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SPORT-SCAN DAILY BRIEF NHL 12/26/2020 1197284 The 5: Surprise gifts Arizona sports teams unwrapped in 2020 1197285 How we’d run the Coyotes: Get rid of expensive veterans and rebuild 1197286 Bruins retrospective: 10 key dates of 2020 1197287 BHN Puck Links: Happy Christmas And Happy World Juniors!Published 14 hours ago on December 25, 2020By Jimmy Mu 1197288 From athletes to activists, the 10 most influential people in Triangle sports in 2020 1197289 standoff with Altitude bitter as ever, but here’s a possible solution for youPublished 3 hours ago on 1197290 Blue Jackets add defenseman Michael Del Zotto to training camp roster on tryout offer 1197291 Best of Cleveland/Columbus 2020: Browns, Indians, Cavs, Blue Jackets, Buckeyes Stars 1197292 Ready or not, Jake Oettinger gets introduced to the NHL this season. How will the Stars’ rookie goalie handle Red Wings 1197293 Ho, Ho, Hockeytown: A holiday guide to ' past, present and future 1197294 World junior hockey roundup: Red Wings pick Eemil Viro plus-1 in Finland's opener 1197295 Red Wings who played in Europe might have advantage at training camp 1197296 One-game wonder: How ex-Spartan Brad Fast made NHL history Kings 1197297 LA KINGS ALUMNI – SO MANY MEMORIES, SO THANKFUL Islanders 1197298 New York's Brightest Sports Stars for 2021 1197299 When Islanders training camp opens, there will be spots to fill 1197300 An empty before the start An empty Madison Square Garden before the start 1197301 Developing team chemistry as camp begins shouldn't be an issue for Rangers 1197302 Everything fans need to know for watching 3 Flyers prospects in world juniors 1197303 Sabres upgraded in offseason, could hang around in NHL East Division 1197304 Mark Madden: Pre-Mario Penguins provided plenty of memorable moments 1197305 Penguins A to Z: Cam Lee takes his first steps 1197306 Is Tristan Jarry ready to be the true No. 1 goalie? 1197307 A brother’s grief, a father’s joy and learning to live with both at Christmas 1197308 Holiday Reading: Behind the Scenes From Years Past 1197309 Boughner can't wait for Sharks to play in San Jose again St Louis Blues 1197310 Blues expecting some help from NHL on start times out West 1197311 Hockey's debut at The Arena. Hell (and the floor) had to freeze over first 1197312 Raiders, Golden Knights music director set to deliver finale 1197313 Vegas? Henderson? Winnipeg? Examining the Golden Knights’ options with prospect Peyton Krebs 1197314 Amazing recoveries, milestones, drama: The Athletic D.C.’s 2020 Sports Awards Websites 1197315 The Athletic / How we’d run the Coyotes: Get rid of expensive veterans and rebuild 1197316 Sportsnet.ca / NHL believes it can play games in all seven Canadian markets 1197317 TSN.CA / Tourigny wants Team Canada to respond to adversity with urgency SPORT-SCAN, INC. 941-284-4129 1197284 Arizona Coyotes Why not pay for CP3?

The bubble performance might be like the bubble wrap in importance when it comes to what the Suns pulled off this year. The 5: Surprise gifts Arizona sports teams unwrapped in 2020 The Disney World performance was fun in the moment but ultimately necessary to help Phoenix deliver the actual gift: The blockbuster trade BY KEVIN ZIMMERMAN for point guard Chris Paul.

DECEMBER 25, 2020 AT 7:28 AM It was a big surprise, too.

UPDATED: DECEMBER 25, 2020 AT 8:16 AM Who thought the Suns, with their spending history over the last decade and recent sale of their G League team, would take on one of the biggest contracts in the NBA? This guy did not.

Around the holidays, we should always try to focus on the things we take Phoenix is currently close-ish to the luxury tax threshold, showing a for granted: More time with loving family (or at least our pets), what commitment to winning with a core of Paul, Devin Booker, Deandre things we do have and what we can take from 2020 to have a better Ayton and Mikal Bridges. 2021. The Suns are only one game into the new season. Already, the impact The sporting world pushed through the pandemic and here in Arizona Paul is bringing in theory should accelerate the team’s growth. Also, he’s gave us at least some distraction if not a lot of hope. coming off an All-Star campaign at 35 years old.

Arizona’s teams were, if anything, entertaining. A few of them provided From afar, how the Suns played and finished their 2019-20 season in the grand surprises. bubble mattered to players like Paul. He certainly had a say in where the Oklahoma City Thunder traded him. What were the most shocking gifts that the Arizona sports scene unwrapped in 2020? With Paul on the roster, it made selling veteran free agents like Jae Crowder, Langston Galloway and E’Twaun Moore an easy pitch. Really, DeAndre Hopkins? Zac Gallen’s breakout Imagine searching for a PlayStation 5 the day it was released and finding out that Best Buy not only has one available, but it’s marked down from Maybe it was a year to forget for the Arizona Diamondbacks, who $500 to $100. For some inexplicable reason, you are the only person to entered a wonky season with high expectations and new ace Madison happen upon this deal. Bumgarner.

Best Buy does not recognize this is an error in price when you put the While there were many disappointing trends, from Ketel Marte’s drop-off console in your cart. You purchase it, and Best Buy sends you the very after a breakout campaign to Bumgarner’s massive struggles, there was real, brand new PS5 for $100. this: Zac Gallen affirmed baseball experts’ predictions that he was about to break out as a top-caliber pitcher. This is how the acquired the NFL’s current leading receiver, DeAndre Hopkins, in mid-March to kick off the new league year. The 25-year-old went 3-2 over 12 starts with a 2.75 ERA and 1.11 WHIP. All it took was unloading of David Johnson’s contract to get it done. Arizona traded this year’s second-round pick to the Texans, and He was a top-20 pitcher in ERA, WHIP and strikeouts per nine frames. the teams swapped fourth-rounders as well. Gallen didn’t get much run support, but he finished sixth among starting pitchers in wins above replacement (WAR). Johnson has five total touchdowns with 479 rushing yards (4.0 yards per carry) and 267 receiving yards for the Texans. He’s not been the true The D-backs have a lot to sort out heading into 2021. Gallen appears to bell-cow and hasn’t crossed the 100-yard rushing mark so far. He’s fine be their best thing going, and it’ll be a big storyline of whether he is their — fine for a lot of money. ace or if Bumgarner can make his second year in the desert more about success on the diamond than success in the rodeo world. Hopkins, meanwhile, has not missed a game. He’s amassed 1,324 receiving yards to lead the NFL with two weeks left. He’s got a game- Haason Reddick’s breakthrough winning Hail Murray and scored a game-winning touchdown in his last This might be the best local sports surprise of the year when it comes outing, in which he recorded 169 receiving yards, a career-high with down to the dude involved. Arizona. Haason Reddick got jostled between positions, schemes and coaches The Cardinals claim he and will only get better over his first three seasons in the NFL. He didn’t get his fifth-year option as time goes on. We believe them. picked up by the Cardinals heading into 2020 and didn’t complain.

Anyway, it is possible Bill O’Brien is now working at Best Buy. The target for fans quick to apply the bust label, Reddick quieted the Suns bubble run critics.

The NBA bubble was unbearable for some players. Isolation can get to As the Cardinals lost elite pass-rusher Chandler Jones for the year, you. Reddick has blown up with more opportunity. He’s tied for fifth in the NFL with 11.0 sacks and tied for fourth with 14.0 tackles for loss. The Phoenix Suns saw the Disney World stay as a gift. They leaned into it, came out firing and grew with one another holed up in a Florida resort. Reddick was approached multiple times each year prior to this one about adjusting to an off-ball linebacker role. He never complained about his Maybe the Suns didn’t get to the playoffs after an 8-0 run, but internally it role to reporters and always remained optimistic about the eventual mattered. It mattered that Cam Johnson essentially had a mini- outcome. sophomore season having time to reflect and build on his year before the global pandemic postponed the NBA season in March. It mattered that And when he finally moved back to a pass-rushing role last year, he took Cam Payne reunited with coach Monty Williams with his NBA career in that same mindset into learning a position that came more naturally to jeopardy and took full advantage with Phoenix, which was still searching him. for a backup point guard. According to his coaches, that wasn’t just being polite to the media. Devin Booker’s game-winner against the Los Angeles Clippers might’ve Reddick never complained to them either. He was always just trying to been his national arrival moment after developing into an All-Star in help the team. relative anonymity with the Suns rarely on national TV. So when his five-sack performance re-set the Cardinals franchise record Where would the Suns be had the regular finished out like any other two weeks ago against the New York Giants, it made for one of the best year? It’s hard to say. moments this year.

It’s also hard to argue they could be in a much better spot than they are as the 2020-21 season begins. Arizona Sports LOADED: 12.26.2020 1197285 Arizona Coyotes curve. Those bold steps should be spent on younger players and perhaps next year is the year to target them. A lot of awful money comes off the books and they’ll have the room to make a big splash on an offer How we’d run the Coyotes: Get rid of expensive veterans and rebuild sheet (or use the threat of one to make a trade). In Derek Stepan, Alex Goligoski, Niklas Hjalmarsson, Jason Demers, Jordan Oesterle and Ilya Lybushkin, the team is shedding $23.3 million off the books but only losing 1.4 wins of value. It’s inefficient spending and gives the team a lot By The Athletic more flexibility to go for a bigger push next season. NHL Staff Dec 25, 2020 The big question is whether the Coyotes can actually entice a player to sign with them, but the right amount of money can maybe do the trick. The RFA field is stacked from Elias Pettersson, Andrei Svechnikov and As an extension of the NHL Future Power Rankings, which look ahead to Brady Tkachuk up front to Cale Makar, and how teams will stack up three seasons from now, we are diving into what Hughes on defense. It’s a long , but those are better targets than the each team can expect and what moves it can make to produce the best ones Arizona have been previously after — ones who don’t do much of outcome. anything to move the team’s championship needle. — Dom Luszczyszyn

The Athletic will break down what each team needs to do to, or should The Prospect Pipeline do, to take the next step toward contention. James Mirtle will give advice based on the salary cap situation. Dom Luszczyszyn will dive into the When will our players get here? analytics and look at what each team has on his checklist. Though there are some intriguing prospects in the Coyotes’ pool, even Scott Wheeler and Corey Pronman will answer four key questions about after a disastrous 2020 draft, none of them are really knocking on the the team’s prospects. And Eric Duhatschek will propose a game plan for door for this upcoming season, so patience will be required. Players like the general manager. Then another writer will put it all in perspective with Matias Maccelli, Jan Jenik and John Farinacci all stand a chance of a reality check. getting there, but it’s not happening this season. In the last two cases, in The Cap Situation particular, it may be a while still.

This roster costs more than $84 million. That’s tough given the talent How good will they be when they get here? level. Victor Soderstrom remains the Coyotes’ only star-level prospect. He’s got But the glass-half-empty version on the Coyotes cap situation is they’re a real chance to be a No. 2/3 D who runs one of the power plays (more overcommitted to a lot of veterans, including seven players on the wrong likely the second unit than the first) and drives results at even strength side of 30 who are making nearly $40 million combined. with his skating. I think Maccelli and Jenik both have second-line upside if they can put it all together, with the former as the more likely of the two And that doesn’t even include Oliver Ekman-Larsson, who is well to reach that ceiling. Then it’s a lot of depth options, starting with overpaid for what he is at this point. Farinacci and including potential options like Liam Kirk and Cam Dineen.

The glass-half-full version? They have a new GM in Bill Armstrong who What positions do they play, and do we have excesses or deficiencies? seems to recognize the roster’s limitations and is trying to make some on-the-fly surgery to set them up better for the future. That’s smart. Their pool is really thin at centre, without a single prospect who has top- six upside (though they’re thin on defense after Soderstrom). The pool is More than that, however, what I like about where the Coyotes are at is strongest on the wing, where there are a handful of intriguing prospects, they have nearly $35 million in contracts coming off the books in 2021. and in net, where I wouldn’t be surprised if one of Ivan Prosvetov or There will be a lot more flexibility in another eight months to build around David Tendeck makes it as an option. Clayton Keller, Jakob Chychrun, Barrett Hayton and the rest of the prospect pool. What does our prospect pool tell us about where we are in a competitive cycle? They can create even more open space by finding takers for Ekman- Larsson and Phil Kessel, even if it means retaining some salary. And The Coyotes’ prospect pool is indicative of where they’re at as an deciding which of their two veteran goalies they want to keep around for organization, which is to say that weird group somewhere between not- the rebuild. the-worst and not-good-either. They’ve got further to go to become a contending team than they do to become a lottery team. Salt in the Previous management made some mistakes and overpays, but there’s wound? They don’t have their first-round pick in the 2021 draft. — Scott nothing crippling here for the new group. Other than the fact they’re not Wheeler going to have a 2021 first-round pick. The Game Plan Focus on contending in a year or three, bet on youth, and there’s a road up that makes sense here. — James Mirtle Where to start? New GM Bill Armstrong’s most important offseason hiring may well be David Ludwig as director of hockey operations and salary The Analytics cap compliance, because the Coyotes still have the No. 1 payroll in the NHL, coming off a season in which they were 22nd in the overall The Stanley Cup Checklist is based on research done earlier this year standings — and eventually lost Taylor Hall to free agency. looking at the average value for players at every position from the past 10 Cup champions. It’s based on the best-of-the-best each year, making Most of what Armstrong needs to do in his first year on the job involves a it a high bar to clear and it means no team will have every box checked lot of undoing and unravelling — starting with the salary cap tangle he off, but the more holes a team has filled, the closer they are to being a inherited, which for starters means waiting patiently until Marian Hossa’s Cup contender. A name in a specific box means he’s in the right ballpark dead money goes away. Armstrong’s background is amateur scouting, for projected value compared to past Cup winners, with some on the but with so little draft capital at this disposal — no first or third in 2021 — lower end and some on the higher end. Using an age curve, we made replenishing that is priority No. 1. (Thankfully they do have an extra note of what each team already has on their roster signed for each of the fourth-rounder, thrown in to complete the Phil Kessel deal). next three seasons. If they fall out of playoff contention, the Coyotes will be posting a for-sale Let’s take a look. sign in advance of the trade deadline. Armstrong has a pack of pending UFAs that could attract interest as rentals, primarily on the blue line There aren’t many bleaker outlooks than Arizona’s. This is a team that (Niklas Hjalmarsson, Alex Goligoski, Jason Demers, Jordan Oesterle), can’t really afford to start over given the market, but it’s difficult to see a but also a goalie (Antti Raanta, if a team runs into injury problems) and a path toward contention with the pieces in place. Arizona is desperately useful versatile vet in Derek Stepan. Short term, things look incredibly missing elite cornerstone pieces and unless some players take some bleak. Once the financial skies clear up by the start of next season and massive leaps or a few prospects really pan out, it’s difficult to see how the draft choice capital is replenished in their upcoming clearance sale the team gets there. then the rebuild can start anew. — Eric Duhatschek The Coyotes were bold in acquiring Phil Kessel and bold again in The Reality Check acquiring Taylor Hall, but they’re looking at the wrong end of the age Does it really matter which prospects step forward? Or what kind of magic Darcy Kuemper weaves to keep the offensively starve Coyotes remotely close to a playoff berth? Or even how rookie GM Bill Armstrong deals with the draft pick hell he inherited when he took over the Yotes? In a word, no. None of this matters because until we can answer several absolutely key questions this team, as it has since before the dawn of time (OK, since July 1996 when the Coyotes relocated from Winnipeg), will be destined to exist in hockey’s hinterland.

Do the Coyotes have the right owner to find a way to facilitate a move out of their longtime home in the aforementioned hinterland in Glendale to downtown Phoenix or the other side of the valley somewhere near Scottsdale or Tempe? The two elements — ownership and a new arena — have been at the heart of the team’s lamentable existence in Arizona from the very beginning. And after another disastrous turn by the team that involved former GM John Chayka quitting on the eve of return to play, cheating on the NHL’s draft combine protocols and having to surrender draft picks as punishment followed by the ill-advised drafting of Mitchell Miller who had a well-known history of committing racial assault as a middle-schooler, these questions remain first and foremost when it comes to assessing the Coyotes’ future.

Maybe new owner , who arrived with such fanfare and excitement, and team president Xavier Gutierrez learn from these considerable missteps and in that learning the find the way to a new arena and a renewed connection with the fan base in Arizona. But if Meruelo and Hernandez aren’t able to broker a deal to find a proper place for this team to play and grow and truly test the worthiness of the market — and there are many who believe Meruelo is not that person — then this is all about waiting for the moment long foretold when the team pulls up stakes and heads to Houston or elsewhere. — Scott Burnside

The Athletic LOADED: 12.26.2020 1197286 Boston Bruins Ritchie, the results weren’t all that better than they were with Brett. As is the case with Kase, the B’s still don’t know exactly what they have with this player.

Bruins retrospective: 10 key dates of 2020 4. March 7 – Bruins and Lightning tangle in game of the year.

Outside of Boston, the Bruins are always perceived to have the upper By STEVE CONROY hand in the physicality department. But when matching up against the Bolts, that has simply not been the case for several years. When they December 25, 2020 at 5:00 a.m. beat the B’s in five games in 2018, the Lightning had the edge in both skill and heaviness. And Tampa Bay had added a heavy dose of muscle

in the offseason and at the deadline. OK, OK, we know. The year 2020 is one that most of us would rather But on this night, the B’s demonstrated that they might be ready to stand leave on the curb for the trash collectors, never to be contemplated up to Tampa in a series. They’d already beaten the Bolts in Tampa again. earlier in the week and, though the B’s lost this Garden affair, 5-3, they But we just can’t do that. Every year at this time we revisit the big events stood toe-to-toe with them – 94 PIMs were handed out in the game – and in the Black-and-Gold World, no matter how painful it may be. The hurt created ample opportunities to come all the way back from an early 3-0 this year, obviously, goes well beyond the Bruins not winning the Stanley deficit. Andrei Vasilevskiy was brilliant in stopping 35 shots. Cup. Bemoaning the fact your local team did not win a sports The inevitable playoff showdown was going to be something special, we championships does feel a tad trite. But this is what we do. all thought. When the Great Darkness fell upon us in March, it had a profound effect 5. March 12 – NHL hits the pause button. in the B’s, who had pretty much been the NHL’s best team from the drop of the puck in October. But they never regained their mojo after the The Bruins were hitting their stride. After the raucous game against the pause. So, if you can bear it, let’s look back and see how it all unfolded. Lightning, they delivered one of the finest performances of the season Here are 10 key Bruin dates of 2020. when they shut out a tough Flyers team in Philadelphia.

1. January 19 – Bruins blow 3-0 lead and lose to Penguins, 4-3. The B’s were scheduled to gather at Warrior Ice Arena for a practice and then fly to Buffalo for a Friday night game. But trouble was brewing. The In a pre-pandemic regular season filled with mostly highs, this Sunday night before, the Utah Jazz’ Rudy Gobert had tested positive for COVID- matinee in the Steel City might have been the low point. The B’s had 19 and the NBA abruptly suspended its season. Though Bruin players blasted out of the gates at the start of the season and had established trickled into the Brighton facility on this morning, there was a sense that themselves again as one of the elite teams. They were on their they would neither be practicing nor traveling to Buffalo. “Unfinished Business” tour after losing Game 7 of the Stanley Cup Final at home the previous spring. But for well over a month at this point, Sure enough, the plug was pulled on the practice before the team hit the they’d been getting away with spotting teams leads and staging dramatic ice and the players were sent home. comebacks. The truth of the matter was that they weren’t playing very well. “See you guys in a couple of weeks,” said Torey Krug to a few media people as he departed the facility. The final wakeup call came on this afternoon when they gagged the lead to the Pens and couldn’t even manage a point. Changes had to be made. If only. It looked like a minor one at the time, but Jeremy Lauzon came up from 6. July 13 – Bruins open training camp. Again. Providence and replaced John Moore in the lineup on defense, giving the B’s a bit more size and jam. In the following game, Lauzon scored the B’s After some Herculean efforts from the league and Players’ Association to first and they beat Vegas. They went on to win 10 of their next 11. work through testing, protocols, the creation of two playoff bubbles and a There were more tweaks to come. new CBA that would only later bother some owners, the B’s opened a two-week training camp in order to shake off four months of rust. And it 2. February 21 – The Bruins deal David Backes. would become clear quickly that this would not be a continuation of the As most of us expected when he signed a five-year, $30 million deal with promising 2019-20 regular season, but rather a unique, stand-alone the B’s as a 32-year-old with hard miles on him in the summer of 2016, entity. Backes was not able to remain a significant contributor throughout the life From the start, it did not go well for the B’s. Because of protocol of the contract. But for a couple of years, the rugged forward was a key violations, both David Pastrnak and Ondrej Kase missed virtually all of cog in helping the B’s transition from Claude Julien’s team that won a the camp and Kase missed some games in because of it. Both Stanley Cup in 2011, through a youth-infused rebuild on the fly, to Bruce of their bubble performances suffered because of the late start and, Cassidy’s team that fell just one game short of the Cup in 2019. He wore whether it’s related or not, Pastrnak had to undergo hip surgery in the a letter on his sweater proudly. But by February it was clear that he was offseason. no longer in the team’s plans. He was placed on waivers in January and he cleared, but through mutual agreement he did not report to Things would only get worse. Providence. 7. August 16 – Tuukka Rask opts out. Finally, the B’s pulled off a significant deal, trading Backes and most of his contract (the B’s are still on the hook this year for a $1.5 million cap Citing family issues back home, the B’s No. 1 goalie and Vezina Trophy hit) along with their 2020 first-round draft pick and prospect Axel candidate decided to leave the bubble and head home. Rask later Andersson to the . In return, they received a player the revealed that there was an emergency situation with one of his children. B’s hope will be the long-sought second line right wing, Ondrej Kase. The Despite words of support from management and teammates, Rask’s jury is still out. departure led to wild speculation that he had played his last game for the 3. February 24 – Bruins trade Danton Heinen for Nick Ritchie. Bruins. That does not appear to be the case. In fact, their goalie situation is such that it seems more prudent to re-sign Rask to a short-term deal. Heinen grew up in the B’s system and proved to be a valuable, if a tad maddening, player. But the B’s wanted to get bigger and nastier. In fact, But there’s little question that Rask’s departure all but ended the B’s with the moves the had made to sign Pat Maroon quest for the Cup. Jaroslav Halak stepped into the breach and performed and obtain Barclay Goodrow and Blake Coleman, they needed to get admirably, helping the B’s secure a five-game series win over the bigger and nastier. GM Don Sweeney tried to address the issue in the Carolina Hurricanes. But while Halak was able to climb the hill that was previous offseason when they signed Brett Ritchie, but he didn’t provide the Hurricanes, the mountain that awaited would be too much to ask. the oomph that the B’s had hoped for and was jettisoned to Providence. August 31 – Lightning 3, Bruins 2. Season over.

But that didn’t stop Sweeney from going back into the same gene pool If the B’s had a chance to beat the Lightning, Halak had to be airtight and when, on trade deadline day, they moved Heinen to Anaheim for Brett’s he was not. Though the B’s stunned the Bolts in Game 1, much like they younger brother Nick, a 2014 first round pick taken 15 spots ahead of had in 2018, they dropped the next four, including two in overtime. In the David Pastrnak. While it’s too soon to make a final determination on Nick clincher, Victor Hedman, reclaiming his perch as the world’s best defenseman, scored the game-winner in double OT.

If you wear Black-and-Gold glasses, you could look at the closeness of each game and believe that the series was closer than the 4-1 result indicated. Then again, the Hurricanes could argue the same thing about their loss to the B’s in the previous round. That’s how the playoffs work.

Would the B’s have fared better against the uber-talented Bolts if they were able to ride the momentum of their terrific regular season? That’s a question that can never be answered. And time is running out for this core to add another Cup.

9. October 9 – Torey Krug signs with St. Louis.

Don Sweeney has done a good job of re-signing his own high-end players to reasonable contracts, but this one promised to be a tough one. Krug is as good a power-play quarterback as there is, but despite earnestly improving in his own end, his size makes him only an adequate top-4 defender. Still, with his bankable production, some team was going to give him a big deal.

Throw the pandemic and a shifting financial landscape into the mix, and the slim chance the B’s had of re-signing Krug got even slimmer. In the end, Krug signed with the Blues for a seven-year deal worth $6.5 million annually, which is believed to be similar to what the B’s offered him pre- pandemic. But Krug said that the B’s had taken their offer off the table. So a player who wanted to stay left a team that signed him as a free agent, nurtured him and loved everything about him. Such is life in a salary cap world.

The Krug departure could be just the start of a major blue line transformation. As of this date, Zdeno Chara has not yet decided to return.

10. October 10 – Bruins sign Craig Smith.

Many B’s fans were still smarting over the loss of Krug when news broke the next morning that the B’s signed the veteran right wing formerly of the . It was not a strong enough balm to soothe the sting from Krug’s departure for many, and it’s hard to argue that the trade-off makes the B’s a better team.

But Smith provides the B’s not with just depth on the right side of the forward group, but quality depth. He was on his way to his sixth 20-goal season when the pandemic hit and he’s just the type of shoot-first straight-line player the B’s need. They also got him at a reasonable price ($3.1 million for three years). He will be a good addition. Good enough to push the B’s closer to the Cup in 2021? That’s a tall ask.

Boston Herald LOADED: 12.26.2020 1197287 Boston Bruins

BHN Puck Links: Happy Christmas And Happy World Juniors!Published 14 hours ago on December 25, 2020By Jimmy Murphy

Staff

Happy Christmas to all and Happy World Juniors!

It’s that time of year again for arguably a top 3 tournament in all of sports, the World Juniors!

If you’re not a fan of this tournament you are really missing out because these kids, top prospects and recent top draft picks come to play. You’re also missing out on some Bruins prospects as well as Team Finland’s Matias Mantykivi and Team Russia’s Roman Bychkov will be representing their countries this year. Unfortunately, Boston Bruins 2019 first round draft pick (30th overall) came down with COVID just last week and will not be able to participate in the World Juniors this year.

As those top prospects and draft picks from around the world battle it out in a bubble in Edmonton, there’s talk that the NHL’s newly aligned and all-Canadian Division may have to begin in a bubble themselves when the 2021 NHL season begins January 13.

The Lightning keeps striking with cap friendly moves as they work their way under the $81.5 million salary cap.

That and more in the latest BHN Puck Links!

For yours truly, there’s nothing like working off that food coma with a Bloody Caesar or an Irish Coffee and the World Juniors on Christmas night and Boxing Day! In fact, some of my favorite memories of my time in Montreal were going to McLean’s Pub and meeting up with my mates for some good old fashioned craic and USA vs Canada. For Bruins fans today, get a glimpse of the future when Mantykivi and Finland battle Germany at 6 PM ET and then when Beecher’s former USA teammates take on Bychkov and Russia at 9:30 PM ET. (NHL.com)

It appears that the NHL North Division will be able to begin their season in their respective NHL arenas. There was talk on Christmas Eve that Canadian and Provincial health authorities were insisting they begin in a temporary bubble, tentatively until February 1 but according to NHL Deputy Commissioner Bill Daly, they will begin in arenas. As with anything COVID-related, this could change within the next hour. (TSN)

NHLPA Executive Director Donald Fehr chimed in as well on the topic of starting on time. (Sportsnet)

The Tampa Bay Lightning were able to sign restricted free agent Anthony Cirelli to another cap-friendly deal at three years, $14.4 million with an annual cap hit of $4.8 million. After that and placing Nikita Kucherov on long-term injured reserve on Wednesday, the Lightning likely have just one more move to get under the cap for the season opener on January 13. (NBC)

Finally, if you’re looking for some other good stuff to watch on the tele, and you’re a fan of the Pogues or even just music in general, I highly recommend this documentary on the birthday boy Shane MacGowan. (Crock of Gold)

Get BHN+

Speaking of, Happy Christmas to all!

Boston Hockey Now LOADED: 12.26.2020 1197288 Carolina Hurricanes football players threatened a boycott in 2015 and hundreds of UNC athletes signed a petition demanding the removal of Silent Sam in 2018, but this summer was notably different.

From athletes to activists, the 10 most influential people in Triangle There were two reasons for that: social media and the changing climate sports in 2020 on campus.

Clockwise from top left are screenshots of tweets by N.C. State football’s BY LUKE DECOCK Ricky Person Jr., Isaiah Moore, head coach Dave Doeren and Devin Leary. DECEMBER 25, 2020 09:00 AM Social media has brought college athletes together across sports and schools and geographical bounds in a way they never have been before. The conversations that started on Twitter and Instagram over the At one point over the summer, N.C. State linebacker Isaiah Moore found summer between players who barely knew each other, if they did at all, himself on a group text with hundreds of other college football players blossomed into organized action. who were engaged in a fervent and robust debate. Moore doesn’t know or remember, exactly, how he was added, but it became compelling As for the climate, at all three of the Triangle’s ACC schools, the theater. newfound activism of their athletes was tacitly, if not openly, encouraged by their universities. Coaches and ADs made sure they were seen Clemson quarterback Trevor Lawrence and running back Darien participating in the protests their players organized. The NCAA allowed Rencher represented those who wanted to play in the face of the COVID- football teams to wear a patch representing social justice initiatives on 19 pandemic. There were players from the Pac-12 and Big Ten who were their jerseys this year, and all three did. Moore helped design N.C. threatening a boycott if their concerns about inequity in college athletics State’s, a black fist with the words education, action and awareness weren’t addressed. Moore, who earlier in the summer had organized a around it. protest of N.C. State athletes against racial injustice in the wake of the George Floyd killing, was enthralled. N.C. State football players wore this patch designed by the players and produced and applied by the Wilson College of Textiles during the 2020 Moore had not been afraid to step forward and lead when he felt that football season. NC State Athletics events had made it necessary, but as he watched those conversations happen in real time, Moore for the first time realized how much clout he So much of athletes’ activism in the past had been in opposition to the and his collegiate peers really commanded. powers that be on campus, under the threats of vindictive coaches or angry boosters. In 2020, the world has changed to the point where “People just kind of fed off each other, at UNC and Duke and with us, universities really had no choice but to acknowledge the power their and you see that across the country,” Moore said. “The athlete has athletes had. And that those athletes are just starting to realize they realized the power we have, with the platform we have, is immense. With have. the number of followers we have and the people who will listen to us, it’s our responsibility to stand up and speak out.” Meanwhile, they’re following the example of pro athletes like LeBron James, who responded to criticism that he should “shut up and dribble” Collectively, the college athletes of the Triangle found their voice in 2020, by pointing out he was more than a player. Today’s college earning them the top spot in this year’s Triangle Ten, the News & athletes want to make the same point. Observer’s annual ranking of the 10 most influential people in sports in the Triangle. “This generation of student-athletes, and this generation of college students in general, is more empowered to speak out,” said Nolan Smith, The athletes and their peers across college athletics are joined this year the former Duke star and current director of basketball operations who by new coaches, new stars and new leaders, among others, in this list organized the August rally that included not only Duke athletes but compiled by N&O sports columnist Luke DeCock with input from other basketball coaches Mike Krzyzewski and Kara Lawson. staff members, focusing on impact in 2020 specifically. “They obviously have more outlets than ever, more than what even I had 1. COLLEGE ATHLETES when I was coming through college -- social media, Instagram, Twitter. It wasn’t just the football players, who would eventually issue a joint Across the board, they have so many platforms to make their voice statement that brought the disparate platforms together. It was heard. And then they’re not afraid to speak out. When I was in college, I happening across the country and across the Triangle. was always aware of what was going on in America but I was not vocal like they are. They’re built different from how we were.” Clayton’s Asia Todd abruptly transferred from Liberty, where she had made the Sun Belt all-freshman team in women’s basketball, in protest of Or as Martin Jarmond, the UCLA athletic director from Fayetteville, put it, the racial climate at that school. Her video announcing why she was “They don’t see things the same way we do. And that’s cool.” leaving went viral; she’s now at Central Florida. Jarmond was confronted by members of his football team with a list of North Carolina track athletes Nicole Barnes and Lauryn Hall organized a COVID-19-related health and safety demands in June, only a month after march down Franklin Street in August that drew hundreds of other UNC taking the job. He said talking to them was as much an education for him athletes, including stars and even coaches from the men’s basketball as it was an administrative task. He could sense the momentum they had team. Duke athletes rallied outside Cameron Indoor Stadium, with behind them. freshman Henry Coleman III giving remarks that went viral. North “In certain ways, they’re finding their voice when it matters the most,” Carolina football players replaced the names on their jerseys with Jarmond said. “In our environment right now, where our country is, it’s messages like “peace” and “equality” for a national TV appearance been a tumultuous year -- politically, social justice, the pandemic. It’s against Notre Dame. been a chaotic year. We need true leadership and authenticity. From that In a year defined by a pandemic, their willingness to stand up for what perspective, I was proud to see our student-athletes stand up and use they believed was right rose above the noise as they made themselves their voice and talk about some of the things that are important to them. heard. As an administrator, I learned. Admins and ADs, we learned a lot this year.” “We have a generation of students and student-athletes who want to be heard and who want their voices to be heard,” Moore said. “It’s great. At 2. JIM PHILLIPS, NEXT ACC COMMISSIONER one point, it wasn’t like this. It’s all about creating the conversation. The commissioner’s office may be in Greensboro (for now) but given the That’s the biggest thing we’ve been trying to do, just continue to have the importance of the three ACC schools to the Triangle -- and the conversation.” importance of those schools to the ACC -- it might as well be here. Athletes have always dabbled in activism, from John Carlos and Tommie Phillips is the Northwestern athletic director whose only tie to the league Smith on the medal stand in 1968 to Colin Kaepernick, but instances of is a stint at Notre Dame under Duke athletic director Kevin White. organized dissent have been rarer in college athletics, until now. He will face the dual challenges of navigating the financial and medical North Carolina football players memorably (and successfully) demanded impact of COVID-19 on the ACC as well as a changing NCAA landscape, the creation of a Black cultural center on campus in 1992, Missouri from a potential Power 5 breakaway to the liberalization of athlete rights But even as he continues to be overlooked for bigger jobs, his national through name, image and likeness. profile as a thought leader within the game continues to rise. With more elite recruits more willing to consider HBCU programs -- including the A top candidate for the Big Ten commissioner opening in 2019 that went class of 2023’s Mikey Williams, who has N.C. Central on his early list -- to Kevin Warren and a leader in NCAA governance -- he had been in line Moton may be in a position to capitalize. to serve as chairman of the men’s basketball committee in 2022 -- Phillips will have a lot on his plate from Day 1. Meanwhile, Moton’s real-estate development firm earlier this month became a partner in the controversial Downtown South proposal in Notably, he’s the first ACC commissioner whose background is primarily Raleigh. in basketball. 8. ELISSA CUNANE, NC STATE CENTER 3. NOLAN SMITH, DUKE MEN’S BASKETBALL DIRECTOR OF OPERATIONS The 6-foot-5 junior has been the keystone of N.C. State’s revival under coach Wes Moore. As a sophomore, she was the only ACC player to If college athletes have discovered a new voice, people like Smith have average a double-double and helped N.C. State win its first ACC title helped them find it. Only a decade removed from his own career at Duke, since 1991. the basketball staffer has been a force for change within the program, on campus and in Durham. A national player-of-the-year candidate, she outdueled South Carolina star Aliyah Boston as the Wolfpack knocked off the No. 1 team in the Smith organized the August rally on campus in the wake of the Jacob country earlier this month. A top recruit out of Summerfield in Guilford Blake shooting, giving Duke athletes a chance to speak. He was named County, her decision to stay home helped change the trajectory of the a George H.W. Bush Points of Light Inspiration honoree in September for program. Her emergence as one of the best players in the country his work away from the court, he was the N&O’s Tar Heel of the Month in continues to fuel its growth. October and his profile both at Duke and in Durham continues to grow. 9. , NC COURAGE Smith was among the community leaders who demanded a sit-down with the Durham police chief and sheriff in June; if he’s not a college head midfielder Debinha (10) takes a shot during the coach someday, it may be because he chose to follow that path instead. first half of an NWSL Challenge Cup soccer match against the Portland Thorns FC at Zions Bank Stadium Saturday, June 27, 2020, in Herriman, 4. DR. MANDY COHEN, NC SECRETARY OF HEALTH AND HUMAN Utah. Rick Bowmer AP SERVICES As the ongoing departure of superstars-- , -- No one outside the world of sports has had a bigger impact on life inside and opt-outs from the NWSL’s fall series have exposed cracks in the it than Cohen, the point person on the state’s response to COVID-19 and Courage’s longstanding NWSL superiority, Debinha continues to be one now a household name after nine months of public briefings alongside of the most dangerous attackers in the game, both as a creator and a Gov. Roy Cooper. scorer.

Her decisions have had a massive influence on how sports have been The Guardian ranked her the 13th-best player in the world in 2020, conducted during the pandemic at every level in the Triangle and in the ahead of Mewis (15th) and Dunn (21st); current Courage teammates state, from whether they are played to whether fans are allowed, from , and Denise O’Sullivan also made the youth and high schools up through college and professional teams. top 100. The nimble 29-year-old Brazilian is increasingly the fulcrum of Sports is obviously a small part of her portfolio, but her opinion carries the Courage offense -- and will have to excel in that role for the club to enormous weight there, as it does in so many areas of life in North meet its own lofty standards. Carolina in 2020. Cohen is the Tar Heel of the Year. 10. CHAD PRICE, MAKO MEDICAL CHIEF EXECUTIVE OFFICER

5. ANDREI SVECHNIKOV, CAROLINA HURRICANES FORWARD Mako Medical CEO Chad Price with one of the diagnostic machines at With not one but two lacrosse-style goals last season -- picking the puck the company’s Henderson facility. Dan Kane THE NEWS & OBSERVER up on the blade of his stick while behind the net and tucking it over the Price has been in the news this year for, uh, other reasons -- a falsified ’s shoulder -- Svechnikov not only announced his presence to resume and questions about campaign donations -- but the medical the NHL but got his own animation in the NHL 21 video game. testing company he founded has played a pivotal role in the ACC and One of the NHL’s best young players, Svechnikov was far more others being able to return to play. productive in his sophomore season with expanded opportunities on the MAKO has processed more than 30,000 COVID tests on short power play. Even better should lie ahead for the gifted Russian goal- turnarounds in its Henderson facility for ACC schools to meet the scorer, who is still only 20. conference’s thrice-weekly testing protocols for football and basketball. With Svechnikov and Sebastian Aho, the Hurricanes have two of the MAKO also served, curiously enough, as the title sponsor of impromptu NHL’s best young players, and when Svechnikov’s next contract is season-opening basketball tournaments at Duke, N.C. State and Wake settled, two of the most expensive. Forest.

6. VINCENT PRICE, DUKE PRESIDENT FIVE TO WATCH IN 2021

When the ACC seemed determined for its basketball tournament to play 1. KARA LAWSON AND COURTNEY BANGHART, WOMEN’S on in Greensboro as the novel coronavirus swept across the country, and BASKETBALL COACHES soon-to-be-outgoing commissioner Swofford waffled publicly on the New Duke women’s basketball coach Kara Lawson was an assistant with morning of the quarterfinals, Price finally stood up and filled the the NBA’s Boston Celtics before she was hired in July. Charles Krupa AP leadership vacuum. The two new coaches -- Lawson, 39, is in her first season at Duke; His decision to suspend Duke’s intercollegiate athletics ahead of the Banghart, 42, in her second at UNC -- have taken over programs that Duke-N.C. State game saved the conference the embarrassment of the once dominated the ACC but both saw standards slip among accusations Big East, which had to stop a game at halftime. It also had the potential of poor treatment of players. The addition of Notre Dame and Louisville at the time to cost Duke a shot at a national title, if the NCAA hadn’t changed the balance of power in the ACC, so Lawson and Banghart will quickly followed suit. have a tougher climb to national relevance than their predecessors ... but Duke has remained a leader not only within the ACC but nationally in N.C. State has managed it. They come at it from different angles: terms of keeping both students and athletes safe from COVID-19. Banghart built an Ivy League powerhouse at Princeton, while Lawson is one of the biggest personalities in the game but a first-time head coach. 7. LEVELLE MOTON, NC CENTRAL MEN’S BASKETBALL COACH 2. LEON KRAPF, NC STATE GOALKEEPER When not building a MEAC powerhouse at his alma mater that won its fourth regular-season title in seven years last spring, Moton has long N.C. State goalkeeper Leon Krapf, a native of Germany, is the president served as a mentor to an entire generation of young basketball stars of the Wolfpack’s athlete advisory council and the ACC’s student growing up in the Triangle, from John Wall to Rodney Purvis and beyond. representative to the NCAA, where he serves on a committee charting the future of that organization. News & Observer staff It’s a little misleading to call Krapf a future leader, because the native of 5. Tom Dundon, Carolina Hurricanes owner Germany is already at the front of just about every opportunity current athletes have to influence the direction of college athletics: he served as 6. Ezra Baeli-Wang and 292 (and counting) other UNC athletes the chairman of N.C. State’s athlete advisory group, the ACC 7. Nina King, Duke deputy athletic director representative to the NCAA’s athlete advisory council and one of five athletes on the ACC’s 20-person search committee entrusted with 8. McCall Zerboni, NC Courage midfielder picking a replacement for Swofford. 9. Mack Brown, North Carolina football coach 3. AKSHAY BHATIA, TEENAGE PROFESSIONAL GOLFER 10. Que Tucker, NCHSAA commissioner Akshay Bhatia hits his tee shot on the second hole during the round of 32 THE 2017 TRIANGLE 10 at the 2019 U.S. Amateu. Chris Keane USGA MUSEUM RAL_ DUPREE-NE-122817-RTW03 The Wake Forest teenager’s first year on the PGA Tour didn’t go as planned but he cashed his first paycheck at the Safeway Open in 1. Scott Dupree, Greater Raleigh Sports Alliance executive director September and briefly contended in the Mayakoba Golf Classic earlier this month after playing his way in through a Monday qualifier. Bhatia, 2. Rick Evrard, Bond, Schoeneck & King lawyer who turns 19 in January, has the game to compete at the highest level 3. Kevin White, Duke athletic director and his breakthrough could come at any time. With his Callaway sponsorship deal, he’s already moving in elite circles. He shared a 4. George Williams, St. Augustine’s athletic director and track coach private jet to a tournament in Saudi Arabia with another left-hander: Phil Mickelson. Still, he’s got a long way to keep up with Triangle pros Webb 5. Stephen Malik, North Carolina FC/NC Courage owner Simpson, Brendon Todd, Doc Redman, Grayson Murray and Chesson 6. Mike Krzyzewski, Duke men’s basketball coach Hadley, who combined for more than $10 million in winnings in 2020. 7. Ingrid Wicker McCree, N.C. Central athletic director 4. LARRY PERKINS, PNC ARENA VICE PRESIDENT 8. Thomas Dundon, prospective Carolina Hurricanes owner Larry Perkins 9. Debbie Yow, N.C. State athletic director Larry B. Perkins is the PNC Arena’s vice president of guest relations and assistant general manager. He has written “Buck Seventy Two” about 10. Dwayne West, Garner Road Basketball Club executive director overcoming his childhood struggles. The book is available on Amazon. “Life Choices” is available for free through Perkins’ website. LIZA WEIDLE News Observer LOADED: 12.26.2020 Always in demand nationally for his experience and expertise in arena safety and security, where he has been one of the country’s foremost experts on the subject for decades, Perkins is helping not just the Hurricanes and N.C. State but teams across the country figure out how to get fans back into arenas safely, whenever that time comes. Whatever the protocols end up being along the path toward a return to full attendance, Perkins will have a strong voice in determining them, and not just at PNC.

5. JOHN FORSLUND, UNEMPLOYED (FOR NOW) HOCKEY ANNOUNCER ral forslund

Forslund’s awkward departure from the Hurricanes’ TV booth after three decades on the air left big shoes for the amiable Mike Maniscalco to fill, and Maniscalco did a good job charting his own course in the playoffs. With Mike “Doc” Emrick retiring as NBC’s lead hockey announcer, could Forslund be the next voice of hockey in the ? It’s a distinct possibility -- with even bigger shoes to fill. American hockey fans would be lucky to have him, just as Hurricanes fans were for so long.

THE 2019 TRIANGLE 10

1. David West, HBL chief operating officer

2. Mack Brown, North Carolina football coach

3. Heather O’Reilly, recently retired soccer legend

4. Mike Krzyzewski, Duke men’s basketball coach

5. Sebastian Aho, Carolina Hurricanes center

6. , UNC field hockey coach

7. Terrence And Torry Holt, entrepreneurs and philanthropists

8. Akshay Bhatia, teenage professional golfer

9. Wes Moore, N.C. State women’s basketball coach

10. North Carolina politicians (really!)

THE 2018 TRIANGLE 10

1. Debbie Yow, N.C. State athletic director

2. Jordan Bazant, agent

3. Zach Maurides, Teamworks founder

4. , Duke basketball player 1197289 Colorado Avalanche I’m told that doing this will actually save you money over your typical Comcast cable package. You know, the one that doesn’t allow you to see the Avs or Nuggets right now.

Comcast standoff with Altitude bitter as ever, but here’s a possible Still. solution for youPublished 3 hours ago on December 26, 2020By Adrian Dater

Colorado hockey now LOADED: 12.26.2020

Staff

The answer is no. No, there is nothing positive to report about a potential end to the stalemate between Comcast and Altitude that has gone on since…wait for it…nearly a year and a half now.

If you’re a Comcast subscriber (full disclosure: I’m one) you still do not have the Altitude Network on your channel feed. I asked a high-ranking Altitude executive the other day if there was anything good to report about the situation.

“I wish I had good news, but I don’t,” the person said.

With the Avalanche starting play in the regular season Jan. 13, we’re staring at another season where the team won’t be on the biggest cable provider in Denver. It’s unbelievable this has gone on so long, but it’s where we are. The situation between the two sides is actually in the courts right now.

Recently, a judge in California allowed a suit by Altitude against Comcast to move forward.

From the Hollywood Reporter:

“A federal judge finds it “plausible” that Comcast is refusing to make a good offer to license Altitude, a regional sports network that telecasts most Denver Nuggets and Colorado Avalanche games, so that it can drive this Denver-area RSN out of business and capture the programming for its own NBC-branded sports channel. Accordingly, Comcast must continue to face an antitrust lawsuit.

The decision to partially reject Comcast’s motion to dismiss came on Friday. It’s the latest in a legal battle brought by Altitude’s Stan Kroenke, who as owner of the NFL’s Los Angeles Rams as well as the U.K.’s Premier League’s Arsenal is a pretty powerful guy in his own right.

Here, the controversy surrounds Comcast’s refusal to extend the old contract for Altitude for an additional few years with a modest bump in the carriage rate. Instead, Comcast wanted to move Altitude to a “sports tier” on the cable dial and make its subscribers pay an additional fee to get the channel. The result would lower Altitude’s access to Comcast subscribers and mean less money. Altitude asserts that accepting Comcast’s terms would ultimately oust it from the market and that Comcast has made no such arrangement with any affiliated RSN throughout the nation. In other words, Comcast is allegedly attempting to bully an independent, and as Altitude claims, take control.

U.S. District Court Judge William Martinez doesn’t buy all of Altitude’s antitrust theories. For instance, in his 41-page opinion (read here), he largely accepts Comcast’s position that one of the monopolization claims is doomed because by not carrying Altitude, Comcast may be losing subscribers, which causes it to lose market power as a buyer of sports programming.

But the judge does see something worth exploring in Altitude’s allegation that Comcast’s hard bargaining position may amount to a refusal to deal instead of a legitimate effort to keep prices down.”

Your options, Avs fan and Comcast subscriber, are these: You can dump Comcast for Directv. You can stream games illegally on any number of pirate servers.

Or, as someone recently showed me: You can still keep your Comcast internet, dump all the cable and sign up for AT&T TV and AT&T TV Now, a streaming service that you can get on things like Amazon Firestick, Apple TV, Roku and others. I know someone who is paying roughly $70 a month for this, which includes all the sports channels, HBO and 130 other channels.

I am NOT a paid spokesman for AT&T TV or Altitude, but if you want to learn more about getting this – and therefore getting Altitude – Click here. 1197290 Columbus Blue Jackets

Blue Jackets add defenseman Michael Del Zotto to training camp roster on tryout offer

Brian Hedger

The Blue Jackets added veteran defenseman Michael Del Zotto for training camp Friday, extending a professional tryout offer to compete for a roster spot. Del Zotto has played for the New York Rangers, Nashville Predators, Philadelphia Flyers, St. Louis Blues, and Anaheim Ducks during his 11-year NHL career.

The competition among depth defensemen at the Blue Jackets’ looming training camp next month has increased.

Aided by an offseason affected by the COVID-19 pandemic, which has left a number of veteran free agents seeking work late in the process, the Jackets may have unearthed a gem from the bargain bin Friday. In a Christmas surprise, the team announced that Michael Del Zotto – an 11- year NHL defenseman – has signed a professional tryout offer to attend a camp that will open Jan. 3 at Nationwide Arena.

Del Zotto, who played 49 games on a low-cost $750,000 deal for the Anaheim Ducks last season, will compete with Dean Kukan, Scott Harrington, Andrew Peeke, Gabriel Carlsson and Gavin Bayruether for a spot on the NHL roster or one of the spots on a taxi squad each team is now required to carry while playing a season amid the pandemic.

Del Zotto, a left-hand shot, is an offensive-minded defenseman who contributed two goals, 13 assists and 15 points last season for the Ducks – who didn’t qualify for the league’s 24-team postseason return in the summer. He is also familiar to Blue Jackets coach John Tortorella, who deployed Del Zotto in four seasons with the New York Rangers (2009-10 to 2012-13).

Those were Del Zotto’s first four NHL seasons, which included two of his most productive years on the offensive side. After putting up 9-28-37 as a rookie (2009-10), the skilled blueliner set career-high marks in 2011-12 with 10-31-41 for New York.

Del Zotto’s production has taken a significant dip since, playing for six teams in the past eight years, but he just turned 30 in June and skated 18:43 a game last season with Anaheim – his most since 2017-18 with the Vancouver Canucks (20:48). The puck-moving defender also finished with a positive plus/minus rating (plus-5) for the Ducks, which was his first time doing that since his final season for Tortorella (2012-13) in New York.

It should also be noted that Anaheim is a rebuilding team that went just 23-33-9 last season, finishing sixth in the Pacific Division.

Del Zotto is also coming to Columbus at a good time, touting valuable experience in lieu of the Blue Jackets trading both Ryan Murray and Markus Nutivaara in October to create space under the NHL’s $81.5 million salary cap.

Time, Tortorella and the Jackets’ management team will ultimately decide whether Del Zotto sticks around, but there is potential for him to become a bargain if he does.

Columbus Dispatch LOADED: 12.26.2020 1197291 Columbus Blue Jackets history through a different perspective and the history of an establishment that many people know. — Russo

How 17 pages turned into 8 years: Inside the Terry Francona–Indians Best of Cleveland/Columbus 2020: Browns, Indians, Cavs, Blue Jackets, union (May 26) Buckeyes We’ve always heard Terry Francona say he came to Cleveland because of his respect for the Mark Shapiro/Chris Antonetti/Mike Chernoff The Athletic Cleveland triumvirate, but no one had ever really explained what that recruiting process was like, so I enjoyed learning about how much prep Francona Columbus Dec 25, 2020 did for his interview (he created a 17-page document!) and the perspective of the front office throughout the process. Plus, who doesn’t

love a good Francona prank? This one involved spreading photos of a We’re nearing the end of 2020, and while the year has been … well … shirtless general manager. — Zack Meisel disastrous in so many ways, our writers did a lot of great work over the Lloyd: Mike Clevinger, a pop quiz and the 47 batters to homer off him last 12 months. (June 8) Along those lines, we asked each of our writers from Cleveland and This is how I’ll always remember Mike Clevinger. This took almost 45 Columbus to select three of their best or most meaningful pieces from the minutes to complete and he was such a great sport about it. This is also year. Here are their picks, along with their explanations for why they the last in-person interview I did before the world began to burn. — Lloyd chose them. ‘Damn coin toss’: The twist of fate that defined the early Wild and Blue Please enjoy. Happy holidays to you and yours and have a wonderful Jackets (June 24) New Year. The Blue Jackets have always seemed like a star-crossed franchise, and The opening reviews are in on Elvis: Performance, passion and it started from the start. If the coin flip goes one way, they get Marian personality all pluses for Merzlikins (Jan. 21) Gaborik. If it goes the other? Well, the Blue Jackets settled for Rostislav People in Columbus had been anticipating Elvis Merzlikins for a couple of Klesla, and they were off and running as a franchise. Stories like this seasons, but the rest of the NHL was fascinated when he started bring back a lot of memories, and there was a certain comedic element to dominating the league in January. This kid has a real magnetism about the ceremonial coin bouncing off the table and onto the floor. What a him, but we wanted to talk to former NHL to get their take on gong show! — Portzline his play. Nobody knows goalies like goalies, so we couldn’t wait to get Dotting the Buckeye: Remember when Rufus the Bobcat came for their thoughts. And, as it turned out, they couldn’t wait to share them. — Brutus? (June 25) Aaron Portzline This stuff is supposed to be fun, right? One thing that sticks with me from Commish for a day: What would Cleveland athletes change about their the 10 or so lengthy interviews I did in putting this story together is that sport? (Feb. 11) the people involved would be laughing — almost cackling — in recalling I didn’t realize how much NFL players hated Thursday night games until how this incident unfolded. I would ask one question, I’d get five minutes writing this. I also didn’t realize how much pitchers like Carlos Carrasco worth of answers and we’d all be laughing at the end. — Zac Jackson hated MLB’s pitch clock. — Jason Lloyd (Courtesy of Marissa Midgley) A card shark who ‘eats like s—’ and helps save lives: A collection of Akron runners go 90 miles to raise money, awareness for BLM, suicide untold LeBron James stories (Feb. 13) prevention (June 29) LeBron is the most famous athlete in the world and has been for a little When I heard that these two runners were trying to accomplish this feat, bit, and yet Jason and I were able to unearth stories about him that no it really spoke to me and I wanted to tell their story. I was really proud of one knew. — Joe Vardon my reporting process, with the number of interviews I did speaking with Finding stories nobody has ever heard about LeBron is hard. Finding this their families, teammates and the two runners themselves, and also many was a fun project to produce. — Lloyd going to see them run a section of their path. I felt it helped me to paint a picture of their journey, and I was really proud of the way this piece Inside the failed John Beilein Cavs experiment and a franchise culture turned out in the end. — Russo problem (Feb. 19) ‘One day, all will be well again’: When MLB October magic means more The Cavs were so catastrophically bad, and this time it was their fault. than usual (Sept. 29) They picked the wrong coach and we were able to pull back the curtain as to why they were so bad. — Vardon Sports are for fans. I think it’s easy for writers to lose sight of that. So, as the baseball postseason arrived, I wondered if Cleveland fans were as Watching Ohio State’s national championship win over Miami for the first invested, given the circumstances of the season (and the world). I asked time (March 30) fans for their insight, and some of the stories people shared were incredibly moving. It was a touching, refreshing reminder of what sports In March I wrote a running diary of my experience watching Ohio State’s are about. — Meisel national championship win against Miami for the first time. I had seen highlights from the game, knew the general gist of things, but never (Zac Jackson / The Athletic) watched the game in full. I had a blast doing it, but the response to it shortly after everything was shut down (and we were kind of scrambling How the most fanatical HS football city in America played through a for story ideas) really blew me away. — Bill Landis pandemic (Oct. 23)

Meet Lisa Boyer, the NBA’s real first female volunteer assistant coach I spent almost a year reporting this, in some cases living the traditions (April 17) and in other cases hearing about how COVID-19 had taken them away. Football is very much alive in Massillon, as it was decades ago, and it I am really proud of this piece as a whole, from the reporting process to was a privilege to share a lot of these stories. — Jackson the finished product. I originally found this little nugget of information while researching another topic, and it hadn’t been written about from the Justin Fields’ baseball days are over but his skills are on display on Cavs’ perspective. The research and reporting was so fun, from talking to Saturdays (Nov. 16) Lisa Boyer and John Lucas and searching through the archives of a Also last month, I wrote a story about how Justin Fields’ baseball skills former WNBA team. — Kelsey Russo help him on the football field. There are a lot of stories about how good You don’t know the Cavs without a trip to Whitey’s: Grab a stool, here’s a Fields is, I enjoyed exploring a different angle on what makes him such a drink (April 23) special athlete. — Landis

Another really fun one to report, as I had a number of conversations with Doing LaMelo things: What four wild months in Ohio taught us about Ball the owner where he shared all these stories. I heard about a time in Cavs (Nov. 17) LaMelo’s entire last year of amateur basketball in America played out in Ohio. It was fun to track down everyone touched by his spotlight. — Vardon

Haskell Garrett, Tommy Togiai are blazing a trail for Polynesians at Ohio State (Nov. 19)

I wrote a story about Ohio State defensive tackles Haskell Garrett and Tommy Togiai, and how OSU has started to recruit more Polynesian players over the last few years. I’ve been wanting to write something on that for a while, and the way Haskell and Tommy are playing this year, as well as their close relationship, presented a great opportunity to do so. — Landis

Keeping the streak alive: A father, a son and a holy game of catch (Nov. 26)

I’ve written about the Chernoff family tradition — at least one game of catch per month since 1987 — but I was curious to learn how father and son kept it going during the pandemic, and their creative (and sometimes desperate) measures didn’t disappoint. The timing of reporting this story was also interesting/ironic, since Chernoff was being courted at the time by the Mets, his childhood team. — Meisel

From 0-16 to the playoffs? WR Rashard Higgins savoring good times with Browns (Dec. 14)

I liked this one because various groups/coaching staffs have kept telling Rashard Higgins to go to the back of the line, and he keeps coming back. More than just him, though, I think it’s a story of where the Browns have been and how quickly three years can go by in the NFL. — Jackson

Former Ohio State hockey player opens up about sexual abuse: ‘I just can’t stay quiet now’ (Dec. 18)

It’s difficult to say you really like a story like this, but you can be proud of it. As a journalist, these stories are so much more important than the typical sports story. The system failed Al Novakowski and hundreds of other kids at Ohio State. It did more than fail them, it abused them. We would be naive to think it’s not happening to more kids right now. Novakowski’s hope is that his story — his understanding of it now, given the years that have passed — could help a person who is currently feeling trapped by a power imbalance. — Portzline

The Athletic LOADED: 12.26.2020 1197292

Ready or not, Jake Oettinger gets introduced to the NHL this season. How will the Stars’ rookie goalie handle it?

By Matthew DeFranks

7:00 AM on Dec 24, 2020 CST

Time to see what the Stars can do for an encore.

Months after falling in Game 6 of the Stanley Cup Final against Tampa Bay, the Stars will have another shot at the Cup when the NHL season begins Jan. 13. Dallas will open training camp Jan. 3, and play a 56- game regular season schedule in the reworked Central Division, which will include normal division rivals and Nashville, along with Tampa Bay, Florida, Carolina, Columbus and Detroit.

With the season on the horizon, let’s take a look at 10 questions facing the Stars. This is the fourth installment.

7. How does Stars rookie goaltender Jake Oettinger handle the NHL?

Whether he’s ready or not, Jake Oettinger will receive his NHL introduction this season for the Stars.

Oettinger is one of the Stars’ top prospects and the team’s goaltender of the future. As recently as this offseason, the Dallas front office publicly supported Oettinger as a potential backup goalie when was still a free agent. He’ll get his shot in the first two months of the season behind Khudobin as recovers from offseason knee surgery.

Oettinger has never played in an NHL regular season game, and his two playoff appearances in the Edmonton bubble came in mop-up duty against Vegas and Tampa Bay. Oettinger was a first-round pick in 2017, and turned pro last year after spending three seasons at Boston University.

Last year, he was one of the best rookie goaltenders in the AHL, as his .917 save percentage led all rookies, and his 2.57 goals against average was second. Oettinger is technically sound and uses his large 6-4, 212- pound frame well.

While Oettinger is on the roster because of Bishop’s injury, he will not be replacing Bishop. He won’t be asked to carry the load in net, but instead will serve as Khudobin’s protection from fatigue and insurance against another injury.

The condensed schedule may allow for more appearances for Oettinger than a normal NHL schedule, though. When the Stars’ slate was released Wednesday afternoon, it featured seven sets of back-to-backs.

While the Stars and goaltending coach Jeff Reese were willing to ride Khudobin in the postseason during back-to-back sets, that was while playing for the Stanley Cup. In the regular season, perhaps the Stars would be willing to throw Khudobin back-to-back games (if the first game goes well, and since there is no travel involved), but at a rate much less than in the playoffs.

The best case would be to keep Khudobin fresh enough to make a potential impact in the playoffs. The worst case is needing to overplay Khudobin because the Stars’ playoff position is in peril. At the very least, the Stars are going from maybe the best goaltending tandem in the league to breaking in a rookie.

At 22 years old, Oettinger will become just the third Stars goalie age 22 or younger to appear in a regular season game since 1996. The other two were Kari Lehtonen and Jack Campbell.

Dallas Morning News LOADED: 12.26.2020 1197293 Detroit Red Wings THE (NEW) CAPTAIN:Yzerman: Red Wings will have captain in 2021 season

Here’s to the present Ho, Ho, Hockeytown: A holiday guide to Detroit Red Wings' past, present and future Steve Yzerman said this week he was anxious and excited to see the Wings play. Considering he’s only 21 months into his tenure as general manager, Yzerman already has put quite an imprint on the team. He Helene St. James signaled that being a veteran won’t buy a player leeway (Jonathan Ericsson was put on waivers last season; Justin Abdelkader was bought out in October) and brought in new faces in defensemen Marc Staal, Jon Merrill and Troy Stecher; forwards Bobby Ryan and Vladislav The Detroit Red Wings normally relish the Christmas break, coming right Namestnikov; and goaltender Thomas Greiss. around the midpoint of the season, as a chance to relax and reboot. But the coronavirus pandemic has disrupted all sense of normal, and instead The Wings won’t be contenders, but the additions suggest they will be the Wings are gearing up to start the 2021 season in mid-January. more competitive than the team that won 17 games last season.

When they do, it will have been 10 months since they last took to the ice While we wait for the Wings to begin play, there’s the World Junior at Little Caesars Arena. Instead of celebrating New Year’s Eve by playing Championship, which starts Christmas Day. The pandemic means there a home game, the Wings will mark the last day of 2020 by starting won’t be any fans at the event at Edmonton’s Rogers Arena, but every training camp. game will be shown on NHL Network. The highlight of opening day has the U.S. taking on Russia at 9:30 p.m.. The NHL has not scheduled a game on Christmas Day since 1970. The break has allowed for high jinks, hanging at home and hope. In this The Wings don’t have any players on either of those teams, but you challenging year, here’s a look at the Wings’ past, present and future. should recognize Russia’s coach — it’s former Wings great and Russian Five pivot Igor Larionov, fondly known as The Professor for his cerebral [ Why Steve Yzerman is excited to watch the Detroit Red Wings play. ] tastes (chess and wine). Cheers to the past The Wings of course, have a bunch of players on the Swedish team, Time was, the Wings would step into Christmas on a merry note. They though. Most prominently there’s Lucas Raymond, their fourth overall cherished Festivus, the Dec. 23 holiday made famous in one of the all- pick in 2020, as well as fellow forwards Theodor Niederbach and Elmer time classic "Seinfeld" episodes. For the Wings, it was all about "the Soderblom and defensemen Albert Johansson and Gustav Berglund. Airing of Grievances." Sweden opens play on Saturday with a game against the Czech Republic, which features Wings goaltending prospect Jan Bednar. The Here’s a gem from 2009, when Chris Osgood sounded off on Jimmy other Wings prospect at the tournament is Finland defenseman Eemil Howard and Kirk Maltby: “I have a grievance against Jimmy for calling Viro. me five times a day. It's like I have three kids — two daughters and a really old and immature son. He has his own dad, he has a grandpa. I'd HOW SWEDE IT IS: Lucas Raymond on why Steve Yzerman is 'excited like to see him call them more and me less. And Maltby, I mean, his lips to have me' are always flapping — just non-stop. I wish he'd get a muzzle.” The tournament ends Jan. 5. To tide you over until the NHL begins Jan. Osgood was in top form again in 2010, when he had a grievance, with, 13, you can read up on the Wings’ tremendous history in my book, The basically, all his teammates. “The guys always take my toothpaste and Big 50: The Detroit Red Wings. It’s available in bookstores and online my hair products out of my kit I use on the road. Always. I don't know via, among other outlets, Amazon, and Barnes & Noble. If you want a who or why, but it's annoying.” personalized copy, please email me at [email protected].

That, in turn, led to Kris Draper’s grievance: “Ozzy steals my toothpaste Hope for the future and puts it in his kit. Happens all the time — I buy it, he takes it.” The World Juniors offers an opportunity to get an eyeful of players Darren Helm took advantage of Festivus 2010 to air grievances against eligible for the 2021 draft. While the changes made by Yzerman should Osgood, Todd Bertuzzi, and especially Kris Draper. Draper delighted in make the Wings more competitive this season, they still project to finish framing Helm and Justin Abdelkader as the characters from the movie near the bottom of the standings and, in turn, be in the draft lottery again. Dumb and Dumber (think hairdos – Helm as Lloyd Christmas, Wings assistant general manager Ryan Martin is at the event. Abdelkader as Harry Dunne). Michigan forward Matthew Beniers (USA) is one of the higher-end Here was Helm at the time: “Everybody for always telling me to slow prospects at the tournament. Michigan did not, however, release down. Everyone for calling me ‘Dumb and Dumber.' Ozzy for always defenseman Owen Power to Hockey Canada. (Because of travel having different nicknames for me every day. Drapes, same thing. Ozzy restrictions between the U.S. and Canada, Power would have had to and Drapes for always ganging up on me and Abby. Bert's perfect, quarantine in Canada for two weeks before the start of Canada’s camp.) except he makes me get tape for him, and then he says it's ‘for us' but Forward Aatu Räty, was left off Finland’s roster, and Sweden left behind there is no ‘us.’ There's just him.” forward William Eklund after he tested positive for COVD-19 and cut defenseman Simon Edvinsson. Of course, no player embodies Christmas quite like Tomas Holmstrom. Once teammates found out he was from Piteå, Sweden — not far from MEET MATTHEW BENIERS:He was supposed to play for Harvard. Now the Arctic Circle — they delighted in handing him their wish lists in he might put Michigan hockey over the top December, figuring he was practically neighbors with Santa Claus. EURO-BUILD:Prospects Moritz Seider, Jonatan Berggren continue Holmstrom did dress up as Father Christmas and surprised Nicklas strong play in Sweden Lidstrom’s children when they were toddlers. Closer to home, the rebuild looks like it will get a boost from recent draft NO GRIEVANCE:From stealing apples to winning 4 Stanley Cups: picks as soon as the autumn. Defenseman Moritz Seider (sixth, 2019) Nicklas Lidstrom at 50 today has 12 points in 19 games for Rögle in the Swedish Hockey League; “I limped a little bit because I was pretending to have been on this long it'sthe 19-year-old’s third season in a men’s league. Forward Jonatan trip,” Holmstrom said in 2001. “They thought I had come all the way from Berggren (33rd, 2018) has 24 points in 23 games with Skellefteå. Sweden with presents for them.” Raymond has 12 points in 22 games with Frölunda. All project to make the Wings’ future better and brighter. At least Lidstrom repaid the favor: Asked what he’d get Holmstrom for Christmas in 2007, Lidstrom replied, “an ice scraper, so he doesn't have to use his credit cards when he's scraping his windshield.” Detroit Free Press LOADED: 12.26.2020 That was also the year Pavel Datsyuk shared his Christmas wish: “When I was a kid, I wanted to grow up to drink a lot on Christmas and be drunk.” 1197294 Detroit Red Wings Thursday, Dec. 31

Austria vs. Czech Republic, 2 p.m.

World junior hockey roundup: Red Wings pick Eemil Viro plus-1 in Finland vs. Canada, 6 p.m. Finland's opener United States vs. Sweden, 9:30 p.m.

Saturday, Jan. 2 The Detroit News staff Quarterfinal 1, 12 p.m.

Quarterfinal 2, 3:30 p.m. Red Wings draft pick Eemil Viro was plus-1 in Finland's 5-3 victory over short-handed Germany on Friday night at the world junior hockey Quarterfinal 3, 7 p.m. championship in Edmonton. Quarterfinal 4, 10:30 p.m.

Viro, a 6-0, 165-pound defenseman who was one of three 2020 second- Monday, Jan. 4 round draft picks, had two shots and 27 shifts in 19:31 of ice time. Semifinal 1, 6 p.m. Aku Raty, Henri Nikkanen, and Topi Niemela each had a goal and an for the Finns, who are seeking their sixth world junior gold medal of Semifinal 2, 9:30 p.m. all time. They last triumphed in Vancouver (2019) on Kaapo Kakko’s late Tuesday, Jan. 5 3-2 winner versus the Americans. Third-place game, 5:30 p.m. Germany, which was missing nine players because of the coronavius, had only 14 skaters – nine forwards and five defensemen. Three players Championship game, 9:30 p.m. can return to the tournament Sunday and another five Tuesday, barring more positive tests. Dach sidelined with wrist injury

Anton Lundell and Mikael Pyyhtia also scored for Finland in the Group A forward Kirby Dach has been ruled out for the world game. Tim Stutzle and Florian Elias each had a goal and assist for junior championship after he hurt his right wrist during Canada’s Germany. exhibition victory over Russia on Wednesday night.

Earlier in Group A, Slovakia beat Switzerland 1-0 on Roman Faith’s goal The Blackhawks said Dach was returning to Chicago for further with 5:43 left. Simon Latkoczy made 28 saves, stopping Inaki Baragano evaluation. with his glove on a late power play. Later Friday, the U.S. lost 5-3 to Dach, who turns 20 on Jan. 21, was injured on what seemed like a Russia. Captain Cam York of the University of Michigan had a goal and harmless bodycheck in the neutral zone in the third period. After the hit, an assist for the Americans. the Canada captain pulled off his glove, skated off the ice and went On Saturday, the United States will face Austria, and Sweden will play directly to the locker-room area in Edmonton. the Czech Republic in Group B. Canada will open its title defense against Dach was selected by Chicago with the No. 3 pick in the 2019 draft. He Germany in Group A. had eight goals and 15 assists in 64 games during his rookie season with World junior schedule the Blackhawks.

Friday, Dec. 25 Dach’s injury is another tough blow for rebuilding Chicago after it announced Wednesday that Alex Nylander, another young forward, could Slovakia 1, Switzerland 0 miss the entire 2021 season because of a left knee injury. Nylander had surgery Monday to repair a meniscus tear in his left knee. Finland 5, Germany 3 No spectators at world juniors Russia 5, United States 3 A world junior men’s hockey championship like no other opens Friday Saturday, Dec. 26 with zero spectators and teams walled off from the general public Czech Republic vs. Sweden, 2 p.m. ET because of the coronavirus pandemic.

Canada vs. Germany, 6 p.m. The under-20 tournament at Edmonton’s Rogers Place is modeled on the NHL’s twin bubbles earlier this year that allowed the league to complete Austria vs. United States, 9:30 p.m. its season. Shorter in duration and with fewer people on hand, the 12- Sunday, Dec. 27 day, 10-nation tournament is still a major logistical undertaking for Hockey Canada and the host committee. Switzerland vs. Finland, 2 p.m. That it wasn’t canceled along with so many other International Ice Canada vs. Slovakia, 6 p.m. Hockey Federation tournaments in 2020 indicates a determination to stage – and televise – live hockey despite a spike in local COVID-19 Russia vs. Czech Republic, 9:30 p.m. cases.

Monday, Dec. 28 Hockey Canada vice president of events Dean McIntosh said the Sweden vs. Austria, 6 p.m. province has been “incredibly supportive.” Defending champion Canada opens play Saturday against Germany. Germany vs. Slovakia, 9:30 p.m. “We have an opportunity to give Canadians a gift here at Christmas time Tuesday, Dec. 29 as well,” McIntosh said. “The holiday season, the tradition of the world juniors has been great.” Czech Republic vs. United States, 2 p.m.

Switzerland vs. Canada, 6 p.m. Detroit News LOADED: 12.26.2020 Russia vs. Austria, 9:30 p.m.

Wednesday, Dec. 30

Slovakia vs. Finland, 2 p.m.

Germany vs. Switzerland, 6 p.m.

Sweden vs. Russia, 9:30 p.m. 1197295 Detroit Red Wings Yzerman confirmed the organization still plans on naming a captain this season, with most analysts expecting that’ll be Dylan Larkin.

An alternate captain the last two seasons, Larkin would be the Wings’ Red Wings who played in Europe might have advantage at training camp first captain since Henrik Zetterberg in 2018.

Yzerman, who was a Wings’ captain for 22 seasons, noted the increased TED KULFAN responsibility in that role.

“I just think you take a lot more things into consideration that you may not normally,” Yzerman said. “Whether it’s a call by an official, or a situation Detroit — When the Red Wings begin training camp on Dec. 31, it’ll be a off the ice with a teammate, just anything to do with the team, as a little over nine months since the team has been together in an organized, captain you get a little bit more sense of responsibility regarding every official setting. situation.”

The vast majority of the roster has been unable to play any games in North America because of the ongoing pandemic — and just over the last several months, been able skate informally with teammates. Detroit News LOADED: 12.26.2020

But for some of the younger Red Wings, it’s been a little different.

The organization sent prospects such as Filip Zadina, Filip Hronek, Michael Rasmussen, among others, to Europe in September to play in operating leagues.

Now, those leagues have had their own stop-and-starts because of virus issues, but at least have gotten to play games and continue to practice.

Two of the top Wings’ prospects, Moritz Seider and Joe Veleno, will remain in Sweden until their respective teams’ seasons are done, before returning to North America.

Red Wings prospects ready for world junior championship

While talking to reporters Tuesday, general manager Steve Yzerman spoke about the benefits of the younger prospects being able to play during this pause.

“For the younger players that are trying to establish themselves, and make an NHL team, it was important for them to play,” Yzerman said. “It’s an advantage for these kids. Playing in a lot of situations just furthers their development as players.”

Zadina and Hronek saw considerable playing time while playing in the pro league in the Czech Republic.

Generally speaking, the Czech league isn’t as strong as the Swedish Elite League. But being able to able to continue developing skills while many other players weren’t able to, should benefit Zadina and Hronek in the short- and long-term.

“I would assume Zadina and Hronek got a lot of ice time, and I expect them to be a little sharper,” Yzerman said. “The league they were playing in isn’t the NHL, (but) it’s a men’s league and it will be a significant step, a benefit for them to be playing games.”

Divisional realignment

There was mild eyebrow raising with some of the NHL realignment for the upcoming season.

From the Red Wings’ perspective, to be included in a Central Division along with Dallas, Carolina, Tampa Bay and Florida was a bit perplexing to some fans and analysts.

Especially with Buffalo and Pittsburgh, along with St. Louis and Minnesota, being placed in other divisions, despite being geographically closer.

But whatever way the NHL went, it wasn’t going to be a perfect situation, something Yzerman acknowledged.

“There wasn’t going to be a perfect set up for us,” Yzerman said. “We’re not losing any sleep over it. It’s a little bit more travel for us, but under the circumstances, we’re trusting the league did what it had to do for various reasons.”

Yzerman, and many Wings fans, are happy to be reunited with the Chicago Blackhawks in the realigned division, even if it’s only for this season.

“They’re very lively and entertaining games,” said Yzerman of the Original Six rivalry. “Original Six matchups are great and we’re happy to be in the same division.”

Captain's duties 1197296 Detroit Red Wings Fast said. "That describes my aspirations of what I would like to be seen as but coaches didn't always agree with my version of the story."

After scoring a goal in his first NHL game, Fast said Hurricanes coach One-game wonder: How ex-Spartan Brad Fast made NHL history Peter Laviolette called during the following summer and said he was "pencilled in" and be "ready to go."

MARK FALKNER "He was honest and said, 'It's your position to lose,' " Fast said. "I got ready as best I could but there were some unfortunate circumstances in my situation that nobody could control. We didn't play hockey for the whole next year." East Lansing's Brad Fast is reminded about his place in history every so often. The NHL cancelled the entire 2004-05 season because of a labor dispute. Fast played that season in the AHL with goalie Cam Ward, who The former defenseman and third-round draft went on to lead Carolina to the 2006 Stanley Cup. choice of the Carolina Hurricanes is one of three players among more than 7,600 players in the 103-year history of the league to score a goal in "I tried my best to get my game back up to that level again," Fast said. his only NHL game. "Unfortunately, the timing of it never worked out. I was close but close doesn't quite count. The level of consistency needed is amazing. You Featured in Ken Reid's recently published book, "One Night Only: battle every single day to earn your spot and ice time." Conversations with the NHL's One-Game Wonders," Fast's goal was also the last tying goal before the league moved to shootouts in 2004. After another year in the minors with the Lock Monsters and the ECHL , Fast signed with the and played "I wrote the book from the standpoint of, 'Wow, you played one game' as for the AHL Manchester Monarchs before finishing his career overseas in opposed to, 'You only played one game?' " said Reid, the co-anchor of Switzerland, Austria, Germany and South Korea from 2006-11. Sportsnet's weeknight TV show in Canada. "There were definitely some tough times," said Fast, who also spent four "Most of these guys could've been bitter and wondered why they didn't years as director of hockey operations at Michigan State from 2015-19. get more than one shot but time heals all wounds. One game is an "It's hard to keep perspective while it's happening and you're grinding it incredible feat and I think most guys finally realize that." out to get back to the NHL. That's why you see so many people seek ex- Fast's "incredible feat" came with 2:26 left in the third period of the athletes out in different avenues at work because of their habits." Hurricanes' 6-6 tie on the final day of the regular season against the As for Fast's historic puck, he said the kids "used to play with the puck in in Miami on April 4, 2004. the basement" until he realized the importance of the final goal in the final Called up a day earlier from the Lowell Lock Monsters in the American tie game. Hockey League, Fast took a pass from former Spartan Rod Brind' Amour "Now the puck is up on a shelf," Fast said. "I know it's only one goal in and scored on future Hall of Fame goaltender Roberto Luongo. one game but it's one more goal than most people have. It's a profession "As time passes, the story gets pushed back further every year," said like no other. The turnover is quick and you have to be ready to make the Fast, who is now 40 years old and a sales consultant for medical most of your opportunity and be ready to sustain that. Looking back, I'm company DePuy Synthes while coaching his three children between the just glad that I got to play in the best league in the world and pretty much ages of 8 to 14 and teaching the game at Elevation Hockey and the fulfill every hockey player's dream growing up." Lansing Hockey Club. Brad Fast glance "I'm really grateful to have played in the best league in the world for one Age: 40 (Feb. 21, 1980) day. Effort wise, yes . . . I was good enough. Performance wise, no. If I did better, this wouldn't be a story other than scoring the last goal in the Birthplace: Fort St. John, British Columbia last tie game." Position: Defenseman The other two players to score a goal in their only NHL game were Red Wings defenseman , who is now an NHL referee, and Height/weight: 6'0', 195 pounds center Roland Huard, who died in a hunting College hockey: Recorded 114 points in 165 games with the Michigan accident in 1979 near Maniwaki, Quebec. State Spartans from 1999-2003. Two-time CCHA champion and All- Morton's goal in Calgary on Oct. 5, 1989, was scored on future Red CCHA first team and best defensive defenseman in senior season. Wings goalie Mike Vernon at 12:52 of the first period in Detroit's 10-7 NHL career: Drafted by the Carolina Hurricanes in the third round in loss and was assisted by captain Steve Yzerman, who had 1,755 points 1999. One of only three players to score a goal in his only NHL game. in 1,514 regular season games. Quote: "I'll always have that little fun fact, a great trivia question," said Huard scored his unassisted goal on Dec. 13, 1930, against Hall of Fame Brad Fast, who scored the last tying goal before the NHL moved to goalie Tiny Thompson of the Boston Bruins at 9:10 of the first period in shootouts in 2004. Toronto's 7-3 loss at home.

Fast's goal capped a quick rise to the NHL after four seasons with the Spartans playing alongside Red Wings director of player development Detroit News LOADED: 12.26.2020 Shawn Horcoff and three-time Stanley Cup champion of the Chicago Blackhawks.

After averaging more than a point-per-game with the Prince George Spruce Kings in the British Columbia Hockey League, the native of Fort St. John, British Columbia, won back-to-back Central Collegiate Hockey League titles in his first two seasons at Michigan State and finished with 30 goals, 84 assists, 114 points and a plus-54 rating in 164 career games.

In his senior season in 2003, he was named captain, the best defensive defenseman in the CCHA and was second in team scoring behind defensive partner John-Michael Liles, who broke the NHL record for longest scoring streak by a defenseman to open the season with points in nine straight games with the Colorado Avalanche in 2010.

"I was a puck-moving defensemen who liked to join the play and, at the same time, I took pride in my work in the of the game," 1197297 Los Angeles Kings 2 – Most thankful for the experiences that the game of hockey has brought to me and my family, as well as all the great people and friendships the game of hockey has brought into my life.

LA KINGS ALUMNI – SO MANY MEMORIES, SO THANKFUL Randy Holt (1978-80)

1 – My favorite moment turned into two years of being able to play with LA KINGS INSIDER and watch the Triple Crown Line dominate every team we played against. If only the rest of us could have done half the job they did, we DECEMBER 25, 20200 would have been champions.

2 – I am very thankful that my children and their children are all healthy and happy. During the Holiday Season, the LA Kings Alumni Association department reached out to several former Kings players, asking them these two Dean Hopkins (1979-83) questions: 1 – My favorite time was when we eliminated the in the 1: What is your favorite moment with the Kings? Edmonton Coliseum in April 1982!

2: What are you most thankful for? 2 – I am most thankful for the good health of me and my family.

From big goals, to playing with future Hall of Famers, to fun on the road, Brent Hughes (1967-70) our former players weighed in-on a variety of topics before they hung up their skates. And now, post playing career, they have so much to be 1 – Favorite moment was playing my first game at the Forum as a thankful for. defenseman in front of Terry Sawchuk.

Insiders – What are your favorite moments from these players? 2 – Most thankful that my family and I remain healthy during this terrible pandemic. Gene Carr (1973-78) Howie Hughes (1967-70) 1 – I am most thankful for being Rogie Vachon’s roomie for over four seasons. I became great friends with one of the classiest guys I have 1 – Scoring the first goal in the Forum. ever known. 2 – My health and family.

2 – Thankful for having so many great friends in Canada and in the U.S. Kelly Hrudey (1988-96)

Jimmy Carson (1986-88 and 1992-94) 1 – My favorite memories would be the 1993 playoffs.

1 – So many…. First NHL game, First NHL goal, Scoring my 50th goal at 2 – I’m most grateful for all the kindness in the world. With the pandemic the Forum were my favorites. and so many people affected in a variety of different ways, it warms my 2 – I am most thankful for my Faith, my family, our health and that I was heart to see so many people helping others in these stressful time. blessed to be born and raised in the USA. Ted Irvine (1967-70)

Jeff Chychrun (1991-92 and 1992-93) 1 – Favorite moments are always my teammates and experiencing 1 – I always loved the celebrity guests we had post game in the locker playing in the NHL and representing the LA Kings. Also scoring the room! One that stands out is the visit from President Ronald Reagan and overtime goal versus Oakland who broke a record from the 40s. his wife, First Lady Nancy Reagan. Quite a humbling moment in my 2 – Thankful for family friends and to have lived my dream of playing in memory. the NHL. Merry Christmas, Kings Fans!

2 – Most thankful this season for family, friends and heath. Neil Komadoski (1972-78)

Adam Deadmarsh (2001-04) 1 – Overtime win in game 6 against the Bruins in the 1976 season. Butch 1 – I was fortunate to have many fond memories as a King, but I would Goring scores the winner!!!! have to say my favorite is when we knocked Detroit out in the first round 2 – Health and Safety of my family. of the playoffs. Chris Kontos (1987-89) 2 – I am most thankful for the health and well-being of my family as the holiday season approaches. Even though I am not able to spend a lot of 1 – 1989 after finishing my season in Switzerland, I got a last-minute call time with the extended family during these times, simply knowing that to join the Kings by signing a contract just before Midnight and sending it everyone is doing well is what I’m most thankful for. over to Rogie. It just made it in. I sent it back then from a lumber yard with a fax machine. I then went on to have a great playoff and we came Peter Dineen (1986-87) back to defeat the Oilers after being down 3 games to 1.

1 – Rogie Vachon giving me an opportunity to play my 1st NHL season 2 – Happy that my family is safe and healthy during these chaotic times. after spending five years in the AHL. Also playing with a couple of true We may not be able to get together but health is the most important thing Hall of Famers in Dave Taylor and Marcel Dionne. for sure.

2 – Living in the Adirondacks and that all my family has stayed healthy Jerry Korab (1979-83) and safe during these trying times. 1 – Well I actually have a few memorable moments with the Kings. Colin Fraser (2011-14) Obviously though the most exciting & one that I will never forget would 1 – My favorite moment as a member of the Kings was 2012 and the final have be the Miracle on Manchester and remembering Daryl Evans firing few seconds of Game 6 vs New Jersey. Watching the clock tick down a rocket off the faceoff and winning the game in OT & defeating the and celebrating the first Kings Stanley Cup was a surreal moment. One Oilers! that can’t be matched! 2 – I always look forward to the holidays and am very thankful that I will 2 – Health and happiness with the entire family is what my wife and I are be here to celebrate them especially with my family. I would just like to most thankful for. Crazy times right now and a lot of uncertainty has us wish all my teammates in LA the same, especially my good friend Pete thankful our three children are a healthy and happy crew! Demers.

Tony Granato (1989-96): Mike Krushelnyski (1988-91)

1 – Favorite moment—The rub in ‘93 and getting to the Finals and all of 1 – In my 1st year being part of the LA Kings, eliminating the previous my teammates over the years. I loved the LA Forum. Stanley Cup champions in the playoffs was quite special for me and I felt as a team we were beginning to blend together and become a Stanley 2 – Vast wide-open spaces to adventure in while living British Columbia. Cup contender. Health is the Greatest Wealth!

2 – This year was certainly a challenge for all of us but I’m most grateful Aaron Miller (2000-07) our family – my Aunt is 98 yrs old and Father at 90 yrs old and All the Family are still here and healthy. 1 – Comeback against Detroit in the 2001 playoffs.

Ian Laperriere (1995-04) 2 – My family and our health.

1 – My favorite moment has a King…I will say all 8-plus years I spent Bill Mikkelson (1971-72) there. One of my favorite moments was 2000-01 playoffs and beating 1 – Favorite moment: My first NHL game when I was called up from the Detroit the way we did was so special. Springfield Kings in November ’71 to play with the Kings at Maple Leaf 2 – Thankful for my family, and very thankful that my family is safe in Gardens against the Leafs. these crazy times. 2 – Most thankful for: My family and their good health and well-being.

Manny Legace (1988-99) Hartland Monahan (1977-78)

1 – My 1st ever NHL game vs Florida. 1 – My favorite moment with the Kings was scoring two goals against the 2 – I will be able to spend it with my wife and kids that are flying in. Toronto Maple Leafs back to back. Even better was playing on a team Regret that I am unable to see my parents this year. with Marcel Dionne. He is a super nice guy.

Morris Lukowich (1985-87) 2 – Today I am most thankful for my family. I have three grown children and nine grandchildren. We are blessed to live in Hilton Head Island, SC. 1 – It is a long story. But November of 1985 I had been released on Slower pace of life and I play a lot of golf. Most importantly I am thankful waivers by the Boston Bruins and the LA Kings had picked me up…so on for our Lord and Savior – Jesus Christ. He is the Reason for the Season. December 31, 1986 I was very motivated to play a good game and beat the Big Bad Bruins!! Let’s just say, after the game we went for a Kings Jim Murray (1967-68) New Year’s celebration to the home of the first Tarzan, Johnny 1 – Meeting all the original LA Kings, especially Terry Sawchuk; and Weissmuller, (then staged as a rental party home) and had a tremendous walking into the Fabulous Forum. party…winning is so much fun!! 2 – Most thankful for, that all my family is healthy and enjoying the festive 2 – I am most thankful for my Family and our good health at this Covid season even with the COVID 19 being strong in our area. crazy Christmas time. There is my wife Eva (met Eva when I played for the Medicine Hat Tigers in 1975). We have been married 38 years and Bernie Nicholls (1981-90) we have a beautiful 16-year young daughter Zoe, who is an amazing 1 – Beating the Edmonton Oilers in the playoffs in ‘88-89 with Gretz on singer and dancer. Life is good!! our team. Game 7 at home in the Forum was amazing. Markus Mattsson (1982-84) 2 – Most thankful that my daughter gave me my first grandchild, Rhett a 1 – The two most important favorite moments of the Kings are: The birth baby boy in August. of my son during a home game on February 26, 1983. Also, stopping Poul Popiel (1967-68) ´s scoring streak is truly an amazing memory. I – It was an honor to be a drafted member of the Los Angeles Kings. I 2 – I am very grateful for everyone working to create the vaccine for the was also the first Danish born to play in the NHL. Plus, scoring my very COVID-19 virus. first goal was in an NHL playoff game in game 7 though we lost to the Wayne McBean (1987-89) North Stars ay home in the Forum with Terry Sawchuck in goal for us. Also, thanks to the LA Kings for inviting the “original L.A. Team drafted” 1 – Putting on the YELLOW Jersey in Detroit at the Draft with GM Rogie for a reunion of the guys a few years ago. Definitely a first-class Vachon. experience.

2 – My family and my health. 2 – I do hope and wish for people’s good health around the world — I’ve Al McDonough (1970-72) lost a sister-in-law to COVID-19 which must be eradicated so we can get back to a normal living environment. 1 – On a flight from LA to Detroit, I took off my shoes and fell asleep. When we landed, I woke to find I no longer had shoes. One of my Robyn Regehr (2012-15) teammates, Gilles Marotte, had taken the rookies shoes and I had to 1 – When Alec Martinez scored the Stanley Cup clinching goal in OT in walk through the Detroit airport and to the team bus, which was parked in 2014. several inches of snow, in my socks! Lots of laughs for the veterans! All part of a rookies first year in the league. Lots of fun and now memories. 2 – Health and Family are what I’m most thankful for this holiday season. Gillo was a character! Larry Robinson (1989-92) 2 – My health, the health of my family and Zoom! 1 – My favorite moment was going on the ice to drop the opening faceoff Sean McKenna (1985-88) with my twin grandsons as part of an LA Kings anniversary night in 2016.

1 – No real one moment but great teammates and having the opportunity 2 – I look forward this holiday season to a safe and healthy life and a to play my favorite sport with some of the best players who ever played successful vaccine for this terrible pandemic. the game. Gary Shuchuk (1992-96) 2 – I am thankful for my fantastic family. Wife, Daughters, Grandchildren, 1 – Scoring the Double OT Goal in the 1993 Stanley Cups playoffs will Son in laws as well as friends. always go down as a favorite moment but also being able to share in a Howie Menard (1967-69) part of history when Wayne passed Gordie Howe as the all-time goal scorer with goal number 802. 1 – When we beat the New York Rangers and I got 2 goals and 2 assists. 2 – I’m very thankful that my family and friends have been safe and 2 – As for the Holiday season it will be the first time in 62 years I will not healthy during this crazy pandemic. be with my darling wife Pat, so it will not be too joyful. But I am taking it one day at a time. Lorne Stamler (1976-78)

Willie Mitchell (2010-14) 1 – Eating dinner at Rogie Vachon’s house as a rookie and scoring my first goal in the NHL. 1 – Outside the obvious of winning in 2012, my Dean Lombardi sit down meetings 2 – Most thankful for my wife and the good Lord taking care of us and His continued support.

John Tripp (2003-04)

1 – Favorite moment was being able to play along with Lucky Luc. I learned a lot from him, especially his pregame routine and how NOT to tape a stick!

2 – Being in back in Canada for the holidays which has also allowed us to grow roots and enjoy friends and family on a regular basis. As players we don’t always get that opportunity. The kids have gotten to learn their family members much better and having babysitters nearby helps!

LA Kings Insider: LOADED: 12.26.2020 1197298 It is too soon to say whether Jones will be the quarterback who returns the Giants to postseason success. But it is not too soon to say that he has the requisite skill set to do so after he led a late, improbable 2020 New York's Brightest Sports Stars for 2021 playoff push.

9 – Saquon Barkley, Giants

By Neil Best Barkley has the talent and personality to be a superstar, but he is a running back, so the clock is ticking on his NFL production window. Now December 25, 2020 8:50 PM he must prove that he can come all the way back from an ACL tear that cost him most of 2020.

10 – , Liberty Newsday’s fifth annual list of top New York sports stars entering the new year features the usual comings and goings, this time in the wake of a Sabrina Ionescu of the Liberty smiles during practice Sabrina Ionescu of sports year upended by the COVID-19 pandemic. Here’s to a 2021 that is the Liberty smiles during practice more . . . normal. The pandemic denied Ionescu a chance to lead Oregon to an NCAA title, The same rules apply as always as we look ahead through the lens of then an ankle injury ended the No. 1 overall WNBA draft pick’s season these 20 big names: Current athletes only. No coaches, executives or after three games. Not to worry, though. She scored 33 points in her last radio hosts. And only players based east of the Hudson, other than the full game. Jets and Giants. 11 – Artemi Panarin, Rangers Also, as usual: Ability and accomplishments obviously count, but star power is the deciding factor. Panarin was a huge hit in his first season after choosing the Rangers over the Islanders in free agency and signing a seven-year, $81.5-million 1 – Gerrit Cole, Yankees contract. He had 32 goals and 63 assists in 69 games and finished third in MVP voting. After signing a nine-year, $324-million contract with his favorite childhood team late in 2019, Cole mostly lived up to expectations in the truncated 12 – Mathew Barzal, Islanders 2020 season, going 7-3 with a 2.84 ERA and finishing fourth in AL Cy Young voting. Mathew Barzal celebrates after his overtime goal gave Mathew Barzal celebrates after his overtime goal gave 2 – Jacob deGrom, Mets In his third full season, Barzal continued to display both dynamic, DeGrom fell short of winning a third consecutive NL Cy Young, but not by daredevil skills and sometimes maddening lapses en route to 19 goals much. He finished 4-2 with a 2.38 ERA and led the National League with and 41 assists in 68 regular-season games and five goals and 12 assists 104 strikeouts while walking only 18. He finished third in the Cy Young in the playoffs. vote. 13 – DJ LeMahieu, Yankees 3 – Kevin Durant, Nets All the soft-spoken LeMahieu did in his second year with the Yankees is Kevin Durant of the Nets reacts after a Kevin Durant of the Nets reacts lead the majors with a batting average of .364, lead the American League after a with an OPS of 1.011 and finish third in AL MVP voting. He’s a free agent, though. Kevin Durant of the Nets reacts after a basket during the third quarter against Golden State at Barclays Center on Tuesday, Dec. 22, 2020. 14 – Luke Voit, Yankees Credit: Jim McIsaac The old-school, fan-friendly, slugging first baseman hit 21 home runs in Following Durant’s 18 months of recovery from a torn Achilles tendon, 510 plate appearances in 2019, then hit a major league-leading 22 in 234 the Nets are poised to reap some benefit from the four-year, $164-million PAs in 2020. In the ALDS against the Rays, Voit was 2-for-18 with six deal to which they signed the veteran star. Will he still be at his peak at strikeouts. 32? TBD. 15 – Giancarlo Stanton, Yankees 4 – Pete Alonso, Mets Stanton might never regain his 2017 NL MVP form, but he flashed what Things got a tad icy for the "Polar Bear" in his sophomore season, he still can do by hitting six home runs in the first five games of the ‘20 including a drop in home runs from his rookie record 53 to 16 – in far playoffs, one fewer than in his injury-marred 2019 and ’20 regular fewer games, of course. But Alonso remains a fan favorite and is a face seasons combined. of the franchise. 16 – Michael Conforto, Mets 5 – Aaron Judge, Yankees Mets rightfielder Michael Conforto runs to the dugout Mets rightfielder The oft-injured Judge was limited to 28 regular-season games, then in Michael Conforto runs to the dugout the postseason he had three homers but went 4-for-30 with 10 strikeouts. Fans are starting to wonder about the long-term verdict on their Mets rightfielder Michael Conforto runs to the dugout at Citi Field on ostensible superstar. Wednesday, Sept. 9, 2020. Credit: Kathleen Malone-Van Dyke

6 – Kyrie Irving, Nets Conforto had a strong 2019 with 33 homers and 92 RBIs but rounded out his game – and stayed healthy – during a 2020 season in which he The mercurial guard certainly made an impression in his 20 games as a batted .322 with nine home runs and 31 RBIs. A contract extension might Net before suffering a season-ending shoulder injury, averaging 27.4 be in order. points and 6.4 assists. Now comes the real test: making magic with Kevin Durant. 17 – Luis Severino, Yankees

7 – Trevor Lawrence, Jets? After losing most of the past two seasons to injuries, including Tommy John surgery that ended his 2020 before it began, a return of Severino to Trevor Lawrence #16 of the Clemson Tigers acknowledges Trevor his standout 2017-18 form would be a huge boost to the Yankees’ Lawrence #16 of the Clemson Tigers acknowledges starting rotation.

The Jets’ upset of the Rams in Week 15 damaged their chances for the 18 – RJ Barrett, Knicks No. 1 pick in the 2021 NFL Draft. But if somehow the Jaguars accidentally win a game, the Jets still might get their hands on the Knicks guard RJ Barrett jumps above Pistons guard Knicks guard RJ Clemson quarterback, who will become their latest would-be Joe Barrett jumps above Pistons guard Namath.

8 – Daniel Jones, Giants Knicks guard RJ Barrett jumps above Pistons guard Delon Wright for a basket during the second half of an NBA game on Sunday in Detroit. Credit: AP/Duane Burleson

The Knicks remain star-starved, but one short-term hope is Barrett, who after being drafted No. 3 overall in 2019 improved over the course of his rookie season and showed promise in averaging 14.3 points and 5.0 rebounds.

19 – Aroldis Chapman, Yankees

OK, so giving up the ALCS-winning home run in 2019 and ALDS-winning home run in 2020 was not a great look for Chapman’s brand. The question, as he turns 33 in February: Has wear and tear caught up to his fearsome fireball?

20 – Alexis Lafreniere, Rangers

We’re looking forward here, so let’s give a nod to Lafreniere, age 19, who as the No. 1 pick in the 2020 NHL Draft should be another piece for the rising Rangers. He finished his junior hockey career by totaling 112 points in 52 games last season.

Newsday LOADED: LOADED: 12.26.2020 1197299 New York Islanders Camp intrigue: The biggest storyline of the Islanders’ training camp, and one that will continue through the season, is the development of Sorokin, the highly touted Russian prospect drafted in the third round in 2014 and When Islanders training camp opens, there will be spots to fill finally in the organization after five KHL seasons. The expectations are sky-high, but the coaching staff may opt to bring him along cautiously. Schneider, the Devils’ former No. 1 goalie, is organizational insurance. A fifth goalie also might be brought to camp. By Andrew Gross

Updated December 25, 2020 11:23 PM Newsday LOADED: LOADED: 12.26.2020

The Islanders team that will assemble for training camp in a week will largely resemble the squad that reached the Eastern Conference finals in September.

But there still will be some mystery when it comes to constructing the 23- man roster (or fewer, for salary-cap considerations) that will open the 56- game regular season, delayed and truncated as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic, on Jan. 13.

President and general manager Lou Lamoriello and coach Barry Trotz, both entering their third season with the organization, have some tough choices to make, and not all the result of the flat $81.5 million cap.

NHL teams can bring 36 players and an unlimited number of goalies to training camp, which will open next Sunday for the 24 teams that qualified for the postseason (the seven teams that missed the postseason and have been inactive since March 12 will be on the ice on Thursday).

The key losses from last season are defensemen Devon Toews (traded to the Avalanche for cap reasons) and Johnny Boychuk (unable to continue his career after an eye injury) and goalie Thomas Greiss (signed with the Red Wings as an unrestricted free agent).

So here’s a projected position-by-position breakdown of the Islanders’ upcoming camp:

Forwards

Locks (10): Josh Bailey, Mathew Barzal (assuming a new deal for the restricted free agent), Anthony Beauvillier, Casey Cizikas, Cal Clutterbuck, Jordan Eberle, Anders Lee, Matt Martin (assuming a new deal for the UFA), Brock Nelson and Jean-Gabriel Pageau.

Coming to camp (13): Kieffer Bellows, Derick Brassard (assuming a new deal for the UFA), Austin Czarnik, Michael Dal Colle, Tanner Fritz, Simon Holmstrom, Josh Ho-Sang, Ross Johnston, Otto Koivula, Leo Komarov, Andrew Ladd, Dmytro Timashov (assuming a new deal for the RFA) and Oliver Wahlstrom.

Camp intrigue: Three of the four lines could be set, with Pageau’s third line still likely to be determined. Brassard is a strong candidate to skate with Pageau if he re-signs. But the real camp question is which, if any, of the prospects (and yes, Ho-Sang still counts as a prospect) potentially can crack the regular lineup. The Islanders need more scoring depth from their wings, and Wahlstrom, Bellows or perhaps Holmstrom or Ho- Sang could provide a solution. The newly acquired Timashov also is an interesting candidate for the bottom six.

Defensemen

Locks (six): Noah Dobson, Andy Greene (assuming a new deal for the UFA), Nick Leddy, Scott Mayfield, Adam Pelech and Ryan Pulock.

Coming to camp (seven): Sebastian Aho, Samuel Bolduc, Thomas Hickey, Grant Hutton, Mitch Vande Sompel, Bode Wilde and Parker Wotherspoon.

Camp intrigue: The loss of Toews and Boychuk hurts the organizational depth, but after Trotz brought Dobson along slowly as a 19-year-old rookie — he played 34 of the 68 regular-season games and one postseason game — the 12th overall pick in 2018 will be thrust into a full- time role. Dobson showed good chemistry with former Devils captain Greene, acquired 10 games before the season was paused. Leddy, without his longtime partner Boychuk, likely will partner with Mayfield.

Goalies

Locks (two): Ilya Sorokin, Semyon Varlamov

Coming to camp (two): Cory Schneider (assuming a deal for the UFA) and Jakub Skarek. 1197300 New York Islanders the eighth inning of Game 5 for a 2-1 win. DJ LeMahieu’s .364 batting average led the major leagues. So did Luke Voit’s 22 home runs.

6: Knicks shake things up — again An empty Madison Square Garden before the start An empty Madison Square Garden before the start It has been a tough century for the Knicks, but they sought their latest fix by firing team president Steve Mills and hiring agent Leon Rose, who signed famed power broker William "World Wide Wes" Wesley as By Neil Best executive vice president and Tom Thibodeau as coach. Not quite the splash the Nets made by adding Kevin Durant and Kyrie Irving, but it’s a December 25, 2020 4:52 PM start.

7: Lundqvist leaves Rangers, Lafreniere arrives

It was a year in New York sports like no other, and there was one Henrik Lundqvist, a future Hall of Fame goaltender who spent 15 moment that best illustrated it: seasons with the Rangers, had the final year of his contract bought out, then signed with the Capitals (he must skip the upcoming season On March 12, St. John’s and Creighton began a Big East Tournament because of a heart condition). It was the end of a memorable era for the men’s basketball quarterfinal at Madison Square Garden . . . and never Blueshirts, who took another step toward a new one by winning the NHL finished. Draft lottery, then selecting wing Alexis Lafreniere No. 1. With the Red Storm leading, 38-35 at halftime, officials called off the 8: Jets lose 13, then lose hold on No. 1 game and the entire event amid a cascade of sports cancellations that began the night before when the Utah Jazz’s Rudy Gobert tested positive Jets head coach Adam Gase and quarterback Sam Jets head coach for COVID-19. Adam Gase and quarterback Sam

In its first tournament game, St. John’s had beaten Georgetown, 75-62, before 17,534. Against Creighton, attendance was capped at 400. Then everyone went home after 20 game minutes. Jets head coach Adam Gase and quarterback Sam Darnold watch a replay of an interception during a game between the It was the start of the biggest story in New York sports this year — not to and Jets, Sunday, Sept. 27, 2020, in Indianapolis. Credit: AP/Zach mention the entire planet. Here are our top 10: Bolinger

1: COVID-19 infects sports calendar The Jets lost their first 13 games, putting them in the driver’s seat for the No. 1 pick in the NFL Draft, which is expected to be Clemson Nothing went as planned as the pandemic at first stopped sports in its quarterback Trevor Lawrence. Then all heck broke loose when they tracks, then forced a gradual return with bubbles in the NBA and NHL, upset the Rams, leaving their future beyond Week 17 in limbo. Coach severe restrictions in baseball and football, and uncertainty everywhere, Adam Gase surely will be gone, but who will be their quarterback in including in high school sports. The Belmont Stakes and U.S. Open 2021? carried on without fans; the Marathon was canceled. 9: Carton returns, Francesa leaves WFAN 2: Steve Cohen buys Mets WFAN’s afternoon drive time drama continued in 2020, which began with After his initial bid to buy the Mets fell through in February, Great Neck Evan Roberts and Joe Benigno replacing Mike Francesa, and ended with native and multi-billionaire Steve Cohen revived a deal that gave him Carton replacing Benigno after the former had spent a year in prison and 95% of the team, with the Wilpons retaining 5%. The purchase valued the latter retired. Francesa spent half the year with a limited role in early the Mets at $2.475 billion. Cohen was a big hit with hopeful fellow Mets evenings, then left for good (presumably) in July. fans, notably through an engaging Twitter presence. 10: Giants battle for NFC East title 3: Islanders reach Eastern Conference finals The Giants started 0-5 and 1-7 under first-year coach Joe Judge, but Islanders celebrate after defeating the Philadelphia Flyers after Islanders thanks to the NFC East’s weakness and a four-game winning streak, celebrate after defeating the Philadelphia Flyers after they found themselves in first place well into December. Judge earned Islanders celebrate after defeating the Philadelphia Flyers after third- high marks for his approach and quarterback Daniel Jones showed period NHL Stanley Cup Eastern Conference playoff hockey game action continued promise. Star back Saquon Barkley tore an ACL in Week 2. in Toronto, Saturday, Sept. 5, 2020. Credit: AP/Frank Gunn 11: Durant makes Nets debut A 17-game point streak late in 2019 excited Islanders fans, but the team Kevin Durant of the Nets is introduced before Kevin Durant of the Nets is was stumbling to the regular-season finish line when the pandemic halted introduced before things in mid-March. When play resumed in the Toronto and Edmonton playoff bubbles, the team rediscovered itself and got within six victories Kevin Durant of the Nets is introduced before a game against Golden of a Stanley Cup for the first time since 1984. State at Barclays Center on Tuesday, Dec. 22, 2020. Credit: Jim McIsaac

4: Tom Seaver dies at 75 The wait was long, and it ended a mere nine days before the end of 2020, but Kevin Durant made his debut with the Nets alongside Kyrie It was a year of profound loss in sports. The Yankees family alone said Irving and they fueled a season-opening blowout of Golden State. There final farewells to Whitey Ford, Don Larsen, Horace Clarke, Bob Watson is no telling yet where this is headed, but the Nets at last are relevant and Hank Steinbrenner. But for a generation of Mets fans, nothing hit nationally. The trick now is to draw attention — and perhaps fans — home like the death of Tom Seaver from complications related to Lewy away from the Knicks locally. body dementia and COVID-19. He was "The Franchise," and he was terrific.

5: Yankees miss World Series — Again Newsday LOADED: LOADED: 12.26.2020 The Yankees' Aroldis Chapman waits for a new The Yankees' Aroldis Chapman waits for a new

The Yankees' Aroldis Chapman waits for a new baseball as the Rays' Michael Brosseau runs after hitting a solo home run during the eighth inning in Game 5 of the American League Division Series Friday in . Credit: AP/Jae C. Hong

The Yankees were a mediocre 33-27 in the shortened season, then swept the Indians in a best-of-three wild-card series before losing the ALDS to the Rays when Mike Brosseau homered off Aroldis Chapman in 1197301 New York Rangers Locks (two): Igor Shesterkin, Alexandar Georgiev.

To be determined: Barring something unforeseen, Shesterkin, who replaced Lundqvist as the No. 1 goalie last season, and Georgiev will be Developing team chemistry as camp begins shouldn't be an issue for the top two. Long Islander Keith Kinkaid looks to be the taxi squad goalie, Rangers with prospects Adam Huska and Tyler Wall in the AHL — if the AHL plays.

By Colin Stephenson

Updated December 25, 2020 11:14 PM Newsday LOADED: LOADED: 12.26.2020

There won’t be a lot of time to figure things out when training camp opens for the Rangers next Sunday. A 10-day camp with no preseason games means coach David Quinn and his staff need to have a good idea of what the roster will look like, and how everyone will line up, before camp even begins.

The good news for the Rangers is that the 2020-21 version is going to look a lot like the 2019-20 version — minus, of course, franchise icon Henrik Lundqvist, who was bought out of the final year of his contract and who won’t be playing this season because of a heart condition. Longtime Rangers Marc Staal and Jesper Fast also are gone, but just about everyone else is back, so developing team chemistry shouldn’t be an issue.

"Familiarity, for a lot of the guys, is key, especially with the shortened season and shortened camp,’’ defenseman Adam Fox said. "We lost a lot of staples and leaders of our team from last year, but I think it obviously leads to some opportunities for guys to step up and take on bigger roles.’’

Fox, a Jericho native, is one of those who will be expected to have a more prominent role in his second year. And there are a few new guys — such as No. 1 overall draft pick Alexis Lafreniere — who will be trying to incorporate themselves into the group.

It will be interesting to watch Lafreniere’s progress in his first season. With a 56-game regular season and a format in which only the top four teams in each division make the playoffs, the Rangers have to hope he’s ready to make an impact right away.

Here’s a projected position-by-position breakdown of the Rangers’ upcoming camp:

Forwards

Locks (nine): Mika Zibanejad, Artemi Panarin, , Ryan Strome, Pavel Buchnevich, Kaapo Kakko, Lafreniere, Filip Chytil, Brendan Lemieux.

Gotta earn it (six): Kevin Rooney, Brett Howden, Julien Gauthier, Phillip DiGiuseppe, Colin Blackwell, Morgan Barron.

To be determined: Presuming Quinn keeps last season’s first line of Kreider, Zibanejad and Buchnevich together and starts the season with Panarin and Strome together on the second line, there’s one open spot among the top six forwards: the second-line right wing position vacated by Fast. Does that automatically go to Kakko, the No. 2 overall pick in 2019? Might Lafreniere, a left wing, switch to the right side and take it? Also, entering his third season, where does Howden fit? Can Barron make the jump from Cornell straight to the NHL?

Defensemen

Locks (five): Fox, Jacob Trouba, Tony DeAngelo, Ryan Lindgren, Jack Johnson.

Gotta earn it (five): Brendan Smith, Anthony Bitetto, Libor Hajek, K’Andre Miller, Tarmo Reunanen.

To be determined: Smith finished last season as Trouba’s partner after Brady Skjei was traded to Carolina at the deadline, but will he be Trouba’s partner on the first (or second) pair this season? Might Trouba partner with Johnson, the free agent signed to replace Staal? Or perhaps Hajek, who made the team out of camp last season but after an injury finished the season in the AHL? Miller impressed in the short camp before the August restart, and Reunanen, a fourth-round pick in 2016, has been playing great in Finland. Will one of them crack the top six? Is there a spot for Island Park native Bitetto, who played 51 games last season for Winnipeg?

Goalies 1197302 Philadelphia Flyers defenseman in Sweden's top junior league when he recorded 38 points (11 goals, 27 assists) over 40 games during 2019-20.

The Flyers snagged Andrae with the 54th overall pick. Everything fans need to know for watching 3 Flyers prospects in world "We did expect him to go before then just because of his skill set, his juniors hockey sense and the poise he plays the game with," Flyers assistant general manager Brent Flahr said.

by Jordan Hall When to watch

Saturday, Dec. 26 — Sweden vs. Czech Republic at 2 p.m. ET

As an appetizer to the 2020-21 NHL season, the 2021 IIHF World Junior Monday, Dec. 28 — Sweden vs. Austria at 6 p.m. ET Championship kicks off Christmas Day in Edmonton, Alberta. Wednesday, Dec. 30 — Sweden vs. Russia at 9:30 p.m. ET Three Flyers prospects are competing in this year's under-20 Thursday, Dec. 31 — Sweden vs. U.S. at 9:30 p.m. ET tournament: Cam York, Bobby Brink and Emil Andrae. Saturday, Jan. 2 — Quarterfinals The NHL Network will broadcast every single game of the tournament. Monday, Jan. 4 — Semifinals Here's a guide for Flyers fans on watching the club's three prospects. Tuesday, Jan. 5 — Bronze medal game at 5:30 p.m. ET Cam York, USA, D, No. 4 Tuesday, Jan. 5 — Gold medal game at 9:30 p.m. ET Scouting report Comcast SportsNet.com LOADED: 12.26.2020 The U.S. captain is a catch-me-if-you-can blueliner who thrives in creating offense both in transition and from the point. The Michigan sophomore can rack up points and quarterback a power play.

Since being selected by the Flyers in the first round of the 2019 draft, York has added strength and will continue to do so. He's sound in his own end and quick to get the puck out of it.

When to watch

Friday, Dec. 25 — U.S. vs. Russia at 9:30 p.m. ET

Saturday, Dec. 26 — U.S. vs. Austria at 9:30 p.m. ET

Tuesday, Dec. 29 — U.S. vs. Czech Republic at 2 p.m. ET

Thursday, Dec. 31 — U.S. vs. Sweden at 9:30 p.m. ET

Saturday, Jan. 2 — Quarterfinals

Monday, Jan. 4 — Semifinals

Tuesday, Jan. 5 — Bronze medal game at 5:30 p.m. ET

Tuesday, Jan. 5 — Gold medal game at 9:30 p.m. ET

Bobby Brink, USA, F, No. 24

Scouting report

Brink is a smaller winger but makes plays with step-ahead vision and instincts. The Denver sophomore possesses advanced hockey sense and lit up the USHL in his draft year with 68 points (35 goals, 33 assists) through 43 games for Sioux City.

The Flyers moved up in the second round of the 2019 draft to grab Brink and aren't too concerned about his "different" skating stride.

When to watch

Friday, Dec. 25 — U.S. vs. Russia at 9:30 p.m. ET

Saturday, Dec. 26 — U.S. vs. Austria at 9:30 p.m. ET

Tuesday, Dec. 29 — U.S. vs. Czech Republic at 2 p.m. ET

Thursday, Dec. 31 — U.S. vs. Sweden at 9:30 p.m. ET

Saturday, Jan. 2 — Quarterfinals

Monday, Jan. 4 — Semifinals

Tuesday, Jan. 5 — Bronze medal game at 5:30 p.m. ET

Tuesday, Jan. 5 — Gold medal game at 9:30 p.m. ET

Emil Andrae, Sweden, D, No. 4

Scouting report

The Flyers' 2020 second-round draft pick is a 5-foot-8, 181-pound blueliner who brings a blend of skill and competitiveness. Andrae, a facilitator that likes having the puck on his stick, was the No. 1-scoring 1197303 Pittsburgh Penguins Odds to win division: +1000 Smart money: If the Sabres could have sneaked over the border into the

Canadian division, they might have made the playoffs. In the East, Sabres upgraded in offseason, could hang around in NHL East Division probably not. They’re too leaky on defense.

Tribune Review LOADED: 12.26.2020

JONATHAN BOMBULIE | Friday, December 25, 2020 6:49 p.m.

The NHL is employing an unbalanced schedule this season with teams playing only division games. This is the second in an eight-part series previewing the Penguins and the seven opponents they will face eight times apiece in the East Division.

For the first time since 1997-98, the Penguins and — teams separated by about 200 miles — will be in the same division.

The Penguins might end up hoping that absence had lasted longer. The Sabres made some significant upgrades in the offseason.

Taking advantage of an economic climate that depressed the market for high-end talent, the Sabres were able to sign 2018 Hart Trophy winner Taylor Hall to a one-year deal.

The signing didn’t come a moment too soon, as talk was starting to circulate that franchise center Jack Eichel was beginning to get upset about the direction of the franchise. He should be happy now.

Trading for Eric Staal from Minnesota provides a significant upgrade in scoring depth. Jeff Skinner is better than he showed last season. Rasmus Dahlin will be one of the top-scoring defensemen in hockey. It’s just a matter of time.

The Sabres are going to score some goals.

They better because their defense figures to struggle.

The defense corps lacks depth, the kill was horrible last season and the goaltending is pretty bad.

After missing the playoffs for the ninth straight season last year, the Sabres fired general manager Jason Botterill and replaced him with Kevyn Adams. Have to imagine one of his first major projects will be finding someone who can tend goal.

Linus Ullmark is passable. Carter Hutton is subpar. Every time a goaltender hits the open market this season, expect Buffalo to be a rumored destination.

If the Sabres can add a goalie to their revamped offense, they might be able to get back on track. If not, their fans should try jumping through tables in the parking lot before the game. It worked for the football team in town.

SABRES AT A GLANCE

Last year: 30-31-8 vs. Penguins last year: 2-1-0

Matchup to WATCH: Jason Zucker vs. Eric Staal. Linemates in Minnesota square off in the East Division.

Key losses: The Sabres didn’t keep Dominik Kahun after picking him up from the Penguins. He signed with Edmonton. Wayne Simmonds and Jimmy Vesey signed with Toronto.

Key additions: In addition to Hall and Staal, the Sabres added depth up front by signing Cody Eakin, which, sadly, doesn’t rhyme with the other two.

What they’re saying: “Once free agency started, we were made aware pretty quickly how much things had changed and how covid had affected a lot of different things. So it kind of changed our decision-making from there. It went from wanting to get a six- or seven-year contract to thinking, ‘Hey, maybe a one-year deal might be best for me financially and personally, and then we can see what the landscape for the NHL and really just the whole U.S. and Canada looks like after that.” — Hall

Trophy contenders: Linus Ullmark (Vezina: 23-1), Rasmus Dahlin (Norris: 40-1), Jack Eichel (Hart: 20-1), Taylor Hall (Hart: 40-1), Dylan Cozens (Calder: 12-1)

Odds to win Stanley Cup: +6000 1197304 Pittsburgh Penguins Memorial Trophy as the league’s top defenseman. He remains the only Penguin to do so.

The 1974-75 season was big. It just ended horribly. The Penguins went Mark Madden: Pre-Mario Penguins provided plenty of memorable 37-28-15 for 89 points, their biggest output pre-Mario and one that moments amazingly wasn’t topped until 1992-93.

In 1975-76, Pronovost became the first Penguin to score 50 goals and Pierre Larouche the first Penguin to accumulate 100 points. Both MARK MADDEN | Friday, December 25, 2020 12:02 p.m. happened on the same night: March 24, 1976 in a 5-5 home draw with Boston. Fifteen-year-old me was there, and loudly approved.

The Penguins had two All-Star Game MVPs pre-Mario: Polis in 1973 and Everybody remembers scoring five goals, five ways on Syl Apps Jr. in 1975. I have a stick Polis used in his effort. New Year’s Eve, 1988. (Although nobody figured out exactly what Lemieux had done ‘til the next day.) Larouche scored 53 goals in 1975-76, edging Pronovost by one. Kehoe, as mentioned, got 55 in 1980-81. Mike Bullard had 51 in 1983-84 but, But who remembers when the Penguins netted five goals in 127 incredibly, none were game-winners. Good thing, too, because that’s the seconds? year the Penguins “earned” the right to draft Lemieux by finishing last. I do. I was there. It was glorious. There were heartbreaking near-misses besides ’75, like Game 5 losses As the NHL season approaches (but not nearly fast enough given the in best-of-five playoff series in 1980, 1981 and 1982 to Boston, St. Louis Steelers’ collapse), I feel obligated as a Penguins lifer to consider the and the Islanders, respectively. The last two came in overtime. The last team’s big moments pre-Mario. one marked the only time the Islanders were pushed to an elimination game during their run of four straight Stanley Cups from 1980-83. There weren’t many. The scale wasn’t as grand. The Civic Arena wasn’t often sold out. We took what we could get back then. But thank God Lemieux showed up. My 59-year-old self is satisfied with what I’ve seen. But, boy, we had fun. But we didn’t see enough of Michel Briere, who had a great rookie Not least was that night at the Igloo when the Penguins scored five times season in 1969-70: 44 points in 76 regular-season games, then eight in 2:07, an NHL record that still stands. points in 10 playoff games before sustaining fatal injuries in a postseason automobile crash. It occurred Nov. 22, 1972 against St. Louis, the Penguins’ biggest rival then. (Philadelphia had not yet morphed into a team of felons.) The Tribune Review LOADED: 12.26.2020 eruption started with eight minutes left and turned a 5-4 nail-biter into a 10-4 romp.

The first two goals came in an 18-second span. After an 82-second break, the Penguins scored three times in 27 seconds.

Bryan Hextall, Jean Pronovost, Al McDonagh, Ken Schinkel and Ron Schock each tallied during that five-goal outburst. McDonagh finished the evening with a hat trick and assist. The Penguins scored seven goals in the third period to overcome a 4-3 deficit.

The Blues held a 42-34 edge in shots, but the Penguins’ goaltender played well. You’ve heard of him: Jim Rutherford. He later took the management route. Good goalie. Hall-of-Fame GM.

The attendance was 12, 405, 491 shy of a sellout. (No balconies yet.) Delirium was at a rare level. The goals kept pouring in. Each elicited a bigger explosion. The rival was thoroughly humbled. Top heel Barclay Plager, a Blues defenseman, was minus-4 and derisively serenaded: “Bar-clay! Bar-clay!”

One 11-year-old kid was particularly rapturous: His favorite player, Greg Polis, had a goal, two assists and a fight. That’s a Gordie Howe hat trick plus a bonus helper.

On Jan. 17, 1974, Polis got traded to St. Louis. A sad day for that kid, now 13. Bob “Battleship” Kelly and Steve Durbano came the other way. The Penguins were suddenly tough.

As too often happened with the Penguins then, the events of Nov. 22, 1972 ultimately didn’t amount to much. The Penguins finished fifth in the NHL’s West Division, missing the playoffs by three points. Finishing just ahead in fourth was, of course, St. Louis.

The Penguins made the playoffs in nine of 17 years pre-Mario. That sounds OK, except they only won three playoff series, and one of those was in 1975 before collapsing horribly in the quarterfinals by blowing a three-games-to-none series lead to the New York Islanders. This was particularly disturbing to a certain 14-year-old.

The biggest goal pre-Mario was scored by George Ferguson. The “Fergy Flyer” tallied in overtime to win Game 3 of a best-of-three preliminary- round playoff series vs. Buffalo in 1979. It was the Penguins’ first series win since 1975, their last ‘til 1989. Ferguson was crazy fast.

The most goals pre-Mario got scored by Rick Kehoe, with 55 in 1980-81. That season also saw Kehoe win the NHL’s Lady Byng Memorial Trophy for “sportsmanship and gentlemanly conduct combined with a high standard of play.” More significant, Randy Carlyle won the James Norris 1197305 Pittsburgh Penguins improvements to the NHL club, they’ve been fairly aggressive over years in terms of recruiting undrafted college free agents. The Penguins are hopeful he’ll take the same successful path as Zach Aston-Reese or Conor Sheary. Penguins A to Z: Cam Lee takes his first steps Even in the midst of a pandemic, Lee has taken his first steps in that journey.

SETH RORABAUGH | Friday, December 25, 2020 11:59 a.m. Tribune Review LOADED: 12.26.2020

As the NHL prepares for a new season scheduled to start in mid- January, the Tribune-Review will offer Penguins A to Z, a player-by- player look at all 48 individuals under NHL contract with the organization, from mid-level prospect Niclas Almari to high-profile trade acquisition Jason Zucker.

Cam Lee

Position: Defenseman

Shoots: Left

Age: 23

Height: 6-foot

Weight: 186 pounds

2019-20 NCAA statistics: 26 games, 21 points (three goals, 18 assists)

2020-21 Slovak Extraliga statistics: 14 games, 11 points (two goals, nine assists)

Contract: First year of a two-year entry-level contract with a salary cap hit of $950,000. Pending restricted free agent in 2022

Acquired: Undrafted free agent signing, March 17, 2020

Last season: Competing on a Western Michigan squad that included five other players who were drafted or signed with other NHL teams, Lee finished sixth in scoring in 2019-20.

Spending four seasons at Western Michigan playing for former NHL coach Andy Murray, Lee racked up 85 points (18 goals, 67 assists) in 137 career games.

Having gotten a look at Lee in the 2019 offseason during a prospect development camp, the Penguins pursued him aggressively when his senior campaign was cut short in mid-March because of the coronavirus pandemic.

Had the ’s season not also been canceled, Lee would have probably joined the Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins to finish the season on an amateur tryout contract.

This season: Having gone approximately seven months without any game action, Lee was loaned to HC Slovan Bratislava of the Slovakian Extraliga on Oct. 21.

Primarily used on Bratislava’s second defensive pairing as well as the power play, Lee displayed his aggressive skating and offensive flair in a mid-level league.

By the time his loan was terminated Dec. 14, Lee’s 11 points were the second-best total among Bratislava’s defensemen.

The future: Lee is expected to participate in the Penguins’ upcoming training camp and appears to have enamored management enough to merit a legitimate shot at making the NHL roster, albeit in a reserve role with the NHL expanding rosters to included taxi squads given the unique circumstances the 2020-21 season will take on.

Considering how bloated the Penguins are on the left side of the blue line with veterans Brian Dumoulin, Mike Matheson, Marcus Pettersson and Juuso Riikola, as well as top prospect Pierre-Olivier Joseph, it’s difficult to see Lee getting a chance next season.

If the AHL resumes play Feb. 5 as scheduled, Lee would likely be a candidate for an assignment to Wilkes-Barre/Scranton to get some playing time.

A creative, dynamic offensive force, his overall game, particularly in his own end of the ice, could use some refinement.

Given how often the Penguins have traded away future assets such as high draft picks or prospects in the pursuit of making immediate 1197306 Pittsburgh Penguins He was rewarded with a three-year extension with the expectation he’d fill the role of the backup for years to come.

However, when the Penguins chose to keep Jarry as the second goal Is Tristan Jarry ready to be the true No. 1 goalie? last season, DeSmith was placed on waivers and then sent to the AHL affiliate in Wilkes-Barre/Scranton. In 41 games, he recorded a .905 save percentage and 2.92 goals-against average. While those numbers aren't quite as good as they were at the NHL level, it’s worth noting that the Mike DeFabo Penguins’ AHL affiliate wasn’t exactly flush with talent after years of trading away picks for NHL-ready players.

To count down the days until Penguins training camp, Pittsburgh Post- This year, with Murray now gone, DeSmith will step back into his familiar Gazette beat writers Matt Vensel and Mike DeFabo will dive into a new role as the No. 2. It will be interesting to watch how Sullivan chooses to hockey topic each weekday until the first puck rattles the Plexiglass at split the workload between his netminders. PPG Paints Arena. Today we discuss a popular topic from last season, On one hand, playing the backup frequently could have a lot of value the goalies. during a shortened, condensed season. Not only could it help keep Jarry Penguins general manager Jim Rutherford is never one to sit by idly and fresh late into the season, it might also give the opponent something new let problems fix themselves. But this offseason especially, after another to consider when the overwhelming majority of the games will be playing first-round flameout in the postseason, he went to work. The top-six got a in two-games “series.” At the same time, when there are fewer games, winger. The bottom defensive pair added two new players. And the each one means more. So there’s an equally compelling argument for coaching staff was overhauled with all new assistants. starting your ace early and often.

However, when Rutherford was asked recently by the Post-Gazette what Who is the third goalie? intrigues him most about the upcoming season, the former goaltender An interesting wrinkle of this unique season is that every team must carry gravitated back to a familiar place. a third goalie at all times, either on the active roster or on the new taxi “It will be a new challenge for our goaltending,” Rutherford said. “With squad. Tristan [Jarry], the majority of the responsibility will be on him. He’s Rutherford indicated that the most likely candidate behind Jarry and coming off a very good year. We’ll watch to see how he makes that DeSmith is Maxime Lagace, who signed a one-year, two-way contract adjustment.” this offseason worth $700,000 at the NHL level. Lagace, 28, was one of Partially out of salary-cap necessity, the Penguins orchestrated a the five goaltenders the Vegas Golden Knights used during their changing of the guard in goal this offseason. Matt Murray, who inaugural season. In 16 games in 2017-18, he went 6-7-1 with a .867 backstopped the club to back-to-back championships just a few short save percentage. He made one more NHL appearance in 2018-19. seasons ago, was dealt to the in exchange for a Diving deeper into the organization’s depth chart, Emil Larmi is the next- prospect and a second-round pick. Meanwhile, Jarry earned a three-year best goalie. But that doesn’t necessarily mean he’d be the next-man up. contract extension through the 2022-23 season carrying an average He’s currently playing in Finland and will remain there during Penguins’ annual value of $3.5 million. training camp. The American Hockey League is scheduled to start In tandem, the moves clearly illustrate the Tristan Jarry era in Pittsburgh sometime in early February. Perhaps he becomes an option eventually. has officially begun. Alex D’Orio is the other name to know if you only care about the NHL Jarry, 25, is coming off a standout season – and a somewhat surprising club. He’s likely to start the year in Wheeling, which means he’d only be one. He began last season pigeonholed in the backup role, earning an hour from Pittsburgh in case of an emergency. playing time only on the second half of back-to-back games when even Post Gazette LOADED: 12.26.2020 the worst No. 2 gets a shot. But after Murray slumped for the second- straight November, Jarry seized the opportunity. He eventually earned an All-Star Game nod, set a franchise record for shutout streak and ended the season in net for the elimination game against the .

Now, with a much more clearly defined and expanded role, what is a realistic expectation for Year 1?

The answer to that question depends, to some degree, upon which Jarry emerges this year. Early on last year, Jarry was arguably the most- significant reason the Penguins were able to weather a long list of injuries to their biggest names and best players. Through 18 starts from October through December, Jarry posted a 13-5-0 record, .938 save percentage and three shutouts. The stretch included the aforementioned record-setting run, during which Jarry didn’t allow a goal for 177 minutes, 15 seconds.

However, the Murray vs. Jarry debate that ignited talk radio was a debate for a reason. Neither goalie really stole the show in the second half.

When the calendar turned to 2020, Jarry went 7-7-1 with a mediocre .901 save percentage. Jarry’s numbers were actually worse than Murray after the New Year. He finished the regular season in a bit of a skid with four consecutive losses during which he gave up 4.5 goals per game.

Jarry has pedigree as a second-round pick in 2013 and a championship resume as the Edmonton Oil Kings Memorial Cup-winning goalie. But the game-in, game-out grind of an NHL season will be a new opportunity and a new challenge.

Can Casey DeSmith step back into the backup goalie job – and how much do they use him?

Two seasons ago, when Murray went through a slump and then an injury, it was DeSmith who helped Penguins get their season back on the rails. In 36 games, 30 of them starts, DeSmith posted a 15-11-5 record with a .916 save percentage and 2.93 goals-against average in 2018-19. 1197307 Pittsburgh Penguins And, much more recently, Bethany loved our baby. One morning four years ago, I woke up in a Philadelphia hotel room after

a late night covering the Pirates and Phillies and saw I had missed a call A brother’s grief, a father’s joy and learning to live with both at Christmas from my doctor. He left a voicemail asking me to call back so we could discuss the lab results he had just received. When I called, the doctor told me, in so many words, that barring a miracle I’d never be able to conceive naturally. By Stephen J. Nesbitt Dec 25, 2020 I called Colby. We were dating long-distance at the time, as she worked

in Washington, D.C., and that was the first time we cried about infertility. I The other night, I carried our crying baby boy down the stairs to the living remember driving in a daze to a diner. Since I was a kid, I had dreamed room and settled into a chair across from the Christmas tree. It was 3 of the day I would become a dad. It was the one thing I always knew I a.m. Luke couldn’t sleep, and so neither could I. As we sat there and wanted to be. Now, for the first time, I began doubting that day ever rocked, the crying got softer and then stopped. Luke’s big, blue eyes would come. stared at the tree, mesmerized by all of the bright lights dancing in the Arriving at the diner in downtown Philadelphia, I held the door for a young darkness. couple and started to tear up. The dad was carrying his infant son in a It’s difficult to draw firm conclusions about a newborn, but there’s one car seat. thing we already know about Luke: He loves the Christmas tree. Colby and I were engaged a couple of months later, and we married the His first real car ride was to a tree farm outside of Pittsburgh. Luke was next year. Knowing we’d have trouble conceiving didn’t make it easier. only three weeks old at the time, but the trip couldn’t wait for another day. Infertility is isolating and inescapable, breaking your heart month after This was a family tradition, and even (or maybe especially) in 2020, month. Every parent will tell you that having a child changes your life, but tradition matters. no one tells you that not being able to have a child changes it, too. It Most years, the Christmas season begins for my family the day after starts to color everything. You try not to look too far into the future, try not Thanksgiving, when we pile into a couple of cars at my parents’ place in to make any plans down the road because maybe, hopefully, we’ll be Michigan and go get a tree. This farm is just off the freeway, past open pregnant by that date. fields and a small cemetery. We walk the rows of firs and spruces, each Then, you aren’t. of us fighting for our favorite, and then gather around the chosen tree for a family picture. That night, we decorate the tree, darken the rest of the The comparison game is cruel. Friends start having kids, and it feels like house and sing carols. they’re one step ahead, and then two or three. You see specialists. You scour the internet. You hear some version of the same advice: relax. You All of these years, no one loved that tradition more than my little sister, tried that. You feel betrayed by your body. You delete Instagram off of Bethany. As the youngest of nine kids, she adored the holidays — the your phone because every pregnancy announcement crushes you a little time when her siblings came home and the house filled again with family more. You text the new parents, tell them you’re so happy for them, and and noise. you mean it, but you don’t sleep that night. You cancel plans because it For us, and for so many families around the world, this Christmas is hurts too much to even see expectant parents. Holidays are especially different. hard when the only gift you want isn’t in a store.

This is the first Christmas without Bethany, and the first with Luke. Our At some point in the summer of 2019, after two years of trying, Colby and son was born six days after my little sister died as she slept in her dorm I turned to therapy. We started to sort through our feelings and how to room. She had COVID-19. She was 20. help each other through them. When we were ready, we asked our families to support us in our lonely infertility journey. Week after week, Bethany Nesbitt was a student at Grace College in Winona Lake, Ind. our therapist talked about the importance of holding two things at once: (Courtesy of the Nesbitt family) grief and joy. Grief for infertility, loss and disappointment. Joy for our marriage, for our families, for the wonderful life we have. So, we clung to The day my sister died, my wife, Colby, and I went for a walk in the them both, and we waited some more. cemetery down the street from our house in Pittsburgh. That sounds like a sad place to be, but it’s a sanctuary to us. Through the front gates, the In the first week of March, we flew back to Pittsburgh after my brother’s traffic dies away, deer and turkeys and other wildlife wander by, and you wedding in California and arrived home in the middle of the night. Colby are surrounded by rolling hills lined with sycamores and stone markers took a pregnancy test, and another. She walked out of the bathroom, remembering remarkable lives. hand over her mouth, tears in her eyes, and nodded. We hugged, and we cried. Later, when we told my parents and siblings on a Zoom call, they (I know The day my sister died is a jarring way to start a sentence, but it’s cried, too. Bethany wiped her eyes. She had prayed for this baby. Soon, how we mark time at the moment. There’s the time before Bethany died, she started making a gift for the baby, a cross-stitch to hang on the wall and the time afterward — the hours, the days, the weeks. It’s now been in the nursery. It would read: Bonjour Bébé. almost two months. The writer Ivan Maisel remarked that after three years the dates on his son’s headstone no longer felt current. I wonder Bethany with nephew Avery in 2019. (Courtesy of the Nesbitt family) how soon the ache weakens.) The only visitors we had at our home in Pittsburgh this past summer As we walked, I told Colby that it’s strange to already be able to see the were my dad, my mom and Bethany. They arrived a few days after bookends of someone’s life. Twenty years isn’t supposed to be a lifetime. Bethany’s 20th birthday, in early June, and we surprised her after dinner that night with a lemon-blueberry cake and siblings singing “Happy I remember the day Bethany was born, June 1, 2000. My twin brother Birthday” on Zoom. and I had just turned 9, and we were loudly rooting for a baby brother, since we already had three little sisters. We spent the day at a friend’s Bethany wasn’t a baby anymore. She was a smart, sweet and sassy house and learned on the drive home that the baby was a girl. I’m not young woman, a selfless and compassionate friend, an ever-encouraging proud to say this, but we groaned. We may have booed. My parents sister and an adoring aunt to Rose and Avery. She loved Jesus. She always got a kick out of that because baby Bethany was immediately loved memes, comedians and inside jokes. She loved reading outside in smothered in kisses from her eight siblings. her hammock.

Bethany hooked a perch at our family cabin in northern Michigan. Bethany had been stuck at home with my parents in rural Michigan since (Courtesy of the Nesbitt family) her sophomore year — at Grace College, a small Christian school in Winona Lake, Ind. — was cut short by the pandemic. Her summer plans Bethany, forever the baby of our family, loved babies. For her first evaporated. No job. No travel. No backyard bonfires with friends. So, we birthday, my sisters gave Bethany a doll from the dollar store. It was talked her into staying with us for a week. She brought books, plastic and bald. She named it “Baby” and carried it everywhere until it schoolwork and a hammock. was filthy and falling apart. Then she named all of her other dolls and the family cat Baby. At the grocery store, toddler Bethany would sit in the cart It was a special time, and one I’m even more grateful to have had in and eagerly point out every baby she saw. hindsight. I think it was special for Bethany, too. As the youngest sibling in our Colby and the baby didn’t need to add any COVID-19 exposure to an family, she never liked being left out. She was the first family member already complicated pregnancy, but because everyone quarantined and other than my twin, Peter, to learn the baby’s gender, and the last to tested it was a risk worth taking. sleep in the baby’s room before he was born. She felt close to him. She camped out in the living room, cross-stitched, texted with friends and On the first night, my siblings threw a surprise baby shower, decorating studied for her virtual summer classes. the basement of the lodge with streamers and balloons. Bethany gave us the cross-stitch she had finished. Bonjour Bébé. For the rest of the It couldn’t have been an exhilarating vacation, hanging out at home with weekend, we swam, hiked, grilled and talked late into the night, with an exhausted pregnant woman during a pandemic, but we baked siblings splayed across every sofa and chair in the living room. It felt just cookies, watched “The Office,” went for ice cream and roamed city parks like old times. with our Goldendoodle, Leo. We walked and talked about faith, family, friendships, relationships and heartbreak. Bethany asked Colby what it We hadn’t hugged anyone on the trip. But as we walked to the car before felt like when the baby kicked. She asked us what it was like leaving heading home, something told us that we should. I’m glad we did. It was home after college and starting your career in a new city. She couldn’t the last time we were with Bethany. wait for whatever was next. Her future felt wide open, the way it does Because she had asthma, Bethany wrestled with the idea of going back when you are 20. to school. She could have stayed home for the semester — or the full Those are conversations Colby and I have cherished in recent weeks. It year — but she wanted to push toward graduation and see her friends, felt like knowing Bethany as an adult for the first time. even if only behind masks. The school gave her a single room in her dorm, at no cost to our family, and she settled in, taping pictures of her When we drove Bethany to the drop-off point — a park in Elyria, Ohio, family and friends on the walls. We promised to send her as many baby my dad had measured as equidistant from their home and ours — after pictures as she wanted once he arrived. the week, Bethany was looking forward to the school year ahead. She wasn’t sure whether she would be taking classes on campus or virtually When my parents decided to cancel our regular holiday gatherings, in the fall, but she was hoping to stay on track to graduate next spring. Bethany was devastated. She told us how badly she had looked forward Bethany was planning to pursue a career as a child life specialist, the to meeting this baby at Christmas, to hold the boy she had prayed for. healthcare workers who make hospital stays better, brighter experiences Instead, we would have Zoom calls on Thanksgiving and Christmas, with for sick children and their families. only Bethany and my parents celebrating together in their quiet, empty home in Michigan. Families like ours. But Bethany never came home. A week after Bethany went home, we went to the hospital for a routine ultrasound. We beamed as our little boy appeared, in black and white, on Ten days before she died, Bethany started to feel sick. At first, the the screen in front of us. The ultrasound technician examined every inch symptoms were moderate, so she got tested and quarantined in her of the baby’s tiny body, but lingered longest on his heart. I figured all of dorm room. Though she was alone, Bethany constantly was checking in this was normal, but Colby’s smile had vanished. She knew something with family members, always thinking of others, saying she was praying was wrong. for them even as she was sick.

Fifteen minutes later, a doctor walked into the room and said, “There are Bethany and my mom, a retired nurse, monitored her oxygen saturation some things we should talk about.” There was an irregularity with the often. Once, when Bethany’s oxygen saturation dropped, she was taken baby’s heart, a congenital heart defect that needed to be corrected. The to the hospital. The emergency-room doctor was optimistic. He gave her doctor laid out a new plan: Colby would be induced at 39 weeks, and the prescriptions and sent her back to campus. She seemed to be baby would immediately be whisked to UPMC Children’s Hospital of recovering. Later, Bethany told us that the doctor had said, “I’d bet on Pittsburgh for heart surgery. you if I were going to Vegas.”

“Now, I’ll stop talking,” he said, “because I’m sure you have questions.” Whenever we talked to Bethany in those last days, she asked about the baby. Colby and I looked at each other with blank stares and stunned silence, suddenly terrified about losing this little boy. We asked the doctor if there The due date was just days away. We had prepared as well as possible, was any chance this was a mistake, or that the issue would resolve itself. meeting with a pediatric cardiologist and a cardiac surgeon from He shook his head. There was no mistake. The doctor said the baby was Children’s Hospital. “You poor things,” the cardiologist told us, “it’s your safe for as long as he was inside his mother. Before we left, the doctor first child and they send you to see me?” The first echocardiogram had gave us his cell phone number and told us to call when we had more given us a glimmer of hope that the heart defect wouldn’t require questions — a level of access for a patient that sounds great until you immediate surgery, but that decision depended on whether the baby was have it. (We called the next morning.) having trouble breathing when he was born.

Luke, at the 20-week ultrasound. (Courtesy of the Nesbitt family) A team from the NICU would be in the delivery room at West Penn Hospital, ready to evaluate Luke and take him for another We wouldn’t know the severity of the baby’s heart defect for another two echocardiogram. months, once he was big enough for an echocardiogram of his tiny heart, which was the size of a fingernail. There was nothing to do but wait. We sought out every resource available to us. Colby reached out to a college friend, a neonatologist, who explained what to expect after That, Colby told me later, felt like the day we became parents. She was delivery and then checked in almost weekly to see how we were. Another right. We weren’t thinking about baby showers and registries anymore. friend connected us with a Pittsburgh couple whose son has a complex We were ready to fight for our little boy. congenital heart defect and had surgery at Children’s Hospital at 3 months old. They told us their story and walked through everything from It was around that same time when we settled on a name. Earlier in the the hospital stay to surgery to costs. They said it felt like their duty to help summer, we had read through a long list of baby names and rated them, the parents of another “heart child.” 1 through 3. If we both gave a 3, that name went in a notebook. Then we whittled the list from 10 names to two: Luke and James. James was a On a chilly Wednesday night, Day 9 of Bethany’s quarantine, Colby and I layup as either the first or the middle name. Peter and I both have the went for another walk in the cemetery down the street from our house. middle name James. As kids, family and friends called us twins the When we reached the bottom of the first hill, Colby stopped cold. This James Boys. was her first true contraction. We weren’t sure what to do. So, we turned around and walked back up the hill — slowly, nervously, excitedly. Back We liked Luke. It fit. The name means light, which was something we’d at home, I packed the hospital bag and put the car seat in place. desperately been searching for in the darkest days of infertility. And Luke, the writer of the Gospel of Luke, was a physician, a healer, like We thought we were as ready as we could ever be. those who would care for our child’s heart. We started using the name at home, Luke James, but kept it between us. It was our secret. I didn’t Bethany was the baby of our family. (Courtesy of the Nesbitt family) even tell Peter. The first message from my mom on that Friday morning, Oct. 30, was Just after the Fourth of July, my family spent a weekend together at a asking if any of the siblings had heard from Bethany. No one had. A lodge in northern Michigan. We were torn on whether to go at all, since couple of us guessed that Bethany had probably slept in. But my mom knew something was wrong. She alerted a school nurse, who went to check on Bethany, and half an hour later, the school president called my with a leg cramp. Terrified that it was a blood clot, I paced around the parents, in shock and in tears. room until I was too tired to be afraid to sleep.

The second message from my mom said that Bethany had died. Nights were hard. Nobody in my family slept much. We’d meet on our family Slack channel in the middle of the night to keep each other Colby saw the message first and called up the stairs. I looked at my company. Mornings weren’t much easier. I’ve never felt anxiety spikes phone, and my heart raced. I called my dad. He was crying. He asked if I like the ones that came every morning while waiting for Carol to text the could get the siblings together for a Zoom call. Within minutes, we were family. Later, Carol told us that when she was in the hospital, scared and staring at each other on our computer screens, across three time zones, feeling hopeless, she watched the NICU live stream of Luke constantly. in disbelief. Someone would start to say something, then collapse into “We were on oxygen and napping together everyday,” Carol said. sobs. On a Sunday morning, an NFL pregame show was playing on the TV in One by one, family members started to color in the details of Bethany’s the NICU waiting room. A young father walked in wearing a T.J. Watt last day. Since her first COVID-19 test result had somehow gotten lost, jersey. “Weird place to watch a game, huh,” I said. He smiled beneath his Bethany went for a second test to confirm she had the virus. She was mask, then shrugged. “I’ve been here for pretty much every game this short of breath as she walked from her dorm room to the car. She talked year.” It was Week 9. Even if it didn’t feel this way, in a place like this, we to my mom in the morning, and to my sister, Lizzy, in the evening. Since were some of the luckier ones. Bethany shared a Netflix account with Peter, he logged in later and saw that Bethany watched an episode of “The Office” before bed. That image Carol returned home first, wheeling an oxygen tank behind her. The next means everything to me, thinking of Bethany, on her last night, laughing day, after a week in the NICU, Luke was discharged, too. We strapped at one of her favorite shows before she fell asleep. him into his car seat, then carried him through the hospital corridors and into the parking garage. He squinted in the sunlight. It didn’t feel real. We A few days later, a coroner ruled Bethany had died of a pulmonary were exhausted and emotional. The blue balloons were withered, and the embolism — a common cause among COVID-19 deaths — when a blood chalk had washed away, but our little boy was finally home. (He’ll have clot traveled from her leg to her lung. heart surgery next year.)

There was no funeral that week, no celebration of life, no gathering to Bonjour Bébé. (Courtesy of the Nesbitt family) grieve. COVID stole that from us as it did from hundreds of thousands of families in this country. The safest act was to stay apart. My parents Bethany’s death and Luke’s birth forever will be linked. His first birthday drove to Indiana to collect Bethany’s belongings. My sisters, who live will mean one year without her, and on and on. The six days between nearby, offered to go instead, but my parents needed to go, to see that those two life-changing events, the worst and best days of my life, were a the room was empty, to be sure Bethany wasn’t waiting there, like she balancing act, trying to mourn and await an arrival at the same time. I always was, for them to take her home. was completely overwhelmed — by grief, by joy, by generosity. Bethany’s story traveled on social media, and complete strangers Luke James Nesbitt (Courtesy of the Nesbitt family) donated to the memorial scholarship in her name.

Colby’s water broke at 10 p.m. Nov. 4, two hours before her scheduled For me, though, more connects them than just timing. induction. While Bethany was sick, she thought a lot about the baby. And she Luke was born at 8:12 a.m. the next day, less than two hours before thought about his name. Since we’d kept the secret, the name was a Bethany’s memorial ceremony at Grace College. A nurse rushed him source of intrigue, especially for Bethany. She called my mom every across the room, and the NICU team checked vitals and looked for signs morning those last 10 days to talk through her symptoms, and then they of distress. I watched through the crowd until a technician saw me and talked about baby names, trying to guess which one we had chosen. waved me closer. “You can touch him,” he said. I put my finger in Luke’s hand. He squeezed it hard. Our little fighter was OK. The doctors said his On the evening after Bethany died, I called my mom. I mentioned heart was holding up just fine. something that Lizzy, the last sibling to talk to Bethany, had said about their last conversation. They’d debated baby names, too. My mom As Luke lay on Colby’s chest, she kissed him and cried and held him stopped me. close. There were times, as we dealt with infertility, when I wondered if this day would ever come, or if holding onto that dream was only adding “Did you hear about her dream?” she said. to the hurt. But in that moment, as we whispered, amazed, about Luke’s little fingers, his blue eyes, his thick brown hair, something inside me “What dream?” I asked. melted away. The previous day, on the last morning of her life, Bethany had called my I felt grief, and I felt joy. mom, as usual. But this time Bethany told her she had dreamed about our baby. Soon, I felt fear and anxiety, too. In her dream, our baby had a name. In the middle of the night, three days after birth, Luke’s oxygen-saturation levels crashed, and another one of my sisters, the second-youngest, Luke Carol, was rushed to an emergency room in Columbia City, Ind., with I cried harder than I had all day. Even now, as we wade through the fog worsening COVID-19 symptoms. of grief, the dream seems to help everything else make sense. To us, it Carol, a critical-care nurse, was exposed to the virus at work. She started feels like divine intervention, like Bethany met Luke before she died. experiencing symptoms the day Bethany died, but, trying to shield our We buried Bethany the day after Thanksgiving. family from more fear, didn’t tell our family until her test result came back positive. After quarantining in her bedroom for a week, Carol was A few siblings who could quarantine drove home for the interment admitted to the critical-care unit in the hospital where she works, cared service, and the rest of us watched from home. I sat on the couch in our for by her friends on the hospital staff, receiving oxygen, blood thinners, living room in Pittsburgh and held Luke. He was calm and quiet. At the plasma, anti-virals and steroids. cemetery, my family wore masks and sang hymns, and the youth pastor from my parents’ church, who knew Bethany well, said a few words. It Meanwhile, Luke lay in an incubator in the NICU with monitor wires, was sad, short and sweet. oxygen and IV lines connected to his little body. His lungs needed more time to develop. The cemetery is the same one we drive past every year on the way to the tree farm. After the service, my parents and siblings drove the mile to the Luke in the NICU. (Courtesy of the Nesbitt family) farm to find a tree. It was, after all, one of Bethany’s favorite traditions.

Only one visitor was allowed at a time, due to COVID-19 restrictions. So, The Nesbitt family at a tree farm in Michigan. (Courtesy of the Nesbitt on the first night in the NICU, Colby stayed with Luke, and I went home, family) alone. Neighbors had put blue balloons in front of our house, and their children chalked the sidewalk to welcome Luke. There were four In Pittsburgh, we did the same. Colby carried Luke through the rows of bouquets waiting on the front porch when I arrived. Two offering trees, and he looked around at them in wonder. By the time we had condolences, two congratulations. I woke up in the middle of the night chopped one and hauled it to the car, Luke was asleep. We drove home slowly, trying not to disturb the blue spruce tied to the roof or the baby buckled in the backseat.

We were almost home when Colby broke the silence. She said it made her sad to think about Bethany missing out on all of this, now that so many people have seen the impact of her life and love. Bethany never would believe that every outlet from People Magazine to the New York Times had written about her. It just isn’t fair, Colby said, that she isn’t here to be part of it.

Maybe so, I said, or maybe Bethany isn’t missing a thing anymore. I’m not sure what the view is like from Heaven, with the angels, but I think she is watching. There will never be a day when she isn’t on our hearts and minds. And each time Luke stares at a Christmas tree, we’ll tell him the story of how beloved he was by Aunt Bethany, who knew him even before he was born.

The Athletic LOADED: 12.26.2020 1197308 Pittsburgh Penguins and white Penguins T-shirts that had been signed by Crosby in black indelible ink – were busy setting up and doing food and bar prep.

Crosby himself was not home. He had gone off in his four-wheeled Gator Holiday Reading: Behind the Scenes From Years Past to visit a few lake neighbors with the Cup. Imagine answering a knock on the door and seeing Crosby and the Stanley Cup just happening by for a few minutes.

Published 18 hours ago on December 25, 2020By Shelly Anderson I was admiring the view of the lake from Crosby’s multi-level deck when he came walking around the corner from the front carrying the Cup. He

sat it down. Hockey is coming back. That’s welcome holiday news. The band he had hired for the occasion, popular Canadian group Great Before we launch into the 2020-21, or 2021, or whatever you want to call Big Sea, had finished a practice set on a stage set up in the yard, and the the upcoming season, how about a look back for some lighter holiday members, seeing him arrive, scrambled up the deck to shake his hand reading? and ask him to sign some things. Like, literally, they had a box of things for him to autograph. He gladly complied. Specifically, how about a few glimpses from behind the scenes from earlier this century, before the COVID-19 pandemic severely limited Then Crosby disappeared into his house. He returned a few minutes later reporters’ access? with a collection of life jackets, all different sizes and colors. He then began fitting them – not for himself but for the Cup. Over years of chronicling the Pittsburgh Penguins, I have seen and heard some interesting off-ice moments. Here are a few you might find After strapping on one that he thought suited the silver chalice, he carried interesting: it down to his dock. There, he pulled off his shirt and put on his own life jacket – because that’s who Crosby is – and his father, Troy, helped him Flooring it load the Cup onto a jet ski.

It was early in the 2008-09 season, when the Penguins were still housed Crosby set out onto the lake with the Cup, an experience tied to his many in the Igloo. times out on the lake to fish or for recreation, but this time with a very special guest nestled between his arms as he steered. After a practice, I was walking toward the Gate 2 exit. Just ahead was goaltender Marc-Andre Fleury and a small group of family and/or friends He went fairly slowly, with no hot dogging – because, again, that’s who who pretty obviously were visiting from Quebec, also headed out of the Crosby is. He pulled up somewhat near a boat with a group of partiers arena. who no doubt had been hoping for a glimpse of him and the Cup.

They were talking in French and the mood seemed light. Then he returned to the dock, carefully unloaded the Cup and continued to get ready for his party. The Cup’s life jacket wasn’t tested. Suddenly, Fleury went splat on the concrete floor. Hard. It was loud. Mr. Popularity I knew immediately that he was goofing around – go figure – and was recreating his famous trip and fall as he tried to step onto the ice at Joe Petr Sykora spent two seasons with the Penguins, winning the 2009 Cup Louis Arena several months earlier as the Penguins exited their locker with them. During that time, he rented a house that former Penguins room before a Stanley Cup final game against Detroit. winger and fellow Czech Jaromir Jagr still owned in the Pittsburgh area.

Those in Fleury’s group were amused, but also a little startled at just how A few of us reporters were talking to Sykora about his accommodations hard he had flopped onto the unforgiving floor. He stayed down for a one day, and he joked about having an ant problem (as opposed to an couple seconds, perhaps for added comedic effect. aunt problem like in the funny contemporary TV ad).

The trouble was, the security guard who manned a small command I hung around after the other reporters moved on, mostly to talk to center just inside Gate 2 and close to Fleury’s stunt was alarmed. She Sykora about Jagr, the enigmatic but ultra-talented superstar who, came rushing over, obviously concerned and ready to spring into some amazingly, at 48 is still playing professionally in the Czech Republic for sort of action to help. the Kladno team he owns.

Fleury, finally getting up, tried to assure her he was fine. He and his Sykora started to describe just what a megastar Jagr was in the Czech group headed off to, most likely, get some lunch. Republic.

The security guard, a nice woman whose name I never knew but who The most popular athlete there, I asked? was always friendly, was practically shaking. I tried my best to talk her down, explaining the story behind the flop and just how goofy the goalie No, Sykora explained. It was his firm belief that Jagr was the most was. popular person in that country.

The bet here is that she never forgot that. Wow. That was pretty impressive to hear, and remains so.

Does the Stanley Cup float? Pittsburgh Hockey Now LOADED: 12.26.2020

Being the team captain, Sidney Crosby got two days with the Stanley Cup in his native Nova Scotia after the Penguins won the championship in August 2009.

Day One, his 22nd birthday, was more of a time to publicly share the giant chalice and the title, including a parade through the Halifax suburb of Cole Harbour where he grew up.

Day Two was geared more toward private time with the Cup, shared with family and friends. That included a big party in the evening on the grounds behind his summer lake house in a gated community north of Halifax.

Generous and thoughtful as Crosby is, he invited a few of us reporters who had traveled to describe his time with the Cup to spend a little time at the party site before the main crowd arrived.

The way circumstances unfolded, I was the first reporter there. A few family members and friends were the only other guests there at that point. Several members of the catering staff – all in “uniform,” black pants 1197309 San Jose Sharks

Boughner can't wait for Sharks to play in San Jose again

by Dalton Johnson

Sharks head coach Bob Boughner can't wait for his squad to get back on the ice at SAP Center in San Jose. But he fully gets why the Sharks are starting away from home right now.

"This is our home rink and we're comfortable here, the families are here," Bob Boughner said to reporters on Wednesday. "All of those things are important to our guys, for a good mental state.

"But we understand the safety of the community comes first and the decision with that, we're fine with that. We understand it and if we have to start on the road, we'll start on the road."

Santa Clara County has shut down all team sports activities due to the ongoing coronavirus pandemic, which has forced the Sharks to hold training camp in Scottsdale, Ariz. Once the Sharks begin the upcoming 56-game season on Jan. 13, they will be on the road a good portion of time, too, as 14 of their first 18 games are away from home.

Boughner and the Sharks are facing plenty of uphill battles after a disappointing season. Coming back home to San Jose certainly will help with a long list of challenges.

"I won't lie, we're looking forward to the time where we can come back to Santa Clara County and live at home and be with our loved ones," Boughner said. "We feel our practice rink here and our game rink are two great places to be able to come and do something you love every day.

"Hopefully we're back here sooner than later and things start turning for the better here in our community."

Health and safety come first. Boughner gets that. He will relay that same message to his players and staff.

Once the Sharks safely can play home in San Jose, however, Boughner and the rest of the Sharks will cherish that time even more than before.

Comcast SportsNet.com LOADED: 12.26.2020 1197310 St Louis Blues Deal Dunn?As of Saturday, the Blues are just nine days away from the start of training camp, and defenseman Vince Dunn still doesn’t have a contract. He’s a restricted free agent, one of just 19 of them league-wide who remain unsigned. Blues expecting some help from NHL on start times out West “It’s one of those ones where you keep trying to find different ways to get something completed,” Armstrong said. “Because of quarantining and having to get back here (to St. Louis), both sides are trying to get Jim Thomas 7 hrs ago something done so he doesn’t miss any of camp.”

St Louis Post Dispatch LOADED: 12.26.2020 There were no starting times listed Wednesday when the Blues’ schedule was released by the NHL.

For Blues’ fans who are early to bed, early to rise, the hope is that some leeway will be granted whenever those start times are announced for many of their team’s 28 road games.

For this year only, the coronavirus pandemic has led to a league-wide realignment, putting the Blues in a West division that includes Anaheim, Arizona, Colorado, Los Angeles, Minnesota, Vegas and San Jose. That means 24 of those 28 away contests will be Pacific and Mountain time zone starts. (The four road contests in Minnesota are Central time zone starts.)

“I’m not saying it’s ideal,” Blues general manager Doug Armstrong told the Post-Dispatch. “But I think the NHL’s gonna try and work with us on some earlier start times and maybe some day games on weekends out West.

“They understand that we have a great television following here in St. Louis, and a great hockey following. They understand that, and they’re gonna work with us.”

The Blues have eight road games scheduled for Saturday and one on Sunday, so some of them could be afternoon starts. Again subtracting the four Central time zone starts in Minnesota, none of which are on Saturday or Sunday, that leaves 15 weeknight road games starting in the Pacific or Mountain time zones.

“Fans want to watch, and when it gets late, people don’t stay up late,” coach Craig Berube said. “I understand that totally. Hopefully they will tweak some games here and there and people can watch.”

It’s uncertain when the starting times will be released. The national television schedule (for games on NBCSN or NBC) will be released first, followed by the regional schedule on Fox Sports Midwest.

Most-read stories in this section

Life in the WestMany Blues fans are upset over the prospect of 9 p.m. or 9:30 p.m. (St. Louis time) starts out West. But Armstrong’s OK with the one-year assignment.

“I have no issue playing in the West,” he said. “Two teams had to go the West from the Central Division, and we’re all trying to do our part to make sure this is successful for the league.

“As far as being in the West, the initial flights are about an hour and a half longer,” Armstrong said. “But the travel once you get out to Anaheim, LA, San Jose, Arizona, Vegas is very short, and so once you get the initial first leg over, everything is smaller when you get out there.

“Also, I’m a big believer that in January, February — you know in these dark days of the calendar year — being in the sun, it just puts a little pep in your step. That’s why teams always try to have those (western) trips in January, February if they can.”

With rare exception, all games will be played in two-game blocks in each city. That should cut down on the wear and tear of travel, and in theory eliminate some of the risk of exposure to COVID-19.

“It makes sense for a whole host of reasons,” Armstrong said. “We may find that we like this (two-game blocks), and this could be something we do in the future.”

For his part, Berube figures life in the West will be workable.

“Early on, maybe you could feel it a little bit more or something,” he said. “But I think we’ll get used to it. And the fact that you’re going out there and you’re playing two games (in a city), maybe even like six games on a road trip. I think it’ll be fine. It’ll be a little bit of a change and adjustment, but we’ll figure it out.” 1197311 St Louis Blues

Hockey's debut at The Arena. Hell (and the floor) had to freeze over first

By W.J. McGoogan St. Louis Post-Dispatch 16 hrs ago

Pro hockey was scheduled to make its debut at St. Louis Arena on Dec. 25, 1931, but before it did, there was the simple matter of getting the ice to freeze. Here's our original coverage.

One day last summer, an official of the St. Louis Hockey Club met a friend on the street and remarked: "Hockey is coming to the Arena in the fall," and the friend, having become accustomed to that gag, answered, "Oh yeah! So's Christmas."

Christmas has come and gone, but there is no hockey in The Arena, although the game came pretty close to putting in its appearance last night and only at the last moment did a break in the new ice machinery force a postponement until tonight.

The Flyers will meet the Chicago Shamrocks in the first game of the home season in the new building this evening, the game being scheduled to start at 8:30 o'clock.

As there has been no reason for a change the coaches likely will use the same lineups as had been announced for last night. It was planned right up to the last moment Thursday to play the game Christmas, but when the new machinery was put to the test, trouble was discovered which took until 4 o'clock yesterday morning to repair.

Had the officials known that it could have been remedied even by that time the game would not have been postponed but fearing the necessity of more time they thought it best to call it off in time to notify the prospective customers and save them a fruitless trip to The Arena.

Those who had tickets purchased for last night will be able to use them tonight. In the case of those who are unable to go money will be refunded.

St Louis Post Dispatch LOADED: 12.26.2020 1197312 Vegas Golden Knights rotation. Wagner also helped create the tradition of a local artist showcase at Knights’ games for lesser-known bands.

He mentioned Brandon Flowers’ solo track “Welcome to Fabulous Las Raiders, Golden Knights music director set to deliver finale Vegas” as a potential final song he would enjoy playing.

“But I don’t really feel like it’s a final goodbye,” Wagner said. “ We have family here and we’ll always love Las Vegas and be back.” By Adam Hill Las Vegas Review-Journal Wagner will take plenty of memories with him, even beyond sports. He December 25, 2020 - 2:56 PM was able to be a part of early projects at places like Brooklyn Bowl and Encore Beach Club, venues that are now staples in the city.

He has a particular affinity for the Las Vegas Bowl, an event he was If you’ve ever danced or sang along to the music at a sporting event in disappointed to see canceled this year, but one he has high hopes for Las Vegas, chances are Jake Wagner provided the soundtrack. with the move to Allegiant Stadium. The music director for the Raiders and Golden Knights will deliver his What Wagner will miss the most, however, are the fans and those farewell performance, at least for now, at Saturday night’s home finale at moments he was able to perfectly pair a song choice with the emotion of Allegiant Stadium against the Dolphins. the moment. Wagner and his wife will be relocating to the East Coast where, after a “You can’t even describe those moments,” he said. “Sometimes I’ll come devastating year for the local entertainment industry, she accepted a job home from a game late at night and have the adrenaline still going in my at the Macy’s Parade Studio outside New York City. system for a few hours where I can’t sleep. Sometimes you just get lucky Wagner’s final game with the Raiders will be played without the fans he and it’s like adding a soundtrack to someone’s life in real time, whether or has so enjoyed playing music for over the last several years in his not they understand what’s happening, you know you’re making hometown. someone feel something and that’s the coolest part.”

“It’s disappointing for sure because the reason I got into this was to LAS VEGAS REVIEW JOURNAL LOADED: 12.26.2020 enhance people’s experience of enjoying music within the game and seeing how it all works together to create the perfect atmosphere,” he said Friday. “It’s kind of a bummer.”

Saturday’s Raiders game will be a far cry from raucous environment he helped create at T-Mobile Arena with the Golden Knights. For the Las Vegas native and Coronado High School alum, the expansion franchise’s inaugural campaign will go down as a career highlight.

“That whole first season was a whirlwind of magical experiences and emotions,” he said. “It’s hard to contextualize, but everyone who was there and got to be a part of that know exactly what I mean. It was a special time. The community just came together so much.”

It was also a chance for his passion for music and sports to come full circle. Wagner grew up attending Las Vegas Thunder games and was captivated by the arena production, particularly how the pregame festivities crescendoed to AC/DC’s “Thunderstruck” just before the puck dropped.

Wagner got into radio at UNLV’s KUNV and moved on to Nevada Public Radio, also serving as music director for Life Is Beautiful in the early years. He pitched his vision for soundtracking sporting events to the braintrust of the then-Las Vegas 51s and got the job.

His abilities didn’t go unnoticed and soon Wagner’s services were in high demand at sporting venues around the valley. He has also worked the NHL All-Star Game and a Winter Classic game.

“I just feel so lucky that so many people believed in me and I got to do what I had imagined and wanted to do,” he said. “There were a lot of pieces to that puzzle behind the scenes and so many people putting their hearts and creativity into it. That chemistry of everyone contributing created the atmosphere we all got to experience in the Fortress.”

He had hoped to bring the same energy across the street to Allegiant Stadium, but 2020 had other plans. Wagner has still played the music inside the stadium for Raiders home games even though his mission is a bit different.

“(Getting the job) was definitely a culmination of all the work, so it was cool they trusted me with the experience for the players and the media,” he said. “It was definitely out of the wheelhouse. Without fans, you don’t have to do a lot of the crowd interaction stuff, so it’s more geared toward the players and the in-game experience. It was a career moment and special with the long tradition of the Raiders.”

Wagner hasn’t thought much about how he wants to play himself off on Saturday, but Las Vegas sports fans would be shocked if there wasn’t a local angle to his selection.

He has consistently found ways to incorporate local artists into his rotation, notably with Panic! at the Disco’s “Vegas Nights” as the Golden Knights’ goal song. Other prominent local artists are also in heavy 1197313 Vegas Golden Knights “I still think he’s probably going to need a year in the AHL. I don’t think he’s a guy that’s on a fast-track and he doesn’t need to be on a fast- track,” ESPN prospects expert Chris Peters said. “Especially given the setback with the injury that he’s fully recovered from and really showing Vegas? Henderson? Winnipeg? Examining the Golden Knights’ options no ill signs from, that’s time lost and development time lost. I think it’s with prospect Peyton Krebs safer to say he should probably get some AHL time before he transitions to the NHL.

“I should say, I think there’s absolutely — if the opportunity is there — he By Justin Emerson could certainly seize it much sooner than I’m giving him credit for.” Friday, Dec. 25, 2020 | 2 a.m. Krebs was ranked No. 50 on Peters’ list of top-100 drafted prospects in the NHL, Peters’ cutoff for what he called “grade-A … potential impact players.” Peters also said Krebs’ performance at World Juniors, where he The players in the Golden Knights’ lineup are more or less set for the is expected to play a big role on the projected best team, could also upcoming season. There may be some movement around the edges, but boost his stock. it’s not hard to predict with a good deal of certainty who will be in the NHL. Peters pointed to Krebs’ vision on the ice and passing ability as things that make him a top prospect, though said he wanted to see some more One player whose future is less clear is top prospect Peyton Krebs. explosiveness from his skating and add some more muscle moving Currently at the World Junior Championships representing Canada, forward. Krebs provides an interesting dilemma for the Golden Knights. He’s 19, which normally means he must either play for the Golden Knights or his “For me, Peyton Krebs is an outstanding player,” Peters said. “He’s a junior team in the . high-end prospect with a chance to be a top-six forward in the NHL.”

He’s also right on the brink of being ready to play in the NHL. He suffered That’s the objective view. Internally, the Golden Knights may view Krebs a serious Achilles injury last year, but responded with a dominant season differently. in juniors with the WHL , meaning a strong performance at Remember when the Golden Knights went to Edmonton for the World Juniors might force the Golden Knights’ hand. postseason, they not only brought Krebs along, but had him on the ice for “Now when I am healthy I don’t take for granted any day, and being on warmups. Coach Peter DeBoer said it wasn’t about experience, but that if the ice is definitely a treat,” Krebs said. “I’m just thankful to be able to a player was dressed, he might end up playing. play each and every day and play the game I love for a living as I’m The Golden Knights used just 14 forwards during the postseason, so looking to make the NHL this year and obviously play in the World we’ll never know just how far down the depth chart Krebs was. But he Juniors.” could have been as high as 15th, meaning he might have been one injury Normally, a WHL player of Krebs’ age would not be eligible for the AHL away from NHL action. because of the agreement between the NHL and Canadian Hockey DeBoer is high on Krebs, and it sounds like he’ll be given every chance League (the governing body of the WHL), but general manager Kelly to play for the Golden Knights as soon as this season. McCrimmon said this year may prove to be an exceptional circumstance. If the WHL does not have a season because of the pandemic and “We don’t look at birth certificates when we’re building a team,” DeBoer provides a development option for its players, it could allow a one-time said. “We’re looking at players that can help us win this season. So if waiver about its AHL rule, opening another avenue for Krebs. he’s in that mix, and I think he’s going to push people hard to be in that mix." Regardless, he’ll be in town. McCrimmon said once Krebs finishes World Juniors, which could be as late as Jan. 5 if Canada reaches the gold- There’s definitely room in the lineup if Krebs proves ready. The Golden medal game, he will come to Las Vegas, hopefully for the remainder of Knights have five forwards locked into the top six: Mark Stone, Max training camp. Then, it’s about deciding where he’ll spend this season. Pacioretty, William Karlsson, Jonathan Marchessault and Reilly Smith.

“We need him playing,” McCrimmon said. “He’ll come to Las Vegas from The second center spot behind Karlsson is up for grabs, thought to be a the World Junior, and from there we’re going to give him an opportunity race between Cody Glass and Chandler Stephenson. Whoever doesn’t to be evaluated.” get that spot will be ticketed for the third line, alongside Alex Tuch and potentially Nicolas Roy. But Krebs could slide into either middle-six This is where the new taxi squad rules comes in. To ensure every team center spot, or even on the third line’s left wing. has enough players available through a coronavirus-affected season, this season included the formation of a taxi squad — four to six players that “There’s no reason from what I’ve seen that he can’t push people for a can travel and practice with the team but are not part of the active roster. job,” DeBoer said. This would be a similar experience to when Vegas brought Krebs to the postseason bubble in Edmonton last summer. Bottom line

The Golden Knights could keep him on the taxi squad, and allow him to The Golden Knights will need to decide if Krebs is ready to play in the practice with the NHL team without taking up a roster spot and eating up NHL when the season starts on Jan. 14 against the Ducks. If they decide valuable cap space. Should they decide he’s ready to go, he could play the answer is no, they will likely keep him on the taxi squad until a in up to six games without starting the clock on his entry-level contract. If decision is made on a WHL season. At that point, he could be sent to he’s not, they could send back to juniors (if the WHL is playing) or Winnipeg if he’s not ready for the NHL. perhaps even the AHL if allowed, and start the clock next year when he There isn’t a right or wrong answer. Vegas is in no rush with Krebs and will fully be eligible to play in the AHL without restrictions. have a history of allowing their top prospects to run out their junior If he is sent to juniors, he would could then join either Vegas or eligibility and play in the AHL, like they did with Glass and Nicolas Henderson at the conclusion of WHL Winnipeg’s season. That would be Hague. To the point, the Golden Knights have yet to ice a teenager for a similar to how Cody Glass joined AHL Chicago at the end of the 2018-19 game in their short history. season for the Wolves’ run to the Calder Cup Final. In a normal year, it’s likely Krebs would have come to NHL camp in the Fighting for a spot fall and probably be sent back for one more year of being a top player in the WHL. The taxi squad changes things this year, as does the All that is just bluster if Krebs isn’t ready to play in the NHL. After all, he’s uncertainty of the WHL season. And if Vegas trades another forward for only played in 38 junior games since being drafted due to the Achilles cap flexibility, having a high-potential, inexpensive player like Krebs injury that cost him much of the 2019 season. Throw in World Juniors makes a lot of sense. and he’ll still be at under 50 games since the end of his 2018-19 season, almost two years. Whether it’s this season or next, the Golden Knights have high hopes for Krebs. Golden Knights fans looking for a glimpse of the future need only So is Krebs ready for the NHL? flip on NHL Network to watch Canada play at the World Juniors. It’ll be the first look at the organization’s best prospect this year. It might not be the last.

LAS VEGAS SUN LOADED: 12.26.2020 1197314 Washington Capitals Moment of the Year: Alex Ovechkin, Capitals. Ovechkin finished the pandemic-shortened season tied for the NHL lead with 48 goals, but it was the one he scored Feb. 22 in New Jersey — goal No. 700 — that put him in the record book. (Here’s our instant oral history of the historic Amazing recoveries, milestones, drama: The Athletic D.C.’s 2020 Sports moment.) The Caps’ captain became just the eighth player in NHL history Awards to reach the plateau and the second youngest to get there, behind only Wayne Gretzky. When the 2020-21 season begins next month, Ovechkin

(706) will have Mike Gartner (708) and Phil Esposito (717) in his By Fred Katz, Ben Standig and more Dec 25, 2020 crosshairs.

Empty Moment of the Year: Nationals Opening Day. The city waited 95 years to raise another Major League Baseball World Series Let’s be honest: 2020 is a year a lot of us would like to forget. But good championship banner. But the pandemic meant that the Nats’ 2019 or bad, memories persist from a professional sports landscape like no Series victory would be commemorated at Nationals Park in an empty other, when fans, players and media were often torn between using stadium in July, with only the visiting Yankees a witness to the sports as an escape or necessary vehicle for change. “celebration.” No mayor, no fans, no family members of the championship team in person. Just silence. Pretty on brand for 2020. Sports and politics, sports and the pandemic, sports and our nation’s capital: they were all intertwined in 2020. Stadiums became food Good Guy Awards distribution centers; arenas became in-person voting locations. The Preakness was held in October, not May; Maryland’s women’s hoops Nationals — Ryan Zimmerman. The longtime National — who opted out team won the Big 10 tournament in March, but had no NCAA of playing this season — used his time wisely, creating the charity Pros Tournament to play in next. But between the year-long cancellations and for Heroes along with his wife, Heather, to make a difference for frontline postponements, D.C’s teams gave us badly-needed moments of healthcare workers. strength, hope, humor and a fair amount of head-shaking. WFT — Jonathan Allen. The 2017 first-round selection’s extensive Fans missed being at games, families watched their loved ones leave for charitable endeavors included working with Sasha Bruce Youthwork, a months of bubbles and Zoom became the way everyone interacted, nonprofit organization in the District that helps homeless youth. Allen’s including teammates. Some of it we will miss; a lot of it we won’t. But personal story connects with those kids. As a Northern Virginia native, there were reminders throughout the last 12 months of the whole of our the defensive lineman kept finding ways to give back while turning in the shared experiences as people – the good, the bad, the ugly, the best season of his career. confusing, the exhilarating, and everything in between. Capitals — Garnet Hathaway. There are a number of deserving Athlete of the Year: Alex Ovechkin, Capitals. At 35, Ovechkin is not recipients on the local pro hockey team, but Hathaway went above and supposed to be scoring goals at the same rate that he did when he was beyond this year. Shortly after the pandemic put the NHL season on ice, 25. But here he is – and there’s no sign of him slowing down anytime Hathaway and his foundation, Hath’s Heroes, partnered with SuperFd, soon. and together they have delivered thousands of hot meals to frontline workers and people in need in the Washington area. With 48 goals in a COVID-19 shortened 2019-20 campaign, Ovechkin finished tied with Boston’s David Pastrnak for the NHL lead, marking the Wizards — Ish Smith. There’s are a few reasons Smith has stuck in the third straight season, and seventh time in the last eight, that the Caps’ league for this long after going undrafted more than a decade ago, the captain finished atop the league in its most precious commodity. If you chief one being his rapid improvement over the last five or six years. But just consider calendar year 2020 (Jan. 1 until the pause on March 12) it certainly didn’t hurt that no matter which of his teammates you ask (and Ovechkin scored 24 goals in 27 games for a league-leading average of he’s played for 11 organizations; he’s had a lot of them), they will tell you .89. Only the New York Rangers’ Mike Zibanejad was even close to that he’s one of their favorite people. pace, at .81 goals per. Front Office of the Year: . The defending WNBA Ovechkin’s goal total this year also pushed him past some of hockey’s champions had planned a robust defense of their title by getting Tina greats, names like Mario Lemieux, Steve Yzerman and Mark Messier, Charles from the to pair with , Emma and into eighth place on the all-time list. In 2021, he could potentially Meesseman and a deep group of guards. That plan never made the climb into the top five. WNBA’s “Wubble” in Florida. Delle Donne, who has battled Lyme Disease for more than a decade, opted out of the season amid Ovechkin edged out the Wizards’ Bradley Beal, who finished second in understandable concerns about potential exposure to COVID-19 on her the NBA in scoring at 30.5 points per game, and the Nationals’ Juan immune system. Charles, who suffers from extrinsic asthma, also opted Soto, who led the National League with a .351 batting average. out. So did guard Natasha Cloud (see below) and forward LaToya Sanders. And guard Aerial Powers was lost six games into the restart Sportsperson of the Year: Alex Smith, Washington Football Team. with a hamstring injury. That left coach and GM Mike Thibault with a Nobody believed a fellow human could come back from that 2018 shadow of the team he expected to coach. But Thibault found something compound right leg fracture that required 17 surgeries after a devastating that worked, bringing in vets like Alaina Coates and Jacki Gemelos, while infection took hold. That goes triple for anyone who watched those getting a career season out of Myisha Hines-Allen, to play with holdovers unsightly Images of that gnarled leg from the documentary on Smith’s Meesseman, Tianna Hawkins and Ariel Atkins. The Mystics won five of physical and emotional journey. Play football again? Try walking first. their last seven regular-season games to claim an improbable playoff Wait; he not only makes the active roster and suits up again, but winds berth, then lost a heartbreaker in the first round to the Phoenix Mercury – up starting and thriving? And leads Washington to first place in the NFC on a game-winning 3-pointer by guard Shea Peddy, who started the East, to the brink of the franchise’s first playoff appearance since 2015? season with Washington and played nine games before being released in This script would get tossed out by any respectable Hollywood studio. August. So, every move of Thibault’s didn’t work out, but more than But, one person imagined this was possible – and it happened to be the enough did. one person who mattered most, the one epitomizing grind and determination. Most Overdue Personnel Move: D.C. United firing Ben Olsen. In a season where nearly everything went wrong, it was hard to argue that Coach of the Year: Ron Rivera, Washington Football Team. That Rivera coaching wasn’t a part of United’s undoing. Olsen’s departure, officially managed to get his team out of a 2-7 hole to within sniffing distance of a named as a mutual “parting of ways,” leaves United looking for a coach division title, especially considering its gloomy preseason forecast, would for the first time in a decade. be enough for a strong candidacy. That he did in his first season, while controversy over the team’s decision to change its name, reports of Most Overdue Organizational Move: The Washington Football Team’s years-long toxic culture in high management and a fight amongst the name change. The decision to drop “Redskins,” the Washington NFL team’s ownership group all came to the surface before the season, only team’s name since the franchise arrived in town in 1937, didn’t come strengthens his case – even as Rivera raised the expectations bar for his easy or conventionally. In July of this year, owner Daniel Snyder relented players and coaching staff, and kept everyone focused. That he did all of to social and financial pressure. Redskins out, Football Team in. this while undergoing weeks-long treatment for squamous cell Temporary placeholder or the new normal, we’ll see. One massive, carcinoma, which he disclosed in August, and continued showing up for unthinkable — and overdue — change at a time. work most every day, clinches it. Biggest Loser: Daniel Snyder. Look, there’s a lot here and the reports He’s somehow a large and a standoffish personality simultaneously. He keep coming. From unseemingly accusations of sexual and workplace remains the NBA’s ultimate lightning rod. And now, he’s a Wizard. harassment to the team name change to an increasingly intense fight with his minority owners, Snyder’s already unfavorable reputation after Best use of social media: Robin Lopez, Wizards. Mere moments after two decades of dreck football and unwanted headlines took a further Lopez agreed to sign with Washington, our own Shams Charania tumble. Maybe Snyder made a great hire this year in Rivera, and new reported that John Wall had requested a trade. That’s when Lopez fired team president Jason Wright is putting a professional and sympathetic off the below tweet. The first night of NBA free agency is never short of vibe out into the world. Even with the team’s positive trend on the field, drama … though, this year rocked Snyder’s standing like no other. D.C. sports media person of the year: Julie Donaldson, Washington Team to WATCH: The . The Spirit’s three-year Football Team. Already a decade-long fixture as a reporter for NBC championship plan was derailed (like everything else) due to the Sports Washington, Donaldson made the leap to professional sports pandemic, but the once-maligned club has become a destination for free executive this summer as the WFT’s senior VP of Media. With the move agents and has been one of the most aggressive offseason teams in the came history, as she became the first woman to be a regular on-air NWSL. Head coach Richie Burke and owner Steve Baldwin deserve a member of an NFL radio broadcast. Yet it’s Donaldson’s work inside the lot of credit for changing the culture and upgrading facilities. organization aiming to reset its workplace culture that might become the real game-changer. Biggest Surprise: The Wizards trading John Wall. Sure, there were murmurs about a Russell Westbrook-for-John Wall trade for a couple of The Most 2020 Moment: Davey Martinez crying on Zoom. Maybe it was weeks before it went down, but it’s not like anyone could have predicted the stress of the job or the uncertainty brought about by the pandemic. before November that two of the NBA’s stars would get swapped for Regardless, the Nationals manager, who became, along with general each other. The Wizards had spent two years talking up the return of manager Mike Rizzo a vocal advocate for MLB improving its testing Wall. He and Bradley Beal were going to have another go at winning program. Martinez, who has a heart condition, wasn’t afraid to together in D.C. That ended up changing quickly. acknowledge he was scared of what would happen to him if he got the virus, getting emotional with reporters numerous times during the Best Comeback of the Year: Capitals vs. Islanders. The Islanders owned season. It was a poignant reminder that athletes and coaches are still a commanding 4-1 lead on home ice entering the third period on Jan. 18. human. It was the Caps’ last game before the All-Star break. They had every reason to pack it in. Except they didn’t. Alex Ovechkin completed his Quote of the Year: “I just missed it. Sh*t happens.” – Ovechkin on second hat trick in two games with a pair of third-period tallies, and Carl missing an empty net on the power play in the playoffs. Hagelin, Tom Wilson and Jakub Vrana scored, too, as the visitors The Athletic LOADED: 12.26.2020 stunned Barry Trotz and the Isles, 6-4. On the snowy night on , Ovechkin tied Mario Lemieux on the all-time goals list, passed Mario Lemieux on the all-time goals list and pulled even with ninth-place Steve Yzerman with goal No. 692.

Best Newcomer: Chase Young, Washington Football Team. Not all Pro- Bowl calendar defenders require the attention of opponents and fans snap after snap. They rarely combine freakish athleticism, team-first mentality, and infectious enthusiasm that even 10-year veterans admire. Tack on Young’s impressive statistics, staggering potential and DMV native status, and it’s conceivable this dude becomes the most popular athlete in town before long.

Best Activist: Natasha Cloud, Mystics. Cloud was one of multiple WNBA players who chose not to go to the league’s bubble in Florida this summer, instead deciding to stay home and concentrate on the fight against racial injustice. She has since penned op-eds, appeared on major networks and done countless interviews to discuss Black Lives Matter and other social and political topics. She was one of the leading organizers of the Mystics’ and Wizards’ Juneteenth march through D.C. and was instrumental to the Mystics becoming the first WNBA team to opt out of playing following the Jacob Blake shooting in August. She also is an outspoken advocate against gun violence. She’s been in this space for a while.

Biggest Head-Scratcher: Losing Anthony Rendon. After watching Bryce Harper leave town the winter prior, Rendon’s absence throughout the 2020 season felt like a noticeable hole in the lineup every night. Early on, Nats ownership made clear they couldn’t afford both Rendon, who signed with the Angels, and Stephen Strasburg, whom the Nats re-signed for seven years and $245 million. Only time will tell if Washington will regret its choice.

Biggest Disappointment? The Capitals’ flameout in the bubble. With apologies to the Nationals, the Capitals’ first-round loss to Barry Trotz and the Islanders in Toronto was about as bad as it gets. Braden Holtby’s inconsistency. Jakub Vrana’s missed breakaway. Mathew Barzal getting behind the D. Todd Reirden being outfoxed by Trotz. L, L, L, W, L, and it was over and out for the five-time champs. In retrospect, perhaps we should have seen it coming. The second half of the regular season was a disaster, and the bust in the bubble underscored just how badly things went for the Caps in 2020.

Most Interesting Person: Russell Westbrook, Wizards. D.C. sports saved the most fascinating for last, considering Westbrook joined the scene with less than a month to go in 2020. Yes, his story arc really is captivating enough to be out of town for the first 335 days of the year and still win this. He’s a former MVP and the only NBA player to average a triple-double over the past six decades (and he’s done it three times). 1197315 Websites curve. Those bold steps should be spent on younger players and perhaps next year is the year to target them. A lot of awful money comes off the books and they’ll have the room to make a big splash on an offer sheet (or use the threat of one to make a trade). In Derek Stepan, Alex The Athletic / How we’d run the Coyotes: Get rid of expensive veterans Goligoski, Niklas Hjalmarsson, Jason Demers, Jordan Oesterle and Ilya and rebuild Lybushkin, the team is shedding $23.3 million off the books but only losing 1.4 wins of value. It’s inefficient spending and gives the team a lot

more flexibility to go for a bigger push next season. By The Athletic NHL Staff Dec 25, 2020 The big question is whether the Coyotes can actually entice a player to sign with them, but the right amount of money can maybe do the trick. The RFA field is stacked from Elias Pettersson, Andrei Svechnikov and As an extension of the NHL Future Power Rankings, which look ahead to Brady Tkachuk up front to Cale Makar, Miro Heiskanen and Quinn how teams will stack up three seasons from now, we are diving into what Hughes on defense. It’s a long shot, but those are better targets than the each team can expect and what moves it can make to produce the best ones Arizona have been previously after — ones who don’t do much of outcome. anything to move the team’s championship needle. — Dom Luszczyszyn

The Athletic will break down what each team needs to do to, or should The Prospect Pipeline do, to take the next step toward contention. James Mirtle will give advice based on the salary cap situation. Dom Luszczyszyn will dive into the When will our players get here? analytics and look at what each team has on his Stanley Cup checklist. Though there are some intriguing prospects in the Coyotes’ pool, even Scott Wheeler and Corey Pronman will answer four key questions about after a disastrous 2020 draft, none of them are really knocking on the the team’s prospects. And Eric Duhatschek will propose a game plan for door for this upcoming season, so patience will be required. Players like the general manager. Then another writer will put it all in perspective with Matias Maccelli, Jan Jenik and John Farinacci all stand a chance of a reality check. getting there, but it’s not happening this season. In the last two cases, in The Cap Situation particular, it may be a while still.

This roster costs more than $84 million. That’s tough given the talent How good will they be when they get here? level. Victor Soderstrom remains the Coyotes’ only star-level prospect. He’s got But the glass-half-empty version on the Coyotes cap situation is they’re a real chance to be a No. 2/3 D who runs one of the power plays (more overcommitted to a lot of veterans, including seven players on the wrong likely the second unit than the first) and drives results at even strength side of 30 who are making nearly $40 million combined. with his skating. I think Maccelli and Jenik both have second-line upside if they can put it all together, with the former as the more likely of the two And that doesn’t even include Oliver Ekman-Larsson, who is well to reach that ceiling. Then it’s a lot of depth options, starting with overpaid for what he is at this point. Farinacci and including potential options like Liam Kirk and Cam Dineen.

The glass-half-full version? They have a new GM in Bill Armstrong who What positions do they play, and do we have excesses or deficiencies? seems to recognize the roster’s limitations and is trying to make some on-the-fly surgery to set them up better for the future. That’s smart. Their pool is really thin at centre, without a single prospect who has top- six upside (though they’re thin on defense after Soderstrom). The pool is More than that, however, what I like about where the Coyotes are at is strongest on the wing, where there are a handful of intriguing prospects, they have nearly $35 million in contracts coming off the books in 2021. and in net, where I wouldn’t be surprised if one of Ivan Prosvetov or There will be a lot more flexibility in another eight months to build around David Tendeck makes it as an option. Clayton Keller, Jakob Chychrun, Barrett Hayton and the rest of the prospect pool. What does our prospect pool tell us about where we are in a competitive cycle? They can create even more open space by finding takers for Ekman- Larsson and Phil Kessel, even if it means retaining some salary. And The Coyotes’ prospect pool is indicative of where they’re at as an deciding which of their two veteran goalies they want to keep around for organization, which is to say that weird group somewhere between not- the rebuild. the-worst and not-good-either. They’ve got further to go to become a contending team than they do to become a lottery team. Salt in the Previous management made some mistakes and overpays, but there’s wound? They don’t have their first-round pick in the 2021 draft. — Scott nothing crippling here for the new group. Other than the fact they’re not Wheeler going to have a 2021 first-round pick. The Game Plan Focus on contending in a year or three, bet on youth, and there’s a road up that makes sense here. — James Mirtle Where to start? New GM Bill Armstrong’s most important offseason hiring may well be David Ludwig as director of hockey operations and salary The Analytics cap compliance, because the Coyotes still have the No. 1 payroll in the NHL, coming off a season in which they were 22nd in the overall The Stanley Cup Checklist is based on research done earlier this year standings — and eventually lost Taylor Hall to free agency. looking at the average value for players at every position from the past 10 Cup champions. It’s based on the best-of-the-best each year, making Most of what Armstrong needs to do in his first year on the job involves a it a high bar to clear and it means no team will have every box checked lot of undoing and unravelling — starting with the salary cap tangle he off, but the more holes a team has filled, the closer they are to being a inherited, which for starters means waiting patiently until Marian Hossa’s Cup contender. A name in a specific box means he’s in the right ballpark dead money goes away. Armstrong’s background is amateur scouting, for projected value compared to past Cup winners, with some on the but with so little draft capital at this disposal — no first or third in 2021 — lower end and some on the higher end. Using an age curve, we made replenishing that is priority No. 1. (Thankfully they do have an extra note of what each team already has on their roster signed for each of the fourth-rounder, thrown in to complete the Phil Kessel deal). next three seasons. If they fall out of playoff contention, the Coyotes will be posting a for-sale Let’s take a look. sign in advance of the trade deadline. Armstrong has a pack of pending UFAs that could attract interest as rentals, primarily on the blue line There aren’t many bleaker outlooks than Arizona’s. This is a team that (Niklas Hjalmarsson, Alex Goligoski, Jason Demers, Jordan Oesterle), can’t really afford to start over given the market, but it’s difficult to see a but also a goalie (Antti Raanta, if a team runs into injury problems) and a path toward contention with the pieces in place. Arizona is desperately useful versatile vet in Derek Stepan. Short term, things look incredibly missing elite cornerstone pieces and unless some players take some bleak. Once the financial skies clear up by the start of next season and massive leaps or a few prospects really pan out, it’s difficult to see how the draft choice capital is replenished in their upcoming clearance sale the team gets there. then the rebuild can start anew. — Eric Duhatschek The Coyotes were bold in acquiring Phil Kessel and bold again in The Reality Check acquiring Taylor Hall, but they’re looking at the wrong end of the age Does it really matter which prospects step forward? Or what kind of magic Darcy Kuemper weaves to keep the offensively starve Coyotes remotely close to a playoff berth? Or even how rookie GM Bill Armstrong deals with the draft pick hell he inherited when he took over the Yotes? In a word, no. None of this matters because until we can answer several absolutely key questions this team, as it has since before the dawn of time (OK, since July 1996 when the Coyotes relocated from Winnipeg), will be destined to exist in hockey’s hinterland.

Do the Coyotes have the right owner to find a way to facilitate a move out of their longtime home in the aforementioned hinterland in Glendale to downtown Phoenix or the other side of the valley somewhere near Scottsdale or Tempe? The two elements — ownership and a new arena — have been at the heart of the team’s lamentable existence in Arizona from the very beginning. And after another disastrous turn by the team that involved former GM John Chayka quitting on the eve of return to play, cheating on the NHL’s draft combine protocols and having to surrender draft picks as punishment followed by the ill-advised drafting of Mitchell Miller who had a well-known history of committing racial assault as a middle-schooler, these questions remain first and foremost when it comes to assessing the Coyotes’ future.

Maybe new owner Alex Meruelo, who arrived with such fanfare and excitement, and team president Xavier Gutierrez learn from these considerable missteps and in that learning the find the way to a new arena and a renewed connection with the fan base in Arizona. But if Meruelo and Hernandez aren’t able to broker a deal to find a proper place for this team to play and grow and truly test the worthiness of the market — and there are many who believe Meruelo is not that person — then this is all about waiting for the moment long foretold when the team pulls up stakes and heads to Houston or elsewhere. — Scott Burnside

The Athletic LOADED: 12.26.2020 1197316 Websites Sportsnet.ca LOADED: 12.26.2020

Sportsnet.ca / NHL believes it can play games in all seven Canadian markets

Sportsnet Staff

December 24, 2020, 5:57 PM

The NHL believes all seven of its Canadian teams can start the season playing out of their home arenas.

NHL deputy commissioner Bill Daly said in a statement Thursday that the league believes it is clear to play in Canada after discussions over the past 24 hours with provincial health authorities.

"On the basis of our discussions (with provincial health authorities) in the past week, as well as our exchange of correspondence over the last 24 hours, we believe we are aligned and in agreement on the conditions on which each of our Canadian franchises can begin play in their own buildings for the start of the 2020-21 NHL season," Daly said.

The league has been involved in discussions with the five provincial governments which have NHL teams to try to gain approval to play starting Jan. 13 during the second wave of the COVID-19 pandemic.

The NHL realigned its divisions for the 2021 season so that the North Division -- which features all seven Canadian teams -- would not have to cross the U.S.-Canada border, which remains closed to non-essential travel until at least Jan. 21.

On Wednesday, Alberta's chief medical officer of health, Dr. Deena Hinshaw, sent a note to the league on Wednesday on behalf of the five provinces, asking for increased COVID-19 testing or a return to a scenario in which all teams would be in a secure zone in one city, like the league did in the post-season in Edmonton and Toronto last summer.

But it appears that the requests for increased COVID-19 testing from the provincial governments have been accepted by the NHL, which was one hurdle to overcome.

"[The NHL] had to agree to some additional testing as part of satisfying the governments that the plan they put in place will keep everyone safe," Sportsnet's Chris Johnston reported. "But for these teams that had this hanging over them, I think this brings some relief now with a couple weeks to go before the start of the season."

There are still some potential amendments to work out before the league can stage games in Canada, though the NHL is confident that select changes won't be necessary.

"One of them was maybe looking at the schedule to see if there's a way to keep the travel at a minimum especially in January and early February here as there's some lockdowns going into place," said Johnston. "The league doesn't think it's going to have to alter that schedule. But I think it'll look at what it can do to make sure everything is fine there. This also all has to be agreed upon.

"I don't see anything that's going to get in the way of seeing this become a reality."

The league released its schedule on Wednesday, with each team playing 56 games -- down from the usual 82.

The Toronto Maple Leafs are scheduled to host the Montreal Canadiens, while the Edmonton Oilers are slated to face the visiting Vancouver Canucks on Jan. 13 as part of a five-game schedule on opening night.

The open Jan. 14 against the visiting , while the Oilers and Canucks meet again in Edmonton.

The Ottawa Senators start their season Jan. 15 against visiting Toronto, the first of two games in as many days between the rivals in the nation's capital.

Baseball-style series are common as the league attempts to reduce the travel. For example, the Canadiens and Senators each are scheduled to play three straight games in Vancouver in January.

-- With files from the Canadian Press 1197317 Websites "Q brought a lot of physicality and managed the puck really well," Tourigny said, "and Pelletier was one of our best players so that will spread out the offence and spread out our lineup. We believe we have a good balance offensively and defensively on every line." TSN.CA / Tourigny wants Team Canada to respond to adversity with urgency Byfield seemed to enjoy some instant chemistry with Pelletier.

"Just when he calls my name in the French accent," he said with a smile when asked what stood out about the Calgary Flames' first rounder. By Mark Masters "He's a smart player and he does everything well. We can use our speed together. He was sniping quite a bit in practice as well so going to try and

get him the puck and get a couple apples off that." Team Canada's staff has been preparing its players for moments like this So, Pelletier was feeling it on Friday? since the summer camp. "Oh for sure," Byfield said. "I think he's always feeling it in practice. He "If you expect to go to the World Juniors and not have adversity, you're in just brings so much energy to the team." the wrong tournament," said head coach Andre Tourigny. "Tampa Bay just won the Stanley Cup without their captain [] so it Byfield started slow at Canada's selection camp and admitted it's taken a happens. If you want to win you have to go through adversity. while to adjust to the 10 pounds of muscle he added in the off-season. The 6-foot-4, 221 pounder is now getting more comfortable throwing his Tourigny has served as an assistant coach at the World Juniors on four weight around. occasions, including last year in Ostrava, Czech Republic. "I feel faster and heavier in the corners and I have to keep playing my "If you look at last year, we had a suspension, we had injuries, we had game like that," he said. "I used my size and body and really tried to play sickness, we had controversy and that's the World Juniors," Tourigny the structure of the game the way he [Tourigny] wants us to play and said. "Since June we talked to our players about adversity and that perform. I really took that into account over the last couple weeks and adversity will happen and we have to be ready." just going over the systems as much as I can." Adversity hit Team Canada in a big way this week as captain Kirby Dach, In the past, Byfield has lamented the fact he skates with a “hunchback" who spent last season with the Chicago Blackhawks, sustained a wrist and the Newmarket, Ont. native has worked hard to refine his stride. fracture and will be unable to play in the tournament. "It's improved a bit, but I think I'm always going to have that hunchback "He's a guy who brought that pro presence," said alternate captain Dylan just being a tall guy and looking down at the puck," he said, "but I Cozens. "We'll miss him on the ice. He was the best player in the improved quite a bit during the pandemic with my stride and the power tournament so it's a huge hit for us." and muscle through the stride." In their first on-ice session since Dach left, Tourigny stopped the Another area where Byfield -- the second overall pick in October's draft -- proceedings twice early on to demand more focus and urgency. is looking to get better is on face-offs. "Figure it out," he barked at the assembled players. "We need to be "That's still a work in progress, but just getting a bit lower on the draws better than that. It's unacceptable." will help me out quite a bit," he said. "Going to L.A., I think Jarrett Stoll With the lack of games heading into the event, these practice sessions [who's part of the player development staff] can probably teach me about have taken on even greater importance. that. I watch a lot of film and watch the usual guys who are good on draws like [Ryan] O'Reilly, [Patrice] Bergeron, [Jonathan] Toews and "He really just wanted us to go into practice like how we play a game," seeing what they do off draws and the counter moves they do." said centre Quinton Byfield, "and it doesn't matter if you're going against your teammates in a battle you have to compete as hard as the other Devon Levi is a revelation to his new teammates. team and opponents will in the upcoming games. He really got his "To be completely honest, I didn't really know who he was," Cozens said. message across and we picked up our pace." "But he came here and stood out right away." The coaching staff debated what to do with the forward lines in the wake "I never really heard of him," said Byfield, "but he gets a shutout in his of the injury to Dach. They really liked the line of Connor McMichael first game and will be a key piece of our team." between Cole Perfetti and Peyton Krebs, so that trio will remain in tact, but the other units will all have a different look on Boxing Day. Levi had not met any of Team Canada's players before arriving at the selection camp in mid-November. Cozens, who lined up between Jack Quinn and Dach on Wednesday, is shifting to right wing on a line with Dylan Holloway and Alex Newhook. "None of them," he said with a smile. "I didn't know anyone coming in. I mean, I knew of everyone, for sure, but I had never met any of the guys "Cozens played at the World Juniors for us last year on right wing and and didn't know anyone personally." was really, really good," Tourigny explained. "Newhook, throughout his career, has been really good as a centre and he's way more comfy as a The more Team Canada's players are getting to know Levi, the more centre than a winger so we wanted to keep that." they are liking him.

Cozens produced nine points in seven games at the World Juniors last "He's so hard to score on in practice," Cozens gushed. "He's got great year while playing right wing. positioning. We definitely trust him as our starter. A lot of trust in him."

"Both those guys are strong and fast," noted Cozens of Holloway and Levi posted a 36-save shutout in the final intra-squad scrimmage at camp Newhook, "their speed will work real well with mine. I played wing before and followed that up with a 23-save clean sheet against the Russians. too so it's nothing I'm worried about." Levi's rise is remarkable on a number of levels. He had to wait around Byfield moved into a top-nine role at practice after starting the pre- seven hours on the second day of October's National Hockey League tournament game on what projected to be Canada's fourth line. draft before the Florida Panthers made him the 212th pick, which he described as "a huge relief." "He's so big and strong and he's such a presence on the ice," observed Cozens. "He gets the puck behind them and uses his speed and hunts A couple months earlier, Levi didn't receive an invite to Hockey Canada's the puck down. I mean, I wouldn't want to be a defender looking at him virtual camp for World Junior hopefuls. coming at me. He's such a big body, so strong. He's a great player. I think with Kirby gone he's going to step up for us." "When we did the first wave of scouting for the camp we talked about Devon, but the fact he did not play college or major junior was a factor Tourigny is hoping Byfield will build some momentum after a strong effort and we thought we would have time to follow the start of his season and against Russia. He skated alongside Jakob Pelletier and Dawson Mercer we would see from there if we wanted to invite him to the [main] camp," at practice. Tourigny explained. The pandemic delayed the start of the college season and Levi, a "It doesn't change anything," he said. "Yes, I'm Canadian, but my job and freshman at Northeastern University, hasn't played yet for the Huskies. integrity come first. It's a big tournament for us too, for our careers." But the lack of games over the last nine months also allowed Canada's staff to do more video work. The referees held a group dinner on Thursday night and shared ideas about witty one liners they could use before puck drop. The consensus "We started to dig in a little bit more in depth and talk to a lot of people, was something holiday-related would be appropriate. do more video and his performance in the Junior A Challenge last year was really the kicker and from there we decided we wanted to give him a "A great day for hockey," Gouin told Marat Khusnutdinov and Alex shot," Tourigny said. "As soon as he arrived at the camp, [goalie coach Turcotte at the opening face-off on Friday night. "Merry Christmas, boys. Jason LaBarbera] really loved him and his competitiveness and his Have a good one." quickness and his legs were really fast so that is what made the Lines at Canada's practice on Friday: difference." Perfetti - McMichael - Krebs Levi was the MVP at the World Junior A Challenge last year in Dawson Creek, B.C. where he backstopped underdog Canada East to a silver Holloway - Newhook - Cozens medal. He doesn't have any international experience beyond that. His Pelletier - Byfield - Mercer experience is so limited, in fact, that he's not even familiar with playing games with commercial breaks. Zary - Suzuki - Tomasino

"I've never had a commercial break before so just trying to build a new Quinn routine," he said with a grin. Byram - Drysdale Levi skated to the slot between face-off circles during the commercials on Wednesday night. Harley - Schneider

"I felt comfortable where I was so I feel like I'll stay there," he said. "Just Guhle - Barron clearing my mind. Just stretching. Just taking it easy. Just focusing." Korczak (R) - Spence So much of this is new for Levi, but his old teammates aren't surprised. Levi Jon Goyens, who coached Levi when he was with the AAA midget Lac St-Louis Lions, put together a video featuring former teammates sending Garand well wishes to their former goalie. Gauthier "That was unbelievable," said Levi, who watched the video after Wednesday's win. "It means a lot to know they're behind me." Power play units at Canada's practice on Friday:

The referees at the World Juniors have been asked to turn their Byram microphones on for puck drop each game, which has led the group to Perfetti - Krebs - McMichael brainstorm fun things to say. Cozens Olivier Gouin told the players, "Alright, let's see if I can still do this boys," before dropping the puck at the pre-tournament game between Canada Harley and Russia. Tomasino / Newhook - Quinn - Suzuki So, can he still do it? Byfield "I'm pretty happy with my period," he said. "It's never going to be perfect. It's too fast and the players are too big, but overall I thought we were all TSN.CA LOADED: 12.26.2020 solid. It's good for confidence."

With only four pre-tournament games, the officials had to rotate out between periods so everyone could get some reps. There are 14 referees and 12 linesmen in the bubble, which is up from the 12 and 10 usually invited.

And just like the players, many of them arrived feeling a bit rusty.

"I was lucky, because I had the chance to go in the QMJHL bubble," Gouin said. "Some of the OHL and WHL guys haven't worked at all except for here."

Gouin pointed out that the officials are only guaranteed to work one tournament game and everything else will be judged on merit.

The officials have held on-ice workouts since getting out of their initial quarantine. It's mostly skating work, but they do play some shinny. Gouin says former Belleville Bulls winger Carter Sandlak is among the stand outs.

"It was exciting to be back on the ice, finally," said Gouin, who earned the USA-Russia assignment on Christmas Day. "Most of us haven't skated [regularly] since March. It's a big tournament to get going."

Gouin started officiating at age 15 when he was looking for a part-time job. Since then he has risen up the ranks of Hockey Canada's officiating program. His highlights include a Memorial Cup final in 2016 and a senior men’s IIHF World Championship final in 2018.

Now, he's getting a shot at the World Juniors.

"It means a lot," the Laval, Que. native said. "I've never worked it. It's the first time. It's probably the tournament Canadians watch the most. It's a special tournament for the players and the referees also."

All the officials are Canadian this year, which means Gouin may be overseeing more games featuring his country.