1 Columbus Blue Jackets News Clips August 6, 2020 Columbus Blue

Columbus Blue Jackets News Clips August 6, 2020

Columbus Blue Jackets PAGE 02: Columbus Dispatch: Bubble sports move forward while MLB struggles PAGE 04: Columbus Dispatch: Maple Leafs 3, Blue Jackets 0: Five Takeaways PAGE 07: Columbus Dispatch: Blue Jackets enjoy depth at defenseman PAGE 09: Columbus Dispatch: Blue Jackets’ Vladislav Gavrikov, David Savard flourish as new blu`Lumberjackets’

Cleveland Monsters/Prospects

NHL/Websites PAGE 11: The Athletic: Sources: GMs of seven NHL teams not playing submit plan for additional camp time PAGE 13: The Athletic: Down Goes Brown: A fan’s guide to how worried you should be after 4 days PAGE 18: The Athletic: ‘It’s not going to be perfect’: Meet the man who built the NHL’s bubble PAGE 22: The Athletic: LeBrun Notebook: Alexis Lafreniere’s unique spot, no to future play-ins and more

Columbus Dispatch / Bubble sports move forward while MLB struggles By Michael Arace – August 6, 2020

It may happen that we look back on the coronavirus summer of 2020 and declare that sports bubbles worked famously well. It may be that the NBA, WNBA, NHL, MLS and NWSL not only managed to cut their losses by getting back on TV, they also showed America that diligence pays dividends. Like in Canada. Here’s Mark Cameron, associate professor in the Department of Quantitative Health Sciences at Case Western Reserve University: "The leagues are identifying clusters of COVID-19 infections. They don’t want to be responsible for a bona fide outbreak player-to-player, team-to-team or team-to-community, or any combination therein. Those are the red lines. "Are we working out the kinks or are we risking outbreaks? I don’t know. We do know at least one sports bubble (MLS) has stabilized despite early infections. We don’t know yet whether that can happen in a return-to-play plan that includes travel and large delegations." Cameron is studying the effects of the virus in his lab in Cleveland. Ostensibly, he’s doing his bit to find a vaccine for COVID-19. He said, "The NFL should be paying particular attention to MLB." Last week, more than 20 members of the Miami Marlins’ traveling party including 18 players tested positive for the virus. The St. Louis Cardinals have reported 20 positives, including seven players. One week into its once-delayed season, MLB’s porous protocols have forced the league to cut and paste its schedule with postponements. Baseball commissioner Rob Manfred told ESPN’s Karl Ravech that he, Manfred, is not a quitter, and that the situation is manageable. Meanwhile, according to numerous reports, Manfred told the players’ union chief that the season will be in jeopardy if the players don’t stop acting like 20-something millionaires. Good luck with that. The biggest red flag was waved in Boston, where Red Sox pitcher Eduardo Rodriguez was shelved for the rest of the season due to an inflammation of his heart. This is a case where a young, strong athlete contracted the virus and had more than a cough and a sneeze. Tests showed that Rodriguez, 27, has myocarditis, which can lead to heart disease or arrhythmia. Some cardiologists think that heart problems linked to the coronavirus might occur in more than 30% of the cases. Nobody is really sure, not yet. Long-term studies of survivors are only just beginning. From the latest issue of Science magazine: "The list of lingering maladies from COVID-19 is longer and more varied than most doctors could have imagined. Ongoing problems include fatigue, a racing heartbeat, shortness of breath, achy joints, foggy thinking, a persistent loss of sense of smell, and damage to the heart, lungs, kidneys, and brain. … The sheer breadth of complications linked to COVID- 19 is mind-boggling."

I don’t want to be overly alarmist here. The myriad diseases the virus is spawning are most often seen in only the most acute cases. And the vast majority of people who are stricken recover. Yet, so much is still unknown. So, let’s watch some hockey! Saturday, the first day of the NHL tournament in the Toronto and Edmonton bubbles, the kids in my house watched hockey from noon until 1 a.m. After nearly five months of pandemic, we crave normalcy, and sports on a 55-inch screen is the fire in our hearth. The "bubble" sports that are semi-sealed in place appear to have a good chance of succeeding. The NHL gets the highest marks: Its tournament, scheduled to run into October, is being well-run (solid protocols) in a favorable environment (Canada, where governments have worked to squash the virus). To this point, there have been zero positive tests among players and team personnel in Toronto and Edmonton. The NWSL, after barring one team from its tournament in Utah, recently crowned a champion, and there wasn’t a glitch. The NWSL also set ratings records, as the WNBA is doing while playing in a bubble in Bradenton, Florida. The NBA has not avoided issues. Last week, Los Angeles Clippers guard Lou Williams was slapped with a 10-day quarantine (suspension?) after he left the Orlando bubble to attend a funeral and went to an Atlanta strip club for dinner. In the pictures that popped up on social media, Williams wore his team- issued mask at the strip club. He said he was there for the chicken wings. As Cameron mentioned, the MLS tournament, also in Orlando, has overcome a problematic start and is a good bet to conclude, next Tuesday, without further complication. The virus won’t disappear until we have a vaccine, and use it. Until then, there is a risk to our health, and this goes, too, for our young, strong athletes. Those in a bubble I’m happier to watch. It’s easier on the conscience.

Columbus Dispatch / Maple Leafs 3, Blue Jackets 0: Five Takeaways By Brian Hedger – August 6, 2020

It started with a shot 35 seconds after the opening face-off Tuesday at Scotiabank Arena. Blue Jackets goalie Joonas Korpisalo stopped it, along with 35 more, but the Toronto Maple Leafs sent a bigger warning shot 1:41 later to sum up what the afternoon was going to be like. Just 2:16 into what turned out to be a dominating 3-0 victory for Toronto, which knotted a best-of-five series at 1 in the NHL’s playoff qualifying round, Kyle Clifford locked onto a target in a corner of the Columbus zone and unloaded. In a flash, Clifford launched a violent shoulder-to-shoulder hit just as Dean Kukan played the puck and sent message, loud and clear, with the devastating collision. It was the kind of lick that would’ve made a crowd gasp in unison, had one been allowed inside the building, and it was an early sign of a desperate team. The rest of the day went mostly the same, as the Maple Leafs avoided a 2-0 deficit that is almost a certain death sentence in a series this short. "Toronto was really good," said Blue Jackets coach John Tortorella, who had no interest in breaking it down. "We sucked." While some might prefer a touch more insight from the head coach of a team that was just run over by a proverbial Mack truck, that was indeed the long and short of it. The Maple Leafs were really good and the Blue Jackets weren’t. Now, they’re tied at a game apiece and have three left to decide which team will be sent packing from the NHL’s quarantine bubble in Toronto. Here are five takeaways: Playing keep away The Maple Leafs have a roster filled with elite talent, but they’re not just a bunch of cherry-pickers looking for the easy life. Toronto’s version of defense is to play offense, preferably for long periods of time by just zipping the puck around the offensive zone to one another until something opens. The Maple Leafs have had success doing it, too, including a couple dominant stretches in a 2-0 loss Sunday to open the series. A lot of teams, including the Blue Jackets, depend on physicality to win puck battles along the walls in the offensive zone, which keep shifts alive with a strong "cycle" game. The Maple Leafs do it with skill players, whose vision, skating and hands allow them to make smart, crisp, accurate passes. It gets opposing teams on their heels, unable to get the puck back. The Blue Jackets chased the Leafs around their own zone in Game 1 and it didn’t work very well, so in Game 2 they tried to anticipate more. All that did was allow the Maple Leafs to throw the puck around the perimeter so well that 5-on-5 started to look like a Toronto power play. The Maple Leafs also dominated puck possession with a relentless forecheck, creating turnovers, scoring chances and havoc in the Columbus zone. That’s supposed to be a hallmark of the Blue Jackets, who were dominated at their own game.

"Today, I thought we forechecked really hard from the start of the game and some loose pucks became available," Maple Leafs coach Sheldon Keefe said. "We were doing a better job up ice, on their half of the ice, and then, as a result, most of the time when it entered our half of the ice, they were in line changes and not forechecking as a full unit. So, that makes it a lot easier for us." If the Blue Jackets want the puck, they’re going to need a solution quickly. Fixing their own forecheck would be a good start, but it’s going to require more efficient play in their own end of the rink. Parade of penalties After taking just one penalty in Game 1, Columbus was whistled for six in Game 2, leading to five power plays for the Maple Leafs. That could’ve easily blown the game open, but the Blue Jackets successfully killed all five. They’re also six-for-six while shorthanded in the series, largely because of Korpisalo and some key blocked shots by David Savard, Seth Jones and others. Continuing to give Toronto numerous power plays, however, could become a recipe for disaster. The Maple Leafs, whose power play is loaded with elite talent, made a lot of teams pay for penalties in the regular season, finishing sixth in the NHL with a 23.1% success rate. They’re tough to stop, especially when given numerous chances to get on the ice. Should Auston Matthews, John Tavares and Marner get hot thanks to momentum from multiple power plays, the series could be over in a hurry. On the flip side, the Maple Leafs committed five penalties of their own that resulted in four power plays for the Blue Jackets – including two late in the third with Toronto up 2-0. They couldn’t get much going and goalie Frederik Andersen stopped the shots they did generate, on his way to a 20-save shutout. Muzzin’s injury The game stopped for nearly 15 minutes with 1:52 left in the third period, as Maple Leafs medical staff attended to defenseman Jake Muzzin. After a crosscheck by Blue Jackets center Pierre-Luc Dubois, Muzzin lost his balance and skidded into the end boards behind the Toronto net. He then catapulted off the boards, headfirst, smashing his face straight into the back of Oliver Bjorkstrand’s leg. The veteran defenseman was alert afterward. Muzzin sat up, moved his limbs and even had a short talk with an athletic trainer before he was instructed to lie flat and await a stretcher. He was then carried off to the sound of clacking sticks before heading to a hospital for further evaluation. The Maple Leafs issued a statement after the game that Muzzin was in a hospital, alert, and able to move all of his limbs. "First and foremost, I want to start by saying my thoughts and prayers are with Jake Muzzin," said Blue Jackets defenseman Zach Werenski, who brought up Muzzin’s injury prior to answering a question about a different topic. "Obviously, that’s tough to see and no hockey game is as important as someone’s health, so we’re thinking of him right now." It’s unclear how seriously Muzzin was injured, so there’s no telling yet whether he’ll return to action in this series. There is also a question about whether he will be required to quarantine himself in a hotel room upon re-entry into the "bubble."

Assuming the hospital is outside the "secure zone" borders, Muzzin may have to be isolated until passing four consecutive COVID-19 PCR tests a period of four days – as detailed in section C-2 of the league’s Phase 4 protocols. According to a TSN report, the decision will instead be made after consultation between the hub’s medical director and the NHL medical director who’s on site. Should Muzzin have to quarantine four days, assuming he gains medical clearanceto play, the soonest he could return is Game 5 on Sunday. The bright side There weren’t a lot of positives in Game 2 for the Jackets, but Korpisalo was a big one. The Finnish goalie was great again in net, making 36 saves on 38 shots after posting a 28-save shutout in Game 1 – which was his NHL postseason debut. Once again, Korpisalo looked confident and didn’t crack until Matthews redirected a shot past him late in the second period. He also allowed a breakaway goal to Tavares in the third that made it 2-0, but otherwise had the Maple Leafs shaking their heads in disbelief. What’s next? The next two games will be played back-to-back Thursday night and Friday, which presents a challenge for both teams. Playoff schedules usually space out games with at least a day off between, but this year isn’t even close to "usual" thanks to the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic. Thus, each series in the qualifying round includes a back-to-back set, which the Maple Leafs and Jackets will experience next. Both will be crucial games. If either team sweeps the next two games, the series is over and the winner stays in the bubble. A split will force a deciding Game 5 on Sunday, which will be bubble trouble for one of them. Are lineup changes ahead for the Blue Jackets? Can they surge back ahead in the series Thursday? Stay tuned and buckle up, kids, because the ride might get a little bumpier.

Columbus Dispatch / Blue Jackets enjoy depth at defenseman By Brian Hedger – August 6, 2020

The best way to gauge just how deep the Blue Jackets run in quality defensemen is to look at who is not playing. After Dean Kukan earned the role of sixth defenseman for the first two games in a best-of-five series against the Toronto Maple Leafs, three defensemen who played for the Jackets this season were healthy scratches – Markus Nutivaara, Scott Harrington and rookie Andrew Peeke, who filled in admirably during a rash of injuries. The fact they’re all waiting for a shot to play says a lot more about the Blue Jackets’ depth – and Kukan’s talent – than it does about them as players. "For me, it was coming down to Kuks and Nuti," coach John Tortorella said of the Jackets’ competition for the sixth spot. "(Harrington) also. Harry’s given us some good minutes during the year, but we just thought Kuks played better than the others. And I say that, you know … Peeker (also) gave us some good minutes when we had injuries. It all happens with the injuries, when you get to see your (depth) players play, but the decision – everybody was all for it, as far as the decision we made." Kukan, who shoots left-handed, has worked at the right point on the third defense pairing with Ryan Murray in the first two games. He logged 13:04 on Sunday in Game 1, which the Blue Jackets won 2-0, and finished with four shots on goal, tied for the team high. After returning from a knee injury Jan. 2 in Boston, which cost him the rest of the regular season, the 27- year-old Swiss defenseman has returned to form. He is also proving how much of a luxury Tortorella has when filling out his defensive lineup. "Our depth on (defense) is really a strength of our team," said top defenseman Seth Jones, who is back to full strength after an ankle fracture ended his regular season early. "We’re comfortable with all six. Murr, Kuks, and you know, Nuti’s not in the lineup. We have Harry, Peeke, guys that aren’t even in the lineup that can come in and play in our top six, as well. So any given night, if we have everyone going, I think that’s what’s great about our D-corps." No friends in the playoffs Zach Werenski and Auston Matthews have a friendship that extends back to their mid-teens at the U.S. National Team Development Program, but they’ve set it aside for a while. In fact, one of Werenski’s two credited hits in Game 1 victory was against Matthews, Toronto’s star center who was hit four times by the Blue Jackets. Werenski has a pencil-thin mustache similar to the one Matthews has worn for a few years, but that’s where their like-mindedness will stay until the series ends. "You don’t really think too much about the friendship during a series like this," Werenski said. "Obviously, both of us want to win and that’s why we’re here." Numbers game In the NHL’s history of five-game series, teams that won Game 1 have won the series almost 82 percent of the time.

According to the NHL’s public relations staff, winners of Game 1 in a best-of-five series have an all-time .819 winning percentage in the series. Teams that won the first two games went 55-1, with the 1985 New York Islanders being the only team to win after falling behind 2-0. The NHL included a best-of-five qualifying round this season as part of a 24-team playoff format adopted during an extended pause in the season for the COVID-19 pandemic. Game 3 start time set Game 3 of the series will start at 8 p.m. Thursday, the NHL announced Tuesday.

Columbus Dispatch / Blue Jackets’ Vladislav Gavrikov, David Savard flourish as new `Lumberjackets’ By Brian Hedger – August 6, 2020

Two years ago, the Blue Jackets had a promising defensive pairing dissolved by free agency. Ian Cole, a veteran acquired at the trade deadline in 2018, signed with the Colorado Avalanche rather than extending his stay in Columbus. While here he had joined David Savard to form a mammoth, full- bearded duo of defensive stoppers who fans quickly nicknamed "The Lumberjackets" on social media. They were nearly mirror Images of each other — in size, strength and even facial hair — and Cole even had a big left-handed shot that paired nicely with the right-handed Savard’s howitzer from the other side. That the pairing ended so quickly was disappointing, but the Blue Jackets put together a new version this season. Vladislav Gavrikov, another large defenseman with a beard and big left-handed shot, has given Savard another great fit on the Jackets’ second pairing. The Toronto Maple Leafs have discovered that during the first two games in a best-of-five series against Columbus in the qualifying round of the playoffs. "They just play well with one another," said Blue Jackets coach John Tortorella, who was also responsible for pairing Cole and Savard. "They’ve been a pair for quite a while. I just think they’re in sync. They’re very good defensemen underneath the hash marks and very underrated, as far as what they can do up the ice offensively." Call them "Lumberjackets 2.0," the homegrown edition. Unlike Cole, Gavrikov came to the Blue Jackets through the NHL draft, selected in the sixth round in 2015 with the 159th overall pick. He’d just made his debut in the Kontinental Hockey League the previous season (2014-15) and spent the next four years playing in Russia’s top circuit, first for his hometown team in Yaroslavl and then with SKA St. Petersburg the final two. He visited Columbus at one point, on a recruiting visit of sorts, but news of his new KHL contract extension broke on Twitter during what became an awkward dinner with Tortorella and the Blue Jackets’ brass – something they can joke about now. As it turned out, Gavrikov was worth the wait. Possessing a shutdown defensive ability, poise with the puck and willingness to emulate Savard by using his body as a shield to block shots, Gavrikov has become the Jackets’ new Cole. "I wouldn’t say (Gavrikov is) the same player, but I think there is a similar style," Savard said. "I’ve been playing with guys like this for a long time … and we work really well together. It makes my game easy. They’re all so assertive and they skate well and they’re physical, so it’s just been a good run so far. Hopefully, we can play even better in the playoffs." They certainly got off to a good start in Game 1 against Toronto, when the Blue Jackets got a 28-save shutout from goalie Joonas Korpisalo and stifled the Maple Leafs’ high-powered offense with a sound defensive scheme. Guess which two defensemen most interested Toronto-based reporters afterward?

Hint: It wasn’t Zach Werenski and Seth Jones, whose elite skills are well-known. "They might not be as talked about as a guy like Seth Jones, but they do so much for our team … especially on the penalty kill, late in games, when we’re up by one or two and they have the goalie pulled," Werenski said when asked about Gavrikov and Savard. "Those guys will stand in front of any puck and block any shots, so they’re awesome for us." They’re also a lot fun, in their own ways. Savard’s low-key public persona belies a great sense of humor, while Gavrikov has won over fans with a jovial personality, slightly broken English and the "big secret" behind his "cellphone celly" goal celebrations. As for playing with Savard, it has been an easy partnership for him, too. "He is a good player, good skills and a good, like, defenseman," Gavrikov said, pausing a beat before continuing with a smirk. "Mister Blocker Shots Machine ... so, everybody knows that." Similar to previous teammates in Russia? "No," Gavrikov said, smiling. "Of course, he’s special." The new "Lumberjackets" are, too.

The Athletic / Sources: GMs of seven NHL teams not playing submit plan for additional camp time By Craig Custance and Pierre LeBrun – August 6, 2020

The focus in the NHL has been squarely on the wall-to-wall action taking place during the qualification rounds in Toronto and Edmonton. But while that’s been happening, the general managers for the seven teams on the outside have quietly been at work trying to create a plan to get their players back on the ice. According to multiple NHL sources, a collaborative proposal from the GMs of those seven teams was submitted recently to the league that provides extra ice time for those not playing right now. It’s expected that those seven teams are requesting at least an additional two-week minicamp added before the start of training camp for the 2020-21 season that is similar to the training camp the other 24 teams received as part of the NHL’s return to play in July. “All we want is what the 24 teams got,” said one executive from a team outside the NHL postseason. The teams that were not included in the NHL’s return to play this summer are the Los Angeles Kings, Detroit Red Wings, Ottawa Senators, San Jose Sharks, Anaheim Ducks, New Jersey Devils and Buffalo Sabres. The NHL is tentatively scheduled to begin training camp for next season on Nov. 17, which would mean an early November opening for the other seven teams. This proposal came after multiple conference calls and collaboration among the general managers of the seven teams as well as consultation with players on those teams. One idea that players didn’t warm up to was having a September minicamp for just the seven teams not playing right now. But having the additional weeks tacked on to the current training camp format was something players seemed to like, according to multiple sources. Players on the seven teams would also be able to opt out of the additional training camp. “I think it’s reasonable,” said one prominent agent on Wednesday. “I think two weeks before, plus or minus a little bit, is a reasonable sweet spot.” New Jersey Devils goaltender Cory Schneider, one of the Devils’ two representatives on the NHLPA’s executive board, said that players on the teams not playing recently did a conference call to debate the merits of having some sort of camp to get back on the ice. There were a lot of factors in play. “Most of us as competitors say we would love to try to get together and do something at some point during this in an organized sense with the team,” Schneider said on The Athletic’s Two-Man Advantage podcast. “In September, are we going to make guys come from Europe and Canada and quarantine for two weeks to do a one-week conditioning camp?… that’s the dilemma. What is the reward and what is the risk?” NHL deputy commissioner Bill Daly said last week that he was in communication with the seven teams not playing and has had preliminary discussions with the NHLPA on this issue. The players would have to sign off on any changes to training camp. “I can’t say that it’s a front-burner issue as we sit here today,” Daly said in a recent Q&A. But now, he at least has a proposal from his general managers to consider and present to the NHLPA as these talks continue. One that seems to make a lot of sense to both the executives and the players on those teams.

“We’d all love to get back and skate and be with our teammates and have some sort of sense of normalcy, but at what cost?” Schneider said. “Can you really demand that of guys to do that? That’s the hard part.”

The Athletic / Down Goes Brown: A fan’s guide to how worried you should be after 4 days By Sean McIndoe – August 6, 2020

It’s the postseason. Time to worry. After all, that’s half the fun during this time of year. And by “fun” I mean that you spend days or weeks or months curled up in a little ball with your eyes shut tight while you make little squeaky whimpering noises. So, not fun at all, I guess. But postseason misery comes in different forms, and not all worry is created equal. There’s the general sense of low-level trepidation when things are going reasonably well and you’re trying to figure out what the hockey gods are setting you up for. There are zones in the middle, where the glass is half full right before you throw it through your TV screen. And then there’s the full-on existential dread, where things are awful and you’re just trying to figure out how they’ll get worse, and you question why you ever decided to like this team and this sport in the first place. We’ve all been there. But it’s important to pace yourself and make sure you’re in the right spot. I don’t get to tell you where that is, but I’ve been doing this long enough that I can at least offer up some advice. Here’s where I’d suggest everyone should be, four whole days into a postseason that’s going to last two more months for some of you, and maybe just a few more hours for others. Worry level: Low Fans of all the teams who aren’t here How are you all enjoying this? Has it been enjoyable? I bet it’s been kind of enjoyable. The dirty secret of hockey fandom is that having your team miss the playoffs sucks, but watching the playoffs when your team isn’t in them is kind of awesome. You can hate-watch a few teams, bandwagon a couple more if you’re up for it or just work the remote and cheer for overtime. It kind of rules. Am I speaking from experience? Way too much of it, thanks for asking. Lightning, Flyers, Avalanche and Golden Knights That would be the four teams in the round robin who’ve opened with a win. Wins are good. You want to start strong and get a little momentum, and with just three games to play in this mini-tournament, an early win is pretty much mandatory if you want to finish first in the conference and grab the top seed. Will that top seed matter? Probably not, since you could still end up facing a tougher matchup, but every little bit helps and securing home ice and last change is a little bit. And at least it’s fun to say that it’s the postseason and you’re riding a winning streak that’s lasted almost five months. New York Islanders They are who we thought they were, at least so far. In other words, they’re a very well-coached team that won’t blow you away with skill or clog up a highlight reel, but know how to shut down an opponent and turn a game into the kind they want to play. They embarrassed the Penguins with a sweep last year, and now find themselves two-thirds of the way to giving the Panthers the same treatment. As long as Mathew Barzal can avoid doing any more headers into the boards that briefly gave everyone a heart attack, there hasn’t been much for Islander fans to worry about yet. Take advantage of it while it lasts.

New York Rangers Good job, good effort. Enjoy a few weeks of Alexis Lafreniere highlights. Worry level: Mild Capitals, Blues, Stars and Bruins It’s a round robin. Nobody’s going anywhere. In a perfect world, sure, you want that top seed. But in this tournament, it feels like the more important pieces are staying healthy, rediscovering chemistry and ramping up the intensity in time for Round 1. That’s not to say there isn’t room for at least some small sliver of concern. The Stars gave up four goals plus an empty netter, which is out of character. The Bruins looked lacklustre and didn’t have Tuukka Rask. The Blues were badly outplayed for a period. The Caps lost a shootout, and finding never-before- seen ways to lose in the postseason is a little too on-brand for that franchise. So yeah, winning is better than losing and these teams didn’t win. But they’ve all got time to sort it out, and they have that time because they earned it with strong regular seasons. If you’re a fan of one of these teams, feeling worried now is like taking a few practice hacks in the on-deck circle. Go ahead, then take a deep breath and enjoy your last few days of peace of quiet. Arizona Coyotes They’re tied 1-1, so there’s a long way to go. But yesterday was ugly, and two last-minute goals that came with the game already decided made the score seem flattering. They weren’t awful by any stretch, but it was a disappointing follow-up to a solid opener. And with Darcy Kuemper having a rough game and Antti Raanta suddenly out with an apparent head injury, their advantage in goal is nowhere near as pronounced as it seemed to be. Nashville Predators Seriously, that last minute in Game 2 didn’t mean anything, right? Just a little blip, taking your foot off the gas ever so slightly after a reasonably good game, instead of playing right through the whistle. Yeah, let’s go with that. It’s possible that I’ve got the Coyotes and Predators too low. But maybe it’s just me, but this series always felt like was going to go the distance, so there’s no need to ratchet up the panic anytime soon. Might as well stay nice and calm, because you’ve got three more games to go. Probably some sudden death too. Definitely wouldn’t shock me if the deciding game goes multiple overtimes, and probably ends on some heart-breaking mistake that we’ll remember forever. Am I helping you stay calm? I feel like I’m not helping, let’s move on. Calgary Flames The Jets are feisty, and we know they won’t quit. They may only have a half-dozen healthy players left, but those guys are going to work. Still, with two wins in the bank and a strong showing last night, the Flames should be feeling pretty good about things right now. Carolina Hurricanes I have to say it, starting your backup goalie because it’s a back-to-back and you’re already two games ahead is a power move. And it worked. The Hurricanes look scary right now. Wait a minute, why aren’t they in the lowest tier? They’re the only play-in team that’s booked their spot in the next round. But here’s the thing: They’re in the next round. That means it’s time to stop thinking about the play-in opponent you know you can beat, and start worrying about the next one that’s going to be tougher. Who will it be? Who should you want? Who should you fear? Wait, did they win too fast and now they’ll be rusty for the next round? Oh no, this is only getting worse …

The NHL playoffs are perpetual mental torture is what I’m saying. Worry level: Medium Pittsburgh Penguins They’ve played well in two games, but it’s only been enough in one. That’s playoff hockey, and the Penguins have been on enough deep runs to know that you don’t always get the result you deserve. Still, when you’re a contender and you find yourself matched up against a .500 team that sold at the deadline, you might hope for a short series and an easy ticket to the next round. The Penguins aren’t going to get that. Columbus Blue Jackets They were excellent in Game 1. Yesterday they were, in their coach’s words, not that. If you’re a Columbus fan who prefers optimism, you can lean on the fact that they’ve shown they can shut down the Leafs’ run-and-gun offense, and they’ve been able to force Toronto to play their style of low-scoring hockey in both games. If you’re a pessimist, you’ll note that they’ve scored just one goal against a goalie and were badly outplayed for most of Game 2, even though a few of Toronto’s best players haven’t really shown up yet. The series still feels very winnable, but they’re going to need to be a lot better than they were yesterday. Minnesota Wild They look a lot like the Blue Jackets, having pitched a shutout in a complete Game 1 effort only to see their opponent push back in the rematch. There’s been some bite to this series, and it’s another one that feels like it might not be decided until Game 5. The Wild are in decent shape, and maybe their fans are just used to this – they’ve never had a 2-0 playoff lead in franchise history. Vancouver Canucks They needed a statement and they got it, even though the ending got a little weirder than they’d have liked. The absence of Tyler Toffoli is a concern, especially with rumors of a walking boot. But in Game 2 their best players looked like their best players, which is how it should be, but it doesn’t always work out that way in the postseason. They’ve got the edge in high-end talent over the Wild, and more than a few other teams in the conference, so if those guys are flying, they’re in good shape. Toronto Maple Leafs I’ll be honest, when I pitched a worry index idea to my editors earlier this week, I figured the Leafs would be hitting cleanup in the “world is ending” section, which is their natural habitat. They’d been shut down completely in Game 1, the narratives were swirling and you could feel pressure ratcheting up. Instead, I have to stick them in the middle. They played a great game yesterday, maybe their very best of the season, controlling the play and looking like the better team. For a while, it felt like it still wouldn’t be enough, because Joonas Korpisalo looked unbeatable. But they figured him out, and when they did, the Blue Jackets never really pushed back. There’s still plenty to worry about, including the status of Jake Muzzin. But so far, we’ve seen each team play one strong game, and a split seems about right. Edmonton Oilers Heading into the series, we all thought the Oilers had questions in goal and on the blue line and in the bottom six. We all still think that. We’re just not sure if it will matter against the Hawks. Connor McDavid’s tour-de-force in Game 2 was the kind of game that just makes you throw up your hands and laugh at whoever’s trying to stop him. We’ve seen it before from him. We’ll see it again, probably tonight.

I still think the Oilers win the series, although to their credit, the Hawks aren’t making it easy. If you’re an Edmonton fan who just wanted to win a round, you’re in a reasonably good place right now. But if the idea was to make a run, you’d like to see more than they’ve shown so far. Mikko Koskinen’s been good enough, but a better game tonight would help calm some nerves. For now, we’ll put them in the medium zone for at least a few more hours. Montreal Canadiens The good news is that the series is tied. The bad news is that they’re playing a better team, and they’ve been outplayed in both games. The other good news is that they’ve still been in both contests, and could have won both. The other bad news is that they didn’t, and it probably only gets harder from here on out. I think the Habs have looked fine. Not great, at least for any really sustained periods, but they haven’t been overmatched. If you didn’t know who either team was and you were dropped in front of a TV to watch the first two games, you’d probably come away thinking the Penguins were better, but you wouldn’t think this was a No. 5 seed versus a No. 12 matchup. Furthermore, Carey Price looks great. They can still win this, which is the good news. (The bad news is their fans would probably rather have a shot at Lafreniere, but let’s ignore that for a few more days.) Worry level: High Winnipeg Jets For my money, the most impressive win of the postseason so far was the Jets’ effort in Game 2. It wasn’t the best game of the playoffs, and probably isn’t even the best game they’re capable of. But after a disaster of an opener had dumb people already writing them off, they had every excuse imaginable already lined up and ready to go. Instead, they went to work and got it done. Unfortunately, the Flames responded in kind, and last night’s loss leaves the Jets one game away from elimination. With so many major injuries, I wonder if the appropriate feeling here is more like grim acceptance, mixed with some quiet optimism that they can surprise us again. Florida Panthers The Islanders are good, man. We knew that, and it’s not like the Panthers came into the tournament with huge expectations, so maybe this isn’t a true high-panic situation so much as a demoralizing confirmation of what most fans seemed to be expecting. It’s still disappointing because this was supposed to be the year the Panthers broke through. They even spent some money in the offseason to do it. But when your big-money goalie has a bad year and you seem to be cutting the budget at the deadline, you’re going to be in tough against a team like the Islanders that know who they are. Florida’s not done yet, at least for a few more hours, but there isn’t much optimism to be found here. Chicago Blackhawks In theory, when you’re a road team, you just want to split the first two games. Maybe that’s especially true when you’re facing the only true “home” team in the conference. So as an underdog, the Hawks could feel OK about being even after two games. But OK is about it, because yikes, Monday night was scary. That was the Connor McDavid game you worry about, where he just looks at how a series is trending and goes “nope” and there’s nothing you can do about it. Can he do that twice more in the series? Yes, actually. Will he? We’ll see. The Hawks hope not, but hope might be all they have. That sounds overly dramatic for a team that just scored ten goals in two games against a thin opponent with shaky defense. And sure, it’s only 1-1, and I’ve got all the other 1-1 teams in the mild and medium

zones. Maybe Chicago can settle things down and make Game 3 look more like Game 1. But unless they can mind-meld Dave Tippett into starting Mike Smith again, it won’t be easy. And even if they fight through and win the series, their fans are going to spend the next few games being terrified every time McDavid is on the ice.

The Athletic / ‘It’s not going to be perfect’: Meet the man who built the NHL’s bubble By Dan Robson – August 6, 2020

EDMONTON — Watching from the production truck, Steve Mayer knew the 2015 Miss Universe pageant was about to go viral. Host Steve Harvey had just declared the wrong winner. The audience, those in attendance at the AXIS in Las Vegas and millions more in their homes watching on TV, had no idea. Mayer, an award-winning producer set to take a new job with the National Hockey League after the Miss Universe broadcast, looked on as Harvey made the long walk back across the stage. “I have to apologize,” the host said, returning to the stage as Miss Colombia waved her nation’s flag. “The first runner up is Colombia. Miss Universe 2015 is Philippines.” The moment played out on live television around the world — and for days on news programs, talk shows and across the internet. “That was a night to remember,” Mayer recalls during a rare break this week between hockey games. “He read a card wrong. … It was one of those moments where you triple check yourself. It was horrible. … I’ve probably done thousands of shows over the years, and that one is one of the most famous for sure.” There will be no mistaking the winner when the Stanley Cup is awarded in a couple of months, as long as the league can keep its bubble in two hub cities contained from COVID-19. But as the man in charge of the NHL’s return to play, Mayer faces a challenge as rife for the unexpected as anything he’s seen in 30-plus years in the business. In his purview as the NHL’s chief content officer, Mayer not only bears responsibility for everything that goes to air — but also for maintaining the bubbles that have been built in Edmonton and Toronto to make sure there is hockey to play at all. It’s a massive job. One he’s already been in Edmonton doing for the better part of a month. And there are still about two months to go. His to-do list has been long. He helped design the look and feel of the hockey product currently being broadcast into homes — from the seat coverings that form the backdrop to the sound effects. And he’s helped oversee the construction of two bubbles, with an eye on keeping the NHL’s players and staff comfortable, entertained and, most importantly, safe. Some of the tasks, though, are relatively small. An air conditioner at the Sutton Hotel, where some teams are staying, is on the fritz, he tells me. His team is on it. When players complained that they wanted more choice in dining options, Mayer’s team changed the rules to allow them to reserve spots in the same restaurant as their opponents, instead of being restricted by times for each team. Today, a storm has just shredded part of the fencing that cordons off the Edmonton bubble. Mayer received a photo of the damage. “Now we have to get a new fence,” he says. “You know the old expression — shit happens.” In a few minutes, he’ll return to the suite he occupies above centre ice at Rogers Place to oversee the live presentation of the Oilers’ second game of the qualifying round against the Chicago Blackhawks. Mayer, who grew up in New Jersey, started as a young sports reporter and anchor at the Sports News Network, a 24-hour channel that launched in 1989 and dissolved a year later. During the brief stint,

Mayer showed a talent for producing his own segments. When SNN went bankrupt, he couldn’t find work on camera — but he started to pick up jobs producing basketball, tennis and golf events. In 1996, Mayer joined the International Management Group as a media producer. Over two decades, he rose to lead IMG’s television production business and had produced entertainment specials with networks like NBC and CBS, including five Olympic Games. He’s won nine Emmys for his work. “I’ve done everything from cooking shows to award shows to Christmas shows to concerts,” he says. After working with the NHL on several projects, like the Winter Classic, All-Star Game and the season- ending awards show‚ Mayer joined the league full-time in 2016. With Mayer as the lead of the NHL’s return, there is a small team of about 10 people overseeing operations in Edmonton and another 10 in Toronto, where Dean Matsuzaki, the executive vice president of NHL events, is in charge of the bubble. Each person has extensive experience running major events, Mayer says, but none have tried to pull something off on such a short timeline. “I’ve never worked with a team that is this good,” he says. In early July, Mayer was preparing to create an NHL hub in LasVegas, but those plans changed quickly as COVID-19 numbers escalated in Nevada. Mayer and his team only knew a week before they boarded their flights to Canada that they were heading to Edmonton. On July 14, he stood at the window in his room at the Delta Hotel in Edmonton, watching the blue fencing go up. Unable to go leave the hotel grounds, Mayer had less than two weeks to oversee the creation of the NHL’s Western Conference hub and turn Rogers Place into a state-of-the-art stage that would literally cover up the emptiness of hockey amid a pandemic. There were just five of them when they first arrived, trying to get a sense of the space they’d previously only seen through photos by zooming in on Google Maps. None of them had any idea how it would take shape until they arrived. “It’s not about the problem. It’s about the solution,” Mayer said. “Period.” On the last night before the playoffs officially opened, Mayer brought together his team for one final dinner: the last one they would have time for once the two-month show began. Many in the group are in the early years of their careers. “What you guys all did in two weeks is really unbelievable. And I’ve been in this job for over 30 years,” Mayer told them. “You’re going to work in this business for the rest of your life. And you will never, ever do anything like this.” Over those 14 days, Mayer had relied on the group to build a bubble around the JW Marriott and Sutton hotels, tailoring accommodations to host the hundreds of NHL players and staff who arrived on July 26. A courtyard was decked out with basketball nets and cornhole games. They set up pop-up restaurants and coffee shops in the arena, hotel, and outfitted food trucks in the courtyard. The Sutton hotel received a $100,000 WiFi upgrade to make sure the players had a quality signal for gaming. Then, of course, there was the matter of Rogers Place itself. Mayer’s background is in set design and he had the NHL’s plans drawn up back in June, working with production designer Gary Wichansky.

But his team had no idea where those plans would be implemented, so everything was in flux until they knew what rinks they were working with. The build in Edmonton began on July 17, with eight custom screens and massive lights systems arriving to be installed in the stands at Rogers Place. They had 10 days to make sure it was perfect. The arena had to be transformed in other ways, too. Under Mayer’s direction, the NHL’s team put together team lounges, team video rooms, team suites and offices, testing centres and restaurants throughout Rogers Place. The new spaces used up corners of the arena that have never been used before, Mayer says. Making sure that there were screens in each team lounge required a little creativity. Televisions that were usually used to display prices at concessions stands were taken down and repurposed for the players to use. “We just wanted to make sure that when the players got here, their reaction would be positive,” Mayer says. The NHL’s staff in Edmonton grew to 75 people. They also had to organize local vendors, which meant an additional 275 to 350 people working in the hub each day. Many of those people, like restaurant workers and security guards, only have brief encounters with people in the bubble and are free to go home every night. However, they are still tested every day. “There was a painstaking evaluation of every single person that was inside the bubble,” Mayer says. The same thing happened in Toronto, under the leadership of Matsuzaki. Mayer and his team check-in with Toronto through regular meetings, sharing what’s worked and what hasn’t inside each bubble. Mayer also checks in with his executive team daily, making sure that everything from the hotel accommodations to the technical components of the broadcasts are functioning. But Mayer’s real baby is running the live show during each game in Edmonton. He was heavily involved in the NHL’s plans to address both the devastation of the coronavirus pandemic and the widespread movement to combat anti-Black racism in its return to the ice. “We just knew that we needed to do something impactful,” he says. Mayer’s team back in New York spent two weeks producing an opening ceremony that aimed to pay tribute to frontline workers and social activists. He met with Matt Dumba several times in the week leading up the first game in Edmonton and showed him the video presentation, as the Wild defenceman prepared a moving speech addressing racism both in society and in the sport. Mayer didn’t know exactly what Dumba planned to say when he took the mic during the live broadcast, or how the players would react when the national anthems played. “We took the stance that whatever they decided to do is up to them and we could easily react to it,” he says. From a makeshift booth in a luxury suite near centre ice, Mayer and John Bochiaro, the NHL’s senior director of event and game presentation, direct the videos, lights and sounds of the game on the gigantic set — while making sure the broadcast cameras are in sync for the presentation. Inside the arena, the show feels a bit like a rock concert, with the screens, lights and music choreographed to fill the arena with the energy a team might feel in its home rink. “I think this is one of these events where we’re able to sort of do something that we’ve never done before and show some creativity,” Mayer said. “You never want to upset what’s going on on the ice — but we have the ability to create some cool shit.”

Three days into games that matter, the NHL has provided plenty of storylines for Mayer, from within the contests and beyond — from Dumba’s speech about fighting racism to Mark Scheifele limping off the ice after a Matthew Tkachuk hit to four players taking a knee during the national anthems in a game between Las Vegas and Dallas. When Mayer isn’t in his makeshift booth above the Rogers Place ice, there’s still much to be done: like fixing that broken air conditioner at Sutton Place and getting that new fencing set up to secure the bubble’s perimeter. In addition to the headaches, there have been successes, too, such as the news this week that more than 7,000 tests administered since life in the bubbles began have resulted in zero positives for coronavirus. Mayer is aware of all of it — and he knows there is much, much more to come, good and bad. “These things are going to happen over and over. We’re here for 85 days when we’re done,” he says. “It’s not going to be perfect. So, you just deal with it — and you move on to the next day and the next problem.” Stuff happens, as they say. For Mayer, it’s all part of the show.

The Athletic / LeBrun Notebook: Alexis Lafreniere’s unique spot, no to future play-ins and more By Pierre LeBrun – August 6, 2020

Alexis Lafreniere is a huge hockey fan so the fact he’s been watching qualifying round games this past week isn’t at all surprising. What hockey fan isn’t? What makes this noteworthy is the unique position that Lafreniere finds himself in because he is certainly more than just an average fan enjoying the action. Lafreniere’s entire future is riding on the pre-playoff round results and ensuing draft lottery, Part 2. We haven’t heard from the consensus/presumptive No. 1 pick in the fall draft for a while. He didn’t end up talking the night of the first lottery draft on June 26 because, well, what could he say after the winner was a mystery team to be selected from one of the eight qualifying round losers. We will finally hear from him on Monday when the next phase of the lottery is held and his future is finally known. His camp has been flooded with media requests over the past few weeks, but especially since the qualifying round began. I was one of them. We’re all curious about what is making him cheer while he’s watching these games. Maybe he’s not cheering at all, but I still want to know what’s going through his mind and how it feels to be watching these games knowing how much they affect his future. “Alexis is focused and training extremely hard at the moment to get ready for next season,’’ Lafreniere’s agent Emilie Castonguay of Momentum Hockey said via text message on Tuesday. “He understands he has no control over the lottery. To his merit, he is the type of person who doesn’t let things he can’t control phase him. He is just excited about joining a team and starting the next chapter of his career.” No to playoff expansion, at this point It has been suggested by some that depending on the success of this qualifying round that perhaps the NHL might finally be bending a bit on its long-standing view of capping the playoffs at 16 teams. OK, it’s really been Gary Bettman’s long-standing view that he didn’t want to expand the playoffs. There have been owners, GMs and coaches that have supported playoff expansion. But not the big guy. And that’s all that matters. Expanding the playoffs isn’t something that the NHL Players’ Association intends to push for at this time because adding another round to an already gruelling year and playoff schedule doesn’t make sense. For years now, I’ve written and argued that the league should at least introduce a best-of-three, play-in round. It would be a quick three- to four-day affair between No. 8 and No. 9 on each side; maybe even No. 7 and No. 10, before we get to the traditional 16-team playoffs. Especially with the league having gone to 31 teams with Vegas and soon to 32 teams with Seattle. I last wrote about this in March 2018, polling 30 GMs, and the result was the majority agreed that the idea had merit. However, in that same piece, I also quoted Bettman saying:

“Not something we’re (or will be) considering,” Bettman said via email at the time. “Makes no sense — dilutes and extends the length of the season. Reduces, if not eliminates, exciting regular-season races. Potentially punishes the seventh and eighth finishers. And finally, what we have has been terrific. Why fix it if it’s not broken!” Now, I think we can all agree the world has changed a whole lot since 2018. We’ve got a unique tournament in 2020, showing how appealing a play-in can be. But it appears that despite whatever success the qualifying round will have brought this year, I was told on Tuesday that the commissioner views it as a one-off, albeit a great one, to help re-start the season in very unusual circumstances. Bettman doesn’t view any form of future play-in as a point of interest right now. And to be fair, the league will have bigger fish to fry just getting a full season in next year, given the uncertainty of fans in the building and the hopeful start of Dec. 1 for 2020-21. Hopeful at best, I’d say. I understand that now is not the time to add further playoff games to that scenario. But my point on the play-in would be more for when the world comes back to normal, whenever that is. I’d still like to see No. 8 versus No. 9 and No. 7 versus No. 10 in a best-of-three once we’re back to a full calendar. HHOF decision The 2020 class of the Hockey Hall of Fame will have to wait for their actual induction moment. I’m told the Hall will be sending out a release next week confirming the expected postponement of the 2020 induction ceremony previously scheduled for Monday, Nov. 16. Re-scheduling plans will be addressed when the Hall Board meets in late October. One of the rumoured possibilities is to perhaps hold a double induction class for both 2020 and 2021 in November of ’21, if the world is somewhat back to normal. Although a source says if the Hall does that, it would come with potential adjustments to the category limited on the ’21 elections. Jarome Iginla, Marian Hossa, Doug Wilson, Kevin Lowe, Kim St. Pierre and Ken Holland were voted in on June 24 as the 2020 class. Perhaps they’ll have company by the time they enter the Hall. Life in the bubble Some of the stories relayed last week before the real games began centered around the jovial mood amongst the players inside both hub cities. Everyone inside the bubble I’ve heard from has talked about what an amazing job the league has done. I’ve heard zero complaints so far. But that jovial mood will eventually be tested. Now that the games that count have begun, one person from inside the bubble shared with me via text message on Tuesday that he has noticed the tension rise ever so slightly over the past few days. Nothing bad, but it’s natural that teams have their game faces on now. There’s a courtyard in the Edmonton hub that many players and team staff hang out in, he said. It will be interesting to see if the players still want to mix as much moving forward. Imagine how all this will be when the conference finals in September? By then, the players on those four teams will have been in a bubble since July 26. Between the cabin fever, missing their families and the competitive juices of being that close to a Cup, keeping these players apart from each other in close quarters will be paramount and in everyone’s interest. I was told on Tuesday that the league hasn’t given any special instructions to security staff in the bubble because so far there’s been no reason to.

Playoff stats Let me start by saying again that the NHL and NHL Players’ Association have done an unreal job pulling this tournament together. For such a major undertaking, so far it’s been smooth sailing. The games have been terrific and it’s all gone off without a hitch (great for kids, in particular, to have so many early games to watch). But I do have one small beef: having the player stats from every game inside the bubble considered as playoff tallies. That’s ridiculous. Imagine a player in this tournament breaking Reggie Leach’s 19-goal playoff record because he played five extra games that the qualifying round afforded. The goalie wins record has been frozen forever at 16 and now there’s a chance the Cup-winning team will have a goalie with more than 16 wins (depending on how much the backup plays in this compressed schedule). While there should be no asterisk on the Cup winner – this will be the toughest Cup of all to win – there should be an asterisk explaining the unique impact the 2020 playoffs will have on any individual playoff record affected by the round-robin/qualifying round stats. OK, I’ve said my piece. I will move on now.