a basic level, “The coaches wanted it last week,” Schaffner said about the panel’s should we feel OK about asking hundreds of athletes around the country pending recommendations, laughing. “We haven’t given ourselves a to ignore global health guidelines to play sports for our entertainment? timeline. We’re watching the data very carefully and looking at the The athletes wouldn’t just be meeting a few times a week for games. models out there.” They would presumably have to practice and partake in other team activities. In the big picture, it comes down to priorities. Medical experts focused solely on eliminating the spread of the virus would say that sports should “Even if they wanted to play in empty stadiums, it’s putting the players at not played at this time at all. But not everyone thinks that way. For some, risk,” said Vaishampayan, who watches football and said she could not restoring a bit of normalcy to American economic and social life imagine the N.F.L. operating this year. “There’s nothing to say that outweighs some of the dangers of the virus. players won’t get infected at home and bring it to the field.” “We’re going to have to accept some increased health risks in order to What’s the big deal about a couple of dozen people on a basketball solve some of these other problems,” Schaffner said, describing the court? thinking of those hoping to reopen parts of society, including sports. “If you don’t expect perfection, you won’t be disappointed.” Perhaps a league could create a hugely intricate system of testing and quarantining players and coaches to ensure that only virus-free athletes So when will things actually be “normal” again in sports, the way they made it onto a court or a playing field. were before?

But a professional sports broadcast, in truth, involves a much bigger Experts agree that even if sports leagues return in some diminished gathering than just a group of athletes and coaches. For example, the capacity in the near term, there will not be a true return to “normal” — Bundesliga, Germany’s top soccer league, estimated that around 240 like, say, the sight of 50,000 people packed into Yankee Stadium — until people — players, team staff, officials and broadcast staff — would be there is a vaccine available to everyone in the country. And that could required for a game even if it were played behind closed doors. take until 2021, or beyond, to happen.

In that case, could there be a way to establish some type of closed-off, “Degrees of social distancing are going to have to be part of our norm virus-free “bubble” environment where the leagues could play games? until that time,” Schaffner said. “We may whittle them down, make modifications and compromises, but social distancing will have to Various sports organizations have discussed plans like this. Major remain.” League Baseball, for instance, internally pondered bringing all of its teams to Arizona — where there are 10 ballparks used for spring training And so that means sports may not feel “normal” for quite some time. — to play a season in a single, tightly controlled area. New York Times LOADED: 04.17.2020 1183003 World Leagues News at 7 every morning to a world-class weight room with highly qualified trainers.

There’s also a significant inequity with nutrition, which schools can try to Opinion: No good answer on how long college football players will need address by shipping boxed meals or protein shakes. But the concern is to safely start season that many players from disadvantaged socioeconomic backgrounds are not getting the type or amount of food that they need to maintain their bodies. Dan Wolken, USA TODAY And finally, assuming players come back in July or August, trying to Published 1:58 p.m. ET April 16, 2020 | Updated 2:50 p.m. ET April 16, practice in the heat of summer when they aren’t in optimal shape is a 2020 recipe for disaster given what we now about the risks of heat stroke.

“Heat acclimatization is one of the big changes that has happened in football in particular, and that period seems like it might need to be also As one of the most successful coaches in the history of Division III lengthened,” Hollingworth said. college football, Lance Leipold rarely had players on campus at Wisconsin-Whitewater working out during the summer. Maybe a few While some coaches have said they feel as if they could get their team would pop in for a weekend or to help out with a summer camp. But if 10 ready to play in roughly a month, the likelihood is that a plan to bring stayed in town for the offseason, it was unusual. football back would fall somewhere in the range of six weeks.

“To have a team fully stay and have a regular program?” said Leipold, But that decision will ultimately have to be made by the NCAA, which has who won six NCAA championships in eight years. “Not once.” convened a COVID-19 advisory panel led by Hainline, several other physicians and four athlete liaisons. Things are different now for Leipold, who has been at Buffalo the past five seasons. Even for a team in the Mid-American Conference, there is The six-week time frame lines up with what Ohio State coach Ryan Day no offseason in the Football Bowl Subdivision, where the cycle of mentioned as a “starting point” in a call with reporters Wednesday, postseason drills, spring football and summer conditioning leading into meaning a mid-July return to campus would be enough to start the fall camp never stops. season on time if programs got an all-clear to begin preparations.

This indefinite interruption to the way major-college football programs American Athletic Conference Commissioner Mike Aresco said the operate has raised a significant question to which there remains broad working group it has formed within the league to address this issue led by disagreement across the sport. Cincinnati’s Luke Fickell and Memphis’ Ryan Silverfield has even broken down what each week would look like during a six-week ramp up and When it’s finally safe to bring football players back to campus for regular submitted it as feedback to the NCAA. training, how long would they need before it's safe to start a season? Still, is six weeks too much? Not enough? Nobody really knows the “We have to get football right,” Dr. Brian Hainline, the NCAA’s chief answer, and the only way you might find out it wasn’t enough is if teams medical officer, said in a webinar late last week. “Football is an get into practice and start having more injuries than normal. aggressive, rugged contact sport, so we need to be certain players are really well prepared because we don’t want to see all the sudden a “I won’t put a young man on a playing field and ask him to compete number of musculoskeletal injuries or overuse injuries because we unless he has had the opportunity to be properly conditioned and trained brought players back too quickly.” to play this game at the highest level,” Notre Dame coach Brian Kelly said. “Again, I think I’ve made it pretty clear in talking to our training staff The problem is, there’s no right answer to how long that will take and our strength and conditioning staff we’re going to need a proper because there’s never really been a situation like this one. amount of training necessary from a safety standpoint to play this game. Penn State athletic director Sandy Barbour drew raised eyebrows this It’s not going to be just a few days, it’s not going to be a week; minimally month when she mentioned on a call with reporters that its staff was three or four weeks to prepare our team.” looking at a 60-day runway between the arrival of athletes on campus What everyone agrees on, though, is that it’s going to have an impact on and the start of the season. the product. Coaches might have to apportion more time on conditioning That’s would be a significant length of time, since it would mean college than on football, even after the traditional fall practice starts. They might football programs starting their normal operations back up by July 1. have to limit their playbooks in some way. Inevitably, some players are going to come back in better shape than others. “We’ve relied on our sports science folks, strength and conditioning, our head team physician, to really look at this from a health and safety But coaches like Leipold, who came from a level of football where year- standpoint,” Barbour said. “And we believe given the amount of time that round practice didn’t really expect, will be nimble enough to figure it out. training has been for football, we think that 60-day window is about right.” “At Whitewater, we’d have a conditioning test and a lifting test and get a Others disagree. While there is broad agreement that programs will need barometer of where they’re at and work accordingly for those who didn’t some type of window before the typical football-focused fall camp to get pass it, and you just have to find a way to get them caught up and be players up to speed given that nearly all of them are limited in their really smart about it,” Leipold said. “But everybody should be in the same capacity to work out at home, whether that encompasses weeks or two boat as far as a starting date, and as long as that part is consistent I think months is little more than an educated guess. everybody has a chance to get their teams ready. Will it be the same in the in-depth of what you might have normally? Probably not. But “I’m not sure there’s a science-based answer,” said Amy Hollingworth, whatever the parameters are, everyone will be excited and we'll get them director of the Safe Sports Network at the New Hampshire ready to play.” Musculoskeletal Institute. “There aren’t a lot of corners you can cut so I think that’s going to be an issue. As much as players can still prepare USA TODAY LOADED: 04.17.2020 themselves (at home), they can’t do some of the physical and contact work that they need to do that is used in the preseason. Shortening the preseason would be potentially detrimental to the players and increase their injuries.

“But there’s no playbook for any of this.”

There are three key components driving some of the angst around this issue.

First is that even in the best-case scenario, coaches expect that players are going to struggle staying in optimal shape while at home under social distancing rules. Schools can supply players with workout programs and simple equipment like resistance bands, but it’s not the same as going in 1183004 World Leagues News "It actually has been a little bit of a blessing in disguise because it has given me a timeframe where I can work on a few things where I wasn't so strong at in terms of my physical strength," Taylor said. "It has given me How top boxers are staying fit and coping with quarantine during the a little bit of window to work on things I couldn't really do when I was in coronavirus pandemic camp."

The major downside for Taylor is that the mandatory social distancing has robbed him of important time working with new trainer Ben Davison, Brian Campbell who helped guide Tyson Fury through his 2018 comeback. The virus outbreak hit just as Taylor began working with Davison, shortly after

parting ways with trainer Shane McGuigan and his father, manager Barry The current coronavirus pandemic has brought about unforeseen levels McGuigan, on less than ideal terms. of uncertainty across all professional sports, including that of boxing. Lopez and Taylor might just see the window open sooner than later after With return dates unknown as the death toll within the United States gets Florida governor Ron DeSantis announced this week that professional closer to leveling out, many top boxers have been forced to stay as sharp sports would be deemed "essential business" provided they don't as possible from home in preparation for when the call comes. The reality compete in front of spectators. Top Rank's Bob Arum, who promotes of not being paid unless they fight is also a harsh reality for many both fighters, told ESPN on Tuesday that he would be interested in fighters, especially given the uncertain future. promoting such empty arena shows at the WWE's Performance Center in Orlando. "It's hard, honestly. I thought that I was gaining a lot of weight, I'll be real with you. I can't have that," IBF lightweight champion Teofimo Lopez Jr. While both fighters look forward to getting back in the ring, the idea of told CBS Sports last week. "If I keep going and shoot up to 180 and 200, doing so without fans cheering them on is less than ideal. I'm screwing myself for a potential fight with [Vasilily] Lomachenko and "My father [trainer Teofmio Lopez Sr.] would say yes, right away. But for screwing myself to eventually defend my belt at 135 that I just won. I just me to say? No," Lopez said. "It ain't the same without the fans. I would have to always keep that Mamba mentality (rest in peace, Kobe [Bryant]). say no. The reason why I do so great when I am out there performing is It's tough with everything that is going on and you try to make the best because I hear the fans and they hype me up. I love a big audience and out of it." it's a drug that I'm addicted to. It's my drug. There is no sport without the Respect box? Subscribe to our podcast -- State of Combat with Brian fans. You have to have the fans. If you don't have them with you to Campbell -- where we take an in-depth look at the world of boxing each celebrate and enjoy, I think it's not as exciting." week. Taylor, who has fought his last eight bouts and all but three of his 16 as a Lopez (15-0, 12 KOs) was close to formally agreeing to a May 30 professional in the boxing-crazed United Kingdom, agreed. lightweight unification bout at New York's Madison Square Garden "That would be my worst nightmare fighting in a studio with no guests against Lomachenko, to many the pound-for-pound king of the sport. He and no nothing and just TV cameras," Taylor said. "That would be my expects the potential career-defining fight to still take place this fall but worst nightmare and it would be just like a sparring match on TV, which has gone to great lengths to try and keep himself preserved until then. would be no good. It would be hard to get up for that one, I'd bet." The 22-year-old rising star left his home in New York in order to protect While boxing returning to televised cards, despite the lack of fans in himself from the virus given his history with asthma. Lopez and his wife attendance, is certainly helpful for the big-name fighters at the moved in with his in-laws in Jonesboro, Arkansas, and were forced to championship level, it certainly leaves out those who rely on paydays survive a tornado shortly after arriving, which caused damage to the from non-televised fights until state commissions begin allowing mass house. gatherings. This is a reality that could extend until as far as 2021 before "[Arkansas] is not as bad as it is in New York right now, that's why I had arenas will be allowed to sell tickets. to leave. If I didn't, I probably would have had the coronavirus and it's not Chris Jay, a boxing lifer who has done everything from train and manage good for me," Lopez said. "This could be death for me so we tried to fighters to calling broadcasts as an analyst and serving as a boxing writer prevent that from happening." and reporter, is hoping to have a hand in giving back. Lopez has been regulated to training inside of his in-law's garage, hitting "As much as we talk about how much we want the big fights back, there a heavy bag while mixing in sit-ups, push-ups and calisthenics. He has is a world of four-round and six-round fighters who are the B-sides and also regularly worked in Epsom salt baths while leaving the shopping for they either supplement or, in some cases, make their entire income food and training supplies to his wife in order to keep him safe in through fighting off TV shows and on walk-out and undercard bouts," Jay quarantine. said. "We want to do something to help these guys. We know situations Unified junior welterweight champion Josh Taylor has endured a similar of guys who are flat-out unemployed." reality. The unbeaten southpaw, who recently signed a promotional deal Jay works for Contenders Clothing and has helped the company outfit a with Top Rank that would bring his fights to America, saw his scheduled number of fighters -- from undercard newcomers to heavyweight May 2 title defense against Thailand's Apinun Khongsong postponed, champion Tyson Fury -- with their themed t-shirts, hats and boxer briefs leaving him treading water regarding a rescheduling. which includes licensing deals with Muhammad Ali and both the "Rocky" Taylor (16-0, 12 KOs) was forced to leave his training camp in Las Vegas and "Karate Kid" movie franchises. and return to his native Scotland. The main problem with that was this Contenders is giving 10% of its April sales to a fund to help support pro halted a plan in place for Taylor, who rose to fame in 2019 by winning the fighters of all kinds. Boxers can sign up on the company's website. In World Boxing Super Series tournament, to face fellow unbeaten two-belt addition, Contenders has created an exclusive "Going the Social champion Jose Ramirez later this year to crown an undisputed king at Distance" fundraiser t-shirt in which all sales will go into the fund. 140 pounds. "We put our heads together and came up with an idea of a fund for "I'm just a little bit pissed that this year has suddenly been put on a hold fighters with no strings attached or red tape," Jay said. "We don't care because I was on a real good roll and the momentum was flowing," how big you are or what your record is. As long as you are an active pro Taylor told CBS Sports' "State of Combat" podcast on Tuesday. "It has you can sign up and we are going to split the pot and send money out to been put on hold now. It's a pain in the backside but nothing can be done every single person. We don't know the reach this is going to have and about that right now. I've still been working out every day and going this is not a savior check but if we can pay somebody's electrical bill next running every other day, as well. I'm still keeping myself fit and in shape." month through this or the family gets groceries for a week, we want to do Along with his roadwork, Taylor has installed a heavy bag in the back that. Nobody is looking out for these guys." garden behind his garage and a speed bag, free weights and sand bags "What about the club show fighters that only exist on ticket sales but are inside his garage to stay fit. While he considers himself ready now should not televised? Those guys are not going to get work. Just because the call come in, "The Tartan Tornado" said ideally he would need six boxing is back will not mean it will be back for everybody. If we don't weeks should boxing return to "sharpen the tools" in order to peak have fans in venues, there will be a whole segment of fighters who won't entering a fight. be fighting. They may have to retire or switch careers and this will change the boxing landscape."

CBS Sports LOADED: 04.17.2020 1183005 World Leagues News

Coronavirus causes GoPro to cut more than 200 jobs

By REX CRUM | [email protected] | Bay Area News Group

PUBLISHED: April 16, 2020 at 6:56 a.m. | UPDATED: April 16, 2020 at 3:43 p.m.

The impact of the coronavirus has landed upon the head of GoPro, as the San Mateo-based maker of sport-adventure cameras said it will lay off more than 20% of its workforce, and change how it goes about selling its products because of the ongoing pandemic.

GoPro said the job cuts will amount to more than 200 employees being put out of work. The company estimates that the reduction in workers and office space will save it $100 million this year, and cut its overall expenses by $250 million in 2021. GoPro also said it will shake up its sales operation to focus on marketing its products directly to consumers via its website.

GoPro chief executive Nick Woodman made the changes public in a statement released late Wednesday. Woodman said the job cuts and other changes were being made directly because its business has been “negatively impacted by the COVID-19 pandemic.”

“We are crushed that this forces us to let go of many talented members of our team, and we are forever grateful for their contributions,” Woodman said.

GoPro’s job cuts and business changes were not well received on Wall Street, as the company’s stock price fell 4.7%, to $2.53 a share on Thursday.

Woodman said he would work without pay for the rest of 2020, and GoPro’s volunteered to give up their cash compensation for the remainder of the year.

GoPro also withdrew its previous revenue forecasts for the year, and said it now expects to report sales of $119 million for the first quarter of the year when its delivers its full quarterly results in late May.

Bay Area News Group LOADED: 04.17.2020 1183006 World Leagues News but also because the current shutdown has opened debate about the virtue and desirability of existing full-time regimes.

Sport-lifestyle balance is constantly being addressed by player Coronavirus shutdown provides an opportunity to challenge sport's associations and clubs, who have installed study rooms at training conventional wisdom venues and encouraged players to take part-time jobs to keep them off those notorious couches.

By Offsiders columnist Richard Hinds But the dynamic remains that any extra-curricular activities must be bent around the demands of sports that require 24/7 commitment in return for Posted April 17, 2020 05:59:53 lucrative wages.

This is predicated on the belief we have evolved from the days when players would turn up at 6:00pm training sessions held under milky GWS Giants AFL players in a huddle as they celebrate a goal against floodlights wearing overalls or bank teller uniforms and that full-time sport Geelong. produces superior performance. If there is any truth to the stereotypical view of the professional But as we consider the old games being used as time-fillers on various footballers' lifestyle, then no group was better prepared to enter isolation. networks a question arises: does full-time training make better players or Sitting on the couch all day in leisurewear, clutching the PlayStation merely better athletes? controls or with a thumb hovering over the betting app on a mobile An associated story filling the news vacuum is that — without junior phone? football being played this season — the AFL will use the gap year to lift These lockdown skills were mastered by the current breed of overpaid, the age of draft eligibility from 18 to 19. underworked and profligate winter heroes long before they became Previous reluctance to take this step has largely been based on the fear socially acceptable. Or so cliche has it. that so-called "first-choice" athletes would opt for other sports if they While stories of gambling addictions and other social problems lend were forced to wait to join an AFL club. weight to the characterisation of athletes squandering their spare time But lifting the eligibility age for elite competition in all sports could create and money, there is reason to believe the stereotype is actually the significant benefits. exception. The early selection of supposedly "elite talent" can create the self- Coronavirus update: Follow the latest news in our daily wrap. fulfilling prophecy in which a talented 13-year-old is given opportunities Sport is now for many a nine-to-five job, with fitness sessions, endless denied a relative late developer, who might be overlooked or discouraged meetings, mindfulness training, school clinics, hospital visits, media and drop out altogether. appearances and other such tasks eating into that celebrated couch time.

And this does not allow for the many professional athletes who are New Zealand has recognised this and some provinces have studying between sporting commitments, running small businesses or in abandoned early-age representative carnivals in the hope of increasing other ways leading what we presumptuously call a "normal life". the talent pool. But to rehash the buzz phrase of the coronavirus pandemic: never waste While placing an early emphasis on outcome-based skill acquisition a crisis. programs as opposed to fun-based participation can accelerate Breaking down the latest news and research to understand how the development, it also risks lessening the engagement of kids who play world is living through an epidemic, this is the ABC's Coronacast only to get better without necessarily enjoying their sport. podcast. If the age at which a player is supposed to "peak" is raised, there is more So, between compiling lists of greatest goals and fattest full-backs, we time to develop both skills and that love for the game, while keeping are using the current pause to contemplate whether various aspects of players engaged with local clubs for longer will inevitably produce more sport as we knew it were desirable and — in a ravaged sporting economy players at all levels. — even sustainable. While Australian women are rightly fighting for a greater slice of the pie in Turn back the clock two months and instead of condemning athletes for team sports, the non-financial benefit of their part-time status can often trying to protect a proportion of their incomes, we were genuinely be measured in the mature outlook they bring to their sports. concerned for their mental wellbeing. If stacking shelves a few weeks before a big tournament might hamper The timeout taken by cricketer Glenn Maxwell late last year was just one your preparation somewhat, it also creates an appreciation and perhaps recent example of a high-profile sportsperson who had seemingly even a dedication sometimes absent in those who take their lifestyles for succumbed to the pressure of a demanding and highly visible occupation granted. (only "seemingly", as it is dangerous to speculate about mental health Again this is not to portray all their male contemporaries as couch-bound without intimate insight). gambling-addicted PlayStation jockeys with the social awareness of a Way back then most of the conversation was around "treating" and even caterpillar. "beating" mental health problems within the current confines of But we have plenty of time now to consider the idea of having more professional sport. mature recruits who have retained a greater link with the "outside world" You can also get up-to-date information on the Federal Government's entering elite competitions where the lifestyle balance has been Coronavirus Australia app, available on the App Store, Google Play and significantly altered. the Government's WhatsApp channel. And that notion seems quite attractive. How could we relieve the physical and psychological load so that athletes abc.net.au LOADED: 04.17.2020 suffering from depression or fatigue could be eased back into the full- time training regimes we now assume are necessary to produce "elite performance"?

But now, without the distraction of on-field events and with the news cycle not cluttered by confected controversies, we have a rare opportunity to challenge sport's conventional wisdom.

Balance now a priority for athletes

One notion run up the flagpole is a return to semi-professionalism in our football codes, partly through necessity given wages might be slashed 1183007 World Leagues News reportedly concerned the company’s TV contracts could be renegotiated if he doesn’t deliver live shows.

The WWE announced recently an undisclosed on-air talent tested How Florida Is Positioning Itself To Host Sports Leagues During positive for COVID-19, but he wasn’t exposed to anybody else affiliated Coronavirus Shutdown with the company and has since recovered, the press release says.

Though wrestlers are reportedly furious the company is resuming live Alex Reimer programming, they don’t have any bargaining power, because they are not part of a union. Obviously, that is a stark difference between the WWE and professional sports leagues, all of which must work with their players’ unions on any plans to resume play. As nearly the entire U.S. sits under lockdown due to the coronavirus pandemic, Florida is positioning itself to serve as the sports capital of the Sports legal attorney Dan Lust says the power of players’ unions could nation. In a memo issued April 9, Florida carved out a new kind of remain the biggest obstacle towards any league, including the MLB, NBA essential business that’s allowed to operate while the state sits under a and NHL, playing in any capacity during the pandemic. “In theory, (the stay-at-home order: . memo) opens up a path for baseball and any of these sports to go there and play,” he told me in a phone call. “So the 'Arizona Plan' could very A spokesperson for Gov. Ron DeSantis’ office confirmed to me the ruling easily become the 'Florida Plan.' But from a business perspective and applies to all professional sports leagues, provided they are closed to the practical perspective, MLB would have to convince the Players' general public. Association to agree to the risks involved. DeSantis is giving them a lane The memo says “employees at professionals sports and media to at least try and negotiate with the Players' Association, but there's no production with a national audience” are allowed to report to work “if the guarantee players are going to actually let it happen.” location is closed to the general public.” The WWE, whose chairman, There’s little doubt President Donald Trump would prefer sports resume Vince McMahon, has aggressively been trying to keep shooting live sooner rather than later. At his daily coronavirus briefing Tuesday, Trump shows, quickly took advantage of the new edict. Orange County mayor lamented he’s tired of watching baseball games that are “14 days old.” Jerry L. Demings announced this week the company is now considered an essential business in Florida, and will begin holding closed events at Trump also named several sports executives to various committees its training facility in Orlando. dedicated to reopening the economy, including Roger Goodell, Adam Silver, Rob Manfred, Gary Bettman, Robert Kraft, and Mark At a news conference Tuesday, Gov. DeSantis (R) defended his decision Cuban. by pointing to the dearth of live content on TV right now. “We do need to support content, especially like sports and events,” he said, per the New DeSantis is a close ally of Trump, and Linda McMahon served as the York Times NYT. “Now, we’re not going to have crowds there. If Administrator of Small Business Administration in Trump’s cabinet from NASCAR does a race and can televise it without large crowds, I think 2017-19. She joined a pro-Trump superPAC, and has committed to that’s a good thing.” spending heavily in Florida in the 2020 General Election.

Today In: SportsMoney With Trump’s push for sports to return and the economy to reopen, it’s possible different states will be soon begin to follow very different social DeSantis has been criticized for waiting to announce a statewide distancing guidelines. There groundwork is already being laid, with Los shutdown, not issuing a stay-at-home order until April 1, when confirmed Angeles mayor Eric Garcetti saying Wednesday sporting events may not coronavirus cases in his state had already ballooned over 5,000. There take place in his city until 2021. are roughly 21,500 confirmed cases in Florida, more than doubling South Korea, a country with 30 million more people. Regardless, the NFL, one of our biggest and most important entertainment institutions, isn’t preparing to return to action until Notably, DeSantis left the door open to defining more businesses as guidelines are uniform. In the new agreement between the owners and “essential,” saying his office was looking at everything on a case-by-case players about the league’s virtual offseason, it says NFL franchises basis. In an email to me, DeSantis’ press secretary, Cody McCloud, cannot resume in-house operations until all 50 states have removed reiterated the order doesn’t just apply to the WWE. “The memo is not lockdown restrictions. specific to the WWE,” he wrote. “The memo provides professional sports organizations the ability to continue operations when they deem So even if DeSantis successfully pushes for Florida to become the home appropriate, as long as the location is closed to the general public. This is of pro sports during the coronavirus era, it’s unlikely Tom Brady would to the benefit of employees who work at these locations who have been receive more time to practice with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. negatively impacted by COVID-19.” Forbes Media LOADED: 04.17.2020 It’s possible UFC, which was forced to cancel its planned event for April 18 on tribal land in California, could seek to host shows from Florida. President Dana White is putting together a new card for an event May 9 at an undisclosed location.

Up until this point, MLB has discussed playing regular season games in Arizona, pointing to the state’s warm climate and litany of Spring Training facilities. Arizona Gov. Doug Ducey (R) said Tuesday his state is willing to host all 30 MLB teams when the timing is appropriate. (Interestingly enough, MLB employees are participating this week in a 10,000-person study aimed at understanding how people become infected with the coronavirus.)

Florida, with its plethora of Spring Training sites, could also host MLB games. Sports legal attorney Daniel Wallach says he envisions a bidding war could ensue over states willing to open up their borders to sports leagues and entertainment businesses. “If Florida is willing to open its borders for a colossal industry like professional sports, other states may not be able to resist the allure, and offer their own economic incentives,” he told me on the phone. “It might almost be akin to trying to attract Hollywood film productions to your state, by creating tax incentives and other economic incentives to lure the industry into your state.”

Speaking of incentives, it’s worth noting the WWE’s unique potential economic interest in immediately resuming live programming. As The Nation’s Dave Zirin points out, the WWE is only allowed to submit three pre-taped shows per year to the USA and Fox networks. McMahon is 1183008 World Leagues News facilities to handle massive amounts of information in a study like this. However … nobody asked them to do it. They started on their own and with no financial motivation.

MLB and PED Testing Lab Team up for 1st Nationwide Coronavirus “The researchers we have involved with this study are world-renowned. Testing Study There’s no ego involved and nobody is getting paid for it. This is a gap in knowledge that needs to be covered. It’s in no way going to benefit sport, it’s a way for sport to give back to the community. It’s just the right thing By Derek Togerson • Published April 16, 2020 • Updated on April 16, to do,” says Eichner. 2020 at 10:33 am By the way Dr. Eichner was born in San Diego but moved to his mother’s native Australia at the age of five. He returned to Chula Vista at the age of 18 to train with the U.S. Field Hockey team at the Olympic Training Health care professionals across the globe agree that widespread testing Center (as it was known at the time). His family still makes a vacation trip is an absolute necessity in attempting to figure out a plan for determining from Salt Lake City to San Diego every year. when areas infected by COVID-19 can start to return to a sense of normalcy. He’d like to be able to do that again and perhaps this research will help speed that ability along. In the United States the first nationwide coronavirus-related test is underway thanks to a lab that specializes in looking for performance- KNSD LOADED: 04.17.2020 enhancing drugs in sports … Major League Baseball … and a San Diego-born doctor with an Australian accent.

“When (PED) testing programs slowed down we tried to look at how we could assist public health,” says Dr. Daniel Eichner, PhD., the President and Laboratory Director of the Sports Medicine Research & Testing Laboratory (SMRTL). “We saw there’s a gap in information in the true prevalence of COVID-19.”

The SMRTL needed quick access to a nationwide, culturally-diverse testing pool. It asked MLB to participate and got an immediate yes, with coast-to-coast access to more than 10,000 Major League Baseball employees from concessions workers to front office personnel.

“We are proud to support important scientific research to expand the understanding of the virus,” said MLB Commissioner Rob Manfred in a statement.

The SMRTL is not utilizing the test that detects the coronavirus currently in the system so this is not a way for ballplayers and coaches to undergo testing and get the MLB season started sooner and testing kits are not being taken from anyone in danger of contracting the disease. They’re using a pinprick blood test that looks for COVID-19-related antibodies in a person’s blood, information useful for a number of reasons.

One: it could reveal a more accurate picture of the number of people who have been infected.

“We hypothesized there are people in the community are asymptomatic and passing it on without knowing it. We’re looking at the antibody response,” says Eichner.

Another benefit is developing potential treatments, including what’s known as “convalescent plasma therapy,” something that is already being attempted. The idea is to take plasma from those who have recently recovered from the coronavirus and infusing patients fighting the disease, hopefully increasing the ability to fight it off.

Eichner and the SMRTL are looking to see if those who were infected by the virus but never showed symptoms could offer the same benefit, dramatically increasing the potential for a vaccine. The research is encouraging but there are still many questions to be answered.

“If you have antibodies to a viral infection you have some kind of immunity to that viral infection in the future,” says Eichner. “There’s a log that still needs to be understood. Are you immune for 12 months? Five years? There is still a lot of studying to be done there.”

Eichner says the information from the baseball tests will be uploaded by the end of the week and studied over the weekend. The findings are expected to be ready be next week, an extraordinarily fast time frame for a study as far-reaching as this.

“We’ve done a lot of really good studies with MLB in the past and they’re nationwide so we could get access a lot faster than normal. We could not have done this in the normal educational environment because it would take too long. Months, maybe a year. We set this up in a few weeks. We could not have done this in the regular academic field this year.”

Eichner hopes the findings will help develop a better understanding of the pandemic and drive informed public health policies.

The Sports Medicine Research & Testing Laboratory works with multiple professional leagues, the World Anti-Doping Agency, as well as law enforcement entities to perform PED testing and research. It has the 1183009 World Leagues News “These plans will hold,” Dowse said of the relief effort. “This was modeled off what we know we can do, and then in theory if we can do more, we will try to do that as well.”

U.S.T.A. Plans a $15 Million Bailout for Various Tennis Groups Dowse, a former president of Wilson Sporting Goods, took charge of the U.S.T.A. in January. He said the association’s senior management would take a 20 percent pay cut for the remainder of 2020. Dowse’s salary has By Christopher Clarey not yet been made public, but his predecessor, Gordon Smith, was paid $1.265 million in 2018, according to public filings. Stacey Allaster, the April 16, 2020, 1:00 a.m. ET chief executive of the U.S.T.A.’s professional tennis division, was paid $861,232 in 2018.

In response to the coronavirus pandemic, the United States Tennis Dowse said directors and managing directors at the U.S.T.A. would take Association will cut its top executives’ salaries by 20 percent for the 15 percent pay cuts, and managers 10 percent cuts. remainder of 2020 as part of an effort to provide emergency assistance Dowse said those affected represent “just over 40 percent of our totaling about $15 million to American tennis facilities, teaching organization.” professionals and grassroots tennis organizations. “It is in flux,” Dowse said of the U.S. Open’s status, “so we knew we The relief program, to be announced on Thursday, comes with couldn’t wait until that decision was made to act. So we went internal and professional and most recreational tennis shut down in the country and looked at ways to redeploy money to these initiatives. And ultimately with this year’s United States Open in doubt. whatever the outcome is on the U.S. Open, we will model it again and The Open, one of the four Grand Slam tournaments, is the primary see what else we can do.” source of funding for the U.S.T.A., which oversees tennis in the United Dowse said he expected a decision on the U.S. Open to be made by States. The tournament generates revenue approaching $400 million early summer unless governmental decrees change that timeline. The each year and, for now, is still scheduled for Aug. 31-Sept. 13 in New U.S.T.A. has not ruled out postponing the event to a later date in 2020. York. “We don’t have a hard date set yet, just because things are changing so Unlike Wimbledon, the oldest of the Grand Slam tournaments, which was fast,” he said. “You can imagine the runway to ramp up the U.S. Open is canceled for the first time since 1945, the U.S. Open does not have not a short runway, so I’m thinking probably the latter part of June, pandemic insurance to cover some of its losses. sometime in that June time frame.” Despite the uncertainty surrounding its flagship event, the U.S.T.A. and The indoor tennis facility on the U.S. Open grounds at the Billie Jean Mike Dowse, its new chief executive, determined that it was necessary to King National Tennis Center is currently being used as a temporary support some of the foundations of the sport during this forced, extended medical facility with 470 beds. But Dowse said preparations could still be hiatus. finished for the tournament, which is played at outdoor courts and “We’ve got to keep these tennis clubs and teaching pros afloat through stadiums elsewhere at the tennis center. this as much as we can,” said Dowse, who estimated that about “85 The U.S.T.A.’s relief effort is not as wide reaching as one announced on percent of tennis facilities” in the United States had closed by the end of April 3 by the British Lawn Tennis Association, which committed 20 March. million pounds, or about $25 million, to supporting tennis venues, The U.S.T.A. earmarked about $5 million in grants for tennis facilities that coaches, officials and touring pros affected by the crisis. The lawn tennis provide access to the general public and that may need financial help to association also announced executive pay cuts and employee furloughs. reopen after restrictions related to the virus are lifted. The L.T.A. is funded in part by the profits from Wimbledon, and its Another $5 million will go to tennis and education programs that support announcement came two days after Wimbledon was canceled. underserved communities. The French Tennis Federation, which stages the French Open, The U.S.T.A. also intends to provide some relief to teaching announced a relief plan worth 35 million euros, or $39.2 million, for tennis professionals by helping to cover a significant portion of their 2021 in that country. The plan, announced on April 10, has not been finalized, membership dues for the United States Professional Tennis Association but it will include help for lower-ranked professional players. (U.S.P.T.A.) and the Professional Tennis Registry (P.T.R.), the two The U.S.T.A. at this stage has chosen not to provide direct assistance primary organizations that certify teaching professionals in the United to lower-ranked tour players, many of whom are facing significant States. economic challenges with no tournament earnings for at least four Those grants are expected to total at least $2.5 million. months.

The P.T.R. has approximately 9,000 members in the United States; the Dowse said U.S.T.A. executives had been conferring regularly with U.S.P.T.A. has approximately 13,500. leaders of the men’s and women’s tours and the other Grand Slam tournaments about their plans to provide some relief to those ranked Latest Updates: Coronavirus Outbreak in the U.S. outside the top 100 in singles. The men’s tour is considering providing grants as well as interest-free loans up to $20,000 that could be linked to Trump says governors can reopen sooner than May 1. future prize money, although those plans are not yet finalized. China’s economy shrinks, ending nearly half a century of continuous “Whatever decision we come to wasn’t ready to go this week,” Dowse growth. said, “but we’ll definitely have something in the coming weeks in Census Bureau workers may help C.D.C. with contact tracing. collaboration with the other Grand Slams, the I.T.F., the A.T.P. and the W.T.A.” “I have heard from a lot of our coaches who have either been laid off or furloughed and don’t know where their next paycheck is coming from,” New York Times LOADED: 04.17.2020 said Dan Santorum, the chief executive of the P.T.R., which has annual dues of $159. “So this kind of assistance from the U.S.T.A. is particularly welcome.”

The rest of the funding is expected to go toward support efforts like telephone counseling to cope with emotional effects of the pandemic or legal consulting for those who want to claim government aid provided through the Cares Act.

Even if the U.S. Open is canceled, Dowse said on Wednesday that this relief plan would remain in place, funded by about $20 million in cuts that have been made through salary reductions and by lowering expenses in marketing, player development and operations. 1183010 World Leagues News

World Rugby launches £80m relief fund amid coronavirus pandemic

World Rugby is making contingencies in case cross-hemisphere travel is not possible for international teams until 2021

World Rugby has created a $100m (£80m) relief fund to help relieve the financial pressure on the global game from the coronavirus pandemic.

Scottish Rugby announced a series of pay cuts, in addition to furloughing about 75% of its staff, earlier this week.

The Rugby Football Union has said it expects to miss out on £50m of revenue, while Rugby Australia is another union to take drastic cost- cutting measures.

"We are taking unprecedented action as a sport united to support global rugby, its unions, competitions and players," said World Rugby chairman Sir Bill Beaumont.

The global governing body is also exploring options for rearranging the international rugby calendar in the short term in preparation for sport restarting.

World Rugby's contingencies include the possibilities that cross- hemisphere travel may not be permitted, which would impact on the northern hemisphere's autumn series, and that no international rugby at all may be feasible until 2021.

"We are rapidly moving towards a viable calendar solution and, while compromises are being made, the outcome will be in the best interests of the whole game," added Beaumont.

For the Six Nations unions and Australia, Argentina, South Africa and New Zealand in the southern hemisphere, World Rugby said a financial package would "potentially involve a combination of advances and loans".

"World Rugby is also committed to supporting emerging nations and regional associations where required," it added in a statement.

An RFU spokesperson said: "We welcome all support from UK government and international federations to help sustain the game across England and the rest of the world."

A Scottish Rugby spokesperson said: "We are aware of the relief fund and will consider access to it as one of the options being investigated as part of our ongoing financial planning, as we navigate through the current Covid-19 crisis."

Beaumont is being challenged by World Rugby vice-chairman Agustin Pichot as he runs for re-election to his post next month.

Pichot is calling for a "global realignment" in the game's governing structure, "moving on from the time where those benefits were for just a few".

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